Articles | Volume 12, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-405-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-405-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Short communication
| 
18 Feb 2021
Short communication |
| 18 Feb 2021
| 18 Feb 2021
Experimental evidence that viscous shear zones generate periodic pore sheets
James Gilgannon
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Marius Waldvogel
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Thomas Poulet
CSIRO Mineral Resources, Kensington, WA 6151, Australia
Florian Fusseis
School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK
Alfons Berger
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Auke Barnhoorn
Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Marco Herwegh
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Related authors
Roberto Emanuele Rizzo, Damien Freitas, James Gilgannon, Sohan Seth, Ian B. Butler, Gina Elizabeth McGill, and Florian Fusseis
Solid Earth, 15, 493–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-493-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Here we introduce a new approach for analysing time-resolved 3D X-ray images tracking mineral changes in rocks. Using deep learning, we accurately identify and quantify the evolution of mineral components during reactions. The method demonstrates high precision in quantifying a metamorphic reaction, enabling accurate calculation of mineral growth rates and porosity changes. This showcases artificial intelligence's potential to enhance our understanding of Earth science processes.
James Gilgannon, Florian Fusseis, Luca Menegon, Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, and Jim Buckman
Solid Earth, 8, 1193–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We examine rocks from the middle crust to explore how fluids circulate and influence a rock’s response to larger-scale tectonic movements. A model is developed in which fluids deep in the Earth migrate to clusters of pores generated during those movements. We document how distinct pores form in a specific order in association with local changes in how quartz deforms. The porosity evolves out of the deformation, changing the rate the rock moved under tectonic forces.
Sandro Truttmann, Tobias Diehl, Marco Herwegh, and Stefan Wiemer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2975, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2975, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study investigates the statistical relationship between geological faults and earthquakes in the Southwestern Swiss Alps. We analyze how the fault size and earthquake rupture are related and find differences in how faults at different depths rupture seismically. While shallow faults tend to rupture only partially, deeper faults are more likely to rupture along their entire length, potentially resulting in larger earthquakes.
Veronica Peverelli, Alfons Berger, Martin Wille, Thomas Pettke, Benita Putlitz, Andreas Mulch, Edwin Gnos, and Marco Herwegh
Eur. J. Mineral., 36, 879–898, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-36-879-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-36-879-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used U–Pb dating and Pb–Sr–O–H isotopes of hydrothermal epidote to characterize fluid circulation in the Aar Massif (central Swiss Alps). Our data support the hypothesis that Permian fluids exploited syn-rift extensional faults. In the Miocene during the Alpine orogeny, fluid sources were meteoric, sedimentary, and/or metamorphic water. Likely, Miocene shear zones were exploited for fluid circulation, with implications for the Sr isotope budget of the granitoids.
Roberto Emanuele Rizzo, Damien Freitas, James Gilgannon, Sohan Seth, Ian B. Butler, Gina Elizabeth McGill, and Florian Fusseis
Solid Earth, 15, 493–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-493-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Here we introduce a new approach for analysing time-resolved 3D X-ray images tracking mineral changes in rocks. Using deep learning, we accurately identify and quantify the evolution of mineral components during reactions. The method demonstrates high precision in quantifying a metamorphic reaction, enabling accurate calculation of mineral growth rates and porosity changes. This showcases artificial intelligence's potential to enhance our understanding of Earth science processes.
Veronica Peverelli, Alfons Berger, Martin Wille, Thomas Pettke, Pierre Lanari, Igor Maria Villa, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 13, 1803–1821, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1803-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1803-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work studies the interplay of epidote dissolution–precipitation and quartz dynamic recrystallization during viscous granular flow in a deforming epidote–quartz vein. Pb and Sr isotope data indicate that epidote dissolution–precipitation is mediated by internal/recycled fluids with an additional external fluid component. Microstructures and geochemical data show that the epidote material is redistributed and chemically homogenized within the deforming vein via a dynamic granular fluid pump.
Berit Schwichtenberg, Florian Fusseis, Ian B. Butler, and Edward Andò
Solid Earth, 13, 41–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Hydraulic rock properties such as porosity and permeability are relevant factors that have an impact on groundwater resources, geological repositories and fossil fuel reservoirs. We investigate the influence of chemical compaction upon the porosity evolution in salt–biotite mixtures and related transport length scales by conducting laboratory experiments in combination with 4-D analysis. Our observations invite a renewed discussion of the effect of sheet silicates on chemical compaction.
Veronica Peverelli, Tanya Ewing, Daniela Rubatto, Martin Wille, Alfons Berger, Igor Maria Villa, Pierre Lanari, Thomas Pettke, and Marco Herwegh
Geochronology, 3, 123–147, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-123-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-123-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work presents LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology of epidote in hydrothermal veins. The challenges of epidote dating are addressed, and a protocol is proposed allowing us to obtain epidote U–Pb ages with a precision as good as 5 % in addition to the initial Pb isotopic composition of the epidote-forming fluid. Epidote demonstrates its potential to be used as a U–Pb geochronometer and as a fluid tracer, allowing us to reconstruct the timing of hydrothermal activity and the origin of the fluid(s).
Samuel Mock, Christoph von Hagke, Fritz Schlunegger, István Dunkl, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 11, 1823–1847, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1823-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1823-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Based on thermochronological data, we infer thrusting along-strike the northern rim of the Central Alps between 12–4 Ma. While the lithology influences the pattern of thrusting at the local scale, we observe that thrusting in the foreland is a long-wavelength feature occurring between Lake Geneva and Salzburg. This coincides with the geometry and dynamics of the attached lithospheric slab at depth. Thus, thrusting in the foreland is at least partly linked to changes in slab dynamics.
Emmanuelle Ricchi, Christian A. Bergemann, Edwin Gnos, Alfons Berger, Daniela Rubatto, Martin J. Whitehouse, and Franz Walter
Solid Earth, 11, 437–467, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-437-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-437-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates Cenozoic deformation during cooling and exhumation of the Tauern metamorphic and structural dome, Eastern Alps, through Th–Pb dating of fissure monazite-(Ce). Fissure (or hydrothermal) monazite-(Ce) typically crystallizes in a temperature range of 400–200 °C. Three major episodes of monazite growth occurred at approximately 21, 17, and 12 Ma, corroborating previous crystallization and cooling ages.
Christian A. Bergemann, Edwin Gnos, Alfons Berger, Emilie Janots, and Martin J. Whitehouse
Solid Earth, 11, 199–222, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-199-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-199-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Metamorphic domes are areas in a mountain chain that were unburied and where deeper parts of the crust rose to the surface. The Lepontine Dome in the Swiss and Italian Alps is such a place, and it is additionally bordered on two sides by shear zones where crustal blocks moved past each other. To determine when these tectonic movements happened, we measured the ages of monazite crystals that form in fluid-filled pockets inside the rocks during these movements of exhumation and deformation.
