Fault localization controlled by fluid infiltration into mylonites: Formation and strength of low-angle normal faults in the midcrustal brittle-plastic transition

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

Volumn 117, Issue 6, 2012, Pages

  Selverstone, Jane ^a   Axen, Gary J ^b   Luther, Amy ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO   (United States)

^b NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BRITTLE DEFORMATION; CRUSTAL THICKNESS; EPIDOTE; FAULT SLIP; FLUID INCLUSION; INFILTRATION; MYLONITE; NORMAL FAULT; RUPTURE; SHEAR STRESS; SOURCE ROCK; TITANITE;

CALIFORNIA; UNITED STATES; WHIPPLE MOUNTAINS;

EID: 84863309200     PISSN: 21699313     EISSN: 21699356     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2012JB009171     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. Anderson, J. (1988), Core complexes of the Mojave-Sonoran Desert: Conditions of plutonism, mylonitization, and decompression, in Metamorphism and Crustal Evolution of the Western United States, Rubey, vol. 7, edited by W. Ernst, pp. 502-525, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.
2. Anderson, J. L., M. C. Rowley, J. E. Spencer, S. J. Reynolds, G. A. Davis, S. E. Laubach, S. M. Richard, and S. Marshak (1981), Synkinematic intrusion of peraluminous and associated metaluminous granitic magmas, Whipple Mountains, California field-trip guide to parts of the Harquahala, Granite Wash, Whipple, and Buckskin Mountains, west-central Arizona and southeastern California, Can. Mineral., 19(1), 83-101.
3. Anderson, J., A. Barth, and E. Young (1988), Mid-crustal Cretaceous roots of Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes, Geology, 16(4), 366-369, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016<0366:MCCROC>2.3.CO;2.
4. Axen, G. (1992), Pore pressure, stress increase, and fault weakening in low-angle normal faulting, J. Geophys. Res., 97(B6), 8979-8991, doi:10.1029/92JB00517.
5. Axen, G. (2004), Mechanics of low-angle normal faults, in Rheology and Deformation in the Lithosphere at Continental Margins, edited by G. D. Karner et al., pp. 46-91, Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
6. Axen, G. (2007), Research focus: Significance of large-displacement, low-angle normal faults, Geology, 35(3), 287-288, doi:10.1130/0091- 7613(2007)35[287:RFSOLL]2.0.CO;2.
7. Axen, G., and J. Selverstone (1994), Stress state and fluid-pressure level along the Whipple detachment fault, Calif. Geol., 22(9), 835-838.
8. Axen, G., J. Selverstone, and T. Wawrzyniec (2001), High-temperature embrittlement of extensional Alpine mylonite zones in the midcrustal ductile-brittle transition, J. Geophys. Res., 106(B3), 4337-4348, doi:10.1029/2000JB900372.
9. Beratan, K. K. (1991), Miocene synextension sedimentation patterns, Whipple Mountains, southeastern California: Implications for the geometry of the Whipple detachment system, J. Geophys. Res., 96(B7), 12,425-12,442, doi:10.1029/91JB00596.
10. Bodnar, R., and M. Vityk (1994), Interpretation of microthermometric data for H2O-NaCl fluid inclusions, in Fluid Inclusions in Minerals: Methods and Applications, edited by B. De Vivo and M. L. Frezzotti, pp. 117-130, Va. Polytech. and State Univ., Blacksburg.
11. Brace, W. F., and D. L. Kohlstedt (1980), Limits of lithospheric stress imposed by laboratory experiments, J. Geophys. Res., 85(B11), 6248-6252, doi:10.1029/JB085iB11p06248.
12. Byerlee, J. D., and J. C. Savage (1992), Coulomb plasticity within the fault zone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19(23), 2341-2344, doi:10.1029/92GL02370.
13. Collettini, C. (2011), The mechanical paradox of low-angle normal faults: Current understanding and open questions, Tectonophysics, 510(3-4), 253-268, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2011.07.015.
14. Collettini, C., and R. Holdsworth (2004), Fault zone weakening and character of slip along low-angle normal faults: Insights from the Zuccale fault, Elba, Italy, J. Geol. Soc., 161, 1039-1051, doi:10.1144/0016-764903-179.
15. Connolly, J. A. D. (2009), The geodynamic equation of state: What and how, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 10, Q10014, doi:10.1029/2009GC002540.
16. Cowan, D. S., T. T. Cladouhos, and J. K. Morgan (2003), Structural geology and kinematic history of rocks formed along low-angle normal faults, Death Valley, California, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 115(10), 1230-1248, doi:10.1130/B25245.1.
17. Cox, S. F. (2002), Fluid flow in mid- to deep crustal shear systems: Experimental constraints, observations on exhumed high fluid flux shear systems, and implications for seismogenic processes, Earth Planets Space, 54(11), 1121-1125.
