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In the Western Alps, the Penninic frontal thrust (PFT) is the main crustal-scale tectonic structure of the belt. This thrust transported the high-pressure metamorphosed internal units over the non-metamorphosed European margin during the Oligocene (34–29 Ma). Following the propagation of the compression toward the European foreland, the PFT was later reactivated as an extensional detachment associated with the development of the High Durance extensional fault system (HDFS). This inversion of tectonic displacement along a major tectonic structure has been widely emphasized as an example of extensional collapse of a thickened collisional orogen. However, the inception age of the extensional inversion remains unconstrained. Here, for the first time, we provide chronological constraints on the extensional motion of an exhumed zone of the PFT by applying U–Pb dating on secondary calcites from a fault zone cataclasite. The calcite cement and veins of the cataclasite formed after the main fault slip event, at 3.6 ± 0.4–3.4 ± 0.6 Ma. Cross-cutting calcite veins featuring the last fault activity are dated at 2.6 ± 0.3–2.3 ± 0.3 Ma. δ13C and δ18O fluid signatures derived from these secondary calcites suggest fluid percolation from deep-seated reservoir at the scale of the Western Alps. Our data provide evidence that the PFT extensional reactivation initiated at least ∼ 3.5 Myr ago with a reactivation phase at ∼ 2.5 Ma. This reactivation may result from the westward propagation of the compressional deformation toward the external Alps, combined with the exhumation of external crystalline massifs. In this context, the exhumation of the dated normal faults is linked to the eastward translation of the HDFS seismogenic zone, in agreement with the present-day seismic activity.

Frictional heterogeneities within fault zones depend strongly on lithology as well as shear fabric and strain localization structures. Here we investigate the impact of fault rock composition and shear fabric on friction constitutive properties for mature High Zagros (Iran) fault rocks. We present field observations along with results from friction experiments on intact and powdered fault rock from carbonate, quartzofeldspathic and schist. We measured frictional strength and rate/state dependence over normal stresses from 25 to 100 MPa and shear slip velocities from 3 to 300 μm/s. The sliding friction coefficients of intact fault rocks are lower than their powdered equivalents. The foliated quartzofeldspathic and lensoidal carbonate rocks from the Main Zagros Reverse Fault (MZRF) exhibit velocity strengthening friction and stable sliding. In contrast, the cataclasite carbonate rocks from the younger, Main Recent Fault (MRF) exhibit potentially unstable, velocity-weakening frictional behavior, consistent with regional seismicity. Our results suggest that solution seams, cleavage processes, and development of stylolite and calcite veins in the carbonate fault rocks of the MZRF continually rejuvenate and rework shear structures, which leads to dominantly aseismic shear. In contrast, younger fault rocks of the MRF form highly localized shear zones and shear fabric that result in velocity-weakening frictional behavior and seismic slip. Our field observations and laboratory data provide insights for using friction data and fault zone structure to build predictive models of the mode of fault slip in zones of tectonic collision.

The spatial distribution of greenschist-facies retrograde reaction products in metabasic gneisses from Iona, western Scotland, has been investigated. The retrograde products may be broadly accounted for by a single reaction, but their different spatial and temporal development indicates that a series of reactions occur with significantly different scales of metasomatic transfer. After initial fluid influx linked to deformation-induced high permeability, reaction-enhanced permeability, coupled to cycling of fluid pressure during faulting, strongly controls the pervasive retrogression. Ca-plagioclase and pyroxene in the gneisses are replaced by albite and chlorite in pseudomorphic textures, and this is followed by localized epidotization of the albite. Two main generations of epidote are formed in the gneisses. Epidosite formation is associated with prominent zones of cataclasite indicating a strong link between faulting and fluid influx. In contrast, complete alteration of albite to epidote in the host metabasic gneisses is spatially complex, and areas of pervasive alteration may be constrained by both epidote-rich veins and cataclasites. In other instances, reaction fronts are unrelated to structural features. Volume changes associated with individual stages of the reaction history strongly control the localized distribution of epidote and the earlier more widespread development of chlorite and albite. Such behaviour contrasts with adjacent granitic gneisses where epidotization is restricted to local structural conduits. Many small-scale mineralized fractures with evidence of having previously contained fluids do not enhance the pervasive retrogression of the metabasic gneisses and represent conduits of fluid removal. Retrogression of these basement gneisses is dominated by a complex combination of reaction-enhanced and reaction-restricted permeability, kinetic controls on the nucleation of reaction products, changes in fluid composition buffered by the reactions, and periodic local migration of fluids associated with fault movements. This combination generates spatially complex patterns of epidotization that are limited by cation supply rather than fluid availability and alternations between focused and pervasive types of retrogression.

This study provides information about fault motion by statistically presenting shape and orientation information for tens of thousands of grains. The recently developed shape preferred orientation (SPO) measurement method using synchrotron micro-computed tomography was used. In addition, various factors that were not considered in previous SPO analysis were analyzed in-depth. The study area included the Yangsan and Ulsan fault zones, which are the largest fault zones in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. Samples were collected from five outcrops in two regions. According to the field observation results, the samples in the area were largely divided into fault gouge and cataclasite, and as a result of SPO analysis, we succeeded in restoring the three-dimensional fault motion direction for each outcrop and identified the fault type. In addition, the analysis results of the fault gouge and cataclasite samples collected from the thin fault zone were interpreted using the focal mechanism solution. As a result, the statistical SPO analysis approach supplements the shortcomings of previous research methods on two-dimensional planes and can quantitatively infer the three-dimensional fault motion for various fault rock samples in the same sequence, thus, presenting useful evidence for structural analysis.

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-ToF-MS) was used to generate quantitative elemental images of a mineralogically and texturally complex fault rock of the Northern Apennines of Italy (Zuccale Fault, eastern Island of Elba). Using LA-ICP-ToF-MS combined with a low-dispersion LA cell, we were able to generate large format (4 mm × 2 mm), high-resolution (5 μm), high dynamic range (1–106 μg g−1), and quantitative multi-elemental two-dimensional compositional maps within a data acquisition time of a few hours. To quantify element mass fractions across the heterogeneous sample of the Zuccale Fault, we used a 100% species-mass normalisation approach that took into account different mineral phases across the specimen. To assign mineral phase directly from LA-ICP-ToF-MS data, we exploited the segregation of sulfur and calcium between distinct phases to threshold element images and develop mineral-phase-specific masks. Moreover, we demonstrate agreement between elemental mass fractions determined by LA-ICP-ToF-MS imaging with 100% normalisation quantification and conventional LA-ICP-MS analysis with internal standard element-based quantification. Finally, we discuss how this elemental imaging provides unique insights into the genesis of the Zuccale Fault.

To better understand the processes that control sub-grain fracturing in fault damage zones, we studied micro-scale damage in sandstones adjacent to the San Jacinto fault (SJF) where it is exhumed from a total depth of ∼220 m beneath a northeast-verging thrust that comprises part of a relic and dismembered flower structure. The thrust places high grade gneiss of the pre-middle Cretaceous Burnt Valley complex over sedimentary rocks of the Pleistocene Bautista Formation. An ∼10–12 cm thick zone of cataclasite is present along the northeast side of the fault adjacent to a narrow black ultracataclasite core. Non-pervasive microscopic damage, characterized by pulverized sand grains, extends outward from the zone of cataclasites tens of meters. Such textures are better developed in sandstones that contain

A polyphase metamorphic basement crops out in the northern part of the South Alpine domain of the Alps. It is involved into Alpine tectonics and is locally overprinted by a low-grade Alpine metamorphism. Pre-Alpine and Alpine events must be distinguished in order to reconstruct the tectonic evolution. We investigated Pre-Alpine structures in the basement of the northern Lago di Como area with the aim to identify rift-related faults. The well-known Lugano Val Grande Fault has been taken as example in order to identify other detachments preserved in the studied area. We investigated the tectonic contacts between Triassic carbonates and the Variscan basement in the Domaso-Cortafo Zone, south of the Insubric line. We report for the first time the Sasso Pelo Detachment, characterized by the superposition of carbonatic breccias without basement clasts above basement mylonite. Fault rocks are tectonic breccia, cataclasite, and mylonite. Brittle deformation is concentrated in the hanging wall and ductile deformation in the footwall, its intensity increasing towards the hanging wall. This extensional fault has been folded during Alpine orogeny and partially eroded.

