Release of mineral-bound water prior to subduction tied to shallow seismogenic slip off Sumatra

Plate-boundary fault rupture during the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman subduction earthquake extended closer to the trench than expected, increasing earthquake and tsunami size. International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362 sampled incoming sediments offshore northern Sumatra, revealing recent release of fresh water within the deep sediments. Thermal modeling links this freshening to amorphous silica dehydration driven by rapid burial-induced temperature increases in the past 9 million years. Complete dehydration of silicates is expected before plate subduction, contrasting with prevailing models for subduction seismogenesis calling for fluid production during subduction. Shallow slip offshore Sumatra appears driven by diagenetic strengthening of deeply buried fault-forming sediments, contrasting with weakening proposed for the shallow Tohoku-Oki 2011 rupture, but our results are applicable to other thickly sedimented subduction zones including those with limited earthquake records

Slow slip source characterized by lithological and geometric heterogeneity

Slow slip events (SSEs) accommodate a significant proportion of tectonic plate motion at subduction zones, yet little is known about the faults that actually host them. The shallow depth (<2 km) of well-documented SSEs at the Hikurangi subduction zone offshore New Zealand offers a unique opportunity to link geophysical imaging of the subduction zone with direct access to incoming material that represents the megathrust fault rocks hosting slow slip. Two recent International Ocean Discovery Program Expeditions sampled this incoming material before it is entrained immediately down-dip along the shallow plate interface. Drilling results, tied to regional seismic reflection images, reveal heterogeneous lithologies with highly variable physical properties entering the SSE source region. These observations suggest that SSEs and associated slow earthquake phenomena are promoted by lithological, mechanical, and frictional heterogeneity within the fault zone, enhanced by geometric complexity associated with subduction of rough crust

Relations entre fluides et déformations dans le prisme d'accrétion de Nankai

We present a study of the relationships between fluids and deformations in the Nankai accretionary wedge. This work is based on the results of the two recent 190 and 196 Ocean Drilling Program Legs. We center our study of the relationships between the onset of strains and fluid circulation in the decollement at the toe of the wedge. We first present an estimation of the fluid pressure in the formations above and below the decollement, from the study of the core measured porosity. It shows that the decollement is not a barrier for the fluid pressure, and we propose that the porosity discontinuity at the decollement is the result of a discontinuity of the stress state across the decollement. Then, we study the fluid chlorinity anomaly in the Shikoku Basin around the décollement. We show that this anomaly can be explained by clay compaction and smectite to illite transformation. We have also realized permeability measurements on wedge samples under stress with a triaxial press. These measurements are necessary to realize numerical simulations of the fluid circulation in the wedge. The measured permeabilities range between 10-18 and 10-19 m2. Samples rupture induces a permeability increase at low confining stress, but no permeability modification at a confining stress corresponding to the sample in-situ vertical stress. Next, we present a comparison of the core measured porosity and the porosity of the formation calculated from a resistivity log. We show that the decollement zone presents both compactive and dilatant strain structures. We estimate the fractures dilatancy of the decollement zone between 2 and 8 %. We propose an incremental model of decollement propagation coupling episodic fluid pressure transfer and mechanical deformation at the tip of the decollement. Finally, we present a 2D numerical study of the fluid pressure solitary wave propagation along the decollement, supposing an effective pressure dependant permeability in the decollement zone. We show that the pressure waves can propagate rapidly along the decollement. Hydromechanical coupling between the stress state in the subducted sediments and fluid pressure in the decollement is proposed as a possible mechanism to initiate and maintain the pressure wave.Ce travail de thèse est une étude des relations entre les fluides et les déformations dans le prisme d'accrétion de Nankai. Ce travail s'appuie entre autres sur les résultats des deux campagnes de forage récentes Leg Ocean Drilling Program 190 et 196. L'étude des relations entre la mise en place de déformations et les circulations de fluides est plus particulièrement centrée sur le décollement, au front du prisme. Nous présentons d'abord une estimation de la surpression de fluides dans les formations sédimentaires autour du décollement à partir de l'étude des profils de porosité. Ceci nous permet de montrer que le décollement n'est pas une barrière pour les surpressions de fluides et de proposer que le saut de porosité au niveau du décollement résulte d'une discontinuité de l'état de contrainte au travers du décollement. Nous étudions ensuite l'anomalie de chlorinité présente dans les fluides interstitiels de la formation dans laquelle se développe le décollement. Nous montrons que l'on peut rendre compte de cette anomalie en ne considérant que les processus de compaction des argiles et de transformation des smectites en illites. Par ailleurs, nous avons mesuré la perméabilité d'échantillons du prisme sous contraintes avec une presse triaxiale, nécessaire pour la réalisation de simulations numériques de circulation de fluides dans le prisme. Les perméabilités mesurées sont comprises entre 10-18 et 10-19 m2. La rupture des échantillons entraîne une augmentation de la perméabilité à faible pression de confinement mais pas de modification de la perméabilité à une pression de confinement correspondant à la contrainte verticale de l'échantillon en place. Dans une autre partie, nous comparons les mesures de porosité des échantillons et la porosité calculée dans la formation in situ à partir d'un log de résistivité. Cela nous permet de montrer que la zone de décollement présente à la fois des déformations compactantes et dilatantes. Nous estimons la dilatance de fracture du décollement entre 2 et 8 %, et nous proposons un modèle incrémentiel de propagation du décollement par couplage entre des transferts transitoires de surpression de fluides et la déformation mécanique en tête de décollement. Enfin, nous présentons une étude numérique en 2D de la propagation d'ondes de surpression de fluide le long du décollement en supposant que la perméabilité dépend de la pression effective. Les ondes peuvent se propager rapidement le long du décollement. Le couplage hydromécanique entre l'état de contrainte dans la séquence subduite et la pression de fluide dans le décollement est proposés comme un mécanisme possible d'initiation et d'entretien de l'onde de pression

