Complete 40Ar resetting in an ultracataclasite by reactivation of a fossil seismogenic fault along the subducting plate interface in the Mugi Mélange of the Shimanto accretionary complex, southwest Japan

• We used the K–Ar ages of clay-sized mineral grains to investigate the timing of activity on a fossil seismogenic fault of an accretionary complex.
• The K–Ar ages from the host rock range from 85 to 48 Ma, indicating that they record a mixture of authigenic illite and detrital mica.
• The K–Ar ages of an ultracataclasite within the fault core are significantly younger, ranging from 29 to 23 Ma.
• The results indicate that seismogenic faults of accretionary complex may slip, not only during accretion, but also long after accretion.

We used the K–Ar ages of clay-sized mineral grains to investigate the timing of activity on the Minami-Awa Fault, which is a fossil seismogenic fault along a subducting plate interface separating the coherent strata of the Shimanto accretionary complex to the north from the tectonic mélange to the south. The K–Ar ages from the matrix shale of the mélange range from 85 to 48 Ma and decrease with decreasing amount of detrital mica, indicating that they record a mixture of authigenic illite related to burial diagenesis and detrital mica. In contrast, the K–Ar ages of an ultracataclasite within the fault core are significantly younger, ranging from 29 to 23 Ma, and are unrelated to grain size and amount of detrital mica. This indicates that s Ar diffused completely from the ultracataclasite between 29 and 23 Ma, which postdates the formation of authigenic illite by at least several million years. The diffusion of 40Ar in the ultracataclasite was probably caused by frictional heating or high-temperature fluid migration that occurred when the fault was reactivated. The results indicate that seismogenic faults that separate tectonic mélange from coherent strata in accretionary complexes may slip, not only during accretion, but also long after accretion.