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BURBERRY, C. M., and J. M. PALU. "The influence of the Great Falls Tectonic Zone on the thrust sheet geometry of the southern Sawtooth Range, Montana, USA." Geological Magazine 153, no. 5-6 (June 3, 2016): 845–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756816000431.
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AbstractThe reactivation potential of pre-existing deep-seated structures influences deformation structures produced in subsequent compression. This contribution investigates thrust geometries produced in surface thrust sheets of the Sawtooth Range, Montana, USA, deforming over a previously faulted sedimentary section. Surface thrust fault patterns were picked using existing maps and remote sensing. Thrust location and regional transport direction was also verified in the field. These observations were used to design a series of analogue models, involving deformation of a brittle cover sequence over a lower section with varying numbers of vertical faults. A final model tested the effect of decoupling the upper cover and lower section with a ductile detachment, in a scenario closer to that of the Sawtooth Range. Results demonstrate that complexity in surface thrust sheets can be related to heterogeneity within the lower sedimentary section, even when there is a detachment between this section and the rest of the cover. This complexity is best observed in the map view, as the models do not show the deep-seated faults propagating into the cover. These results were then used to predict specific locations of discrete basement fault strands in the study area, associated with what is generally mapped as the Scapegoat-Bannatyne Trend. The deep-seated faults are more likely to be reactivated as strike-slip features in nature, given the small obliquity between the ENE-directed compression direction and the NE-oriented basement faults. More generally, these results can be used to govern evaluation of thrust belts deforming over faulted basement, and to predict the locations of specific fault strands in a region where this information is unknown.
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Cape, C. D., R. M. O'Connor, J. M. Ravens, and D. J. Woodward. "Seismic expression of shallow structures in active tectonic settings in New Zealand." Exploration Geophysics 20, no. 2 (1989): 287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/eg989287.
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Late Cenozoic deformation along the Australian/Pacific plate boundary is seen in onshore New Zealand as zones characterised by extension- or transcurrent- or contraction-related structures. High-resolution multichannel seismic reflection data were acquired in several of these tectonic zones and successfully reveal the shallow structures within them. Thirty kilometres of dynamite reflection data in the Rangitaiki Plains, eastern Bay of Plenty, define a series of NE-trending normal faults within this extensional back-arc volcanic region. The data cross surface ruptures activated during the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake. In the southern North Island, a 20 km Mini-Sosie? seismic profile details the Quaternary sedimentation history and reveals the structure of the active strike-slip and thrust fault systems that form the western and eastern edges of the Wairarapa basin, respectively. This basin is considered to sit astride the boundary between a zone of distributed strike-slip faults and an active accretionary prism. In the Nelson area, northwestern South Island, previously unrecognised low-angle thrust faults of Neogene or Quaternary age are seen from Mini-Sosie data to occur at very shallow depths. Crustal shortening here was previously thought to arise from movement on high-angle reverse faults, and the identification of these low-angle faults has prompted a reassessment of that model. A grid of 18 km of Mini-Sosie seismic data from the central eastern South Island delineates Neogene or Quaternary thrust faults in Cenozoic sediments. The thrusts are interpreted as reactivated Early Eocene normal faults, and the thrust fault geometry is dominated by these older structures.
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Cheng, Feng, Andrew V. Zuza, Peter J. Haproff, Chen Wu, Christina Neudorf, Hong Chang, Xiangzhong Li, and Bing Li. "Accommodation of India–Asia convergence via strike-slip faulting and block rotation in the Qilian Shan fold–thrust belt, northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau." Journal of the Geological Society 178, no. 3 (January 29, 2021): jgs2020–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-207.
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Existing models of intracontinental deformation have focused on plate-like rigid body motion v. viscous-flow-like distributed deformation. To elucidate how plate convergence is accommodated by intracontinental strike-slip faulting and block rotation within a fold–thrust belt, we examine the Cenozoic structural framework of the central Qilian Shan of northeastern Tibet, where the NW-striking, right-slip Elashan and Riyueshan faults terminate at the WNW-striking, left-slip Haiyuan and Kunlun faults. Field- and satellite-based observations of discrete right-slip fault segments, releasing bends, horsetail termination splays and off-fault normal faulting suggest that the right-slip faults accommodate block rotation and distributed west–east crustal stretching between the Haiyuan and Kunlun faults. Luminescence dating of offset terrace risers along the Riyueshan fault yields a Quaternary slip rate of c. 1.1 mm a−1, which is similar to previous estimates. By integrating our results with regional deformation constraints, we propose that the pattern of Cenozoic deformation in northeastern Tibet is compatible with west–east crustal stretching/lateral displacement, non-rigid off-fault deformation and broad clockwise rotation and bookshelf faulting, which together accommodate NE–SW India–Asia convergence. In this model, the faults represent strain localization that approximates continuum deformation during regional clockwise lithospheric flow against the rigid Eurasian continent.Supplementary material: Luminescence dating procedures and protocols is available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/CR9MNThematic collection: This article is part of the Fold-and-thrust belts and associated basins collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/fold-and-thrust-belts
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Levy, Y., T. K. Rockwell, J. H. Shaw, A. Plesch, N. W. Driscoll, and H. Perea. "Structural modeling of the Western Transverse Ranges: An imbricated thrust ramp architecture." Lithosphere 11, no. 6 (November 4, 2019): 868–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/l1124.1.
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Abstract Active fold-and-thrust belts can potentially accommodate large-magnitude earthquakes, so understanding the structure in such regions has both societal and scientific importance. Recent studies have provided evidence for large earthquakes in the Western Transverse Ranges of California, USA. However, the diverse set of conflicting structural models for this region highlights the lack of understanding of the subsurface geometry of faults. A more robust structural model is required to assess the seismic hazard of the Western Transverse Ranges. Toward this goal, we developed a forward structural model using Trishear in MOVE® to match the first-order structure of the Western Transverse Ranges, as inferred from surface geology, subsurface well control, and seismic stratigraphy. We incorporated the full range of geologic observations, including vertical motions from uplifted fluvial and marine terraces, as constraints on our kinematic forward modeling. Using fault-related folding methods, we predicted the geometry and sense of slip of the major faults at depth, and we used these structures to model the evolution of the Western Transverse Ranges since the late Pliocene. The model predictions are in good agreement with the observed geology. Our results suggest that the Western Transverse Ranges comprises a southward-verging imbricate thrust system, with the dominant faults dipping as a ramp to the north and steepening as they shoal from ∼16°–30° at depth to ∼45°–60° near the surface. We estimate ∼21 km of total shortening since the Pliocene in the eastern part of the region, and a decrease of total shortening west of Santa Barbara down to 7 km near Point Conception. The potential surface area of the inferred deep thrust ramp is up to 6000 km2, which is of sufficient size to host the large earthquakes inferred from paleoseismic studies in this region.
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Minguely, Bruno, Olivier Averbuch, Marie Patin, David Rolin, Franck Hanot, and Francoise Bergerat. "Inversion tectonics at the northern margin of the Paris basin (northern France): new evidence from seismic profiles and boreholes interpolation in the Artois area." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 181, no. 5 (September 1, 2010): 429–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.181.5.429.
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AbstractA synthesis of existing borehole data and seismic profiles has been conducted in the Artois area (northern France), along the northern border of the Paris basin, in order to explore the possible control exerted at depth by the Upper Carboniferous Variscan thrust front on the distribution of Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic depositional centers and their subsequent uplift in Tertiary times. Such control was demonstrated recently in the Weald-Boulonnais basin (Eastern Channel area) that forms the western prolongation of the area under study but was so far poorly constrained in the Artois area. Presented data provide evidence for the topography of the Artois hills and the altitude of sedimentary layers to be controlled by the activity of a network of relaying WNW-ESE striking faults inducing the systematic uplift of the southern fault blocks. Those steeply S-dipping faults branch downward onto the ramp of the Variscan thrusts forming listric faults that locally limit to the north buried half-graben structures, filled with fan-shaped fluviatile Stephanian-Permian deposits. Such clear syn-rift geometry shows that the ramp of the main Variscan frontal thrust (the Midi thrust) has been reactivated as a normal fault in Stephanian-Permian times thus forming a very demonstrative example of a negative inversion process. The reverse offset of the transgressive Middle Cretaceous-Lower Eocene layers covering unconformably the Paleozoic substratum argue for a Tertiary (Middle Eocene-Late Oligocene?) contractional reactivation of the fault network thereby documenting a repeated inversion process along the Artois Variscan thrust front. The Variscan frontal thrust zone is thus shown here to represent a prominent crustal-scale mechanical discontinuity that localized deformation in the Artois-Boulonnais area since Upper Paleozoic times.
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Hervouet, Yves, Jose Tomass Castrillo-Delgado, and Oscar Odreman. "Interaction entre un chevauchement imbrique et une zone transcurrente; le flanc nord-ouest de Andes venezueliennes." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 172, no. 2 (March 1, 2001): 159–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/172.2.159.
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Abstract Geological framework; Geological setting: The Venezuela Andes or Merida Andes (fig. 1) extend from the Colombian border in the SW to Barquisimeto in the NE, and constitute a basement uplift exceeding 5,000 m near Merida (Pico Bolivar). This young chain is bordered to the W by the Maracaibo foredeep basin, and to the E by the Barinas-Apure foreland basin. The Bocono fault divides the Andean Belt in two parts along a NE-SW direction. This shows that the uplift of the Andes is contemporaneous with an oblique translation. In the study area, located on the northwestern flank near Maracaibo basin, three major structures are present: in the E, the N-S senestral strike slip Valera-Rio Momboy fault, in the S the E-W dextral strike slip Pinango fault and, in the center, the SW-NE striking Las Virtudes thrust verging toward NW. Lithologic and stratigraphic formations (fig. 4): The Las Virtudes Fault separates two different structural zones. In the SE, overthrust units are made of crystalline basement, Paleozoic substratum and preorogenic sedimentary formations (Cretaceous-Eocene). The foredeep flexural basin, located NW, is filled by synorogenic molasses (Neogene and Quaternary), largely developed within the Betijoque Fm. (Upper Miocene to Pliocene in age) which reaches a thickness of 5000 m. Structure of the northwestern Andean flank; Las Virtudes Fault and its thrust slice zone: Near Las Virtudes village (fig. 5, 6-2), this thrust is systematically associated with a narrow overturned foredeep depobelt (Cretaceous to Neogene in age). These slices are unknown elsewhere in the Andean Chain and represent the terminal faulted part of the thrust drag. However, where this slice zone is missing (central and northeastern part of the study area), the Las Virtudes Fault is not clearly documented: its throw decreases rapidly and it is possible that the fault disappears northeastward. Andean unit: Near the main strike slip faults, NE trending SE verging reverse faults develop (fig. 6-5). In central and northeastern parts, the throw of the reverse faults increases toward the Valera Fault. It seems that reverse faults are horsetail of this major strike slip fault (fig. 5). Internal part of the northwestern Andean foredeep basin: The foredeep sedimentary formations generally dip toward the NW. Associated to the lack of some formations, tilted anticlines toward the SE are observed (fig. 6-3 and 6-7), and indicate the vicinity of decollement levels in the foredeep, located in Luna-Colon, Pauji and Betijoque Fm.. Seismic profiles show (fig. 7) that the major decollement level of the foredeep is located in La Luna and Colon Fms. [Audemard, 1991; De Toni and Kellogg, 1993; Colletta et al., 1997]. Crustal architecture and timing of the deformation: Several stages can be distinguished in the building of the Andes. Development of an intracutaneous thrust wedge: The first effects of the Andean phase during Miocene are the development of an intracutaneous thrust wedge [Price, 1986]. The lower flat is located in the basement and the upper one in Cretaceous formations. The transport direction is NW. The foredeep develops on the forelimb of this structure and collects detrital products coming from erosion of the first (oldest) reliefs. Decollements in the foredeep basin could be contemporaneous with this major overthrust. Their origin could be due to radius of curvature differences within the thick sedimentary formations (fig. 8). Las Virtudes Fault and backthrusting: Las Virtudes Fault is one of the last events of this part of the Andean Belt. During Plio-Pleistocene, the continental crust breaks with a dip of 35 degrees SE. The Andean unit overthrusts the foredeep basin. Some of the foredeep decollements could still be active and form, together with Andean basement, a triangle zone. Las Virtudes Fault throw reaches 5 km between Las Virtudes and Monte Carmelo villages (fig. 8A). It decreases southwestwards and the back thrusts are probably younger. Northeastwards the throw decreases and eventually disappears (fig. 8B). In the same time the back thrust throws increase. Both seem to be contemporaneous. Conclusions: This structural model explains the basement occurrence in front of the Las Virtudes Fault on seismic profiles and allows to restore correctly the different northwestern flank structures of the Venezuela Andes. These structures can be explained by the conjugate movements of a NW verging intracutaneous thrust wedge and strike slip faults which create a SE verging triangular area (fig. 5). The Andean overthrust is transferred in the Falcon zone along the Valera fault. In the northeastern part of the Maracaibo block, the Valera and Bocono strike slip faults limit the Trujillo block (fig. 10) which moves towards the North during Neogene and Quaternary times.