Graphitization in fault zones is associated both with fault weakening and orogenic gold mineralization. We examine processes of graphitic carbon emplacement and deformation in the active Alpine Fault Zone, New Zealand by analysing samples obtained from Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) boreholes. Optical and scanning electron microscopy reveal a microtextural record of graphite mobilization as a function of temperature and ductile then brittle shear strain. Raman spectroscopy allowed interpretation of the degree of graphite crystallinity, which reflects both thermal and mechanical processes. In the amphibolite-facies Alpine Schist, highly crystalline graphite, indicating peak metamorphic temperatures up to 640°C, occurs mainly on grain boundaries within quartzo-feldspathic domains. The subsequent mylonitization process resulted in the reworking of graphite under lower temperature conditions (500–600°C), resulting in clustered (in protomylonites) and foliation-aligned graphite (in mylonites). In cataclasites, derived from the mylonitized schists, graphite is most abundant (

The physical characterization of carbonate–bearing normal faults is fundamental for resource development and seismic hazard. Here we report laboratory measurements of density, porosity, Vp, Vs, elastic moduli and permeability for a range of effective confining pressures (0.1-100 MPa), conducted on samples representing different structural domains of a carbonate-bearing fault. We find a reduction in porosity from the fault breccia (11.7% total and 6.2% connected) to the main fault plane (9% total and 3.5% connected), with both domains showing higher porosity compared to the protolith (6.8% total and 1.1% connected). With increasing confining pressure, P-wave velocity evolves from 4.5 km/s to 5.9 km/s in the fault breccia, is constant at 5.9 km/s approaching the fault plane and is low (4.9 km/s) in clay-rich fault domains. We find that while the fault breccia shows pressure sensitive behaviour (a reduction in permeability from 2*10−16 m2 to 2*10−17 m2), the cemented cataclasite close to the fault plane is characterized by pressure independent behaviour (permeability 4*10−17 m2). Our results indicate that the deformation processes occurring within the different fault structural domains influence the physical and transport properties of the fault zone. In-situ Vp profiles match well the laboratory measurements demonstrating that laboratory data are valuable for implications at larger scale. Combining the experimental values of elastic moduli and frictional properties it results that at shallow crustal levels M ≤ 1 earthquakes are less favoured, in agreement with earthquake-depth distribution during the L'Aquila 2009 seismic sequence that occurred on carbonates.

Many active normal faults throughout the Aegean juxtapose footwall limestone against hanging-wall colluvium. In places, this colluvium becomes cemented and forms large hanging-wall lobes or sheets of varying thickness attached to the bedrock fault. Investigations at the Lastros Fault in eastern Crete allow us to define criteria to distinguish between cemented colluvium and fault cataclasite (tectonic breccia), which is often present at bedrock faults. Macro- and microscopic descriptions of the cemented colluvium show that the colluvium was originally deposited through both rockfalls and debris flows. Stable isotope analyses of oxygen and carbon from 83 samples indicate that cementation then occurred through meteoric fluid flow in the fault zone from springs at localised positions along strike. Palaeotemperature calculations of the parent water from which the calcite cement precipitated are indicative of a climate between 7°C and 10°C colder than Crete’s present average annual temperature. This most likely represents the transition between a glacial and interglacial period in the late Pleistocene. Ground-penetrating radar also indicates that cemented colluvium is present in the hanging-wall subsurface below uncemented colluvium. Using these results, a model for the temporal development of the fault and formation of the cemented colluvium is proposed.

The trending of Rondonom trust fault zone can be traced on three locations, namely the NE –SW trust fault trend in Rondonom, the NE – SW trend in Padasan village and Grabahan hill, and the NE – SW trend in Konang hill. Girisono fault zone was firstly mentioned as Girisono thrust fault on Regional Geoheritage Conference 2019, show evidence for two successive structure episodes. The first generation (D1) is deformation in northern part of Jokotuwo hill to the Rondonom hill. This zone is manifested by a variety of structures for well-developed mylonite foliations and mostly associated with recumbent minor, chevron, and superposed fold. The second generation (D2) of deformation is in southern part of Jokotuwo – Rondonom hills to southern part of Semangu hill. This zone is manifested by shearing structure for foliation cataclasite flow and associated with swelly or scalyclay structure, and sometime with chevron fold. The earliest structures in the Eastern Jiwo hill was generally showed that D1 structures are rotational and non-coaxial in semi-ductile character. The deformation was dextral thrusting involving NW shortening with a significant component of thrust-parallel slip movement that continued into the Pra-Tertiary Orogeny. The D2 was dextral thrusting compression involving E-W shortening with significant of thrust-parallel slip movement that continued into Late Eosen or Paleogen Orogeny.

Regional-scale faults typically experience complex, long-lasting histories, commonly recording evidence of multiple reactivation events. Therefore, they contain multiscalar structural domains characterised by varying microstructures, mineralogical compositions and kinematics. These domains result from differential strain partitioning during the recorded faulting stages, and, as a result, can preserve the isotopic and kinematic signature of the different slip periods. Their detailed structural analysis integrated with K-Ar dating of the fault rock assemblage can help to identify these commonly tightly juxtaposed, although not coeval, domains, which we refer herein to as “Brittle Structural Facies” (BSF). BSF analysis is pivotal (i) to understand the structural heterogeneity of fault zones, (ii) the diachronic formation of geometrically and kinematically complex fault cores and (iii) to reconstruct faults' evolution in time and through space. Following this approach, this study relies on meso- and microstructural analysis, chemical characterisation and K-Ar dating to unravel the evolution of the Lærdal-Gjende Fault (LGF, southwestern Norway). The LGF is a multiply reactivated top-to-the-NW extensional fault with a 1 m thick poorly consolidated core. We recognised, sampled and characterised five BSF: I) Indurated dark reddish gouge, (II) Poorly consolidated cataclasite, (III) Weakly foliated greenish gouge, (IV) Clay-rich gouge and (V) A few mm-thick clay smear decorating the principal slip surface. Samples were separated into five grain size fractions (from

Intraplate large and moderate earthquakes have occurred along the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) in the past but no coseismic surface faulting has been reported so far. We investigate the 25-km-long linear Riedseltz-Landau normal fault scarp affecting late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of the western edge of the northern URG. The fault zone with cataclastic deformation textures is exposed in the Riedseltz quarry where it affects Pliocene and late Pleistocene (Wurm) units. Cataclasis is demonstrated by spalling and transgranular fractures in quartz grains concentrated in deformation bands with reduced grain size. The observed microstructures suggest multiple phases of deformation with cataclasis followed by emplacement of Fe-oxide matrix into deformation bands, and later emplacement of a clay-rick matrix into fractures. Previous studies along the fault show late Pleistocene (Wurm) loess deposits and early Holocene sand-silty deposits with 1.5 m and 0.7 m surface slip, respectively. New and previous results provide a minimum 0.15 mm/yr slip rate. A dislocation model suggests a minimum Mw 6.6 earthquake as a plausible scenario in the western edge of northern URG. Surface faulting in young sediments associated with cataclasis provides new evidence for assessing the occurrence of large earthquakes and seismic hazard assessment in the northern URG.

Roundness of survivor clasts (mineral/rock fragments) in fault rocks (e.g., pseudotachylyte and cataclasite/gouge) has been used by some workers to distinguish melt-origin from crush-origin of such rocks. Keeping in view the large overlap in the published data on the roundness of fault rocks, the reliability of such a discriminator appears somewhat uncertain. The present study attempts to reappraise the aforesaid criterion through roundness analysis of quartz and feldspar clasts in melting-dominated pseudotachylyte (M-Pt), crushing-dominated pseudotachylyte (C-Pt) and fault-related cataclasite (F-Ct) collected from Sarwar–Junia Fault Zone in Rajasthan and from Gavilgarh–Tan Shear Zone in central India. Our analysis shows that roundness of clasts cannot reliably distinguish between fault rocks of melt-origin and crush-origin (especially M-Pt and F-Ct) as the roundness values overlap and a distinct limit of roundness value for each rock type cannot be established. While the roundness of clasts in M-Pt and C-Pt may be enhanced due to melt-induced rounding off of the initially angular clasts, rounding of clasts can also occur by abrasion during rolling of crushed material in F-Ct. Furthermore, anomalous thermal expansion of clasts in melt-origin pseudotachylyte may cause disintegration of larger clasts into smaller angular fragments, thereby increasing the percentage of angular clasts in melt-origin fault rocks. Therefore, roundness of survivor clasts cannot be solely used as a discriminator between melt-origin and crush-origin fault rocks.

