Because quartz veins are common in fault zones exhumed from earthquake nucleation temperatures (150°C–350°C), quartz cementation may be an important mechanism of strength recovery between earthquakes. This interpretation requires that cementation occurs within a single interseismic period. We review slip-related processes that have been argued to allow rapid quartz precipitation in faults, including: advection of silica-saturated fluids, coseismic pore-fluid pressure drops, frictional heating, dissolution-precipitation creep, precipitation of amorphous phases, and variations in fluid and mineral-surface chemistry. We assess the rate and magnitude of quartz growth that may result from each of the examined mechanisms. We find limitations to the kinetics and mass balance of silica precipitation that emphasize two end-member regimes. First, the mechanisms we explore, given current kinetic constraints, cannot explain mesoscale fault-fracture vein networks developing, even incrementally, on interseismic timescales. On the other hand, some mechanisms appear capable, isolated or in combination, of cementing micrometer-to-millimeter thick principal slip surfaces in days to years. This does not explain extensive vein networks in fault damage zones, but allows the involvement of quartz cements in fault healing. These end-members lead us to hypothesize that high flux scenarios, although more important for voluminous hydrothermal mineralization, may be of subsidiary importance to local, diffusive mass transport in low fluid-flux faults when discussing the mechanical implications of quartz cements. A renewed emphasis on the controls on quartz cementation rates in fault zones will, however, be integral to developing a more complete understanding of strength recovery following earthquake rupture.

中文翻译：

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石英胶结在地震周期中的作用：批判性评论

由于石英脉在从地震成核温度（150°C-350°C）中挖掘出来的断层带中很常见，因此石英胶结可能是地震之间强度恢复的重要机制。这种解释要求胶结作用发生在一个地震间期。我们回顾了与滑动相关的过程，这些过程被认为允许石英在断层中快速沉淀，包括：二氧化硅饱和流体的平流、同震孔隙流体压降、摩擦加热、溶解-沉淀蠕变、无定形相的沉淀以及流体和矿物表面化学。我们评估了每种检查机制可能导致的石英生长的速率和幅度。我们发现二氧化硅沉淀的动力学和质量平衡存在局限性，强调两种末端成员方案。第一的，鉴于目前的动力学限制，我们探索的机制无法解释中尺度断层-裂缝静脉网络在震间时间尺度上的发展，甚至是增量的。另一方面，一些机制似乎能够在几天到几年内单独或组合地粘合微米到毫米厚的主滑动面。这并不能解释断层损伤区的广泛静脉网络，但允许石英胶结物参与断层愈合。这些末端成员使我们假设高通量情景虽然对大量热液矿化更为重要，但在讨论石英胶结物的力学意义时，可能对低流体通量断层中的局部扩散质量传输具有次要重要性。然而，重新强调对断层带石英胶结率的控制将，