Hydrologic properties and structure of the Mozumi Fault, central Japan

Abstract

[1] Analyses of rocks from the Active Fault Survey Tunnel (AFST) provides insight into the structure and hydrogeology of the northeast-trending Mozumi-Sukenobu fault, an active strike-slip fault with 125 to 500 m of right-lateral slip in central Japan. Interlayered regions of sub-vertical permeability zones formed by cataclasis and slip on clay-rich foliated zones. Core samples range from 10−19 m2 to almost 10−13 m2. CFC analyses of waters from the fault zone show that water entering the tunnel is 27–36 years old, yielding a bulk fault permeability of 10−14 to 10−15 m2. The data support a fault zone model of a fluid-saturated, low-velocity zone with a sharp velocity contrasting with the protolith. Pore-fluid pressures could build and dissipate in isolated high permeability pods 10's–100's m in dimension.