Silica gel in a fault slip surface: Field evidence for palaeo-earthquakes?

Journal of Structural Geology

Volumn 69, Issue PA, 2014, Pages 108-121

  Faber, Carly ^a,d   Rowe, Christie D ^a,e   Miller, Jodie A ^b   Fagereng, Åke ^a,f   Neethling, Jan H ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN   (South Africa)

^b STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

^c NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

^d UNIVERSITY OF TROMSØ   (Norway)

^e MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^f CARDIFF UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Fault vein; Palaeo earthquakes; Silica gel; Velocity weakening

Indexed keywords

SLIP SURFACES; VELOCITY-WEAKENING;

SILICA GEL;

CARBONATE; EARTHQUAKE MECHANISM; FAULT SLIP; QUARTZ; RECRYSTALLIZATION; SEISMICITY; SLIP RATE; TECTONIC EVOLUTION; TECTONIC SETTING;

NAMIBIA;

EID: 84908351859     PISSN: 01918141     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2014.09.021     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. Ahrendt H., Behr H.-J., Clauer N., Hunziker J.C., Porada H., Weber K. The Northern Branch: depositional development and timing of the structural and metamorphic evolution within the framework of the Damara Orogen. Intracontinental Fold Belts 1983, 723-743. Springer-Verlag. H. Martin, F.W. Eder (Eds.).
2. Ahrendt H., Hunziker J.C., Weber K. Age and degree of metamorphism and time of nappe emplacement along the southern margin of the Damara Orogen/Namibia (SW-Africa). Geol. Rundsch. 1978, 67(2):719-742.
3. Barnes S.-J., Sawyer E.W. An alternative model for the Damara Mobile Belt: Ocean crust subduction and continental convergence. Precambrian Res. 1980, 13:297-336.
4. Bjørk T.E. Gray Scale Image Analysis. Image Analysis Program for Use with MATLAB 2006, http://folk.uio.no/torbjoeb/image_analysis/.
5. Bjørk T.E. Quantification and Modeling of Deformation Processes: Motivated by Observations from the Contact to the Hornelen Basin, Bremangerland 2006, Masters thesis, Physics of Geological Processes (PGP), Department of Physics, University of Oslo. http://folk.uio.no/torbjoeb/master_thesis.
6. Bons P.D. The formation of large quartz veins by rapid ascent of fluids in mobile hydrofractures. Tectonophysics 2001, 336:1-17.
7. Bons P.D., Elburg M.A., Gomez-Rivas E. Areview of the formation of tectonic veins and their microstructures. J.Struct. Geol. 2012, 43:33-62.
8. Brown K.M., Tryon M.D., DeShon H.R., Dorman L.M., Schwartz S. Correlated transient fluid pulsing and seismic tremor in the Costa Rica subduction zone. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2005, 238:189-203.
9. Caine J.S., Bruhn R.L., Forster C.B. Internal structure, fault rocks, and inferences Dixie Valley, Nevada. J.Struct. Geol. 2010, 32:1576-1589.
10. Channing A., Butler I.B. Cryogenic opal-A deposition from Yellowstone hot springs. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2007, 257:121-131.
11. Chester F.M., Chester J.S. Ultracataclasite structure and friction processes of the Punchbowl fault, San Andreas system, California. Tectonophysics 1998, 295:199-221.
12. 2-dominated fluids. Miner. Deposita 2006, 40:726-741. 10.1007/s00126-005-0029-3.
13. Colby M.W., Osaka A., Mackenzie J.D. Effects of temperature on formation of silica gel. J.Non-Crystal. Solids 1986, 82:37-41.
14. Cowan D.S. Do faults preserve a record of seismic slip? A field geologist's opinion. J.Struct. Geol. 1999, 21:995-1001.
15. Coward M.P. The junction between Pan African mobile belts in Namibia: its structural history. Tectonophysics 1981, 76:59-73.
16. Di Toro G., Goldsby D.L., Tullis T.E. Friction falls toward zero in quartz rock as slip velocity approaches seismic rates. Nature 2004, 427:436-439.
17. Di Toro G., Pennacchioni G., Nielsen S. Pseudotachylytes and earthquake source mechanics. Fault-zone Properties and Earthquake Rupture Dynamics, International Geophysics Series 2009, vol. 94:87-133. Elsevier Academic Press, ISBN-13: 978-0-12-374452-4. E. Fukuyama (Ed.).
18. Di Toro G., Han R., Hirose T., Paola N.D., Nielsen S., Mizoguchi K., Ferri F., Cocco M., Shimamoto T. Fault lubrication during earthquakes. Nature 2011, 471:494-498. 10.1038/nature09838.
19. 2 emission accompanying the fracture of calcite. Phys. Chem. Minerals 1991, 18:320-325.
20. Dong G., Morrison G., Jaireth S. Quartz textures in epithermal veins, Queensland - classification, origin, and implication. Econ. Geol. 1995, 90:1841-1856.
21. Fagereng Å., Smith Z., Rowe C.D., Makhubu B., Sylvester F.Y.G. Stress, strain, and fault behavior at a thrust ramp: Insights from the Naukluft thrust, Namibia. J.Struct. Geol. 2014, 58:95-107.
