Two-dimensional apparent microfabric of the basal late Weichselian till and associated shear zone: Case study from Western Latvia

Abstract

The examination of glacial sediments in thin sections has become a common procedure in recent years. Apparent sand grain orientation (microfabric) in thin sections is one of the key elements marking certain microstructures. In an attempt to make till micromorphology studies less subjective and investigate the orientation of sand-sized particles in tills, we have developed an image analysis procedure to measure and analyse the spatial distribution of the till microfabric. We studied 13 thin sections of the Weichselian subglacial till and basal shear zone outcropping in the Baltic Sea bluffs at the Ziemupe site in western Latvia. The results were visualized as a two-dimensional grid of rose diagrams covering the area of the thin section and were compared to macrofabric. We found that in larger areas microfabric, although much weaker than macrofabric, coincides with macrofabric orientation. In the sub-centimetre scale till microfabric in short distances appears to be highly variable both in strength and preferred orientation, and a domain-like pattern appears.