Origin, Behavior and Texture of Clay Minerals in Mongolian Active Fault of Bogd and Comparison with SAFOD Fault Gouge

Fault gouges are generally considered as the highly deformed zone corresponding to the localization of shear during seismic events. Clays are ubiquitous minerals in fault gouges but the origin is unclear. They can form as a result of break up of inherited phyllosilicates during faulting, or during co- or post- deformation events or even during interseismic creeping. In this study, we aim to characterize the origin and nature of the clay minerals, to observe the microtexture and preferred orientation of clay at various scales in order to understand the behavior of clay mineral in seismic faults. The investigation relied on x-ray powder patterns, SEM, TEM and high energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The major clay components are smectite, illite-smectite, illite-mica and kaolinite. Our observations suggest that the protolith and the fault rock of the Bogd and paleo-Bogd faults in Mongolia were highly altered by fluids. The fluid-rock interactions allows clay minerals to form and to precipitate kaolinite and smectite. Thus, newly formed clay minerals are heterogeneously distributed in the fault zone. The decrease of smectite component of the highly deformed samples suggests a dehydration process during deformation, leading to illite precipitation. From synchrotron diffraction images, volume fractions and preferred orientation were analyzed. Our analysis shows that texture strength of constituent clays is very weak ranging from 1.05 to 2.59 m.r.d., which is consistent with similar data from SAFOD fault gouge. The clays minerals of the Bogd fault favors the slip weakening behavior of the fault.