Snap, crackle, Pop: Dilational fault breccias record seismic slip below the brittle-plastic transition

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Volumn 403, Issue , 2014, Pages 432-445

  Melosh, Ben L ^a   Rowe, Christie D ^a,b   Smit, Louis ^b   Groenewald, Conrad ^c,d   Lambert, Christopher W ^c,d   Macey, Paul ^c  

^a MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN   (South Africa)

^c Western Cape Regional Office   (South Africa)

^d STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Brittle plastic transition; Dilational fault breccia; Dynamic fracture; Earthquake; Paleoseismic tool; Particle size distribution

Indexed keywords

BRITTLE FRACTURE; CRACKS; DUCTILE FRACTURE; EARTHQUAKES; FAULTING; PARTICLE SIZE ANALYSIS; QUARTZ;

BRITTLE-DUCTILE TRANSITION ZONE; BRITTLE-PLASTIC TRANSITION; DYNAMIC FRACTURES; EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDES; EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE; FAULT BRECCIA; MODELING OF DYNAMICS; ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE;

ROCKS;

BRECCIA; BRITTLE FRACTURE; DILATION; EARTHQUAKE MECHANISM; EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE; FRACTURE NETWORK; GEOLOGICAL RECORD; IDENTIFICATION METHOD; PALEOSEISMICITY; PARTICLE SIZE; PLASTICITY; SHEAR ZONE; SIZE DISTRIBUTION; SLIP; TEXTURE; TRANSITION ZONE;

NAMIBIA;

EID: 84905463192     PISSN: 0012821X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2014.07.002     Document Type: Article

References (104)