Fluid infiltration within fault zones is an important process in earthquake rupture. Magnetic properties of fault rocks convey essential clues pertaining to physicochemical processes in fault zones. In 2011, two shallow holes (134 and 54 m depth, respectively) were drilled into the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault (Longmen Shan thrust belt, China), which accommodated most of the displacement of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. Fifty-eight drill core samples, including granitic host rock and various fault rocks, were analyzed rock-magnetically, mineralogically, and geochemically. The magnetic behavior of fault rocks appears to be dominated by paramagnetic clay minerals. Magnetite in trace amounts is identified as the predominant ferrimagnetic fraction in all samples, decreasing from the host rock, via fault breccia to (proto-)cataclasite. Significant mass-losses (10.7–45.6%) are determined for the latter two with the “isocon” method. Volatile contents and alteration products (i.e., chlorite) are enriched toward the fault core relative to the host rocks. These observations suggest that magnetite depletion occurred in these fault rocks—exhumed from the shallow crust—plumbed by fluid-assisted processes. Chlorite, interpreted to result from hydrothermal activity, occurs throughout almost the entire fault core and shows high coefficients of determination (R2 > 0.6) with both low and high-field magnetic susceptibility. Close relationships, with R2 > 0.70, are also observed between both low and high-field magnetic susceptibility and the immobile elements (e.g., TiO2, P2O5, MnO), H2O+, and the calculated mass-losses of fault rocks. Hence, magnetic properties of fault rocks can serve as proxy indicators of fluid infiltration within shallow fault zones.

The Simplon Fault Zone is a late-collisional low-angle normal fault (LANF) of the Western Alps. The hanging wall shows evidence of brittle deformation only, while the footwall is characterized by a c. 1 km-thick shear zone (the Simplon Fault Zone), which continuously evolved, during exhumation and cooling, from amphibolite facies conditions to brittle-cataclastic deformations. Due to progressive localization of the active section of the shear zone, the thermal-rheological evolution of the footwall resulted in a layered structure, with higher temperature mylonites preserved at the periphery of the shear zone, and cataclasites occurring at the core (indicated as the Simplon Line). In order to investigate the weakness of the Simplon Line, we studied the evolution of brittle/cataclastic fault rocks, from nucleation to the most mature ones. Cataclasites are superposed on greenschist facies mylonites, and their nucleation can be studied at the periphery of the brittle fault zone. This is characterized by fractures, micro-faults and foliated ultracataclasite seams that develop along the mylonitic SCC' fabric, exploiting the weak phases mainly represented by muscovite and chlorite. Approaching the fault core, both the thickness and frequency of cataclasite horizons increase, and, as their thickness increases, they become less and less foliated. The fault core itself is represented by a thicker non-foliated cataclasite horizon. No Andersonian faults or fractures can be found in the footwall damage zone and core zone, whilst they are present in the hanging wall and in the footwall further from the fault. Applying a stress model based on slip tendency, we have been able to calculate that the friction coefficient of the Simplon Line cataclasites was

We describe the structural features and mineralogical and geochemical compositions of the fault rocks recovered from boreholes at the Golden River site on the Yingxiu–Beichuan fault, which activated and slipped along a 240 km-long main surface rupture zone during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The fault, which accommodated co-seismic slip, cuts granitic rocks from the Pengguan complex, in which this earthquake most likely nucleated. Fault rocks, including cohesive cataclasite, unconsolidated breccia and three fault gouges with distinct colors, were identified from the drilling cores. On-going uplift and erosion in the area means that the fault rocks, formed at different depth, were exhumed to the shallow surface during the uplift history of the Longmenshan fault zone. A clear change from fracturing and comminution in the cataclasites and breccia to more pervasive shear/formation of fine grained materials in the gouges has been observed. The gouges are distinct and have accommodated significant displacement in multiple increments of shear. Furthermore, fault rocks recovered from the boreholes display numerous features indicative of fluid infiltration and fluid–rock interaction. Toward the fault core, clay minerals have replaced feldspars. The element enrichment/depletion patterns of the fault rocks show general fluid infiltration trends, such as 1) mobile elements are generally depleted in the fault rocks, 2) the microstructural, mineralogical and geochemical results of the fault rocks consistently indicate that pervasive fluid infiltration and fluid–rock interactions altered feldspars and mafic minerals to clay minerals. The fluid was Mg2 +- and Fe2 +-rich, facilitating formation of chlorite. Isocon analyses further reveal that a large rock volume has been lost, which is attributed to the removal of mobile elements associated with fluid infiltration and perhaps enhanced by pressure solution. These results reflect the accumulated effects of cataclasis and fluid infiltration/fluid–rock interaction during the long evolution history of the Longmenshan fault zone. Fluid–rock interactions in seismic faults: Implications from the structures and mineralogical and geochemical compositions of drilling cores from the rupture of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China.

La faille d’Aigion appartient à un système de failles normales à pendage nord affectant la bordure sud du golfe de Corinthe, témoin d’une extension active d’échelle régionale caractérisant la région égéenne. Les carottes du forage AIG-10, qui a traversé cette faille, montrent la présence d’une zone endommagée et d’une gouge. Ce travail présente une analyse des lames minces faites à partir de ces carottes. Il confirme la zonation en termes de fracturation à l’approche de la faille. Loin de cette dernière, la fracturation héritée de la phase compressive de l’orogenèse hellénique est dominante, bien qu’il existe aussi une famille E-W liée à l’extension actuelle. Toutes ces fractures sont scellées et le remplissage est similaire d’un point de vue luminescence au calcaire hôte. A l’approche du coeur, la quantité de fractures liées à la faille augmente; le remplissage de ces fractures indique, en cathodoluminescence, le passage de plusieurs fluides qui seraient d’origine externe, et la dernière génération de fractures est encore ouverte. Au mur de la faille, sous 5 m d’épaisseur verticale de cataclasite et d’ultracataclasite dans les calcaires et radiolarites (coeur de faille) et 13 m d’épaisseur verticale de gouge dans les radiolarites, les observations sont plus limitées, car la présence d’un karst a restreint les possibilités de carottage. Néanmoins, on peut observer que le remplissage des fractures liées à l’extension est différent de ce qui nous a été dévoilé au toit. Ceci suggère que la faille, transversalement imperméable aujourd’hui, l’a toujours été. L’analyse de la succession des ciments met en évidence une perméabilité parallèle à la faille à la faveur d’un système de fractures et fentes jeunes et ouvertes, pendant qu’est discuté le transfert de fluides par rapport aux stades de propagation de la faille.

Detailed investigations of dolomite fault rocks, formed at shallow crustal depths along the Salzach–Ennstal–Mariazell–Puchberg (SEMP) fault system in the Northern Calcareous Alps, revealed new insights into cataclasite formation. The examined Miocene, sinistral strike-slip faults reveal grain size reduction of dolomite host rocks by tensile microfracturing at a large range of scales, producing rock fragments of centimetre to micrometre sizes. In situ fracturing leads to grain size reduction down to grain sizes

International audience; Rhyodacitic volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens (MSH), Soufrière Hills, Mount Unzen and Mount Pelée erupt spines mantled by layers of magma-derived cataclasite and fault gouge. MSH produced seven lava spines from 2004–2008 composed of low-porosity, compositionally uniform, crystalline dacite. Dome extrusion was attended by continuous ‘drumbeat’ seismicity, derived from faulting along the conduit margin at 0.5–1 km depth, and evidenced by the enveloping gouge layers. We describe the properties of the gouge-derived fault rocks, including laboratory measurements of porosity and permeability. The gouge varies from unconsolidated powder to lithified low-porosity low-permeability fault rocks. We reconstruct the subsurface ascent of the MSH magma using published field observations and create a model that reconciles the diverse properties of the gouge with conditions in the conduit during ascent (i.e. velocity, temperature). We show lithification of the gouge to be driven by ‘hot pressing’ processes, wherein the combination of elevated temperature, confining pressure and dwell-time cause densification and solid-state sintering of the comminuted, crystal-rich (glass-poor) gouge. The degree of gouge lithification corresponds with residence time in the conduit such that well-lithified materials reflect extended times in the subsurface due to slower ascent rates. With this insight, we suggest that gouge competence can be used as a first-order estimate of lava ascent rates. Furthermore we posit gouge lithification, which reduces porosity and permeability, inhibits volcanic outgassing thereby increasing the potential for explosive events at spine-producing volcanoes.

