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Jonathan Saul Caine Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
James P. Evans Department of Geology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-4505
Craig B. Forster Earth Sciences and Resources Institute, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
Data Repository item 9659 contains additional material related to this article.
Geology; November 1996; v. 24; no. 11; p. 1025–1028; 3 figures; 1 table. 1025
accommodated (Fig. 1). Fault cores may in- The geometry and magnitude of perme- sure of the relative width of the fault core
clude single slip surfaces (Caine et al., 1991), ability contrasts between the fault core and and damage zone at a specified location
unconsolidated clay-rich gouge zones damage zone are primary controls on the (Fig. 3A). When Fa is 0, ideally the damage
(Anderson et al., 1983), brecciated and geo- barrier-conduit systematics of the fault zone is absent, and the lower permeability of
chemically altered zones (Sibson, 1977), or zone. Fracture density in the fault core is the fault core causes the fault zone to act as
highly indurated, cataclasite zones (Chester usually significantly less than in the damage a barrier to flow. When Fa is 1, ideally the
and Logan, 1986). Our field-based observa- zone (Andersson et al., 1991; Chester et al., fault core is absent, and the presence of a
tions suggest that thickness variations, both 1993). Thus, the permeability of the fault higher permeability damage zone causes the
down dip and along strike, combined with a core may be dominated by the grain-scale fault zone to act as a conduit for flow. Fm is
distinctive internal structure and composi- permeability of the fault rocks, whereas the the mean value of Fa obtained for a set of
tion, play an important role in controlling damage zone permeability is dominated by fault zone measurements (Fig. 3A). Fm is
the fluid flow properties of fault zone cores. the hydraulic properties of the fracture indicative of the overall architecture and
Grain-size reduction and/or mineral precip- network. permeability structure of a fault zone and
itation generally yield fault cores with lower can be measured along specific transects
porosity and permeability than the adjacent CONCEPTUAL SCHEME FOR (e.g., along the dip or strike of the fault
protolith (e.g., Chester and Logan, 1986; FAULT-RELATED FLUID FLOW zone). Fs is a spatial variability index that
Antonellini and Aydin, 1994; Goddard and A range of fault zone architectures are represents the spread in values of Fa ob-
Evans, 1995). Permeability reduction leads observed in outcrop (Fig. 2). Each of the tained within a specific fault zone (Fig. 3A).
to fault cores that act as barriers to fluid flow four end-member architectural styles is as- This measure of the spread is, perhaps, a
(see Table 1 below). sociated with a characteristic permeability more physically based measure than using
A damage zone is the network of subsid- structure (Chester and Logan, 1986; Bruhn the standard deviation.
iary structures that bound the fault core and et al., 1990; Forster and Evans, 1991; Moore Plotting values of Fa against total fault
may enhance fault zone permeability rela- and Vrolijk, 1992; Newman and Mitra, zone width yields insight regarding the me-
tive to the core and the undeformed proto- 1994). These include localized conduits, dis- chanics of faulting, the response of protolith
lith (Fig. 1; Chester and Logan, 1986; Smith tributed conduits, localized barriers, and rock types to deformation, and the resulting
et al., 1990; Andersson et al., 1991; Scholz combined conduit-barriers (Table 1). architecture and permeability structure
and Anders, 1994; Goddard and Evans, within a single fault zone (Fig. 3A) or within
1995). Fault-related subsidiary structures in NUMERICAL MEASURES OF FAULT a group of fault zones (Fig. 3B).1 The hor-
damage zones include small faults, veins, ZONE ARCHITECTURE AND izontal axis of the plot ranges between two
fractures, cleavage, and folds that cause het- PERMEABILITY STRUCTURE end-member architectures and permeability
erogeneity and anisotropy in the permeabil- Fault zone architecture and permeability structures. When Fa 5 0, the architecture of
ity structure and elastic properties of the structure are characterized by using three the fault zone may be dominated by strain
fault zone (Bruhn et al., 1994). Wide dam- numerical indices derived from our concep- localized deformation resulting in a barrier-
age zones may indicate multiple episodes of tual model: Fa, Fm, and Fs. type permeability structure (Fig. 3). When
slip and the overprinting of successive de- Fa 5 1, the fault zone may reflect distributed
damage zone width
formation events. Fa 5 strain resulting in a conduit-type permeabil-
The fault core and damaged zones shown total fault zone width ity structure (Fig. 3). Intermediate values of
in Figure 1 are surrounded by relatively un- damage zone width Fa indicate combined strain localization and
deformed protolith. This is the country rock 5 . distributed deformation that yield a barrier-
core width 1 damage zone width
where fault-related permeability structures conduit permeability structure (Fig. 3).
