Internal structures and high-velocity frictional properties of a bedding-parallel carbonate fault at Xiaojiaqiao outcrop activated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports internal structures of a bedding-parallel fault in Permian limestone at Xiaojiaqiao outcrop that was moved by about 0.5 m during the 2008 M_W7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. The fault is located about 3 km to the south from the middle part of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, a major fault in the Longmenshan fault system that was moved during the earthquake. The outcrop is also located at Anxian transfer zone between the northern and central segments of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault where fault system is complex. Thus the fault is an example of subsidiary faults activated by Wenchuan earthquake. The fault has a strike of 243° or N63°E and a dip of 38°NW and is nearly optimally oriented for thrust motion, in contrast to high-angle coseismic faults at most places. Surface outcrop and two shallow drilling studies reveal that the fault zone is several centimeters wide at most and that the coseismic slip zone during Wenchuan earthquake is about 1 mm thick. Fault zone contains foliated cataclasite, fault breccia, black gouge and yellowish gouge. Many clasts of foliated cataclasite and black gouge contained in fault breccia indicate multiple slip events along this fault. But fossils on both sides of fault do not indicate clear age difference and overall displacement along this fault should not be large. We also report results from high-velocity friction experiments conducted on yellowish gouge from the fault zone using a rotary shear low to high-velocity frictional testing apparatus. Dry experiments at normal stresses of 0.4 to 1.8 MPa and at slip rates of 0.08 to 1.35 m/s reveal dramatic slip weakening from the peak friction coefficient of around 0.6 to very low steady-state friction coefficient of 0.1-0.2. Slip weakening parameters of this carbonate fault zone are similar to those of clayey fault gouge from Yingxiu-Beichuan fault at Hongkou outcrop and from Pingxi fault zone. Our experimental result will provide a condition for triggering movement of subsidiary faults or off-fault damage during a large earthquake.     

Distribution of fault rocks in the fracture zone of the Nojima Fault at a depth of 1140 m: Observations from the Hirabayashi NIED drill core

Abstract Characteristics of deformation and alteration of the 1140 m deep fracture zone of the Nojima Fault are described based on mesoscopic (to the naked eye) and microscopic (by both optical and scanning electron microscopes) observations of the Hirabayashi National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) drill core. Three types of fault rocks; that is, fault breccia, fault gouge and cataclasite, appear in the central part of the fault zone and two types of weakly deformed and/or altered rocks; that is, weakly deformed and altered granodiorite and altered granodiorite, are located in the outside of the central part of the fault zone (damaged zone). Cataclasite appears occasionally in the damaged zone. Six distinct, thin foliated fault gouge zones, which dip to the south-east, appear clearly in the very central part of the fracture zone. Slickenlines plunging to the north-east are observed on the surface of the newest gouge. Based on the observations of XZ thin sections, these slickenlines and the newest gouge have the same kinematics as the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Kobe earthquake), which was dextral-reverse slip. Scanning electron microscopy observations of the freeze-dried fault gouge show that a large amount of void space is maintained locally, which might play an important role as a path for fluid migration and the existence of either heterogeneity of pore fluid pressure or strain localization.     

龙门山断裂带金河磷矿剖面断层泥的低速至高速摩擦性质研究

本文对龙门山断裂带金河磷矿浅钻岩芯中的三种断层泥开展了低速到高速摩擦滑动的实验研究,并对实验变形样品开展了BET比表面积研究.摩擦实验在干燥和孔隙水压条件下开展,速率范围涵盖20 μm·s^-1~1.4 m·s^-1.实验结果显示,三种断层泥在干燥条件下的摩擦性质差别不大,但在孔隙水压条件下,三者的中低速摩擦强度与层状硅酸盐矿物的种类而非总含量紧密相关,蒙脱石和伊利石相比绿泥石更能有效地弱化断层.三种断层泥在孔隙水压条件下存在中低速率域的速度强化,暗示着对断层的加速滑动存在一定的阻碍作用.孔隙水压下,黄绿色和灰绿色断层泥的初始动态弱化非常迅速并伴随断层泥层的瞬时扩容,凹凸体急剧加热导致的局部热压作用可能是造成这种力学行为的物理机制.在经历高速滑动之后,三种断层泥在干、湿条件下的BET比表面积都显著降低,暗示着可能发生了颗粒烧结.中低速域内,孔隙水的存在使得断层泥呈现分散式的剪切变形,BET比表面积的增加因此比干燥条件下更加明显.对表面能的估算表明,颗粒磨碎所消耗的能量至多不超过摩擦力做功的8%,暗示着断层作用中颗粒磨碎所占的能量比例较低.     

