Geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of fault gouge in the Median Tectonic Line, Japan: evidence for earthquake slip

We carried out geochemical and mineralogical analyses on fault-zone rocks from the Anko section of the Median Tectonic Line in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, to investigate coseismic physicochemical processes in the fault zone. The latest fault zone in the Anko section contains cataclasite, fault breccia, and fault gouge of granitic composition, and brecciated basic schist. Protoliths of the granitic composition are from the Ryoke metamorphic belt and those of the basic schist from the Sambagawa metamorphic belt. X-ray diffraction analyses show a selective decrease of clay minerals coupled with an increase of amorphous phase in an intensely deformed layer of black gouge (5to 10-cm thick). SEM observation reveals that the black gouge is characterized by a drastic reduction of grain size and abundant ultrafine particles of submicrometer to several tens of nanometers with well-rounded spheroidal shapes. These observations for the black gouge are indicative of strong mineral lattice distortion and granulation associated with earthquake slip. Geochemically, the black gouge is characterized by distinctly higher Li content and Sr/Sr isotope ratio than surrounding cataclasites, breccias, and gouges, which have similar major element compositions. Model analysis reveals that the trace element composition of the black gouge is consistent with high-temperature (up to 250°C) coseismic fluid-rock interactions. Thermal and kinetic constraints indicate that there have been repeated slips on the fault at moderate depths (e.g., 600 m), although the tectonic process by which the fault zone has been uplifted and exposed in this area is not well understood.