Are S–C structures, duplexes and conjugate shear zones different manifestations of the same scale-invariant phenomenon?

By measuring S spacing, C spacing and the S–C angle (α) in deformed rocks, this paper investigates the geometry of previously published examples of S–C and S–C-like structures on a scale range between micrometres and several hundred kilometres. The results indicate that common S–C fabrics of thin-section, hand-specimen and outcrop scale, and conjugate fault/mylonite zones of map scale define a simple function Cspacing=2Sspacing, which depicts a scale-invariant geometry over ten orders of magnitude. Logarithmic plots of cumulative frequency suggest that the S–C fractal set (D=0.13) is restricted to the scale range between 600–800 μm and 1 km where genuine S–C structures, characterized by antithetic shear on the S planes, can be formed. Below 600–800 μm, grain scale processes seem to influence the development of S–C structures. Above the upper limit (1 km), only S–C-like structures with duplex kinematics (synthetic shear on S planes) occur. The S–C and S–C–C′ fractals are envisaged as self-similar structures where the foliations work as both S or C planes, depending on which scale is considered.