Fluids and fluid flow are important parameters in the deformation of accretionary prisms and in the formation of melanges. Stratigraphically controlled fluid pathways are destroyed early in the evolution of accretionary prisms and therefore fault-zone melanges, with their associated fracture permeability, must be important during the long-term fluid loss in accretionary prisms. This study will utilize melange zones in the developing accretionary complex of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. These melanges are currently leaking hydrocarbon rich fluids and include cements and veins that attest to their role as paleo-fluid conduits. Results of various types of data will be applied to the goal of defining the nature and variation of fluid flow and composition, its interrelationship with the structural history, and the affects of both on the thermal evolution of an accretionary complex.
