Excess water storage induced by viscous strain localization during high-pressure shear experiment

Abstract

Strain localization in viscously deformed rocks commonly results in fine-grained shear zones where massive fluid circulation is regularly observed. Recently attributed to strain-induced pumping, this phenomenon may have major implications for the distribution of ores deposits and rock rheology. However, although grain size reduction and/or creep cavitation have been proposed as important processes, the source mechanism of fluid concentration remains unresolved, particularly at high pressure. Here we use secondary ion mass spectrometry to document the H₂O content of fine-grained olivine across an experimental shear zone, which developed with grain size reduction during a H₂O-saturated shear experiment at 1.2 GPa and 900 °C. Through data interpolation, the olivine matrix reveals high fluid concentrations where shear strain is localized. These concentrations far exceed the predicted amount of H₂O that grain boundaries can contain, excluding grain size reduction as a unique source of water storage. Instead, we show that H₂O increases per unit of grain boundary across the shear zone, suggesting that cavitation and “healing” processes compete with each other to produce a larger pore volume with increasing strain rate. This provides an alternative process for fluids to be collected where strain rate is the highest in deep shear zones.