Observations of heterogeneous and complex fault slip are often attributed to the complexity of fault structure and/or spatial heterogeneity of fault frictional behavior. Such complex slip patterns have been observed for earthquakes on normal faults throughout central Italy, where many of the Mw 6 to 7 earthquakes in the Apennines nucleate at depths where the lithology is dominated by carbonate rocks. To explore the relationship between fault structure and heterogeneous frictional properties, we studied the exhumed Monte Maggio Fault, located in the northern Apennines. We collected intact specimens of the fault zone, including the principal slip surface and hanging wall cataclasite, and performed experiments at a normal stress of 10 MPa under saturated conditions. Experiments designed to reactivate slip between the cemented principal slip surface and cataclasite show a 3 MPa stress drop as the fault surface fails, then velocity-neutral frictional behavior and significant frictional healing. Overall, our results suggest that (1) earthquakes may readily nucleate in areas of the fault where the slip surface separates massive limestone and are likely to propagate in areas where fault gouge is in contact with the slip surface; (2) postseismic slip is more likely to occur in areas of the fault where gouge is present; and (3) high rates of frictional healing and low creep relaxation observed between solid fault surfaces could lead to significant aftershocks in areas of low stress drop.

Small, meter-to decimeter-displacement oblique-slip faults cut latest Precambrian lithic arkose to feldspathic litharenite and Cambrian quartz arenite sandstones in NW Scotland. Despite common slip and thermal histories during faulting, the two sandstone units have different fault-core and damage-zone attributes, including fracture length and aperture distributions, and location of quartz deposits. Fault cores are narrow (less than 1 m), low-porosity cataclasite in lithic arkose/feldspathic litharenites. Damage zone-parallel opening-mode fractures are long (meters or more) with narrow ranges of lengths and apertures, are mostly isolated, have sparse quartz cement, and are open. In contrast, quartz arenites, despite abundant quartz cement, have fault cores that contain porous breccia and dense, striated slip zones. Damage-zone fractures have lengths ranging from meters to centimeters or less, but with distributions skewed to short fractures, and have power-law aperture distributions. Owing to extensive quartz cement, they tend to be sealed. These attributes reflect inhibited authigenic quartz accumulation on feldspar and lithic grains, which are unfavorable precipitation substrates, and favored accumulation on detrital quartz. In quartz breccia, macropores >0.04 mm wide persist where surrounded by slow-growing euhedral quartz. Differences in quartz occurrence and size distributions are compatible with the hypothesis that cement deposits modify the probability of fracture reactivation. Existing fractures readily reactivate in focused growth where quartz accumulation is low and porosity high. Only some existing, partly cemented fractures reactivate and some deformation is manifest in new fracture formation in partitioned growth where quartz accumulation is high. Consequences include along-strike differences in permeability and locus of fluid flow between cores and damage zones and fault strength.

In some cases, water–rock interactions in fault zones can affect radionuclide migration. Here, we analyzed the chemical compositions of well-exposed fault rocks from the strike-slip Atera Fault, Central Japan, in order to understand the variability and behavior of major and selected trace elements. The fault zone has a 1.2-m-wide, smectite-rich fault core and paired damage zones that developed within welded tuff on one side of the core and within granite on the other side. The 30-cm-wide, kaolinite-rich fault gouge is developed in granite cataclasite, and it shows indications of the latest fault activity, while the 1.2-m-wide fault core appears to be older. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in the clay-rich fault gouges, and carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in carbonates indicate that the two major clay-rich zones formed in bedrock near the surface, consistent with observed deformation structures. Based on chemical analyses, we identified (1) a slight depletion in SiO2, Na2O, K2O, and light rare earth elements at the edges of the 1.2-m-wide fault core, (2) a clear depletion in SiO2, Na2O, K2O, and all rare earth elements except Eu in the 30-cm-wide fault gouge, and (3) an increase in CaO, MnO, and heavy rare earth elements across the entire 1.2-m-wide fault core. Findings (1) and (2) reflect water–rock interactions in the 1.2-m-wide fault core and in the 30-cm-wide fault gouge that resulted in the formation of smectite and kaolinite. Finding (3) reflects carbonate precipitation caused by the addition of basalt fragments from a nearby site to the 1.2-m-wide fault core during faulting, and subsequent sorption reactions of heavy rare earth elements via processes such as complexation with the carbonates.

We examine the fine-scale variations in mineralogical composition, geochemical alteration, and texture of the fault-related rocks from the Phase 3 whole-rock core sampled between 3,187.4 and 3,301.4 m measured depth within the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) borehole near Parkfield, California. This work provides insight into the physical and chemical properties, structural architecture, and fluid-rock interactions associated with the actively deforming traces of the San Andreas Fault zone at depth. Exhumed outcrops within the SAF system comprised of serpentinite-bearing protolith are examined for comparison at San Simeon, Goat Rock State Park, and Nelson Creek, California. In the Phase 3 SAFOD drillcore samples, the fault-related rocks consist of multiple juxtaposed lenses of sheared, foliated siltstone and shale with block-in-matrix fabric, black cataclasite to ultracataclasite, and sheared serpentinite-bearing, finely foliated fault gouge. Meters-wide zones of sheared rock and fault gouge correlate to the sites of active borehole casing deformation and are characterized by scaly clay fabric with multiple discrete slip surfaces or anastomosing shear zones that surround conglobulated or rounded clasts of compacted clay and/or serpentinite. The fine gouge matrix is composed of Mg-rich clays and serpentine minerals (saponite ± palygorskite, and lizardite ± chrysotile). Whole-rock geochemistry data show increases in Fe-, Mg-, Ni-, and Cr-oxides and hydroxides, Fe-sulfides, and C-rich material, with a total organic content of >1 % locally in the fault-related rocks. The faults sampled in the field are composed of meters-thick zones of cohesive to non-cohesive, serpentinite-bearing foliated clay gouge and black fine-grained fault rock derived from sheared Franciscan Formation or serpentinized Coast Range Ophiolite. X-ray diffraction of outcrop samples shows that the foliated clay gouge is composed primarily of saponite and serpentinite, with localized increases in Ni- and Cr-oxides and C-rich material over several meters. Mesoscopic and microscopic textures and deformation mechanisms interpreted from the outcrop sites are remarkably similar to those observed in the SAFOD core. Micro-scale to meso-scale fabrics observed in the SAFOD core exhibit textural characteristics that are common in deformed serpentinites and are often attributed to aseismic deformation with episodic seismic slip. The mineralogy and whole-rock geochemistry results indicate that the fault zone experienced transient fluid–rock interactions with fluids of varying chemical composition, including evidence for highly reducing, hydrocarbon-bearing fluids.

Crustal scale strike slip fault zones have complex and heterogeneous permeability structures, playing an important role in fluid migration in the crust. Exhumed faults provide insights into the interplay among deformation mechanisms, fluid–rock interactions and bulk chemical redistributions. We determined the whole-rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry of the fault core of the Caleta Coloso Fault in Northern Chile, in order to constrain the physical and chemical conditions that lead to strong hydrothermal alteration. The strike-slip Caleta Coloso Fault core has a multiple-core architecture, consisting of alternate low strain rocks (protolith, weakly deformed protolith and protocataclasites) and high-strain strands (cataclasites and discrete band of ultracataclasite) derived from a Jurassic tonalite. Hydrothermal alteration associated with fault-related fluid flow is characterized by a very low-grade association consisting of chlorite, epidote, albite, quartz and calcite. Chlorite thermometry indicates T-values in the range of 284 to 352 °C, no variations in mineral composition or T-values were observed among different cataclastic units. Mass balance and volume change calculations show significantly larger chemical mobility in the protocataclasites than in the cataclasite (and ultracataclasite). This suggests that fluid flow and chemical alteration are strongly controlled by deformation being protocataclasite relatively more permeable than cataclasite. Chlorite precipitation and grain reduction in cataclasite (and ultracataclasite) would reduce permeability acting as a barrier for fluid flow. Chemical mobility and volume changes in the Coloso Fault core suggest different effective fluid/flow ratios during amalgamation of subsequent and subparallel deformation bands that finally control the fracture–channeling allowing fault-related fluid–flow into each of them.

