Co-seismic frictional melting along an out-of-sequence thrust in the Shimanto accretionary complex. Implications on the tsunamigenic potential of splay faults in modern subduction zones

Abstract

Out-of-sequence thrusts (OST) play an important role in the thickening of accretionary prisms, formation of forearc basins, and tsunami generation in subduction zones. By detailed investigations of geological and paleogeothermal structures, an ancient seismogenic OST is identified in the Shimanto accretionary complex, southwest Japan. This OST consists of a mappable en echelon fault system developed at a late stage of the accretionary process. The estimated accumulated displacement of 2.5–8.5 km and formation depth of 2.5–5.5 km, based on a thermal analysis, indicates much higher fault activities sense of slip with a sinistral slip, and the large displacement was distributed among multiple small faults each with a small offset. Most of the faults in the en echelon fault system recorded repeated brittle failure, and one fault preserves pseudotachylyte, a fault rock indicative of seismic faulting. This is the first report of pseudotachylyte along an OST in an accretionary prism. Repeated fracturing in the same narrow shear zones (each only a few millimeters thick) suggests the OSTs perform as major shear localized zone in the accretionary prism. Shallow estimated formation depth and consequent low normal stress also support the hypothesis by a weak coupling along this fault zone. These findings are in accord with a thrust activity in the shallow portion of the accretionary prism being associated with rupture propagation from the deep seismogenic region. This OST showed high activity and repeated faulting in the shallow portion of the accretionary prism, comparable to that of the submarine tsunamigenic OST in the present Nankai trough.