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Mark D. Zoback

Publications and source records attributed to Mark D. Zoback.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1990

Analysis of fractures from borehole televiewer logs in a 500m deep hole at Xiaguan, Yunnan province, Southwest China

Fractures from a 500 m deep hole in the Red River fault zone were analyzed using an ultrasonic borehole televiewer. Four hundred and eighty individual fractures were identified between 19 m and 465 m depth. Fracture frequency had no apparent relation to the major stratigraphic units and did not change systematically with depth. Fracture orientation, however, did change with stratigraphic position. The borehole intersected 14 m of Cenozoic deposits, 363 m of lower Ordovician clastic sediments, and 106 m of older ultramafic intrusions. The clastic sequence was encountered again at a depth of 484 m, suggesting a large fault displacement. Fractures in the top 162 m of the sedimentary section appear randomly distributed. Below that depth, they are steeply dipping with northerly and north-westerly strikes, parallel to the major active faults in the region. Fractures in the ultramafic section strike roughly eastwest and are steeply dipping. These orientations are confined to the ultramafic section and are parallel to an older, inactive regional fault set.

Yunnan province, Southwest China↗
USGS1987

New evidence on the state of stress of the San Andreas fault system

Contemporary in situ tectonic stress indicators along the San Andreas fault system in central California show northeast-directed horizontal compression that is nearly perpendicular to the strike of the fault. Such compression explains recent uplift of the Coast Ranges and the numerous active reverse faults and folds that trend nearly parallel to the San Andreas and that are otherwise unexplainable in terms of strike-slip deformation. Fault-normal crustal compression in central California is proposed to result from the extremely low shear strength of the San Andreas and the slightly convergent relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates. Preliminary in situ stress data from the Cajon Pass scientific drill hole (located 3.6 kilometers northeast of the San Andreas in southern California near San Bernardino, California) are also consistent with a weak fault, as they show no right-lateral shear stress at ∼2-kilometer depth on planes parallel to the San Andreas fault.

California↗
USGS1985

Structure, porosity and stress regime of the upper oceanic crust: Sonic and ultrasonic logging of DSDP Hole 504B

The layered structure of the oceanic crust is characterized by changes in geophysical gradients rather than by abrupt layer boundaries. Correlation of geophysical logs and cores recovered from DSDP Hole 504B provides some insight into the physical properties which control these gradient changes. Borehole televiewer logging in Hole 504B provides a continuous image of wellbore reflectivity into the oceanic crust, revealing detailed structures not apparent otherwise, due to the low percentage of core recovery. Physical characteristics of the crustal layers 2A, 2B and 2C such as the detailed sonic velocity and lithostratigraphic structure are obtained through analysis of the sonic, borehole televiewer and electrical resistivity logs. A prediction of bulk hydrated mineral content, consistent with comparison to the recovered material, suggests a change in the nature of the alteration with depth. Data from the sonic, borehole televiewer, electrical resistivity and other porosity-sensitive logs are used to calculate the variation of porosity in the crustal layers 2A, 2B and 2C. Several of the well logs which are sensitive to the presence of fractures and open porosity in the formation indicate many zones of intense fracturing. Interpretation of these observations suggests that there may be a fundamental pattern of cooling-induced structure in the oceanic crust.

Tectonophysics↗
USGS1985

Evidence for lower crustal ductile strain localization in southern New York

Historic triangulation data have been analysed to determine whether intraplate seismicity is associated with ongoing ductile deformation in the lower crust. The model we have attempted to test is basically analogous to strain accumulation and release along plate-boundary strike-slip faults like the San Andreas Fault in California. That is, beneath an elastic-seismogenic upper crust ???20 km thick, strain is preferentially localized within ductile shear zones in the lower crust due to broad-scale plate driving forces. The localized lower-crustal ductile strain causes stress and strain to accumulate elastically in the brittle crust which is eventually released in crustal earthquakes. At greater depths, this localized shear deformation probably develops into pervasive ductile flow. Numerous geodetic measurements along the San Andreas Fault confirm that earthquakes in the brittle upper crust are produced by the release of elastic strain that results from ongoing ductile shear or slip in the lower crust1,2. We have found evidence of high rates of crustal deformation in southern New York which suggest that localized ductile shear is occurring in the lower crust. ?? 1985 Nature Publishing Group.

