LinStat, a program for calculating finite strain from populations of lines, running simulations and an investigation of error behaviour

LinStat, a C++ program, calculates finite strain from distributions of deformed lines and also calculates confidence intervals for finite strain estimates using the bootstrap method. LinStat also features a simulation capability which allows for study of error behaviour with varying applied finite strain and number of data. In a simulation study, it is shown that error associated with estimating the axial ratio of the finite strain ellipse (R_s) increases with increasing tectonic strain, but decreases as the number of data points increases. By contrast, errors for estimating the finite strain ellipse orientation (φ_s) decrease rapidly both with increasing applied strain and increasing number of data points. A set of 18 samples from the Western Gneiss Region of Norway were re-analysed using LinStat and validated the results provided by the software.