1. L using seismograms recorded at 2.5-km depth. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth (1978-2012) 1995, 100(B12):24015-24036.
2. Abercrombie R., Leary P. Source parameters of small earthquakes recorded at 2.5 km depth, Cajon Pass, southern California: implications for earthquake scaling. Geophys. Res. Lett. 1993, 20(14):1511-1514.
3. Abraham F.F., Brodbeck D., Rafey R., Rudge W. Instability dynamics of fracture: a computer simulation investigation. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1994, 73(2):272.
4. Allegre C., Le Mouel J., Provost A. Scaling rules in rock fracture and possible implications for earthquake prediction. Nature 1982, 297:47-49.
5. Bai T., Pollard D.D. Closely spaced fractures in layered rocks: initiation mechanism and propagation kinematics. J. Struct. Geol. 2000, 22(10):1409-1425.
6. Bai T., Pollard D.D. Fracture spacing in layered rocks: a new explanation based on the stress transition. J. Struct. Geol. 2000, 22(1):43-57.
7. Biegel R.L., Sammis C.G., Dieterich J.H. The frictional properties of a simulated gouge having a fractal particle distribution. J. Struct. Geol. 1989, 11(7):827-846.
8. Billi A. Grain size distribution and thickness of breccia and gouge zones from thin (<1m) strike-slip fault cores in limestone. J. Struct. Geol. 2005, 27(10):1823-1837.
9. Billi A., Storti F. Fractal distribution of particle size in carbonate cataclastic rocks from the core of a regional strike-slip fault zone. Tectonophysics 2004, 384(1):115-128.
10. Billi A., Salvini F., Storti F. The damage zone-fault core transition in carbonate rocks: implications for fault growth, structure and permeability. J. Struct. Geol. 2003, 25(11):1779-1794.
11. Bjørk T. Quantification and modeling of deformation processes: motivated by observations from the contact to the Hornelen Basin, Bremangerland 2006, Master's thesis, Physics of Geological Processes (PGP), Department of Physics, University of Oslo.
12. Bjørk T. Gray scale image analysis: image analysis program for use with matlab http://folk.uio.no/torbjoeb/image_analysis/.
13. Bjørk T., Mair K., Austrheim H. Quantifying granular material and deformation: advantages of combining grain size, shape, and mineral phase recognition analysis. J. Struct. Geol. 2009, 31(7):637-653.
14. Blenkinsop T. Cataclasis and processes of particle size reduction. Pure Appl. Geophys. 1991, 136(1):59-86.
15. Blenkinsop T., Fernandes T. Fractal characterization of particle size distributions in chromitites from the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe. Pure Appl. Geophys. 2000, 157(4):505-522.
16. Buhl E., Kowitz A., Elbeshausen D., Sommer F., Dresen G., Poelchau M.H., Reimold W.U., Schmitt R.T., Kenkmann T. Particle size distribution and strain rate attenuation in hypervelocity impact and shock recovery experiments. J. Struct. Geol. 2013, 56:20-33.
17. Clark C., Mumm A.S., Collins A.S. A coupled micro- and macrostructural approach to the analysis of fluid induced brecciation, Curnamona Province, South Australia. J. Struct. Geol. 2006, 28(5):745-761.
18. Cowan D. Do faults preserve a record of seismic slip? A field geologist's opinion. J. Struct. Geol. 1999, 21:995-1001.
19. Coward M. Shear zones in the Precambrian crust of southern Africa. J. Struct. Geol. 1980, 2(1):19-27.
20. Delaney P.T., Pollard D.D., Ziony J.I., McKee E.H. Field relations between dikes and joints: emplacement processes and paleostress analysis. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth 1986, 91(B5):4920-4938.
21. Di Toro G., Nielsen S., Pennacchioni G. Earthquake rupture dynamics frozen in exhumed ancient faults. Nature 2005, 436(7053):1009-1012.
22. Freund L.B. Dynamic Fracture Mechanics 1990, Cambridge University Press.
23. Glazner A.F., Mills R.D. Interpreting two-dimensional cuts through broken geologic objects: fractal and non-fractal size distributions. Geosphere 2012, 8(4):902-914.
24. Grady D., Kipp M. Dynamic rock fragmentation. Fracture Mechanics of Rock 1987, 429-475. Academic Press, London. B.K. Atkinson (Ed.).
25. Griffith W.A., Di Toro G., Pennacchioni G., Pollard D.D., Nielsen S. Static stress drop associated with brittle slip events on exhumed faults. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth 2009, 114(B2).
26. Griffith W.A., Rosakis A., Pollard D.D., Ko C.W. Dynamic rupture experiments elucidate tensile crack development during propagating earthquake ruptures. Geology 2009, 37(9):795-798.
27. Griffith W.A., Mitchell T.M., Renner J., Di Toro G. Coseismic damage and softening of fault rocks at seismogenic depths. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2012, 353:219-230.
28. Gross M.R. The origin and spacing of cross joints: examples from the Monterey Formation, Santa Barbara coastline, California. J. Struct. Geol. 1993, 15(6):737-751.
29. Hadizadeh J., Johnson W.K. Estimating local strain due to comminution in experimental cataclastic textures. J. Struct. Geol. 2003, 25(11):1973-1979.
30. Harris R.A., Archuleta R.J., Day S.M. Fault steps and the dynamic rupture process: 2-D numerical simulations of a spontaneously propagating shear fracture. Geophys. Res. Lett. 1991, 18(5):893-896.
31. Hattori I., Yamamoto H. Rock fragmentation and particle size in crushed zones by faulting. J. Geol. 1999, 107(2):209-222.
32. Heilbronner R., Keulen N. Grain size and grain shape analysis of fault rocks. Tectonophysics 2006, 427(1):199-216.
