Fault zone structure and fluid-rock interaction of a high angle normal fault in Carrara marble (NW Tuscany, Italy)

Abstract We studied the geometry, intensity of deformation and fluid–rock interaction of a high angle normal fault within Carrara marble in the Alpi Apuane NW Tuscany, Italy. The fault is comprised of a core bounded by two major, non-parallel slip surfaces. The fault core, marked by crush breccia and cataclasites, asymmetrically grades to the host protolith through a damage zone, which is well developed only in the footwall block. On the contrary, the transition from the fault core to the hangingwall protolith is sharply defined by the upper main slip surface. Faulting was associated with fluid–rock interaction, as evidenced by kinematically related veins observable in the damage zone and fluid channelling within the fault core, where an orange–brownish cataclasite matrix can be observed. A chemical and isotopic study of veins and different structural elements of the fault zone (protolith, damage zone and fault core), including a mathematical model, was performed to document type, role, and activity of fluid–rock interactions during deformation. The results of our studies suggested that deformation pattern was mainly controlled by processes associated with a linking-damage zone at a fault tip, development of a fault core, localization and channelling of fluids within the fault zone. Syn-kinematic microstructural modification of calcite microfabric possibly played a role in confining fluid percolation.

[1]  A. Beach,et al.  Spatial and mechanical controls on normal fault populations , 1996 .

[2]  D. Sanderson,et al.  The relationship between displacement and length of faults: a review , 2005 .

[3]  N. Mancktelow,et al.  The control of precursor brittle fracture and fluid–rock interaction on the development of single and paired ductile shear zones , 2005 .

[4]  F. Storti,et al.  The damage zone-fault core transition in carbonate rocks: implications for fault growth, structure and permeability , 2003 .

[5]  T. Blenkinsop.  Thickness - displacement relationships for deformation zones: Discussion , 1989 .

[6]  Ian Davison,et al.  Damage zone geometry around fault tips , 1995 .

[7]  C. Invernizzi,et al.  Fault properties and fluid flow patterns from Quaternary faults in the Apennines, Italy , 2001 .

[8]  Steven Micklethwaite,et al.  Fault-segment rupture, aftershock-zone fluid flow, and mineralization , 2004 .

[9]  R. Clayton,et al.  Oxygen and carbon isotope fractionations between CO2 and calcite , 1991 .

[10]  P. Conti,et al.  Microfabric study on the deformational and thermal history of the Alpi Apuane marbles (Carrara marbles), Italy , 2000 .

[11]  G. Faure.  Principles of isotope geology , 1977 .

[12]  Jin-Han Ree,et al.  Ultralow Friction of Carbonate Faults Caused by Thermal Decomposition , 2007, Science.

[13]  David C.P. Peacock,et al.  Propagation, interaction and linkage in normal fault systems , 2002 .

[14]  P. Elter,et al.  Introduction a la geologie de l'Apennin septentrional , 1975 .

[15]  James P. Evans,et al.  Spatial variability in microscopic deformation and composition of the Punchbowl fault, southern California: implications for mechanisms, fluid–rock interaction, and fault morphology , 1998 .

[16]  Francesco Salvini,et al.  Particle size distributions in natural carbonate fault rocks: insights for non-self-similar cataclasis , 2003 .

[17]  Kinichiro Kusunose,et al.  Fracture Mechanics of Rocks , 1995 .

[18]  H. Taylor,et al.  Stable isotopes in high temperature geological processes , 1986 .

[19]  A. Aydin,et al.  Physical properties of carbonate fault rocks, fucino basin (Central Italy): implications for fault seal in platform carbonates , 2007 .

[20]  D. Marquer,et al.  Fluid circulation, progressive deformation and mass-transfer processes in the upper crust: the example of basement-cover relationships in the External Crystalline Massifs, Switzerland , 1992 .

[21]  C. Scholz,et al.  The process zone: A microstructural view of fault growth , 1998 .

[22]  L. Kennedy,et al.  Low-temperature recrystallization in calcite: Mechanisms and consequences , 2001 .

