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.     

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.     

龙门山灌县—安县断裂带断层泥低磁化率的矿物、化学响应和蠕滑作用环境

断层带内的流体不仅可以通过水岩反应改变断裂岩的矿物组成和化学成分,从而导致化学性质和物理性质的变化,而且可以影响或控制断裂带的变形行为.断裂带中岩石磁学特征是由特定化学环境下磁性矿物的种类和含量所决定的,因此,从矿物学和地球化学角度探讨断裂岩的磁性变化,对揭示断层的变形行为和环境具有一定的指示作用.本文以汶川科钻WFSD-3P钻孔中龙门山灌县—安县断裂带断裂岩为研究对象,运用高分辨率磁化率测试、XRD矿物成分半定量分析、XRF元素扫描以及不同价态Fe元素含量分析等多种方法开展断层磁学变化和变形环境的研究.磁化率测试结果表明灌县—安县断裂带断层泥的磁化率值普遍低于对应的围岩磁化率平均值.结合前人研究成果表明造成该断层泥低磁化率异常的原因是在间震期的长期流体作用下,铁磁性矿物（例如磁铁矿）转变成顺磁性矿物（铁硫化物、菱铁矿或含铁的黏土矿物）.新生铁硫化物和含铁黏土矿物是在间震期缓慢形成的,而黏土矿物含量的增加弱化了断层强度,促进断层蠕滑,这说明断层泥低磁化率异常可能指示了该断裂在间震期长期缓慢活动,即为蠕滑变形.断层泥中黄铁矿的发育和高Fe²⁺和S元素、低Fe³⁺的特征显示灌县—安县断裂作用环境通常是在低温、还原环境中进行的.这些结果与低磁化率值的相关性暗示断层泥低磁化率异常可能对活动断层的低温还原环境具有指示意义.     

Microstructural features of fault gouges from Tianjing-shan-Xiangshan fault zone and their geological implications

Detailed observation of the microstructural features of 11 fault gouge and 3 fault breccia samples collected from Tianjingshan-Xiangshan fault zone has revealed that fault gouge can be classified into 3 types: flow banded granular gouge, foliated gouge and massive gouge. The determination of the shape preferred orientation (SPO) of survivor grains in fault gouges indicates that the foliated gouge displays a profound SPO inclined to the shear zone boundary, similar to theP-foliation; flow banded granular gouge displays a SPO parallel to the shear zone boundary, while massive fault gouge and fault breccia display a random SPO. All these fault gouges fall in different fields of shear rate ternary diagram.     

Fractal research of fault gouge

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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.     

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...     

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.     

ESR analysis of the Nojima fault gouge, Japan, from the DPRI 500 m borehole

Abstract Electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses of quartz grains in fault gouge were performed for a core sample taken from the Nojima Fault that moved during the 1995 Kobe earthquake (Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake). Distribution of radiation-induced defects in the gouge at a depth of 389.4 m was measured by extracting quartz grains from seven discrete positions within 30 mm of the fault plane on the granite side. The decrease in E'₁ and Al centers was observed within 2 mm of the fault plane, suggesting partial annealing due to faulting. Partial annealing even at that depth suggested that conventional ESR dating, which is based on the hypothesis of complete annealing during faulting, was not applicable. Theoretical calculations of the temperature rise and of the thermal annealing of defects have been made by assuming a simple annealing model of heat generation on the fault plane. Thermal energy was calculated to have been approximately 8 MJ/m² to explain the profile of the heat-affected region. Thermal energy was much larger than the one estimated from hydrothermal solution, and corresponded to the frictional heat calculated for a normal stress of 20 MPa, a displacement of 2 m, and a frictional coefficient of 0.2.     