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Yaseen, Muhammad, Muhammad Shahab, Zeeshan Ahmad, Rehman Khan, Syed Farhan Ali Shah, and Abbas Ali Naseem. "Insights into the structure and surface geology of balanced and retrodeformed geological cross sections from the Nizampur basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan." Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology 11, no. 6 (May 9, 2021): 2561–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13202-021-01180-8.
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AbstractThe current research work is an attempt to apply the basic geological procedures, methods of geological mapping, surface and subsurface interpretation and restoration of balanced and retrodeformed cross sections from the Nizampur basin, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The work also includes the documentation of several surface structural features, i.e., anticlines, synclines and different types of folds and faults exposed in the vicinity of study area. Four central thrust faults were recognized named as Kahi Thrusts along the cross sections. These thrust faults carried the older sequences of rocks over the younger sequences in different portion along the measured cross section. The folded and faulted rocks in the area show that stratigraphic framework comprises of Eocene, Paleocene, Cretaceous and Jurassic succession of rocks. There are Eocene rocks existing in the extreme South of the mapped area with addition of older Cretaceous and Jurassic succession and contains simple and large-scale folds, faults and back thrust. Two structural transect were mapped which encounter different folds and faults, i.e., X-sections AB oriented NS and CD oriented NE-SW. Restoration of the structural transects was calculated and assumed that at the formation of Main Boundary Thrust, the study area was exposed to the tectonic forces which prognosticated 19.5% shortening in rock sequences from Jurassic to Eocene succession along the measured cross section A_B.
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Fagereng, Å., H. M. Savage, J. K. Morgan, M. Wang, F. Meneghini, P. M. Barnes, R. Bell, et al. "Mixed deformation styles observed on a shallow subduction thrust, Hikurangi margin, New Zealand." Geology 47, no. 9 (July 16, 2019): 872–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/g46367.1.
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Abstract Geophysical observations show spatial and temporal variations in fault slip style on shallow subduction thrust faults, but geological signatures and underlying deformation processes remain poorly understood. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expeditions 372 and 375 investigated New Zealand’s Hikurangi margin in a region that has experienced both tsunami earthquakes and repeated slow-slip events. We report direct observations from cores that sampled the active Pāpaku splay fault at 304 m below the seafloor. This fault roots into the plate interface and comprises an 18-m-thick main fault underlain by ∼30 m of less intensely deformed footwall and an ∼10-m-thick subsidiary fault above undeformed footwall. Fault zone structures include breccias, folds, and asymmetric clasts within transposed and/or dismembered, relatively homogeneous, silty hemipelagic sediments. The data demonstrate that the fault has experienced both ductile and brittle deformation. This structural variation indicates that a range of local slip speeds can occur along shallow faults, and they are controlled by temporal, potentially far-field, changes in strain rate or effective stress.
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Koukouvelas, I., G. Pe-Piper, and D. J. W. Piper. "Pluton emplacement by wall-rock thrusting, hanging-wall translation and extensional collapse: latest Devonian plutons of the Cobequid fault zone, Nova Scotia, Canada." Geological Magazine 133, no. 3 (May 1996): 285–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s001675680000902x.
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AbstractLatest Devonian A-type granite-gabbro plutons, in part ductilely deformed, are spatially associated with the strike-slip Cobequid fault zone. The youngest intrusions are close to the Cobequid fault zone, which was the main conduit for magma. Two phases of deformation accompanying magma emplacement are recognized. Early magmas intruded ductile rocks during left-lateral oblique thrust movements. A second stage of right-lateral oblique slip normal faulting accommodated uplift of the plutons when coarse granite was emplaced in the crestal regions. Cross-cutting late stage porphyries, granitic clasts in marginal basins cut by granitic dykes, and superposition of brittle on ductile structures all indicate rapid uplift of the plutons. The geometry of the Cobequid fault zone shows that pluton emplacement was not the result of extension in releasing bends during transcurrent shear. Rather, flower-structure high-angle faults acted as magma conduits and space was created by two processes: translation of wall rocks along thrust faults at depth, developing space away from the master fault zone and backward collapse of the uplifted magma chamber creating space towards the fault zone.
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Reicherter, K. R., and S. Reiss. "The Carboneras Fault Zone (southeastern Spain) revisited with Ground Penetrating Radar – Quaternary structural styles from high-resolution images." Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 80, no. 3-4 (December 2001): 129–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016774600023799.
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AbstractThe Carboneras Fault Zone (CFZ) represents an active set of sinistral strike-slip faults in the Betic Cordilleras of southeastern Spain. It constitutes a major segment of the ‘Trans-Alboran shear zone’ during the Cenozoic, striking NE-SW. The CFZ separates the Cabo de Gata Block (Neogene volcanics) against Neogene basinal sediments and the metamorphic basement of the Alpujarride Complex.Three sites along the CFZ were examined with Ground Penetrating Radar techniques. Radar surveying was complemented by structural studies. Shallow-depth high-resolution imaging of Tyrrhenian beach terraces exhibited both vertical and minor horizontal offsets in the Rambla Morales site in the south. A sinistral strike-slip fault associated with minor thrust faults in a positive flower structure was detected in the middle segment along the La Serrata ridge, sealed by a caliche of late Pleistocene age (> 10 ka). The Playa de Bolmayor section yielded sub-surface evidence for several faults probably related to recent activity of individual fault strands. Our results suggest a distributed tectonic activity of the CFZ during the Late Quaternary.
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Delteil, Jean, Jean-François Stephan, and Mikaël Attal. "Control of Permian and Triassic faults on Alpine basement deformation in the Argentera massif (external southern French Alps)." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 174, no. 5 (September 1, 2003): 481–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/174.5.481.
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Abstract Structural investigations reveal intense and heterogeneous deformation of the sedimentary cover attached to the basement complex of the southern Argentera and Barrot massifs (southernmost External Basement Massifs of the French Alps). Permian and early Triassic syn-depositional extensional tectonics imparted a tilted block pattern to the massifs. An early Miocene first stage of Alpine compression caused pervasive cleavage. This cleavage was controlled by the former pre-existing faults but is nevertheless consistent with NNE contraction. Where regional shortening is orthogonal to the trend of pre-existing faults the pervasive deformation produced either irrotational compressional strain (where no fault inversion occurred), or rotational compressional strain involving syn-cleavage shearing (where faults with favorable paleo-dip were inverted). Where the shortening direction is oblique to the paleo-fault trends, a component of strike-slip movement may locally prevail. A 22 %, N020o directed horizontal shortening, of 11 km, has been calculated based on deformed sedimentary markers in the Permian series and parallel folds in Lower Triassic quartzite. A shallower deformation as brittle reverse faults postdates the cleavage at the southwestern tip of the Argentera Massif and accounts for 4 km of extra shortening. Both types of deformation are connected at depth to a crustal blind thrust system and the Argentera Massif is over-thrust to the south-southwest. The observed strain indicates the Argentera Massif area underwent, from earliest Miocene to Present, a NNE to N rotating compression at distance from the left-lateral southwestern boundary of the Adria block.
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Aagaard, Brad T., John F. Hall, and Thomas H. Heaton. "Characterization of Near-Source Ground Motions with Earthquake Simulations." Earthquake Spectra 17, no. 2 (May 2001): 177–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1193/1.1586171.
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We examine the characteristics of long-period near-source ground motions by conducting a sensitivity study with variations in six earthquake source parameters for both a strike-slip fault ( M 7.0-7.1) and a thrust fault ( M 6.6-7.0). The directivity of the ruptures creates large displacement and velocity pulses in the forward direction. The dynamic displacements close to the fault are comparable to the average slip. The ground motions exhibit the greatest sensitivity to the fault depth with moderate sensitivity to the rupture speed, peak slip rate, and average slip. For strike-slip faults and thrust faults with surface rupture, the maximum ground displacements and velocities occur in the region where the near-source factor from the 1997 Uniform Building Code is the largest. However, for a buried thrust fault the peak ground motions can occur up-dip from this region.
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Shipilin, Vladimir, David C. Tanner, Hartwig von Hartmann, and Inga Moeck. "Multiphase, decoupled faulting in the southern German Molasse Basin – evidence from 3-D seismic data." Solid Earth 11, no. 6 (November 16, 2020): 2097–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2097-2020.
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Abstract. We use three-dimensional seismic reflection data from the southern German Molasse Basin to investigate the structural style and evolution of a geometrically decoupled fault network in close proximity to the Alpine deformation front. We recognise two fault arrays that are vertically separated by a clay-rich layer – lower normal faults and upper normal and reverse faults. A frontal thrust fault partially overprints the upper fault array. Analysis of seismic stratigraphy, syn-kinematic strata, throw distribution, and spatial relationships between faults suggest a multiphase fault evolution: (1) initiation of the lower normal faults in the Upper Jurassic carbonate platform during the early Oligocene, (2) development of the upper normal faults in the Cenozoic sediments during the late Oligocene, and (3) reverse reactivation of the upper normal faults and thrusting during the mid-Miocene. These distinct phases document the evolution of the stress field as the Alpine orogen propagated across the foreland. We postulate that interplay between the horizontal compression and vertical stresses due to the syn-sedimentary loading resulted in the intermittent normal faulting. The vertical stress gradients within the flexed foredeep defined the independent development of the upper faults above the lower faults, whereas mechanical behaviour of the clay-rich layer precluded the subsequent linkage of the fault arrays. The thrust fault must have been facilitated by the reverse reactivation of the upper normal faults, as its maximum displacement and extent correlate with the occurrence of these faults. We conclude that the evolving tectonic stresses were the primary mechanism of fault activation, whereas the mechanical stratigraphy and pre-existing structures locally governed the structural style.
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Sterne, Edward J. "Structure and genesis of the Boulder-Weld allochthon, Denver Basin, Colorado - Gravity slide or Laramide thrust sheet?" Mountain Geologist 57, no. 3 (July 1, 2020): 271–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.31582/rmag.mg.57.3.271.
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This study was undertaken to determine the structure and genesis of the Boulder-Weld allochthon (BWA), the 216 mi2 (559 km2) remnant of a once larger feature, that moved east from the flank of the Front Range into the western part of the Denver Basin. This review of surface and subsurface data revealed new aspects of the BWA, especially in its western part. There, the decollement of the BWA ramps 900 feet up-section to the east from a near bedding-parallel detachment low in the upper transition member of the Pierre Shale to a bedding-parallel detachment near the base of the Fox Hills Formation. Repeated sections found in wells east of the decollement ramp demonstrate up to two miles of translation in the system. Secondary faults in the hanging wall of the allochthon include antithetic thrusts bounding pop-up structures and occasional normal faults that almost exclusively overprint the decollement ramp. The hanging wall is also cut by a postulated tear fault separating areas exhibiting different amounts of translation. The western, trailing edge of the decollement shows attenuation in its hanging wall that increases to the west. This part of the decollement either represents a very low-angle breakaway normal fault or a thrust fault cutting slightly down-section in the direction of transport. Past studies perceived a southeast transport direction for the BWA in contrast to the northeast slip directions on nearby Laramide thrusts, a difference used to interpret the allochthon as a gravity slide. However, similar east-west oriented slickenlines on thrusts across the western part of the allochthon and into the neighboring Front Range leave open the possibility the BWA originated as a Laramide thrust sheet. Furthermore, both the BWA and Laramide thrusts in the neighboring Front Range utilized detachments near the top of the Pierre Shale, suggesting a possible common genesis. Given the available data, both the gravity slide and Laramide thrust models provide viable explanations for the BWA.
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Gestain, Vincent, Thierry Nalpas, Delphine Rouby, and Laurie Barrier. "Role of synkinematic ductile levels on the evolution of compressive zones – analogue modelling." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 175, no. 4 (July 1, 2004): 351–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/175.4.351.