Samuel Mock, Christoph von Hagke, Fritz Schlunegger, István Dunkl, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2019-56, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2019-56, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Based on own and published age data, we can infer tectonic pulses along-strike the entire northern rim of the Central Alps between 12–4 million years. Although lithologic variations largely influence the local deformation pattern, the tectonic signal is remarkably consistent all the way from Lake Geneva to Salzburg. This might result from a deep-seated tectonic force and marks a change from dominantly vertical to large-scale horizontal tectonics in the late stage of Alpine orogeny.
Ismay Vénice Akker, Josef Kaufmann, Guillaume Desbois, Jop Klaver, Janos L. Urai, Alfons Berger, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 9, 1141–1156, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1141-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1141-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We studied porosity changes of slates from eastern Switzerland, which were deposited in an ocean in front of the emerging Alps during the Cenozoic. The Alpine collision between the European and African plates brought the rocks from this basin to today’s position in the Alps. From the basin to the surface, the porosity first decreased down to a small number of round cavities (<1 vol%) to microfractures, and once at the surface, the porosity increased again due to the formation of macro-fractures.
Tiange Xing, Wenlu Zhu, Florian Fusseis, and Harrison Lisabeth
Solid Earth, 9, 879–896, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-879-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-879-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The olivine carbonation reaction is volume increasing and could prevent further reaction by clogging the fluid pathways. This contradicts the observed fully carbonated outcrops in nature, but the mechanism behind this self-sustainability is poorly understood. Our study reveals that the stretching-induced fracturing and the dissolution channelization are mechanisms that could contribute to the sustainability of carbonation reactions. This study provides new insights on the olivine carbonation.
James Gilgannon, Florian Fusseis, Luca Menegon, Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, and Jim Buckman
Solid Earth, 8, 1193–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We examine rocks from the middle crust to explore how fluids circulate and influence a rock’s response to larger-scale tectonic movements. A model is developed in which fluids deep in the Earth migrate to clusters of pores generated during those movements. We document how distinct pores form in a specific order in association with local changes in how quartz deforms. The porosity evolves out of the deformation, changing the rate the rock moved under tectonic forces.
Raphael Schneeberger, Miguel de La Varga, Daniel Egli, Alfons Berger, Florian Kober, Florian Wellmann, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 8, 987–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-987-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-987-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Structural 3-D modelling has become a widely used technique within applied projects. We performed a typical modelling workflow for a study site with the occurrence of an underground facility. This exceptional setting enabled us to test the surface-based extrapolation of faults with the mapped faults underground. We estimated the extrapolation-related uncertainty with probabilistic 2-D interpolation. This research was conducted to improve structural 3-D modelling in less-constrained areas.
Related subject area
Subject area: Tectonic plate interactions, magma genesis, and lithosphere deformation at all scales | Editorial team: Structural geology and tectonics, paleoseismology, rock physics, experimental deformation | Discipline: Structural geology
Localized shear and distributed strain accumulation as competing shear accommodation mechanisms in crustal shear zones: constraining their dictating factors
Influence of water on crystallographic preferred orientation patterns in a naturally deformed quartzite
Geomorphic expressions of active rifting reflect the role of structural inheritance: a new model for the evolution of the Shanxi Rift, northern China
Driven magmatism and crustal thinning of coastal southern China in response to subduction
Selection and characterization of the target fault for fluid-induced activation and earthquake rupture experiments
Reconciling post-orogenic faulting, paleostress evolution and structural inheritance in the seismogenic Northern Apennines (Italy): Insights from the Monti Martani Fault System
Naturally fractured reservoir characterisation in heterogeneous sandstones: insight for uranium in situ recovery (Imouraren, Niger)
Earthquake swarms frozen in an exhumed hydrothermal system (Bolfin Fault Zone, Chile)
Understanding the stress field at the lateral termination of a thrust fold using generic geomechanical models and clustering methods
Multiscalar 3D temporal structural characterisation of Smøla island, mid-Norwegian passive margin: an analogue for unravelling the tectonic history of offshore basement highs
Impact of faults on the remote stress state
Subduction plate interface shear stress associated with rapid subduction at deep slow earthquake depths: example from the Sanbagawa belt, southwestern Japan
Multiple phase rifting and subsequent inversion in the West Netherlands Basin: implications for geothermal reservoir characterization
Analogue modelling of basin inversion: implications for the Araripe Basin (Brazil)
Natural fracture patterns at Swift Reservoir anticline, NW Montana: the influence of structural position and lithology from multiple observation scales
Rapid hydration and weakening of anhydrite under stress: implications for natural hydration in the Earth's crust and mantle
Analogue experiments on releasing and restraining bends and their application to the study of the Barents Shear Margin
Structural framework and timing of the Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits, Kiruna mining district, Sweden
Does the syn- versus post-rift thickness ratio have an impact on the inversion-related structural style?
Inversion of accommodation zones in salt-bearing extensional systems: insights from analog modeling
Structural control of inherited salt structures during inversion of a domino basement-fault system from an analogue modelling approach
Kinematics and time-resolved evolution of the main thrust-sense shear zone in the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge (the Vinschgau Shear Zone, eastern Alps)
Role of inheritance during tectonic inversion of a rift system in basement-involved to salt-decoupled transition: analogue modelling and application to the Pyrenean–Biscay system
Water release and homogenization by dynamic recrystallization of quartz
Hydrothermal activity of the Lake Abhe geothermal field (Djibouti): Structural controls and paths for further exploration
Time-dependent frictional properties of granular materials used in analogue modelling: implications for mimicking fault healing during reactivation and inversion
Large grain-size-dependent rheology contrasts of halite at low differential stress: evidence from microstructural study of naturally deformed gneissic Zechstein 2 rock salt (Kristallbrockensalz) from the northern Netherlands
Analogue modelling of the inversion of multiple extensional basins in foreland fold-and-thrust belts
A contribution to the quantification of crustal shortening and kinematics of deformation across the Western Andes ( ∼ 20–22° S)
Rift thermal inheritance in the SW Alps (France): insights from RSCM thermometry and 1D thermal numerical modelling
The Luangwa Rift Active Fault Database and fault reactivation along the southwestern branch of the East African Rift
Clustering has a meaning: optimization of angular similarity to detect 3D geometric anomalies in geological terrains
Shear zone evolution and the path of earthquake rupture
Mechanical compaction mechanisms in the input sediments of the Sumatra subduction complex – insights from microstructural analysis of cores from IODP Expedition 362
Detecting micro fractures: a comprehensive comparison of conventional and machine-learning-based segmentation methods
Multiscale lineament analysis and permeability heterogeneity of fractured crystalline basement blocks
Structural characterization and K–Ar illite dating of reactivated, complex and heterogeneous fault zones: lessons from the Zuccale Fault, Northern Apennines
How do differences in interpreting seismic images affect estimates of geological slip rates?
