Non-lithostaticpressure in subductionzones

International audienceThe pressure at depth is not directly observable and no one knows precisely to which extent the pressure conditions in subduction zones, recorded by high-pressure metamorphic rocks, deviate from mantle lithostatic pressure. As an alternative to large-scale complex numerical models of subduction zones, the analytical subduction channel model can give us some insight on the physical processes that control the development of non-lithostatic pressure, as well as some estimation of its amplitude. We propose a new approach coupling the flow of crust within the channel to the deformation of the mantle bounding the channel, occurring as the pressure within the channel deviates from mantle lithostatic values. While for very weak crust within the subduction channel, the channel walls are rigid and channel geometry does not vary, for stronger crust, our coupled approach unravels a new domain of behaviour where the mantle is no longer completely rigid and the deformation of the channel walls prevents arbitrarily large non-lithostatic pressure to develop. This new regime poses an upper bound on the amplitude of non-lithostatic pressure within the channel that depends only on the mantle viscosity. The transition from one regime to another is dependent on an adimensional parameter 3 0 3 m c h L , incorporating not only mantle and crust viscosity but also the geometry of the channel. The development of larger non-lithostatic pressure in thinner channels than in larger ones, predicted in the rigid channel model, is partly inhibited in the fully coupled model as thinner channels more easily induce channel wall deformation. The lengthscale of the channel width perturbations influences the amplitude of non-lithostatic pressure, as small-scale ones, inducing a more rigid response of the mantle, potentially trigger larger non-lithostatic pressure

Grain-sizereductionmechanisms and rheologicalconsequences in high-temperaturegabbromylonites of Hidaka, Japan

International audienceThe study of microstructures and crystallographic fabrics in a granulite-facies shear zone of the Hidaka Metamorphic Belt showed that the strong shearing localized within the mylonite resulted in the asymmetrical elongation of the inherited orthopyroxene porphyroclasts and the generation of fine-grained plagioclase and orthopyroxene layers as asymmetric tails of orthopyroxene porphyroclasts. The orthopyroxene porphyroclasts and the coarse plagioclase matrix surrounding them have a strong crystallographic preferred orientation acquired through deformation by dislocation creep. In contrast, the small orthopyroxene and plagioclase grains located in the tails have equant shapes and random fabric that are interpreted as the result of deformation by grain-boundary sliding. The small orthopyroxene grains are generated on the sheared rims of the orthopyroxene porphyroclasts by subgrain rotation, inheriting the orientation of the porphyroclasts before deforming by grain-boundary sliding (GBS) and losing this fabric. Additional mechanism of grain-sizereduction is the disruption of orthopyroxene porphyroclasts by synthetic shear zones localized on clinopyroxene exsolutions. The switch in deformation mechanism from dislocation creep to GBS, associated with the grain-sizereduction, yielded estimates of deviatoric stress one order smaller than lithostatic pressure. Besides, such rheological evolution attests of the mechanical softening during deformation, which contributed to the localization of the strain within the mylonite

Low-grade metamorphism around the down-dip limit of seismogenic subduction zones: Example from an ancient accretionary complex in the Shimanto Belt, Japan

International audienceReactions involving clay minerals during low-grade metamorphism at the depth of an ancient accretionary complex in the Shimanto Belt, Kyushu, Japan, were studied by integrated transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses of the bulk rock and clay fraction. The analyzed metasediment (the Kitagawa unit) contain an incipient sub-horizontal slaty cleavage. Illite crystallinity data and mica b dimensions indicate that the conditions of metamorphic deformation were anchizone-epizone grade and intermediate pressure. Cleavage formation was linked to two reactions involving clay minerals: (1) the recrystallization of 1M-dominant matrix mica, inherited from the original sedimentary fabric, into thick, defect-free 2M1 packets along cleavage planes; and (2) the formation of chlorite from 7 Å berthierine. Balanced equations among the clay phases, based on compositional data and their relative abundance, suggest that the decomposition of matrix mica resulted in the formation of paragenetic mica and chlorite along the cleavage planes, without significant elemental outflux. Although a modal increase in phyllosilicates is not indicated by the data, the growth of chlorite and mica along cleavage planes may have a large influence on the rheological properties of a décollement and may be related to the occurrence of the seismic-aseismic transition at ~ 350 °C

IODP-ICDP Workshop examines challenges of fault zone drilling

No abstract available. doi:10.2204/iodp.sd.s01.12.2007</a

Long-term evolution of an accretionary prism: The case study of the Shimanto Belt, Kyushu, Japan

