The hydraulic performance and mechanical stability of open fractures are crucial for several subsurface applications including fractured geothermal reservoirs or nuclear waste repositories. Their hydraulic and mechanical properties (fluid flow and fracture stiffness) are both strongly dependent on the fracture geometry. Any change in effective stress impacts aperture and thus the ability of fractures to promote flow. Here, we carried out flow experiments with shear displaced tensile fractures in pre-loaded, low-permeability sandstones with two different cyclic loading scenarios with up to 60 MPa hydrostatic confining pressure. During “constant cyclic loading” (CCL) experiments, the fracture was repeatedly loaded to the same peak stress (up to 60 MPa). During “progressive cyclic loading” (PCL) experiments, the confining pressure was progressively increased in each cycle (up to 15, 30, 45, and 60 MPa). The matrix and fracture deformation was monitored using axial and circumferential LVDT extensometers to obtain the fracture stiffness. The fracture geometry before and after the experiment was compared by calculating the aperture distribution from 3D surface scans. Initial loading with confining pressure of the fracture leads to a linear fracture specific stiffness evolution. For any subsequent stress cycles fracture stiffness shifts to a nonlinear behavior. The transition is shown to be related to a stress memory effect, similar to the “Kaiser Effect” for acoustic emissions. PCL of fractures possibly leads to less permeability reduction compared to continuous cyclic loading.

Using an innovative experimental set-up (Punch-Through Shear test), we initiated a shear zone (microfault) in Flechtingen sandstone and Odenwald granite under in situ reservoir conditions while monitoring permeability and fracture dilation evolution. The shear zone, which has a cylindrical geometry, is produced by a self-designed piston assembly that punches down the inner part of the sample. Permeability and fracture dilation were measured for the entire duration of the experiment. After the shear zone generation, the imposed shear displacement was increased to 1.2 mm and pore pressure changes of ± 5 or ± 10 MPa were applied cyclically to simulate injection and production scenarios. Thin sections and image analysis tools were used to identify microstructural features of the shear zone. The geometry of the shear zone is shown to follow a self-affine scaling invariance, similar to the fracture surface roughness. The permeability evolution related to the onset of the fracture zone is different for both rocks: almost no enhancement for the Flechtingen sandstone and an increase of more than 2 orders of magnitude for the Odenwald granite. Further shear displacement resulted in a slight increase in permeability. A fault compaction is observed after shear relaxation which is associated to a permeability decrease by a factor more than 3. Permeability changes during pressure cycling are reversible when varying the effective pressure. The difference in permeability enhancement between the sandstone and the granite is related to the larger width of the shear zones.

Fault zones are key features in crystalline geothermal reservoirs or in other subsurface environments due to the fact that they act as main fluid pathways. An adequate experimental description of the evolution of permeability of a realistic microscopic fault zone under in-situ reservoir and fracture parallel flow conditions is required. To address this topic, we demonstrate a novel experimental set up (Punch-Through Shear test) that is able to generate a realistic shear zone (microfault) under in-situ reservoir conditions while simultaneously measuring permeability and dilation. Three samples of intact granite from the Odenwald (Upper Rhine Graben) were placed into a MTS 815 tri-axial compression cell, where a self-designed piston assembly punched down the inner cylinder of the sample creating the desired microfault geometry with a given offset. Permeability was measured and fracture dilation was inferred from an LVDT extensometer chain, as well as the balance of fluid volume flowing in and out of the sample. After fracture generation, the shear displacement was increased to 1.2 mm and pore pressure changes of ± 5 or ± 10 MPa were applied cyclically to simulate injection and production scenarios. Formation of a microfault increased the permeability of the granite rock by 2 to almost 3 orders of magnitude. Further shear displacement led to a small increase in permeability by a factor of 1.1 to 4.0, but permeability was reduced by a factor of 2.5 to 4 within 16 h due to compaction and fault healing. Effective pressure cycling led to reversible permeability changes. CT images showed that the fracture network is rather complex, but depicts all features commonly observed in larger scale fault zones.

It is unclear how the crustal-scale erosional exhumation of continental domains of the Moroccan Atlantic margin and the excessive subsidence of its rifted domains affected the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous post-rift evolution of the margin. To constrain the km-scale exhumation, we study the structural evolution of the Jbel Amsittene. This anticline is located on the coastal plain of the Moroccan Atlantic margin, and is classically considered to have been developed initially in the Late Cretaceous by halokinesis, and by contraction during the Neogene. Contrarily, our structural analysis indicates that the anticline is a fault-propagation fold verging north with Triassic salts at its core and that it formed by shortening shortly after continental breakup of the Central Atlantic. The anticline grew by NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW contraction, as shown by syn-tectonic wedges, regional kinematic indicators and synsedimentary structures in Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous rocks. It grew further and tightened during the Cenozoic, presumably in relation to the Atlas/Alpine contraction. Thus, our data and interpretation suggest that “tectonic-drives-salt” in the anticline early growth, which is coeval with the growth of other anticlines along the Moroccan Atlantic margin and widespread km-scale exhumation farther onshore. Anticline growth due to shortening argues for intraplate far-field stresses potentially linked to the geodynamic evolution of the African, American and European plates.