Progressive veining during peridotite carbonation: insights from listvenites in Hole BT1B, Samail ophiolite (Oman)
Tectonic evolution of the Indio Hills segment of the San Andreas fault in southern California, southwestern USA
Structural diagenesis in ultra-deep tight sandstones in the Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin, China
Variscan structures and their control on latest to post-Variscan basin architecture: insights from the westernmost Bohemian Massif and southeastern Germany
Multi-disciplinary characterizations of the BedrettoLab – a new underground geoscience research facility
Biotite supports long-range diffusive transport in dissolution–precipitation creep in halite through small porosity fluctuations
De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability
Virtual field trip to the Esla Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain): delivering traditional geological mapping skills remotely using real data
Marine forearc structure of eastern Java and its role in the 1994 Java tsunami earthquake
Roughness of fracture surfaces in numerical models and laboratory experiments
Impact of basement thrust faults on low-angle normal faults and rift basin evolution: a case study in the Enping sag, Pearl River Basin
Evidence for and significance of the Late Cretaceous Asteroussia event in the Gondwanan Ios basement terranes
Pramit Chatterjee, Arnab Roy, and Nibir Mandal
Solid Earth, 15, 1281–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1281-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1281-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding strain accumulation processes in shear zones is essential for explaining failure mechanisms at great crustal depths. This study explores the rheological and kinematic factors determining the varying modes of shear accommodation in natural shear zones. Numerical simulations suggest that an interplay of parameters – initial viscosity, bulk shear rate, and internal cohesion – governs the dominance of one accommodation mechanism over another.
Jeffrey M. Rahl, Brendan Moehringer, Kenneth S. Befus, and John S. Singleton
Solid Earth, 15, 1233–1240, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1233-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1233-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At the high temperatures present in the deeper crust, minerals such as quartz can flow much like silly putty. The detailed mechanisms of how atoms are reorganized depends upon several factors, such as the temperature and the rate of which the mineral changes shape. We present observations from a naturally deformed rock showing that the amount of water present also influences the type of deformation in quartz, with implications for geological interpretations.
Malte Froemchen, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Mark B. Allen, Jeroen van Hunen, Thomas B. Phillips, and Yueren Xu
Solid Earth, 15, 1203–1231, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1203-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1203-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Shanxi Rift is a young, active rift in northern China that formed atop a Proterozoic orogen. The impact of these structures on active rift faults is poorly understood. Here, we quantify the landscape response to active faulting and compare it with published maps of inherited structures. We find that inherited structures played an important role in the segmentation of the Shanxi Rift and in the development of rift interaction zones, which are the most active regions in the Shanxi Rift.
Jinbao Su, Wenbin Zhu, and Guangwei Li
Solid Earth, 15, 1133–1141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The late Mesozoic igneous rocks in the South China Block exhibit flare-ups and lulls, which form in compressional or extensional backgrounds. The ascending of magma forms a mush-like head and decreases crustal thickness. The presence of faults and pre-existing magmas will accelerate emplacement of underplating magma. The magmatism at different times may be formed under similar subduction conditions, and the boundary compression forces will delay magma ascent.
Peter Achtziger-Zupančič, Alberto Ceccato, Alba Simona Zappone, Giacomo Pozzi, Alexis Shakas, Florian Amann, Whitney Maria Behr, Daniel Escallon Botero, Domenico Giardini, Marian Hertrich, Mohammadreza Jalali, Xiaodong Ma, Men-Andrin Meier, Julian Osten, Stefan Wiemer, and Massimo Cocco
Solid Earth, 15, 1087–1112, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We detail the selection and characterization of a fault zone for earthquake experiments in the Fault Activation and Earthquake Ruptures (FEAR) project at the Bedretto Lab. FEAR, which studies earthquake processes, overcame data collection challenges near faults. The fault zone in Rotondo granite was selected based on geometry, monitorability, and hydro-mechanical properties. Remote sensing, borehole logging, and geological mapping were used to create a 3D model for precise monitoring.
Riccardo Asti, Selina Bonini, Giulio Viola, and Gianluca Vignaroli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2319, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2319, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study addresses the tectonic evolution of the seismogenic Monti Martani Fault System (Northern Apennines, Italy). By applying a field-based structural geology approach, we reconstruct the evolution of the stress field and we challenge the current interpretation of the fault system both in terms of geometry and state of activity. We stress that the peculiar behavior of this system during post-orogenic extension is still significantly influenced by the pre-orogenic structural template.
Maxime Jamet, Gregory Ballas, Roger Soliva, Olivier Gerbeaud, Thierry Lefebvre, Christine Leredde, and Didier Loggia
Solid Earth, 15, 895–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study characterizes the Tchirezrine II sandstone reservoir in northern Niger. Crucial for potential uranium in situ recovery (ISR), our multifaceted approach reveals (i) a network of homogeneously distributed orthogonal structures, (ii) the impact of clustered E–W fault structures on anisotropic fluid flow, and (iii) local changes in the matrix behaviour of the reservoir as a function of the density and nature of the deformation structure.
Simone Masoch, Giorgio Pennacchioni, Michele Fondriest, Rodrigo Gomila, Piero Poli, José Cembrano, and Giulio Di Toro
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.171995191.13613873/v1, https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.171995191.13613873/v1, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate an exhumed hydrothermal system in the Atacama Desert (Chile) to understand how earthquake swarms form. Wall-rocks near fault-veins experienced high-stress pulses, and fault-veins underwent cyclic crack opening and shearing. These findings suggest ancient earthquake swarm activity, from dynamic crack propagation to repeated crack opening and shearing. This system represents a unique geological record of earthquake swarms, providing insight into their initiation and evolution.
Anthony Adwan, Bertrand Maillot, Pauline Souloumiac, Christophe Barnes, Christophe Nussbaum, Meinert Rahn, and Thomas Van Stiphout
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1906, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1906, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use computer simulations to study how stress is distributed in large-scale geological models, focusing on how fault lines behave under pressure. By running many 2D and 3D simulations with varying conditions, we discover patterns in how faults form and interact. Our findings reveal that even small changes in conditions can lead to different stress outcomes. This research helps us better understand earthquake mechanics and could improve predictions of fault behavior in real-world scenarios.
Matthew S. Hodge, Guri Venvik, Jochen Knies, Roelant van der Lelij, Jasmin Schönenberger, Øystein Nordgulen, Marco Brönner, Aziz Nasuti, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 15, 589–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Smøla island, in the mid-Norwegian margin, has complex fracture and fault patterns resulting from tectonic activity. This study uses a multiple-method approach to unravel Smøla's tectonic history. We found five different phases of deformation related to various fracture geometries and minerals dating back hundreds of millions of years. 3D models of these features visualise these structures in space. This approach may help us to understand offshore oil and gas reservoirs hosted in the basement.
Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, and Moritz O. Ziegler
Solid Earth, 15, 305–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
It is generally assumed that faults have an influence on the stress state of the Earth’s crust. It is questionable whether this influence is still present far away from a fault. Simple numerical models were used to investigate the extent of the influence of faults on the stress state. Several models with different fault representations were investigated. The stress fluctuations further away from the fault (> 1 km) are very small.
Yukinojo Koyama, Simon R. Wallis, and Takayoshi Nagaya
Solid Earth, 15, 143–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Stress along a subduction plate boundary is important for understanding subduction phenomena such as earthquakes. We estimated paleo-stress using quartz recrystallized grain size combined with deformation temperature and P–T paths of exhumed rocks. The obtained results show differential stresses of 30.8–82.7 MPa consistent over depths of 17–27 km in the paleo-subduction boundary. The obtained stress may represent the initial conditions under which slow earthquakes nucleated in the same domain.
