Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth - 1998 - Saffer - Episodic Fluid Flow in The Nankai Accretionary Complex

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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 103, NO. B12, PAGES 30,351-30,370, DECEMBER 10, 1998
Episodicfluid flow in the Nankai accretionarycomplex:

Timescale,geochemistry,flow rates, and fluid budget
Demian M. Saffer
Department
of EarthSciences,
Universityof California,SantaCruz
Barbara A. Bekins
U.S. GeologicalSurvey,Menlo Park, California
Abstract Down-holegeochemical anomaliesencountered in activeaccretionary systems canbe

usedto constrainthe timing, rates,and localizationof fluid flow. Here we combinea coupled
flow and solutetransportmodelwith a kineticmodelfor smectitedehydration to betterunder-
standandquantifyfluid flow in the Nankaiaccretionary complexoffshoreof Japan.Compaction
of sediments and clay dehydration
providefluid sources whichdrivethe modelflow system.We
explicitlyincludethe consolidationrateof underthrust sediments in our calculationsto evaluate
the impactthat variationsin thisunknownquantityhaveon pressure and chloridedistribution.
Sensitivityanalysisof steadystatepressuresolutionsconstrains bulk and flow conduitperroe-
abilities.Steadystatesimulationswith 30% smectitein the incomingsedimentary sequence result
in minimumchlorideconcentrations at site808 of 550 raM, but measuredchlorinityis as low as
447 raM. We simulatethe transienteffectsof hydrofracture or a straineventby assumingan in-
stantaneous permeabilityincreaseof 3-4 ordersof magnitudealonga flow conduit(in this case
the d6collement),using steadystateresultsas initial conditions.Transientresultswith an in-
crease
in d•collement
permeability
from10'• m2to 1043m2and20%smectite
reproduce
theob-
servedchlorideprofileat site808 after80-160kyr. Modeledchlorideconcentrations are highly
sensitiveto the consolidationrate of underthrustsediments,suchthat rapid compactionof un-
derthrustmaterialleadsto incrcasexi freshening.Pressures within the d6collement duringtran-
sientsimulations rise rapidlyto a significantfractionof lithostaticand remainhigh for at least
160kyr, providinga mechanism for maintaininghighpermeability. Flow ratesat the deforma-
tion front for transientsimulations are in goodagreement with directmeasurements, but steady
stateflow ratesare 2-3 ordersof magnitudesmallerthanobserved. Fluid budgetcalculationsin-
dicatethatnearly71% of the incomingwaterin the sediments leavesthe accretionary wedgevia
diffuseflow out the seafloor,0-5% escapes by focusedflow alongthe d6collement,and roughly
1% is subducted.
1. Introduction suitsin pore pressures that approachlithostaticvalues.Moore

and Vrolijk [1992] suggestthat fracturepermeabilitydominates
Sedimentary a½½retionaryprisms,which form as sediments
the hydrology of accretionary prismsas sedimentporosityis re-
arescraped off of subductinglithosphere, arethe siteof boththe
ducedand materialbeginsto deformbrittlely.Large-scale me-
mostrapid deformationand fluid expulsionanywherein the
chanicalarguments requiringhighbasalporepressures to main-
world [Mooreand Yrolijk, 1992•Neuzil, 1995]. Water is ex-
tain a sedimentwedgewith a smallcriticaltaper[Daviset al.,
pelledassediments are squeezed tectonicallyandrapidlyburied 1983],negativepolarityseismicreflectionsinferredto represent
by tectonicthickening,reducingporositiesfrom greaterthan overpressured fault zones[e.g.,Moore et aL, 1990;Moore et al.,
$0% at the surface to less than 1$% within 20 km of the defor-
1995,a,b;Cochraneet al., 1994], and down-holemeasurements
mationfront[BrayandKa•g, 198•]. Simultaneous deformation
indicatingunconsolidated sedimentsat depth [Moore et al.,
and fluid productionresultsin a rapidly evolvinghydrologic
1995,a,b]provideevidencefor the localizationof high fluid
system.In addition,episodi½ deformation in suchsystems may pressures within faultzones.
be closelylinkedto cyclesof fluid storage andtransport [Sib•on, In additionto mechanicallyinduceddewateringcausedby
1981;BehrmannandKopf, 1993].
high burial rates,mineraldehydration and hydrocarbon genera-
The combinationof low perme. abilities typical of marine tion becomeincreasinglysignificantsourcesof pore fluid as
sediments [e.g.,Bryant,197•] andhighfluidproduction ratesin buriedsediments are exposedto highertemperatures. Low chlo-
accretionary complexes [Neuzil,1995;Screatonet al., 1990]re- ride andhigh methaneconcentrations observedat drilling sites
document theroleof theseprocesses in fluid generation
[Kastner
et al., 1993]. The presenceof anomalous chemicalsignatures
Copyright1998by theAmericanGeophysical Union.
and elevatedtemperatures at shallowdepthsprovidesevidence
for long-distance lateraltransportof fluids from deeperwithin
Papernumber98JB01983. the prism. The localizationof these anomaliesindicatesthat
0148-0227/98/98JB-01983509.00 channelized flow is importantfortransporting heatandsolutes.
30,351
21562202b, 1998, B12, Downloaded from https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/98JB01983 by Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Wiley Online Library on [28/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
30,352 SAFFERAND BEKINS: EPISODIC FLUID FLOW
Quantitativestudyof the hydrogeology in thesesystems is a water freshening.

FollowingBekinset al. [1995],we couplea
crucialpartof understanding oceanic chemical budgets andthe smectitedehydration modelwith a finiteelementflow andsolute
formationof fold andthrustbelts.In particular,the studyof geo- transportmodelto quantitativelyevaluatethe hypothesisthat
chemicalanomaliesobservedin boreholesat accretionarysys- low-chloride watersencounteredduringdrillingaretheresultof
temsprovides a meansto quantifyfluidsources andhydrologic claydehydration.We alsoexaminethe impactthat poorlycon-
properties[Bekinset al., 1995].Here we combinemeasured strainedunderthrust sedimentproperties haveon resultinggeo-
at site 808 with otherdrilling observa- chemistry
chlorideconcentrations andporepressures. To evaluateour results,we com-
tionsand seismicdatafromthe Nankai accretionaxy complexto pare calculatedflow rateswith direct measurements and those
evaluateseveralaspectsof the hydrologic system.We model inferredfromheat flow [e.g.,Lin• et al., 1994;Henryet al.,
bothsteadystateandtransientfluidflowto determine the per- 1992].Finally,we calculatethe overallfluidbudgetfor the sys-
roeability
structure
andsediment physicalproperties thatbothfit temandestimatethe relativedurations of episodic
flow andpe-
geologicandhydrologic constraints
andreproduce observed pore riodsof quiescence.
Eurasia.n
pl• •iiii¾•.
• •. a
/-----
.,•-
,"•-•:i',?:.v-
132
ø 136
ø 140
ø
......•.• .....,.•;'•!i'•':.i'•:': .........................................
Ja n Sea z • ........................................................................
Philippine
Sea
Pla,•
'
, "EE E
3oøN
200 seawater concentration
4OO
600
.c: 800 site

808
concentrations._•--•'•
1000
1200
1400
•00 450 500 550 600 650 700
[CI] (Mm)
Figure 1. (a) Locationof studyareain Nank• Trough.DeepSeaDrillingProject• DrillingProgram

(ODP) drill sitesare denotedby solidcircles.(b) Plot of measured
chlorideprofileat ODP site 808. Sea-
waterconcentration is shownfor comparison.
SAFFER AND BEKINS: EPISODIC FLUID FLOW 30,353
2. Site Description bratedweightingfactors[Tribble and Wilkens,1994]. (Fisher