Internal structure of Longmenshan fault zone at Hongkou outcrop,Sichuan, China,that caused the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports the internal structures of the Beichuan fault zone of Longmenshan fault system that caused the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, at an outcrop in Hongkou, Sichuan province, China. Present work is a part of comprehensive project of Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, trying to understand deformation processes in Longmenshan fault zones and eventually to reproduce Wenchuan earthquake by modeling based on measured mechanical and transport properties. Outcrop studies could be integrated with those performed on samples recovered from fault zone drilling, during the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling (WFSD) Project, to understand along-fault and depth variation of fault zone properties. The hanging wall side of the fault zone consists of weakly-foliated, clayey fault gouge of about 1 m in width and of several fault breccia zones of 30–40 m in total width. We could not find any pseudotachylite at this outcrop. Displacement during the Wenchuan earthquake is highly localized within the fault gouge layer along narrower slipping-zones of about 10 to 20 mm in width. This is an important constraint for analyzing thermal pressurization, an important dynamic weakening mechanism of faults. Overlapping patterns of striations on slickenside surface suggest that seismic slip at a given time occurred in even narrower zone of a few to several millimeters, so that localization of deformation must have occurred within a slipping zone during coseismic fault motion. Fault breccia zones are bounded by thin black gouge layers containing amorphous carbon. Fault gouge contains illite and chlorite minerals, but not smectite. Clayey fault gouge next to coseismic slipping zone also contains amorphous carbon and small amounts of graphite. The structural observations and mineralogical data obtained from outcrop exposures of the fault zone of the Wenchuan earthquake can be compared with those obtained from the WFSD-1 and WFSD-2 boreholes, which have been drilled very close to the Hongkou outcrop. The presence of carbon and graphite, observed next to the slipping-zone, may affect the mechanical properties of the fault and also provide useful information about coseismic chemical changes.     

Comparative microstructures of natural and experimentally produced clay-bearing fault gouges

Fault rocks formed in phyllosilicate-bearing rocks formed over a wide range of environmental conditions within the Earth's crust are characterised by similar structural and microstructural features. The most striking of these are (a) P foliation, defined by the preferred alignment of phyllosilicates in a plane oblique to the direction of shear and (b) small-scale shear zones either parallel to the shear direction (Y shears) or oblique to the direction of shear but with the opposite sense of obliquity relative to the P foliation (Riedel shears, R₁). The minor shear zones have the same sense of displacement as the host shear zone.The occurrence of these and other structures in clay-rich fault gouges from exceptionally well-exposed fault zones in southeastern Spain is described. The pervasive development of these flow structures throughout large volumes of fault gouge permits fault-displacement vectors to be inferred. For the region studied the movement pictures is relatively simple and is superposed on a complex network of variably oriented fault zones.The naturally produced fault-gouge structures are compared with fault gouges produced experimentally by shearing kaolinite-quartz mixtures between intact blocks over a wide range of experimental conditions. Good correspondence between their respective microstructural features was observed.Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that natural clay-bearing fault gouges are the products of deformation accompanied by very low-grade retrogressive metamorphism, and that part of the micro-structure of these rocks may be ascribed to crystallization under stress. Microstructures are described that are from long-duration experimental runs, (5 months at high temperature and in the presence of water) which go some way towards simulating these effects.     

Deformation mechanisms and fluid behavior in a shallow, brittle fault zone during coseismic and interseismic periods: Results from drill core penetrating the Nojima Fault, Japan

