Fault gouge graphitization as evidence of past seismic slip

One moderate- to large-magnitude earthquake (M > 6) nucleates in Earth's crust every three days on average, but the geological record of ancient fault slip at meters-per-second seismic velocities (as opposed to subseismic slow-slip creep) remains debated because of the lack of established fault-zone evidence of seismic slip. Here we show that the irreversible temperature-dependent transformation of carbonaceous material (CM, a constituent of many fault gouges) into graphite is a reliable tracer of seismic fault slip. We sheared CM-bearing fault rocks in the laboratory at just above subseismic and at seismic velocities under both water-rich and water-deficient conditions and modeled the temperature evolution with slip. By means of micro-Raman spectroscopy and focused-ion beam transmission electron microscopy, we detected graphite grains similar to those found in the principal slip zone of the A.D. 2008 Wenchuan (M-w 7.9) earthquake (southeast Tibet) only in experiments conducted at seismic velocities. The experimental evidence presented here suggests that high-temperature pulses associated with seismic slip induce graphitization of CM. Importantly, the occurrence of graphitized fault-zone CM may allow us to ascertain the seismogenic potential of faults in areas worldwide with incomplete historical earthquake catalogues.