22. Fisher D.M., Brantley S.L. Models of quartz overgrowth and vein formation: deformation and episodic fluid flow in an ancient subduction zone. J.Geophys. Res. 1992, 97(B13):20,043-20,061.
23. 39Ar thermochronology of the Pan-African Damara Orogen, Namibia, with implications for the tectonothermal and geodynamic evolution. Precambrian Res. 2006, 150(1-2):49-72.
24. Gray D.R., Foster D.A., Meert J.G., Goscombe B.D., Armstrong R., Trouw R.A.J., Passchier C.W. ADamara orogeny perspective on the assembly of southwestern Gondwana. Geol. Soc. London Spec. Publ. 2008, 294:257-278.
25. Goldsby D.L., Tullis T.E. Low frictional strength of quartz rocks at subseismic slip rates. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2002, 29(17):1844-1847.
26. Götze J., Plötze M., Habermann D. Origin, spectral characteristics and practical applications of the cathodoluminescence (CL) of quartz - a review. Mineral. Petrol. 2001, 71:225-250.
27. Hartnady C.J.H. The stratigraphy and structure of the Naukluft Nappe Complex. Precambrian Research Unit Annual 1978, 163-170. University of Cape Town Department of Geology.
28. Hayashi N., Tsutsumi A. Deformation textures and mechanical behavior of a hydrated amorphous silica formed along an experimentally produced fault in chert. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2010, 37(L12305). 10.1029//2010GL042943.
29. Herrington R.J., Wilkinson J.J. Colloidal gold and silica in mesothermal vein systems. Geology 1993, 21:539-542.
30. Hinman N.W. Chemical factors influencing the rates and sequences of silica phase transitions: effects of organic constituents. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 1990, 54:1563-1574.
31. 2O in the range 1 bar to 50 kbar and 100-1600 °C. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 1991, 109:265-273.
32. Humphris S.E., Herzig P.M., Miller D.J., Alt J.C., Becker K., Brown D., Brügmann G., Chiba H., Fouquet Y., Gemmell J.B., Guerin G., Hannington M.C., Holm N.G., Honnorez J.J., Iturrino G.J., Knott R., Ludwig R., Nakamura K., Petersen S., Reysenbach A.-L., Rona P.A., Smith S., Sturz A.A., Tivey M.K., Zhao X. The internal structure of an active sea-floor massive sulphide deposit. Nature 1995, 377:713-716.
33. Jorge R.C.G.S., Relvas J.M.R.S., Barriga F.J.A.S. Silica gel microtextures in siliceous exhalites at the Soloviejo manganese deposit, Spain. Mineral Deposit Research: Meeting the Global Challenge 2005, vol. 1:631-634. Springer-Verlag, Chapter 69.
34. Kirkpatrick J.D., Shipton Z.K., Persano C. Pseudotachylytes: rarely generated, rarely preserved or rarely reported?. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 2009, 99:382-388. 10.1785/0120080114.
35. Kirkpatrick J.D., Rowe C.D., White J.C., Brodsky E.E. Silica gel formation during fault slip: evidence from the rock record. Geology 2013, 41:1015-1018.
36. Kirkpatrick J.D., Rowe C.D. Disappearing ink: how pseudotachylytes are lost from the rock record. J.Struct. Geol. 2013, 52:183-198.
37. Korn H., Martin H. Gravity tectonics in the naukluft mountains of south West Africa. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 1959, 70:1047-1078.
38. 2O in the lower crust and upper mantle. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 1994, 58:4831-4839.
39. Martin H., Porada H., Wittig R. Where lies the root zone of the Naukluft Nappe Complex. Spec. Publ. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 1983, 11:199-207.
40. Martin H., Porada H. The intracratonic branch of the Damara Orogen in South West Africa: I. Discussion of geodynamic models. Precambrian Res. 1977, 5:311-338.
41. Micklethwaite S. Optimally oriented "fault-valve" thrusts: evidence for aftershock-related fluid pressure pulses?. Geochem. Geophys. Geosys. 2008, 9(4):10.
42. Miller R.M. The Pan-African damara orogen of south West Africa/Namibia. Special publication. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 1983, 11:431-515.
43. Moore J.C., Vrolijk P. Fluids in accretionary prisms. Rev. Geophys. 1992, 30(2):113-135.
44. Mroczek E.K., White S.P., Graham D.J. Deposition of amorphous silica in porous packed beds - predicting the lifetime of reinjection aquifers. Geochemistry 2000, 29:737-757.
45. Niemeijer A., Di Toro G., Griffith W.A., Bistacchi A., Smith S.A., Nielsen S. Inferring earhtquake physics and chemistry using integrated field and laboratory approach. J. Struct. Geol. 2012, 39:2-36. 10.1029/j.jsg.2012.02.018.
46. Oehler J.H. Origin and distribution of silica lepispheres in porcelanite from the monterey formation of California. J.Sediment. Petrol. 1975, 45(1):252-257.
