ISSN:
1440-1738
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract The Japan Trench forearc offshore Honshu Island in northeast Japan, where the 130-m.y.-old Pacific oceanic plate is presently subducted, was drilled during the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 186. Results from mechanical and sedimentological studies of claystones recovered from Sites 1150 and 1151 in the overlying erosional forearc wedge are reported in the present study. Although many physical properties are similar in the seismic (Site 1150) and aseismic portion (Site 1151) of the shallow forearc, Site 1150 displayed a higher abundance of open fractures, two prominent fault zones and enigmatic pore fluid signatures in the claystones. The abundance of weak mineral phases, together with high smectite contents (from X-ray diffraction), control the low friction coefficients of 0.33–0.39 of the claystones in ring-shear experiments. Results from triaxial testing proposed overall low magnitudes of in situ effective vertical stress, with somewhat lower values at Site 1150 than at Site 1151. Similarly, samples from Site 1150 displayed slightly higher pore fluid pressures than those at Site 1151. The high sediment porosities, which are in part also a result of intact diatom tests (from scanning electron microscope), together with the anomalous fluid signatures and elevated pore fluid pressures, could very likely result from upward migration and influx of deep-seated waters. Dewatering reactions at depth result in enhanced pore fluid pressure transients along out-of-sequence thrusts and consequently lower effective stress. At depths greater than that of Leg 186 drilling, elevated pressure–temperature conditions trigger mineral transformation and cementation, which result in increasing friction, unstable sliding and seismic rupture. Such earthquakes could have repeatedly disaggregated the consolidated claystone fabrics at the seismic site, and could be responsible for differences in yield strength and cementation when compared to the aseismic Site 1151.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1738.2003.00423.x
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