33. Hobbs B., Ord A., Teyssier C. Earthquakes in the ductile regime?. Pure Appl. Geophys. 1986, 124(1-2):309-336.
34. Ide S., Aochi H. Earthquakes as multiscale dynamic ruptures with heterogeneous fracture surface energy. J. Geophys. Res. 2005, 110(B11303).
35. Ide S., Beroza G.C. Does apparent stress vary with earthquake size?. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2001, 28(17):3349-3352.
36. Isida M., Noguchi H. Stress intensity factors at tips of branched cracks under various loadings. Int. J. Fract. 1992, 54(4):293-316.
37. Jébrak M. Hydrothermal breccias in vein-type ore deposits: a review of mechanisms, morphology and size distribution. Ore Geol. Rev. 1997, 12(3):111-134.
38. Joubert P. Wrench-fault tectonics in the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex. Chamb. Mines Precambr. Res. Unit Bull. 1974, vol. 15:17-26.
39. Kanamori H. The energy release in great earthquakes. J. Geophys. Res. 1977, 82(20):2981-2987.
40. Kanamori H., Brodsky E.E. The physics of earthquakes. Rep. Prog. Phys. 2004, 67(8):1429.
41. Keulen N., Heilbronner R., Stünitz H., Boullier A.-M., Ito H. Grain size distributions of fault rocks: a comparison between experimentally and naturally deformed granitoids. J. Struct. Geol. 2007, 29(8):1282-1300.
42. Kirkpatrick J.D., Rowe C.D. Disappearing ink: how pseudotachylytes are lost from the rock record. J. Struct. Geol. 2013, 52:183-198.
43. Lachenbruch A.H., Sass J. Heat flow in the United States and the thermal regime of the crust. Geophys. Monogr. 1977, vol. 20:626-675.
44. Lambert C. Granitic melt transport and emplacement along transcurrent shear zones: case study of the Pofadder Shear Zone in South Africa and Namibia 2013, Master's thesis, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, 145 pp.
45. Lay T., Wallace T.C. Modern Global Seismology 1995, vol. 58. Academic Press, New York.
46. Lin A. Injection veins of crushing-originated pseudotachylyte and fault gouge formed during seismic faulting. Eng. Geol. 1996, 43(2):213-224.
47. Lin A. Seismic slip recorded by fluidized ultracataclastic veins formed in a coseismic shear zone during the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. Geology 2011, 39(6):547-550.
48. Lin A., Fu B., Guo J., Zeng Q., Dang G., He W., Zhao Y. Co-seismic strike-slip and rupture length produced by the 2001 Ms 8.1 Central Kunlun earthquake. Science 2002, 296(5575):2015-2017.
49. Lin S., Jiang D., Williams P.F. Importance of differentiating ductile slickenside striations from stretching lineations and variation of shear direction across a high-strain zone. J. Struct. Geol. 2007, 29(5):850-862.
50. Luther A., Axen G., Selverstone J. Particle-size distributions of low-angle normal fault breccias: implications for slip mechanisms on weak faults. J. Struct. Geol. 2013, 55:50-61.
51. MacClaren A. The geology of the area east of Pofadder with emphasis on shearing associated with the Pofadder Lineament, Northwest Cape 1988, Master's thesis, University of Cape Town.
52. Mandelbrot B.B. The Fractal Geometry of Nature 1982, Freeman and Co., New York.
53. Marone C., Scholz C. Particle-size distribution and microstructures within simulated fault gouge. J. Struct. Geol. 1989, 11(7):799-814.
54. Micklethwaite S., Cox S.F. Fault-segment rupture, aftershock-zone fluid flow, and mineralization. Geology 2004, 32(9):813-816.
55. Monzawa N., Otsuki K. Comminution and fluidization of granular fault materials: implications for fault slip behavior. Tectonophysics 2003, 367(1):127-143.
56. Ngo D., Huang Y., Rosakis A., Griffith W., Pollard D. Off-fault tensile cracks: a link between geological fault observations, lab experiments, and dynamic rupture models. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth 2012, 117(B1).
57. Okamoto S., Kimura G., Takizawa S., Yamaguchi H., et al. Earthquake fault rock indicating a coupled lubrication mechanism. eEarth Discuss. 2006, 1(2):135-149.
58. Passchier C.W., Trouw R.A. Microtectonics 2005, Springer, New York.
59. Pavlis T.L., Serpa L.F., Keener C. Role of seismogenic processes in fault-rock development: an example from death valley, California. Geology 1993, 21(3):267-270.
60. Pollard D., Segall P. Theoretical displacements and stresses near fractures in rock: with applications to faults, joints, veins, dikes, and solution surfaces. Fracture Mechanics of Rock 1987, 277-349.
61. Price N.J. Fault and Joint Development in Brittle and Semi-Brittle Rock 1966, vol. 1. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
62. Ravi-Chandar K., Knauss W. An experimental investigation into dynamic fracture: II microstructural aspects. Int. J. Fract. 1984, 26(1):65-80.
63. Reches Z., Dewers T.A. Gouge formation by dynamic pulverization during earthquake rupture. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2005, 235(1):361-374.
64. Rice J. Heating and weakening of faults during earthquake slip. J. Geophys. Res. 2006, 111:B05311.
65. Riley P., Tikoff B. Tabular fracture clusters: dynamic fracturing produced by volatile expulsion, Sierra Nevada Batholith, California. J. Struct. Geol. 2010, 32(10):1488-1499.
66. Rockwell T., Sisk M., Girty G., Dor O., Wechsler N., Ben-Zion Y. Chemical and physical characteristics of pulverized Tejon Lookout Granite adjacent to the San Andreas and Garlock faults: implications for earthquake physics. Mechanics, Structure and Evolution of Fault Zones 2010, 1725-1746. Springer.