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Abstract In foldbelt faults, layers with ductile behaviour can form levels of décollement [Byerlee, 1978]. When these levels are prekinematic, they play a significant role in the genesis, evolution and final geometry of the foldbelt faults, as, for example in the Appalachian Mountains [Davis and Engelder, 1985], the Jura [Sommaruga, 1999], or the Pyrenees [Vergés et al., 1992]. Previous studies based on analogue modelling have shown how a prekinematic décollement level can influence the geometry of foldbelt faults and structures [Ballard, 1989; Colletta et al., 1991; Letouzey et al., 1995; Merle et Abidi, 1995]. However, no study has yet described the influence of synkinematic sedimentation of incompetent levels on the genesis and evolution of compressive structures. The laboratory experiments presented here are designed to explore some of the mechanisms of formation of synsedimentary thrust faults, in relation with the occurrence of a décollement layer during syntectonic sedimentation. Analogue modelling – Experimental procedure The models presented here were designed to simulate geological situations comparable to those observed on the border of an overthrust belt. The modelling techniques are similar to those usually applied in experiments on brittle-ductile systems at the Laboratory of Experimental Tectonics of the Geosciences department (Rennes University), and have been fully described in previous studies [e.g. Faugère and Brun, 1984; Vendeville et al., 1987; Davy and Cobbold, 1991]. The prekinematic and synkinematic brittle levels are represented by sand, while the prekinematic and synkinematic ductile levels are represented by silicone. The experimental apparatus is composed of a fixed and rigid basal plate over which a thin mobile plate is pushed at a constant rate. During shortening (of 5 cm), brittle sedimentation is simulated by sprinkling fresh sand onto the model, and ductile sedimentation is simulated by the deposition of a thin silicone plate onto the model. Photographs of the model surface are taken at regular time intervals to study the development of the structures. The internal structure is recorded from serial cross-sections cut after the experiments. The parameters tested are the sedimentation rate [see also Tondji Biyo, 1995; Nalpas et al., 1999; Barrier et al., 2002], and the presence and location of a synkinematic décollement layer. The sedimentation is homogeneously distributed on both sides of the relief developed above the thrust front, with a variable ratio R between the rate of sedimentation (vsed) and the rate of uplift (vup), with R taking the values (1) R = vsed/vup = 1/2, (2) R = 1 and (3) R = 2 [Barrier et al., 2002]. The décollement level is deposited at the beginning of sedimentation, either over the whole model or in front of the thrust throughout sedimentation. Results In all models, the progressive shortening is accommodated by two conjugate reverse faults. The major fault is antithetic to the displacement of the mobile wall. The synthetic fault is transitory [Ballard, 1989; Tondji Biyo, 1995]. In experiments without ductile sedimentation, the main thrust zone shows an increasing dip with each depositional increment [Barrier et al., 2002]. When the ductile level is deposited, (1) the dip of the main thrust decreases as it reaches the silicone, (2) a wedge of sand then penetrates the silicone forming a detachment, and (3) this wedge is abandoned and the main thrust fault cuts through the wedge, allowing the fault to propagate upward. At low sedimentation rate, the final geometry shows a major reverse fault made up of a ramp in the prekinematic sand and a flat in the synkinematic silicone. At high sedimentation rate, the major reverse fault is made up of a ramp in the prekinematic sand and a flat in the synkinematic silicone forming a distinctive wedge of sand and a prolongation of the ramp rear the sand wedge. The presence of a synkinematic ductile level in the model at the beginning of shortening favours decoupling between the prekinematic and the synkinematic sand: the faults in the prekinematic sand are not directly connected to the faults in the synkinematic sand. In addition, the deformation of the sand is different according to whether it is underneath or above the synkinematic ductile level. The prekinematic or synkinematic sand under the synkinematic ductile level is undeformed, whereas the synkinematic sand overlying the synkinematic ductile level is folded. Discussion In the presence of a ductile level, the reverse fault forms a flat in the silicone. The silicone leads to different behaviours of the fault and the synkinematic sand. This raises the question of how to identify synkinematic deposits in compressive basins. In most cases, only the geometry of the strata is used: if progressive unconformity is observed, the strata are synkinematic (growth strata), if not, the strata are deposited before or after the deformation. However, the evolution of growth-strata geometry is also related to the rheology of the rocks. Since geometrical criteria are insufficient, it is also necessary to take account of facies variations. Conclusions The presence of a synkinematic ductile level results in the development of a low angle thrust. The presence of synkinematic ductile levels facilitates deformation and the development of progressive unconformity in growth strata. Synkinematic sediments with brittle behaviour, deposited in front of a thrust fault, cannot develop a progressive unconformity. The absence of a progressive unconformity does not necessarily rule out a formation being synkinematic.
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Keller, J. V. A., and M. P. Coward. "The structure and evolution of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea." Geological Magazine 133, no. 1 (January 1996): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756800007214.
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AbstractField studies on the island of Elba and seismic lines from the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, indicate that major extensional displacements were accommodated along east-dipping low-angle detachment faults. The rifting and subsidence in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea basin have followed convergence and collision of the Corso-Sardinian block and the Apulian microplate. This collisional episode produced the Northern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt. Major extensional faults cut down-section through the stratigraphy and pre-existing west-dipping thrust faults. West-dipping thrusts can also be reactivated and form antithetic faults to the east-dipping detachments. Brittle deformation conditions predominated during the extensional phase. The geometry, internal structure and the fabrics (brittle and penetrative) associated with a well-exposed low-angle extensional detachment in Elba are presented in this paper. A geometrical model for the brittle extensional faulting is presented in which regional extension was accommodated on a system consisting of two sets of simultaneously active antithetic faults. The east-dipping detachment faults appear to have started at steeper angles, based on field and seismic observations, and rotated counter-clockwise to lower dips. Due to this rotation, and for space accommodation, antithetic west-dipping faults formed and rotated clockwise. A tectonic model is proposed whereby slowing of the convergence between Apulia and Corsica, as well as Tethys oceanic crust and Apulian crust subduction, led to the delamination of the Apulian litho-spheric mantle away from the crust. Accompanying asthenospheric upwelling and intrusion at the crust—mantle interface beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea caused late orogenic crustal stretching in the Northern Apennines internal zone.
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White, Shawna E., and John W. F. Waldron. "Inversion of Taconian extensional structures during Paleozoic orogenesis in western Newfoundland." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 470, no. 1 (June 6, 2018): 311–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/sp470.17.
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AbstractWest Newfoundland was critical in developing the Wilson Cycle concept. Neoproterozoic rifting established a passive margin adjacent to the Iapetus Ocean. Ordovician (Taconian) arc–continent collision emplaced ophiolites and the thin-skinned Humber Arm Allochthon. Subsequent Devonian (Acadian) ocean closure produced basement-cutting thrust faults that control the present-day distribution of units. New mapping, and aeromagnetic and seismic interpretation, around Parsons Pond enabled the recognition of structures in poorly exposed areas.Following Cambrian to Middle Ordovician passive-margin deposition, Taconian deformation produced a flexural bulge unconformity. Subsequent extensional faults shed localized conglomerate into the foreland basin. The Humber Arm Allochthon contains a series of stacked and folded duplexes, typical of thrust belts. To the east, the Parsons Pond Thrust has transported shelf and foreland-basin units c. 8 km westwards above the allochthon. The Long Range Thrust shows major topographical expression but <1 km offset. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that most thrusts originated as normal faults, active during Neoproterozoic rifting, and subsequently during Taconian flexure. Devonian continental collision inverted the Parsons Pond and Long Range thrusts. Basement-cored fault-propagation folds in Newfoundland are structurally analogous to basement uplifts in other orogens, including the Laramide Orogen in western USA. Similar deep-seated inversion structures may extend through the northern Appalachians.
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Wennberg, Ole Petter, Arild Andresen, Sigurd Hansen, and Steffen G. Bergh. "Structural evolution of a frontal ramp section of the West Spitsbergen, Tertiary fold and thrust belt, north of Isfjorden, Spitsbergen." Geological Magazine 131, no. 1 (January 1994): 67–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756800010505.
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AbstractThe geometry and kinematic evolution of a frontal ramp section associated with the Tertiary West Spitsbergen Orogenic Belt has been investigated in a small area (Lappdalen) north of Isfjorden. The previously recognized thrust front corresponds to a complex step or ramp in the position of the sole-thrust in the area. The sole-thrust is localized to the evaporites of the Permian Gipshuken Formation to the west of the footwall ramp, whereas to the east it continues as a bedding-parallel thrust in Triassic shales (Sassendalen Group). The area to the west of the footwall ramp is characterized by large scale thrusts and folds involving the Permian Gipshuken and Kapp Starostin formations and the lower part of the Triassic Sassendalen Group. East of the footwall ramp both Permian and Triassic strata are sub-horizontal and apparently undeformed. Three major thrust sheets are recognized. Based on the geometric relationship between folds and faults in the area, both fault-bend and fault-propogation mechanisms of folding are inferred. Restoration of the Kapp Starostin Formation to its pre-deformational state indicates a minimum of 35% shortening. Structural observations within the Sassendalen Group in the study area and on Dickson Land suggest that some of this shortening is transmitted eastwards along one or more bedding parallel thrusts in the Sassendalen Group.
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Bessen, Ryan, Jennifer Gifford, Zack Ledbetter, Sean McGuire, Kyle True, and David Malone. "Geologic Map of the Park Reservoir Quadrangle, Sheridan County, Wyoming." Mountain Geologist 57, no. 4 (October 28, 2020): 375–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.31582/rmag.mg.57.4.375.
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This project involved the construction of a detailed geologic map of the Park Reservoir, Wyoming 7.5-Minute Quadrangle (Scale 1:24,000). The Quadrangle occurs entirely in the Bighorn National Forest, which is a popular recreation site for thousands of people each year. This research advances the scientific understanding of the geology of the Bighorn Mountains and the Archean geology of the Wyoming Province. Traditional geologic mapping techniques were used in concert with isotopic age determinations. Our goal was to further subdivide the various phases of the 2.8–3.0 Ga Archean rocks based on their rock types, age, and structural features. This research supports the broader efforts of the Wyoming State Geological Survey to complete 1:24,000 scale geologic maps of the state. The northern part of the Bighorn Mountains is composed of the Bighorn batholith, a composite complex of intrusive bodies that were emplaced between 2.96–2.87 Ga. Our mapping of the Park Reservoir Quadrangle has revealed the presence of five different Archean quartzofeldspathic units, two sets of amphibolite and diabase dikes, a small occurrence of the Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, two Quaternary tills, and Quaternary alluvium. The Archean rock units range in age from ca. 2.96–2.75 Ga, the oldest of which are the most ancient rocks yet reported in the Bighorn batholith. All the Archean rocks have subtle but apparent planar fabric elements, which are variable in orientation and are interpreted to represent magmatic flow during emplacement. The Granite Ridge tear fault, which is the northern boundary of the Piney Creek thrust block, is mapped into the Archean core as a mylonite zone. This relationship indicates that the bounding faults of the Piney Creek thrust block were controlled by weak zones within the Precambrian basement rocks.
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Andreani, Louis, Nicolas Loget, Claude Rangin, and Xavier Le Pichon. "Reply to the comments of Jean Philip on the paper entitled." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 184, no. 3 (March 1, 2013): 279–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.184.3.279.
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AbstractWe reply to the comments of J. Philip regarding the structure of La Nerthe range (southern Provence, France) and the timing of the deformation. We first agree with J. Philip on the structural independence of La Nerthe and L’Etoile ranges. We then discuss the allochthonous and autochthonous models. The allochthonous model mainly relies on a reactivation of a N-verging thrust during the Oligocene. There are no evidences for a Middle Rupelian thrusting event and the interpretation of the Oligocene series in southern Provence area was entirely revised. J. Philip’s argumentation is solely based on the existence of steep dipping Rupelian limestones. However we demonstrate that they could be tilted along normal faults as it is the case in the Marseille basin. Recent works clearly show that the Oligocene Marseille and Saint-Pierre basins have a similar tectonic history resulting from two main extensional events. The last point debated by J. Philip is the age of the strike-slip faults. As it is pointed in our contribution the strike-slip fault planes cut folded strata and were reactivated during an extensional event. This strike-slip faulting event occurred between the latest stages of the main Bartonian compressional event and the beginning of the Early Rupelian extensional tectonics. As pointed by J. Philip the E-trending faults of Saint-Pierre basin acted as normal faults during the Oligocene. We however suggest that these faults were inherited from the Late Eocene strike-slip tectonics and reactivated during the Oligocene.
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Stockmal, Glen S., Art Slingsby, and John W. F. Waldron. "Basement-involved inversion at the Appalachian structural front, western Newfoundland: an interpretation of seismic reflection data with implications for petroleum prospectivity." Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 52, no. 3 (September 1, 2004): 215–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/52.3.215.