This article is to review results from scientific drilling and fault-zone trapped waves (FZTWs) at the south Longman-Shan fault (LSF) zone that ruptured in the 2008 May 12 M8 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China. Immediately after the mainshock, two Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling (WFSD) boreholes were drilled at WFSD-1 and WFSD-2 sites approximately 400 m and 1 km west of the surface rupture along the Yinxiu-Beichuan fault (YBF), the middle fault strand of the south LSF zone. Two boreholes met the principal slip of Wenchuan earthquake along the YBF at depths of 589-m and 1230-m, respectively. The slip is accompanied with a 100–200-m-wide zone consisting of fault gouge, breccia, cataclasite and fractures. Close to WFSD-1 site, the nearly-vertical slip of ∼4.3t-m with a 190-m wide zone of highly fractured rocks restricted to the hanging wall of the YBF was found at the ground surface after the Wenchuan earthquake. A dense linear seismic array was deployed across the surface rupture at this venue to record FZTWs generated by aftershocks. Observations and 3-D finite-difference simulations of FZTWs recorded at this cross-fault array and network stations close to the YBF show a distinct low-velocity zone composed by severely damaged rocks along the south LSF at seismogenic depths. The zone is several hundred meters wide along the principal slip, within which seismic velocities are reduced by ∼30–55% from wall-rock velocities and with the maximum velocity reduction in the ∼200-m-wide rupture core zone at shallow depth. The FZTW-inferred geometry and physical properties of the south LSF rupture zone at shallow depth are in general consistent with the results from petrological and structural analyses of cores and well log at WFSD boreholes. We interpret this remarkable low-velocity zone as being a break-down zone during dynamic rupture in the 2008 M8 earthquake. We examined the FZTWS generated by similar earthquakes before and after the 2008 mainshock and observed that seismic velocities within fault core zone was reduced by ∼10% due to severe damage of fault rocks during the M8 mainshock Scientific drilling and locations of aftershocks generating prominent FZTWs also indicate rupture bifurcation along the YBF and the Anxian-Guangxian fault (AGF), two strands of the south LSF at shallow depth. A combination of seismic, petrologic and geologic study at the south LSF leads to further understand the relationship between the fault-zone structure and rupture dynamics, and the amplification of ground shaking strength along the low-velocity fault zone due to its waveguide effect.

Fault zones record a series of faulting events that have occurred under different physical conditions during their evolution. Therefore, it is essential to understand the internal structures of fault zones in order to better understand the mechanical behavior of faults. The internal structure of the Wenchuan earthquake fault zone that prevailed at the Bajiaomiao outcrop and in the WFSD-1drilling cores, located along the southern segment of the Yingxiu–Beichuan surface rupture in the Hongkou area, is described in details in this paper. Based on field surveys, X-ray diffraction analysis, microstructure and analysis of the drilling cores, an ~ 240 m-wide fault zone was confirmed as the Yingxiu–Beichuan fault zone (YBF) at the Bajiaomiao outcrop, corresponding to the ~ 100 m fault zone in the WFSD-1 drilling cores. Fault rocks, including fault breccia, fault gouge and cataclasite were identified in both the outcrop and drilling cores, while pseudotachylyte was only present at the outcrop. Two different types of gouge veins, formed by thermal pressurization and fluidization respectively, are observed in this area. The YBF possesses the characteristics of a multiple core model, and consists of 5 different fault rock units. From top to bottom, these are cataclasite zone, black fault gouge–breccia zone, gray fault breccia zone, dark-gray fault breccia zone and black fault gouge–breccia zone. Outcrop investigation and drilling core research show that the slip zone of the Wenchuan earthquake does not completely follow the ancient fault slip zone. The Wenchuan earthquake fault is a high angle thrust fault which crosses the YBF obliquely. The multi-layered fault rocks displayed in the research area might indicate that the YBF comes from the long-term fault activity and evolution over the last ~ 15–10 Ma.

Based on the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling Project (WFSD), we first investigated the distribution of the total mercury (THg) from 600 m to 1035 m of WFSD Hole-1 core (WFSD-1). The concentrations of THg in the fault gouge are significantly higher than in the sandstone, shale, siltstone, and cataclasite in WFSD-1. The THg concentrations in the main seismic fault zone range from 9.9 to 73.5 ng/g while those under the main fault range from 20.5 to 36 ng/g. To determine the source of Hg, typical rocks from different depths were chosen for Hg isotope analysis. The results show that δ202Hg in the main seismic fault zone range from − 0.11‰ to − 2.68‰, and, below the seismic fault zone, δ202Hg are from − 0.64‰ to − 1.33‰. The seismic fault rocks are more enriched in THg and have a larger variation of δ202Hg compared to the other rocks. Mercury has different isotopic compositions and fractionation mechanisms in the fault zone, which are mainly affected by the earthquake and the fluid. The mercury isotope compositions reflect the fluid activities at the main fault zone. We demonstrate that mercury stable isotope ratios could serve as an effective tool for tracing mercury sources and monitoring and predicting earthquakes.

A novel approach to determine across-fault leakage (capillary leakage) in CO2 reservoirs is presented using hybrid modeling. In this approach, two algorithms (Yielding's and Schowalter's) were concurrently used to modeled fault surfaces which removes wettability effect and greatly increased confidence in capillary leakage determination. Here, the Yielding's algorithm was mainly used to discriminate between the individual mineral compositions (based on clay content) of the fault zone, while the Schowalter's algorithm which incorporates wettability values was used to delineate potential leakage areas on the fault surfaces. Wettability values for the dominant mineral constituents for each of the fault zones (Cataclasite zone – quartz, Phyllosilicate zone – feldspars & mica, and Clays/Shale smears zone – mica/kaolinite) were selected and modeled based on the percentage of clay content. The results obtained shows reductions in the computed CO2 column heights. This suggests that the proposed approach is a better option for CO2 leakage prediction.

Illite age analysis (IAA), the method of comparing radiometric ages of successive size fractions with varying percentages of detrital illite, has been successfully applied to several rock types, including fault gouge, shales and argillaceous limestones. IAA results are presented for fi ve fault rocks, including four clay gouges and one cataclasite, from the exhumed Southern Appalachian foreland fold-thrust belt (eastern United States). Determining detrital versus authigenic illite is now an established procedure, utilizing X-ray analysis to quantify illite polytypes. Less established, however, is how to interpret 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages as a function of diagenetic grade. Both a total gas age, incorporating the recoiled argon fraction after irradiation, and a retention age (omitting the recoiled fraction) are obtained for a sample. We relate their respective use to diagenetic grade and, specifi cally, the crystallite thickness of illite. When measured crystallite sizes are equal to or smaller than that calculated from Ar recoil we use total gas ages (here ~5 nm), while for crystallites greater than ~10 nm we use retention ages. The four clay gouge ages are all the same within error and much younger than that of the cataclasite. We conclude that a major period of frontal Appalachian fault activity occurred during the early Permian (Cisuralian, 276–280 Ma) and that these foreland faults were active simultaneously as part of an internally deforming, regional thrust wedge.

