Clay smear seals and fault sealing potential of an exhumed growth fault, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico

Doughty, P. Ted

doi:10.1306/10010201130

Cited by 53 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Kettermann et al (2016) studied faults of 50-120 cm throw in deltaic sand-clay sequences. Lehner and Pilaar (1997) observe along-strike clay continuity over considerable distances, up to 400 m. In contrast, Doughty (2003), Van der Zee and Urai (2005) and Kettermann et al (2016) found that clay smears were not continuous along-strike at the 100-m, m and dm scale respectively. The factors governing these differing observations are not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Along-strike clay smear continuity was investigated by Lehner and Pilaar (1997) in a fault of 70 m throw cutting a sand-shale deltaic sequence in the Frechen mines (Germany). Doughty (2003) studied a 40-60 m throw growth fault in conglomerate and sand, silt and mud fluvial and lacustrine sediments. Van der Zee and Urai (2005) studies faults of up to a few m slip in the deltaic sediments of the Miri Formation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Along-strike fault core thickness variations of a fault in poorly lithified sediments, Miri (Malaysia)

Rosa

Shipton

Lunn

et al. 2018

Journal of Structural Geology

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This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/65335/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the Strathprints administrator: strathprints@strath.ac.ukThe Strathprints institutional repository (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk) is a digital archive of University of Strathclyde research outputs. It has been developed to disseminate open access research outputs, expose data about those outputs, and enable the management and persistent access to Strathclyde's intellectual output. The degree to which a fault will impede fluid flow is only as great as its most permeable point. Processes that determine areas of the fault surface containing transmissible fault rocks must be utilized to produce reliable predictions of cross-fault fluid flow. We use a study site in Miri, Malaysia, to investigate in detail the fault-core thickness variations along-strike and down dip, and to quantify the risk of discontinuities in the clay-rich fault core. Four fault-core types have been identified: foliated clay-rich fault core, chaotic clay-rich fault core, anastomosing sandy shear zones and sandy breccia. We performed a geostatistical analysis, showing a correlation over 3 m scale, suggesting the presence of 'patches' of thin and thick fault core generally less than 3 m in length in profile.We interpret this geometry as superimposition of two or more different deformation processes at a smaller and a larger scale. We speculate about the processes that could produce the observed distribution of thickness and composition, and in particular, processes that could have disrupted the through-going clay-rich core.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Along-strike fault core thickness variations of a fault in poorly lithified sediments, Miri (Malaysia)

Rosa

Shipton

Lunn

et al. 2018

Journal of Structural Geology

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“…These faults are distinct from faults that form in well-lithifi ed sedimentary or crystalline rocks in that they do not have well-developed damage zones composed of open fractures (Rawling et al, 2001). Examples of faults similar to San Ysidro include the Sand Hill fault (Heynekamp et al, 1999;Rawling and Goodwin, 2006) and the Calabacillas fault (Doughty, 2003), both in the Albuquerque Basin (Fig. 1), and faults in the Roer Valley Rift system, the Netherlands (Bense et al, 2003).…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and geochemical characteristics of faulted sediments and inferences on the role of water in deformation, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Caine

Minor

2009

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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The San Ysidro fault is a spectacularly exposed normal fault located in the northwestern Albuquerque Basin of the Rio Grande Rift. This intrabasin fault is representative of many faults that formed in poorly lithi fi ed sediments throughout the rift. The fault is exposed over nearly 10 km and accommodates nearly 700 m of dip slip in sub hori zontal, silici clastic sediments. The extent of the exposure facilitates study of along-strike variations in deformation mechanisms, archi tecture, geochemistry, and permea bility. The fault is composed of structural and hydrogeologic components that include a clay-rich fault core, a calcite-cemented mixed zone, and a poorly developed damage zone primarily consisting of deformation bands. Structural textures suggest that initial defor ma tion in the fault occurred at low temperature and pressure, was within the paleosaturated zone of the evolving Rio Grande Rift, and was dominated by particulate fl ow. Little geochemical change is apparent across the fault zone other than due to secondary processes. The lack of fault-related geochemical change is interpreted to reflect the fundamental nature of water-saturated, particulate fl ow. Early mechanical entrainment of lowpermeability clays into the fault core likely caused damming of groundwater fl ow on the up-gradient , footwall side of the fault. This may have caused a pressure gradient and fl ow of calcite-saturated waters in higherpermeability , fault-entrained siliciclastic sediments, ultimately promoting their cementa tion by sparry calcite. Once developed, the cemented and clay-rich fault has likely been, and continues to be, a partial barrier to cross-fault groundwater fl ow, as suggested by petrophysical measurements. Aeromagnetic data indicate that there may be many more unmapped faults with similar lengths to the San Ysidro fault buried within Rio Grande basins. If these buried faults formed by the same processes that formed the San Ysidro fault and have persistent low-permeability cores and cemented mixed zones, they could compartmentalize the basin-fi ll aquifers more than is currently realized, particularly if pumping stresses continue to increase in response to population growth.

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“…Consequently algorithms have been developed which attempt to calculate the distribution of average clay content (and therefore the general permeability distribution) within fault zones-from the reservoir properties, clay content and shale bed distributions within the adjacent stratigraphy-at a similar scale to that of a typical simulation model fault (cf. Yielding et al 1997;Doughty 2003). As discussed by Fisher & Jolley, at the modelling stage many of the predictive algorithms are based on the input of 'clay contents' derived from geophysical well log data-and care is therefore needed to account for uncertainties in petrophysical calculation of the 'shale' or 'clay' content measures (V Shale , V Clay ), and to ensure that these results are compatible with independent measures of clay content (often taken from core samples).…”

Section: Fault Zone Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structurally complex reservoirs: an introduction

Jolley

Barr

Walsh

et al. 2007

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Structurally complex reservoirs form a distinct class of reservoir, in which fault arrays and fracture networks, in particular, exert an over-riding control on petroleum trapping and production behaviour. With modern exploration and production portfolios commonly held in geologically complex settings, there is an increasing technical challenge to find new prospects and to extract remaining hydrocarbons from these more structurally complex reservoirs. Improved analytical and modelling techniques will enhance our ability to locate connected hydrocarbon volumes and unswept sections of reservoir, and thus help optimize field development, production rates and ultimate recovery. This volume reviews our current understanding and ability to model the complex distribution and behaviour of fault and fracture networks, highlighting their fluid compartmentalizing effects and storage-transmissivity characteristics, and outlining approaches for predicting the dynamic fluid flow and geomechanical behaviour of structurally complex reservoirs. This introductory paper provides an overview of the research status on structurally complex reservoirs and aims to create a context for the collection of papers presented in this volume and, in doing so, an entry point for the reader into the subject. We have focused on the recent progress and outstanding issues in the areas of: (i) structural complexity and fault geometry; (ii) the detection and prediction of faults and fractures; (iii) the compartmentalizing effects of fault systems and complex siliciclastic reservoirs; and (iv) the critical controls that affect fractured reservoirs.Structurally complex reservoirs form a distinct class of reservoir in which fault arrays and fracture networks, in particular, exert an over-riding control on petroleum trapping and production behaviour

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Clay smear seals and fault sealing potential of an exhumed growth fault, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico

Cited by 53 publications

References 22 publications

Along-strike fault core thickness variations of a fault in poorly lithified sediments, Miri (Malaysia)

Along-strike fault core thickness variations of a fault in poorly lithified sediments, Miri (Malaysia)

Structural and geochemical characteristics of faulted sediments and inferences on the role of water in deformation, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Structurally complex reservoirs: an introduction

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