Diagenetic controls on the evolution of fault-zone architecture and permeability structure: Implications for episodicity of fault-zone fluid transport in extensional basins

被引:32
|
作者
Williams, Randolph T. [1 ]
Goodwin, Laurel B. [1 ]
Mozley, Peter S. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Wisconsin Madison, Dept Geosci, Madison, WI 53706 USA
[2] New Mexico Inst Min & Technol, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Socorro, NM 87801 USA
关键词
RIO-GRANDE RIFT; POORLY LITHIFIED SEDIMENTS; SHAPE PREFERRED ORIENTATIONS; CRACK-SEAL MECHANISM; NEW-MEXICO; FIBROUS VEINS; MOAB FAULT; FLOW; UTAH; DISPLACEMENT;
D O I
10.1130/B31443.1
中图分类号
P [天文学、地球科学];
学科分类号
07 ;
摘要
Diagenesis demonstrably changes both the mechanical and hydrologic properties of sediments. However, the effect of these changes on the distribution and types of structures that develop in fault zones over time, and their impact on fault-zone fluid flow has not previously been systematically investigated. We explored the impact of diagenesis on the mechanical and hydrologic properties of initially unlithified sand cut by a syndepositional normal fault in an extensional basin. Field, microstructural, and geochemical data document a diagenetic record of initially continuous fluid flow through a hanging-wall damage zone up to 10 m wide. In this zone, initial deformation via particulate flow is recorded by a foliation defined by a grain shape preferred orientation, preserved by subsequently precipitated, pore-filling calcite cement. A transition to episodic fluid flow is demonstrated by calcite veins that crosscut the previously cemented, foliated sandstone within relatively narrow (<= 5 m from the fault core) segments of the older damage zone. Unlike the widespread record of particulate flow, veins are restricted to the vicinity of a mapped relay zone between overlapping fault segments, and an inferred, partially covered relay zone. Vein microstructures record repeated fracture opening and sealing. Veins in breccia zones have delta C-13 values as high as +6.0%, suggesting degassing of CO2- and/or CH4 -charged fluids. These data collectively suggest that relatively early damage zone cementation strengthened and stiffened the foliated damage zone, affecting the localization of brittle fractures and fluid flow in relay zones. Our results highlight systematic changes in the character and locus of deformation and fluid flow during the development of normal faults and provide a basis for predicting how these structures may act to trap or transmit fluids during the development of extensional basins.
引用
收藏
页码:464 / 478
页数:15
相关论文
共 48 条
  • [31] Rock Damage Structure of the South Longmen-Shan Fault in the 2008 M8 Wenchuan Earthquake Viewed with Fault-Zone Trapped Waves and Scientific Drilling
    LI Yonggang
    XU Zhiqin
    LI Haibing
    ActaGeologicaSinica(EnglishEdition), 2014, 88 (02) : 444 - 467
  • [32] Effects of fault-zone architecture on earthquake magnitude and gas leakage related to CO2 injection in a multi-layered sedimentary system
    Rinaldi, Antonio P.
    Jeanne, Pierre
    Rutqvist, Jonny
    Cappa, Frederic
    Guglielmi, Yves
    GREENHOUSE GASES-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 2014, 4 (01): : 99 - 120
  • [33] Rock Damage Structure of the South Longmen-Shan Fault in the 2008 M8 Wenchuan Earthquake Viewed with Fault-Zone Trapped Waves and Scientific Drilling
    Li Yonggang
    Xu Zhiqin
    Li Haibing
    ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA-ENGLISH EDITION, 2014, 88 (02) : 444 - 467
  • [34] Models of Injection-Induced Aseismic Slip on Height-Bounded Faults in the Delaware Basin Constrain Fault-Zone Pore Pressure Changes and Permeability
    Dvory, Noam Z.
    Yang, Yuyun
    Dunham, Eric M.
    GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 2022, 49 (11)
  • [35] InSAR phase gradient reveals fault-zone controls on the spatial distribution of slow-moving landslides in the active orogenic region of Hazara-Kashmir, Pakistan
    Ahmad, Said Mukhtar
    Fu, Lv
    Wang, Teng
    EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, 2024, 49 (15) : 5098 - 5116
  • [36] Rupture Branching Structure of the 2014 Mw 6.0 South Napa, California, Earthquake Inferred from Explosion-Generated Fault-Zone Trapped Waves
    Li, Yong-Gang
    Catchings, Rufus D.
    Goldman, Mark R.
    BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 2019, 109 (05) : 1907 - 1921
  • [37] Anatomy of reservoir-scale normal faults in central Utah: Stratigraphic controls and implications for fault zone evolution and fluid flow
    Vrolijk, Peter
    Myers, Rod
    Sweet, Michael L.
    Shipton, Zoe K.
    Dockrill, Ben
    Evans, James P.
    Heath, Jason
    Williams, Anthony P.
    GSA Field Guides, 2005, 6 : 261 - 282
  • [38] Crustal Electrical Anisotropic Structure of the Altyn Tagh Fault in the Subei Area, NW China: Implications for Fault Zone Architecture
    Dong, Zeyi
    Xiao, Qibin
    Sun, Zelin
    Han, Bing
    Wang, Lifeng
    Tang, Ji
    Wang, Jijun
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH, 2024, 129 (07)
  • [39] Analysis of the internal structure of a carbonate damage zone Implications for the mechanisms of fault breccia formation and fluid flow
    Hausegger, Stefan
    Kurz, Walter
    Rabitsch, Robert
    Kiechl, Eva
    Brosch, Franz-Josef
    JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY, 2010, 32 (09) : 1349 - 1362
  • [40] STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF METAMORPHIC BELT IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH-CAROLINA AND SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA - STUDY FROM BLUE-RIDGE ACROSS BREVARD FAULT-ZONE TO SAURATOWN-MOUNTAINS ANTICLINORIUM
    RANKIN, DW
    ESPENSHA.GH
    SHAW, KW
    AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, 1973, A273 : 1 - 40