Wet Gouges Research Articles

Frictional Properties of the Longmenshan Fault Belt Gouges From WFSD‐3 and Implications for Earthquake Rupture Propagation

AbstractThe 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake generated ∼270 and ∼80 km long surface ruptures along the Longmenshan fault belt, namely the Yingxiu‐Beichuan fault (YBF) and the Guanxian‐Anxian faults (GAF), respectively. So far, most of the frictional investigations were performed on the YBF gouge materials. Here, we present the results of rotary shear friction experiments performed on the GAF gouges recovered from the depth of ∼1.25 km of the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project‐3 along the GAF. The fault gouges, mainly composed of quartz, illite, chlorite, and kaolinite, were sheared at slip velocities V ranging from 10−5 to 2 m/s and normal stresses from 8.5 to 10 MPa under both room humidity and wet conditions. At any imposed slip velocity, the wet gouges have an apparent friction coefficient lower than the room humidity one. In addition, enhanced velocity‐strengthening behavior at intermediate velocities (10−2 m/s < V ≤ 10−1 m/s) was recognized. We characterized the products using field‐emission scanning electron microscopy combined with synchrotron X‐ray diffraction analysis. These microanalytical investigations evidence the formation of size‐reduced particles (without mineral phase changes) and R‐ and Y‐shears in the principal slip zone (PSZ). Regardless of the ambient conditions, the width of PSZ was proportional to the input frictional work density (the product of shear stress times displacement). Our results support the hypothesis that the GAF preferentially ruptures through wet fault gouges; however, the enhanced velocity‐strengthening regime at intermediate velocities may act as a barrier to slip acceleration during fault rupture propagation.

Rupture to the trench? Frictional properties and fracture energy of incoming sediments at the Cascadia subduction zone

The mechanical properties of sediment inputs to subduction zones are important for understanding rupture propagation through the accretionary prism during megathrust earthquakes. Clay minerals strongly influence the frictional behavior of fault gouges, and the clay content of subduction input materials varies through a stratigraphic section as well as for subduction margins globally. To establish the frictional properties of the shallow Cascadia subduction zone and place the results in a global context, we conducted high velocity rotary shear experiments on ODP core samples retrieved from Cascadia input sediments (35-45% clay) and a suite of individual clay species. We compared our results to a compilation of published high velocity experiments conducted on samples of wet gouge, dry gouge, and intact rock. For each sample type, three trends were identified with increasing normal stress: 1) the stress drop (τp−τss) increases linearly, 2) the characteristic thermal weakening distance (Dth) decreases as a power law function except for wet clay-rich gouges, and 3) the fracture energy (Wb) shows no dependence. However, fracture energy does vary with sample type. Clay-rich gouges under wet conditions have the lowest fracture energy, and fracture energy for both dry and wet gouges is at least an order of magnitude lower than estimates from intact rocks. Therefore when clay-rich lithologies are present, they may minimize spatial variations in frictional behavior, allowing earthquakes to propagate to the trench. For Cascadia input sediments, there is little variation in the fracture energy between lithologies, but the fracture energy of Cascadia sediments is around an order of magnitude higher than input sediments from other subduction margins. The high fracture energy of Cascadia sediments relative to other subduction margins may inhibit large amounts of shallow earthquake slip and dynamic overshoot.

Contrasting Mechanical and Hydraulic Properties of Wet and Dry Fault Zones in a Proposed Shale‐Hosted Nuclear Waste Repository

AbstractThe underground disposal of high‐level nuclear waste is a pressing issue for several countries. In Switzerland, the Opalinus Clay formation is a shale with favorable barrier properties. However, small‐to‐large faults intersecting the formation bring the long‐term integrity of the future repositories into question. Here we present the first systematic laboratory study on the frictional strength, stability, dilatancy, and permeability of simulated Opalinus Clay gouge under typical repository conditions. Wet gouges exhibit an extremely low coefficient of friction (μf~0.16), velocity‐strengthening behavior, and shear‐enhanced dilatancy at the onset of slip, and permeability increase. Conversely, dry gouges remain weak (μf~0.36) but exhibit a transition from unstable to stable sliding with increasing sliding velocity. Thus, we infer that faults hosted in Opalinus Clay could be easily reactivated via aseismic creep, possibly acting as poor fluid conduits. However, if temporarily dried, the faults become potentially unstable, at least, at low sliding velocities (<~10 μm/s).

