Footwall geometry and the rheology of thrust sheets

The inter-relationships between the exact footwall geometry and the rheology of thrust sheets are investigated. Deviations in the thrust fault surface from an ideal plane will induce a local heterogeneous deformation. The resulting deformation processes depend upon the rate of thrust sheet displacement, the geometry of the feature causing heterogeneous flow, the deformation conditions and the lithologies involved. Two classes of features are particularly important in causing heterogeneous deformation in thrust sheets. The first features are small perturbations on bedding planes which may be inherited sedimentary structures or produced during layer-parallel shortening; the second class of features are ramps, where the thrust sheet climbs up the stratigraphic section. Displacement over these features causes repeated, cyclic straining in the hanging-wall during movement. The strain rates associated with deformation at perturbations, ramps of different geometries and different displacement rates are estimated and used to discuss the influence of footwall geometry on the structural evolution of a thrust sheet. Particular attention is given to the range of fault rocks and deformation microstructures preserved after movement over a footwall with a complex geometry. Perturbations are suggested to be important in the localization of ramps, either because they create ‘sticking points’ near the fault tip during propagation or because they induce eventual failure in the hanging-wall after the movement over a number of these features raises the accumulated damage to a critical level. Analysis of the influence of the exact geometry of ramps on deformation processes during displacement leads to two important conclusions. Firstly, the exact geometry of ramps (i.e. the maximum dip angle and the straining distance from a flat to this maximum angle) may be used to estimate a maximum displacement rate of the thrust sheet. Secondly, the listric geometry of ramps may be an equilibrium shape adjusted to the displacement rate and the rheology of the hanging-wall. Adjustments towards the final geometry may involve the generation of shortcuts on either hanging- or footwall which reduce the imposed deformation rate in the hanging-wall during displacement.