Annelotte Weert, Kei Ogata, Francesco Vinci, Coen Leo, Giovanni Bertotti, Jerome Amory, and Stefano Tavani
Solid Earth, 15, 121–141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
On the road to a sustainable planet, geothermal energy is considered one of the main substitutes when it comes to heating. The geological history of an area can have a major influence on the application of these geothermal systems, as demonstrated in the West Netherlands Basin. Here, multiple episodes of rifting and subsequent basin inversion have controlled the distribution of the reservoir rocks, thus influencing the locations where geothermal energy can be exploited.
Pâmela C. Richetti, Frank Zwaan, Guido Schreurs, Renata S. Schmitt, and Timothy C. Schmid
Solid Earth, 14, 1245–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Araripe Basin in NE Brazil was originally formed during Cretaceous times, as South America and Africa broke up. The basin is an important analogue to offshore South Atlantic break-up basins; its sediments were uplifted and are now found at 1000 m height, allowing for studies thereof, but the cause of the uplift remains debated. Here we ran a series of tectonic laboratory experiments that show how a specific plate tectonic configuration can explain the evolution of the Araripe Basin.
Adam J. Cawood, Hannah Watkins, Clare E. Bond, Marian J. Warren, and Mark A. Cooper
Solid Earth, 14, 1005–1030, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we test conceptual models of fracture development by investigating fractures across multiple scales. We find that most fractures increase in abundance towards the fold hinge, and we interpret these as being fold related. Other fractures at the site show inconsistent orientations and are unrelated to fold formation. Our results show that predicting fracture patterns requires the consideration of multiple geologic variables.
Johanna Heeb, David Healy, Nicholas E. Timms, and Enrique Gomez-Rivas
Solid Earth, 14, 985–1003, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Hydration of rocks is a key process in the Earth’s crust and mantle that is accompanied by changes in physical traits and mechanical behaviour of rocks. This study assesses the influence of stress on hydration reaction kinetics and mechanics in experiments on anhydrite. We show that hydration occurs readily under stress and results in localized hydration along fractures and mechanic weakening. New gypsum growth is selective and depends on the stress field and host anhydrite crystal orientation.
Roy Helge Gabrielsen, Panagiotis Athanasios Giannenas, Dimitrios Sokoutis, Ernst Willingshofer, Muhammad Hassaan, and Jan Inge Faleide
Solid Earth, 14, 961–983, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Barents Shear Margin defines the border between the relatively shallow Barents Sea that is situated on a continental plate and the deep ocean. This margin's evolution history was probably influenced by plate tectonic reorganizations. From scaled experiments, we deduced several types of structures (faults, folds, and sedimentary basins) that help us to improve the understanding of the history of the opening of the North Atlantic.
Leslie Logan, Ervin Veress, Joel B. H. Andersson, Olof Martinsson, and Tobias E. Bauer
Solid Earth, 14, 763–784, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits in the Kiruna mining district have a dubious timing of formation and have not been contextualized within an up-to-date tectonic framework. Structural mapping was carried out to reveal that the deposits are hosted in brittle structures that cut a noncylindrical, SE-plunging anticline constrained to have formed during the late-Svecokarelian orogeny. These results show that Cu ± Au mineralization formed more than ca. 80 Myr after iron oxide–apatite mineralization.
Alexandra Tamas, Dan M. Tamas, Gabor Tari, Csaba Krezsek, Alexandru Lapadat, and Zsolt Schleder
Solid Earth, 14, 741–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Tectonic processes are complex and often difficult to understand due to the limitations of surface or subsurface data. One such process is inversion tectonics, which means that an area initially developed in an extension (such as the opening of an ocean) is reversed to compression (the process leading to mountain building). In this research, we use a laboratory method (analogue modelling), and with the help of a sandbox, we try to better understand structures (folds/faults) related to inversion.
Elizabeth Parker Wilson, Pablo Granado, Pablo Santolaria, Oriol Ferrer, and Josep Anton Muñoz
Solid Earth, 14, 709–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work focuses on the control of accommodation zones on extensional and subsequent inversion in salt-detached domains using sandbox analogue models. During extension, the transfer zone acts as a pathway for the movement of salt, changing the expected geometries. When inverted, the salt layer and syn-inversion sedimentation control the deformation style in the salt-detached cover system. Three natural cases are compared to the model results and show similar inversion geometries.
Oriol Ferrer, Eloi Carola, and Ken McClay
Solid Earth, 14, 571–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using an experimental approach based on scaled sandbox models, this work aims to understand how salt above different rotational fault blocks influences the cover geometry and evolution, first during extension and then during inversion. The results show that inherited salt structures constrain contractional deformation. We show for the first time how welds and fault welds are reopened during contractional deformation, having direct implications for the subsurface exploration of natural resources.
Chiara Montemagni, Stefano Zanchetta, Martina Rocca, Igor M. Villa, Corrado Morelli, Volkmar Mair, and Andrea Zanchi
Solid Earth, 14, 551–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Vinschgau Shear Zone (VSZ) is one of the largest and most significant shear zones developed within the Late Cretaceous thrust stack in the Austroalpine domain of the eastern Alps. 40Ar / 39Ar geochronology constrains the activity of the VSZ between 97 and 80 Ma. The decreasing vorticity towards the core of the shear zone, coupled with the younging of mylonites, points to a shear thinning behavior. The deepest units of the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge were exhumed along the VSZ.
Jordi Miró, Oriol Ferrer, Josep Anton Muñoz, and Gianreto Manastchal
Solid Earth, 14, 425–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using the Asturian–Basque–Cantabrian system and analogue (sandbox) models, this work focuses on the linkage between basement-controlled and salt-decoupled domains and how deformation is accommodated between the two during extension and subsequent inversion. Analogue models show significant structural variability in the transitional domain, with oblique structures that can be strongly modified by syn-contractional sedimentation. Experimental results are consistent with the case study.
Junichi Fukuda, Takamoto Okudaira, and Yukiko Ohtomo
Solid Earth, 14, 409–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We measured water distributions in deformed quartz by infrared spectroscopy mapping and used the results to discuss changes in water distribution resulting from textural development. Because of the grain size reduction process (dynamic recrystallization), water contents decrease from 40–1750 wt ppm in host grains of ~2 mm to 100–510 wt ppm in recrystallized regions composed of fine grains of ~10 µm. Our results indicate that water is released and homogenized by dynamic recrystallization.
Bastien Walter, Yves Géraud, Alexiane Favier, Nadjib Chibati, and Marc Diraison
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Lake Abhe in southwestern Djibouti is known for its exposures of massive hydrothermal chimneys and hot springs on the lake’s eastern shore. This study highlights the control of the main structural faults of the area on the development of these hydrothermal features. This work contributes to better understand hydrothermal fluid pathways in this area and may help further exploration for the geothermal development of this remarkable site.
