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Shallow fluid pressure transients caused by seismogenic normal faults
Author(s) -
Fleischmann Karl Henry
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/93gl02413
Subject(s) - geology , fluid pressure , seismology , brittleness , slip (aerodynamics) , petrology , dike , overburden pressure , geotechnical engineering , mechanics , physics , thermodynamics
Clastic dikes, induced by paleo‐seismic slip along the Jonesboro Fault, can be used to estimate the magnitude of shallow fluid pressure transients. Fractures show evidence of two phases of seismically induced dilation by escaping fluids. Initial dilation and propagation through brittle rocks was caused by expulsion of trapped reducing fluids from beneath a clay cap. Second phase fluids were thixotropic clays which flowed vertically from clay beds upwards into the main fracture. Using the differential dilation and fracture trace lengths, the fluid pressure pulse is estimated to have ranged from 0.312 – 0.49 MPa, which is approximately equal to the vertical load during deformation. Field observations in adjacent rocks record evidence of large‐magnitude seismic events, which are consistent with the large nature of the fluid pressure fluctuation.