Lateral variation in structural style along an evaporite-influenced rift fault system in the Halten Terrace,Norway: Influence of basement structure and evaporite facies

The Halten Terrace is underlain by a Triassic evaporitic package, resulting in vertically decoupled normal fault systems following subsequent extension. Four structural domains are identified along the eastern margin of the Halten Terrace, characterised by: i) thick-skinned normal faults affecting both sub-salt and supra-salt cover, ii) basement-restricted normal faults associated with fault-propagation folds, iii) thick-skinned, distributed normal faults, and iv) thick-skinned, localised normal faults. A fault domain boundary associated with an NE–SW striking basement fault corresponds to an abrupt change in style in the north of the Halten Terrace. Summed throw and estimated strain measurements show that throw and strain accommodated by the fault system increase southward, corresponding to a transition from distributed to localised faulting. The evaporite package is variable in thickness, but those variations do not correspond spatially to variations in structural style. Wells that penetrate the evaporite package, and volume attribute analysis of 3D seismic data, suggest variable evaporite facies. A change in seismic attributes from high-amplitude, low variance to low-amplitude, high variance corresponds to a change from decoupled to thick-skinned faulting. The sub-evaporite fault template, amount of strain accommodated across the fault system, and facies variations in the evaporite package are key influences on structural style.     

The influence of faults and intraplate stresses on the overpressure evolution of the Halten Terrace, mid-Norwegian margin

The Halten Terrace is a structural element of the Meso-Cenozoic mid-Norwegian margin. The pore fluid pressure distribution in the faulted Jurassic formations on the Halten Terrace is characterized by significant lateral variations. In general, the fluid overpressure increases stepwise across faults from east to west, from zero (hydrostatic fluid pressure) to about 30 MPa. Fault-bounded pressure cells can therefore best explain the fluid pressure distribution. The results of analyses of log-derived porosities indicate that the high overpressure in the westernmost pressure cell was built up recently. However, despite the high sedimentation rates during Plio-Pleistocene, the high overpressure cannot be explained by local mechanical compaction. Alternative explanations for the high overpressure proposed by other authors are based on pore fluid volume increase (e.g. hydrocarbon generation). We propose that the high overpressure is caused by fluid flow from the deep Rås Basin to the western part of the Halten Terrace, through fractures in the Mesozoic, deep seated Klakk Fault Complex. Opening of fractures in this fault zone by seismic and static mechanisms is possible in the present-day intraplate stress field, which is characterized by a NW–SE oriented maximum horizontal stress direction. During Miocene, the maximum horizontal stress was E–W oriented, which implies a stress rotation during Pliocene. The E–W orientation of the maximum horizontal stress has impeded the initiation and opening of fractures in the N–S striking Klakk Fault Complex during Miocene. Fluid flow from the Rås Basin through faults of the Klakk Fault Complex can therefore have occured since Pliocene. Thus, the rotation of the intraplate stress directions can explain why the build-up of overpressure on the western part of the Halten Terrace occured recently, as indicated by the results of porosity analyses. Understanding the overpressure evolution of the Halten Terrace is important for exploration in that area, as hydrocarbons have been found in the hydrostatic pressure cells, whereas they are absent in the high overpressure cells.     

Modelling cover deformation and decoupling during inversion,using the Mid-Polish Trough as a case study

