Quantitative microstructures of polycrystalline quartz aggregates in a mylonite: implication for strain-rate evaluation

The Montalto shear zone (MSZ) here investigated represents an excellent opportunity to study deformation processes active during Alpine Orogeny responsible for the nowadays tectonic framework of the Aspromonte Massif outcropping in the southern part of the Calabria Peloritani Orogen (CPO).This study is devoted to the microstructural characterization of a suite of selected mylonitic samples of leucocratic gneisses collected within the abovementioned shear zone showing a clear deformation gradient at the outcrop scale.Quantitative microstructural analysis allowed us to infer via quartz paleopiezometry possible strain rate attained during deformational history of mylonitic rocks in order to add helpful constraints to the tectono-thermal evolution of the shear zone