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Grain-size-reducing- and mass-gaining processes in different hydrothermal fault rocks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2022

Alfons Berger Open the ORCID record for Alfons Berger [Opens in a new window]  and
Marco Herwegh Open the ORCID record for Marco Herwegh [Opens in a new window]
Alfons Berger*
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Marco Herwegh
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
*
Author for correspondence: A Berger, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Interactions of hydrothermal and deformation processes in active fault zones are important in light of seismic and geothermal activities. This study investigates different tectonites of the Grimselpass breccia fault, a hydrothermally active strike-slip structure in the Central Alps (Switzerland). We combine microstructural and geochemical investigations to decipher the interaction of grain-size reduction and associated dilation (volume gain) during frictional deformation with geochemical processes such as mass gain via precipitation, grain growth and healing. Three types of tectonites were investigated in the fault zone: (1) cockade-bearing tectonites, (2) cataclasites and (3) fault gouges. They differ in terms of microstructure of clasts, mass and volume gain/loss, as well as type and degree of cementation. Clast size distributions show decreasing median values from low-strain cataclasites to high-strain cataclasites. Mass/volume gains are up to 20 %, with samples of smallest clast sizes often showing the highest mass gain. In the case of cockade-bearing tectonites large volume and mass gain occur. In particular, the precipitation of SiO2-rich cements is inferred to (i) reduce permeability and (ii) induce a gain in strength of the respective fault rocks. Location, timing and degree of healing directly control the fault architecture by deactivating fault strands from the circulation of hydrothermal fluids. In this case, new rupturing events are necessary to reactivate locked fault strands. Such feedback cycles of episodic deformation, mass/volume and clogging preserved hydrothermal circulation and deformation over the last 3.4 Ma, representing a process chain for the long-term preservation of orogenic hydrothermal systems.

Keywords

healingPSDfault rock chemistryfault rock comminution
Type
FLUID FLOW AND MINERALIZATION IN FAULTS AND FRACTURES
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 159 , Issue 11-12: THEMATIC ISSUE: Faults and fractures in rocks: mechanics, occurrence, dating, stress history and fluid flow , November 2022 , pp. 2219 - 2237
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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