Seismic sections across the NW part of the Polish Basin show that thrust faults developed in the sedimentary units above the Zechstein evaporite layer during basin inversion. These cover thrust faults have formed above the basement footwall. Based on the evolution of the basin, a series of scaled analogue models was carried out to study interaction between a basement fault and cover sediments during basin extension and inversion. During model extension, a set of normal faults originated in the sand cover above the basement fault area. The distribution and geometry of these faults were dependent on the thickness of a ductile layer and pre-extension sand layer, synkinematic deposition, the amount of model extension, as well as on the presence of a ductile layer between the cover and basement. Footwall cover was faulted away from the basement only in cases where a large amount of model extension and hanging-wall subsidence were not balanced by synkinematic deposition. Model inversion reactivated major cover faults located above the basement fault tip as reverse faults, whereas other extensional faults were either rotated or activated only in their upper segments, evolving into sub-horizontal thrusts. New normal or reverse faults originated in the footwall cover in models which contained a very thin pre-extension sand layer above the ductile layer. This was also the case in the highly extended and shortened model in which synkinematic hanging-wall subsidence was not balanced by sand deposition during model extension. Model results show that inversion along the basement fault results in shortening of the cover units and formation of thrust faults. This scenario happens only when the cover units are decoupled from the basement by a ductile layer. Given this, we argue that the thrusts in the sedimentary infill of the Polish Basin, which are decoupled from the basement tectonics by Zechstein evaporites, developed due to the inversion of the basement faults during the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary.     

The geology of the giant Nyankanga gold deposit,Geita Greenstone Belt,Tanzania

Nyankanga is the largest gold deposit in the Geita Greenstone Belt of the northern Tanzania Craton. The deposit is hosted within an Archean volcano-sedimentary package dominated by ironstones and intruded by a large diorite complex, the Nyankanga Intrusive Complex. The supracrustal package is now included within the intrusive complex as roof pendants. The ironstone fragments contain evidence of multiple folding events that occurred prior to intrusion. The supracrustal package and Nyankanga Intrusive Complex are cut by a series of NE–SW trending, moderately NW dipping fault zones with a dominant reverse component of movement but showing multiple reactivation events with both oblique and normal movement components. The deposit is cut by a series of NW trending strike slip faults and ~ E–W trending late normal faults. The Nyankanga Fault Zone is a major NW dipping deformation zone developed mainly along the ironstone–diorite contacts that is mineralised over its entire length. The gold mineralization is hosted within the damage zone associated with Nyankanga Fault Zone by both diorite and ironstone with higher grades typically occurring in ironstone. Ore shoots dip more steeply than the Nyankanga Fault Zone. The mineralization is associated with sulfidation fronts and replacement textures in ironstones and is mostly contained as disseminated sulphides in diorite. The close spatial relationship between gold mineralization and the ironstone/diorite contact suggests that the reaction between the mineralising fluid and iron rich lithotypes played an important role in precipitating gold. Intense brecciation and veining, mainly in the footwall of Nyankanga Fault Zone, indicates that the fault zone increased permeability and allowed the access of mineralising fluids. The steeper dip of the ore shoots is consistent with mineralization during normal reactivation of the Nyankanga Fault Zone.     

The influence of pre-existing structure on the growth of syn-sedimentary normal faults in a deltaic setting,Niger Delta

Three dimensional seismic-reflection data from the western Niger Delta were used to investigate the segmentation and linkage of a syn-sedimentary normal fault array and to estimate the influence of a pre-existing normal fault on the geometry and growth of younger faults. The nucleation, growth and linkage of a regional (seaward-dipping) deltaic fault system were analyzed on reflectivity time-/horizon slices and vertical seismic sections. In the deep subsurface, a master fault that consists of two segments (northwestern, NW, and southeastern, SE) grew through time into a single fault by lateral tip propagation reaching a final length of about 15 km. After attaining this length, displacement along the fault system developed non-uniformly through time. The analysis of the hanging-wall sediments of the deep-seated master fault shows two different processes of vertical linkage above the NW and SE segment. The SE segment links vertically to several younger faults contemporaneously with displacement accumulation on the master fault; in contrast, fault linkage above the NW segment occurred only after an interval of master-fault inactivity connecting the deep-seated structure upwards to a single syn-sedimentary normal fault. The observed differences in fault development suggest that although multi-segment deltaic faults form single fault systems after segment linkage, individual pre-linkage characteristics can be preserved, supporting a possibly diverse upward growth and connection to younger faults in the overburden. The geological interpretations presented highlight the influence of large deep-rooted structures on the development, location and geometry of shallow deltaic faults, documenting the influence of an older structural grain on delta tectonics.     