67. Rosakis A.J. Intersonic shear cracks and fault ruptures. Adv. Phys. 2002, 51(4):1189-1257.
68. Rosakis A.J., Samudrala O., Coker D. Intersonic shear crack growth along weak planes. Mater. Res. Innov. 2000, 3(4):236-243.
69. Rowe C., Kirkpatrick J., Brodsky E. Fault rock injections record paleo-earthquakes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2012, 335:154-166.
70. Sagy A., Korngreen D. Dynamic branched fractures in pulverized rocks from a deep borehole. Geology 2012, 40(9):799-802.
71. Sagy A., Reches Z., Roman I. Dynamic fracturing: field and experimental observations. J. Struct. Geol. 2001, 23(8):1223-1239.
72. Sagy A., Cohen G., Reches Z., Fineberg J. Dynamic fracture of granular material under quasi-static loading. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2006, 111:B04406.
73. Sammis C.G., Biegel R.L. Fractals, fault-gouge, and friction. Pure Appl. Geophys. 1989, 131(1-2):255-271.
74. Sammis C., King G., Biegel R. The kinematics of gouge deformation. Pure Appl. Geophys. 1987, 125(5):777-812.
75. Samudrala O., Huang Y., Rosakis A. Subsonic and intersonic shear rupture of weak planes with a velocity weakening cohesive zone. J. Geophys. Res. 2002, 107(B8):2170.
76. Scholz C. The brittle-plastic transition and the depth of seismic faulting. Geol. Rundsch. 1988, 77(1):319-328.
77. Scholz C. Earthquakes and friction laws. Nature 1998, 391(6662):37-42.
78. Scholz C. The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting 2002, Cambridge University Press, New York.
79. Sharon E., Fineberg J. Microbranching instability and the dynamic fracture of brittle materials. Phys. Rev. B 1996, 54(10):7128.
80. Sharon E., Gross S.P., Fineberg J. Energy dissipation in dynamic fracture. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1996, 76(12):2117-2120.
81. Sibson R. Fault rocks and fault mechanisms. J. Geol. Soc. 1977, 133(3):191-213.
82. Sibson R. Transient discontinuities in ductile shear zones. J. Struct. Geol. 1980, 2(1):165-171.
83. Sibson R. Continental fault structure and the shallow earthquake source. J. Geol. Soc. 1983, 140(5):741-767.
84. Sibson R.H. Roughness at the base of the seismogenic zone: contributing factors. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth 1984, 89(B7):5791-5799.
85. Sibson R. Stopping of earthquake ruptures at dilational fault jogs. Nature 1985, 316:248-251.
86. Sibson R. Brecciation processes in fault zones: inferences from earthquake rupturing. Pure Appl. Geophys. 1986, 124(1):159-175.
87. Sibson R. Earthquake faulting as a structural process. J. Struct. Geol. 1989, 11(1):1-14.
88. Sibson R., Moore J., Rankin A. Seismic pumping - a hydrothermal fluid transport mechanism. J. Geol. Soc. 1975, 131(6):653-659.
89. Stipp M., Stünitz H., Heilbronner R., Schmid S.M. The eastern Tonale fault zone: a natural laboratory for crystal plastic deformation of quartz over a temperature range from 250 to 700°C. J. Struct. Geol. 2002, 24(12):1861-1884.
90. Stirling M., Wesnousky S., Shimazaki K. Fault trace complexity, cumulative slip, and the shape of the magnitude-frequency distribution for strike-slip faults: a global survey. Geophys. J. Int. 2007, 124(3):833-868.
91. Storti F., Billi A., Salvini F. Particle size distributions in natural carbonate fault rocks: insights for non-self-similar cataclasis. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2003, 206(1):173-186.
92. Storti F., Balsamo F., Salvini F. Particle shape evolution in natural carbonate granular wear material. Terra Nova 2007, 19(5):344-352.
93. Sylvester A. Strike-slip faults. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 1988, 100(11):1666-1703.
94. Toogood D.J. Structural and Metamorphic Evolution of a Gneiss Terrain in the Namaqua Belt Near Onseepkans, South West Africa. Chamb. Mines Precambr. Res. Unit Bull. 1976, vol. 19. University of Cape Town, Department of Geology.
95. Toy V., Prior D., Norris R. Quartz fabrics in the Alpine Fault mylonites: influence of pre-existing preferred orientations on fabric development during progressive uplift. J. Struct. Geol. 2008, 30(5):602-621.
96. Tse S., Rice J. Crustal earthquake instability in relation to the depth variation of frictional slip properties. J. Geophys. Res. 1986, 91(B9):9452-9472.
97. Turcotte D. Fractals and fragmentation. J. Geophys. Res., Solid Earth 1986, 91(B2):1921-1926.
98. USGS and Japan ASTER Program, 2013. ASTER scene AST_L1A_003_2123463321, 1A, USGS, Sioux Falls, 2013/3/20.
99. Valenta R., Cartwright I., Oliver N. Structurally controlled fluid flow associated with breccia vein formation. J. Metamorph. Geol. 1994, 12(2):197-206.
100. Weatherley D.K., Henley R.W. Flash vaporization during earthquakes evidenced by gold deposits. Nat. Geosci. 2013, 6:294-298.
101. White J.C. Paradoxical pseudotachylyte-fault melt outside the seismogenic zone. J. Struct. Geol. 2012, 38:11-20.
102. Wilson B., Dewers T., Reches Z., Brune J. Particle size and energetics of gouge from earthquake rupture zones. Nature 2005, 434(7034):749-752.
103. Wu H., Pollard D. An experimental study of the relationship between joint spacing and layer thickness. J. Struct. Geol. 1995, 17(6):887-905.
104. Xu X.-P., Needleman A. Numerical simulations of fast crack growth in brittle solids. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 1994, 42(9):1397-1434.