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Abstract Recent hydrocarbon exploration in western Newfoundland has resulted in six new wells in the Port au Port Peninsula area. Port au Port No.1, drilled in 1994/95, penetrated the Cambro-Ordovician platform and underlying Grenville basement in the hanging wall of the southeast-dipping Round Head Thrust, terminated in the platform succession in the footwall of this basement-involved inversion structure, and discovered the Garden Hill petroleum pool. The most recent well, Shoal Point K-39, was drilled in 1999 to test a model in which the Round Head Thrust loses reverse displacement to the northeast, eventually becoming a normal fault. This model hinged on an interpretation of a seismic reflection survey acquired in 1996 in Port au Port Bay. This survey is now in the public domain. In our interpretation of these data, the Round Head Thrust is associated with another basement-involved feature, the northwest-dipping Piccadilly Bay Fault, which is mapped on Port au Port Peninsula. Active as normal faults in the Taconian foreland, both these faults were later inverted during Acadian orogenesis. The present reverse offset on the Piccadilly Bay Fault was previously interpreted as normal offset on the southeast-dipping Round Head Thrust. Our new interpretation is consistent with mapping on Port au Port Peninsula and north of Stephenville, where all basement-involved faults are inverted and display reverse senses of motion. It also explains spatially restricted, enigmatic reflections adjacent to the faults as carbonate conglomerates of the Cape Cormorant Formation or Daniel’s Harbour Member, units associated with inverted thick-skinned faults. The K-39 well, which targeted the footwall of the Round Head Thrust, actually penetrated the hanging wall of the Piccadilly Bay Fault. This distinction is important because the reservoir model invoked for this play involved preferential karstification and subsequent dolomitization in the footwalls of inverted thick-skinned faults. The apparent magnitude of structural inversion across the Piccadilly Bay Fault suggests other possible structural plays to the northeast of K-39.
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El Ghali, Abdessalem, Claude Bobier, and Noureddine Ben Ayed. "Significance of the E-W fault system in the geodynamic evolution of the Tunisian Alpine Chain foreland. Example of the Sbiba-Cherichira fault system in Central Tunisia." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 174, no. 4 (July 1, 2003): 373–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/174.4.373.
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Abstract The recent sedimentary basins in Central Tunisia correspond to a set of depocenters with complex geometry which are bounded by E-W, N070 and N-S brittle structures. These bordering faults, active during Eocene and Cretaceous times, have been rejuvenated at the end of the Neogene and during Quaternary in a relay pattern system associated with compressive and extensive deformations according to the alternance of extension and compression phases (Tortonian Atlasic Phase of compression, post tectonic top Miocene-early Pleistocene extension associated to the rifting of the Tyrrhenian Basin, and Pleistocene Phase of compression). These tectonic regime changes involve subsidence inversions. Moreover, the neotectonic study carried out along the strike-slip faults corridories and their associated structures enable us : – to precise the timing of the tectonic deformations ; – to establish tectono-sedimentary relationships of Mio-Plio-Quaternary age. Introduction : geodynamical context and objectives of the study. – In Central Tunisia as in the whole Maghreb [Piqué et al., 1998 ; Piqué et al., 2002], the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of sedimentary basins is largely controlled by tectonic heredity due to rejuvenation of basement discontinuities. In fact, previous studies have shown that the normal kinematics activity of The Sbiba-Cherichira fault has governed the opening and the distribution of the Cretaceous and the Eocene basins evolving in a globally extensive tectonic regime [Boltenhagen, 1981 ; El Ghali, 1993]. These old tectonics is proven, also, by the interpretation of NNE-SSW seismic profiles through this collapsed zone [Ben Ayed, 1986, fig. 3] and who reveal that subsidence had been active during the Lower Cretaceous and continued up to the Albian. In the late Miocene and early Quaternary, following the Langhian collision of Sardinia against the Northern Platform of Tunisia [Cohen et al., 1980], the Atlasic and Villafranchian Phases of compression are the most important. They were responsible for the formation of important N040° to N070°E Atlasic folds , N040° to N090°E thrusts , the opening of N120° to N150° E basins parallel to the shortening axis and E-W strike slip fault [Burollet, 1956 ; Ben Ayed, 1986]. In this paper, we present and discuss results of research carried out in the Sbiba-Cherichira area. This research combines interpretation of sedimentological observations and microtectonic or structural field studies [El Ghali et Batik, 1992] carried out along and near the Sbiba-Cherichira faults system, which corresponds to two separated master faults (fig. 2): – the « Southern Sbiba Fault » developed to the west with a direction N090°E which acted as is the southern boundary of the “Sbiba Trough” subsident area as early as the Albian (fig. 3) ; – the “Cherichira Fault” developed to the north-east with a direction N070°E. These faults are connected by the N040°E Labaied-Trozza Fault. Tortonian tectonic activity. – During Tortonian compression (orientation of the shortening axis N120°to N140°E) [Burollet, 1956 ; Ben Ayed, 1986 ; Philip et al., 1986 ; Martinez et al., 1990], many transformations were induced in the studied area (fig. 4a). In fact, the E-W faults of Sbiba and the N070 to N90°E faults of Cherichira, disposed in left relay, were reactivated as dextral strike-slip faults inducing simultaneous distensive deformations (normal faults, grabens, half-grabens…) and compressive ones (folds, reverse faults, overlappings….) localised at fracturing extremity [El Ghali, 1993]. Compressive structures. – The brittle structures are associated with ductile deformations of two types : *The first one corresponds to en echelon folds including : – to the south of the E-W Sbiba Fault, in J. Tiouacha and J. Labaied, Eocene and Neogene strata which are involved in hectometric folds with a N040° to N060°E axial direction (fig. 4a) and an axial westward dip changing from 05° to 60°E ; – to the west of the J. Rebeiba fault, Lutetian and Oligocene to Lower Miocene Strata which are affected by hectometric folds with a N070° to N090°E direction (fig. 4a) and an axial westward dip, changing from 05°to 20°E [El Ghali, 1993]. All these folds are abruptly cut up by the master faults and they can be interpreted as en echelon fault propagation folds. * The second includes plurikilometric folds parallel to the strike slip faults : – the E-W anticline of J. Labaied due to the transpression responsible for reactivation of the southern Sbiba Fault with a dextral strike slip component (fig. 4a); – the N040°E anticline of J. Trozza and the N070°E anticline of J. Cherichira respectively associated with the Trozza-Labaied fault and the Cherichira fault. Because of their orientation approximatively normal to the shortening axis, these faults are reactivated reversed faults giving fault-bend folds [Suppe, 1983] thrusted to the SE with a decollement level in Triassic evaporites extruded along the fault between J. M’Rhila and J. Cherichira (fig. 4a). Distensive structures : syntectonic depocenters associated to dextral strike-slip faults. – The dextral strike-slip faults extremities develop as normal faults N140 to N160°E in the dampening zone (fig. 4a). The east and west endings of Sbiba strike slip fault are two distensive extremities the opening mecanism of which is compatible with that of a megasplit basin at a strike-slip extremity [Harding, 1973 ; Odonne, 1981 ; Granier, 1985 ; Faugère et al., 1986…]. Top Miocene to early Pleistocene tectonic activity. – During upper top Miocene and early Pleistocene times, the Sbiba Trough was characterized by a subsidence more important than in any other place in Tunisia and was filled by continental deposits of the Segui Formation (conglomerates, sands, black clays and lacustrine limestones, fig. 5). Subsidence (500m near Haffouz, 3000m in Sbiba Trough, fig. 4b) was controlled by the activity of synsedimentary normal and strike-slip faults, forming small grabens, monoclinal grabens N090° to N130°E trending often cut by the Sbiba Fault (figs. 4b and 7). This extension can be considered as a post-tectonic extension relative to the Atlasic phase of compression, the orientation of the tensile axis being the same. Pleistocene tectonic activity. – In Central Tunisia, a NNW-SSE compressive phase, intervening in early Quaternary, has been demonstrated out [Burollet, 1956 ; Ben Ayed, 1986 ; Philip et al., 1986]. This “Villafranchian phase” follows distensive strike-slip tectonics of top Miocene Lowermost Pleistocene [El Ghali, 1993] and involves subsidence inversion. This phase is manifested by reverse dextral strike-slip faults on E-W segments (Sbiba and Ain Grab faults, fig. 4c) and by SE vergence overlappings on the NE-SW segments of J. Trozza (fig. 6) and N070°E ones of Cherichira (fig. 8). In other places the top Miocene-early Pleistocene deposits of the Segui Formation are folded, producing in the Sbiba basin N070° to N090°E en echelon folds (fig. 4c) with westward or eastward axial dipping between 05° and 15°. In Jebel Ain Grab area, the folds are overturned and locally thrusted northwards producing a morphostructural dam. This latter limits to the south a sag filled with fluviatile and lacustrine deposits (fig. 9). Comparison with neighbouring regions and conclusions. – The Sbiba-Cherichira faults system correspond to an en-echelon strike slip fault inherited from a basement discontinuity. It recorded most of the main tectonic processes which affected the southern margin of the Tethys. In Central Tunisia, this faults system constitutes an evolution model of one of the major scars which affects the sedimentary cover and controls basins distribution and evolution since the Cretaceous to the Quaternary. * The Tortonian compressional episode corresponding to the Compression Atlasic Phase described from the Rif in Morocco to northern Tunisia [Viguier et al., 1980 ; Philip, 1983 ; Ben Ayed, 1986 ; Morel, 1989 ; Aite, 1995 ; Piqué et al., 2002]. The N120° to N130°E orientation of the shortening axis induced the most important transpression which has triggered the rejuvenation of the Sbiba-Cherichira system as a very active fault driving halokinesis of Triassic evaporites and large development of brittle and folded structures associated to wrench faulting activity as in the eastern platform of Tunisia (fig. 10) [Ellouz, 1984]. * During the top Miocene-early Pleistocene postectonic extension, the rejuvenation of older faults generated a multidirectional extension near the Sbiba-Cherichira faults system as in northern Tunisian platform [Tricart et al., 1994] or in the north-eastern platform and in the strait of Sicily [Bobier et Martin, 1976 ; Ellouz, 1984]. In the Sbiba and Haffouz basins, the multidirectional extension is responsible for the development, along the N070°E dextral strike slip faults and N120°E left lateral strike slip faults, of depocenters for the Segui Formation which is superimposed to Middle Cretaceous subident areas [El Ghali, 1993]. * The Upper-Pleistocene episode which corresponds to the Villafranchian Phase with a N170° to N180°E shortening axis in agreement with the convergence of the European and African Plate and very well documented from the southern margin of Grande Kabilie [Aite, 1995] to northern Tunisia [Ben Ayed, 1986]. Near Sbiba it induced formation of folds, thrusts or reversed faults forming morphostructural dams in which fluvio-lacustrine deposits are accumulated.
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Haeussler, Peter J., David P. Schwartz, Timothy E. Dawson, Heidi D. Stenner, James J. Lienkaemper, Francesca Cinti, Paola Montone, Brian Sherrod, and Patricia Craw. "Surface Rupture of the 2002 Denali Fault, Alaska, Earthquake and Comparison with Other Strike-Slip Ruptures." Earthquake Spectra 20, no. 3 (August 2004): 565–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1193/1.1775797.
Full textAbstract:
On 3 November 2002, an M7.9 earthquake produced 340 km of surface rupture on the Denali and two related faults in Alaska. The rupture proceeded from west to east and began with a 40-km-long break on a previously unknown thrust fault. Estimates of surface slip on this thrust are 3–6 m. Next came the principal surface break along ∼218 km of the Denali fault. Right-lateral offsets averaged around 5 m and increased eastward to a maximum of nearly 9 m. The fault also ruptured beneath the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, which withstood almost 6 m of lateral offset. Finally, slip turned southeastward onto the Totschunda fault. Right-lateral offsets are up to 3 m, and the surface rupture is about 76 km long. This three-part rupture ranks among the longest strike-slip events of the past two centuries. The earthquake is typical when compared to other large earthquakes on major intracontinental strike-slip faults.
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Dichiarante, A. M., R. E. Holdsworth, E. D. Dempsey, K. J. W. McCaffrey, and T. A. G. Utley. "Outcrop-scale manifestations of reactivation during multiple superimposed rifting and basin inversion events: the Devonian Orcadian Basin, northern Scotland." Journal of the Geological Society 178, no. 1 (September 15, 2020): jgs2020–089. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-089.
