Variscan stress regime rotation: Insights from the analysis of kink folds in the northern margin of the Bohemian Massif, South Poland

Abstract We aimed to determine variations in stress regimes during the youngest Variscan deformations in the northern part of the Bohemian Massif. For this purpose, we calculated the orientation of the principal stress and strain axes for kink folds observed in the metamorphic envelope of the Karkonosze Granite, using two methods: 1) the traditional method, incorporating structural diagrams (for conjugate kink folds only), and 2) butterfly diagram analysis. The use of both methods enabled us to determine the stress regime, based not only on conjugate but also on monoclinal kink bands. The obtained results prove that butterfly diagram analysis, when applied to monoclinal kink folds, yields reliable results, especially when calibrated using the internal friction angle (Ф) calculated for the conjugate structures. We identified two generations of kink folds: 1) an older one, developed under sublatitudinal shortening and most probably related to the Early Carboniferous terminal stages of the northwest-directed thrusting of the metamorphic units, and 2) a younger one; produced by north-south Variscan Carboniferous compression, and the emplacement and subsequent doming of the Karkonosze Granite. This is the first study on brittle-ductile structures observed commonly in the metamorphic units of the Bohemian Massif, showing their relation to the granitoid intrusion and complementing the tectonic models that usually omit kink folds.