Mineralogical Controls on Fracture/Fault Sealing and Fluid Migration through Time
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Exploration Methods and Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 2442
Special Issue Editors
Interests: structural geology; controls of mineral deposits
Interests: geomechanical integrity of overburden; top seals; deformation bands; faults in underground product storage and utilization
Interests: structural geology and hydrodynamics
Special Issue Information
The establishment of the concept of “sealing and non-sealing” structures in the 1960s (Smith, 1966) has boosted the study of fracture and fault systems for half a century. Fracture/fault sealing is now known as a first-order intrinsic process exerting crucial control in all those geological systems in which faults and fractures play a key role in governing fluid flow. Fluid flow through fractures and faults is a dynamic process that requires, in a given deformation context, a duration in time and the occurrence of localized fluid–rock interactions causing mineral reactions that alter the barrier (mineralization) or transmissive (dissolution) behavior of fractures and faults. The evolution of mineral reactions exerts, itself, a strong control in the migration of fluids through time and at multiple scales, occurring in many different geological systems and phenomena, such as evolution from rifts to orogens, genesis of economic mineralization, reservoirs during production or storage of fluids including CO2 or contaminated wastewater, and induced seismicity related to the exploitation of geothermal and non-conventional hydrocarbon resources. However, a complete understanding of fracture and fault sealing controls on fluid migration through time in different geological systems and at different scales is still a matter of intensive and future research.
In this Special Issue, we welcome submissions bringing the latest concepts and methods developed on fracture and fault sealing and its role in fluid migration. We encourage contributions that open up the concept of fracture/fault sealing to broader contexts of application and particularly contributions that focus on the mineralogical controls on fracture and fault sealing. This Special Issue aims not only to update the knowledge on the subject but also to offer suggestions for future research, both fundamental and in accord with actual societal needs.
Dr. Antonio Benedicto
Dr. Richard. A. Schultz
Dr. Christopher Wibberley
Prof. Dr. Janos L. Urai
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- fault seal
- mineral and non-mineral fracture/fault sealing
- fracture diagenesis, reactivation, and sealing processes
- dependence of sealing on lithology, chemistry, mineralogy, pressure, temperature, time
- sealing in contractional, strike-slip, and normal fault systems
- sealing and fluid flow at the scale of sedimentary basins and orogens
- fracture/fault sealing in the genesis of mineral resources
- fracture/fault sealing in geothermal reservoir systems
- fracture/fault sealing in CO2 storage
- induced seismicity and fault sealing
- absolute dating of sealing processes
- modeling validating fracture and fault seal analysis
- modeling of sealing evolution trough time
- flow modeling in sealing fractures and faults through time