[23]  A. Aydin,et al.  Architecture and deformation mechanism of a basin-bounding normal fault in Mesozoic platform carbonates, central Italy , 2006 .

[24]  S. Berg,et al.  Controls on damage zone asymmetry of a normal fault zone: outcrop analyses of a segment of the Moab fault, SE Utah , 2005 .

[25]  L. Disperati,et al.  Inner Northern Apennines , 2001 .

[26]  J. Boland,et al.  High temperature flow and dynamic recrystallization in carrara marble , 1980 .

[27]  Renée Heilbronner,et al.  Microstructures associated with static and dynamic recrystallization of Carrara marble (Alpi Apuane, NW Tuscany, Italy) , 1999 .

[28]  L. Land.  The Isotopic and Trace Element Geochemistry of Dolomite: The State of The Art , 1980 .

[29]  J. Caine,et al.  Brittle structures and their role in controlling porosity and permeability in a complex Precambrian crystalline-rock aquifer system in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range , 2003 .

[30]  J. Hoefs,et al.  Carbon and oxygen isotopic covariations in hydrothermal calcites , 1993 .

[31]  E. Rutter,et al.  Cataclastic deformation of quartzite in the Moine thrust zone , 1986 .

[32]  J. Fredrich,et al.  Micromechanics of the brittle to plastic transition in Carrara marble , 1989 .

[33]  Jodie Miller,et al.  Oxygen, carbon and strontium isotope constraints on the mechanisms of nappe emplacement and fluid–rock interaction along the subhorizontal Naukluft Thrust, central Namibia , 2008, Journal of the Geological Society.

[34]  James P. Evans,et al.  Fault zone architecture and permeability structure , 1996 .

[35]  Milnes.,et al.  Ductile rebound of an orogenic root: case study and numerical model of gravity tectonics in the Western Gneiss Complex, Caledonides, southern Norway , 2000 .

[36]  R. Clayton,et al.  Oxygen isotope fractionation in divalent metal carbonates , 1969 .

[37]  G. Vai,et al.  Anatomy of an orogen : the Apennines and adjacent Mediterranean basins , 2001 .

[38]  A. McCaig.  Deep fluid circulation in fault zones , 1988 .

[39]  J. Caine,et al.  Fault Zone Architecture and Fluid Flow: Insights from Field Data and Numerical Modeling , 2013 .

[40]  Jens M. Walter,et al.  Fluid-enhanced low-temperature plasticity of calcite marble: Microstructures and mechanisms , 2002 .

[41]  J. McCrea.  On the Isotopic Chemistry of Carbonates and a Paleotemperature Scale , 1950 .

[42]  M. Antonellini,et al.  Effect of Faulting on Fluid Flow in Porous Sandstones: Petrophysical Properties , 1994 .

[43]  James P. Evans.  Thickness-Displacement Relationships for Fault Zones , 1990 .

[44]  W. T. Parry,et al.  Fracturing and hydrothermal alteration in normal fault zones , 1994 .

[45]  James P. Evans,et al.  Permeability of fault-related rocks, and implications for hydraulic structure of fault zones , 1997 .

[46]  G. Molli,et al.  Superimposed brittle structures in the late‐orogenic extension of the Northern Apennine: results from the Carrara area (Alpi Apuane, NW Tuscany) , 2000 .

[47]  H. Taylor,et al.  Oxygen and hydrogen isotope studies of contact metamorphism in the Santa Rosa Range, Nevada and other areas , 1969 .

[48]  D. Faulkner,et al.  Can the maintenance of overpressured fluids in large strike-slip fault zones explain their apparent weakness? , 2001 .

[49]  David J. Sanderson,et al.  Glossary of normal faults , 2000 .

[50]  B. Taylor.  Magmatic volatiles; isotopic variation of C, H, and S , 1986 .

[51]  P. Doughty.  Clay smear seals and fault sealing potential of an exhumed growth fault, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico , 2003 .

[52]  V. Picotti,et al.  Pliocene and Pleistocene exhumation and uplift of two key areas of the Northern Apennines , 2003 .

[53]  A. Benedicto,et al.  Structural evolution and permeability of normal fault zones in highly porous carbonate rocks , 2006 .