Localized Slip and Associated Fluidized Structures Record Seismic Slip in Clay‐Rich Fault Gouge

AbstractFault rocks can weaken dramatically with increasing slip rate, which results in localization of slip and earthquakes. Exhumed fault zones and fault rocks deformed at seismic rates in the laboratory both show that deformation can become extremely localized to zones less than or equal to millimeters thick. However, localization can occur during aseismic slip, so evidence of localization cannot necessarily be interpreted as having occurred coseismically. Dynamic weakening that occurs during earthquakes is the result of processes that are unique to seismic slip rates, and previous results from carbonates show that these processes produce unique microstructures. We evaluate whether coseismic deformation at low normal stress produces unique structures within the localized slip zones and adjacent gouge that develop in clay‐rich gouge from the Central Deforming Zone of the San Andreas fault. We measured the thickness and orientations of localized slip zones and their internal lamina, particle orientations, and particle size distributions of gouge sheared from 0.35 to 1.3 m/s velocity, up to 25‐m displacement, and 1‐MPa normal stress, under water‐wet and room‐dry conditions. We find that the thicknesses of localized slip zones and their internal laminae are consistent with numerical formulations for thermal pressurization in wet gouge and both thermal decomposition and cataclastic deformation in dry gouge. Localized zones form coincident with a zone of fluidized gouge that accommodates at most 10% of the shear strain. We conclude that the combined occurrence of foliated localized shear zones with a zone of fluidized gouge may provide a record of seismicity in clay‐rich gouges.

Conversion of Wet Glass to Melt at Lower Seismogenic Zone Conditions: Implications for Pseudotachylyte Creep

AbstractCoseismic frictional melting and the production of quenched glass called pseudotachylyte is a recurring process during earthquakes. To investigate how glassy materials affect the postseismic strength and stability of faults, obsidian gouges were sheared under dry and wet conditions from 200°C to 300°C at ~150 MPa effective normal stress. Dry glass exhibited a brittle rheology at all conditions tested, exhibiting friction values and microstructures consistent with siliciclastic materials. Likewise, wet glass at 200°C exhibited a brittle rheology. In contrast, wet gouges at 300°C transitioned from brittle sliding to linear‐viscous (Newtonian) flow at strain rates <3 × 10−4 s−1, indicating melt‐like behavior. The viscosity ranged from 2 × 1011 to 7.8 × 1011 Pa‐s. Microstructures show that viscous gouges were fully welded with rod‐shaped microlites rotated into the flow direction. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy along with electron backscatter imaging demonstrate that hydration of the glass by diffusion of pore water was the dominant process reducing the viscosity and promoting viscous flow. As much as 5 wt % water diffused into the glass. These results may provide insight into postseismic‐slip behaviors and challenge some interpretations of fault kinematics based on studies assuming that pseudotachylyte formation and flow is solely coseismic.

The effect of water on strain localization in calcite fault gouge sheared at seismic slip rates

Strain localization during coseismic slip in fault gouges is a critical mechanical process that has implications for understanding frictional heating, the earthquake energy budget and the evolution of fault rock microstructure. To assess the nature of strain localization during shearing of calcite fault gouges, high-velocity (vmax=1m/s) rotary-shear experiments at normal stresses of 3–20 MPa were conducted under room-dry and wet conditions on synthetic calcite gouges containing dolomite gouge strain markers. When sheared at 1 m/s, the room-dry gouges showed a prolonged strengthening phase prior to dynamic weakening, whereas the wet gouges weakened nearly instantaneously. Microstructural analysis revealed that a thin (<600 μm) high-strain layer and through-going principal slip surface (PSS) developed after several centimeters of slip in both dry and wet gouges, and that strain localization at 1 m/s occurred progressively and rapidly. The strain accommodated in the bulk gouge layer did not change significantly with increasing displacement indicating that, once formed, the high-strain layer and PSS accommodated most of the displacement. Thus, a substantial strain gradient is present in the gouge layer. In water-dampened gouges, localization likely occurs during and after dynamic weakening. Our results suggest that natural fault zones in limestone are more prone to rapid dynamic weakening if water is present in the granular slipping zones.