and Underwood[1995] usedcalibratedXRD weightingfactors
The Nankai accretionary complexis formedby the north-
for sedimentsfrom ODP leg 156 to demonstrate that Cook
westwardsubduction of thePhilippineSeaplatebelowthe Eura-
weightingfactorstendto underestimate
claycontentandoveres-
sianplatealongthe NankaiTrough(Figurel a). The subduction timatequartzcontentby as muchas 30%.) Estimatesof smectite
of relativelyyoung[-15 Ma] oceaniccrestwith about1 km of as a pementageof clay mineralsrangefrom 6% [THbbleand
sedimentcoverresultsin a shallowtrenchand a stronglycou-
Wilkens,1994] to 13-15% [Underwoodet al. 1993].In addition
pled subduction interface[Kanamori,1986]. The relativeplate to uncertaintyin the XRD analyses,estimatesof clay contentin
velocityis difficultto constrain,but'recentNuvell-1 modelre-
the incomingsedimentdependuponthe grainsizedistribution,
sultssuggest a subduction rate of 4 cm yr' [fienoet al., 1993]. whichis not well known(M. Underwood,personalcommunica-
Otherconvergence rateestimates range from1.2-2.3cmyr4 tion, 1996).Becausethe amountof smectiteenteringthe Nankai
based on sedimentationrates [Karig and Angevine, 1985;
accretionary
systemis poorlyconstrained,we modela rangeof
Moore,
G.F.etal., 1991
] to13cmyrd based
onhistorical
seis- bulk smectite contents from 10 to 40%.
micity[KarigandAngevine,1985].
Underwoodet al. [1993] performeda chloridemassbalance
A broadlow-chlorideanomalyis observed at OceanDrilling to calculatethatin situdehydrationof smectiteis nota sufficient
Program(ODP) site 808 (Figure lb), locatedin the Nankai sourceof freshwaterto producethe observed freshening,unless
Trough,3 km landwardof the deformationfront(Figures1 and the sedimentat site 808 is composed of 25% smectiteand the
2). The low-chlorideanomalyextendsthroughoutthe depthof
dehydration reactiongoesto completion. Kasmeret al. [1993]
the ShikokuBasin sequence,from 560 to 1240 mbsf, with a
addthat in situ formationof zeolitesand smectitefrom ashlay-
minimum concentration of 447 mM at 1110 meters below sea-
ers consumes fresh water and therefore should counteract in situ
floor(mbsf),representing a 20% freshening from seawater(560
fresheningproducedby smectitedehydration.On the basisof
raM) [Kastneret al., 1993;Gieske•et al., 1993].On the basisof
thesecalculationsandgeochemical analyses,bothKasmeret al.
isotopedata,Ka•tner et al. [1993] and Underwoodet al. [1993]
[1993] and Underwoodet al. [1993] suggestthat fluids from
suggest that smectitedehydration is the mostlikely mechanism deeperin the prismhavebeenintroduced at site 808 via focused
anddiscountthe contributionof hydratedissociation, claymem-
transporteither along the d6collement,along an unidentified
branefiltration,andmixingwith meteoricwater.
deeperconduitwithin underthrustsediments,or along strati-
The sediments on the Philippineplateconsistof a lowerShi-
graphichorizons.
koku Basin faciesdominatedby hemipelagicmudstones inter-
beddedwith volcanicashand an uppertrench-fillfaciesdomi-
natedby coarser-grained turbidites[Taira andAshi, 1993].The 3. Model Description
thicknessof ash layers, which form the bulk of the smectite
3.1. Conceptual Model Overview
availablefor dehydration, is highlyvariableand dependsupon
bothproximityto the ashsource[Taira andAshi, 1993]andpre- Our modelcouplesa temperature-dependent
kineticexpres-
depositional basement topography [Moore,G.F. et al., 1990;M. sionforsmectite
dehydration
withflowandsolutetransport.
The
Underwood, personal communication,1996]. Estimates of fluid flow and solute transportare assumedto be two-
smectiteabundance basedon x ray diffraction(XRD) analyses dimensional andaremodeledin a crosssectionperpendicularto
mustincorporate boththe claymineralcontentof the sediments the trench.The crosssectioncontainsthreeregimes:the accre-
and the amountof smectiteas a percentage of clay minerals. tionaryprism, the d6collement,and the underthrustsediments.
XRD estimatesof clay mineral contentin the incomingsedi- The model domain extends from 10 km seaward of the deforma-
mentarysequencerange from 20-30% calculatedusingCook tion front to 50 km landward(Figure2) and is dividedinto
weightingfactors[Underwood et al., 1993] to 75% usingcali- 44,970quadrilateralelements
definedby 46,500nodes.The grid
"•'•::•:'
........ hydrostatic
,--_,,_,_ site808 •
4000b •
õ
,ooo
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10
DISTANCE FROM DEFORMATION FRONT (KM)
landward seaward
Figure 2. Schematicview of accretionary wedgemodeldomain.The top and eastern(right) sidesare hy-

drostaticheadboundaries; the baseandwesternsidesare no-flowboundaries.
Arrowsrepresentschematic
sedimentvelocitieswith respectto thedeformation
front.
30,354 SAFFER AND BEKINS: EPISODIC FLUID FLOW
designwas determinedby decreasinghorizontalgrid spacing tion, or permeabilitythroughtime. Accordingly,the time and

until porepressures andchlorideconcentrations concentration
did not change dependenttermsin (1) and (2) disappear,andthe
[McCaffrey,1994]. solutiondependsonlyon modelgeometry,hydrologicproperties,
We assumethatthe permeabili• of bothaccretedandunder- fluid sources,andboundaryconditions. Althoughthe hydrologic
thrustsediments varieslog linearlywith porosity[Nelson,1994;systemis probablynot at steady-state, the resultsof steadystate
Bryantet al., 1975;Neuzil, 1994].We assignthe permeabilityof simulationsshouldapproximatelong-termspatialand temporal
the d6collementindependently averagesfor porepressures
to representthe effectsof chan- andsoluteconcentrations.
nelizedfluid flow. In hydrologicterms,this approachis useful Becausesteadystate simulationscannotincludechangesin
for identifyingthe impactof focusedfluid escapethroughhigh- permeabilitywith time, we usea transientmodel,wheresteady
permeabilityconduits.We constrainreasonablepermeability stateresultsprovidethe initial conditions,to examinethe effects
structures for the systemby inversehydrologicmodeling,using of a rapid increasein d•collementpermeability.This type of
fluid pressureestimatesfrom criticaltaperarguments[Daviset simulationis basedon a stx•ific caseof Sibson's[1981] fault-
aL, 1983]andgeological observations valvemodelwherea straineventincreases
[e.g.,Byrneet al., 1993]. d6collement perme-
The geometryof the modelcomplexfollowsthat of seismic abilityandallowsfluidsto drainalongthefault.Episodicflow is
line NT62-8. The prismhas an averagesurfaceslopeof-1.5 ø thoughtto resultfroma cycleof shearingandcompaction within
and a d6collementdip of-2.6 ø. Within our modeldomain,the the fault, drivenby (1) porepressureincreasedueto compaction
prismthickness increasesfrom750 m at thedeformation frontto
in the underthrust andfaultzonecoupledwith low permeability,
4330 m at 50 km arcward.At site 808, the d6collementis-19 m (2) subsequent fault weakening,and (3) slip allowedby de-
thick. The incomingsedimentarysequencetotals 1050 m in creasedfrictional resistancealong the fault, which increases
thickness,with 750 m of sedimentoffscraped. We usea present- permeabilitythroughsomecombination of hydraulicfracturing
dayconvergence rateof4.0cmyr'][Seno etal.,1993;
Ranken et anddilatation[e.g.,Behrmann,1991].This sequence of eventsis
al., 1984] in conjunctionwith a wedgeoutbuildingrate of 0.3 consistent with observationsof collapsedand brecciateddefor-
cmyr4 [Karig andAngevine, 1985]. mationfabricswithin the d&:ollement at site 808 [Byrneet al.,
1993]. High pore pressures alonemay also result in increased
3.2. Model Equations permeability,as suggested by increases in permeability with de-
Variable densityfluid flow is describedby a transientflow creasingeffectivestressmeasured by Fisherand Zwart [1996]at
equationbasedon conservation of fluid massand Darcy'slaw theBarbadosaccretionmy complex.
[Voss,1984]:
3.3. Model Input
Direct inputsfor the hydrologic wedgemodelare boundary
.(vv-m conditions,dehydrationsourceswith a chlorideconcentration
wherep is fluid density,p is pressure, g is gravitationalaccel- equalto zero, compactionsourceswith a chlorideconcentration
eration,Ssis specificstoragein units of inversepressure,t is calculatedby mixingof seawaterpresentin porespacespriorto
time, C is soluteconcentration, k is intrinsicpermeability,li is the onsetof compaction and freshwater producedby smectite
viscosity,rl is porosity,andQ incorporates thetotalsources from dehydration, temperatures, andpenneabilities (Figure3).
compactionand dehydration.Equation(1) is derivedfrom a 3.3.1. Boundary conditions. We assign hydrostatic pressure
massbalanceof fluids, combinedwith Darcy'slaw. The first to the nodesat the seaward boundaryof the model domain under
term accountsfor changesin storageof fluid mass due to
changing fluid pressure, the second termaccounts for changes in
fluid densitywith changingsoluteconcentrations overtime, the
third termaccounts for fluid flow into andoutof a givenelement
in two dimensions,and the fourth term accountsfor additionof
watermassthroughcompaction anddehydration fluid sources. I
We modelsolutetransportusinga variabledensityadvective-
SEDIMENT TEMPERATURE
dispersive equation[Voss,1984]: VELOCITIES DISTRIBUTION
r/p-•-+
r/pro
VC-V.[r/•(DmI
+D).VC]-Q-C=0 COMPACTION
SOURCES
DEHYDRATION
SOURCES
(2)
PERMEABILITIES
wherev istheabsolute
fluidvelofity,Dmisthemolecular
diffu
sivity,I is the identitymatrix,C is the soluteconcentrationof I
the source,and D is the dispersionmatrix. The absolutefluid > hydrogeologicmodel -
velocityv is the vectorsumof Darcianfluid velocityvw and
sedimentvelocityvs, determinedby the methoddescribedby
Bekinsand Dreiss [1992]. We usedthe computercodeSUTRA
[Voss,1984] (with modifications madeby Bekinset al., [1995])
PORE PRESSURES REFINED
to solvethe two-dimensional formsof (1) and(2). SOLUTE CONCENTRATION PERMEABILITIES
We examinedtwo cases:(1) steadystate flow and solute FLUID VELOCITIES
transportand (2) transientflow and solutetransport.For steady Figure 3. Flowchartillustratingconceptualmodeland model