Michael Rudolf, Matthias Rosenau, and Onno Oncken
Solid Earth, 14, 311–331, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Analogue models of tectonic processes rely on the reproduction of their geometry, kinematics and dynamics. An important property is fault behaviour, which is linked to the frictional characteristics of the fault gouge. This is represented by granular materials, such as quartz sand. In our study we investigate the time-dependent frictional properties of various analogue materials and highlight their impact on the suitability of these materials for analogue models focusing on fault reactivation.
Jessica Barabasch, Joyce Schmatz, Jop Klaver, Alexander Schwedt, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 14, 271–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed Zechstein salt with microscopes and observed specific microstructures that indicate much faster deformation in rock salt with fine halite grains when compared to salt with larger grains. This is important because people build large cavities in the subsurface salt for energy storage or want to deposit radioactive waste inside it. When engineers and scientists use grain-size data and equations that include this mechanism, it will help to make better predictions in geological models.
Nicolás Molnar and Susanne Buiter
Solid Earth, 14, 213–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Progression of orogenic wedges over pre-existing extensional structures is common in nature, but deciphering the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation from the geological record remains challenging. Our laboratory experiments provide insights on how horizontal stresses are transferred across a heterogeneous crust, constrain which pre-shortening conditions can either favour or hinder the reactivatation of extensional structures, and explain what implications they have on critical taper theory.
Tania Habel, Martine Simoes, Robin Lacassin, Daniel Carrizo, and German Aguilar
Solid Earth, 14, 17–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Central Andes are one of the most emblematic reliefs on Earth, but their western flank remains understudied. Here we explore two rare key sites in the hostile conditions of the Atacama desert to build cross-sections, quantify crustal shortening, and discuss the timing of this deformation at ∼20–22°S. We propose that the structures of the Western Andes accommodated significant crustal shortening here, but only during the earliest stages of mountain building.
Naïm Célini, Frédéric Mouthereau, Abdeltif Lahfid, Claude Gout, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 14, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the peak temperature of sedimentary rocks of the SW Alps (France), using Raman spectroscopy on carbonaceous material. This method provides an estimate of the peak temperature achieved by organic-rich rocks. To determine the timing and the tectonic context of the origin of these temperatures we use 1D thermal modelling. We find that the high temperatures up to 300 °C were achieved during precollisional extensional events, not during tectonic burial in the Western Alps.
Luke N. J. Wedmore, Tess Turner, Juliet Biggs, Jack N. Williams, Henry M. Sichingabula, Christine Kabumbu, and Kawawa Banda
Solid Earth, 13, 1731–1753, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mapping and compiling the attributes of faults capable of hosting earthquakes are important for the next generation of seismic hazard assessment. We document 18 active faults in the Luangwa Rift, Zambia, in an active fault database. These faults are between 9 and 207 km long offset Quaternary sediments, have scarps up to ~30 m high, and are capable of hosting earthquakes from Mw 5.8 to 8.1. We associate the Molaza Fault with surface ruptures from two unattributed M 6+ 20th century earthquakes.
Michał P. Michalak, Lesław Teper, Florian Wellmann, Jerzy Żaba, Krzysztof Gaidzik, Marcin Kostur, Yuriy P. Maystrenko, and Paulina Leonowicz
Solid Earth, 13, 1697–1720, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
When characterizing geological/geophysical surfaces, various geometric attributes are calculated, such as dip angle (1D) or dip direction (2D). However, the boundaries between specific values may be subjective and without optimization significance, resulting from using default color palletes. This study proposes minimizing cosine distance among within-cluster observations to detect 3D anomalies. Our results suggest that the method holds promise for identification of megacylinders or megacones.
Erik M. Young, Christie D. Rowe, and James D. Kirkpatrick
Solid Earth, 13, 1607–1629, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Studying how earthquakes spread deep within the faults they originate from is crucial to improving our understanding of the earthquake process. We mapped preserved ancient earthquake surfaces that are now exposed in South Africa and studied their relationship with the shape and type of rocks surrounding them. We determined that these surfaces are not random and are instead associated with specific kinds of rocks and that their shape is linked to the evolution of the faults in which they occur.
Sivaji Lahiri, Kitty L. Milliken, Peter Vrolijk, Guillaume Desbois, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 13, 1513–1539, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the mechanism of mechanical compaction is important. Previous studies on mechanical compaction were mostly done by performing experiments. Studies on natural rocks are rare due to compositional heterogeneity of the sedimentary succession with depth. Due to remarkable similarity in composition and grain size, the Sumatra subduction complex provides a unique opportunity to study the micromechanism of mechanical compaction on natural samples.
Dongwon Lee, Nikolaos Karadimitriou, Matthias Ruf, and Holger Steeb
Solid Earth, 13, 1475–1494, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research article focuses on filtering and segmentation methods employed in high-resolution µXRCT studies for crystalline rocks, bearing fractures, or fracture networks, of very small aperture. Specifically, we focus on the identification of artificially induced (via quenching) fractures in Carrara marble samples. Results from the same dataset from all five different methods adopted were produced and compared with each other in terms of their output quality and time efficiency.
Alberto Ceccato, Giulia Tartaglia, Marco Antonellini, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 13, 1431–1453, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth's surface is commonly characterized by the occurrence of fractures, which can be mapped, and their can be geometry quantified on digital representations of the surface at different scales of observation. Here we present a series of analytical and statistical tools, which can aid the quantification of fracture spatial distribution at different scales. In doing so, we can improve our understanding of how fracture geometry and geology affect fluid flow within the fractured Earth crust.
Giulio Viola, Giovanni Musumeci, Francesco Mazzarini, Lorenzo Tavazzani, Manuel Curzi, Espen Torgersen, Roelant van der Lelij, and Luca Aldega
Solid Earth, 13, 1327–1351, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A structural-geochronological approach helps to unravel the Zuccale Fault's architecture. By mapping its internal structure and dating some of its fault rocks, we constrained a deformation history lasting 20 Myr starting at ca. 22 Ma. Such long activity is recorded by now tightly juxtaposed brittle structural facies, i.e. different types of fault rocks. Our results also have implications on the regional evolution of the northern Apennines, of which the Zuccale Fault is an important structure.
Wan-Lin Hu
Solid Earth, 13, 1281–1290, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Having a seismic image is generally expected to enable us to better determine fault geometry and thus estimate geological slip rates accurately. However, the process of interpreting seismic images may introduce unintended uncertainties, which have not yet been widely discussed. Here, a case of a shear fault-bend fold in the frontal Himalaya is used to demonstrate how differences in interpretations can affect the following estimates of slip rates and dependent conclusions.
Manuel D. Menzel, Janos L. Urai, Estibalitz Ukar, Thierry Decrausaz, and Marguerite Godard
Solid Earth, 13, 1191–1218, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mantle rocks can bind large quantities of carbon by reaction with CO2, but this capacity requires fluid pathways not to be clogged by carbonate. We studied mantle rocks from Oman to understand the mechanisms allowing their transformation into carbonate and quartz. Using advanced imaging techniques, we show that abundant veins were essential fluid pathways driving the reaction. Our results show that tectonic stress was important for fracture opening and a key ingredient for carbon fixation.
Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl, Steffen G. Bergh, and Arthur G. Sylvester
Solid Earth, 13, 1169–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The San Andreas fault is a major active fault associated with ongoing earthquake sequences in southern California. The present study investigates the development of the Indio Hills area in the Coachella Valley along the main San Andreas fault and the Indio Hills fault. The Indio Hills area is located near an area with high ongoing earthquake activity (Brawley seismic zone), and, therefore, its recent tectonic evolution has implications for earthquake prediction.
Jin Lai, Dong Li, Yong Ai, Hongkun Liu, Deyang Cai, Kangjun Chen, Yuqiang Xie, and Guiwen Wang
Solid Earth, 13, 975–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
(1) Structural diagenesis analysis is performed on the ultra-deep tight sandstone. (2) Fracture and intergranular pores are related to the low in situ stress magnitudes. (3) Dissolution is associated with the presence of fracture.
Hamed Fazlikhani, Wolfgang Bauer, and Harald Stollhofen
Solid Earth, 13, 393–416, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Interpretation of newly acquired FRANKEN 2D seismic survey data in southeeastern Germany shows that upper Paleozoic low-grade metasedimentary rocks and possible nappe units are transported by Variscan shear zones to ca. 65 km west of the Franconian Fault System (FFS). We show that the locations of post-Variscan upper Carboniferous–Permian normal faults and associated graben and half-graben basins are controlled by the geometry of underlying Variscan shear zones.
Xiaodong Ma, Marian Hertrich, Florian Amann, Kai Bröker, Nima Gholizadeh Doonechaly, Valentin Gischig, Rebecca Hochreutener, Philipp Kästli, Hannes Krietsch, Michèle Marti, Barbara Nägeli, Morteza Nejati, Anne Obermann, Katrin Plenkers, Antonio P. Rinaldi, Alexis Shakas, Linus Villiger, Quinn Wenning, Alba Zappone, Falko Bethmann, Raymi Castilla, Francisco Seberto, Peter Meier, Thomas Driesner, Simon Loew, Hansruedi Maurer, Martin O. Saar, Stefan Wiemer, and Domenico Giardini
Solid Earth, 13, 301–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Questions on issues such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments require a better understanding of the fractured rock. Experiments conducted at reduced scales but with higher-resolution observations can shed some light. To this end, the BedrettoLab was recently established in an existing tunnel in Ticino, Switzerland, with preliminary efforts to characterize realistic rock mass behavior at the hectometer scale.
Berit Schwichtenberg, Florian Fusseis, Ian B. Butler, and Edward Andò
Solid Earth, 13, 41–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Hydraulic rock properties such as porosity and permeability are relevant factors that have an impact on groundwater resources, geological repositories and fossil fuel reservoirs. We investigate the influence of chemical compaction upon the porosity evolution in salt–biotite mixtures and related transport length scales by conducting laboratory experiments in combination with 4-D analysis. Our observations invite a renewed discussion of the effect of sheet silicates on chemical compaction.
David Healy and Stephen Paul Hicks
Solid Earth, 13, 15–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The energy transition requires operations in faulted rocks. To manage the technical challenges and public concern over possible induced earthquakes, we need to quantify the risks. We calculate the probability of fault slip based on uncertain inputs, stresses, fluid pressures, and the mechanical properties of rocks in fault zones. Our examples highlight the specific gaps in our knowledge. Citizen science projects could produce useful data and include the public in the discussions about hazards.
Manuel I. de Paz-Álvarez, Thomas G. Blenkinsop, David M. Buchs, George E. Gibbons, and Lesley Cherns
Solid Earth, 13, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a virtual geological mapping course implemented in response to travelling and social restrictions derived from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The course was designed to replicate a physical mapping exercise as closely as possible with the aid of real field data and photographs collected by the authors during previous years in the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain). The course is delivered through Google Earth via a KMZ file with outcrop descriptions and links to GitHub-hosted photographs.
Yueyang Xia, Jacob Geersen, Dirk Klaeschen, Bo Ma, Dietrich Lange, Michael Riedel, Michael Schnabel, and Heidrun Kopp
Solid Earth, 12, 2467–2477, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The 2 June 1994 Java tsunami earthquake ruptured in a seismically quiet subduction zone and generated a larger-than-expected tsunami. Here, we re-process a seismic line across the rupture area. We show that a subducting seamount is located up-dip of the mainshock in a region that did not rupture during the earthquake. Seamount subduction modulates the topography of the marine forearc and acts as a seismic barrier in the 1994 earthquake rupture.
Steffen Abe and Hagen Deckert
Solid Earth, 12, 2407–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use numerical simulations and laboratory experiments on rock samples to investigate how stress conditions influence the geometry and roughness of fracture surfaces. The roughness of the surfaces was analyzed in terms of absolute roughness and scaling properties. The results show that the surfaces are self-affine but with different scaling properties between the numerical models and the real rock samples. Results suggest that stress conditions have little influence on the surface roughness.
Chao Deng, Rixiang Zhu, Jianhui Han, Yu Shu, Yuxiang Wu, Kefeng Hou, and Wei Long
Solid Earth, 12, 2327–2350, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses seismic reflection data to interpret the geometric relationship and evolution of intra-basement and rift-related structures in the Enping sag in the northern South China Sea. Our observations suggest the primary control of pre-existing thrust faults is the formation of low-angle normal faults, with possible help from low-friction materials, and the significant role of pre-existing basement thrust faults in fault geometry, paleotopography, and syn-rift stratigraphy of rift basins.
Sonia Yeung, Marnie Forster, Emmanuel Skourtsos, and Gordon Lister
Solid Earth, 12, 2255–2275, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We do not know when the ancient Tethys Ocean lithosphere began to founder, but one clue can be found in subduction accreted tectonic slices, including Gondwanan basement terranes on the island of Ios, Cyclades, Greece. We propose a 250–300 km southwards jump of the subduction megathrust with a period of flat-slab subduction followed by slab break-off. The initiation and its subsequent rollback of a new subduction zone would explain the onset of Oligo–Miocene extension and accompanying magmatism.