Abstract This paper describes the results of petrographical and meso- to microstructural observations of brittle fault rocks in cores obtained by drilling through the Nojima Fault at a drilling depth of 389.52 m. The zonation of deformation and alteration in the central zone of the fault is clearly seen in cores of granite from the hanging wall, in the following order: (i) host rock, which is characterized by some intragranular microcracks and in situ alteration of mafic minerals and feldspars; (ii) weakly deformed and altered rocks, which are characterized by transgranular cracks and the dissolution of mafic minerals, and by the precipitation of zeolites and iron hydroxide materials; (iii) random fabric fault breccia, which is characterized by fragmentation, by anastomosing networks of transgranular cracks, and by the precipitation of zeolites and iron hydroxide materials; and (iv) fault gouge, which is characterized by the precipitation of smectite and localized cataclastic flow. This zonation implies that the fault has been weakened gradually by fluid-related fracturing over time. In the footwall, a gouge layer measuring only 15 mm thick is present just below the surface of the Nojima Fault. These observations are the basis for a model of fluid behavior along the Nojima Fault. The model invokes the percolation of meteoric fluids through cracks in the hanging wall fault zone during interseismic periods, resulting in chemical reactions in the fault gouge layer to form smectite. The low permeability clay-rich gouge layer sealed the footwall. The fault gouge was brecciated during coseismic or postseismic periods, breaking the seal and allowing fluids to readily flow into the footwall, thus causing a slight alteration. Chemical reactions between fluids and the fault breccia and gouge generated new fault gouge, which resealed the footwall, resulting in a low fluid condition in the footwall during interseismic periods.     

THE GEOLOGICAL AND ROCK MECHANICAL DISTINCTION EVIDENCE BETWEEN STICK-SLIP AND CREEP IN HOST ROCK SEGMENTS OF FAULT

Paleo-seismic and fault activity are hard to distinguish in host rock areas compared with soft sedimentary segments of fault. However, fault frictional experiments could obtain the conditions of stable and unstable slide, as well as the microstructures of fault gouge, which offer some identification marks between stick-slip and creep of fault. We summarized geological and rock mechanical distinction evidence between stick-slip and creep in host rock segments of fault, and analyzed the physical mechanisms which controlled the behavior of stick-slip and creep. The chemical composition of fault gouge is most important to control stick-slip and creep. Gouge composed by weak minerals, such as clay mineral, has velocity weakening behavior, which causes stable slide of fault. Gouge with rock-forming minerals, such as calcite, quartz, feldspar, pyroxene, has stick-slip behavior under condition of focal depth. To the gouge with same chemical composition, the deformation mechanism controls the frictional slip. It is essential condition to stick slip for brittle fracture companied by dilatation, but creep is controlled by compaction and cataclasis as well as ductile shear with foliation and small fold. However, under fluid conditions, pressure solution which healed the fractures and caused strength recovery of fault, is the original reason of unstable slide, and also resulted in locking of fault with high pore pressure in core of fault zone. Contrast with that, rock-forming minerals altered to phyllosilicates in the gouges by fluid flow through degenerative reaction and hydrolysis reaction, which produced low friction fault and transformations to creep. The creep process progressively developed several wide shear zones including of R, Y, T, P shear plane that comprise gouge zones embedded into wide damage zones, which caused small earthquake distributed along wide fault zones with focal mechanism covered by normal fault, strike-slip fault and reverse fault. However, the stick-slip produced mirror-like slide surfaces with very narrow gouges along R shear plane and Y shear plane, which caused small earthquake distributed along narrow fault zones with single kind of focal mechanism.     

Self-similar cataclasis in the formation of fault gouge

Particle-size distributions have been determined for gouge formed by the fresh fracture of granodiorite from the Sierra Nevada batholith, for Pelona schist from the San Andreas fault zone in southern California, and for Berea sandstone from Berea, Ohio, under a variety of triaxial stress states. The finer fractions of the gouge derived from granodiorite and schist are consistent with either a self-similar or a logarithmic normal distribution, whereas the gouge from sandstone is not. Sandstone gouges are texturally similar to the disaggregated protolith, with comminution limited to the polycrystalline fragments and dominantly calcite cement. All three rock types produced significantly less gouge at higher confining pressures, but only the granodiorite showed a significant reduction in particle size with increased confining pressure. Comparison with natural gouges showed that gouges in crystalline rocks from the San Andreas fault zone also tend to be described by either a self-similar or log-normal particle distribution, with a significant reduction in particle size with increased confining pressure (depth). Natural gouges formed in porous sandstone do not follow either a self-similar or a log-normal distribution. Rather, these are represented by mixed log-normal distributions. These textural characteristics are interpreted in terms of the suppression of axial microfracturing by confining pressure and the accommodation of finite strain by scale-independent comminution.     

The Fractal Feature of Granulometric Composition in Fault Gouges from the Yishu Fault Zone and Adjacent Northwest-Trending Faults and Its Seismo-geological Implications

In this work,the fractal dimension of granulometric composition in the fault gouge from the Yishu fault zone and northwest-trending faults on its west side is calculated and studied based on the fractal theory of rock fragmentation.The seismo-geological implications of the fractal dimension of granulometric composition in fault gouges are also discussed.The results show that the Yishu fault zone is more active than the northwest-trending faults and the Anqiu-Juxian fault is the most active in the Yishu fault zone.The fractal dimension of fault gouge is a parameter describing the relative active age and rupture mode of the fault and forming age of the fault gouge.The fractal dimension value is also related to the parent rock,thickness,structural position,and clay content of the fault gouge.     