state simulations,we assumethat fluid input to an element inputs.Direct inputsto the hydrologic
model,includingperme-
equalsfluid expulsionfromthat element;thereforethesesimu- abilityandsourceterms,mustbe calculatedfrominitial datasets
lationsdo not accountfor changes in pressure,soluteconcentra- characterizing
geometry, porosity,
andplatevelocity.
SAFFERAND BEKINS: EPISODICFLUID FLOW 30,355
the assumption that changes in the pressure boundaryat 10 km their consolidation statebeyondthis is poorlyconstrained by
fromthe deformation fronthavelittle effecton modeledpres- seismic reflectiondataanddrillingresultsandis nottreatedex-
suresor flow [e.g.,Screatonet aL, 1990].Hydrostatic pressures plicitlyin existingmodelsof dewatering [e.g.,BekinsandDre-
are alsospecifiedfor nodesat the seafloor(Figure2). We spec- iss,1992;Le Pichonet al., 1990].In orderto fit measured poro-
ify the landwardedgeof the modelas a no-flowboundary(w sitiesat site808 andestimated porosities2 km arcwardof site
=0), basedon the assumptionthat permeabilitiesand fluid 808, we describethe undeahmstporositydistributionwith a
sourcesat distancesgreaterthan 50 km landwardof the &for- variableconsolidation ratethatd•ds upontheadditional pa-
marionfrontare insignificant. rametersXm• and Az:
Similarly,we treatthe bottomedgeof the modeldomainas a
no-flow boundary,under the assumptionthat permeabilityis (. )) 0<,_<
low. We arguethat the continuous 40 m thick basalashlayerin
the ShikokuBasinsequence will alter to low permeabilityclays %=
and thus significantlyinhibit flow at the bottomedge of the >
model domain. In addition, becausethe oceaniccrest doesnot
undergoconsolidationas sedimentsdo, rapid burial will not
generateoverpressures
within the crust.We test this boundary (4)
conditionby runningsteadystatemodel simulationswhich in- whereAz is the vertical
offset
(in kilometers) of the underthrust
cludehigh-permeability
(Sx1044 m2)elements atthebase ofthe porosity-depthfunctioncorresponding to the observed undercon-
system.The resultsindicatethat a small mount of flow is solidationat the deformationfront and Xm• is the distancear-
driven downward into the crest. We estimate a maximum flux cwardfromthedeformation frontat whichunderthrust porosities
into the basement at •-13% of the underthrust fluid sources but are at equilibriumwith prismporosities. Using(4), the under-
suggestthat actual flux is smaller as a result of the low- thrustchanges systematically fromunderconsolidation at the de-
permeability ashlayer. formation frontto normalconsolidation withrespect to overlying
3.3.2. Prism porosities. Bray and Karig [1985] constrain wedgesediments at Xm,x.At distancesgreaterthanXm• fromthe
porosity-depth relationsin severalaccretionary complexesand deformation front, the underthrustporosity in (4) reducesto that
showthat the exponentialdecreasein porositywith depthalso described by (3). In this work, we investigate threevaluesof
varies as a function of distance arcward from the deformation Xm,x: (1) 30 kin, corresponding to rapidconsolidation of under-
front. This is consistent with microstructural observations at site thrust sediments by 30 km arcward, (2) 60 kin, and (3) 90 kin.
808 which indicatea small mount of bulk lateral shortening Foraplate convergence rateof40kmMyrq,these valuesofXm,x
[Behrmanand Kopf, 1993].We assumethat sedimentporosities correspond to 750 kyr, 1.5 Myr, and2.25 Myr after subduction,
in the prismvaryas constrainedby Bray andKarig [1985].The respectively.Figure4 showsa contour plotof modelporosityin
followingrelationis alsoconsistent at site808 the accretionary
with observations complexfor the casewhereXm,x=30 kin.
fromHyndmanet al. [1993]: 2t.2t.4. Compactionfluid sources. Becauseaccretionary
wedges growin a self-similar
manner[e.g.,Daviset al., 1983],
rlv(x,z)
0.60eI-ø'24e'øøø3x-ø'5)
= • (3)
we fix ourcoordinatesystem
et al., 1990].This allowsthe modelsizeto remainconstantwith
to thedeformation
front[Screaton
wherez is depthin kilometersbelow the seafloorand x is dis- time.In thisframework, sediments entertheaccretionarywedge
tancearcwardof thedeformation frontin kilometers. Theporos- at thedeformation frontwith aninitialporosity
andlosewateras
ity-depth function is no=0.60e
50z
"?4z at thedeformation frontand theymovethroughthefixedporositydistribution in thewedge
approaches np=0.60e" with increasing distance arcward.Po- [BekinsandDreiss, 1992].Fromconservation of solidmass,as-
rosityat the seafloor(z=0) is 60% anddecreases to -35% at the suminguniformlydivergentsedimentvelocitiesand a time in-
d•collement at site808 (945 mbsf). variantporositydistributionwithinthemodeldomain(Figure4)
3.3.3. Underthrustporosities.The underthrust sedimentary [e.g.,BrayandKarig, 1985;Bela'ns andDreiss,1992],thecom-
sequence showsthe sameexponentialporositydecreasewith pactionfluid sources in thewedgearecalculated fromthe diver-
depthbut is underconsolidated compared to the prism.Drilling genceof sediment velocity:
and seismicdataindicatea porosityincreaseof-7% acrossthe
d6collement at site808 anda porosityincrease of--10% between Qcompaction= V ßvs (5)
the prismand underthrust sediments 2 km arcwardof the drill wherevsis calculated asa function of convergencerate,porosity
site [Hyndmanet al., 1993], suggesting that thesesediments distribution, andpositionwithinthe wedge[BekinsandDreiss,
havenot drainedin response to -4 00 m of verticaloffseton the 1992]. In the underthrust,sedimentvelocitiesare fixed at the
d'ecollement. Negligible consolidation of the underthrustsedi- convergence rate,andfluid sottreesarecalculated fromporosity
mentsin response to loadingbelowthe prismreflectsboththe loss.
low permeability of thesesediments andhighfluid backpres- Sedimentvelocitiesare highestin the underthrust because
suresretardingconsolidation. On the basisof thesedata, we thickening occt•sonlyin the wedgeitself.Consequently, com-
modeltheunderthrust porositiesseparately fromthe prism.The pactionfluid sourcesare generallygreaterin the underthrust
specificationof underthrust porosities is especially importantbe- thanin the wedge(Figure5a). This effectis counteracted by
causethesesedimentsare transported arcwardfasterthan sedi- morerapidporositylossin the accretio• wedge,resultingin
mentswithinthe prism;as a result,bothcompaction anddehy- twolocations forpeakfluidproduction ratesof 1043'•s4' one
drationfluid sourcesare correspondingly higher[Bekinsand within the wedgenearthe deformation frontandanotherin the
Dreiss,1992;Mooreand Vrolijk,1992;Wang,1994;Screatonet underthrust between5 and 15 km arcward.The highfluid pro-
al., 1990]. duction rates in the underthrust sediments seaward of 30 km re-
Althoughthe underthrust sedimentsretaintheir anomalously flect the high consolidation rate specifiedby settingXmax =30
high porosityto at least 5 km arcwardof the deformationfront, km. The fluid productionratescalculatedhereare morethan an
30,356 SAFFER AND BEKINS' EPISODIC FLUID FLOW
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000 • I I i • • •-
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10
distance arcward from deformation front (km)

Figure 4. Porositydistributionfor the accretionarycomplexwith underthrust
sediments normallyconsoli-
datedby 30 km arcward(Xm• =30 km). Note that at distanceslessthan 30 km arcwardporosityincreases
acrossthe d6collement,
while at distances greaterthan30 km arcwardno suchporosityincreaseoccurs.
3000
a
400O
5000
6000
7000
8000
I!
9000 i
-50
i
-40
I
-30
I
-20
I
- 10
I
0 lO
I I I I I I iI
3000 -
4000
ß• 5000
'"• 6000
7O00
80O0
I!
9000 I
-50
I
-40
I
-30
I
-20
I
-10
I
0
-
_
t-
10
Figure5. (a)Contour
plotofcompaction
fluidsources
(inlogvoladd
volbulk
4 f•) fortheporosity
distribu-
tionshownin Figure4. Thed6collementis markedbythethickshadedline.b) Contour
plotof dehydration
fluidsources
fortheporositydistribution
shownin Figure4 and20% smectite(byweight)in theincoming
sediment.
Notethatthehighestdehydration
sourcetermsoccurin theunderthrust
section.
orderof magnitude higherthanthosein othergeologic settings, A secondconstrainton the magnitudeof steadystatepore