are absent, and both fluid flow and elastic Fm 5 mean of F a values for Figure 3A is an example plot of fault zone
properties of the rock reflect those of the architecture and permeability structure ob-
unfaulted host rock. Fault zone architecture a single fault zone. tained for a single fault (fault 6) located in
may ultimately reflect the degree to which upper Paleozoic clastic rocks at Traill Ø,
Fs 5 ~ F a)max 2 ~ F a)min.
the processes of strain localization vs. strain East Greenland. Fault 6 is an oblique-slip
distribution compete as the fault zone cuts Fa is a fault zone architectural index. Values normal fault on which there has been 85 m
different rock types in the protolith. of Fa range from 0 to 1 and provide a mea- of displacement. Excellent exposures of the
fault core, damage zone, and protolith were
mapped at 11 localities along a 400 m ver-
tical traverse. Numbers associated with each
point plotted in Figure 3A indicate the ele-
vation at which the data were collected.
Figure 3A shows possible correlations be-
tween protolith rock type, the protolith’s
mechanical response to deformation, and
the resulting permeability structure of fault
6. The three points clustered in the lower
right-hand corner of Figure 3A are from a
part of fault 6 where the protolith is domi-
1
GSA Data Repository item 9659, raw fault-
zone data, is available from Documents Secre-
tary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301.
Figure 2. Conceptual scheme for fault-related fluid flow. E-mail: editing@geosociety.org.
nated by shale and the fault core lithology is syndeformational flow conduit and a post-
dominated by clay-rich gouge. The damage deformational conduit-barrier fluid flow sys- DISCUSSION: FACTORS THAT
zone structures include quartz and calcite tem, with flow being preferentially oriented CONTROL FAULT ZONE
veins, open fractures, and small faults. Out- parallel to the fault zone. HYDROGEOLOGY
crop observations suggest that where the For fault 6, Fm 5 0.79 (Fig. 3A). This re- Intrinsic controls (i.e., rock types vs. ex-
fault zone cuts shale-rich protolith there has sult indicates that the overall architecture is trinsic controls such as stress state) on fault
been a higher degree of strain localization a conduit-barrier fluid flow system, which zone permeability, porosity, and storativity
than where it cuts sandstone-rich protolith. agrees with outcrop observations. Both si- include lithology, fault displacement, three-
This is illustrated by the clustering of points licified breccia and clay-rich gouge in the dimensional fault zone geometry, deforma-
in contrast to the more diffusely distributed core would act as barriers to flow normal to tion conditions, types of subsidiary struc-
points. The high clay content in the fault the fault zone, and open fractures in the tures, fluid-rock interactions, and the spatial
core in this part of the fault, combined with damage zone would act as a conduit for flow and temporal variability of these parame-
veins and open fractures in the damage parallel to the fault zone. The overall spread ters. Little work using field-based and ex-
zone, would suggest that the fault zone acted in values of Fa obtained for fault 6 yields an perimental methods has been done to gain
as a syn- and postdeformational conduit- Fs value of 0.33. This relatively small value insight into these controls. A major difficulty
barrier permeability structure. of Fs suggests that fault 6 has a relatively in assessing fault zone permeability data
The relatively wide spread of the diffusely uniform architecture, which is observed in comes from the lack of consistent documen-
distributed points corresponds to the in- the field. tation of the morphological position (i.e.,
crease of quartz-rich sandstone in the pro- Fault zone architecture and permeability core, damage zone, or protolith) from which
tolith. At these locations the fault core li- structure plots can also be used with three- fault zone samples and data are collected
thology becomes dominated by silicified dimensional data from extensive surface ex- (Evans, 1990). Fully characterizing the fluid
breccias. The fault zone architecture and posures and drill cores. Multiple fault zones flow properties of fault zones involves ob-
permeability structure in this region indi- from a single area or many different areas taining permeability data for each fault zone
cates that the fault zone would have been a can be plotted to compare lithology, defor- component and clearly documenting the