High‐velocity frictional strength of Longmenshan fault gouge and its comparison with an estimate of friction from the temperature anomaly in WFSD‐1 drill hole

AbstractThis paper addresses the issue of whether high‐velocity friction experiments yield frictional strengths of fault materials that are consistent with the level of friction estimated from the postseismic temperature anomaly measured across a coseismic fault zone. Experiments were conducted on gouge (composed of quartz, dolomite, illite, albite, and other clay minerals), collected from a large outcrop of the Yingxiu‐Beichuan fault zone and from Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project hole‐1 drill cores in Hongkou, Sichuan Province, China. This fault is a major fault of the Longmenshan fault system that caused the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. All experiments revealed dramatic weakening at high velocities with peak friction coefficient μp of 0.07~0.35 and steady state friction coefficient μss of 0.02~0.15 for wet gouge, as compared with μp = 0.49~0.86 and μss = 0.12~0.21 for dry gouge. The average friction coefficients over a displacement of 5.5 m (coseismic displacement) extrapolated to the normal stress in the fault zones are 0.1~0.05 and 0.06~0.03 for dry and wet gouges, respectively. The average friction coefficients of dry and wet gouges are within the upper and lower bounds of friction coefficients estimated from the temperature profiles, and there are overall agreements between the two sets of data that are completely independent. Dry and wet gouges are characterized by highly sheared slip zones often forming overlapping slip‐zone structures and by broad shear zones, respectively. Wet gouge textures are perhaps closer to those of natural fault zone, but repeated slip experiments are needed to determine the textural evolution of wet gouge.

An experimental investigation into the role of phyllosilicate content on earthquake propagation during seismic slip in carbonate faults

AbstractCarbonate faults commonly contain small amounts of phyllosilicate in their slip zones, due to pressure solution and/or clay smear. To assess the effect of phyllosilicate content on earthquake propagation in carbonate faults, friction experiments were performed at 1.3 m/s on end‐members and mixtures of calcite, illite‐smectite, and smectite gouge. Experiments were performed at 9 MPa normal load, under room humidity and water‐saturated conditions. All dry gouges show initial friction values (μi) of 0.51–0.58, followed by slip hardening to peak values of 0.61–0.76. Slip weakening then ensues, with friction decreasing to steady state values (μss) of 0.19–0.33 within 0.17–0.58 m of slip. Contrastingly, wet gouges containing 10–50 wt % phyllosilicate exhibit μi values between 0.07 and 0.52 followed by negligible or no slip hardening; rather, steady state sliding (μss ≪ 0.2) is attained almost immediately. Microstructurally, dry gouges show intense cataclasis and wear within localized principal slip zones, plus evidence for thermal decomposition of calcite. Wet gouges exhibit distributed deformation, less intense cataclasis, and no evidence of thermal decomposition. It is proposed that in wet gouges, slip is distributed across a network of weak phyllosilicate formed during axial loading compaction prior to shear. This explains the (1) subdued cataclasis and associated lack of slip hardening, (2) distributed nature of deformation, and (3) lack of evidence for thermal decomposition, due to low friction and lack of slip localization. These findings imply that just 10% phyllosilicate in the slip zone of fluid‐saturated carbonate faults can (1) dramatically change their frictional behavior, facilitating rupture propagation to the surface, and (2) significantly lower frictional heating, preventing development of microscale seismic markers.

Triggering and runaway processes of catastrophic Tsaoling landslide induced by the 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake, as revealed by high-velocity friction experiments

Pliocene sedimentary rocks of about 130 Mm3 in volume slid along bedding planes dipping by 14°, with an average speed of about 35 m/s, during the Tsaoling landslide. We conducted friction experiments to reproduce the initiation processes of this landslide, by idealizing landslide movements during the earthquake as accelerating/decelerating motion. Experiments were done on shale from the field, at 3 MPa normal stress corresponding to the overburden pressure. Results indicate that the accelerating/decelerating motion causes weakening and strengthening at each oscillation cycle and results in overall slip weakening which can be approximated as an exponential slip weakening. Behaviors during oscillatory slip are fairly similar to those during sliding at constant slip rates. Newmark analysis with measured frictional properties reveals that the landslide can be triggered with wet gouge properties, but the landslide motion stops with parameters for dry shale gouge. Delayed initiation of the landslide is consistent with a survivor's witness.