18. Cox, S. F. (2010), The application of failure mode diagrams for exploring the roles of fluid pressure and stress states in controlling styles of fracture-controlled permeability enhancement in faults and shear zones, Geofluids, 10, 217-233.
19. Davis, G. A. (1988), Rapid upward transport of mid-crustal mylonitic gneisses in the footwall of a Miocene detachment fault, Whipple Mountains, southeastern California, Geol. Rundsch., 77(1), 191-209, doi:10.1007/BF01848684.
20. Davis, G. A., and J. L. Anderson (1991), Low-angle normal faulting and rapid uplift of mid-crustal rocks in the Whipple Mountains metamorphic core complex, southeastern California; discussion and field guide, in Geologocal Excursions in Southern California and Mexico, edited by M. J. Walawender and B. B. Hanan, pp. 417-446, San Diego State Univ., San Diego, Calif.
21. Davis, G. A., and G. S. Lister (1988), Detachment faulting in continental extension: Perspectives from the wouthwestern U.S. Cordillera, Spec. Pap. Geol. Soc. Am., 218, 133-159.
22. Davis, G. H. (1983), Shear-zone model for the origin of metamorphic core complexes, Geology, 11, 342-347, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1983) 11<342:SMFTOO>2.0.CO;2.
23. Diamond, L. W. (2001), Review of the systematics of CO2-H2O fluid inclusions, Lithos, 55(1-4), 69-99, doi:10.1016/S0024-4937(00)00039-6.
24. Dorsey, R. J., and U. Becker (1995), Evolution of a large Miocene growth structure in the upper plate of the Whipple detachment fault, northeastern Whipple Mountains, California, Basin Res., 7(2), 151-163, doi:10.1111/j.1365- 2117.1995.tb00101.x.
25. Faulkner, D. R., T. M. Mitchell, D. Healy, and M. J. Heap (2006), Slip on 'weak' faults by the rotation of regional stress in the fracture damage zone, Nature, 444(7121), 922-925, doi:10.1038/nature05353.
26. Fricke, H. C., S. M. Wickham, and J. R. Oneil (1992), Oxygen and hydrogen isotope evidence for meteoric water infiltation during mylonitization and uplift in the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range core complex, Nevada, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 111(2), 203-221, doi:10.1007/BF00348952.
27. Grant, J. A. (1986), The isocon diagram-a simple solution to Gresens' equation for metasomatic alteration, Econ. Geol., 81, 1976-1982, doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.81.8.1976.
28. Gratier, J. P., and F. Gueydan (2007), Deformation in the presence of fluids and mineral reactions: Effect of fracturing and fluid-rock interaction on seismic cycles, in Tectonic Faults: Agents of Change on a Dynamic Earth, edited by M. R. Handy, G. Hirth, and N. Hovius, pp. 319-356, Mass. Inst. of Technol. Press, Cambridge.
29. Hardebeck, J. L., and A. J. Michael (2004), Stress orientations at intermediate angles to the San Andreas Fault, California, J. Geophys. Res., 109, B11303 doi:10.1029/2004JB003239.
30. Healy, D. (2009), Anisotropy, pore fluid pressure and low angle normal faults, J. Struct. Geol., 31(6), 561-574, doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2009.03.001.
31. Hickman, S., and M. Zoback (2004), Stress orientations and magnitudes in the SAFOD pilot hole, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L15S12, doi:10.1029/2004GL020043.
32. Holk, G. J., and H. P. Taylor (2007), 18O/16O evidence for contrasting hydrothermal regimes involving magmatic and meteoric-hydrothermal waters at the Valhalla metamorphic core complex, British Columbia, Econ. Geol., 102(6), 1063-1078, doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.102.6.1063.
33. Holyoke, C. W., and J. Tullis (2006), Formation and maintenance of shear zones, Geology, 34(2), 105-108, doi:10.1130/G22116.1.
34. Hövelmann, J., A. Putnis, T. Geisler, B. C. Schmidt, and U. Golla-Schindler (2010), The replacement of plagioclase feldspars by albite: Observations from hydrothermal experiments, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 159(1), 43-59, doi:10.1007/s00410-009-0415-4.
35. Ingebritsen, S. E., and C. E. Manning (1999), Geological implications of a permeability-depth curve for the continental crust, Geology, 27, 1107-1110, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<1107:GIOAPD>2.3.CO;2.
36. Lachenbruch, A. H., and J. H. Sass (1980), Heat flow and energetics of the San Andreas fault zone, J. Geophys. Res., 85(B11), 6185-6222, doi:10.1029/JB085iB11p06185.
37. Lister, G. S., and G. A. Davis (1989), The origin of metamorphic core complexes and detachment faults formed during Tertiary continental extension in the northern Colorado River region, U.S.A., J. Struct. Geol., 11(1-2), 65-94, doi:10.1016/0191-8141(89)90036-9.
38. Lockner, D. A., and J. D. Byerlee (1993), How geometrical constraints contribute to the weakness of mature faults, Nature, 363(6426), 250-252, doi:10.1038/363250a0.
