Frictional properties of exhumed fault gouges in DFDP-1 cores, Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Principal slip zone gouges recovered during the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-1), Alpine Fault, New Zealand, were deformed in triaxial friction experiments at temperatures, T, of up to 350°C, effective normal stresses, σn′, of up to 156 MPa, and velocities between 0.01 and 3 μm/s. Chlorite/white mica-bearing DFDP-1A blue gouge, 90.62 m sample depth, is frictionally strong (friction coefficient, μ, 0.61-0.76) across all experimental conditions tested (T = 70-350°C, σn′ = 31.2-156 MPa); it undergoes a transition from positive to negative rate dependence as T increases past 210°C. The friction coefficient of smectite-bearing DFDP-1B brown gouge, 128.42 m sample depth, increases from 0.49 to 0.74 with increasing temperature and pressure (T = 70-210°C, σn′ = 31.2-93.6 MPa); the positive to negative rate dependence transition occurs as T increases past 140°C. These measurements indicate that, in the absence of elevated pore fluid pressures, DFDP-1 gouges are frictionally strong under conditions representative of the seismogenic crust.

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Shear behavior of DFDP-1 borehole samples from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand, under a wide range of experimental conditions

International Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s00531-014-1115-5 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 104 (6) ◽

pp. 1523-1535 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Matt J. Ikari ◽

Sebastian Trütner ◽

Brett M. Carpenter ◽

Achim J. Kopf

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Shear Behavior ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Wide Range

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Large-displacement, hydrothermal frictional properties of DFDP-1 fault rocks, Alpine Fault, New Zealand: Implications for deep rupture propagation

10.26686/wgtn.13819181.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

AR Niemeijer ◽

Carolyn Boulton ◽

VG Toy ◽

John Townend ◽

Rupert Sutherland

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Rupture Propagation ◽

Low Velocity ◽

Fault Rocks ◽

Frictional Properties ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Rate And State Friction ◽

Fault Gouges ◽

Depth Extent

©2016. The Authors. The Alpine Fault, New Zealand, is a major plate-bounding fault that accommodates 65-75% of the total relative motion between the Australian and Pacific plates. Here we present data on the hydrothermal frictional properties of Alpine Fault rocks that surround the principal slip zones (PSZ) of the Alpine Fault and those comprising the PSZ itself. The samples were retrieved from relatively shallow depths during phase 1 of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-1) at Gaunt Creek. Simulated fault gouges were sheared at temperatures of 25, 150, 300, 450, and 600°C in order to determine the friction coefficient as well as the velocity dependence of friction. Friction remains more or less constant with changes in temperature, but a transition from velocity-strengthening behavior to velocity-weakening behavior occurs at a temperature of T = 150°C. The transition depends on the absolute value of sliding velocity as well as temperature, with the velocity-weakening region restricted to higher velocity for higher temperatures. Friction was substantially lower for low-velocity shearing (V < 0.3 μm/s) at 600°C, but no transition to normal stress independence was observed. In the framework of rate-and-state friction, earthquake nucleation is most likely at an intermediate temperature of T = 300°C. The velocity-strengthening nature of the Alpine Fault rocks at higher temperatures may pose a barrier for rupture propagation to deeper levels, limiting the possible depth extent of large earthquakes. Our results highlight the importance of strain rate in controlling frictional behavior under conditions spanning the classical brittle-plastic transition for quartzofeldspathic compositions.

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Large-displacement, hydrothermal frictional properties of DFDP-1 fault rocks, Alpine Fault, New Zealand: Implications for deep rupture propagation

10.26686/wgtn.13819181 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

AR Niemeijer ◽

Carolyn Boulton ◽

VG Toy ◽

John Townend ◽

Rupert Sutherland

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Rupture Propagation ◽

Low Velocity ◽

Fault Rocks ◽

Frictional Properties ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Rate And State Friction ◽

Fault Gouges ◽

Depth Extent

©2016. The Authors. The Alpine Fault, New Zealand, is a major plate-bounding fault that accommodates 65-75% of the total relative motion between the Australian and Pacific plates. Here we present data on the hydrothermal frictional properties of Alpine Fault rocks that surround the principal slip zones (PSZ) of the Alpine Fault and those comprising the PSZ itself. The samples were retrieved from relatively shallow depths during phase 1 of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-1) at Gaunt Creek. Simulated fault gouges were sheared at temperatures of 25, 150, 300, 450, and 600°C in order to determine the friction coefficient as well as the velocity dependence of friction. Friction remains more or less constant with changes in temperature, but a transition from velocity-strengthening behavior to velocity-weakening behavior occurs at a temperature of T = 150°C. The transition depends on the absolute value of sliding velocity as well as temperature, with the velocity-weakening region restricted to higher velocity for higher temperatures. Friction was substantially lower for low-velocity shearing (V < 0.3 μm/s) at 600°C, but no transition to normal stress independence was observed. In the framework of rate-and-state friction, earthquake nucleation is most likely at an intermediate temperature of T = 300°C. The velocity-strengthening nature of the Alpine Fault rocks at higher temperatures may pose a barrier for rupture propagation to deeper levels, limiting the possible depth extent of large earthquakes. Our results highlight the importance of strain rate in controlling frictional behavior under conditions spanning the classical brittle-plastic transition for quartzofeldspathic compositions.

