Fracture Shape and Orientation Contributions to P-Wave Velocity and Anisotropy of Alpine Fault Mylonites
P-wave anisotropy is significant in the mylonitic Alpine Fault shear zone. Mineral- and texture-induced anisotropy are dominant in these rocks but further complicated by the presence of fractures. Electron back-scattered diffraction and synchrotron X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) data are acquired on exhumed schist, protomylonite, mylonite and ultramylonite samples to quantify mineral phases, crystal preferred orientations, microfractures and porosity. The samples are composed of quartz, plagioclase, mica and accessory garnet, and contain 3-5% porosity. Based on the micro-CT data, the representative pore shape has an aspect ratio of 5:2:1. Two numerical models are compared to calculate the…