Slip along faults generates wear products such as gouge layers and cataclasite zones that range in thickness from sub-millimeter to tens of meters. The properties of these zones apparently control fault strength and slip stability. Here we present a new model of wear in a three-body configuration that utilizes the damage rheology approach and considers the process as a microfracturing or damage front propagating from the gouge zone into the solid rock. The derivations for steady-state conditions lead to a scaling relation for the damage front velocity considered as the wear-rate. The model predicts that the wear-rate is a function of the shear-stress and may vanish when the shear-stress drops below the microfracturing strength of the fault host rock. The simulated results successfully fit the measured friction and wear during shear experiments along faults made of carbonate and tonalite. The model is also valid for relatively large confining pressures, small damage-induced change of the bulk modulus and significant degradation of the shear modulus, which are assumed for seismogenic zones of earthquake faults. The presented formulation indicates that wear dynamics in brittle materials in general and in natural faults in particular can be understood by the concept of a “propagating damage front” and the evolution of a third-body layer.

We report observations from a kilometer-scale thrust ramp on the Naukluft thrust, Namibia. The Naukluft thrust is a low angle thrust that was active at subgreenschist facies conditions and accommodated several tens of kilometers of displacement at the base of the Naukluft Nappe Complex in the Pan-African Damara Orogeny. The fault zone is generally planar and a few meters thick, comprising predominantly a dolomite-rich cataclasite. At the ramp, the fault-rock assemblage increases in thickness, and the hanging-wall, which elsewhere is relatively intact, contains a high density network of inclined quartz veins, subvertical dolomite and calcite veins, breccia zones, as well as injectites of cataclastic fault rock emanating from the fault surface. The geometry of the hanging-wall structures indicates local subhorizontal extension. Local tensile stress can be explained by bending in the hanging-wall as it deformed to slide above the ramp structure. High fluid pressures created dynamically during fast slip by decarbonation of carbonate fault rock, and by dewatering of the footwall under an impermeable fault during interseismic periods, led to additional reduction in local effective compressive stresses. In this location, the ramp is more optimally oriented for slip in the inferred regional stress field, and therefore likely to fail before the contiguous thrust flats that are subparallel to the maximum principal stress. As such, the ramp represents the likely location for nucleation of fault slip, which could both trigger dynamic failure of the adjacent thrust faults, and produce hanging-wall extensional structures.

[1] We examined the physical properties of an exhumed and fossilized subduction zone megasplay fault by analyzing geophysical logging data obtained by the Nobeoka Thrust Drilling Project, which provide a high-resolution transect of properties across the main fault zone. The footwall cataclasite exhibits higher averages of neutron porosity (∼7.6%) and lower values of electric resistivity (∼232 Ωm) compared to the hanging wall phyllite (∼4.8%, ∼453 Ωm). This clear contrast between the hanging wall and footwall may account for the difference in maximum burial and structural variation. Despite the contrast observed between the hanging wall and footwall in macroscopic scale, the resistivity and porosity data from both the hanging wall and footwall can be fit with a single curve using Archie's law, suggesting the similarities in microstructures and mineralogy in this low porosity range. Above the main fault core of the Nobeoka Thrust a brittle damage zone in the hanging wall contains pseudotachylyte as evidence of the seismogenic slip and does not follow Archie's law. Damage zones in the hanging wall are also observed in the modern splay fault at shallow depth in the Nankai Trough but with much thicker width, whereas the footwall damage zone is more extensive in the Nobeoka Thrust. Splay faults may exhibit strong deformation in the hanging wall in the early stage, and as fault rocks get buried deeper and as displacement and physical property contrast increase across the fault, the damage effect may eventually be enlarged in the footwall.

In this study three different sites along the ENE-trending, sinistral Salzach–Ennstal–Mariazell–Puchberg [SEMP] fault zone were investigated with respect to brittle fault zone evolution and fault re-activation. All sites crop out in Triassic carbonates (Ladinian Wetterstein limestone/–dolomite). Simultaneously (re-) activated faults were investigated with focus on fault-slip data and structural inventory of each individual fault zone. Configuration of (internal) structural elements, fault core thickness, strike direction and slip sense in addition to particle analysis of fault core cataclasites add up to three different fault types (Fault Types I, II and III). Fault Type I is classified by a complex internal fault core structure with thicknesses up to several 10s of meters and generally evolve in a strike direction of maximum shear stress (τmax). Type II faults, characterized by cataclastic fault cores with thicknesses up to 1 m, as well as Type III faults (thin solitary cataclastic layers) evolve sub-parallel to the main fault direction and in orientation according to R, R' or X shear fractures with variable (σn/τ) ratio. Progressive development from Type III to Type II and Type I faults is consistent with increasing displacement and increasing fault core width. Fault type classification and related paleostress analysis provide evidence from field observation compared to theoretical and analog models of Mohr–Coulomb fracture evolution.

Arrays of closely-spaced (approximately

The structural location of an approximately 3-km stretch of the Catalina detachment fault zone appears to have been controlled by an ultramylonite shear zone within mylonites of the Catalina–Rincon metamorphic core complex. The Catalina detachment fault zone consists of the detachment fault surface, a 3–5 m interval of cataclasite and ultracataclasite, up to ∼50 m of chlorite breccia, and a discrete subdetachment fault. Beneath the subdetachment fault is a km-scale thickness of mylonites. Progressive ductile-to-brittle shear-zone evolution of the fault-rock stratigraphy started with mylonitization, was followed by overprinting of mylonites by chlorite brecciation, and culminated in the formation of the Catalina detachment fault and associated ultracataclasites. The detachment fault is cospatial with and subparallel to the zone of chlorite breccia. The subdetachment fault is subparallel to the interval of chlorite brecciation and to the detachment fault. The ‘plane’ of projection of the approximately 30-m thick ultramylonite shear zone within the mountain of mylonite, when followed downdip, coincides with the base of the ‘chlorite breccia’ brittle shear zone. Ultramylonite is preserved in places in the immediate lower plate of the subdetachment fault. The position and orientation of the subdetachment fault appears to have been controlled by an ultramylonite shear zone within the lower-plate mylonites. The rheological properties and orientation of this ultramylonite shear zone favored its reactivation as the brittle sole fault of the zone of chloritic brecciation.

Fault zones cutting limestones and dolostones represent significant seismogenic sources worldwide. The structure of an exhumed strike-slip fault zone hosted in dolostones, the Borcola Pass Fault Zone (BPFZ, Italian Southern Alps), was studied by means of field and microstructural analysis. Ambient conditions of faulting were ca. 1.6–1.7 km and 50 °C. The BPFZ consists of a >80 m wide damage zone cut by three systems of sub-vertical secondary faults striking approximately N–S, E–W and NW–SE. N–S and E–W striking faults reactivated pre-existing Jurassic-Paleogene joints with spacing between 0.2 and 0.5 m, whereas NW–SE striking faults were newly formed during post-Paleogene activity associated with movements along the nearby Schio–Vicenza Line. The core of the BPFZ consists of dolostone fault rock lenses bound by slip zones up to 10 cm thick. Both the principal and secondary slip zones consist of cement-supported dolomitic cataclasites and dolomite-filled veins. Some slip zones contain a sub-centimeter thick “vein-like” cataclastic layer (Layer-A) located immediately beneath the slip surface that truncates another cataclasite below (Layer-B). Detailed microstructural and clast size distribution analysis suggests that Layer-A experienced fluidization (cuspate-lobate boundaries, injection structures, strong grain sorting: D < 1 for clast diameters smaller than 300 μm) possibly related to fast fault slip following seismic ruptures. In light of these observations a conceptual model is proposed for the formation of Layer-A, and the structure of the BPFZ is compared to that of an active seismogenic fault cutting carbonates.

Elastic stiffness, a critical property for stress-orientation, propagation of earthquake ruptures and associated seismic waves, and the capability of crustal rocks to store strain energy, is expected to be highly variable throughout the seismic cycle due to complex sequences of damage and healing. Post-seismic healing and exhumation-related alteration render it impossible to assess how well rock stiffness as measured in the laboratory on samples collected from fault zones represents in situ, coseismic rock stiffness at seismogenic depths. Here we estimate the in situ, coseismic stiffness of fault rocks from the pseudotachylyte-bearing Gole Larghe Fault Zone (Italian Southern Alps), using aspect ratio measurements of pseudotachylyte injection veins and numerical simulations. Aspect ratios of injection veins cutting across tonalite and cataclasite exhibit a maximum vein aperture positively correlating with vein length. To model vein opening, fault and injection veins are assumed to be filled with pressurized melt. Consistent with recent results from studies of melt lubrication we assume that the magnitude of the melt pressure is in equilibrium with the fault-normal stress and the fault vein approximately maintains constant thickness during slip. The numerical simulations of injection vein opening due to pressurized frictional melt indicate that the average in situ coseismic stiffness of the wall rocks is 5–50 times smaller than the stiffness obtained from laboratory measurements on the same rocks in their present-day state. The disagreement between laboratory measurements and simulations brings into question the appropriateness of using laboratory-derived values for rock stiffness to model coseismic processes at depth.