海原断裂带老虎山段断层岩磁学研究及其构造意义

断层岩,尤其是断层泥的磁性异常近年来被研究人员广泛关注,但关于其磁性异常的形成原因尚没有统一的解释．海原断裂是青藏高原东北缘一条重要的走滑断裂,前期研究发现海原断裂带景泰段出露有数十米至上百米的断层岩,是理想的研究材料．本研究选取海原断裂带景泰段老虎山山前一个断层岩剖面作为研究对象,拟通过测量断层岩的磁化率（χ）、非磁滞剩磁（ARM）、饱和等温剩磁（SIRM）、等温剩磁（IRM）以及磁化率随温度变化曲线（χ-T曲线）等磁学参数并结合粒度、碳含量、X射线衍射（XRD）等分析方法来探究海原断裂带老虎山段不同颜色断层岩的磁性特征及其形成机制．磁学研究显示黑色、红色及杂色断层泥相较于围岩和破碎带显示了低磁性,尤其是黑色断层泥,其磁化率值均小于10×10~(-8 )m~3·kg~(-1)．碳含量及矿物相分析结果指示黑色断层泥与断裂带附近石炭系煤层具有相似的矿物相组成,结合相似的χ-T曲线推断石炭系煤层为黑色断层泥的母岩．石炭系煤层经断层活动卷入断层,在断层强烈剪切摩擦作用下不断细化,形成伊利石等黏土矿物,并促使一部分顺磁性含铁硅酸盐矿物或其他含铁矿物发生化学变化形成亚铁磁性矿物,使得黑色断层泥的磁化率较其母岩石炭系煤层有一定升高．通过黑色断层泥的铁磁性磁化率结合χ-T曲线计算获得断层泥所经历的最高温度约为420℃,不超过450℃．老虎山段厚层碳质断层泥的存在为该地区发现的浅层蠕滑现象提供了一种解释．     

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.     

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.     

Adaptability of ESR dating of fault gouge in aseismic region: A case study on Hangzhou region, China

ESR dating has been widely used in seismic assessment. In this paper, we collected fault gouge samples systematically for ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) dating, and sediment samples of overlying strata, and offset strata for OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating along Xiaoshan-Qiuchuan fault (XQF) trending NE-SW, Xiaofeng-Sanmen fault (XSF) trending NW-SE, and Changhua-Putuo fault (CPF) trending E-W. In the same fault outcrop, the ESR data of fault gouge is greater than the OSL data of the strata of...     

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.     

Acoustic and vibration precursors from shear-slip characteristics of simulated zigzag-type gouge fault

Earthquake precursors are vitally important for warning and risk evaluation, but shedding light on them is a complex task for seismologists and geologists. We attempted to illuminate the precursory rules of fault failure by traditional biaxial-direction shear tests for a zigzag-type gouge with different size and arrangement of simulated faults manufactured from polymethyl methacrylate materials. Shear stress, acoustic emissions, and vibration signals were recorded and comparatively analyzed. Two important findings were obtained: (1) the linearly increasing trend of shear stress peaks generated by foreshocks may indicate the foreshock effect before a larger earthquake triggered by natural fault gouge failure; and (2) four kinds of earthquake precursors were discovered, and earthquake intensity and precursors may be dependent on the time of macro-fracture formation and the quantity of micro-fractures initiated before mainshock. The study contributes to interpreting earthquake shear-slip characteristics and may even help provide warnings of failure and instability.     

Paleoseismic events and the 1596 Keicho-Fushimi large earthquake produced by a slip on the Gosukebashi fault at the eastern Rokko Mountains,Japan

Field surveys and trench excavation investigations revealed that there were at least four large seismic events produced by slips on the Gosukebashi fault in the Holocene in the southeastern Rokko Mountains of Japan. The characteristics of deformed topographies and three-dimensionally excavated exposures show that this fault is a right-lateral strike–slip fault having an average slip rate of 1.0 mm/year, with a reverse displacement component. The principle indicators of past faulting events are: (i) termination of secondary faults; (ii) sedimentary deposits related to faulting; and (iii) injection veins of fault gouge related to seismic faulting in the fractured zone. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the events occurred pre-1660 BC , 1660 BC –220 AD , from ～ 30–220 to 600 AD and 15th century AD . The youngest event is probably associated with the large 1596 AD Keicho-Fushimi earthquake which occurred in the area around Kyoto and Kobe Cities. The second younger event is probably correlated with the 416 AD Yamato earthquake, which is the oldest historic earthquake in Japanese historic records. The results of trench surveys show that the horizontal displacement produced by an individual event is ～ 1.5 m, and the recurrence of seismic event intervals is ～ 1200 years in the Gosukebashi fault.     