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The Devonian Orcadian Basin in Scotland hosts extensional fault systems assumed to be related to the initial formation of the basin, with only limited post-Devonian inversion and reactivation. However, a recent detailed structural study across Caithness, underpinned by published Re–Os geochronology, shows that three phases of deformation are present. North–south- and NW–SE-trending Group 1 faults are related to Devonian ENE–WSW transtension associated with sinistral shear along the Great Glen Fault during the formation of the Orcadian Basin. Metre- to kilometre-scale north–south-trending Group 2 folds and thrusts are developed close to earlier sub-basin-bounding faults and reflect late Carboniferous–early Permian east–west inversion associated with dextral reactivation of the Great Glen Fault. The dominant Group 3 structures are dextral oblique NE–SW-trending and sinistral east–west-trending faults with widespread syndeformational carbonate mineralization (± pyrite and bitumen) and are dated using Re–Os geochronology as Permian (c. 267 Ma). Regional Permian NW–SE extension related to the development of the offshore West Orkney Basin was superimposed over pre-existing fault networks, leading to local oblique reactivation of Group 1 faults in complex localized zones of transtensional folding, faulting and inversion. The structural complexity in surface outcrops onshore therefore reflects both the local reactivation of pre-existing faults and the superimposition of obliquely oriented rifting episodes during basin development in the adjacent offshore areas.Supplementary material: Stereographic projections of compiled structural data from individual fieldwork localities are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5115228
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Zouhri, Lahcen, Christian Lamouroux, Daniel Vachard, and Alain Pique. "Evidence of flexural extension of the Rif foreland: The Rharb-Mamora basin (northern Morocco)." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 173, no. 6 (November 1, 2002): 509–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/173.6.509.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The Rharb-Mamora basin is the foreland of the Rif Cordillera (orogenic belt). The Mamora area (northern Morocco) is located at the southern border of the Rharb basin and intercalated between the Alpine Rif Mountains to the north and the Hercynian Moroccan Meseta domain to the south. Analysis and interpretation of seismic lines, hydrogeological and oil wells, have allowed to precise the major structural elements of the Mamora area, which is covered by late Neogene sediments. The structure of the area is controlled by faults that also affect the Paleozoic basement. The NE-SW and NW-SE trending faults induce the palaeogeographical evolution and control, the facies distribution and the thickness variations. The most important or relevant structural feature of the Mamora area is the Kenitra-Sidi-Slimane fault (K2SF) [Zouhri et al., 2001]. This fault N110oE trending is south of the Rif Alpine thrust front and is marked by a progressive deepening of its northern compartment, at least since Cretaceous time. Thus the Mamora appears as a hinge between the Rharb Basin and the Moroccan Meseta from Cretaceous to Neogene time.
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Jones, L., and E. Hauksson. "The Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake of October 1, 1987—Seismology." Earthquake Spectra 4, no. 1 (February 1988): 43–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1193/1.1585464.
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The October 1, 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake ( ML = 5.9) was located at 34° 3.0′N, 118° 4.8′W, at the northwestern end of the Puente Hills. The sequence ruptured a small part, 4 km by 5 km, of a previously unidentified, buried, thrust fault that strikes east-west and dips 25° down to the north. This fault may be part of a large system of thrust faults extending across the entire east-west length of the northern margin of the Los Angeles basin. The focus of the mainshock is deep, at 14 ± 1 km. The largest aftershock ( ML = 5.3) produced mostly strike-slip movement on a steeply dipping, northwest plane, that bounds the mainshock rupture area to the west. Enhancement of the Los Angeles basin seismic network would facilitate investigation of the potential of these faults for moderate-sized or large earthquakes.
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Little, T. A., P. Morris, M. P. Hill, J. Kearse, R. J. Van Dissen, J. Manousakis, D. Zekkos, and A. Howell. "Coseismic deformation of the ground during large-slip strike-slip ruptures: Finite evolution of “mole tracks”." Geosphere 17, no. 4 (May 14, 2021): 1170–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ges02336.1.
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Abstract To evaluate ground deformation resulting from large (~10 m) coseismic strike-slip displacements, we focus on deformation of the Kekerengu fault during the November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand. Combining post-earthquake field observations with analysis of high-resolution aerial photography and topographic models, we describe the structural geology and geomorphology of the rupture zone. During the earthquake, fissured pressure bulges (“mole tracks”) initiated at stepovers between synthetic Riedel (R) faults. As slip accumulated, near-surface “rafts” of cohesive clay-rich sediment, bounded by R faults and capped by grassy turf, rotated about a vertical axis and were internally shortened, thus amplifying the bulges. The bulges are flanked by low-angle contractional faults that emplace the shortened mass of detached sediment outward over less-deformed ground. As slip accrued, turf rafts fragmented into blocks bounded by short secondary fractures striking at a high angle to the main fault trace that we interpret to have originated as antithetic Riedel (R′) faults. Eventually these blocks were dispersed into strongly sheared earth and variably rotated. Along the fault, clockwise rotation of these turf rafts within the rupture zone averaged ~20°–30°, accommodating a finite shear strain of 1.0–1.5 and a distributed strike slip of ~3–4 m. On strike-slip parts of the fault, internal shortening of the rafts averaged 1–2 m parallel to the R faults and ~1 m perpendicular to the main fault trace. Driven by distortional rotation, this contraction of the rafts exceeds the magnitude of fault heave. Turf rafts on slightly transtensional segments of the fault were also bulged and shortened—relationships that can be explained by a kinematic model involving “deformable slats.” In a paleoseismic trench cut perpendicular the fault, one would observe fissures, low-angle thrusts, and steeply dipping strike-slip faults—some cross-cutting one another—yet all may have formed during a single earthquake featuring a large strike-slip displacement.
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Pei, Yangwen, Douglas A. Paton, Rob J. Knipe, W. Henry Lickorish, Anren Li, and Kongyou Wu. "Field-based investigation of fault architecture: A case study from the Lenghu fold-and-thrust belt, Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau." GSA Bulletin 132, no. 1-2 (June 19, 2019): 389–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/b35140.1.
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AbstractThe fault zone architecture of a thrust fault zone is critical for understanding the strain accommodation and structural evolution in contractional systems. The fault architecture is also important for understanding fluid-flow behavior both along and/or across thrust fault zones and for evaluating potential fault-related compartmentalization. Because mesoscale (1–100 m) structural features are normally beyond seismic resolution, high-resolution outcrop in situ mapping (5–10 cm resolution) was employed to study the deformation features of a thrust fault zone located in the Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The excellent exposure of outcrops enables the detailed investigation of the Lenghu thrust fault zone and its architecture. The Lenghu thrust fault, a seismically resolvable fault with up to ∼800 m of throw, exhibits a large variation of fault architecture and strain distribution along the fault zone. Multiple structural domains with different levels of strain were observed and are associated with the fault throw distribution across the fault. Based on previously proposed models and high-resolution outcrop mapping, an updated fault zone model was constructed to characterize the structural features and evolution of the Lenghu thrust. The possible parameters that impact fault architecture and strain distribution, including fault throw, bed thickness, lithology, and mechanical heterogeneity, were evaluated. Fault throw distributions and linkages control the strain distribution across a thrust fault zone, with local folding processes contributing important elements in Lenghu, especially where more incompetent beds dominate the stratigraphy. Mechanical heterogeneity, induced by different layer stacking patterns, controls the details of the fault architecture in the thrust zone. The variations in bed thicknesses and mechanical property contrasts are likely to control the initial fault dips and fault/fracture density. Large fault throws are associated with wide strain accommodation and damage zones, although the relationship between the development and width of the fault zone and the throw accumulation remains to be assessed. By presenting the high-resolution mapping of fault architecture, this study provides an insight into the subseismic fault zone geometry and strain distributions possible in thrust faults and reviews their application to assessments of fault zone behavior.
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Robinson, Russell, Rafael Benites, and Russ Van Dissen. "Evidence for temporal clustering of large earthquakes in the wellington region from computer models of seismicity." Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering 31, no. 1 (March 31, 1998): 24–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.5459/bnzsee.31.1.24-32.
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Temporal clustering of large earthquakes in the Wellington region, New Zealand, has been investigated with a computer model that generates long synthetic seismicity catalogues. The model includes the elastic interactions between faults. Faults included in the model, besides the subduction thrust between the Australian and Pacific plates, are segments of the four major strike-slip faults that overlie the plate interface (Wairarapa, Wellington, Ohariu, and Wairau faults). Parameters of the model are adjusted to reproduce the geologically ohserved slip rates of the strike-slip faults. The seismic slip rate of the subduction thrust, which is unknown, is taken as 25% of the maximum predicted by the plate tectonic convergence rate, and its position fixed according to recent geodetic results. For comparison, the model was rerun with the elastic interactions suppressed, corresponding to the usual approach in the calculation of seismic hazard where each fault is considered in isolation. Considering earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 or more ("characteristic" events in the sense that they rupture most of a fault plane). the number of short (0-3 years) inter-event times is much higher with interactions than for the corresponding case without interactions (46% vs. 2% or all inter-event times). This reduces to 9% vs. 2% if the subduction thrust is removed from the models. Paleoseismic studies of the past seismic behaviour of the subduction thrust are clearly needed if the degree of clustering is to be tightly constrained. Although some other aspects of our model can he improved in future, we think that the probability of significant short-term clustering of large events, normally neglected in hazard studies, is very high. This has important implications for the engineering, insurance and emergency response communities.
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Larroque, C., N. Béthoux, E. Calais, F. Courboulex, A. Deschamps, J. Déverchère, J. F. Stéphan, J. F. Ritz, and E. Gilli. "Active and recent deformation at the Southern Alps – Ligurian basin junction." Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 80, no. 3-4 (December 2001): 255–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016774600023878.
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AbstractThe Southern Alps – Ligurian basin junction is one of the most active seismic areas in Western Europe countries. The topographic and the structural setting of this region is complex because of (i) its position between the high topography of the Southern Alps and the deep, narrow Ligurian oceanic basin, and (ii) the large number of structures inherited from the Alpine orogeny. Historical seismicity reveals about twenty moderate-size earthquakes (up to M=6.0), mostly distributed along the Ligurian coast and the Vésubie valley. A recent geodetic experiment shows a significant strain rate during the last 50 years in the area between the Argentera massif and the Mediterranean coastline. Results of this experiment suggest a N-S shortening of about 2-4 mm/yr over the network, this shortening direction is consistent with the seismological (P-axes of earthquakes) and the microtectonic data. The Pennic front (E-NE of the Argentera massif) and the northern Ligurian margin are the most seismically active areas. In the Nice arc and in the Argentera massif, some seismic lineaments correspond to faults identified in the field (such as theTaggia-Saorge fault or the Monaco-Sospel fault). In the western part of the Alpes Maritimes, no seismic activity is recorded in the Castellane arc. In the field, geological evidence, such as offsets of recent alluvial sediments, recent fault breccia, speleothem deformations, radon anomalies and others indicates recent deformation along these faults. Nevertheless, to this date active fault scarps have not been identified: this probably results from a relatively high erosion rate versus deformation rate and from the lack of Quaternary markers. We also suspect the presence of two hidden active faults, one in the lower Var valley (Nice city area) and the other one at the base of the Argentera crustal thrust-sheet. Offshore, along the northern Ligurian margin, the seismic reflection data shows traces of Quaternary extensional deformation, but the accuracy of the data does not yet allow the construction of a structural map nor does it allow the determination of the continuity between the offshore and onshore structures. From these data set we propose a preliminary map of 11 active faults and we discuss the questions which remain unsolved in the perspective of seismic hazard evaluations.
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Chu, Hao-Tsu, Jian-Cheng Lee, Françoise Bergerat, Jyr-Ching Hu, Shen-Hsiung Liang, Chia-Yu Lu, and Teh-Quei Lee. "Fracture patterns and their relations to mountain building in a fold-thrust belt: A case study in NW Taiwan." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 184, no. 4-5 (July 1, 2013): 485–500. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.184.4-5.485.
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Abstract The main purpose of this study is to analyse striated micro-faults and other types of fractures (including tensile and shear joints, and veins), in order to elucidate their relationships with regional folds and thrusts and regional tectonic stress. We take the fold-thrust belt (i.e., the foothills and the Hsuehshan range) in NW Taiwan as a case study, which is a product of the Plio-Pleistocene arc-continent collision. A total of about 760 and 1700 faults and other fractures, respectively, were collected at 41 sites in the field. We have identified four sets of bed-perpendicular joints in the study area. The observation of joints and bedding at each site indicates that most of the penetrative joint sets developed in the earlier tectonic stage of the pre-folding/pre-tilting event, illustrating the fact that the intersection of joint sets lies along the line perpendicular to the bedding plane. We thus interpret these sets as tectonic fractures under deep-seated tectonic stress. We used the regional fold axes as reference to define the four fracture sets. However, we found that complexity in the study area makes this rather tentative. Principal stress axes σ1, σ2, σ3, were calculated by means of inversion of fault slip data at each site. The ratio Φ that defines the shape of stress ellipsoid is generally small, indicating that the value of the maximum principal stress axe σ1 is much larger compared to that of σ2 and σ3, which are approximately equal. The paleostress regime was characterized by a combination of thrust and strike-slip tectonic regimes. Based on their geometric relationships with tilted bedding, we found most of striated micro-faults were strongly related to the regional folding and can be categorized as early-, during, and late-folding stages. We characterized two major directions for the compressive event, oriented N110–120°E and N150–160°E respectively, which provide additional evidence to delineate the debates about paleostress changes in the Taiwan mountain building process.