with theexception of contactmetamorphism [Neuzil,1995]. pressures is thatfluidpressures greaterthanlithostatic cannotbe
3.3.5. Dehydrationfluid sources. The dehydration fluid sustained becausethey resultin hydraulicfracturingand fluid
sources for eachelementusedas inputfor the hydrologic model escape, assuming thatthetensionalstrength of wedgesediments
arecalculated usingthekineticreactionmodelof PytteandRey- is negligible.In accordance with the mechanical argumentfrom
nolds[1988].Otherkineticmodels,suchasHuanget al. [1993], Davis et al. [1983] and the indirectevidenceof highporepres-
yieldsimilarresults[e.g.,Elliot andMatisoff,1996].Tempera- suresfrom measuredporosities,we adoptthe constraintthat
tureswithinthewedgeandunderthnmt sediments are calculated steadystatemodeled
ß
porepressures
l
shouldbe a significant frac-
usinga one-dimensional conductive modelwhichaccounts for tion of lithostatlc(0.75<3.<0.95, or 0.87<3.<0.98)acrossthe
thickeningof the wedge over subductingoceanic crest baseof the entireprism.
[Ferguson, 1990].We exclude thecontribution of advective heat 3.3.7. Permeabilities. Sedimentpermeabilityis the most
transport, as theseeffectsare limitedto areasof channelizedimportantfactorin controlling modeledporepressures because it
flow whichcontainonly a smallfractionof the total smectite. canvaryby severalordersof magnitude. Neuzil[1994]andBry-
Thermalconductivity in thismodelis expressed asa functionof ant et al. [1975]established thatinlxinsicpermeability decreases
porosity.Modeledtemperatures closelymatchthosemeasured at systematically with decreasing porosity,particularlyfor sedi-
site 808 and are consistent with thermal maturation studies mentscontaining a significantfractionof clayor silt (Figure6).
which indicate atemperature gradient of--110ø(2km'• Establishinga systematicrelationshipbetweenporosityand
The hightemperatures in theNankaicomplexallowthe de- permeability is a powerfulway to approximate a permeability
hydration reaction to goto completion rapidlywithinunderthrust structure,becauseporosityin an accretionary wedgemodeldo-
sediments despitetheir high velocity.As a result,the under- main can be estimated,while penneabilitiesare generallynot
thrustsediment is a significant source of freshwater(Figure5b), well characterized. We adopta log4inearpermeability-porosity
andthe consolidation stateof undeahmstsediments is important relationship of thefollowingform:
becauseit affectsboththe weightfractionof smectitereactant
logkbulk= Fr/+ logk0 (6)
andthe volumeof porewaterthat is diluted.The dehydration
fluid sources (Figure5b) are 10-1000timessmallerthanthe wherekbulk is intrinsicbulkpermeability, rl is porosity,¾is a pa-
compaction fluid sources (Figure5a). Calculated porepressures rameterdescribing therateof permeability changewith porosity,
arethereforelargelyindependent of claycontent. and ko is the projectedpermeabilityat zero porosity.We de-
3.3.6. Constraintson modeledpore pressures. Observa- scribethe permeabilityof both accretedand underthrust sedi-
tionsfromsite808providea setof constraints onthelocationof mentsby (6) and assignd6collement permeabilityseparately
maximumporepressures. G.F.Mooreet al. [1991]identifythe [Screatonet al., 1990; Wang,1994;Bekinset al., 1995].It is
d6collement as a 19 m thick zone of intense brecciation and col-
importantto notethatthe bulk permeability we defineincludes
lapsedphyllosilicateclastswhichcontainearlierdeformationthe effect of fractures and faults at scales freer than our model
fabrics,interpreted
as evidenceof cyclicdilationand collapse grid.
[Byrneetal., 1993].Theseobservationssuggest thatthehighest In section4, we constrainthe parametersdescribingbulk
porepressures shouldbe localized
in thed6collement. Further- permeabilityin (6) (koand¾)and d6collement permeabilityin
more,the locationof the d6collement is unrelatedto anychange the Nankai accretionmy complexthrougha rigoroussensitivity
in lithologywithintheShikokuBasinsequence [TairaandPick- analysis.This analysisidentifiespermeabilitystructures result-
ering,1993].In orderto accountforhighlylocalized strainat the ing in steadystateporepressuresthat are consistent
with me-
plateboundary, the d6collement mustbe considerably weaker chanicallyandobservationally basedconstraints.
The agreement
than the surrounding sediments. In the absenceof any major foundby Neuzil [1994] betweenlaboratorymeasurements and
lithologiccontrast,the frictionalstrengthof the d6collement bulk permeability estimatedfrominversemodeling justifiesthis
mustbe reducedby decreased effectivenormalstresscausedby approach.
porepressure
exceeding
thatin the adjacent
sediment.
On the
basisof bothobservational
evidenceandthe necessityof strain
localization
alongthe plateboundary,we adoptthe constraint 4. Results and Discussion
that the maximumnormalizedporepressures within the accre-
4.1. Sensitivity Analysis of Permeabilities and Steady State
tionarycomplex
occurwithinthed6collement.
Normalized
pres- Pressure Results
sure
isgiven
by3.'=(PrPh)/(Pi-Ph),
wherePf,Ph,andPl repre-
sentfluid,hydrostatic,
andlithbstatic
pressures,
respectively
[Shi To find reasonablevaluesfor d6collementpermeability(kd)
and Wang,1988].Normalizedpressure is alsooftengivenby and ko and ¾ in (6), we calculatedsteadystatepore pressures
3.=(Pf/Pl)[e.g.,Davis et al., 1983]. overa rangeof valuesfor thesethreeparameters.Only a small
Althoughrecentstudiesbasedon bothlaboratory ring shear fraction of these combinations are consistent with the constraints
experiments [Brownet al., 1994]andseismic reflectionsurveys onmodeledporepressures discussed in section3. Theresultsof
[Shipleyetal., 1994]suggest thathighporepressures at thebase thesesteadystatesimulationsare listedin Table 1. The values
of an accretionarycomplexare spatiallydiscontinuous andpos- of ko and ¾ that are consistent with modelconstraints change
siblytransient,the shallowtaperangleof theNankaiwedgeim- only slightlywith large variationsin underthrust consolidation
pliesthatbasalporepressures averaged bothspatiallyandtem- rate and d6collement permeability,suggesting that permissible
porallyare high(or thatthe basalcoefficientof frictionis low) expressions for bulk permeabilityare confinedto a smallrange.
[Daviset al., 1983].The observation that underthrustporosity These resultsfurther suggestthat for a given permeability-
adjustsslowlyin response to thrusting[Hyndmanet al., 1993] porosity relationship, a trade-offexistsbetweenunderthnkst con-
also suggests a combination of high basalfluid pressures and solidationrate and d6collementpermeabilitywhich controls
low underthrust permeability. peaknormalized porepressures.
0.8
0.6
0.4
/
/
/
0.2 /
/
/
i i i iiiiiJ , i i i iiiii
10'22 10'20 10'18 10-16 10'14
k (m2)
Figure 6. Plot of permeability-porosity
relationships
established
for sediments fromthe Gulf of Mexico
[Bryantet al., 1975],the Barbadosaccretio• wedge[Bekinset al., 1995],andthe Nankaiaccretionary
wedgeusingequation(6). Shadedareaindicatesthe rangeof permeabilities versusporositycompiledby
Neuzil[1994]for argillaceous sediments.This compilationincludes bothdirectmeasurements of perme-
abilityandbulk permeabilityinferredfrom inversehydrologicmodelingandexhibitsno scaled•dence.
Resultsof steadystatesensitivityanalysisfor theNankaiaccretionary complexyieldbulk permeabilities
boundedby lines a (ko=-20and 7=5.0) and b (ko=-20,¾=6.0). A permeability-void ratio relationshipfor
Nankai sedimentsfrom Taylor and Fisher [1993] is alsoshown.Seetext for discussion of discrepancies
betweenmeasured permeabilities
andthosedetermined fromresultsof inversehydrologicmodeling.
Oneparticularly useful waytoviewtheresults ofthis•pe of as shownin Figures7a-7c.This is similarto the approachused

sensitivityanalysisis to plot normalizedporepressure(•) as a by Wang[1994] to constrainpermeabilitiesin the Cascadiaac-
functionof boththe rate of permeabilitychangewith increasing cretionarycomplex.In these plots, each point representsthe
porosity(¾)andthe projectedpermeability at zeroporosity(ko), maximtunvalue
of•' calculatedina single steady state
simula-
Table 1. Summaryof SteadyStateResults
Run log/c• k•m2 Xm=,

