Quantifying Hydraulic Conductivity and Fluid Pressures in the Alpine Fault Hanging-Wall Using DFDP-2 Data and Numerical Models

Abstract:

Fluid flow can play an important role in fault failure, due to the influence of pore pressure on effective confining stress and through chemical and thermal alteration of the fault zone. Rocks of the Alpine Fault Zone, both exposed at the surface and recovered in cores, show evidence for significant alteration by fluids. However, the fluid flow regime in the region is poorly constrained and its relationship with the behaviour of the fault is uncertain. In 2014 the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) drilled the DFDP-2B borehole, penetrating 893 m into the hanging-wall of the Alpine Fault. Prior to drilling, a set of hydrogeological models for the Whataroa Valley region, encompassing the DFDP-2B drill site, were constructed using the modelling software FEFLOW. Models were constructed for a range of plausible hydraulic conductivity structures for the region. They predicted strongly artesian hydraulic heads of 50-150 m above surface elevation and temperatures exceeding 100 °C within 1 km depth in bedrock beneath the DFDP-2 drill site, with the exact hydraulic and thermal gradients dependent on the hydraulic conductivity structure chosen. During the drilling project hydraulic and thermal data from the borehole was collected. This included 33 slug test datasets, carried out at a range of borehole depths throughout the project. Estimates for hydraulic conductivity were obtained by analysis of slug test data. Steady state hydraulic heads for the borehole, across a range of depths, were estimated from the slug test measurements. Depth profiles of hydraulic head show rapid increases in hydraulic head with depth, in line with model predictions. Results show fluid pressures greatly exceeding hydrostatic pressure in the shallow crust, reflecting significant upward flow of groundwater beneath the Whataroa Valley. Hydraulic conductivity estimates provide constraints on the hydraulic conductivity structure of the region. All hydraulic conductivity structures modelled thus far suggest continued increases in hydraulic head beneath the drilled region. If this regime persists to the depths of earthquake nucleation, high fluid pressures may contribute significantly to weakening of the Alpine Fault.