Alberto Ceccato

Last Name

Ceccato

First Name

Alberto

ORCID

0000-0001-7901-8411

Organisational unit

03476 - Giardini, Domenico (emeritus) / Giardini, Domenico (emeritus)

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Publications 1 - 10 of 14

Structural Evolution, Exhumation Rates, and Rheology of the European Crust During Alpine Collision: Constraints From the Rotondo Granite—Gotthard Nappe
Ceccato, Alberto; Behr, Whitney M.; Zappone, Alba Simona; et al. (2024)
Tectonics
The rheology of crystalline units controls the large-scale deformation geometry and dynamics of collisional orogens. Defining a time-constrained rheological evolution of such units may help unravel the details of collisional dynamics. Here, we integrate field analysis, pseudosection calculations and in situ garnet U–Pb and mica Rb–Sr geochronology to define the structural and rheological evolution of the Rotondo granite (Gotthard nappe, Central Alps). We identify a sequence of four (D1–D4) deformation stages. Pre-collisional D1 brittle faults developed before Alpine peak metamorphism, which occurred at 34–20 Ma (U–Pb garnet ages) at 590 ± 25°C and 0.9 ± 0.1 GPa. The reactivation of D1 structures controlled the rheological evolution, from D2 reverse mylonitic shearing at amphibolite facies (520 ± 40°C and 0.8 ± 0.1 GPa) at 18–20 Ma (white mica Rb–Sr ages), to strike-slip, brittle-ductile shearing at greenschist-facies D3 (395 ± 25°C and 0.4 ± 0.1 GPa) at 14–15 Ma (white mica and biotite Rb–Sr ages), and then to D4 strike-slip faulting at shallow conditions. Although highly misoriented for the Alpine collisional stress orientation, D1 brittle structures controlled the localization of D2 ductile mylonites accommodating fast (∼3 mm/yr) exhumation rates due to their weak shear strength (<10 MPa). This structural and rheological evolution is common across External Crystalline Massifs (e.g., Aar, Mont Blanc), suggesting that the European upper crust was extremely weak during Alpine collision, its strength controlled by weak ductile shear zones localized on pre-collisional deformation structures, that in turn controlled localized exhumation at the scale of the orogen.
Multiscale lineament analysis and permeability heterogeneity of fractured crystalline basement blocks
Ceccato, Alberto; Tartaglia, Giulia; Antonellini, Marco; et al. (2022)
Solid Earth
The multiscale analysis of lineament patterns helps define the geometric scaling laws and the relationships between outcrop- and regional-scale structures in a fracture network. Here, we present a novel analytical and statistical workflow to analyze the geometrical and spatial organization properties of the Rolvsnes granodiorite lineament (fracture) network in the crystalline basement of southwestern Norway (Bømlo Island). The network shows a scale-invariant spatial distribution described by a fractal dimension D≈1.51, with lineament lengths distributed following a general scaling power law (exponent α=1.88). However, orientation-dependent analyses show that the identified sets vary their relative abundance and spatial organization and occupancy with scale, defining a hierarchical network. Lineament length, density, and intensity distributions of each set follow power-law scaling laws characterized by their own exponents. Thus, our multiscale, orientation-dependent statistical approach can aid in the identification of the hierarchical structure of the fracture network, quantifying the spatial heterogeneity of lineament sets and their related regional- vs. local-scale relevance. These results, integrated with field petrophysical analyses of fracture lineaments, can effectively improve the detail and accuracy of permeability prediction of heterogeneously fractured media. Our results also show how the geological and geometrical properties of the fracture network and analytical biases affect the results of multiscale analyses and how they must be critically assessed before extrapolating the conclusions to any other similar case study of fractured crystalline basement blocks.
The structural evolution of the Rotondo granite (Gotthard nappe, Central Alps): constraints on the strength and timing of weakening of the European upper crust during Alpine collision
Ceccato, Alberto; Behr, Whitney M.; Zappone, Alba Simona; et al. (2024)
16th EGU Emile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies: Alpine Workshop. Abstract Book and List of Authors
Shear zone-hosted carbonate-bearing breccias of the External Crystalline Massifs: seismic pathways for orogenic CO2 degassing?
