Deformation mechanisms and fluid-driven mass transfers in the recent fault zones of the Corinth Rift (Greece)

Normal fault zones affecting the pre-rift limestones in the Corinth Rift comprise breccia corridors separated by slip surfaces, but also numerous stylolites and calcite veins attesting the importance of fluid-driven mass transfer during a(inter)seismic episodes of fault activity. Cathodoluminescence microscopy shows that external (meteoric?) waters circulated in the fault zones, whereas mass transfer in the surrounding rocks implied a closed system with water chemically equilibrated with the host limestone. From these observations, we propose preliminary qualitative models of structural development and fluid flow in active normal fault zones in superficial conditions, with a tendency to concentration of deformation and fluid-flow-related to fault-tip propagation.