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Thermal decomposition along natural carbonate faults during earthquakes

2013; Geological Society of America; Volume: 41; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g34421.1

1943-2682

Cristiano Collettini, Cecilia Viti, Telemaco Tesei, Silvio Mollo,

Earthquake Detection and Analysis

Research Article| August 01, 2013 Thermal decomposition along natural carbonate faults during earthquakes Cristiano Collettini; Cristiano Collettini 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Perugia, Piazza dell'Università 1, Perugia 06123, Italy2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Cecilia Viti; Cecilia Viti 3Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Siena, Strada Laterina, 8, 53100 Siena, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Telemaco Tesei; Telemaco Tesei 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Perugia, Piazza dell'Università 1, Perugia 06123, Italy2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Silvio Mollo Silvio Mollo 2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Cristiano Collettini 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Perugia, Piazza dell'Università 1, Perugia 06123, Italy2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Cecilia Viti 3Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Siena, Strada Laterina, 8, 53100 Siena, Italy Telemaco Tesei 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Perugia, Piazza dell'Università 1, Perugia 06123, Italy2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Silvio Mollo 2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 25 Jan 2013 Revision Received: 02 Apr 2013 Accepted: 03 Apr 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2013 Geological Society of America Geology (2013) 41 (8): 927–930. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34421.1 Article history Received: 25 Jan 2013 Revision Received: 02 Apr 2013 Accepted: 03 Apr 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Cristiano Collettini, Cecilia Viti, Telemaco Tesei, Silvio Mollo; Thermal decomposition along natural carbonate faults during earthquakes. Geology 2013;; 41 (8): 927–930. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34421.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Earthquake slip is facilitated by a number of thermally activated physicochemical processes that are triggered by temperature rise during fast fault motion, i.e., frictional heating. Most of our knowledge on these processes is derived from theoretical and experimental studies. However, additional information can be provided by direct observation of ancient faults exposed at the Earth's surface. Although fault rock indicators of earthquake processes along ancient faults have been inferred, the only unambiguous and rare evidence of seismic sliding from natural faults is solidified friction melts or pseudotachylytes. Here we document a gamut of natural fault rocks produced by thermally activated processes during earthquake slip. These processes occurred at 2–3 km depth, along a thin (0.3–1.0 mm) principal slip zone of a regional thrust fault that accommodated several kilometers of displacement. In the slip zone, composed of ultrafine-grained fault rocks made of calcite and minor clays, we observe the presence of relict calcite and clay, numerous vesicles, poorly crystalline/amorphous phases, and newly formed calcite skeletal crystals. These observations indicate that during earthquake rupture, frictional heating induced calcite decarbonation and phyllosilicate dehydration. These microstructures may be diagnostic for recognizing ancient earthquakes along exhumed faults. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.