Displacement and dynamic weakening processes in smectite‐rich gouge from the Central Deforming Zone of the San Andreas Fault

The strength of clay‐rich gouge from the Central Deforming Zone (CDZ) of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) was measured using a high‐speed rotary shear apparatus to evaluate the potential for unstable slip along the creeping segment of the SAF. Wet and dry gouge was sheared at 0.1–1.3 m/s, 0.5–1.5 MPa normal stress, and 1–20 m displacement. CDZ gouge is weaker wet than dry and exhibits displacement strengthening to peak friction followed by weakening to steady state strength that decreases with increasing velocity. A clay foliation (Unit 2) develops from the initial microstructure (Unit 1) during the first 1.5 m of slip coincident with increasing strength. Subsequent weakening occurs during shear within Unit 2, and subsequently with development of a localized foliated slip zone (Unit 4) and fluidized material (Unit 3). Displacement and dynamic weakening result from slip along clay foliation assisted by shear‐heating pressurization of pore fluid in wet gouge and additional grain‐size reduction and possible clay dehydration in dry gouge. Peak strength is proportional to normal stress, but steady state strength is insensitive to normal stress probably because pore pressure approaches the normal stress. As such, CDZ gouge is weak at coseismic rates relative to interseismic creep strength. The potential for sustaining rupture propagation into the CDZ from an adjacent seismic segment is sensitive to the relationship used to extrapolate the critical weakening displacement from experimental to in situ conditions. Rupture propagation from a microseismic patch within the CDZ is unlikely, but sustained propagation from a large earthquake (e.g., Parkfield event) may be possible.

Frictional Properties and Microstructure of Calcite-Rich Fault Gouges Sheared at Sub-Seismic Sliding Velocities

We report an experimental and microstructural study of the frictional properties of simulated fault gouges prepared from natural limestone (96 % CaCO3) and pure calcite. Our experiments consisted of direct shear tests performed, under dry and wet conditions, at an effective normal stress of 50 MPa, at 18–150 °C and sliding velocities of 0.1–10 μm/s. Wet experiments used a pore water pressure of 10 MPa. Wet gouges typically showed a lower steady-state frictional strength (μ = 0.6) than dry gouges (μ = 0.7–0.8), particularly in the case of the pure calcite samples. All runs showed a transition from stable velocity strengthening to (potentially) unstable velocity weakening slip above 80–100 °C. All recovered samples showed patchy, mirror-like surfaces marking boundary shear planes. Optical study of sections cut normal to the shear plane and parallel to the shear direction showed both boundary and inclined shear bands, characterized by extreme grain comminution and a crystallographic preferred orientation. Cross-sections of boundary shears, cut normal to the shear direction using focused ion beam—SEM, from pure calcite gouges sheared at 18 and 150 °C, revealed dense arrays of rounded, ~0.3 μm-sized particles in the shear band core. Transmission electron microscopy showed that these particles consist of 5–20 nm sized calcite nanocrystals. All samples showed evidence for cataclasis and crystal plasticity. Comparing our results with previous models for gouge friction, we suggest that frictional behaviour was controlled by competition between crystal plastic and granular flow processes active in the shear bands, with water facilitating pressure solution, subcritical cracking and intergranular lubrication. Our data have important implications for the depth of the seismogenic zone in tectonically active limestone terrains. Contrary to recent claims, our data also demonstrate that nanocrystalline mirror-like slip surfaces in calcite(-rich) faults are not necessarily indicative of seismic slip rates.

Velocity dependence of shear‐induced permeability associated with frictional behavior in fault zones of the Nankai subduction zone

We measured frictional properties and permeability of core materials from the megasplay fault zone (site C0004) and the frontal thrust (site C0007) in the shallow part of the Nankai subduction zone. Permeability was measured before and after 7.9 m slip displacement at high (1.05 m/s) and low velocities (0.013 m/s) under normal stresses of 1.5 MPa using the rotary‐shear apparatus, from which we estimated the shear‐induced permeability change in an experimental fault gouge prepared from core material. Gouge permeability (10−18 m2) decreased after sliding for wet gouge and increased for dry gouge. The high‐velocity friction test under wet conditions yielded a smaller reduction in permeability than the low‐velocity test, whereas the opposite trend was observed in dry conditions. We attribute the differences in permeability to the effects of thermal/mechanical pore pressurization upon shear‐induced compaction. Symmetric boudin structures may represent evidence of hydrofracturing induced by pore fluid pressurization. The large friction coefficient of the megasplay fault material in the slow and wet friction tests is explained by homogeneous shear deformation and higher permeability that promotes faster shear‐induced compaction. The similarity in post‐shear permeability for the gouges from the both faults may account for the similar friction coefficients in high‐velocity friction, assuming that the pore fluid pressurization process controls high‐velocity frictional behavior. This velocity dependence on friction suggests that a large dynamic stress drop is expected for the megasplay fault, implying that large slip displacement followed by a giant tsunami is plausible when a rupture from depth propagates to the megasplay fault.