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FUENTES, FACUNDO, BRIAN K. HORTON, DANIEL STARCK, and ANDRÉS BOLL. "Structure and tectonic evolution of hybrid thick- and thin-skinned systems in the Malargüe fold–thrust belt, Neuquén basin, Argentina." Geological Magazine 153, no. 5-6 (July 25, 2016): 1066–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756816000583.
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AbstractAndean Cenozoic shortening within the Malargüe fold–thrust belt of west-central Argentina has been dominated by basement faults largely influenced by pre-existing Mesozoic rift structures of the Neuquén basin system. The basement contractional structures, however, diverge from many classic inversion geometries in that they formed large hanging-wall anticlines with steeply dipping frontal forelimbs and structural relief in the order of several kilometres. During Cenozoic E–W shortening, the reactivated basement faults propagated into cover strata, feeding slip to shallow thrust systems that were later carried in piggyback fashion above newly formed basement structures, yielding complex thick- and thin-skinned structural relationships. In the adjacent foreland, Cenozoic clastic strata recorded the broad kinematic evolution of the fold–thrust belt. We present a set of structural cross-sections supported by regional surface maps and industry seismic and well data, along with new stratigraphic information for associated Neogene synorogenic foreland basin fill. Collectively, these results provide important constraints on the temporal and geometric linkages between the deeper basement faults (including both reactivated and newly formed structures) and shallow thin-skinned thrust systems, which, in turn, offer insights for the understanding of hydrocarbon systems in the actively explored Neuquén region of the Andean orogenic belt.
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Martin, C. D. "Characterizing in situ stress domains at the AECL Underground Research Laboratory." Canadian Geotechnical Journal 27, no. 5 (October 1, 1990): 631–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/t90-077.
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The Underground Research Laboratory access shaft was excavated from the surface to about the 185 m depth in jointed pink granite. Below this depth to the 443 m depth the shaft was excavated in massive grey granite. The grey granite is essentially unjointed, except for a major low-dipping thrust fault and associated minor splays. Overcoring, hydraulic fracturing, convergence measurements, microseismic monitoring, and observations of shaft-wall failure and core discing indicate that unusually high in situ stresses can be associated with large volumes of massive, unjointed granite at fairly shallow depth. The database of in situ stress measurements collected at the Underground Research Laboratory indicates that major geological features, such as thrust faults, can act as boundaries for in situ stress domains and that both the magnitude and direction of the in situ stress state can change when these geological features are traversed. Key words: in situ stress, anisotropy, stress domains, thrust faults, overcoring, hydraulic fracturing, convergence measurements, excavation damage zones.
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Thurlow, J. G., C. P. Spencer, D. E. Boerner, L. E. Reed, and J. A. Wright. "Geological interpretation of a high resolution reflection seismic survey at the Buchans mine, Newfoundland." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 29, no. 9 (September 1, 1992): 2022–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e92-159.
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Sixteen kilometres of high resolution Vibroseis reflection seismic data have been acquired in the vicinity of the former Buchans mine. Direct identification of the cause of several reflectors is possible because the geology is tightly constrained by underground workings and drill holes both of which locally exceed 1 km depth. Many of the mine-scale thrust faults are imaged as reflectors but conformable and intrusive contacts generally responded poorly. A significant shallow-dipping thrust, the Powerline Fault, is recognized below the orebodies and traced throughout the Buchans area, primarily as a result of the seismic survey. It truncates ore stratigraphy and forms the floor thrust of a large duplex–stack, which hosts all the orebodies. Its presence has negative implications for exploration in the immediate mine area. Several lines of evidence suggest that this fault has a significant component of out-of-sequence movement. A strong reflector 4.5 km below Buchans is correlated with the surface expression of the Victoria River Delta Fault, an important regional structure, newly recognized southeast of Red Indian Lake. This shallow, north-dipping sole thrust forms the structural base of the Buchans Group and brings it above a younger fossiliferous Llanvirn volcanic sequence. This fault is not itself the Red Indian Line but is one of a series of faults that collectively effect substantial geological contrasts in central Newfoundland. The seismic survey was a cost-efficient means of gaining knowledge of Buchans structure, which might otherwise have been acquired at much higher cost and over a longer period of time.
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Alonso, J. L., E. Barrón, B. González Fernández, E. Menéndez Casares, and J. C. García-Ramos. "Extensión e inversión tectónica alpinas en el área de Sariego. Control ejercido por la estructura varisca subyacente (Asturias, norte de España) Alpine extension and inversion tectonics in the Sariego area. Control exerted by the underlying Variscan structure (Asturias, northern Spain)." Trabajos de Geología 36, no. 36 (September 12, 2018): 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.17811/tdg.36.2016.45-60.
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Resumen: Dos de las fallas mayores de rumbo E-O, que afectan a la cuenca pérmico-mesozoica asturiana (Fallas de Llanera y Careses), pasan por el área de Sariego. Un afloramiento de gran interés pedagógico situado en el talud de la autovía del Cantábrico, cerca de la localidad de Lamasanti, ilustra muy bien el significado de la Falla de Llanera. Dicha falla jugó como falla normal durante el Jurásico Superior y parte más baja del Cretácico Inferior y como falla inversa durante la orogenia Alpina. Su desplazamiento normal fue mayor que el inverso, observándose el punto nulo en el afloramiento mencionado. En ese mismo afloramiento se ha datado con polen la base de la secuencia post-rift del bloque inferior de la falla, obteniéndose una edad Barremiense, siendo la primera vez que se registra este piso en la cuenca mesozoica asturiana. Respecto a la Falla de Careses, se muestra en su sector oriental como una falla normal invertida. Sin embargo, en su sector occidental es una falla inversa que puede interpretarse como una falla de atajo de la falla normal mencionada; el juego inverso de esta falla se refleja en el relieve actual dando lugar a un escarpe mucho más notable que el de la Falla de Llanera. Las dos fallas mayores mencionadas se encuentran cortadas por otras de rumbo SO-NE que representan la reactivación de las estructuras variscas subyacentes durante la orogenia alpina, jugando probablemente en transpresión, como fallas de desgarre con ligero movimiento inverso, generando pliegues subparalelos a las mismas. No obstante, existen evidencias de que estas estructuras variscas se reactivaron previamente como fallas normales, controlando los espesores de la sucesión pérmica. La edad relativa de los diferentes sistemas de fallas durante el acortamiento alpino es la siguiente: primero actuaron las fallas de Llanera y Careses, despúes las de rumbo NE-SO y por último actuó la Falla de Ventaniella, que trunca a todas ellas.Palabras clave: inversión tectónica, punto nulo, estructuras de basamento reactivadas, Barremiense, palinomorfos, Cuenca Asturiana.Abstract: Two major structures involving the Permian-Mesozoic Asturian Basin (Llanera and Careses faults) are analysed in the Sariego area. The Llanera Fault played as a syn-sedimentary normal fault during the Upper Jurassic-lowermost Cretaceous and was inverted in Cenozoic times. Its reverse displacement was lower than the previous normal displacement and the null point is exposed in an illustrative outcrop located near the Lamasanti village, in the lateral talus of the Cantabrian motorway (A64-E70). In this outcrop, sampling was carried out at the base of postrift succession, in order to obtain palynomorphs, which have provided a Barremian age. This stage has not been recorded in the Asturian Basin so far. The Careses Fault is mainly a reverse fault and is responsible for the major relief of the study area; however, the eastern part of this fault can be recognized as an inverted normal fault, whereas its western part can be interpreted as a short cut thrust of that normal fault. Both, the Llanera and Careses faults are truncated by several SWNE trending faults, which mean the reactivation of buried variscan structures during the Alpine deformation. The map pattern of these SW-NE trending faults implies an oblique displacement, composed of strike and vertical slip; however, these faults played previously as syn-rift extensional faults in Permian times, as recorded by thickness changes in the Permian succession.Keywords: tectonic inversion, null point, inherited basement structures, Barremian, palynomorphs, Asturian Basin.
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Imrecke, Daniel B., Alexander C. Robinson, Lewis A. Owen, Jie Chen, Lindsay M. Schoenbohm, Kathryn A. Hedrick, Thomas J. Lapen, Wenqiao Li, and Zhaode Yuan. "Mesozoic evolution of the eastern Pamir." Lithosphere 11, no. 4 (May 16, 2019): 560–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/l1017.1.
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Abstract We present field and analytical results from the Tashkurgan and Waqia valleys in the southeastern Pamir that shed new light on the tectonic evolution and terrane architecture of the region. Field mapping of metasedimentary and igneous units along the Tashkurgan and Waqia valleys in the Southeast Pamir, integrated with metamorphic petrology, garnet-biotite thermometry, and zircon U/Pb isotopic analysis, help identify major structures and terrane boundaries in the region, as well as compare structural units across the Miocene Muztaghata gneiss dome. South of the Muztaghata dome, the gently northwest-plunging synformal Torbashi thrust klippe juxtaposes amphibolite facies Triassic Karakul-Mazar terrane schist and gneiss structurally above (1) greenschist facies Triassic Karakul-Mazar terrane metasedimentary rock in the north, and (2) lower-amphibolite facies schist in the south that are interpreted to be Gondwanan-derived crust (Central or South Pamir terrane). Farther south, the Rouluke thrust fault imbricates the Gondwanan crust, placing early Paleozoic schists over Permian marble and slate. Exposure of the Torbashi thrust sheet terminates in the southeast, and with it the surface exposure of the Triassic Karakul-Mazar terrane, leaving the Paleozoic Kunlun terrane juxtaposed directly against Gondwanan terrane crust. Based on lithologic and isotopic similarities of units north and south of the Muztaghata gneiss dome, we document the existence of a regionally extensive thrust nappe that stretched across the northern and eastern Pamir, prior to being cut by Miocene exhumation of the Muztaghata dome. The thrust nappe links the Torbashi thrust in the southeast Pamir with the Tanymas thrust in the northern Pamir, and documents regionally extensive exposure of lithologically continuous units across the northeast Pamir. While timing of emplacement of the Torbashi thrust klippe and displacement on the Rouluke fault to the south is not well constrained, we interpret shortening to be Cretaceous in age based on previously published cooling ages. However, a component of Cenozoic shortening cannot be ruled out. A key observation from our mapping results is that the surface exposures of the Karakul–Mazar–Songpan Ganzi terrane are not continuous between western Tibet and the Pamir, which indicates tectonic and/or erosional removal, likely sometime in the Mesozoic. Furthermore, our documentation of the Jinsha suture in the southeast Pamir on the eastern side of the Karakoram fault shows deflections of terranes across the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen were not primarily accommodated along discrete, large displacement faults (>400 km) faults. Instead, oroclinal bending of the northern Pamir, and dextral shear along the Pamir margins, may be largely responsible for the northward deflection of terranes.
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Kelsey, H. M., B. L. Sherrod, A. R. Nelson, and T. M. Brocher. "Earthquakes generated from bedding plane-parallel reverse faults above an active wedge thrust, Seattle fault zone." Geological Society of America Bulletin 120, no. 11-12 (November 1, 2008): 1581–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/b26282.1.
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Schlupp, Antoine, Georges Clauzon, and Jean-Philippe Avouac. "Mouvement post-messinien sur la faille de Nimes; implications pour la sismotectonique de la Provence." Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 172, no. 6 (November 1, 2001): 697–711. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/172.6.697.