汶川地震断层带结构及渗透率

对汶川地震断层带进行了跨断层的渗透率测量.结果显示汶川地震断层由低渗的核部(2.4×10-19～3.8×10-16m2)、高渗的破碎带(3.7×10-16～3.0×10-15m2)以及含裂隙原岩(6.0×10-18～4.3×10-13 m2)组成(有效压力40 MPa),其中新鲜断层泥具有最低的渗透率.断层泥和两侧原岩...     

断层泥的再生显微结构特征及其地震地质意义

三轴剪切摩擦实验后的断层泥与天然断层泥的再生显微结构特征研究表明，断层泥的显微结构特征与断层滑动方式之间有一定的关系，稳滑使断层泥变形均匀，产生低角度剪切（＜１４°）、布丁构造和颗粒碎裂流动。粘滑使断层泥局部发生强烈变形、高角度剪切（＞１４°）和碎粒出现随机裂纹等。断层泥的再生显微结构特征可用作鉴别古地震的存在     

Frictional Properties and Microstructure of Calcite-Rich Fault Gouges Sheared at Sub-Seismic Sliding Velocities

We report an experimental and microstructural study of the frictional properties of simulated fault gouges prepared from natural limestone (96 % CaCO₃) and pure calcite. Our experiments consisted of direct shear tests performed, under dry and wet conditions, at an effective normal stress of 50 MPa, at 18–150 °C and sliding velocities of 0.1–10 μm/s. Wet experiments used a pore water pressure of 10 MPa. Wet gouges typically showed a lower steady-state frictional strength (μ = 0.6) than dry gouges (μ = 0.7–0.8), particularly in the case of the pure calcite samples. All runs showed a transition from stable velocity strengthening to (potentially) unstable velocity weakening slip above 80–100 °C. All recovered samples showed patchy, mirror-like surfaces marking boundary shear planes. Optical study of sections cut normal to the shear plane and parallel to the shear direction showed both boundary and inclined shear bands, characterized by extreme grain comminution and a crystallographic preferred orientation. Cross-sections of boundary shears, cut normal to the shear direction using focused ion beam—SEM, from pure calcite gouges sheared at 18 and 150 °C, revealed dense arrays of rounded, ~0.3 μm-sized particles in the shear band core. Transmission electron microscopy showed that these particles consist of 5–20 nm sized calcite nanocrystals. All samples showed evidence for cataclasis and crystal plasticity. Comparing our results with previous models for gouge friction, we suggest that frictional behaviour was controlled by competition between crystal plastic and granular flow processes active in the shear bands, with water facilitating pressure solution, subcritical cracking and intergranular lubrication. Our data have important implications for the depth of the seismogenic zone in tectonically active limestone terrains. Contrary to recent claims, our data also demonstrate that nanocrystalline mirror-like slip surfaces in calcite(-rich) faults are not necessarily indicative of seismic slip rates.     

Fractal research of fault gouge

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Water-rock interactions in fault gouge

Measurements were made of the amounts of D,¹⁸O, and H₂O⁺ in fault gouge collected over a depth of 400 m in the San Andreas fault of California. The amounts and isotopic compositions of the pore fluids, also analyzed, suggest that formation waters from adjacent Franciscan rocks have migrated into the gouge and mixed with local meteoric water. Thus the gouge is an open system permeable to fluid flow. This permeability has important implications concerning heat flow along the fault zone.Analyses of the fault gouge itself give information on the amounts, timing, and conditions of formation of the clay minerals.Stable-isotope analyses of materials from fault zones are good indicators of water-rock interactions that bear importantly on processes taking place in seismically active regions.     