Rock damage during earthquake slip affects fluid migration within the fault core and the surrounding damage zone, and consequently coseismic and postseismic strength evolution. Results from the first two boreholes (Deep Fault Drilling Project DFDP-1) drilled through the Alpine fault, New Zealand, which is late in its 200–400 yr earthquake cycle, reveal a >50-m-thick “alteration zone” formed by fluid-rock interaction and mineralization above background regional levels. The alteration zone comprises cemented low-permeability cataclasite and ultramylonite dissected by clay-filled fractures, and obscures the boundary between the damage zone and fault core. The fault core contains a

We report results of a new study of the architecture of the San Jacinto fault zone in Horse Canyon, California, where stream incision has exposed a nearly continuous outcrop of the fault zone at ~ 0.4 km depth. The fault zone at this location consists of a fault core, transition zone, damage zone, and tonalitic wall rocks. We collected and analyzed samples for their bulk and grain density, geochemical data, clay mineralogy, and textural and modal mineralogy. Progressive deformation within the fault zone is characterized by mode I cracking, subsequent shearing of already fractured rock, and cataclastic flow. Grain comminution advances towards the strongly indurated cataclasite fault core. Damage progression towards the core is accompanied by a decrease in bulk and grain density, and an increase in porosity and dilational volumetric strain. Palygorskite and mixed-layer illite/smectite clay minerals are present in the damage and transition zones and are the result of hydrolysis reactions. The estimated percentage of illite in illite/smectite increases towards the fault core where the illite/smectite to illite conversion is complete, suggesting elevated temperatures that may have reached 150 °C. Chemical alteration and elemental mass changes are observed throughout the fault zone and are most pronounced in the fault core. We conclude that the observed chemical and mineralogical changes can only be produced by the interaction of fractured wall rocks and chemically active fluids that are mobilized through the fault zone by thermo-pressurization during and after seismic events. Based on the high element mobility and absence of illite/smectite in the fault core, we expect that the greatest water/rock ratios occur within the fault core. These results indicate that hot pore fluids circulate upwards through the fractured fault core and into the surrounding damage zone. Though difficult to constrain, we speculate that the site studied during this investigation may represent the top of a narrow, ephemeral hydrothermal circulation cell that dissipates heat generated from rupture events at deeper levels (> 4 km).

The internal structure of the Median Tectonic Line (MTL) fault zone and the processes that prevailed at depths are described based on an analysis of a borehole. The fault plane which defines the boundary between the Ryoke- and Sanbagawa-derived rocks dips at 56° to the north. Immediately beneath the boundary, approximately 40 m thick fractured rocks form the major strand of the MTL fault zone. The hanging wall above the boundary comprises variably deformed Ryoke granitoids, including several mylonite zones and cataclasite zones. The fault zone has evolved through a series of faulting events under temperatures ranging from 400 to 200 °C. The mineral assemblages of the mylonites and cataclasites immediately above the boundary indicate that these fault rocks were formed at temperatures of about 300 °C. These mylonites and cataclasites represent, therefore, fault rocks that formed immediately below and above the brittle–plastic transition, respectively. Development of dissolution seams in these cataclasites suggests that the cataclasite has low strength. The presence of pseudotachylytes in the cataclasite indicates the occurrence of seismicity immediately above the brittle–plastic transition. On the other hand, the very fine grain size of recrystallised quartz in the mylonites indicates high differential stress immediately below the brittle–plastic transition. It is therefore likely that the differential stresses immediately below the brittle–plastic transition are much higher than those immediately above the transition. Formation of laumontite in the major strand of the MTL fault zone occurred at temperatures of around 200 °C. The central slip zone of the major strand is about 30-cm thick, and is surrounded by thick gouge zones. This situation is favourable for thermal pressurisation during earthquake slips.

Low-grade albite- and peristerite-mylonites occur as a northeast-tapering, 200–300 m wide zone structurally above basal cataclasite on the Alpine fault (New Zealand). They form an inverted metamorphic sequence grading eastward into an ∼1-km-wide, amphibolite-facies−derived mylonite zone in the hanging wall. Their mineralogy matches low-grade protoliths that occur 100–110 km to the southeast. This displacement is compatible with distributed lateral and vertical shear within the mylonite zone since inception of significant convergence on the plate boundary in the late Neogene.

We analyze here the rupture mechanics of the 2004, M2.2 earthquake based on our observations and measurements at focal depth (Part I). This event ruptured the Archean Pretorius fault that has been inactive for at least 2 Ga, and was reactivated due to mining operations down to a depth of 3.6 km depth. Thus, it was expected that the Pretorius fault zone will fail similarly to an intact rock body independently of its ancient healed structure. Our analysis reveals a few puzzling features of the M2.2 rupture-zone: (1) the earthquake ruptured four, non-parallel, cataclasite bearing segments of the ancient Pretorius fault-zone; (2) slip occurred almost exclusively along the cataclasite-host rock contacts of the slipping segments; (3) the local in-situ stress field is not favorable to slip along any of these four segments; and (4) the Archean cataclasite is pervasively sintered and cemented to become brittle and strong. To resolve these observations, we conducted rock mechanics experiments on the fault-rocks and host-rocks and found a strong mechanical contrast between the quartzitic cataclasite zones, with elastic-brittle rheology, and the host quartzites, with damage, elastic–plastic rheology. The finite-element modeling of a heterogeneous fault-zone with the measured mechanical contrast indicates that the slip is likely to reactivate the ancient cataclasite-bearing segments, as observed, due to the strong mechanical contrast between the cataclasite and the host quartzitic rock.

Fault surface roughness is a principal factor influencing earthquake mechanics, and particularly rupture initiation, propagation, and arrest. However, little data currently exist on fault surfaces at seismogenic depths. Here, we investigate the roughness of slip surfaces from the seismogenic strike-slip Gole Larghe Fault Zone, exhumed from ca. 10 km depth. The fault zone exploited pre-existing joints and is hosted in granitoid rocks of the Adamello batholith (Italian Alps). Individual seismogenic slip surfaces generally show a first phase of cataclasite production, and a second phase with beautifully preserved pseudotachylytes of variable thickness. We determined the geometry of fault traces over almost five orders of magnitude using terrestrial laser-scanning (LIDAR, ca. 500 to\1 m scale), and 3D mosaics of high-resolution rectified digital photographs (10 m to ca. 1 mm scale). LIDAR scans and photomosaics were georeferenced in 3D using a Differential Global Positioning System, allowing detailed multiscale reconstruction of fault traces in Gocad . The combination of LIDAR and high-resolution photos has the advantage, compared with classical LIDARonly surveys, that the spatial resolution of rectified photographs can be very high (up to 0.2 mm/pixel in this study), allowing for detailed outcrop characterization. Fourier power spectrum analysis of the fault traces revealed a self-affine behaviour over 3–5 orders of magnitude, with Hurst exponents ranging between 0.6 and 0.8. Parameters from Fourier analysis have been used to reconstruct synthetic 3D fault surfaces with an equivalent roughness by means of 2D Fourier synthesis. Roughness of pre-existing joints is in a typical range for this kind of structure. Roughness of faults at small scale (1 m to 1 mm) shows a clear genetic relationship with the roughness of precursor joints, and some anisotropy in the selfaffine Hurst exponent. Roughness of faults at scales larger than net slip ([1–10 m) is not anisotropic and less evolved than at smaller scales. These observations are consistent with an evolution of roughness, due to fault surface processes, that takes place only at scales smaller or comparable to the observed net slip. Differences in roughness evolution between shallow and deeper faults, the latter showing evidences of seismic activity, are interpreted as the result of different weakening versus induration processes, which also result in localization versus delocalization of deformation in the fault zone. From a methodological point of view, the technique used here is advantageous over direct measurements of exposed fault surfaces in that it preserves, in cross-section, all of the structures which contribute to fault roughness, and removes any subjectivity introduced by the need to distinguish roughness of original slip surfaces from roughness induced by secondary weathering processes. Moreover, offsets can be measured by means of suitable markers and fault rocks are preserved, hence their thickness, composition and structural features can be characterised, providing an integrated dataset which sheds new light on mechanisms of roughness evolution with slip and concomitant fault rock production.