Cited articles
Alevizos, S., Poulet, T., and Veveakis, E.: Thermo-poro-mechanics of chemically active creeping faults. 1: Theory and steady state considerations, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol., 119, 4558–4582, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010070, 2014. a, b
Badertscher, N. and Burkhard, M.: Brittle–ductile deformation in the Glarus thrust Lochseiten (LK) calc-mylonite, Terra Nova, 12, 281–288, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3121.2000.00310.x, 2000. a
Beach, A.: The Interrelations of Fluid Transport, Deformation, Geochemistry and Heat Flow in Early Proterozoic Shear Zones in the Lewisian Complex, Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. A, 280, 569–604, 1976. a
Beall, A., Fagereng, Å., and Ellis, S.: Fracture and Weakening of Jammed Subduction Shear Zones, Leading to the Generation of Slow Slip Events, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 20, 4869–4884, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008481, 2019. a
Bürgmann, R.: The geophysics, geology and mechanics of slow fault slip, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 495, 112–134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.062, 2018. a
Carter, K. and Dworkin, S.: Channelized fluid flow through shear zones during fluid-enhanced dynamic recrystallization, Northern Apennines, Italy, Geology, 18, 720–723, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018<0720:CFFTSZ>2.3.CO;2, 1990. a
Chen, J., Verberne, B., and Niemeijer, A.: Flow-to-Friction Transition in Simulated Calcite Gouge: Experiments and Microphysical Modelling, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 125, e2020JB019970, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB019970, 2020. a, b
Cherukuri, H. and Shawki, T.: An energy-based localization theory: I. Basic framework, Int. J. Plast., 11, 15–40, https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-6419(94)00037-9, 1995. a
Covey-crump, S.: The high temperature static recovery and recrystallization behaviour of cold-worked Carrara marble, J. Struct. Geol., 19, 225–241, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8141(96)00088-0, 1997. a
Delle Piane, C., Burlini, L., Kunze, K., Brack, P., and Burg, J.-P.: Rheology of dolomite: Large strain torsion experiments and natural examples, J. Struct. Geol., 30, 767–776, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2008.02.018, 2008. a, b, c, d
Edmond, J. and Paterson, M.: Volume changes during the deformation of rocks at high pressures, Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci., 9, 161–182, https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(72)90019-8, 1972. a
Egholm, D., Knudsen, M., Clark, C., and Lesemann, J.: Modeling the flow of glaciers in steep terrains: The integrated second-order shallow ice approximation (iSOSIA), J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 116, F02012, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JF001900, 2011. a
Evans, B.: Creep constitutive laws for rocks with evolving structure, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 245, 329–346, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.245.01.16, 2005. a, b
Fossen, H. and Cavalcante, G.: Shear zones – A review, Earth Sci. Rev., 171, 434–455, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.05.002, 2017. a
Fressengeas, C. and Molinari, A.: Instability and localization of plastic flow in shear at high strain rates, J. Phys. Chem. Solids, 35, 185–211, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5096(87)90035-4, 1987. a, b, c
Gilgannon, J.: se-2020-137_dataset_and_code, BORIS, available at: https://doi.org/10.7892/boris.151266, 2021. a
Gilgannon, J., Fusseis, F., Menegon, L., Regenauer-Lieb, K., and Buckman, J.: Hierarchical creep cavity formation in an ultramylonite and implications for phase mixing, Solid Earth, 8, 1193–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1193-2017, 2017. a
Giuntoli, F., Brovarone, A., and Menegon, L.: Feedback between high-pressure genesis of abiotic methane and strain localization in subducted carbonate rocks, Sci. Rep., 10, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66640-3, 2020. a, b
Goncalves, P., Poilvet, J.-C., Oliot, E., Trap, P., and Marquer, D.: How does shear zone nucleate? An example from the Suretta nappe (Swiss Eastern Alps), J. Struct. Geol., 86, 166–180, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2016.02.015, 2016. a
Guével, A., Rattez, H., Alevizos, S., and Veveakis, M.: Contact phase-field modeling for chemo-mechanical degradation processes. Part I: Theoretical foundations,
arXiv [preprint], arXiv:1906.07755, 18 June 2019. a
Haertel, M., Herwegh, M., and Pettke, T.: Titanium-in-quartz thermometry on synkinematic quartz veins in a retrograde crustal-scale normal fault zone, Tectonophysics, 608, 468–481, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2013.08.042, 2013. a
Handy, H., Hirth, G., and Bürgmann, R.: Continental Fault Structure and Rheology from the Frictional-to-Viscous Transition Downward, chap. 6, 139–182, MIT Press, 2007. a
Hansen, L., Zimmerman, M., Dillman, A., and Kohlstedt, D.: Strain localization in olivine aggregates at high temperature: A laboratory comparison of constant-strain-rate and constant-stress boundary conditions, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 333–334, 134–145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.016, 2012. a, b, c, d
Herwegh, M. and Jenni, A.: Granular flow in polymineralic rocks bearing sheet silicates: new evidence from natural examples, Tectonophysics, 332, 309–320, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00288-2, 2001. a, b
Herwegh, M. and Kunze, K.: The influence of nano-scale second-phase particles on deformation of fine grained calcite mylonites, J. Struct. Geol., 24, 1463–1478, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8141(01)00144-4, 2002. a, b
Herwegh, M., de Bresser, J., and ter Heege, J.: Combining natural microstructures with composite flow laws: an improved approach for the extrapolation of lab data to nature, J. Struct. Geol., 27, 503–521, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2004.10.010, 2005. a
Hobbs, B. and Ord, A.: Structural Geology: The Mechanics of Deforming Metamorphic Rocks, Elsevier, the Netherlands, 2015. a
Hobbs, B., Ord, A., and Teyssier, C.: Earthquakes in the ductile regime?, Pure Appl. Geophys., 124, 309–336, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00875730, 1986. a
Hobbs, B., Ord, A., and Regenauer-Lieb, K.: The thermodynamics of deformed metamorphic rocks: A review, J. Struct. Geol., 33, 758–818, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2011.01.013, 2011. a
Kohlstedt, D. and Holtzman, B.: Shearing Melt Out of the Earth: An Experimentalist's Perspective on the Influence of Deformation on Melt Extraction, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 37, 561–593, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100104, 2009. a
Lopez-Sanchez, M. A. and Llana-Fúnez, S.: A cavitation-seal mechanism for ultramylonite formation in quartzofeldspathic rocks within the semi-brittle field (Vivero fault, NW Spain), Tectonophysics, 745, 132–153, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.07.026, 2018. a
Mancktelow, N.: How ductile are ductile shear zones?, Geology, 34, 345–348, https://doi.org/10.1130/G22260.1, 2006. a, b
Mancktelow, N., Grujic, D., and Johnson, E.: An SEM study of porosity and grain boundary microstructure in quartz mylonites, Simplon Fault Zone, Central Alps, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 131, 71–85, https://doi.org/10.1007/s004100050379, 1998. a
Mariani, E., Brodie, K., and Rutter, E.: Experimental deformation of muscovite shear zones at high temperatures under hydrothermal conditions and the strength of phyllosilicate-bearing faults in nature, J. Struct. Geol., 28, 1569–1587, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2006.06.009, 2006. a
Menegon, L., Fusseis, F., Stünitz, H., and Xiao, X.: Creep cavitation bands control porosity and fluid flow in lower crustal shear zones, Geology, 43, 227–230, https://doi.org/10.1130/G36307.1, 2015. a