Internal structures and high-velocity frictional properties of Longmenshan fault zone at Shenxigou activated during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports internal structures of a wide fault zone at Shenxigou, Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, China, and high-velocity frictional properties of the fault gouge collected near the coseismic slip zone during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Vertical offset and horizontal displacement at the trench site were 2.8 m (NW side up) and 4.8 m (right-lateral), respectively. The fault zone formed in Triassic sandstone, siltstone, and shale about 500 m away from the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, a major fault in the Longmenshan fault system. A trench survey across the coseismic fault, and observations of outcrops and drill cores down to a depth of 57 m revealed that the fault zone consists of fault gouge and fault breccia of about 0.5 and 250–300 m in widths, respectively, and that the fault strikes N62°E and dips 68° to NW. Quaternary conglomerates were recovered beneath the fault in the drilling, so that the fault moved at least 55 m along the coseismic slip zone, experiencing about 18 events of similar sizes. The fault core is composed of grayish gouge (GG) and blackish gouge (BG) with very complex slip-zone structures. BG contains low-crystalline graphite of about 30 %. High-velocity friction experiments were conducted at normal stresses of 0.6–2.1 MPa and slip rates of 0.1–2.1 m/s. Both GG and BG exhibit dramatic slip weakening at constant high slip rates that can be described as an exponential decay from peak friction coefficient μ _p to steady-state friction coefficient μ _ss over a slip-weakening distance D _c. Deformation of GG and BG is characterized by overlapped slip-zone structures and development of sharp slickenside surfaces, respectively. Comparison of our data with those reported for other outcrops indicates that the high-velocity frictional properties of the Longmenshan fault zones are quite uniform and the high-velocity weakening must have promoted dynamic rupture propagation during the Wenchuan earthquake.     

Reconstructing the evolution of fault zone architecture: Field‐based study of the core region of the Atera Fault,Central Japan

In order to reconstruct the architectural evolution of a fault zone with heterogeneous structures, we studied the Atera Fault in Central Japan, and described the detailed mesoscopic and microscopic features of the zone. The fault zone studied consists of a 1.2‐m wide fault core of fault breccia mixed with fragments derived from welded tuff, granite, and mafic volcanic rocks. The 1.2‐m wide fault core is bordered by a western damage zone characterized by a welded tuff fault breccia and an eastern damage zone characterized by a granite cataclasite. A secondary fault core, a 30‐cm wide granite‐derived fault gouge, cross‐cuts the granite cataclasite. Although welded tuff fault breccia and granite cataclasite are also pervasively fractured and fragmented, the fault cores are significantly affected by fragment size reduction due to intense abrasive wear and comminution. The 1.2‐m wide fault core includes fragments and a sharp dark layer composed of mafic volcanic rocks, which can be correlated with neighboring 1.6 Ma volcanic rocks. This observation places a younger constraint on the age of the fault core formation. Carbonate coating on basalt fragments in the 1.2‐m wide fault core has also been fractured indicating the repetition of intense fragmentation. Bifurcated, black and gray veins near the 1.2‐m wide fault core are likely injection veins, formed by the rapid injection of fine material within fault zones during seismic events. The granite‐derived fault gouge, characterized by hard granite fragments without intense brecciation and microfracturing, in a kaolinite‐rich clay matrix, is interpreted as the most recent slip zone within the exposed fault zone. A preview of published geological and hydrological studies of several fault zones shows that clay‐rich fault cores can exhibit much lower permeability than the adjacent damage zones represented in this present case by the welded tuff fault breccia and granite cataclasite.     

汶川地震断裂带滑移行为、物理性质及其大地震活动性——来自汶川地震断裂带科学钻探的证据

断裂带物质组成、结构及其物理性质是理解断裂变形机制和地震破裂过程的基础和关键,断裂带地震（黏滑）和非地震（蠕滑）滑移行为不仅对了解地震活动性和山脉隆升过程具有重要意义,而且直接为防震减灾提供科学依据.我们以穿过龙门山映秀—北川和灌县—安县断裂带的汶川地震断裂带科学钻探（WFSD）岩心和地表出露的断裂带为研究对象,通过对断裂岩组成、结构、显微构造和钻孔物性测井数据进行分析研究,确定了龙门山逆冲断裂带滑移行为和物性特征,初步探讨了大地震活动性和有关断裂带的隆升作用：（1）映秀—北川断裂带倾向NW,浅部倾角~65°,发育的断裂岩厚约180~280 m,由碎裂岩、假玄武玻璃（地震化石）、断层泥和断层角砾岩组成.断裂带具有高自然伽马、高磁化率值、低电阻率、低波速等物理性质以及对称型破碎结构.断层泥普遍具有摩擦热效应的高磁化率值和石墨化作用特征,是古地震滑动的岩石记录.表明映秀—北川断裂带为经常发生大地震的断裂带,晚新生代以来类似汶川地震的大地震复发周期小于6000—10000年,具有千年复发周期特征.（2）灌县—安县断裂带倾向NW,浅部倾角~38°,发育的断裂岩厚约40~50 m,仅由断层泥和断层角砾岩组成,具有典型的"压溶"结构,表现出蠕滑性质.除压溶作用外,定向富集的层状黏土矿物和微孔隙的发育使断层强度变弱.断裂带具上盘破碎的非对称型破碎结构,除具低磁化率值特征外,其他物性与映秀—北川断裂带一致.（3）根据断裂岩厚度与断层滑移量相关经验公式关系,以及断层产状,粗略估算映秀—北川断裂带自中生代以来累积垂直位移量大于9 km,灌县—安县断裂带累积垂直位移量小于3 km.映秀—北川断裂带长期大地震产生的累积垂直位移量是龙门山隆升的主要贡献.     