A segment of the Salzach-Ennstal fault zone (Talhof fault, Eastern Alps) shows evidence for joint nucleation by layer-parallel shear, causing the formation of joint-bounded slices oriented at high angles (65–85°) with respect to the shear zone boundary (SZB). Subsequent slice rotation resulted in joint reactivation as antithetic shears, slice kinking, and breaking-up of the individual slices into smaller fragments. The latter process, due to the longitudinal constraint of slices with impeded shear zone widening, marked the transition to cataclasite formation and fault core evolution during shear localization. Cataclasites were subsequently cemented and underwent continuous shear deformation by re-fracturing. Cement precipitation from fluids therefore played a fundamental role in the evolution of the fault zone, with a cyclic change between an open and a closed permeability system during fault evolution. Stable isotope compositions (δ 13 C, δ 18 O) of fault rock cements indicate a continuous equilibration between protolith-derived fragments and cements precipitated from those fluids. This points to limited fluid amounts, only temporally replenished by meteoric water, and a hydraulic gradient that directed fluid flow from the damage zone towards the fault core.

Previous studies have reported that high concentrations of H2 gas are released from active fault zones. Experimental studies suggest that the H2 gas is derived from the reaction of water with free radicals formed when silicate minerals are fractured at hypocenter depths during fault activities. However, the pathways for migration of deep-seated fluids to surface are still unknown. In this study we performed quick, multipoint H2 gas measurements across a fault zone using a portable gas monitor and a hand drill. The fault zone studied includes a smectite-rich fault core dividing two clearly distinguishable damage zones: granite cataclasite and welded tuff fault breccia. The measurements show that H2 gas emissions collected in 2–3 h sampling periods from start of measurement range from 320.3 to 446.2 ppm/min in the granite cataclasite and 60.5 to 137.8 ppm/min in the welded tuff fault breccias. Negligible quantities of H2 gas could be collected from the fault core. Particle size distribution analyses of fault rocks indicate that the granite cataclasite tends to be rich in particles that are finer, i.e., less cohesive and easy to disaggregate, which leads to the inference that the granite cataclasite has high permeability. Based on the H2 gas measurements and the particle size distribution analyses, the H2 gas is considered to have migrated in permeable damage zones mostly by advection with groundwater. Multipoint H2 gas measurement will be effective in qualitative delineation of variations in permeability of regional structures.

Pseudotachylytes and two distinct types of cataclasite in the Otago Schist at Tucker Hill, South Island, New Zealand, provide evidence for both seismic slip and aseismic creep on a normal fault zone during regional crustal extension in late Cretaceous time. Regional geologic evidence suggests that the fault had its present low-angle dip (ca. 10°) at the time it was active. ‘Type A’ cataclasites, presumably aseismic, can be recognized by bi-fractal grain size distributions, monomict composition, angular clasts of uniform textural maturity, and a crude fabric defined by oriented grains and transgranular fractures. ‘Type B’ cataclasites, possibly cosesimic, have characteristics consistent with fluidized grain flow, including heterogeneous clast shapes and types, a bimodal grain size distribution, intrusive relationships with other rocks, and the absence of any fabric or transecting fractures. Pseudotachylyte, which occurs as fault veins, injection veins and more complex types of intrusive structures, consistently cuts across and invades Type A cataclasites but is both intrusive into and included as clasts in Type B cataclasites. These relationships are consistent with a fault evolution model in which the development of a damage zone through aseismic cataclasis (Type A) facilitates the formation of pseudotachylyte in a subsequent seismic event by providing a permeable matrix through which fluids can drain in the early stages of slip, thereby maintaining frictional contact between rock surfaces. The formation of pseudotachylyte, in turn, may seal the fault zone and lead to thermal pressurization in a later seismic cycle, forming fluidized (Type B) cataclasites. Seismic slip on the low-angle normal fault zone at Tucker Hill may have occurred by two distinct modes of dynamic weakening — melt lubrication and thermal pressurization — in successive seismic events. Although there is a perception among geologists that pseudotachylyte is most likely to form in intact, crystalline rocks, geophysical models of fault zones clearly demonstrate that pseudotachylyte formation is actually suppressed in low-permeability rock because any fluids present would be unable to escape the fault zone and thermal pressurization would rapidly reduce frictional resistance. The paradigmatic occurrences of pseudotachylyte in otherwise pristine crystalline rocks probably represent somewhat exceptional circumstances (single rupture events at very high effective stress in dry rock). Coseismic frictional melts may actually be more common in hydrated rocks like the schist at Tucker Hill, but harder to recognize and also vulnerable to overprinting as a fault zone matures. In such rocks, pseudotachylyte may represent an intermediate stage in the evolution of a fault zone, the period between the formation of a high-permeability damage zone and the development of a low-permeability fault core.

A study of normal faults in the Nubian Sandstone Sequence, from the eastern Gulf of Suez rift, has been conducted to investigate the relationship between the microstructure and petrophysical properties of cataclasites developed along seismic-scale faults (slip-surface cataclasites) and smaller displacement faults (deformation bands) found in their damage zones. The results help to quantify the uncertainty associated with predicting the fluid flow behaviour of seismic-scale faults by analysing small faults recovered from core, a common procedure in the petroleum industry. The microstructure of the cataclasites was analysed as well as their single-phase permeability and threshold pressure. Faulting occurred at a maximum burial depth of ∼1.2 km. The permeability of deformation band and slip-surface cataclasites varies over ∼1.5 orders of magnitude for a given fault. Our results suggest that the lowest measured deformation band permeabilities provide a good estimate for the arithmetic-mean permeability of the major slip-surface cataclasites. This is because the cataclastic permeability reduction is mostly established early in the deformation history. Stress at the time of faulting rather than final strain appears to be the critical factor determining fault rock permeability. For viable predictions it is important that the slip-surface cataclasites and deformation bands originate from the same host. On the other hand, a higher uncertainty is associated with threshold pressure predictions, as the arithmetic-mean slip-surface cataclasite threshold pressure exceeds the highest measured deformation band threshold pressure by at least a factor of 4.

In order to reconstruct the architectural evolution of a fault zone with heterogeneous structures, we studied the Atera Fault in Central Japan, and described the detailed mesoscopic and microscopic features of the zone. The fault zone studied consists of a 1.2-m wide fault core of fault breccia mixed with fragments derived from welded tuff, granite, and mafic volcanic rocks. The 1.2-m wide fault core is bordered by a western damage zone characterized by a welded tuff fault breccia and an eastern damage zone characterized by a granite cataclasite. A secondary fault core, a 30-cm wide granite-derived fault gouge, cross-cuts the granite cataclasite. Although welded tuff fault breccia and granite cataclasite are also pervasively fractured and fragmented, the fault cores are significantly affected by fragment size reduction due to intense abrasive wear and comminution. The 1.2-m wide fault core includes fragments and a sharp dark layer composed of mafic volcanic rocks, which can be correlated with neighboring 1.6 Ma volcanic rocks. This observation places a younger constraint on the age of the fault core formation. Carbonate coating on basalt fragments in the 1.2-m wide fault core has also been fractured indicating the repetition of intense fragmentation. Bifurcated, black and gray veins near the 1.2-m wide fault core are likely injection veins, formed by the rapid injection of fine material within fault zones during seismic events. The granite-derived fault gouge, characterized by hard granite fragments without intense brecciation and microfracturing, in a kaolinite-rich clay matrix, is interpreted as the most recent slip zone within the exposed fault zone. A preview of published geological and hydrological studies of several fault zones shows that clay-rich fault cores can exhibit much lower permeability than the adjacent damage zones represented in this present case by the welded tuff fault breccia and granite cataclasite.