km •,*n• • Location,
km
I (5.0'n)-20 10'15 30 .81 .91 10
2 (5.0'n)-20 10']5 60 .79 .90 12
3 (5.5'n)-20 10']6 30 .85 .93 21
4 (5.5'n)-20 10']6 60 .81 .91 28
5 (5.0'n)-20 10']6 90 .88 .94 24
6 (5.5*n)-20 10']? 60 .88 .94 38
7 (5.0'n)-20 104? 90 .90 .95 26
For eachsimulation,
k• wascalculated fromporosityn as shown.•11ement permeability(kd)wasspecified
separately.
•rheconsolidation
rateof under'dram
sediment
isdefined
byx,• in equation
(4). Themaximum values
of •, and•, for eachsimulation
aregiventogether
withthelocationof themaximumasdistance
arcward•om the
defommtion •onL
SAFFERAND BEKINS: EPISODICFLUID FLOW 30,359
10
0.10 •)•,•
...•
• ._•
0.010 •--•k
8
•••I •••, I •I I
7 6
I
lO
o.o•o
f,,,.... ,.... ,.... _,oO.•,•
8 7 6 5 4
?
Figure7. Results
of sensitivity
analy•sis
16 2
forbulkpermeability
in equation
(6):logkb.•k= • n + logko,fora
d•collementpermeabilityof 10' m. (a) Plot of maximumnormalizedporepressure(Z) at steadystate
versus
theparameter
¾forv• values
of ko,forthecasewhereXm•= 30 km.Areasof .these
plotsla-
beled"•collement,""rism,"and"nderthrust"denotethe locationof maximumvaluesof Z. Shadedarea
denotesthe targetrangeof maximumsteadystateporepressures basedon constraints
discussedin text.
Only•ific combinations
of¾andkoyieldmaximum
values
ofZ' inthed•collement.
(b)Plotofmaxi-
mumsteadystateporepressure
forXmax
= 60 km. (c) Plot of maximumsteadystateporepressure
for Xm•x=
90 lcm.
tion.Thecurves connectingdatapoints show thetrajectorythe sedimentsd• in the flow systemin the casewhereunder-
maximumvaluesof •, follow as 1'in (6) is changed.Thesetra- thrust consolidation does not occur until 90 km arcward results
jectoriesclearlyillustratetwo trends.First, highervaluesof ko in steadystatefluid pressures whichd•d lessuponbothbulk
generallyresultin lowerporepressures, asrepresented by lower andd•ollement permeabilities.
peak pore pressures. This is expected,as higherpermeability All permeability-porosity functionswhich yield reasonable
should allowhil•hpressures to drain.Second, as1'increases, steadystateporepressuredistributions in the Nankaiaccretion-
peakvaluesof)• decrease. This is alsoexpected,sinceincreas- ary complexfall within the rangefor argillaceous rocksdefined
ing 1' resultsin a greaterpermeabilityincreasewith increasing by Neuzil [1994]. However,they differ from direct measure-
porosity.Thus highervaluesof 1' result in overallhigherbulk mentsof permeabilityin sediments of the Nankai complex[e.g.,
pemaeabilities, allowingfluid pressuresto drain. Taylorand Fisher, 1993] (Figure6). This suggests that either
As the underthrustconsolidationdistance,Xm•,, is increased the source terms are underestimated or the direct measurements
from30kmto90km,therange ofpossible penn. distri- donotreflectbulkpermeability.
eability
butionsgrowsfor whichthemaximumvalueof)• occursin the We prefer the latter explanationbecausefluid sourcesare
d6collement(Figures7a-7c). The combination of more distrib- well constrained by data,andmodeledpressure resultsarerela-
utedfluid production and 'thepersistence of [figherpenrt•bility •-;,
....,..1,..
u•,• 1...,,.. ,.,;+;,,,ato o'ar'ancer2,aLnt/es
u,ser,s,,,,. i.-,,.so,arceest&mates.
lO
o•o •oO•
0.010 ' ' I ,

8 7 6 5 4
1'
Figure 7. (continued)
totalsourcesinputto themodelcombine dehydration andcom- tory occursbecausedirectmeasurements of permeability in

pactionsources. AsFigures 5aand5billustrate, thecompactionsediments fromthe Nankaiaccretionary complexdo not accu-
sourcessignificantly
exceedthe dehydration sources andthere- ratelyreflectbulkpermeability.
foredominate thetotalsources.Thecompaction sources depend Although theNankaiaccretionary complex is characterized
as
onwedgegeometry, accreted sediment thickness,porosity loss a sand-or turbidite-dominated wedge,approximately three
withdepth,andseafloor porosity[Bekins andDreiss,1992].The fourthsof the sedimentary sectioncoredat site 808 consistsof
distributionof dewatering is mostsensitive to wedgegeometryfrae-grained materialin the formof bioturbated hemipelagic
andaccreted sediment thickness,bothof whichareaccuratelymuds,hemipelagic muds,ash,andtuff [Tairaet al., 1991].
characterized fromseismic reflectionsurveyscrossing site808. Though thesandy uppertrench-fill
faciesmayhavea highper-
Themostpoorlyconstrained influence ondewatering is porosity meability,the thicksequence of frae-grainedsediment below
decrease with depth,althoughthis is well knownat site 808 coupled withdistributed deformationat thetoeof thecomplex
fromworkby Hyndmanet al. [1993].Because the sourceterms should resultin low bulkpermeability. Because directperme-
are so robustbut permeability can varyby severalordersof abilitymeasurements for sediments fromsite 808 wereper-
magnitude, we arguethatmajorchanges in steadystatepore formed onsamples thatwerenotreconsolidated, it seemslikely
pressure distributionare controlledby permeability. Therefore that some fabric expansionoccurred,which would increase
the discrepancy betweenpermeabilities detenuined by inverse measured permeabilities.In addition,theuseof air in perme-
hydrologicmodeling andthosemeasured directlyin thelabora- abilitytestswouldtendto furtheroverestimate permeabilities
I I I I I I I
3000 -- _
4000
• 182
ß• 5000
--
"• 6000 •'•--"-19
7000
I! -
8000 _
9OOO I I I I I I
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10
distancearcwardfrom deformationfront (km)

Figure8. Contour
plotof logpermeability,
usingtheporosity
distribution
shown
in Figure4 andlogkbdk
= 5.5 n - 20 (equation6).
[A. Fisher,personalcommunication, 1996]. We suggestthat ac- consolidation

(Xn• =90 km, Figure9b) translates
to moreevenly
tual bulkpermeabilities
are approximately2 ordersof magnitude distributed fluid sources and thus a more even distribution of
lowerthanpermeabilities measuredfor thesesediments. Figure porepressures alongthe prismbase.Becausethereis a trade-off
8 showsa contourplot of onefeasiblepermeabilitydistribution. betweend6collement permeabilityandunderthrust
consolidation
Permeabilities seaward of 30 km from the deformation front rate, steadystate resultswith a d6collementpermeabilityof
are higherbelowthe d6collement than in the wedge,reflecting lx10'17m2only satisfythemechanical andgeologicalconstraints
the higherunderthrust porositiesin this region.Fromthe results discussed aboveif underthrust consolidation occursslowlyto 60
of steadystatemodels,it is clearthat a trade-offexistsbetween or 90 km arcward.Fasterunderthrustdewateringcoupledwith
d6collement permeabilityand underthrust compaction rate. Ta- low d6collementpermeabilityresultsin fluid pressureswhich
ble 1 listsall of the permeabilitydistributions andcorresponding exceed lithostatic.
valuesof Xm• that we testedwhichyield steadystateporepres-
suresconsistent with criticaltaperarguments. In the steadystate
simulationslisted in Table 1, maximumnormalizedpore pres- 4.2. Steady State Concentration Results
suresoccuralongthe baseof the wedgeat the d6collement, and To evaluatethe possibilitythat pore water fresheningob-
normalized porepressures area significantfractionof lithostatic served down-hole at site 808 results from the combined effects
alongmuchof the prismbase(Figures9a and 9b). Fastunder- of smectitedehydration and steadystateadvectivesolutetrans-
thrust consolidation(Xm•x=30 km, Figure 9a) resultsin high port,we calculatechlorideconcentrations usingthe steadystate
dewateringrates concentrated near the toe of the complex, formof (2). Figures10a and 10b showcontourplotsof modeled
leadingto highporepressures in this region.Slowunderthrust chlorideconcentrationfor underthrustconsolidationby 30 km
3OOO
kd=1e-16
4000 Xmax=30 km
,• 5000
"'• 6000
7000
8OOO
I I t-
9000
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0
3000
I- _
kd=1e-16
b
4000
Xmax--90 km
,• 5000
"• 6000
7000
søøø
I!
9000
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10

Figure 9. Contourplotsof modeledsteadystatenormalizedporepressures (3,) with 20% smectite(by
weight)in the incomingsedimentarysection:(a) for rapidunderthrust
consolidation
(rim 3 in Table 1) and
(b) for slowunderthrust
consolidation
(rim 5 in Table 1). Notethatrapidconsolidation
of underthrustsedi-
mentsleadsto highestporepressures nearthe toe of the complex,and slow consolidation leadsto more
evenly
distributed
pressures.
Maximum
values
of3,*-0.85
here
correspond
to3,-0.93.
30,362 SAFFER AND BEKJNS:EPISODIC FLUID FLOW
I I I I I I I
3OOO
a
4000
ODP site 808
5OOO
6OOO
7000
8000 -
[Ci] in mM
_
Xmax=30 km
9000 -
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10
distancearcwardfrom deformationfront (km)

I [ I I I I I
3000
b
4000 ODP site 808
5OOO
6000
7000
8OOO
[Cl] in mM
Xmax=90 km
9000 - I I • I I I •
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10
distancearcward from deformationfront (km)

Figure10. Contour plotsof modeledsteady statechlorideconcentrations(in mM) with20% smectitein
theincoming sediment:
(a) forrapidunderthrustconsolidation(run3 in Table1) and(b) for slowunder-
thrustconsolidation
(run5 in Table1). Bulkpermeabilitiesareslightlydifferent
in thetwocases because
rapidconsolidation
ofunderthrustmaterial,corresponding toXm•=30kmrequires higherbulkpermeabil-
itiestoprevent
unrealistic
fluidpressuresat steadystate(seetextfordiscussion).
Shaded regionshighlight
theregionoftheprismwheresteady statechlorideconcentrationsaresignificantly
different
forrapidversus
slow consolidation of underthrust sediments.
and90 km arcwardof the deformation front,respectively.