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Abstract The seismicity of southern France probably results from the convergence between Africa and Europe which proceeds at a rate of approximately 0,8 cm/year at the Provence longitude [Nuvell-DeMets et al., 1990]. The potentially active faults delimit a large panel in the Mesozoic cover. It includes E-W compressive structures (Mont-Ventoux, Montagne de Lure to the north, Luberon, Costes et Trevaresse to the south) and NE left-lateral strike slip (Durance to the east and Nimes, to the west, and possibly the Cevennes Fault) [e.g., Grellet et al., 1993; Sebrier et al., 1997; Lacassin et al., 1998]. The Nimes Fault, which is considered as one of the main faults of southeastern France [Combes, 1984; Grellet et al., 1993; Ghafiri, 1995] is associated with only few and small seismic events, but paleoseismic evidence for larger earthquakes, with magnitudes possibly as large as 6.5, were found on a subsidiary fault near Courthezon [Combes et al., 1993]. Here, we try to quantify fault activity over a longer period of time than that accessible from the usual geomorphic approach, by assessing possible displacement of Messinian markers on the Nimes fault. In the early Miocene a regional erosion surface of Burdigalian age (around-20 Ma) was formed. This surface is still preserved and has not been much deformed west of the Nimes fault. To the east, this surface is only gently folded due to E-W anticlines [Champion, 1999; Champion et al., 2000]. This contrast suggests that the Nimes fault has been active and has accommodated N-S shortening after the abandonment of the Burdigalian erosion surface. The Nimes and Pujaut faults can be followed in the topography between Nimes and Sauveterre where they are generally bounded by outcrops of Mesozoic limestone (fig. 2A-3). To the NE, the Nimes fault can be roughly traced across the Quaternary Rhone alluvium, between Sauveterre and the Mont Ventoux. It is marked by disruption of the continuity of the terrasses of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The signal is only tenuous and cannot be used to infer precisely the fault location and segmentation but suggests that the faults have been active during the Quaternary. During the Messinian, starting at about -5.95 Ma, the Mediterranean sea level fell by about 1500 m [Clauzon, 1975; Krijgsman et al., 1999; Gautier et al., 1994; Cande et Kent, 1992-1995; Clauzon et al., 1995]. The major tributaries were forced to cut down and formed deep and narrow valleys. The Mediterranean sea rose up to an elevation of +80 m NGF at -5.32 Ma, flooding the canyons, and remained stable until about -3.8 Ma [Vail and Mitchum, 1979; Benson et al., 1991; Cita, 1975; Haq et al., 1987; Hilgen et Langeries, 1993]. After -5.32 Ma the canyons were filled with Pliocene sediments. The canyon formed by the Rhone incision during the Messinian crisis is well documented [Clauzon, 1982; Clauzon et al., 1995; Clauzon et al., 1999; Rubino et al., 2000]. We found evidence for a tributary canyon on an old seismic line ELF M2S8. The canyon strikes E-W between the "Barre de Roquemaure" and "Barre de Caderache" and should cross the Nimes Fault. In order to constrain more tightly its geometry near the Nimes Fault, we have implemented three seismic lines. If we trace the position of the southern border of the canyon using the different profiles and the surface geology, we find that the horizontal offset at the fault cannot be much larger than about 500 meters. In order to image a possible smaller offset we have determined the geometry of the canyon from a microseismic zoning technique [Nakamura, 1989; Duval et al., 1997; Ibs-von Seht M. and Wholenberg, 1999; Sabourault, 1999]. Measurements were conducted at 37 points which were used in complement. The depth to the canyon bottom was determined using the velocities derived from the seismic profiles and was cross-checked from the comparison with geological log at points F1 and F2. The geometry of the southern edge of the Messinian canyon, shows a left-lateral offset of 440 m + or -50 m, which might be taken to reflect post-Messinian fault motion. Assuming that the observed 440 m offset of the Messinian canyon at the Nimes fault is due to fault motion, and that the fault slip rate has not varied significantly since the Messinian crisis, we derive a left-lateral slip rate of 0.06 to 0.09 mm/year. Given that the observed deflection of the flank of the canyon might in part be of non tectonic origin, our study basically places an upper limit of 0.09 mm/yr on the slip rate on the Nimes faults. Such a low slip rate is comparable with estimates obtained on the Durance Fault [Baroux, 2000] and on the E-W folds and thrust faults east of the Nimes faults such as Ventoux-Lure and Alpilles-Costes-Trevaresse [Champion, 1999; Champion et al., 2000]. Although the details of the kinematics scheme of active deformation of Provence remain a matter of discussion, these various faults are probably linked and must have similar slip rates.
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Godin, Laurent, Renaud Soucy La Roche, Lindsay Waffle, and Lyal B. Harris. "Influence of inherited Indian basement faults on the evolution of the Himalayan Orogen." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 481, no. 1 (April 13, 2018): 251–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/sp481.4.
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AbstractIndian basement faults, which bound three orogen-perpendicular palaeotopographic ridges of Precambrian Indian basement south of the Himalaya, extend to the base of the Indian lithosphere and to the northern extent of the Indian lithosphere underneath Tibet. In the eastern Himalaya, the active orogen-perpendicular Yadong–Gulu graben is aligned with an earthquake-generating strike-slip fault in the high Himalaya. We argue that the graben results from crustal necking during reactivation of the underplated basement fault. In the central Himalaya, along-strike diachronous deformation and metamorphism within the Himalayan metamorphic core, as well as lateral ramps in the foreland thrust belt, spatially correspond to the Lucknow and Pokhara lineaments that bound the subsurface Faizabad Ridge in the Indian basement. Analogue centrifuge modelling confirms that offset along such deep-seated basement faults can affect the location, orientation and type of structures developed at various stages of orogenesis and suggests that it is mechanically feasible for strain to propagate through a melt-weakened mid-crust. We suggest that inherited Indian basement faults affect the ramp-flat geometry of the basal Main Himalayan Thrust, partition the Himalayan range into distinct zones, localize east–west extension resulting in the Tibetan graben and, ultimately, contribute to lateral variability in tectonic evolution along the orogen's strike.
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NELSON, W. JOHN, and ROBERTA BAUER. "Thrust faults in southern Illinois basin—Result of contemporary stress?" Geological Society of America Bulletin 98, no. 3 (1987): 302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1987)98<302:tfisib>2.0.co;2.
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Umhoefer, Paul J., Stuart N. Thomson, Côme Lefebvre, Michael A. Cosca, Christian Teyssier, and Donna L. Whitney. "Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Ecemiş fault zone and adjacent basins, central Anatolia, Turkey, during the transition from Arabia-Eurasia collision to escape tectonics." Geosphere 16, no. 6 (October 27, 2020): 1358–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ges02255.1.
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Abstract The effects of Arabia-Eurasia collision are recorded in faults, basins, and exhumed metamorphic massifs across eastern and central Anatolia. These faults and basins also preserve evidence of major changes in deformation and associated sedimentary processes along major suture zones including the Inner Tauride suture where it lies along the southern (Ecemiş) segment of the Central Anatolian fault zone. Stratigraphic and structural data from the Ecemiş fault zone, adjacent NE Ulukışla basin, and metamorphic dome (Niğde Massif) record two fundamentally different stages in the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of this part of central Anatolia. The Paleogene sedimentary and volcanic strata of the NE Ulukışla basin (Ecemiş corridor) were deposited in marginal marine to marine environments on the exhuming Niğde Massif and east of it. A late Eocene–Oligocene transpressional stage of deformation involved oblique northward thrusting of older Paleogene strata onto the eastern Niğde Massif and of the eastern massif onto the rest of the massif, reburying the entire massif to >10 km depth and accompanied by left-lateral motion on the Ecemiş fault zone. A profound change in the tectonic setting at the end of the Oligocene produced widespread transtensional deformation across the area west of the Ecemiş fault zone in the Miocene. In this stage, the Ecemiş fault zone had at least 25 km of left-lateral offset. Before and during this faulting episode, the central Tauride Mountains to the east became a source of sediments that were deposited in small Miocene transtensional basins formed on the Eocene–Oligocene thrust belt between the Ecemiş fault zone and the Niğde Massif. Normal faults compatible with SW-directed extension cut across the Niğde Massif and are associated with a second (Miocene) re-exhumation of the Massif. Geochronology and thermochronology indicate that the transtensional stage started at ca. 23–22 Ma, coeval with large and diverse geological and tectonic changes across Anatolia.
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Schmidt, William L., and John P. Platt. "Metamorphic Temperatures and Pressures across the Eastern Franciscan: Implications for Underplating and Exhumation." Lithosphere 2020, no. 1 (November 9, 2020): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/2020/8853351.
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Abstract The Eastern Belt of the Franciscan Complex in the northern California Coast Ranges consists of coherent thrust sheets predominately made up of ocean floor sediments subducted in the Early Cretaceous and then accreted to the overriding plate at depths of 25-40 km. Progressive packet accretion resulted in the juxtaposition of a series of thrust sheets of differing metamorphic grades. This study utilizes laser Raman analysis of carbonaceous material to determine peak metamorphic temperatures across the Eastern Belt and phengite barometry to determine peak metamorphic pressures. Locating faults that separate packets in the field is difficult, but they can be accurately located based on differences in peak metamorphic temperature revealed by Raman analysis. The Taliaferro Metamorphic Complex in the west reached 323-336°C at a minimum pressure of ~11 kbar; the surrounding Yolla Bolly Unit 215–290°C; the Valentine Springs Unit 282-288°C at 7.8±0.7 kbar; the South Fork Mountain Schist 314–349°C at 8.6–9.5 kbar, a thin slice in the eastern portion of the SFMS, identified here for the first time, was metamorphosed at ~365°C and 9.7±0.7 kbar; and a slice attributed to the Galice Formation of the Western Klamath Mountains at 281±13°C. Temperatures in the Yolla Bolly Unit and Galice slice were too low for the application of phengite barometry. Microfossil fragments in the South Fork Mountain Schist are smaller and less abundant than in the underlying Valentine Springs Unit, providing an additional method of identifying the boundary between the two units. Faults that record a temperature difference across them were active after peak metamorphism while faults that do not were active prior to peak metamorphism, allowing for the location of packet bounding faults at the time of accretion. The South Fork Mountain Schist consists of two accreted packets with thicknesses of 300 m and 3.5 km. The existence of imbricate thrust faults both with and without differences in peak metamorphic temperature across them provides evidence for synconvergent exhumation.
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Cao, Kai, Philippe Hervé Leloup, Guocan Wang, Wei Liu, Gweltaz Mahéo, Tianyi Shen, Yadong Xu, Philippe Sorrel, and Kexin Zhang. "Thrusting, exhumation, and basin fill on the western margin of the South China block during the India-Asia collision." GSA Bulletin 133, no. 1-2 (April 30, 2020): 74–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/b35349.1.
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Abstract The pattern and timing of deformation in southeast Tibet resulting from the early stages of the India-Asia collision are crucial factors to understand the growth of the Tibetan Plateau, but they remain poorly constrained. Detailed field mapping, structural analysis, and geochronological and thermochronological data along a 120 km section of the Ludian-Zhonghejiang fold-and-thrust belt bounding the Jianchuan basin in western Yunnan, China, document the early Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the conjunction between the Lanping-Simao and South China blocks. The study area is cut by two major southwest-dipping brittle faults, named the Ludian-Zhonghejiang fault and the Tongdian fault from east to west. Numerous kinematic indicators and the juxtaposition of Triassic metasedimentary rocks on top of Paleocene strata indicate thrusting along the Ludian-Zhonghejiang fault. Similarly, structural analysis shows that the Tongdian fault is a reverse fault. Between these structures, fault-bounded Permian–Triassic and Paleocene rocks are strongly deformed by nearly vertical and upright southwest-vergent folds with axes that trend nearly parallel to the traces of the main faults. Zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He and apatite fission-track data from a Triassic pluton with zircon U-Pb ages of 237–225 Ma in the hanging wall of the Ludian-Zhonghejiang fault, assisted by inverse modeling, reveal two episodes of accelerated cooling during 125–110 Ma and 50–39 Ma. The Cretaceous cooling event was probably related to crustal thickening during the collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes. The accelerated exhumation during 50–39 Ma is interpreted to record the life span of the fold-and-thrust belt. This timing is corroborated by the intrusive relationship of Eocene magmas of ca. 36–35 Ma zircon U-Pb age into the fold-and-thrust belt. Early Cenozoic activity of the deformation system controlled deposition of alluvial-fan and braided-river sediments in the Jianchuan basin, as evidenced by eastward and northeastward paleoflows and terrestrial clasts derived from the hanging wall of the Ludian-Zhonghejiang thrust. Since 39 Ma, decreasing cooling rates likely reflect cessation of activity on the fold-and-thrust belt. Early Cenozoic compressive deformation on the western margin of the South China block together with geological records of contraction in central, northern, and eastern Tibet document Eocene upper-crustal shortening located in the Himalaya, Qiangtang terrane, and northern plateau margins together with contractional basin development in the intervening Lhasa, Songpan-Garze, and Kunlun terranes, coeval with or shortly after the onset of the India-Asia collision. This suggests that moderate crustal shortening affected a large part of Tibet in a spaced way, contrary to models of homogeneous crustal thickening soon after the collision, and prior to the main crustal thickening, propagating progressively from south to north. This complex deformation pattern illustrates the complexity of Asian crustal rheology, which contrasts with assumptions in existing geodynamic models.