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Frictional strength, rate-dependence, and healing in DFDP-1 borehole samples from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Tectonophysics ◽

10.1016/j.tecto.2014.05.005 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 630 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Matt J. Ikari ◽

Brett M. Carpenter ◽

Achim J. Kopf ◽

Chris Marone

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Rate Dependence ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Frictional Strength

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Frictional properties of exhumed fault gouges in DFDP-1 cores, Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1002/2013gl058236 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 356-362 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Carolyn Boulton ◽

Diane E. Moore ◽

David A. Lockner ◽

Virginia G. Toy ◽

John Townend ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Frictional Properties ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Fault Gouges

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Determining hydrological and soil mechanical parameters from multichannel surface-wave analysis across the Alpine Fault at Inchbonnie, New Zealand

Near Surface Geophysics ◽

10.3997/1873-0604.2013019 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 435-448 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

L.A. Konstantaki ◽

S. Carpentier ◽

F. Garofalo ◽

P. Bergamo ◽

L.V. Socco

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Surface Wave ◽

Mechanical Parameters ◽

Wave Analysis ◽

Alpine Fault

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The widespread collapse of an invasive species: Argentine ants ( Linepithema humile ) in New Zealand

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.1014 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 430-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Meghan Cooling ◽

Stephen Hartley ◽

Dalice A. Sim ◽

Philip J. Lester

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Invasive Species ◽

New Zealand ◽

Argentine Ant ◽

Environmental Costs ◽

Argentine Ants ◽

Ant Communities ◽

Mean Survival Time ◽

Colony Collapse ◽

Increasing Temperature

Synergies between invasive species and climate change are widely considered to be a major biodiversity threat. However, invasive species are also hypothesized to be susceptible to population collapse, as we demonstrate for a globally important invasive species in New Zealand. We observed Argentine ant populations to have collapsed in 40 per cent of surveyed sites. Populations had a mean survival time of 14.1 years (95% CI = 12.9–15.3 years). Resident ant communities had recovered or partly recovered after their collapse. Our models suggest that climate change will delay colony collapse, as increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall significantly increased their longevity, but only by a few years. Economic and environmental costs of invasive species may be small if populations collapse on their own accord.

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The fluid budget of a continental plate boundary fault: Quantification from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Earth and Planetary Science Letters ◽

10.1016/j.epsl.2016.03.046 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 445 ◽

pp. 125-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Catriona D. Menzies ◽

Damon A.H. Teagle ◽

Samuel Niedermann ◽

Simon C. Cox ◽

Dave Craw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Boundary Fault ◽

Continental Plate ◽

Alpine Fault

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Erosion rates of the New Zealand Southern Alps reflect long-term tectonics and transient climate

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6571 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Duna Roda-Boluda ◽

Taylor Schildgen ◽

Hella Wittmann-Oelze ◽

Stefanie Tofelde ◽

Aaron Bufe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Strike Slip ◽

Southern Alps ◽

Fault System ◽

Tectonic Deformation ◽

Seismic Cycle ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Alpine Fault ◽

Oblique Convergence

The Southern Alps of New Zealand are the expression of the oblique convergence between the Pacific and Australian plates, which move at a relative velocity of nearly 40 mm/yr. This convergence is accommodated by the range-bounding Alpine Fault, with a strike-slip component of ~30-40 mm/yr, and a shortening component normal to the fault of ~8-10 mm/yr. While strike-slip rates seem to be fairly constant along the Alpine Fault, throw rates appear to vary considerably, and whether the locus of maximum exhumation is located near the fault, at the main drainage divide, or part-way between, is still debated. These uncertainties stem from very limited data characterizing vertical deformation rates along and across the Southern Alps. Thermochronology has constrained the Southern Alps exhumation history since the Miocene, but Quaternary exhumation is hard to resolve precisely due to the very high exhumation rates. Likewise, GPS surveys estimate a vertical uplift of ~5 mm/yr, but integrate only over ~10 yr timescales and are restricted to one transect across the range.To obtain insights into the Quaternary distribution and rates of exhumation of the western Southern Alps, we use new 10Be catchment-averaged erosion rates from 20 catchments along the western side of the range. Catchment-averaged erosion rates span an order of magnitude, between ~0.8 and >10 mm/yr, but we find that erosion rates of >10 mm/yr, a value often quoted in the literature as representative for the entire range, are very localized. Moreover, erosion rates decrease sharply north of the intersection with the Marlborough Fault System, suggesting substantial slip partitioning. These 10Be catchment-averaged erosion rates integrate, on average, over the last ~300 yrs. Considering that the last earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in 1717, these rates are representative of inter-seismic erosion. Lake sedimentation rates and coseismic landslide modelling suggest that long-term (~103 yrs) erosion rates over a full seismic cycle could be ~40% greater than our inter-seismic erosion rates. If we assume steady state topography, such a scaling of our 10Be erosion rate estimates can be used to estimate rock uplift rates in the Southern Alps. Finally, we find that erosion, and hence potentially exhumation, does not seem to be localized at a particular distance from the fault, as some tectonic and provenance studies have suggested. Instead, we find that superimposed on the primary tectonic control, there is an elevation/temperature control on erosion rates, which is probably transient and related to frost-cracking and glacial retreat.Our results highlight the potential for 10Be catchment-averaged erosion rates to provide insights into the magnitude and distribution of tectonic deformation rates, and the limitations that arise from transient erosion controls related to the seismic cycle and climate-modulated surface processes.&#160;&#160;

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