47. Oehler J.H. Hydrothermal crystallization of silica gel. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 1976, 87:1143-1152. 10.1130/0016-7606.
48. Otsuki K., Monzawa N., Nagase T. Fluidization and melting of fault gouge during seismic slip: Identification in the Nojima fault zone and implications for focal earthquake mechanisms. J.Geophys. Res. 2003, 108(B42192):18. 10.1029/2001JB001711.
49. Pec M., Stünitz H., Heilbronner R., Drury M., de Capitani C. Origin of pseudotachylites in slow creep experiments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2012, 355-356:299-310.
50. Poetsch T. Forms and dynamics of silica gel in tuff-dominated soil complex: results of micromorphological studies in the Central Highlands of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Ciencias Geol. 2004, 21(1):195-201.
51. Potapov V.V. Formation of solid deposits of amorphous silica in a flow of hydrothermal solution. Glass Phys. Chem. 2004, 30(1):82-89.
52. Power W.L., Tullis T.E. The relatiohsip between slickenside surfaces in fine-grained quartz and the seismic cycle. J.Struct. Geol. 1989, 11(7):879-893.
53. Rimstidt J.D., Barnes H.L. The kinetics of silica-water reactions. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 1980, 44:1683-1699.
54. Ronacher E., Richards J.P., Johnston M.D. Evidence for fluid phase separation in high-grade ore zones at the Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea. Miner. Deposita 2000, 35:638-688.
55. Rowe C.D., Fagereng Å., Miller J.A., Mapani B.S. Signature of coseismic decarbonation in dolomite fault rocks of the Naukluft Thrust, Namibia. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2012, 333-334:200-210.
56. Sahagian D.L., Proussevitch A.A. 3D particle size distributions form 2D observations: stereology for natural applications. J.Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 1998, 84:173-196.
57. Sander M.V., Black J.E. Crystallization and recrystallization of growth-zoned vein quartz crystals from epithermal systems - implications for fluid inclusion studies. Econ. Geol. 1988, 83(5):1052-1060.
58. Sherlock R.L., Lehrman N.J. Occurrences of dendritic gold at the McLaughlin Mine hot-spring gold deposit. Miner. Deposita 1995, 30:323-327.
59. Sibson R.H., Toy V.G. The habitat of fault-generated pseudotachylyte: presence vs. absence of friction-melt. Earthquakes: Radiated Energy and the Physics of Faulting: Geophysical Monograph 2006, vol. 170:153-166. American Geophysical Union.
60. Smith S.A.F., Billi A., Di Toro G., Spiess R. Principal slip zones in limestone: microstructural characterization and implications for the seismic cycle (Tre Monti fault, central Appenines, Italy). Pure Appl. Geophys. 2011, 168(12):2365-2393. 10.1007/s00024-011-0267-5.
61. Stanistreet I.G., Kukla P.A., Henry G. Sedimentary basinal responses to a late precambrian wilson cycle: the Damara orogen and Nama foreland, Namibia. J.Afr. Earth Sci. 1991, 13(1):141-156.
62. Stel H., Lankreyer A.C. Flow and deformation of viscous, silica-oversaturated dispersions in low-grade faults. J.Struct. Geol. 1994, 16(3):303-313.
63. Tryon M.D., Brown K.M., Torres M.E. Fluid and chemical flux in and out of sediments hosting methane hydrate deposits on hydrate ridge, OR, II: hydrological processes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2002, 201:541-557.
64. Ujiie K., Yamaguchi A., Kimura G., Toh S. Fluidization of granular material in a subduction thrust at seismogenic depths. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2007, 259:307-318.
65. Ujiie K., Tanaka H., Saito T., subasa, Tsutsumi A., Mori J.J., Kameda J., Brodsky E.E., Chester F.M., Eguchi N., Toczko S., Expedition 343 and 343T Scientists Low coseismic shear stress on the Tohoku-Oki megathrust determined from laboratory experiments. Science 2013, 342(6163):1211-1214.
66. Viola G., Mancktelow N.S., Miller J.A. Cyclic frictional-viscous slip oscillations along the base of an advancing nappe complex: insights into brittle-ductile nappe emplacement mechanisms from the Naukluft Nappe Complex, central Namibia. Tectonics 2006, 25. 10.1029/2005TC001939.
67. Weatherley D.K., Henley R.W. Flash vaporization during earthquakes evidenced by gold deposits. Nat. Geosci. 2013, 6:294-298.
68. Weibel R., Friis H., Kazerouni A.M., Svendsen J.B., Stokkendal J., Poulsen M.L.K. Development of early diagenetic silica and quartz morphologies - examples from the Siri Canyon, Danish North Sea. Sediment. Geol. 2010, 228:151-170.
69. White D.E., Brannock W.W., Murata K.J. Silica in hot-spring waters. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 1956, 10:27-59.
70. White L.A., Crerar D.A. Silica diagenesis, II: general mechanisms. J.Sedimentol. 1985, 55(3):312-321.