Ceccato, Alberto; Tavazzani, Lorenzo; Malaspina, Nadia; et al. (2024)
On the petrology and microstructures of small-scale ductile shear zones in granitoid rocks: An overview
Ceccato, Alberto; Goncalves, Philippe; Menegon, Luca (2022)
Journal of Structural Geology
Since the pioneering works of John Ramsay in the 1970's and 1980's, the analysis of exceptional exposures of small-scale shear zones (i.e. 10-3 – 10−1 m thick) in granitoid rocks provided invaluable insights into the processes controlling strain localisation in the middle and lower continental crust. Indeed, recent advancement in field, microstructural and petrological analyses of such small-scale shear zone have shed new light on the metamorphic, tectonic and fluid conditions promoting shear zone nucleation and development in granitoid rocks. In this paper we provide an overview of these new insights, comparing and integrating the results obtained from field, and microstructural and petrological analyses of small-scale shear zones in granitoid plutons and meta-granitoids from the Alps. A review of the deformation temperature shows that the granitoid shear zones development occurs between 350 and 600 °C, with most of them localising in a restricted temperature window between 450 and 500 °C. At these conditions, the magmatic assemblage is metastable and subjected to a series of metamorphic reactions. Furthermore, the development of shear zone does not occur under-closed system conditions. Introducing or expelling fluids and mass (i.e. metasomatism) during deformation has mineralogical consequences that control the rheology and the way shear zone evolves. Among the main mineralogical and microstructural changes, the breakdown of magmatic feldspar(s) into fine-grained aggregates steers both the rheology and fabric evolution of shear zones in granitoid rocks, triggering further mechano-chemical feedback mechanisms. Future research should consider the occurrence of feedback processes between deformation, metamorphic and metasomatic processes to understand and quantify the evolution with time and strain of shear zone geometry and rheology, as well as of the development of larger-scale shear zone networks.
Selection and Characterisation of the Target Fault for Fluid-Induced Activation and Earthquake Rupture Experiments
Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter; Ceccato, Alberto; Zappone, Alba Simona; et al. (2024)
EGUsphere
Performing stimulation experiments at approximately 1 km depth in the Bedretto Underground Laboratory for Geosciences and Geoenergies necessitates identifying and characterizing the target fault zone for on-fault monitoring of induced fault-slip and seismicity, a current challenge in understanding seismogenic processes. We discuss the multidisciplinary approach for selecting the target fault zone for the experiments planned within the Fault Activation and Earthquake Ruptures (FEAR) project, aiming to induce fault-slip and seismicity up to a magnitude 1.0 earthquake while enhancing monitoring and control of fluid-injection experiments. Structural geological mapping, remote sensing, exploration drilling and borehole logging, ground-penetration radar, and laboratory investigations were employed to identify and characterize the target fault – a ductile-brittle shear zone several meters wide with intensely fractured volume persisting over 100 m. Its orientation in the in-situ stress field favors reactivation in normal to strike-slip regimes. Laboratory tests showed slight velocity strengthening of the fault gouge. The fault's architecture, typical for crystalline environments, poses challenges for fluid flow, necessitating detailed hydraulic and stress characterization before each of the FEAR experiments. This multidisciplinary approach was crucial for managing rock volume heterogeneity and understand implications for the dense monitoring network. Successfully identifying the fault sets the stage for seismic activation experiments commencing in spring 2024.
Fluid-mediated transition from dynamic rupturing to aseismic slip at the base of the seismogenic continental crust
Ceccato, Alberto; Pennacchioni, Giorgio (2025)