Neupauer, R. and Powell, K.: A fully-anisotropic Morlet wavelet to identify dominant orientations in a porous medium, Comput. Geosci., 31, 465–471, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2004.10.014, 2005. a, b, c, d
Neupauer, R., Powell, K., Qi, X., Lee, D., and Villhauer, D.: Characterization of permeability anisotropy using wavelet analysis, Water Resour. Res., 42, W07419, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004364, 2006. a
Noack, L. and Breuer, D.: Plate tectonics on rocky exoplanets: Influence of initial conditions and mantle rheology, Planet. Space Sci., 98, 41–49, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2013.06.020, 2014. a
Paterson, M.: Localization in rate-dependent shearing deformation, with application to torsion testing, Tectonophysics, 445, 273–280, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2007.08.015, 2007. a, b, c
Peacock, S.: Thermal and metamorphic environment of subduction zone episodic tremor and slip, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 114, B00A07, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB005978, 2009. a
Peters, M., Herwegh, M., Paesold, M., Poulet, T., Regenauer-Lieb, K., and Veveakis, M.: Boudinage and folding as an energy instability in ductile deformation, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 121, 3996–4013, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB012801, 2016. a
Pieri, M., Kunze, K., Burlini, L., Stretton, I., Olgaard, D., Burg, J.-P., and Wenk, H.-R.: Texture development of calcite by deformation and dynamic recrystallization at 1000K during torsion experiments of marble to large strains, Tectonophysics, 330, 119–140, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00225-0, 2001. a
Poirier, J.-P.: Creep of Crystals: High-Temperature Deformation Processes in Metals, Ceramics and Minerals, Cambridge Earth Science Series, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511564451, 1985. a
Poulet, T., Veveakis, M., Herwegh, M., Buckingham, T., and Regenauer-Lieb, K.: Modeling episodic fluid-release events in the ductile carbonates of the Glarus thrust, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 7121–7128, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061715, 2014. a
Précigout, J., Prigent, C., Palasse, L., and Pochon, A.: Water pumping in mantle shear zones, Nat. Commun., 8, 15736, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15736, 2017. a
Précigout, J., Stünitz, H., and Villeneuve, J.: Excess water storage induced by viscous strain localization during high-pressure shear experiment, Sci. Rep., 9, 3463, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40020-y, 2019. a
Regenauer-Lieb, K., Yuen, D., and Fusseis, F.: Landslides, Ice Quakes, Earthquakes: A Thermodynamic Approach to Surface Instabilities, 1885–1908, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0138-2_15, 2009. a, b
Regenauer-Lieb, K., Karrech, A., Chua, H., Poulet, T., Veveakis, M., Wellmann, F., Liu, J., Schrank, C., Gaede, O., Trefry, M., Ord, A., Hobbs, B., Metcalfe, G., and Lester, D.: Entropic Bounds for Multi-Scale and Multi-Physics Coupling in Earth Sciences, pp. 323–335, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40154-1_17, 2014. a, b
Regenauer-Lieb, K., Veveakis, M., Poulet, T., Paesold, M., Rosenbaum, G., Weinberg, R., and Karrech, A.: Multiscale, multiphysics geomechanics for geodynamics applied to buckling instabilities in the middle of the Australian craton, Philos. Mag., 95, 3055–3077, https://doi.org/10.1080/14786435.2015.1066517, 2015. a, b, c
Renner, J. and Evans, B.: Do calcite rocks obey the power-law creep equation?, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 200, 293–307, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.200.01.17, 2002. a
Schmid, S. and Handy, M.: Towards a genetic classification of fault rocks – geological usage and tectonophysical implications, chap. 16, 339–361, Academic Press, New York, 1991. a
Selverstone, J., Morteani, G., and Staude, J.-M.: Fluid channelling during ductile shearing: transformation of granodiorite into aluminous schist in the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps, J. Metamorph. Geol., 9, 419–431, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1314.1991.tb00536.x, 1991. a
Shawki, T.: An Energy Criterion for the Onset of Shear Localization in Thermal Viscoplastic Materials, Part II: Applications and Implications, J. Appl. Mech., 61, 538–547, https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2901493, 1994. a, b
Shigematsu, N., Fujimoto, K., Ohtani, T., and Goto, K.: Ductile fracture of fine-grained plagioclase in the brittle-plastic transition regime: implication for earthquake source nucleation, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 222, 1007–1022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2004.04.001, 2004. a
Sibson, R.: Fault rocks and fault mechanisms, J. Geol. Soc., 133, 191–213, https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.133.3.0191, 1977. a
Sibson, R.: Crustal stress, faulting and fluid flow, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 78, 69–84, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1994.078.01.07, 1994. a
Spiess, R., Dibona, R., Rybacki, E., Wirth, R., and Dresen, G.: Depressurized Cavities within High-strain Shear Zones: their Role in the Segregation and Flow of SiO2-rich Melt in Feldspar-dominated Rocks, J. Petrol., 53, 1767–1776, https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egs032, 2012.
a, b, c
Tannock, L., Herwegh, M., Berger, A., Liu, J., and Regenauer-Lieb, K.: The effects of a tectonic stress regime change on crustal-scale fluid flow at the Heyuan geothermal fault system, South China, Tectonophysics, 781, 228399, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2020.228399, 2020. a
van der Walt, S., Schönberger, J., Nunez-Iglesias, J., Boulogne, F., Warner, J., Yager, N., Gouillart, E., Yu, T., and the scikit-image contributors: scikit-image: image processing in Python, PeerJ, 2, e453, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.453, 2014. a
Vauchez, A., Tommasi, A., and Mainprice, D.: Faults (shear zones) in the Earth's mantle, Tectonophysics, 558–559, 1–27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.06.006, 2012. a
Verberne, B., Chen, J., Niemeijer, A., de Bresser, J., Pennock, G., Drury, M., and Spiers, C.: Microscale cavitation as a mechanism for nucleating earthquakes at the base of the seismogenic zone, Nat. Commun., 8, 1645, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01843-3, 2017. a
Veveakis, E. and Regenauer-Lieb, K.: Review of extremum postulates, Curr. Opin. Chem. Eng., 7, 40–46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2014.10.006, 2015. a, b, c
Wang, K. and Tréhu, A.: Invited review paper: Some outstanding issues in the study of great megathrust earthquakes – The Cascadia example, J. Geodyn., 98, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jog.2016.03.010, 2016. a, b
Weinberg, R. and Regenauer-Lieb, K.: Ductile fractures and magma migration from source, Geology, 38, 363–366, https://doi.org/10.1130/G30482.1, 2010. a, b, c
Xiao, X., Evans, B., and Bernabé, Y.: Permeability Evolution During Non-linear Viscous Creep of Calcite Rocks, 2071–2102, Birkhäuser Basel, Basel, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8124-0_3, 2006. a
Závada, P., Schulmann, K., Konopásek, J., Stanislav, U., and Ondrej, L.: Extreme ductility of feldspar aggregates - Melt-enhanced grain boundary sliding and creep failure: Rheological implications for felsic lower crust, J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth, 112, B10210, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JB004820, 2007. a
Short summary
Using experiments that simulate deep tectonic interfaces, known as viscous shear zones, we found that these zones spontaneously develop periodic sheets of small pores. The presence of porous layers in deep rocks undergoing tectonic deformation is significant because it requires a change to the current model of how the Earth deforms. Emergent porous layers in viscous rocks will focus mineralising fluids and could lead to the seismic failure of rocks that are never supposed to have this occur.
Using experiments that simulate deep tectonic interfaces, known as viscous shear zones, we found...
