Table Of ContentGeology of the Earthquake Source:
A Volume in Honour of Rick Sibson
http://avaxho.me/blogs/ChrisRedfield
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Toy V. G., Ritchie, S. & Sibson, R. H. 2011. Diverse habitats of pseudotachylytes in the Alpine
FaultZoneandrelationshipstocurrentseismicity.In:Fagereng,A˚.,Toy,V.G.&Rowland,J.V.(eds)
Geology of the Earthquake Source: A Volume in Honour of Rick Sibson. Geological Society, London,
SpecialPublications,359,115–133.
GEOLOGICALSOCIETYSPECIALPUBLICATIONNO.359
Geology of the Earthquake Source:
A Volume in Honour of Rick Sibson
EDITEDBY
A˚. FAGERENG
UniversityofCapeTown,SouthAfrica
V. G. TOY
UniversityofOtago,NewZealand
and
J. V. ROWLAND
UniversityofAuckland,NewZealand
2011
Publishedby
TheGeologicalSociety
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Contents
Preface vii
Introduction
FAGERENG,A˚.&TOY,V.G.Geologyoftheearthquakesource:anintroduction 1
Observationsinactivefaultzones
BOULLIER,A.-M.Fault-zonegeology:lessonsfromdrillingthroughtheNojimaandChelungpufaults 17
ELLSWORTH,W.L.&MALIN,P.E.DeeprockdamageintheSanAndreasFaultrevealedbyP-and 39
S-typefault-zone-guidedwaves
Faultrocksandfault-slipstyles
FAGERENG,A˚.Geologyoftheseismogenicsubductionthrustinterface 55
ROWE,C.D.,MENEGHINI,F.&MOORE,J.C.Texturalrecordoftheseismiccycle:strain-ratevariation 77
inanancientsubductionthrust
SMITH,S.A.F.,HOLDSWORTH,R.E.,COLLETTINI,C.&PEARCE,M.A.Themicrostructuralcharacterand 97
mechanicalsignificanceoffaultrocksassociatedwithacontinentallow-anglenormalfault:the
ZuccaleFault,ElbaIsland,Italy
Thebaseoftheseismogeniczone
TOY,V.G.,RITCHIE,S.&SIBSON,R.H.DiversehabitatsofpseudotachylytesintheAlpineFaultZone 115
andrelationshipstocurrentseismicity
ALLEN,J.L.&SHAW,C.A.Seismogenicstructureofacrystallinethrustfault:fabricanisotropyand 135
coevalpseudotachylyte–myloniticpseudotachylyteintheGrizzlyCreekShearZone,Colorado
ALTENBERGER,U.,PROSSER,G.,RUGGIERO,M.&GU¨NTER,C.Microstructureandpetrologyofa 153
Calabriangarnet-bearingpseudotachylyte – alinktolower-crustalseismicity
MOECHER,D.P.&STELTENPOHL,M.G.Petrologicalevidenceforco-seismicslipinextendingmiddle– 169
lowercontinentalcrust:Heier’szoneofpseudotachylyte,northNorway
NU¨CHTER,J.-A.&ELLIS,S.Mid-crustalcontrolsonepisodicstress-fieldrotationaroundmajorreverse, 187
normalandstrike-slipfaults
Effectsoffluidsonfaulting
BARKER,S.L.L.&COX,S.F.Evolutionoffluidchemistryandfluid-flowpathwaysduringfoldingand 203
faulting:anexamplefromTaemas,NSW,Australia
NURIEL,P.,ROSENBAUM,G.,UYSAL,T.I.,ZHAO,J.,GOLDING,S.D.,WEINBERGER,R.,KARABACAK,V.& 229
AVNI,Y.Formationoffault-relatedcalciteprecipitatesandtheirimplicationsfordatingfaultactivity
intheEastAnatolianandDeadSeafaultzones
vi CONTENTS
UPTON,P.,CRAW,D.,YU,B.&CHEN,Y.-G.Controlsonfluidflowintranspressiveorogens,Taiwan 249
andNewZealand
UJIIE,K.,TSUTSUMI,A.&KAMEDA,J.Reproductionofthermalpressurizationandfluidizationof 267
clay-richfaultgougesbyhigh-velocityfrictionexperimentsandimplicationsforseismicslipin
naturalfaults
Faultreactivationv.initiation
NORTJE,G.S.,OLIVER,N.H.S.,BLENKINSOP,T.G.,KEYS,D.L.,MCLELLAN,J.G.&OXENBURGH,S. 287
Newfaultsv.faultreactivation:implicationsforfaultcohesion,fluidflowandcoppermineralization,
MountGordonFaultZone,MountIsaDistrict,Australia
SCHOLZ,C.H.First-ordersplayfaults:dip-slipexamples 313
Futuredirections
SIBSON,R.H.Thescopeofearthquakegeology 319
Index 333
Preface
‘Nevercamereformationinaflood,withsuchheady become the interdisciplinary field of earthquake
currance,scouringfaults’ science.Itwasherethatherecognizedpseudotachy-
W.Shakespeare – KingHenryVth lyte as the friction melt formed in ancient earth-
quakes,andthattheideaofthermalpressurization
Inearly2009,EmeritusProfessorRichard(Rick)H. asafault-weakeningmechanismwasborn.