39. Luther, A., G. J. Axen, and J. Selverstone (2011), Temporal and spatial stress-field reorientation in the footwall of two low-angle normal faults: Implications for fault weakening and earthquake stress drops, Abstract T33E-2470 presented at 2011 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 5-9 Dec.
40. Marone, C., B. E. Hobbs, and A. Ord (1992), Coulomb constitutitive laws for friction : Contrasts in frictional behavior for distributed and localized shear, Pure Appl. Geophys., 139(2), 195-214, doi:10.1007/BF00876327.
41. Massironi, M., A. Bistacchi, and L. Menegon (2011), Misoriented faults in exhumed metamorphic complexes: Rule or exception?, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 307(1-2), 233-239, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.04.041.
42. Morrison, J. (1994), Meteoric water-rock interaction in the lower plate of the Whipple Mountain metamorphic core complex, California, J. Metamorph. Geol., 12(6), 827-840, doi:10.1111/j.1525-1314.1994.tb00062.x.
43. Person, M., A. Mulch, C. Teyssier, and Y. L. Gao (2007), Isotope transport and exchange within metamorphic core complexes, Am. J. Sci., 307(3), 555-589, doi:10.2475/03.2007.01.
44. Rice, J. R. (1992), Fault stress states, pore pressure distributions, and the weakness of the San Andreas fault, in Fault Mechanics and Transport Properties of Rocks, edited by B. Evans and T. F. Wong, pp. 475-503, Academic, London, doi:10.1016/S0074-6142(08)62835-1.
45. Saffer, D. M., B. A. Bekins, and S. Hickman (2003), Topographically driven groundwater flow and the San Andreas heat flow paradox revisited, J. Geophys. Res., 108(B5), 2274, doi:10.1029/2002JB001849.
46. Scholz, C. H. (2000), Evidence for a strong San Andreas fault, Geology, 28(2), 163-166, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<163:EFASSA>2.0.CO;2.
47. Segall, P., and D. D. Pollard (1983), Nucleation and growth of strike-slip faults in granite, J. Geophys. Res., 88(B1), 555-568, doi:10.1029/JB088iB01p00555.
48. Selverstone, J., G. Morteani, and J. M. Staude (1991), Fluid channeling during ductile shearing: Transformation of granodiorite Into aluminous schist in the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps, J. Metamorph. Geol., 9(4), 419-431, doi:10.1111/j.1525-1314.1991.tb00536.x.
49. Shmulovich, K., C. Graham, and B. Yardley (2001), Quartz, albite and diopside solubilities in H2O-NaCl and H2O-CO2 fluids at 0.5-0.9 GPa, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 141(1), 95-108, doi:10.1007/s004100000224.
50. Sibson, R. H. (1986), Brecciation processes in fault zones: Inferences from earthquake rupturing, Pure Appl. Geophys., 124(1-2), 159-175, doi:10.1007/BF00875724.
51. Sibson, R. H. (2003), Brittle-failure controls on maximum sustainable overpressure in different tectonic regimes, AAPG Bull., 87(6), 901-908, doi:10.1306/01290300181.
52. Sibson, R. H. (2007), Au-quartz mineralization near the base of the continental seismogenic zone, in Deformation of the Continental Crust: The Legacy of Mike Coward, edited by A. C. Ries, R. W. H. Butler, and R. H. Graham, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 519-532, doi:10.1144/GSL. SP.2007.272.01.26.
53. Spencer, J. E., and C. G. Chase (1989), Role of crustal flexure in initiation of low-angle normal faults and implications for structural evolution of the Basin and Range province, J. Geophys. Res., 94(B2), 1765-1775, doi:10.1029/JB094iB02p01765.
54. Steele-MacInnis, M., R. J. Bodnar, and J. Naden (2011), Numerical model to determine the composition of H2O-NaCl-CaCl2 fluid inclusions based on microthermometric and microanalytical data, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 75(1), 21-40, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2010.10.002.
55. Stünitz, H. (1993), Transition from fracturing to viscous flow in a naturally deformed metagabbro, in Defects and Processes in the Solid State: Geoscience Applications, edited by J. N. Boland and J. D. FitzGerald, pp. 121-150, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
56. Townend, J., and M. D. Zoback (2004), Regional tectonic stress near the San Andreas fault in central and southern California, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L15S11, doi:10.1029/2003GL018918.
57. Westaway, R. (2001), The mechanical feasibility of low-angle normal faulting, Tectonophysics, 341(1-4), 237-238, doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(01) 00192-5.
58. Woodcock, N. H., and K. Mort (2008), Classification of fault breccias and related fault rocks, Geol. Mag., 145(3), 435-440, doi:10.1017/ S0016756808004883.
59. Yin, A. (1991), Mechanisms for the formation of domal and basinal detachment faults: A three-dimensional analysis, J. Geophys. Res., 96(B9), 14,577-14,594, doi:10.1029/91JB01113.