Permeability, compressibility, and friction coefficient measurements under confining pressure and strain, Leg 190, Nankai Trough.

online : http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/190196SR/215/215.htmPermeability measured on three samples in a triaxial cell under effective confining pressure from 0.2 to 2.5 MPa ranges from 10E-18 to 10E-19m2. Overall, results indicate that permeability decreases with effective confining pressure up to 1.5 MPa; however, measurements at low effec-tive pressure are too dispersed to yield a precise general relationship between permeability and pressure. When the effective pressure is increased from 1.5 to 2.5 MPa, permeability is roughly constant (~1-4 x 10E-19 m2). Samples deformed in the triaxial cell developed slickenlined fractures, and permeability measurements were performed before and after failure. A permeability increase is observed when the sample fails under low effective confining pressure (0.2 MPa), but not under effective pressure corresponding to the overburden stress. Under isotropic stress conditions, permeability decrease related to fracture closure occurs at a relatively high effective pressure of ~1.5 MPa. Coefficients of friction on the fractures formed in the triaxial cell are ~0.4

Cation exchange capacity and water content of ODP sites from Nankai

Pore fluid chlorinity lower than seawater is often observed in accretionary wedges and one of the possible causes of pore water freshening is the smectite to illite reaction. This reaction occurs during diagenesis in the 80-150°C temperature range. Low chlorinity anomalies observed at the toe of accretionary wedges have thus been interpreted as evidence for lateral fluid migration from inner parts of the wedge and the seismogenic zone. However, temperature conditions in Nankai Trough are locally high enough for the smectite to illite transition to occur in situ. Cation exchange capacity is here used as a proxy for smectite content in the sediment and the amount of interlayer water released during the smectite to illite reaction represents in average 12 water molecules per cation charge. Water and chloride budget calculations show that there is enough smectite to explain the chlorinity anomalies by in situ reactions. The shape of the pore fluid chlorinity profiles can be explained if compaction is also taken into account in the model. Lateral flow is not needed. This argument, based solely on chloride concentration, does not imply that lateral flow is absent. However, previous estimations of lateral fluid fluxes, and of the duration of transient flow events along the de.collement, should be reconsidered