Fluid-mediated, brittle-ductile deformation at seismogenic depth: Part II – Stress history and fluid pressure variations in a shear zone in a nuclear waste repository (Olkiluoto Island, Finland)

Microstructural record of fault rocks active at the brittle ductile transition zone (BDTZ) may retain information on the rheological parameters driving the switch in deformation mode, and on the role of stress and fluid pressure in controlling different fault slip behaviours. In this study we analysed the deformation microstructures of the strike-slip fault zone BFZ045 in Olkiluoto (SW Finland), located in the site of a deep geological repository for nuclear waste. We combined microstructural analysis, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and mineral chemistry data to reconstruct the variations in pressure, temperature, fluid pressure and differential stress that mediated deformation and strain localization along BFZ045 across the BDTZ. BFZ045 exhibits a mixed ductile-brittle deformation, with a narrow (