International audienceThe Shimanto Belt in SW Japan is commonly described as a paleo-accretionary prism, whose structure is explained by continuous accretion like in modern accretionary prisms such as Nankai. We carried out a structural study of the Cretaceous to Miocene part of the Shimanto Belt on Kyushu to test this hypothesis of continuous accretion. Most deformation structures observed on the field are top-to-the-SE thrusts, fitting well the scheme of accretionary wedge growth by frontal accretion or underplating. In particular, the tectonic mélange at the top of the Hyuga Group records a penetrative deformation reflecting burial within the subduction channel. In contrast, we documented two stages of extension that require modifying the traditional model of the Belt as a "simple" giant accretionary wedge. The first one, in the early Middle Eocene, is mostly ductile and localized in the foliated bases of the Morotsuka and Kitagawa Groups. The second one, postdating the Middle Miocene, is a brittle deformation spread over the whole belt on Kyushu. Integrating these new tectonic features to existing data, we propose 2-D reconstructions of the belt evolution, leading to the following conclusions: (1) Erosion and extension of the margin in the early Middle Eocene resulted from the subduction of a trench-parallel ridge. (2) The Late Eocene to Early Miocene evolution is characterized by rapid growth of the prism, followed by a Middle Miocene stage where large displacements occurred along low-angle out-of-sequence thrusts such as the Nobeoka Tectonic Line. (3) From middle Miocene, the strain regime was extensional

Fluid circulation in the depths of accretionary prisms: an example of the Shimanto Belt, Kyushu, Japan

International audienceAccretionary prisms constitute ideal targets to study fluid circulation and fluid-rock interactions at depths beyond the reach of active margin deep drilling. The highest-grade rocks from the Shimanto Belt on Kyushu were buried under 3-5 kbars at ~ 300°C (Toriumi and Teruya, 1988). They contain abundant quartz veins, formed throughout burial and exhumation and variably affected by brittle and ductile deformation.Cathodoluminescence (CL) reveals the existence of two distinct types of quartz, characterized by a blue and brown color, respectively. CL-blue quartz fills macro-veins (width ≥ 10μm), while CL-brown quartz is present in micro-veins (width ~ 1 − 10μm) and ductilely recrystallized domains. On the basis of microstructures, the fluids associated with the CL-blue and CL-brown quartz are interpreted as “external” and “local”, respectively. Quartz growth rims of alternating CL colors as well as mutually cross-cutting veins show that the two fluids cyclically wetted the host rock.From fluid inclusions analysis, the fluid associated with CL-blue quartz has a salinity similar to seawater, while the fluid associated with CL-brown quartz is less saline. In addition, CL-blue quartz is richer in aluminum than the CL-brown one. In contrast to the salinity/aluminum signature, the δ18O isotopic signature of both quartz types is similar and buffered by host rock. The difference between the preservation of the salinity signature of the fluid and the loss of its δ18O signature is explained by quicker exchange kinetics and larger host rock buffering capacity for isotopic reequilibration.The “local” fluid, associated with CL-brown quartz, reflects the dilution of pore water by the pure water produced by prograde dehydration reactions of clay minerals. The “external” fluid associated with CL-blue quartz is interpreted as seawater or pore water from shallow (depth<1-2 km below seafloor) sediments. We propose that downward percolation of shallow water to depths ~ 10km is a transient process associated with mega-earthquakes

A new method of reconstructing the P-T conditions of fluid circulation in an accretionary prism (Shimanto, Japan) from microthermometry of methane-bearing aqueous inclusions

International audienceIn paleo-accretionary prisms and the shallow metamorphic domains of orogens, circulating fluids trapped in inclusions are commonly composed of a mixture of salt water and methane, producing two types of fluid inclusions: methane-bearing aqueous and methane-rich gaseous fluid inclusions. In such geological settings, where multiple stages of deformation, veining and fluid influx are prevalent, textural relationships between aqueous and gaseous inclusions are often ambiguous, preventing the microthermometric determination of fluid trapping pressure and temperature conditions. To assess the P-T conditions of deep circulating fluids from the Hyuga unit of the Shimanto paleo-accretionary prism on Kyushu, Japan, we have developed a new computational code, applicable to the H2O-CH4-NaCl system, which allows the characterization of CH4-bearing aqueous inclusions using only the temperatures of their phase transitions estimated by microthermometry: Tmi, the melting temperature of ice; Thyd, the melting temperature of gas hydrate and Th,aq, homogenization temperature. This thermodynamic modeling calculates the bulk density and composition of aqueous inclusions, as well as their P-T isochoric paths in a P-T diagram with an estimated precision of approximatively 10 %. We use this computational tool to reconstruct the entrapment P-T conditions of aqueous inclusions in the Hyuga unit, and we show that these aqueous inclusions cannot be cogenetic with methane gaseous inclusions present in the same rocks. As a result, we propose that pulses of a high-pressure, methane-rich fluid transiently percolated through a rock wetted by a lower-pressure aqueous fluid. By coupling microthermometric results with petrological data, we infer that the exhumation of the Hyuga unit from the peak metamorphic conditions was nearly isothermal and ended up under a very hot geothermal gradient. In subduction or collision zones, modeling aqueous fluid inclusions in the ternary H2O-CH4-NaCl system and not simply in the binary H2O-NaCl is necessary, as the addition of even a small amount of methane to the water raises significantly the isochores to higher pressures. Our new code provides therefore the possibility to estimate precisely the pressure conditions of fluids circulating at depth