Effects of fluids on faulting within active fault zones - evidence from drill core samples recovered during the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) drilling project

Low temperature microstructures observed in samples from SAFOD drill cores indicate fluid-related deformation and chemical reactions occurring simultaneously and interacting with each other. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observations, document open pores that formed in-situ during or after deformation. In TEM images, many pores with high aspect ratio appear to be unconnected. They were possibly filled with formation water and/or hydrothermal fluids suggesting that elevated pore fluid pressure exist in the fault gouge, preventing pore collapse. The chemical influence of fluids on mineralogical alteration and geomechanical processes in fault rocks is visible in pronounced dissolution-precipitation processes (stylolites, solution seams) as well as in the formation of new phases. Detrital quartz and feldspar grains are partially dissolved and replaced by authigenic illite-smectite (I-S) mixed-layer clay minerals. TEM imaging of these grains reveals that the alteration processes initiated within pores and small intra-grain fissures. In few samples syntectonic fluid-assisted overgrowth of chlorite-rich films on slickensides partly replaced sedimentary quartz grains. Quartz and feldspar grains are partially dissolved with sutured boundaries. Newly-formed phyllosilicates are illite-smectite phases, Mg-rich smectites and chlorite minerals. They are very fine-grained (down to 20 nm) and nucleate at grain surfaces (interfaces), which in many cases are pore or fracture walls. These relatively straight or curved crystals grow into open pore spaces and fractures. They are arranged in a card-house fabric with open pore spaces between the flakes. Locally, clay flakes are bent, folded or show sigmoidal shapes indicating that they were involved in faulting. The clay particles do not show a preferred shape orientation. The predominantly random orientation distribution of the clay minerals was confirmed by x-ray synchrotron texture analysis. Pole figures show very weak textures with maxima around 1.2 m.r.d. and minima around around 0.8 m.r.d., indicating that a majority of crystals are oriented randomly. The dominance of randomly oriented clay particles, characterized by weak fabrics, may influence the mechanical stability of fault zone rocks. Formation of secondary calcite cement reveals fluid-assisted fracture healing. Cathodoluminescence microscopy shows at least three different generations of calcite veins confined to lithoclasts, displaying dissolution seams. Additionally, crack and seal processes in K-feldspar are identified. The calcite grains exhibit different degrees of deformation with evidence for twinning and crystal plasticity.