Fig. 3: Microstructures of the deformed dolerite samples.
From: Coseismic fault sealing and fluid pressurization during earthquakes
a–e Secondary electron images of the slip surface retrieved from an experiment (LHV1103) stopped at 4.5 m of slip at the early stage of the transient weakening. Intense wear and local melting are dominant deformation processes, and result in porous (b: glass-like rods) or dense (d: glass-like films) slip surfaces which may affect permeability and fluid pressure rise in the slip zone. f, g Close-up images of the molten patches or layers developed in large-displacement (10 or 20 m) experiments (f: top view, LHV1058; g: thin-section, LHV968; see their overall textures in Supplementary Fig. S5b, c).