Nature↗
USGS1984

Orientation of in situ stresses in the oceanic crust

Two in situ measurements of principal stress directions have been made in DSDP Holes 504B, south of the Costa Rica Rift on the Nazca plate, and 597C, west of the East Pacific Rise on the Pacific plate. In both cases, the orientations of in situ principal stresses determined from borehole breakouts are consistent with the stress directions inferred from intraplate earthquakes located near the sites. ?? 1984 Nature Publishing Group.

Nature↗
USGS1982

Ultrasonic borehole televiewer investigation of oceanic crustal layer 2A, Costa Rice Rift

In situ lithostratigraphy and the distribution of fracture and void zones in oceanic layer 2A were examined with an ultrasonic borehole televiewer at IPOD sites 501 and 504B on the south flank of the Costa Rice Rift. These records indicate a decrease in the size of basalt pillows with depth and a corresponding increase in fracture and void density. The observed increase in P-wave velocity with depth in this hole, as layer 2A merges into 2B, is best explained by an increase in the degree to which clays and zeolites fill fractures and voids. This also explains the order-of-magnitude drop in permeability observed in hole 504B. An increase in alteration-filling with age could explain the transition from convective to conductive heat flow and the correlative disappearance of layer 2A on the flanks of oceanic spreading centres. ?? 1982 Nature Publishing Group.

Nature↗
USGS1981

State of stress and intraplate earthquakes in the United States

Recently compiled data on the state of stress have been used to define stress provinces in the conterminous United States in which the orientation and relative magnitude of the horizontal principal stresses are fairly uniform. The observed patterns of stress constrain mechanisms for generating intraplate lithospheric stresses. Coupled with new information on geologic structure and tectonism in seismically active areas of the Midcontinent and East, these data help to define some characteristics common to these areas and to identify key questions regarding why certain faults seem to be seismically active.

Science↗
USGS1980

Recurrent intraplate tectonism in the New Madrid seismic zone

For the first time, New Madrid seismicity can be linked to specific structural features that have been reactivated through geologic time. Extensive seismic reflection profiling reveals major faults coincident with the main earthquake trends in the area and with structural deformation apparently caused by repeated episodes of igneous activity.

Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee↗
USGS1979

Magnitude of shear stress on the San Andreas fault: Implications of a stress measurement profile at shallow depth

A profile of measurements of shear stress perpendicular to the San Andreas fault near Palmdale, California, shows a marked increase in stress with distance from the fault. The pattern suggests that shear stress on the fault increases slowly with depth and reaches a value on the order of the average stress released during earthquakes. This result has important implications for both long- and short-term prediction of large earthquakes.

California↗
USGS1979

Preliminary report on drilling in and near the San Andreas fault zone, California; Dry Lake Valley No. 1

The purpose of drilling into the San Andreas fault zone is threefold. First, recovery of material from depth will permit determination of the composition and constitutive properties of both solid and fluid phases. Second, it will enable measurements of the physical state of the fault zone to be made (that is, the state of in-situ stress, pore pressure, and temperature). Finally, it will allow emplacement of instruments at depth in the fault zone as part of experiments related to earthquake prediction. This report briefly describes the drilling history and preliminary analysis of fault zone materials from site Dry Lake Valley (DLV) No. 1 (Fig. 1). The site is located at Lat. 36028.09'N, Long. 12103.32'W. This site was chosen in an attempt to drill a 1 km deep well that would reach earthquake foci. Although the entire central section of the San Andreas fault is characterized by moderate seismicity and aseismic creep, Dry Lake Valley has particularly shallow earthquakes as well as a fairly high creep rate (18-20 mm/year, S. Schultz, pers. comm.). Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section along the San Andreas fault showing high precision locations of magnitude one or greater earthquakes that occurred in 1973-1975 (from W. Ellsworth, per. comm.). The depth accuracy of the earthquakes shown is about ± 0.5 km, and it is obvious from Figure 2 that Dry Lake Valley earthquakes are extremely shallow. As shown in Figure 1 the general geology of the central section of the San Andreas fault consists of Tertiary to Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks overlying Cretaceous age Gabilan granite of the Salinian Block on the west side of the fault and Cretaceous-Jurassic sedimentary assemblages of the Franciscan Complex to the east of the fault. Dibblee (1979) summarizes the geology along the central San Andreas fault. At the Dry Lake Valley site as much as 2 km of Pliocene-Miocene marine sediments (Etchegoin and Santa Margarita formation) overlie Franciscan rocks on the northeast side of the San Andreas fault. On the southwestern side of the fault, 1-2 km of Pliocene-Miocene valley sediments and granitic conglomerate overlies the Gabilan granite.

California↗