Peak theirporosity isrelatively
lowwhentheyencounter temperatures
fresheningin bothcasesreaches-410 mM and occurs40-50 km at whichsmectite dehydration occurs.
At the onsetof dehydra-
arcward of the deformation front. Modeled chloride concentration, thesesediments havemoresmectite per unit volumeof
tionsat site 808 are only slightlyfresherthanseawaterandre- sediment andcontainlesssalineporewaterthansediments with
mainabove550 mM at all depths. a higherporosity.Conversely,slowunderthrustconsolidation
re-
Comparison of Figures10aand 10billustratesthat the distri- sultsin higherporosities
at theonsetof dehydration;
thesesedi-
butionof chlorideat steadystatedepends stronglyon the un- mentshavelesssmectiteper unit volumeof sedimentandcon-
derthrust consolidation state. Concentration results for fast un- tain morepore water which mustbe diluted.The net result is
derthrustconsolidation
(Xm• =30 km) picturedin Figure10a that fasterunderthrust
consolidationyieldsa zoneof concen-
showa deflectionof the440 mM contourdownward just above tratedporewaterfreshening
in the underthrust
[Vrolijket al.,
the d&ollement between 30 and 40 km arcward of the deforma- 1991].
tion front. In the case where underthrust consolidation occurs Ourresultsimplythatsteadystateadvective transportis in-
slowly(Xm• =90 km), the 440 mM contouris not deflected.This adequate to producethe observed freshening at site808. This
translatesto freshetporewaterswithinandsurrounding thede- suggests twopossibilities:
eithersteadystateflowandtransport
collementat distances greaterthan35 km arcwardof the defor- cannotadequately describe the Nankaiaccretionmy systemor
mationfrontin thecaseof rapidunderthrust consolidation(Fig- othersources of freshwatercontributeto freshening.If smectite
ure 10a) comparedto the easeof slowunderthrust
consolidation dehydration is responsiblefortheobserved freshening anomaly,
(Figure10b).If underthrust sedimentsareconsolidatedrapidly, it appears
thatlateraltransportona scaleof tensof kilometersis
SAFFERAND BEKIlqS:EPISODICFLUID FLOW 30,363
necessaryto bring low-chlorideconcentrations to site 808. If centrations in thed6xollement approach

theirminirotanvalueby
deeperdehydration reactionscontributeto this freshening,the 10 kyr (Figure12a).Forthecasewhered6collement permeabil-
distancethat low-chloridefluids are transportedmustbe even ity is increasedby 3 ordersof magnitude,
chlorideconcentrations
greater.Steadystateresultsalso indicatethat the underthrust require80 kyr to approach theirminirotanvalues(Figure12b).
consolidationstate,while not a majorfactorin controllingpore However,by 80 kyr, chlorideprofilesfor the two casesare in-
pressures,
playsan importantrole in controllingthe distribution distinguishable.
of porewaterfreshening. As a resultof bothadvectionand diffusion,modeledchloride
profiles at site 808 broadenoutwardfrom the d6collement,
4.3. Transient Pressure Results which acts as a conduit for flow. Advection occurs as water
flowsoutward fromthed6collement at site808.Theshapeof the
To testthe hypothesis thatobserved low-chlorideporewater
low-chloride anomalydepends primrelyon permeability struc-
is theresultof transientflow alonga flow conduit,we solved(1)
tureandtime.For timesgreaterthan10 kyr, d6collement per-
and(2) usingsteadystateporepressures andconcentrations as
roeabilityplaysa negligiblerole in controllingthe shapeand
initial conditionsand valuesfor d6collement permeability3-4
extentof the anomaly; in contrast,
the permeabilitiesof under-
ordersof magnitudehigherthansteadystatevalues.We specify thrustand prism sediments remaina factorthroughout the
this permeabilityincreaseto simulatethe effectsof episodic simulationbecause theycontrolverticaladvectiveflow.
permeabilityenhancement causedby hydraulicfracturingor Modeledchlorideprofilesat 80 kyr and 160 kyr somewhat
strainevents[e.g.,Bekinset al., 1995]. match observed chloride concentrationsat site 808. Model re-
Modeledtransientfluid pressures evolvefromsteadystateas
sultsat 160kyr matchthe shapeof the anomaly, but thepre-
theyrespondto a suddenincreasein d6collement permeability.
dictedchlorideprofileis about100m tooshallow. Thepredicted
At site808,initialnormalizedmodeled steady
statepore.
pres- chlorideprofileat 80 kyr matchesthe positionof the observed
suresrangefromhydrostatic (•,*=0)at theseafloor
to•, =0.56 anomalybutdoesnotextendasdeepintotheunderthrust andis
abovethe d6collement(Figure1la). Transientnormalizedpore toonarrow.This discrepancy canbe explained by focused flow
pressures
withinthe d6collement
increasethroughtime,peaking centered on the chloride minirotan in the underthrust rather than
atnearly
lithostatic
values
at 160kyr(•,*=0.82).
At 20kmar- withinthed•collement;
although
asKastneret al. [1993]note,
cwardof the deformation
front,initial porepressures
rangefrom this is inconsistent with strain localization at the d6collement.
hy.drostatic
at thesediment-water
interface
tonearly
lithostaticKastneret al. [1993]alsosuggest
the possibility
of past(but
(•, =0.85) withinthe d•ollement zone(Figure1lb). By 160kyr presently
inactive)focusedflow alongthe d6collement
andsub-
at•eropening.
thed6collement,
normalized
porepressures
there sequentdownwarddiffusionof low-chloridewaters.
increaseto •, =0.90 and havenot changedat all outsideof the Modelsimulations showthatthepermeabilitystructure of the
d•ollement.
prismcanalsoinfluencethe shapeandpositionof the predicted
The largeincreasein modeledporepressures nearthe toe of chlorideprofile.The first alternative
permeability
structurewe
the accretionary complexoccursbecauseraisingd6collement examine includes a 40 m thick zone above the d•collement com-
permeabilityby 3 ordersof magnitudeenhances the hydraulic posedof shearedsediments [e.g.,Bekinset al., 1995]. The
connectionbetweendeep and shallowregionsof the d6colle- shearedsedimentsact as a permeability
capto retardupward
ment. Althoughnormalizedpore pressuresare roughlyequal advection
of low-chloridewatersfromthe d6collement (Figure
acrossthe baseof the entireprism(seeFigure9), absolutepore 13). This scenariocan reproduceobservedchlorideconcentra-
pressures are considerablyhigherdeepwithin the prismsince tionswithintheprismbetterthana modelwithouta permeabil-
lithostaticstressis higher.As a result,connection of high pore ity cap,butthepredicted chlorideprofilestill doesnotextendas
pressure zonesdeepwithin the complexwith lowerporepres- deepintotheunderthrust sequence as is observed. A second al-
surezonesat thetoeleadsto fluid escapeandincreased pressure ternativepermeability structureincludesbotha zoneof sheared
withinshallowportionsof thed6collement. sediments abovethed6collement andanisotropic permeability in
Two implicationsfollow fromour transientpressureresults. theunderthrust whichmayresultfromverticalor steeply dipping
First, throughout the time periodfollowinga d6collement per- veinsor cracksformedduringdewatering in response to rapid
roeabilityincrease,porepressures in the d6collement are higher loadingbelowthe plateboundary thrust.The combination of a
thanthosein the prismor underthrust sectionat site 808 andas permeability capandincreased verticalpermeability in the un-
far as20 km arcwardof the deformation front(Figures1la and derthrustsequence allowsmorerapidadvection of low-chloride
b). Thusthereis a significantcomponent of flow awayfromthe watersbelowthed6collement whileretarding advectionof these
d6collement upwardinto the prismand downwardinto the un- watersupwardintotheprism.With thispermeability structure,
derthrust.Theseresultssuggesta mechanism for advectionof thepredicted chlorideprofilebettermatches observations at 160
low-chloride watersawayfromthe d6collement at site808. Sec- kyr (Figure13). Althougha detailedinvestigation of modified
ond,the persistence of nearlithostaticporepressures in the d6- permeability structuresis beyond thescope of thispaper,ourin-
collementfor at least 160 kyr after a suddenpermeabilityin- vestigation of thesescenarios illustrates that geologically rea-
creaseprovidesa mechanism for maintaininghigh permeabil- sonable modifications in permeability structure andanisotropy
itiesoverthat time period[e.g.,Browneta/., 1994;Fisherand clearlyaffecttheshapeandposition of thechloride profile.
Zwart, 1996]. Furthermore, pressures mustremainhighin the d•collement in
4.4. Transient Concentration Results orderforit to remainopenforthe80 - 160kyrnecessary to pro-
ducea low-chlorideanomalythat resembles observations.This
Modeledtransientchlorideconcentration profilesfor site808 is consistentwith porepressureresultsfor a transientd6colle-
illustratethe evolutionof a low-chlorideanomalycausedby ment permeability oflx1043 m2(seeFigure 1lb).
transportof freshenedwaterfromdeeperwithintheprismalong The resultsof steadystatesimulations
showthatunderthrust
thed6xollement. Forthecasewhereddr, ollement
12 2
permeability
.,
is consolidation
rate stronglyinfluencesthe distributionof low-
enhanced by 4 ordersof magnitude
to l x10' m, chloridecon- chlorideporewaters(seeFigures10aand10b).Thedistribution
3 km from deformation front
10 kyr
6OO
80 kyr
........ 160 ky?
7OO
.
8OO
900
1 ooo
1100
12oo
13oo , i , , I , , , , I , , , , I , , , , I , , , , I , , , , I , , , ,
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
20 km from deformation front
• 0 kyr
..... 10 kyr
1600 • 80 kyr
160
18oo
2000
22oo
b
240o
0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.0
Figure11. Transient
normalizedix)re
pressure
results
at0, 10kyr,80kyr,and160kyrafterincreasing
d•-
collement
permeability
from10']*m2to10']3m2(a)atsite808(3kmarcward
ofthedeformation
front)
and(b) at 20 km arcwardof the deformation
front.
of low-chloride
watersandtheirproximityto thed•collement
in freshwaterin thecomplex,
at least20%smectite
isrequired
to
particularare importantcontrolson transientchlorideconcen- reproduce
observed
chlorideconcentrations.
Second,
the under-
trations.
In addition,theweightpercentage of smectitein thein- thrustconsolidation
rateis importantin controlling
freshening
comingsedimentary sequence directlyinfluences fresheningmagnitudes;rapidconsolidation(Xm•=30 km) produces peak
magnitudes (Figures14a-14c). Fromtheseresults, twoimplica- fresheningof 464 mM with 20% smectite,while slowconsoli-
tionsareclear.First,if smectite
dehydrationis thesolesource of dation(Xm•=90km)produces peakfreshening
ofonly524mM.
SAFFERAND BEKINS:EPISODICFLUID FLOW 30,365
Thediscrepancy between measured smectite