北京黄庄-高丽营断层、八宝山断层现今活动追踪研究

综合分析了控制黄庄—高丽营断层、八宝山断层活动性的形变、重力及地磁资料，认为断层的活动以永定河断层与良乡断层之间最为显著；其活动与强震的发生密切相关；断层所在地段是地震活动引起应力场变化的敏感地区。是大同及张北地震后应力转移集中的地区。转移集中的部分应力可能以断层蠕动的形式得到缓慢释放。     

Gravity anomaly and density structure of the San Andreas fault zone

A densely spaced gravity survey across the San andreas fault zone was conducted near Bear Valley, about 180 km south of San Francisco, along a cross-section where a detailed seismic reflection profile was previously made byMcEvilly (1981). WithFeng andMcEvilly's velocity structure (1983) of the fault zone at this cross-section as a constraint, the density structure of the fault zone is obtained through inversion of the gravity data by a method used byParker (1973) andOldenburg (1974). Although the resulting density picture cannot be unique, it is better constrained and contains more detailed information about the structure of the fault than was previously possible. The most striking feature of the resulting density structure is a deeply seated tongue of low-density material within the fault zone, probably representing a wedge of fault gouge between the two moving plates, which projects from the surface to the base of the seismogenic zone. From reasonable assumptions concerning the density of the solid grains and the state of saturation of the fault zone the average porosity of this low-density fault gouge is estimated as about 12%. Stress-induced cracks are not expected to create so much porosity under the pressures in the deep fault zone. Large-scaled removal of fault-zone material by hydrothermal alteration, dissolution, and subsequent fluid transport may have occurred to produce this pronounced density deficiency. In addition, a broad, funnel-shaped belt of low density appears about the upper part of the fault zone, which probably represents a belt of extensively shattered wall rocks.     

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.     

龙门山断裂带假玄武玻璃特征及断层弱化机制的探讨

与断层相关的假玄武玻璃被认为是地震化石,记录了地震发生过程和断裂机制的重要信息,对认识断层地震活动性具有重要意义.本文综合地表露头及汶川科钻（WFSD-1、WFSD-2）岩心研究,对映秀—北川断裂带南段彭灌杂岩中发育的假玄武玻璃进行详细的结构、构造及矿物成分分析.这些假玄武玻璃以断层脉和单个/网状贯入脉的形式产出,厚度由几毫米到数十厘米不等,与碎裂岩和超碎裂岩相伴生.显微结构观察发现假玄武玻璃中发育大量熔融特征构造,如港湾状熔蚀边、蜂窝状气孔构造、黏滞性流动构造以及针状、球粒状、羽状、纤维状、粒状等多种形态的微晶及微晶集合体,表明其为断层滑动摩擦熔融的产物,指示摩擦熔融润滑是断层滑动过程中最主要的弱化机制.同时热增压和机械润滑机制可能存在于断层滑动的不同阶段.此外,从野外和显微镜下都观察到假玄武玻璃脉具有浅灰、深灰、浅褐、棕褐色及黑色等不同的颜色,可能代表着不同程度的脱玻化作用,并且不同颜色有相互穿插交切关系,可能指示存在多期假玄武玻璃,也就是说,产生假玄武玻璃的大地震事件沿映秀—北川断裂带重复发生.最近的研究认为这些假玄武玻璃形成于晚三叠世时期地下~10—15 km深度.结合须家河组地层中发育的厚层断层泥和角砾岩,~180—280 m宽的映秀—北川断裂岩带是断裂长期活动演化的产物.作为龙门山地区最陡峭的地形边界,映秀—北川断裂带长期地震活动造成的地壳缩短加厚可能是龙门山快速隆升的主要原因.