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Huang, Lei, Chi-yang Liu, Jun-feng Zhao, and Dong-dong Zhang. "Synrift basin inversion: Significant role of synchronous strike-slip motion in a rift basin." GSA Bulletin 132, no. 11-12 (April 17, 2020): 2572–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/b35435.1.
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Abstract In rift basins with superposed strike-slip deformation, the structural style of wrench elements and the roles they play in synrift architecture and evolution are important, poorly understood issues for basin analysis and hydrocarbon exploration. The NE-SW–striking Tan-Lu fault zone, located in eastern China, runs through the Liaodong Bay subbasin within the Cenozoic Bohai Bay Basin and experienced dextral strike-slip motion during the later synrift stage of the basin (ca. 40 Ma to 23 Ma). Investigations of the Liaodong Bay subbasin indicate that rift-fault reactivation and wrench-fault development during strike-slip reactivation were strongly controlled by the distribution and geometry of preexisting rift faults, and local synrift basin inversion, induced by strike-slip reactivation of a preexisting graben during a later synrift stage, was a significant manifestation of synchronous strike-slip motion modifying synrift architecture and evolution. Moreover, synrift basin inversion within the Liaodong Bay subbasin manifested in two ways. First, stronger inversion occurred along the restraining bends of preexisting extensional faults. This induced uplift of the footwalls of graben-controlling faults, leading to deformation characterized by abundant shortcut thrusts and folds. The Liaodong uplift formed via this mechanism, triggered by strike-slip movement along the Tan-Lu fault zone at ca. 40 Ma. Second, weaker inversion induced by newly formed, subvertical, strike-slip faults occurred near the central part of the graben, with the characteristics of positive flower structures. Although inversion was limited to a very local area along a narrow fault zone, it substantially modified the basin’s physiography. In this rift system, coincident with local inversion-induced uplift, large-scale, rift-related subsidence occurred beyond the inversion belt within the flanking graben, leading to complexity and variety in intrabasinal structural deformation and filling, and exerting a complex influence on hydrocarbon prospects. This model of synrift basin inversion has profound implications for the interpretation of inversion structures and basin dynamics in any rift basin with superposed strike-slip deformation.
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Kawamura, Kiichiro, and Yujiro Ogawa. "Internal structure, active tectonics and dynamic topography of the eastern Nankai accretionary prism toe, Japan, and its tsunamigenic potential." Geological Magazine 158, no. 1 (October 30, 2018): 30–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756818000699.
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AbstractThe eastern Nankai accretionary prism toe was surveyed to evaluate the nature and deformation of its frontal thrust. According to the determined porosities and yield strengths, turbidites were successively buried down to depths of 250–300 m before accretion, and were then exposed at the prism toe by uplift along the Tenryu frontal thrust during 3.4–1.98 Ma. Consolidation tests provided reasonable estimates of burial depth and, when combined with exposed sediment dates, yield prism toe uplift rates of 0.74–2.27 m ka–1. The displacement along the frontal thrust is estimated to be 500–900 m and the slip rates are 1.47–4.55 m ka–1, corresponding to the highest class of active faults on land in Japan. During the surveys of the Tenryu frontal thrust zone, we discovered a new active fault scarp that was several tens of centimetres high, interpreted to be a protothrust located c. 100 m south of the frontal thrust. This scarp is associated with chemosynthetic biocommunities. The thrust might potentially be the result of displacement during the East Nankai (To-Nankai) earthquake (Mw 8.1) in 1944. These lines of evidence indicate that the Tenryu frontal thrust is still active and that displacement along the thrust might induce a tsunami during future Tokai or To-Nankai earthquakes.
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McGregor, Ian S., and Nathan W. Onderdonk. "Late Pleistocene rates of rock uplift and faulting at the boundary between the southern Coast Ranges and the western Transverse Ranges in California from reconstruction and luminescence dating of the Orcutt Formation." Geosphere 17, no. 3 (March 24, 2021): 932–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ges02274.1.
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Abstract The western Transverse Ranges and southern Coast Ranges of California are lithologically similar but have very different styles and rates of Quaternary deformation. The western Transverse Ranges are deformed by west-trending folds and reverse faults with fast rates of Quaternary fault slip (1–11 mm/yr) and uplift (1–7 mm/yr). The southern Coast Ranges, however, are primarily deformed by northwest-trending folds and right-lateral strike-slip faults with much slower slip rates (3 mm/yr or less) and uplift rates (<1 mm/yr). Faults and folds at the boundary between these two structural domains exhibit geometric and kinematic characteristics of both domains, but little is known about the rate of Quaternary deformation along the boundary. We used a late Pleistocene sedimentary deposit, the Orcutt Formation, as a marker to characterize deformation within the boundary zone over the past 120 k.y. The Orcutt Formation is a fluvial deposit in the Santa Maria Basin that formed during regional planation by a broad fluvial system that graded into a shoreline platform at the coast. We used post-infrared–infrared-stimulated luminescence (pIR-IRSL) dating to determine that the Orcutt Formation was deposited between 119 ± 8 and 85 ± 6 ka, coincident with oxygen isotope stages 5e-a paleo–sea-level highstands and regional depositional events. The deformed Orcutt basal surface closely follows the present-day topography of the Santa Maria Basin and is folded by northwest-trending anticlines that are a combination of fault-propagation and fault-bend-folding controlled by deeper thrust faults. Reconstructions of the Orcutt basal surface and forward modeling of balanced cross sections across the study area allowed us to measure rock uplift rates and fault slip rates. Rock uplift rates at the crests of two major anticlinoria are 0.9–4.9 mm/yr, and the dip-slip rate along the blind fault system that underlies these folds is 5.6–6.7 mm/yr. These rates are similar to those reported from the Ventura area to the southeast and indicate that the relatively high rates of deformation in the western Transverse Ranges are also present along the northern boundary zone. The deformation style and rates are consistent with models that attribute shortening across the Santa Maria Basin to accommodation of clockwise rotation of the western Transverse Ranges and suggest that rotation has continued into late Quaternary time.
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Kang, Wenjun, Xiwei Xu, Michael E. Oskin, Guihua Yu, Jiahong Luo, Guihua Chen, Hao Luo, Xinzhe Sun, and Xiyan Wu. "Characteristic slip distribution and earthquake recurrence along the eastern Altyn Tagh fault revealed by high-resolution topographic data." Geosphere 16, no. 1 (December 19, 2019): 392–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ges02116.1.
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Abstract The seismic cycle model is roughly constrained by limited offset data sets from the eastern Altyn Tagh fault with a low slip rate. The recent availability of high-resolution topographic data from the eastern Altyn Tagh fault provides an opportunity to obtain distinctly improved quantitative, dense measurements of fault offsets. In this paper, we used airborne light detection and ranging data and unmanned aircraft vehicle photogrammetry to evaluate fault offsets. To better constrain the large earthquake recurrence model, we acquired dense data sets of fault displacements using the LaDiCaoz_v2.1 software. A total of 321 offset measurements below 30 m highlight two new observations: (1) surface-slip of the most recent earthquake and multiple events exhibit both short-wavelength (m-scale) and long-wavelength (km-scale) variability; and (2) synthesis of offset frequency analysis and coefficient of variation indicate regular slip events with ∼6 m slip increment on fault segments to the west of the Shulehe triple junction. The distribution of offsets and paleoseismological data reveal that the eastern Altyn Tagh fault exhibits characteristic slip behavior, with the characteristic slip of ∼6 m and a recurrence period ranging from 1170 to 3790 years. Paleoearthquake recurrence intervals and slip increments yield mean horizontal slip-rate estimates of 2.1–2.6 mm/yr for fault segments to the west of the Shulehe triple junction. Assuming a 10 km rupture depth and a 30 GPa shear modulus, we estimated a characteristic slip event moment magnitude (Mw) of ∼7.6. Finally, we discuss the interaction mechanism between Altyn Tagh fault (strike fault) and the NW-trending thrust faults (reverse faults) that caused the sudden decrease of sinistral slip rate at the Shulehe and Subei triple junctions; our results support the eastward “lateral slip extrusion” model.
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Scherrenberg, Arne F., and Gideon Rosenbaum. "Photograph of the Month: Thrust duplex, low-angle normal faults and domino-style faults in laminated shale, Mt Isa, Australia." Journal of Structural Geology 31, no. 5 (May 2009): 475. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2008.10.015.
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Nian, Tao, Yanze Li, Tao Hou, Chengqian Tan, and Chao Liu. "Natural fractures at depth in the Lower Cretaceous Kuqa Depression tight sandstones: identification and characteristics." Geological Magazine 157, no. 8 (January 13, 2020): 1299–315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756819001444.
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AbstractThe Kuqa Depression in the northern Tarim Basin, NW China, is characterized by fault-controlled anticlines where natural fractures may influence production. Natural fractures in the Lower Cretaceous tight sandstones in the depression have been studied using seismic profiles, borehole images, cores and thin-sections. Results show that thrust faults, two types of opening-mode macrofractures and two types of microfractures are present. Thrust faults were generated during Cenozoic N–S-directed tectonic shortening and have hydraulically linked Jurassic source rocks and Cretaceous sandstones. Opening-mode fractures can be subdivided on the basis of sizes, filling characteristics and distribution patterns. Type 1 macrofractures are barren or mainly calcite-lined. They have straight traces with widths (opening displacements) that are of the order of magnitude of 10 μm, suggesting that their primary role is that of migration channels. Type 2 macrofractures are calcite-filled opening-mode fractures. They have an elliptical or tabular shape with sharply tapering tips. Transgranular microfractures are lens-shaped and open or filled mostly by calcite; maximum widths range between 0.01 mm and 0.1 mm. Intragranular microfractures are the most common microfracture type. They are filled by calcite, feldspar or quartz. The macrofractures and transgranular microfractures have regular distributions, while most intragranular microfractures are irregularly distributed owing to their inherited origin. The results imply that natural fractures in the tight sandstones were formed as tectonic, diagenetic and natural hydraulic origins. In situ stress and cementation analyses suggest that Type 1 macrofractures and their genesis-related microfractures have controlled the present flow system of the tight sandstones.
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Barnes, R. P., E. R. Phillips, and M. P. Boland. "The Orlock Bridge Fault in the Southern Uplands of southwestern Scotland: a terrane boundary?" Geological Magazine 132, no. 5 (September 1995): 523–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s001675680002118x.
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AbstractThe Orlock Bridge Fault separates the Ordovician and Silurian turbidite sequences within the Southern Uplands thrust belt. A large biostratigraphical break and the 1 km wide sinistral Slieve Glah Shear Zone associated with the fault in northern Ireland led to previous interpretation as a major regional structure, possibly a terrane boundary. In Scotland, however, the stratigraphical break is much less and an association with inliers of the Moffat Shale Group suggests that the fault is essentially similar to the other tract-bounding faults which originated as syn-D1 thrusts within the imbricate stack. Localized sinistral deformation apparent along the trace of the Orlock Bridge Fault in southwestern Scotland, associated with post-1 reactivation, is comparable to that seen at Slieve Glah. Further east, a broad zone (up to 8 km) of sinistral ductile deformation, the Moniaive Shear Zone, is recognized adjacent to the Orlock Bridge Fault over a strike length of about 100 km. However, this zone differs from the Slieve Glah Shear Zone in its width and its location relative to the fault, suggesting that it is not simply related to the fault but represents a more regional deformation. Sinistral reactivation of the Orlock Bridge Fault was possibly initiated in the Wenlock during the peak of sinistral shear at the thrust front, although it may have developed over a long time contemporaneously with, but locally post-dating, the Moniaive Shear Zone. The latter deforms porphyroblasts with the thermal aureole of the c. 392 Ma Cairnsmore of Fleet granite pluton, which was emplaced into and largely post-dates the shear zone, but is deformed by the Orlock Bridge Fault. Major dip-slip reactivation of the fault post-dates the Moniaive Shear Zone and regional metamorphism and probably occurred in the Carboniferous or Permian. There is some evidence for a deep crustal feature coincident with the Orlock Bridge Fault, possibly the boundary between different crustal blocks in the collage of terrane fragments accreted during the final closure of Iapetus, which may explain the unusual extent of the reactivation of the Orlock Bridge Fault within the allochthonous Southern Uplands thrust stack. However, the situation of the fault within the Southern Uplands terrane and, in Scotland, the biostratigraphical evidence of no major stratigraphical break across the fault and the lack of any clear relationship between the Orlock Bridge Fault and the Moniaive Shear Zone indicate that the fault should not be regarded as a terrane boundary.