abundance and waterfromdeeperreactions is supported byanalysisof chloride
modelpredictions canbeexplained in twoways.First,smectite isotopes
[Ransom etal., 1995].Second, theamount of freshwa-
dehydration
maynotbe the solesource of freshwaterin the terproduced by smectite dehydration depends onmanyfactors
complex.
Othersources of freshwaterincludethosediscountedrelatedto bothsmectiteabundance (lateralvariationsin base-
by Underwotxt et al. [1993]andKastneret al. [1993],clay mentrelief,proximity to volcanic centers, andtotalthickness of
membrane filtration,mixingwith meteoricwater,andhydrate sediment cover)andtheamount of interlayerwaterreleased by
dissociation,
anddeeper dehydrationreactionswithineitherthe dehydration.
Although smectite composes, onaverage, lessthan
prismor downgoing oceanic plate.Thecontributionof fresh 20% of sedimentat site808, it is possible that sediment either
200kd
=le-12
m
2 a
• ] observed
•,, 400
•- / :own-hole[C,]
400 450 500 550 600 650 700

(mM)
o b
200 k•=
400 / /
400 450 500 550 600 650 700
[Ci] (mM)
Figure
12. Transient
chloride
concentration
results
atsite808at1kyr,10kyr,80kyr,and160kyr,for
20%smectite
16 2
in the
12
incoming
2
sediments(a) fora permeability
increase
of 4 orders
of magnitude
(from
lx10' m tolx10' m 16
) in
2
theddvx)llement,
13 2
and (b)fora dScollement
permeability
increase
of3 orders
of
magnitude
(fromlxlO' m tolxlO' m ). Measured
concentrations
aredenoted
byboldline.
200
......................
permeability cap& underthrust
ani$otrop
•i
400 /;i
"• 800
" 800
t
1000 _
, , , , I I I '• I I , , , ,
400 450 500 550 600 650 700
[Cl] (mM)
Figure13. Transient
chloride
concentration
results
at 160kyrforpermeability
structures
that(1) include
a
permeability
capabovethed•collement
(shaded
line)and(2)include
botha permeability
capandincreased
vertical
permeability
intheunderthrust
sequence.
Thepermeability
capwasgiven a permeability10times
lowerthanadjacent
sediments
forbothcases,
andthevertical
permeability
in theunderthrust
wasincreased
by a factorof 5 for the secondcase.
previouslysubducted or in otherlocations alongstrikeof the , mgood agreement w•thmterl[•retationofthermaldata,which

trenchcontainmoresmectite. It is alsopossible
thatthesmectite yieldsflowratesof-•100m yr". However, Henryetal. [1992]
containsgreaterthan20% water. suggestthat somefractionof the flow detem•ed from thermal
4.5. Flow Rates dataresultsfromshallowsalinity-drivenconvection.
Wheninte-
gratedoverthewidthof theventing zoneandallowing fora di-
Darcianflow velocities at benthiccoldseepcommunitieslutionfactor upto 10,these flowratesrangefrom20to200m3
alongthe toe of the Nankaiaccretionarycomplex havebeen yr'] m'] ofmargin.
measured directlyusingthermisterflowmeters [Linkeet al., Forcomparison to measuredflowrates,we usebothmodeled
1994]andcalculatedfromthermal profiles[Henryet al., 1992]. maximumflowratesalongtheddcollement andflowratesat the
Directmeasurements yieldmaximum flowratesof 70-150m yr' deformation front(Table2). Flowrateswithinthe d6collement
2OO
400
6OO
8OO
1000
1200
400 450 500 550 600 650 700
Figure14. Transientdown-hole
chloride
concentrations
at 160kyrat site808for 10%,20%,30%,and
40%smectitein theincoming
sediments
forcases
whereunderthrust
consolidation
rateis (a) rapid(Xm,
x
=30kin),(b) moderate
(Xm•=60kin),and(c) slow(Xm•=90kin).
i
b
Xmax-- 60 km
2OO
400
6OO
8OO
/
• d½collement
1 ooo .
1200
f 4OO 450 500 550
i
600 650 700
/cq
200
I Xmax= 90 km
-
400
-
_-
600
_ II
800
_ • /7//
1 ooo -
- •
.....
1200
400 450 500 550 600 650 700
Figure 14. (continued)
lated maximumflow ratesand fluid expulsionratesat the de-

differ with location because fluid leaks both to and from the
overlyingprism sediments.
Fluid entersthe d'ecollement from formationfrontare on the orderof millimetersto centimeters
per
theprismnearthebackof thewedgeandescapes to the seafloor year.Theseflowratesd•d uponboththed'ecollement perme-
throughthe wedgenearthe toe. For steadystatemodels,calcu- abilityandthe steadystatepressurefield whichdrivesflow. In
Table 2. Flow Rates
FlowScenario kd Maximum
Flow,myr4 Location,
km FlowatDeformation
Front,myr'•
Diffuse n/a 5-7 x 104 n/a 5-7 x 104
Steady
State 10'rs 0.07 17 0.043
Steady
State 104? 0.002 23 0.0007
Transient 1042 156 19 54
Transient 104s 15.6 19 5.4
Transient 5xl 044 7.8 19 2.7
Flowrates(msyr4 m4 ofmargin)
arecalculated
fordiffuse
dewatering
[Bekins
andDreiss,1992;LePichon
etaL, 1991]andsome
steadystateandtransient
models.
Locationcolumnliststhelocation
of maximumflowin thedecollement
asdistance
arcwardfromthe
deformation front.
30,368 SAFFERAND BEKINS:EPISODICFLUID FLOW
contrast,maximum calculatedflow rates for a transientmodel cretionary complexduringtimesof nonexpulsion escapesduring

rangefromtensto hundreds of metersperyear,whilefluid ex- periodsof expulsion.The underlyingassumption is that over
p.ulsionratesat the deformation
frontrangefrommetersto tens longtimescales, theaccretionarycomplex is at hydrologicsteady
of metersper year.Transientflow ratesscalewith the d6colle- state.In this scenario,the amountof waterstoredin the complex
mentpermeability, becauseflow is drivenby the initial steady during
nonexpulsion
is5.3m3yr'l m'l ofmargin.
Tomaintain
longtermsteady-state,
statepressurefield whichis the samefor all transientsimula- theratioof nonexpulsion durationto ex-
pulsiondurationis givenbytransient
tions. Modeled transient flow rates of meters to tens of meters flux/storage.
• yearshould
produce
significant heatflowanomalies, This calculationyieldsa ratio of 31:1 for time of nonexpul-
surface
consistentwith thoseobservednear the deformationfront [Ya- sionto time of expulsion.For a transientd6collementperme-
manoet al., 1992].However,a focusedthermalsignaturecaused abilityof 10'l2m2,theratioincreases to310:1. However, tran-
by hightransient
flowratesmaybe dampedby diffuseescape of sient
d6collement
permeability
of10'12m2allows
rapidfluides-
fl•d froma buriedflowconduitin areaswhereoverlying sedi- capeand consequently doesnot maintainhigh pore pressures
mentis thinoritspermeability
is locallyhigh. withinthe d6collement beyond30 kyr. This is difficultto recon-
Comparisonof modeledand observedflow rates indicates cile with measuredchlorinityat site 808, which indicatesen-
thatmodeledsteadystateflow ratesare 2-3 ordersof magnitude hancedd6collementpermeabilityover 80-160 kyr. Flow rates
-13 2
toosmallto accountfor observations, unlessthe majorityof flow calculatedfor d6collementpermeabilityof 10' m are also
is drivenby shallowsalinity-driven convection. Similarly,esti- comparable to thosecalculated fromdirectlymeasured flow rates
ma•sof diffuse dewateringrates[Bela'ns andDreiss,1992;Le [Henry et al., 1992].For transientflow duration of 80-160 kyr,
Pichonet al., 1991] are roughly5 ordersof magnitudelower one completecycleof pore pressurebuildupand drainagere-
th• measured rates.Modeled transient flowratesspanthe quiresbetween2.5 and 5 Myr. Becausethe cycledurationis
•sured rates.Whenintegrated overthethickness of thed6- comparable to the age of the modemaccretionary wedge,this
transientfluid fluxesrangefrom81 to1620 suggests
co!lement,calculated that only a few episodicflow eventshave occurred
m• yr'1permeter of margin. Thisagrees wellwithmeasure-since the wedge first formed. Our estimatesare maximum
ni•tswhich indicatefluxesof20to200m3yr'1m'1ofmargin.timescaleratios, becausesomefractionof fluid enteringthe
T•l•smeasured flowratessuggest transientratherthansteady prismin accretedsedimentsis probablyalsocapturedduringpe-
stateflow. riodsofnonexpulsion.
4,6. Fluid Budget 5. Summaryand Conclusions

