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Morrow & Byerlee 1991
Morrow, C.A. and Byerlee, J.D. (1991). A note on the frictional strength of laumontite from Cajon Pass, California. Geophysical Research Letters 18: doi: 10.1029/91GL00209. issn: 0094-8276.

Laumontite mineralization is pervasive in joints and shear zones encountered in the Cajo Pass drillhole in southern California. In order to determine whether a gouge composed of this hydrated mineral affects shear strength in a manner similar to low-strength, clay-rich fault gouges, frictional sliding experiments were performed under dry, saturated and high pore pressure conditions at effective pressures up to 450 MPa. Coefficients of friction ranged between 0.66 and 0.84, consistent with most crustal rocks and well above the values typical of clay-rich San Andreas fault gauges. Saturation state had no effect on strength or sliding stability. These results suggest that the presence of laumontite in shear zones at Cajon Pass will not affect the shear strength of the rock in a way that can account for the inferred low ambient shear stresses.

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Abstract

Keywords
Physical Properties of Rocks, Fracture and flow, Tectonophysics, Dynamics of the lithosphere and mantle, Seismology, Earthquake dynamics, Seismology, Body waves
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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