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Chemo-mechanical fluid-rock interactions are critical in controlling the frictional-viscous transition in the continental crust and the competition between seismic and aseismic deformation in fault zones. In this study, we provide quantitative constraints on the timing and magnitude of weakening, and associated changes in slip rates, due to fluid-rock interactions at the base of the seismogenic continental crust. Integrating field, microstructural analyses, and micromechanical modelling we constrain the microstructural and mechanical evolution of phyllosilicate-rich, carbonate-bearing brittle-ductile faults/shear zones developed in the Rieserferner granitoid pluton (Eastern Alps). Here, transient overpressure of (H2O + CO2)-rich fluids triggered dynamic rupturing in the strong host rock (>100 MPa), and promoted the development of weak phyllonites through long-term fluid-mediated feldspar-to-mica reactions. These phyllosilicate-rich fault rocks accommodated frictional-viscous aseismic creep at very low differential stresses (<10 MPa) and near-lithostatic fluid pressure conditions. Microscale vein networks overprinting the phyllonite indicate cyclical embrittlement related to increased creep rates (up to 10−7 s−1) that occurred over a timeframe of days to months and potentially related to slow earthquakes (slip rates of 10−8 m/s). These findings offer new constraints on the development and seismogenic potential of phyllosilicate-rich fault zones and on the effect of fluid chemistry on fault zone rheology. Fluid-mediated fault weakening can occur in rather short time (months-to-years) comparable to the interseismic period, progressively promoting long-term, viscous aseismic creep on a previously strong fault zone developed by dynamic rupturing. The combined effect of strain localization, the low permeability of the phyllonitic cores, as well as of fluid chemistry evolution and CO2-enrichment, may lead to the development of brittle-frictional instabilities during transient accelerated-creep events. Therefore, the fluid-mediated microstructural evolution of phyllosilicate-rich fault rocks controls their seismogenic behaviour, potentially leading to accelerated creep, slow earthquakes and slow slip on otherwise aseismically creeping faults.
Characterization and 3D geometrical modelling of a complex fault zone for earthquake rupture experiments
Ceccato, Alberto; Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter; Pozzi, Giacomo; et al. (2024)
EGUsphere
Fault zone geological and geometrical complexities are prime parameters playing a fundamental role in controlling the characteristics of both natural and induced seismicity. In the Bedretto tunnel (Switzerland), the Fault Activation and Earthquake Rupture (FEAR) project aims at triggering a Mw = 1 seismic event through fluid injection and stimulation of a natural fault zone situated in a large-scale (> 106 m3) fractured granite reservoir. The limited exposure of the fault zone in the tunnel, however, restricts the possibility to constrain in detail the geometrical and geological characteristics of the experimental target. Therefore, in order to constrain the geological and geometrical characteristics of the target fault zone, we have integrated structural analyses, borehole and core logging, and borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR). Preliminary field investigations in the tunnel allowed to identify the complex fault structure characteristics, fault rock properties, and slip tendency in the current stress field of the selected fault zone. These results were compared to the structural observations obtained from field surveys and remote sensing, constraining the slip history, and lateral extent of the set of natural fault zones occurring on the surface above the Bedretto tunnel. Indeed, the lateral extent of the selected fault has been confirmed through the logging (optical/acoustic televiewer, fracture intensity, fracture typology) of exploration boreholes and the analyses of the related cores. The comparison between the geological characteristics of fault zones in the cores and the characteristics of the selected fault zone exposed in the tunnel allowed to confirm the occurrence of the same typology of fault zone further away from the exposure in the tunnel. In addition, GPR logging of the exploratory boreholes provided fundamental insights on the lateral continuity of the identified fault zones on the tunnel wall, as well as those identified in the borehole/core logging. All geological and geometrical information have been integrated into a preliminary 3D geometrical model (in Leapfrog Geo), representing the overall geometry of the selected fault zone. This preliminary geometrical model has been validated against synthetic GPR profiles, computed through GPR forward modelling along the exploration boreholes. The integrated