The fate of materialsenteringconvergent
marginsis an im-
On the basisof down-holemineralogy,isotopicratios,and
p0•rtant
keyto understanding
globalwaterandsediment
fluxes chloride concentrations at ODP site 808 near the toe of the
at!•deepersubduction
zoneprocesses.
Wecombine calculatedNankai accretionary
complex,Kastneret al. [1993] and Under-
fl0TM
ratesandsediment
velocities
to estimate
waterfluxes
out woodet al. [1993]concluded
thattransportof exoticporewaters
• top,back,andfrontof theaccretionmy
wedge.
Theseesti- fromdeepwithinthe prismoccurs.In orderto constrainperme-
motesshedsomelightontherelativevolumesof waterthatsub-
,
abilitieswithin the systemand to test the hypothesis

that pore
d..•tbelowtheaccretionarywedgeandescapethesubductionwater fresheningobservedat site 808 in the form of a low-
c,:.,,o•plex
viafocusedflowalongthed6collement
ordiffuse
flow chloride anomalyresults from smectitedehydrationdeeper
a['ithe
seafloor.
In addition,
weestimate
a timescale
fortransient within the complex,we use a two-dimensionalfinite element
fl0Wevents
bycomparing
steady
stateandtransient
fluxes.
' 'Wateronlyenters
theaccretionary at theseawardmodelwhichdescribes
complex coupledfluid flowandsolutetransport.
Resultsof a rigoroussensitivityanalysissuggest that the re-
boundary,as high-porosity sediments
are subducted and ac-
lationshipbetween bulk permeabilityand porosityfor the
creted.Inputto the systemincludesnet porewaterflux (sedi-
NankaicomplexfallswithintherangegivenbyNeuzil[1994]for
ment velocityplus flow velocity)and water boundin smectite
argillaceous rocks.Furthermore,the relationshipbetweenper-
that is transportedwith the sediments. Water outputfrom the
meability and porosityestablishedthroughinversemodeling
system includes
flowoutthed6collement, porewaterandbound
varieslittle, evenwith substantialchangesin d6collement per-
watertransported arcwardwith sediment,and diffitseflow of
meabilityand underthrust consolidationrate. Low d6collement
porewatersoutat theseafloor. Usingtheporosity-depth
function
permeabilityrequiresslowunderthrust consolidation to prevent
proposed byHyndrnan et al. [1993]anda convergence
rateof 40
fluid pressuresfrom exceedinglithostaticstressesat steady-
kmM_yr '1,weestimate
a waterinput
tothesystem
of22.01m• state.Variationsin underthrustconsolidation rate causeonly
yr'1m'1ofmargin.
Ofthis,nearly
71%escapes
outthetopofthe
accretionmywedgevia diffuseflowundersteadystateflowcon-
ditions(Table 3). Fluid escapealongthe d6collementranges Table3. FluidBudget
from0 to5%,d•ding upon
faultpermeability.
Therestofthe
Escape
Flow Flux(msyr4 m4) Percentage
ofInput
incoming wateris transported arcwardwithinthesediments.
In thecaseof episodicfluid escapealongthed6collement, we At seafloor 15.56 70.69
canbeginto estimatethe relativedurations of fluid expulsion At d6collement 1.20 5.45

andnonexpulsion. If fluid expulsion
is episodic,
thenwe assume Subducted 0.292 1.33
that duringtimeswhenthe •11ement is inactive,the water
Arcwardin prism 4.96 22.50
containedin underthrust
sedimentsis stored.During activeex-
pulsion,
withatransient
d6collement
fluxoutthed6collement
l•l eability
of
is162mayr'1m' ofmargin
10'm2,
length.
We Waterfluxes(inm3yr4 m4 ofmargin
length)areforsteady
state
fluid
flowwitha d6collement
permeability
of 10'25m2.Withlowerdicolle-
derive an estimateof relative durationby computinga time- mentpermeabilifies,
flux outof the accretionary
complexalongthe d6-
averaged fluidmassbalancein whichthewaterstoredin theac- collementdecreases,
andflux out at the seafloorincreases.
subtlechangesin porepressuredistribution
(seeFigures9a and NSF grantOCE9618166.We wouldlike to thankEli Silver,JefiffeyRyan,
9b),with slowerconsolidation
of underthrust leading Dan Orange,and Guy Cochranefor their carefulreviewsand insightful
sediments
comments.In addition,we thankPierreHenry,Miriam Kastner,and J. Ca-
to moreevenlydistributed
highfluidpressuresacross
thebaseof seyMooreforenlightening discussions
andnumerous helpfulsuggestions.
the entireaccretionmy
wedge.
Steadystateresultscanaccountfor inferrednear-lithostatic
porepressures
across
a significant
fractionof theprismbasebut References
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Acknowledgments.
DemianSafferwassupportedforthisworkby NSF fluid flow and solutetransportin the Barbadosaccretionarycomplex,
graduate
fellowship
DGE-9616038.
Computing facilities
weresupported
by M.S. thesis,Univ. of Calif., SantaCruz, 1994.
30,370 SAFFERAND BEKINS: EPISODICFLUID FLOW
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strength,Geology,22, 411-414, 1994. acceptedJune5, 1998)

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Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth - 1998 - Saffer - Episodic Fluid Flow in The Nankai Accretionary Complex

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21562202b, 1998, B12, Downloaded from https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/98JB01983 by Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Wiley Online Library on [28/02/2023].

Episodicfluid flow in the Nankai accretionarycomplex:

Abstract Down-holegeochemical anomaliesencountered in activeaccretionary systems canbe

1. Introduction suitsin pore pressures that approachlithostaticvalues.Moore

Quantitativestudyof the hydrogeology in thesesystems is a water freshening.

200 seawater concentration

.c: 800 site

Figure 1. (a) Locationof studyareain Nank• Trough.DeepSeaDrillingProject• DrillingProgram

2. Site Description bratedweightingfactors[Tribble and Wilkens,1994]. (Fisher

DISTANCE FROM DEFORMATION FRONT (KM)

Figure 2. Schematicview of accretionary wedgemodeldomain.The top and eastern(right) sidesare hy-

designwas determinedby decreasinghorizontalgrid spacing tion, or permeabilitythroughtime. Accordingly,the time and

transportand (2) transientflow and solutetransport.For steady Figure 3. Flowchartillustratingconceptualmodeland model

distance arcward from deformation front (km)

distance arcward from deformation front (km)

distance arcward from deformation front (km)

orderof magnitude higherthanthosein othergeologic settings, A secondconstrainton the magnitudeof steadystatepore

10'22 10'20 10'18 10-16 10'14

Oneparticularly useful waytoviewtheresults ofthis•pe of as shownin Figures7a-7c.This is similarto the approachused

Table 1. Summaryof SteadyStateResults

Run log/c• k•m2 Xm=,

0.010 ' ' I ,

totalsourcesinputto themodelcombine dehydration andcom- tory occursbecausedirectmeasurements of permeability in

distancearcwardfrom deformationfront (km)

[A. Fisher,personalcommunication, 1996]. We suggestthat ac- consolidation

distance arcward from deformation front (km)

distance arcward from deformation front (km)

distancearcwardfrom deformationfront (km)

distancearcward from deformationfront (km)

and90 km arcwardof the deformation front,respectively.

necessaryto bring low-chlorideconcentrations to site 808. If centrations in thed6xollement approach

3 km from deformation front

0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

20 km from deformation front

0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.0

Thediscrepancy between measured smectite

400 450 500 550 600 650 700

400 450 500 550 600 650 700

previouslysubducted or in otherlocations alongstrikeof the , mgood agreement w•thmterl[•retationofthermaldata,which

400 450 500 550 600 650 700

600 650 700

400 450 500 550 600 650 700

Figure 14. (continued)

lated maximumflow ratesand fluid expulsionratesat the de-

Table 2. Flow Rates

contrast,maximum calculatedflow rates for a transientmodel cretionary complexduringtimesof nonexpulsion escapesduring

4,6. Fluid Budget 5. Summaryand Conclusions

abilitieswithin the systemand to test the hypothesis

canbeginto estimatethe relativedurations of fluid expulsion At d6collement 1.20 5.45

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