Sibson retired from most active teaching in the Rick’s geological field observations in the
Department of Geology at the University of OuterHebridesledtotheideathatthebaseofthe
Otago,NewZealand(Fig.1).Rickisanextraordi- crustalseismogeniczonemaybecontrolledbythe
nary teacher, who enjoys putting on a ‘show’, depthofthebrittle–viscoustransitioninthedomi-
where impeccably presented science is peppered nantmineralphase.Hetestedthisideaagainstgeo-
withjudicioususeofquotesfromtheclassicallitera- physical data by collating earthquake locations
ture (and well-directed chalk). His series of intro- during a year-long visit at the US Geological
ductory lectures to first-year students at the Survey in 1981. His papers that deal with the
UniversityofOtago,whichfocusonearthresources relative importance of brittle and ductile defor-
and their depletion, has, over the years, inspired mation, and the seismic style of crustal faults –
manytopursueaGeologymajor.Athigherlevels, written under the influence of his colleagues at
he has ensured students have a solid grounding in Menlo Park during this time – are still frequently
problem solving from a quantitative standpoint, citedtoday.
andrigoroustrainingintheprinciplesofstructural AfterhistimeatUSGS,RickmovedtoUniver-
geology.Hehasalsosupervisedanumberofgradu- sityofCaliforniaatSantaBarbara,wherehestayed
ate students, all of whom have benefited from his until he moved back to New Zealand in 1990, to
suggestionstothinkabouttheimplicationsoftheir becomeHeadofDepartmentofGeologyattheUni-
research in a wider context and most of whom versity ofOtago. Students at bothof these univer-
havegoneontoholdhigh-profilepositionsinacade- sities have benefited from Rick’s dedication to
miaorindustry. teaching, and from the geological insights he has
Furthermore, during his teaching and research shared with undergraduate and graduate students
career, Rick revolutionized the understanding of throughtheyears.Histeachingdrewheavilyfrom
faulting processes, earthquakes and fluid flow in his research interests; one could say he was a
the Earth’s crust, and pioneered the integrated pioneeroftheconceptof‘research-informedteach-
interpretationoffaultdynamics,earthquakemech- ing’. His insights into active fault-zone processes
anics and fluid–rock interaction. Through a series andhisabilitytolinkactivedeformationtoobser-
oflandmarkpublicationsoverthepast35years,he vationsinexhumedfaultzoneshasbecomeaframe-
has significantly influenced global research direc- work not only for understanding earthquake
tions in the fields of structural geology and mechanics,theextentoftheseismogeniczoneand
seismotectonics. thefaultreactivationduringtectonicinversion,but
Rick was born and raised in Auckland, New has also been successfully applied to economic
Zealand.HisearlyeducationatKingsCollegewas geology and the understanding of fault-hosted
supplemented by interaction with his uncle, hydrothermal mineralization. The ‘fault valve’
renowned naturalist Charles Alexander Flemming, theoryhasbeenparticularlyusefulforunderstand-
and by his father, a Classics teacher and amateur ing the interplay between fluid flow and local
ornithologist; we suspect numerous bird-watching stressregimes,inlightofthetransientpermeability
trips in place of summer holidays prompted his changesintimatelylinkedtotheearthquakecycle.
interest in Geology, which is difficult to pursue in TorecognizeRick’sconsiderablescientificcon-
swamps. After graduating with a BSc(Hons) in tributionsduringthecourseofhisteachingcareer,a
GeologyfromtheUniversityofAucklandin1968, special symposium, ‘Geological and Geophysical
RickmovedtoImperialCollegeLondon,wherehe Signatures of Earth Deformation and Fluid Flow’,
obtainedMScandPhDdegrees.HisPhDresearch washeldaspartoftheGeosciences‘09conference
on exhumed fault rocks from the Outer Hebrides inOamaru,NewZealand,23–27November2009.
FaultZoneprecipitatedhiseffortstointegratestruc- This Special Publication is partly based on papers
tural geology and seismology – in what has now presented in this workshop, but also contains
viii PREFACE
Fig.1. Rickafterahang-gliderflightatCoronetPeak,CentralOtago,NewZealand(photographcourtesyof
SimonCox).
contributionsfromauthorswhowerenotabletopar- thankallthereviewerswhovolunteeredtheirtime
ticipateinthesymposiumandnowjoinincelebrat- to improve the papers in this volume; their effort
ingRick’scareerthroughtheirparticipationinthis isgreatlyappreciated.
dedicatedvolume. Finally,althoughRickhasretiredfromhisteach-
We are grateful to the University of Otago for ing post at the University of Otago, he is still an
fundinginsupportofthesymposiumatGeosciences active participant in our scientific community.We
‘09,totheconvenors(PhaedraUptonandVirginia eagerly anticipate the research he will publish in
Toy) and organizing committee of Geosciences comingyears.
