Characteristics and formation process of fractures in crystalline rocks in northern Kyushu

Murakami, Hiroaki  ; Ashizawa, Masaomi*; Tanaka, Kazuhiro*

This study describes the features of fractures and their fillings along with the long-term behavior of their hydrogeological structures in an underground environment based on the results of a geological investigation conducted at an underground facility in northern Kyushu. Fractures were classified into five groups on the basis of fracture orientation: A, B, C, D, and low-angle groups. The genesis of all fractures is the cooling process of granodiorite pluton. Almost all of the water-conducting fractures are included in the B group. Because a number of fracture fillings in the B group are filled by prehnite and crushed fragments of epidote and quartz, the fractures in this group alternated sealing and re-opening. The fracture characteristics in the B group are follow as: accompanying many alteration halos, long trace length, and cutting off other fractures. These results indicate that fractures in the B group have possibly functioned as pathways for groundwater flow in the long term.