Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
Solid Earth, 12, 171–186, 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-171-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue: Thermo-hydro-mechanical–chemical (THMC) processes in natural...
Solid Earth, 12, 171–186, 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-171-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article 25 Jan 2021
Research article | 25 Jan 2021
Effect of normal stress on the frictional behavior of brucite: application to slow earthquakes at the subduction plate interface in the mantle wedge
Hanaya Okuda et al.
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Related subject area
Subject area: Tectonic plate interactions, magma genesis, and lithosphere deformation at all scales | Editorial team: Structural geology and tectonics, rock physics, experimental deformation | Discipline: Mineral and rock physics
The competition between fracture nucleation, propagation, and coalescence in dry and water-saturated crystalline rock
Measuring hydraulic fracture apertures: a comparison of methods
Extracting microphysical fault friction parameters from laboratory and field injection experiments
The physics of fault friction: insights from experiments on simulated gouges at low shearing velocities
Frictional slip weakening and shear-enhanced crystallinity in simulated coal fault gouges at slow slip rates
The hydraulic efficiency of single fractures: correcting the cubic law parameterization for self-affine surface roughness and fracture closure
Magnetic properties of pseudotachylytes from western Jämtland, central Swedish Caledonides
The variation and visualisation of elastic anisotropy in rock-forming minerals
Deformation mechanisms in mafic amphibolites and granulites: record from the Semail metamorphic sole during subduction infancy
Uniaxial compression of calcite single crystals at room temperature: insights into twinning activation and development
Jessica A. McBeck, Wenlu Zhu, and François Renard
Solid Earth, 12, 375–387, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021, 2021
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The competing modes of fault network development, including nucleation, propagation, and coalescence, influence the localization and connectivity of fracture networks and are thus critical influences on permeability. We distinguish between these modes of fracture development using in situ X-ray tomography triaxial compression experiments on crystalline rocks. The results underscore the importance of confining stress (burial depth) and fluids on fault network development.
Chaojie Cheng, Sina Hale, Harald Milsch, and Philipp Blum
Solid Earth, 11, 2411–2423, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2411-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2411-2020, 2020
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Fluids (like water or gases) within the Earth's crust often flow and interact with rock through fractures. The efficiency with which these fluids may flow through this void space is controlled by the width of the fracture(s). In this study, three different physical methods to measure fracture width were applied and compared and their predictive accuracy was evaluated. As a result, the mobile methods tested may well be applied in the field if a number of limitations and requirements are observed.
Martijn P. A. van den Ende, Marco M. Scuderi, Frédéric Cappa, and Jean-Paul Ampuero
Solid Earth, 11, 2245–2256, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2245-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2245-2020, 2020
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The injection of fluids (like wastewater or CO2) into the subsurface could cause earthquakes when existing geological faults inside the reservoir are (re-)activated. To assess the hazard associated with this, previous studies have conducted experiments in which fluids have been injected into centimetre- and decimetre-scale faults. In this work, we analyse and model these experiments. To this end, we propose a new approach through which we extract the model parameters that govern slip on faults.
Berend A. Verberne, Martijn P. A. van den Ende, Jianye Chen, André R. Niemeijer, and Christopher J. Spiers
Solid Earth, 11, 2075–2095, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2075-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2075-2020, 2020
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The strength of fault rock plays a central role in determining the distribution of crustal seismicity. We review laboratory work on the physics of fault friction at low shearing velocities carried out at Utrecht University in the past 2 decades. Key mechanical data and post-mortem microstructures can be explained using a generalized, physically based model for the shear of gouge-filled faults. When implemented into numerical fault-slip codes, this offers new ways to simulate the seismic cycle.
Caiyuan Fan, Jinfeng Liu, Luuk B. Hunfeld, and Christopher J. Spiers
Solid Earth, 11, 1399–1422, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1399-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1399-2020, 2020
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Coal is an important source rock for natural gas recovery, and its frictional properties play a role in induced seismicity. We performed experiments to investigate the frictional properties of bituminous coal, and our results show that the frictional strength of coal became significantly weakened with slip displacement, from a peak value of 0.5 to a steady-state value of 0.3. This may be caused by the development of shear bands with internal shear-enhanced molecular structure.
Maximilian O. Kottwitz, Anton A. Popov, Tobias S. Baumann, and Boris J. P. Kaus
Solid Earth, 11, 947–957, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-947-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-947-2020, 2020
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In this study, we conducted 3-D numerical simulations of fluid flow in synthetically generated fractures that statistically reflect geometries of naturally occurring fractures. We introduced a non-dimensional characterization scheme to relate fracture permeabilities estimated from the numerical simulations to their geometries in a unique manner. By that, we refined the scaling law for fracture permeability, which can be easily integrated into discrete-fracture-network (DFN) modeling approaches.
Bjarne S. G. Almqvist, Hagen Bender, Amanda Bergman, and Uwe Ring
Solid Earth, 11, 807–828, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-807-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-807-2020, 2020
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Rocks in fault zones can melt during earthquakes. The geometry and magnetic properties of such earthquake-melted rocks from Jämtland, central Sweden, show that they formed during Caledonian mountain building in the Palaeozoic. The small sample size (~0.2 cm3) used in this study is unconventional in studies of magnetic anisotropy and introduces challenges for interpretations. Nevertheless, the magnetic properties help shed light on the earthquake event and subsequent alteration of the rock.
David Healy, Nicholas Erik Timms, and Mark Alan Pearce
Solid Earth, 11, 259–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-259-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-259-2020, 2020
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Rock-forming minerals behave elastically, a property that controls their ability to support stress and strain, controls the transmission of seismic waves, and influences subsequent permanent deformation. Minerals are intrinsically anisotropic in their elastic properties; that is, they have directional variations that are related to the crystal lattice. We explore this directionality and present new ways of visualising it. We hope this will enable further advances in understanding deformation.
Mathieu Soret, Philippe Agard, Benoît Ildefonse, Benoît Dubacq, Cécile Prigent, and Claudio Rosenberg
Solid Earth, 10, 1733–1755, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1733-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1733-2019, 2019
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This study sheds light on the mineral-scale mechanisms controlling the progressive deformation of sheared amphibolites from the Oman metamorphic sole during subduction initiation and unravels how strain is localized and accommodated in hydrated mafic rocks at high temperature conditions. Our results indicate how metamorphic reactions and pore-fluid pressures driven by changes in pressure–temperature conditions and/or water activity control the rheology of mafic rocks.
Camille Parlangeau, Alexandre Dimanov, Olivier Lacombe, Simon Hallais, and Jean-Marc Daniel
Solid Earth, 10, 307–316, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-307-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-307-2019, 2019
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Calcite twinning is a common deformation mechanism that mainly occurs at low temperatures. Twinning activation appears at a critical strength value, which is poorly documented and still debated. Temperature is known to influence twin thickness and shape; however, few studies have been conducted on calcite deformation at low temperatures. The goal of this work is to determine if thickness is mainly due to high temperatures and to establish the validity of a threshold twinning activation value.
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Short summary
Serpentinite, generated by the hydration of ultramafic rocks, is thought to be related to slow earthquakes at the subduction plate interface in the mantle wedge. We conducted friction experiments on brucite, one of the components of serpentinite, and found that wet brucite exhibits low and unstable friction under low effective normal stress conditions. This result suggests that wet brucite may be key for slow earthquakes at the subduction plate interface in a hydrated mantle wedge.
Serpentinite, generated by the hydration of ultramafic rocks, is thought to be related to slow...