results define the selected fault zone as a 3-7 m wide zone of higher density (up to 5/m), of variably oriented secondary fractures, and bounded by two main slip surfaces. The slip surfaces are irregularly decorated by phyllosilicate-rich gouge patches, filling the roughness of the fault surface. The lateral extension of each discrete fracture does not exceed 30 m in length, but the overall lateral continuity of the fault zone exceeds several hundreds of meters. The presented integrated characterization approach allowed us to constrain a geologically-sound, first-order 3D geometrical model of a complex natural fault zone, validated against geophysical forward modelling. These preliminary results have fundamental implications for the expected experimental planning and outcomes, modelling and injection strategies, project logistics, as well as the design and deployment of the monitoring network around the stimulated fault zone.
Fluid-Driven Shear Instabilities in the Subducted Oceanic Mantle at Intermediate Depths: Insights From Western Alps Meta-Ophiolites
Muñoz-Montecinos, Jesús; Angiboust, Samuel; Minnaert, Clothilde; et al. (2024)
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Serpentinites are major carriers of volatiles in deep subduction zones, releasing most fluids in the 500-650 degrees C range. Despite fundamental implications for mass transfer and intermediate-depth seismicity, the mechanical role of these fluids is unclear. To characterize the mechanical role of fluids at (ultra)high-pressure conditions, we perform a petro-structural analysis on olivine-rich veins from the Western Alps meta-ophiolite. Some veins formed through dilational and mixed dilational-shear fracturing without significant shear-related deformation. However, field and microstructural observations indicate transient shearing and dilational fracturing at high pore fluid pressures. These include: (a) foliated sheared veins; (b) newly formed olivine and Ti-clinohumite within mineral lineations coating sheared veins and shear bands; (c) Olivine and Ti-clinohumite mineral fibers sealing porphyroclasts; (d) mutual crosscutting relationships among dilational and shear features. Dilational veins prevail in low-strain areas, while sheared veins and shear bands dominate within high-strain zones toward the ultramafic sliver boundaries. These strain variations underscore the role of local stress regimes during serpentinite dehydration. Consequently, areas experiencing stronger shear stresses around large-scale blocks or mechanical weakening during fluid circulation are prone to draining overpressurized fluids. These interface-parallel and fracture-controlled pathways thus facilitate fluid escape from the dehydrating downgoing slab. Transient events of dilational fracturing and brittle-ductile shearing, along with strain localization in highly comminuted olivine-bearing sheared veins, may have resulted from strain rate bursts potentially related to (sub)seismic deformation. These observations are in line with geophysical data indicating high pore fluid pressures within the intermediate-depth seismicity region.
Strength of Dry and Wet Quartz in the Low‐Temperature Plasticity Regime: Insights From Nanoindentation
Ceccato, Alberto; Menegon, Luca; Hansen, Lars N. (2022)
Geophysical Research Letters
At low-temperature and high-stress conditions, quartz deformation is controlled by the kinetics of dislocation glide, that is, low-temperature plasticity (LTP). To investigate the relationship between intracrystalline H2O content and the yield strength of quartz LTP, we have integrated spherical and Berkovich nanoindentation tests at room temperature on natural quartz with electron backscatter diffraction and secondary-ion mass spectrometry measurements of intracrystalline H2O content. Dry (<20 wt ppm H2O) and wet (20–100 wt ppm H2O) crystals exhibit comparable indentation hardness. Quartz yield strength, which is proportional to indentation hardness, seems to be unaffected by the intracrystalline H2O content when deformed under room temperature, high-stress conditions. Pre-indentation intracrystalline microstructure may have provided a high density of dislocation sources, influencing the first increments of low-temperature plastic strains. Our results have implications for fault strength at the frictional-viscous transition and during transient deformation by LTP, such as seismogenic loading and post-seismic creep.

Publications 1 - 10 of 14

Alberto Ceccato

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