The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthqua...The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthquakes.To investigate the transition from creep-slip to stick-slip,we analyzed fault rocks from the WFSD-3,using microstructural observations,XRD,μXRF,Raman spectroscopy,and quartz grain size statistics.Fault rocks show intense foliation,pressure-solution structures,and abundant clay minerals,reflecting long-term aseismic creep.At the interface between black and gray fault gouges at~1249.98 m,microstructures indicate stick-slip behavior,including truncated grains,angular fragments,and finer grain sizes.Here,clay content drops sharply while strong minerals(quartz,feldspar,calcite,dolomite)increase.Elemental mapping shows Al and K enriched in black gouge,whereas Ca and Si in gray gouge;Raman spectroscopy indicates possible graphitization;the finest quartz grains occur in black gouge.These features mark co-seismic principal slip zone of the Wenchuan earthquake.We propose that fluid-driven transformation of strong minerals into clays facilitates creep-slip,whereas localized precipitation of strong minerals strengthens the fault,causing stress accumulation and controlling the creep-slip to stick-slip transition.This mechanism has implications for reassessing seismic hazards of creeping faults.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42230312,42272270,42172262,42372266)the Deep Earth Probe and Mineral Resources Exploration-National Science and Technology Major Project(2024ZD1000500)the China Geological Survey Project(DD20240041).
文摘The Guanxian-Anxian fault zone in the Longmen Shan,Sichuan,China,exhibits long-term creep-slip but ruptured during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,challenging the view that creeping faults rarely generate strong earthquakes.To investigate the transition from creep-slip to stick-slip,we analyzed fault rocks from the WFSD-3,using microstructural observations,XRD,μXRF,Raman spectroscopy,and quartz grain size statistics.Fault rocks show intense foliation,pressure-solution structures,and abundant clay minerals,reflecting long-term aseismic creep.At the interface between black and gray fault gouges at~1249.98 m,microstructures indicate stick-slip behavior,including truncated grains,angular fragments,and finer grain sizes.Here,clay content drops sharply while strong minerals(quartz,feldspar,calcite,dolomite)increase.Elemental mapping shows Al and K enriched in black gouge,whereas Ca and Si in gray gouge;Raman spectroscopy indicates possible graphitization;the finest quartz grains occur in black gouge.These features mark co-seismic principal slip zone of the Wenchuan earthquake.We propose that fluid-driven transformation of strong minerals into clays facilitates creep-slip,whereas localized precipitation of strong minerals strengthens the fault,causing stress accumulation and controlling the creep-slip to stick-slip transition.This mechanism has implications for reassessing seismic hazards of creeping faults.