鲜水河断裂西北段的断层泥特征及其地震地质意义

对鲜水河断裂的断层泥样品进行原样的结构、构造和碎砾的显微构造、刻蚀形貌结构的观测统计,断层泥的粒度分析和分形研究,认为,断裂处于强烈的定向应力场作用之下,其运动方式是以粘滑运动为主,且晚更新世和全新世时期断裂仍有活动。从断层泥的粒度分布和分形分析可将断层分为：甘孜－格篓、格篓－恰叫、恰叫－乾宁３段,这与前人的地形变分析的分段结果相一致     

Internal structure of the Nojima Fault zone from the Hirabayashi GSJ drill core

Abstract The internal structures of the Nojima Fault, south-west Japan, are examined from mesoscopic observations of continuous core samples from the Hirabayashi Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) drilling. The drilling penetrated the central part of the Nojima Fault, which ruptured during the 1995 Kobe earthquake (Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake) ( M 7.2). It intersected a 0.3 m-thick layer of fault gouge, which is presumed to constitute the fault core (defined as a narrow zone of extremely concentrated deformation) of the Nojima Fault Zone. The rocks obtained from the Hirabayashi GSJ drilling were divided into five types based on the intensities of deformation and alteration: host rock, weakly deformed and altered granodiorite, fault breccia, cataclasite, and fault gouge. Weakly deformed and altered granodiorite is distributed widely in the fault zone. Fault breccia appears mostly just above the fault core. Cataclasite is distributed mainly in a narrow (≈1 m wide) zone in between the fault core and a smaller gouge zone encountered lower down from the drilling. Fault gouge in the fault core is divided into three types based on their color and textures. From their cross-cutting relationships and vein development, the lowest fault gouge in the fault core is judged to be newer than the other two. The fault zone characterized by the deformation and alteration is assumed to be deeper than 426.2 m and its net thickness is > 46.5 m. The fault rocks in the hanging wall (above the fault core) are deformed and altered more intensely than those in the footwall (below the fault core). Furthermore, the intensities of deformation and alteration increase progressively towards the fault core in the hanging wall, but not in the footwall. The difference in the fault rock distribution between the hanging wall and the footwall might be related to the offset of the Nojima Fault and/or the asymmetrical ground motion during earthquakes.     

汶川地震断裂带粒度分布特征：对地震碎裂机制的约束

断层岩的粒度分布包含岩石破裂机制、摩擦性质和地震能量分配等重要信息。筛分-称重和激光测量是分析断层岩三维粒度的2种有效方法,但每一种方法的测量范围仅有3个量级,难以全面反映断层岩的粒度分布特征。利用上述2种方法对汶川地震断层滑动带上的断层岩（简称断层岩）的粒度分布进行了测量,粒径测量范围从0.2μm至16mm,跨度达到5个数量级。结果显示：1）存在临界粒径d_c（0.95～1.90μm）。粒度大于和小于d_c的颗粒满足不同的颗粒数（N_d）-粒径（d）分布关系,表明该断层岩的粒径分布不具有自相似性特征。2）利用粒度大于d_c的颗粒计算出的分形维数与断层岩类型有很好的相关性,即断层带边缘的角砾岩的平均分形维数为2.6,核部压碎角砾岩的平均分形维数约为3.0,中心断层泥的分形维数约为3.5。粒径小于d_c的颗粒的分形维数为1.7～2.1。分形维数的突变反映出断层破裂机制的复杂性,即在不同的粒度域,岩石的破裂机制不尽相同。3）依据粒度分析结果,估算出汶川地震断层泥的单位破裂能（E_s）为0.63MJ/m2。