[54]  M. Burkhard,et al.  Brittle–ductile deformation in the Glarus thrust Lochseiten (LK) calc‐mylonite , 2000 .

[55]  G. Molli.  Northern Apennine–Corsica orogenic system: an updated overview , 2008 .

[56]  G. Lloyd,et al.  Microstructural analysis of faulting in quartzite, Assynt, NW Scotland: Implications for fault zone evolution , 1994 .

[57]  G. Mandl.  Faulting in Brittle Rocks , 2000 .

[58]  N. Herz,et al.  Stable isotopes and archaeological geology: the Carrara marble, northern Italy , 1986 .

[59]  François Renard,et al.  Deformation mechanisms and fluid-driven mass transfers in the recent fault zones of the Corinth Rift (Greece) , 2004 .

[60]  H. Ohmoto.  Isotopes of sulfur and carbon , 1979 .

[61]  G. Mandl.  Faulting in Brittle Rocks: An Introduction to the Mechanics of Tectonic Faults , 1999 .

[62]  E. Dinelli,et al.  Geochemical evidence for fluid-rock interaction along high angle faults in the Alpi Apuane, NW Thscany, Italy , 2003 .

[63]  Richard H. Sibson,et al.  Structural permeability of fluid-driven fault-fracture meshes , 1996 .

[64]  Luigi Carmignani,et al.  Crustal extension in the northern Apennines: The transition from compression to extension in the Alpi Apuane Core Complex , 1990 .

[65]  L. Kennedy,et al.  Limited syntectonic fluid flow in carbonate-hosted thrust faults of the Front Ranges, Canadian Rockies, inferred from stable isotope data and structures , 2001 .

[66]  J. Watterson.  Fault dimensions, displacements and growth , 1986 .

[67]  R. Sibson.  Implications of fault-valve behaviour for rupture nucleation and recurrence , 1992 .

[68]  E. Rutter,et al.  On the relationship between deformation and metamorphism, with special reference to the behavior of basic rocks , 1985 .

[69]  L. Kennedy,et al.  The role of veining and dissolution in the evolution of fine-grained mylonites: the McConnell thrust, Alberta , 1997 .

[70]  D. Faulkner,et al.  On the internal structure and mechanics of large strike-slip fault zones: field observations of the Carboneras fault in southeastern Spain , 2001 .

[71]  J. T. Engelder,et al.  Cataclasis and the Generation of Fault Gouge , 1974 .

[72]  E. Rutter.  Experimental study of the influence of stress, temperature, and strain on the dynamic recrystallization of Carrara marble , 1995 .

[73]  E. Rutter,et al.  The influence of interstitial water on the rheological behaviour of calcite rocks , 1972 .

[74]  M. Fellin,et al.  Thermochronologic evidence for the exhumational history of the Alpi Apuane metamorphic core complex, northern Apennines, Italy , 2007 .

[75]  G. Molli,et al.  Structures, interference patterns, and strain regime during midcrustal deformation in the Alpi Apuane (Northern Apennines, Italy) , 2006 .

[76]  J. Hull.  Thickness-displacement relationships for deformation zones , 1988 .

[77]  D. Sanderson,et al.  Fault damage zones , 2004 .

[78]  G. Rawling,et al.  Internal architecture, permeability structure, and hydrologic significance of contrasting fault-zone types , 2001 .

[79]  Richard H. Sibson,et al.  Fault rocks and fault mechanisms , 1977, Journal of the Geological Society.

[80]  D. Elliott,et al.  A Discussion on natural strain and geological structure - The energy balance and deformation mechanisms of thrust sheets , 1976, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[81]  A. Aydin,et al.  Faults with asymmetric damage zones in sandstone, Valley of Fire State Park, southern Nevada , 2004 .

[82]  Frederick M. Chester,et al.  Implications for mechanical properties of brittle faults from observations of the Punchbowl fault zone, California , 1986 .

[83]  C. Invernizzi,et al.  Fault zone fabrics and geofluid properties as indicators of rock deformation modes , 2001 .