‘09, without whom the symposium, and conse-
quentlythisvolume,wouldnothavebeenpossible, A˚keFagereng
andparticularlytoRick’snumerouscolleaguesfor VirginiaG.Toy
participating in the symposium. We also wish to JulieRowland
Geology of the earthquake source: an introduction
A˚KEFAGERENG1*&VIRGINIAG.TOY2
1DepartmentofGeologicalSciences,UniversityofCapeTown,PrivateBagX3,
Rondebosch7701,SouthAfrica
2DepartmentofGeology,UniversityofOtago,POBox56,Dunedin9054,NewZealand
*Correspondingauthor(e-mail:[email protected])
Abstract: Earthquakesarisefromfrictional‘stick–slip’instabilitiesaselasticstrainisreleasedby
shearfailure,almostalwaysonapre-existingfault.Howthefaultedrockrespondstoappliedshear
stressdependsonitscomposition,environmentalconditions(suchastemperatureandpressure),
fluidpresenceandstrainrate.Thesegeologicalandphysicalvariablesdeterminetheshearstrength
andfrictionalstabilityofafault,andthedominantmineraldeformationmechanism.Todiffering
degrees, these effects ultimately control the partitioning between seismic and aseismic defor-
mation,andarerecordedbyfault-rocktextures.Thescale-invarianceofearthquakeslipallows
forextrapolationofgeologicalandgeophysicalobservationsofearthquake-relateddeformation.
Hereweemphasizethattheseismologicalcharacterofafaultishighlydependentonfaultgeology,
andthatthehighfrequencyofearthquakesobservedbygeophysicalmonitoringdemandsconsider-
ationofseismicslipasamajormechanismoffinitefaultdisplacementinthegeologicalrecord.
RickSibsonhas,throughouthiscareer,pointedout the geological and physical parameters likely to
that earthquakes occur in rocks (e.g. Sibson 1975, controltheirprevalencediscussed.Themechanisms
1977, 1984, 1986, 1989, 2002, 2003). This simple bywhichrocksweredeformedcanbeinferredfrom
factimpliesthatfaultrocksexertacriticalcontrol theirtextures(Knipe1989);theserelationshipsfor
on earthquake nucleation and propagation, and the typical fault rocks encountered in exhumed
shouldcontainanintegratedrecordofearthquakes. faultzonesarereviewedinthisintroduction.Acon-
Readingthisrecord,Sibsonhasaddedsignificantly ceptual fault-zone model building on previous
toourunderstandingofhowfaultswork.Hisintui- reviewworks(e.g.Sibson1983;Scholz2002)that
tiveabilitytorelatestructuresinexhumedrocksto is based on observations of the depth-distribution
seismological observations of active deformation of fault rocks, inferred variability in deformation
has contributed significantly to bridging the gap mechanism, fault strength and frictional stability
between how geologists and geophysicists think with depth is also described. It is explained how
aboutfaultmechanics,andhasledtothedevelop- this model provides basic controls on the depth
mentofearthquakescienceasatrulyinterdisciplin- limitsofthe crustalseismogeniczone.Earthquake
ary field. This volume celebrates Rick Sibson’s sizeandscalingparameters,inrelationtointerpret-
career by bringing together a collection of papers ingdatafromdifferentscalesandmethods,arealso
that present innovative studies spanning a range briefly reviewed; and, finally, the chapters in this
of topics within the field of earthquake geology. SpecialPublicationareoutlined.
Included are descriptions of fault-zone rocks from
active and ancient faults, rock deformation exper-
iments at seismic slip rates, and theoretical treat- Earthquakemechanismandfrictional
mentsoffaultinitiationandslip. stability
Inthisintroductionthemechanismofearthquake
faulting – generally accepted to be the release of Faultsslipatarangeofspeeds,includingslowcreep
tectonic elastic strain energy stored in a rock at plate tectonic rates (order of 1–10cmyear21),
volume – byfastsliponapre-existingornewfault fastfrictionalsliding(c.1ms21)duringearthquake
(Brace&Byerlee1966)isdiscussed.Alsoincluded slipanddisplacementatarangeofrecentlydiscov-
isashortdiscussiononhowrate-andstate-variable ered,intermediatesliprates(suchasslowslipand
frictionalstabilitymayaffecttherateatwhichfault low-frequency earthquakes: see the review by
slipoccurs(Dieterich1972,1979).Thedeformation Peng & Gomberg 2010 and references therein).
mechanisms likely to be active at different con- Themechanismsoffaultcreepandslipatintermedi-
ditions within a fault zone, which may lead to ate velocities are not yet obvious, but earthquake
seismicor aseismicdeformation, are outlined, and slip is generally thought to arise from ‘stick–slip’
From:Fagereng,A˚.,Toy,V.G.&Rowland,J.V.(eds)GeologyoftheEarthquakeSource:AVolumeinHonour
ofRickSibson.GeologicalSociety,London,SpecialPublications,359,1–16.
DOI:10.1144/SP359.1 0305-8719/11/$15.00#TheGeologicalSocietyofLondon2011.
