Deformation mechanism and hydraulic properties of normal and strike-slip fault zones in porous carbonates outcropping in central and southern Italy.

Deformation of porous carbonate grainstones takes generally place by compactive shear banding, which initially produce single bands that may evolve during incremental strain into zones of multiple bands and, eventually, fault zones with discrete slip surfaces. The several processes associated to increased deformation are recorded in the aforementioned structural elements. In fact, they are characterized by a different texture, porosity, dimensional attributes (length, thickness, displacement). Fault zones are characterized by inner fault cores made of cataclastic material surrounded by thicker damage zones including single bands and zones of bands. In this work, we present the results of in…