Structure and flow properties of syn-rift border faults: The interplay between fault damage and fault-related chemical alteration (Dombjerg Fault,Wollaston Forland,NE Greenland)

Structurally controlled, syn-rift, clastic depocentres are of economic interest as hydrocarbon reservoirs; understanding the structure of their bounding faults is of great relevance, e.g. in the assessment of fault-controlled hydrocarbon retention potential. Here we investigate the structure of the Dombjerg Fault Zone (Wollaston Forland, NE Greenland), a syn-rift border fault that juxtaposes syn-rift deep-water hanging-wall clastics against a footwall of crystalline basement. A series of discrete fault strands characterize the central fault zone, where discrete slip surfaces, fault rock assemblages and extreme fracturing are common. A chemical alteration zone (CAZ) of fault-related calcite cementation envelops the fault and places strong controls on the style of deformation, particularly in the hanging-wall. The hanging-wall damage zone includes faults, joints, veins and, outside the CAZ, disaggregation deformation bands. Footwall deformation includes faults, joints and veins. Our observations suggest that the CAZ formed during early-stage fault slip and imparted a mechanical control on later fault-related deformation. This study thus gives new insights to the structure of an exposed basin-bounding fault and highlights a spatiotemporal interplay between fault damage and chemical alteration, the latter of which is often underreported in fault studies. To better elucidate the structure, evolution and flow properties of faults (outcrop or subsurface), both fault damage and fault-related chemical alteration must be considered.     

Evolution of the Large-scale Active Manisa Fault,Southwest Turkey: Implications on Fault Development and Regional Tectonics

This paper aims to illustrate and discuss mechanism(s) responsible for the growth and evolution of large-scale corrugated normal faults in southwest Turkey. We report spectacular exposures of normal fault surfaces as parts of the Manisa Fault - a ?50-km-long northeast-ward arched active fault that defines the northwestern edge of the Manisa graben, which is subsidiary to the Gediz Graben. The fault is a single through-going corrugated fault system with distinct along-strike bends. It follows NW direction for 15 km in the south, then bends into an approximately E-W direction in the northwest. The fault trace occurs at the base of topographic scarps and separates the Quaternary limestone scree and alluvium from the highly strained, massive bed-rock carbonates. The fault is exposed on continuous pristine slip surfaces, up to 60 m high. The observed surfaces are polished and ornamented by well-preserved various brittle structural features, such as slip-parallel striations, gutters and tool tracks, and numerous closely spaced extension fractures with straight or crescentic traces. The rocks both in the footwall and hanging-wall of the fault possess a well-developed fault rock stratigraphy made up, from structurally lowest to the top, of massive undeformed recrystallized limestone, a zone of cemented breccia sheets, corrugated polished slip planes, and first brecciated, then unbrecciated scree.

The observed slip surfaces of the Manisa Fault contain two sets of striations that suggest an early phase of sinistral strike-slip and a subsequent normal-slip movements. The first phase is attributed to: (i) approximately E-W-directed compression that commenced during either (?) Early-Middle Pliocene time or (ii) the current extensional tectonics and consequent modern graben formation in southwest Turkey that initiated during the Plio-Quaternary. During this period, the Manisa Fault was reactivated and it became a major segment. Stress inversion of fault slip data suggests that southwest Turkey has been experiencing multidirectional crustal extension, with components of approximately N-S, E-W, NE-SW and NW-SE extension. Following the reactivation, the inherited fault segments were connected to each other through interaction, linkage and amalgamation of previously discontinuous and overlapping smaller stepping adjacent faults. Linkage was via the formation of new connecting (breaching) fault(s) or by curved propagation of fault-tips. The result is a single through-going corrugated fault trace with distinct along-strike bends. The final geometry of the Manisa Fault is thus the combined result of reactivation and continuing interaction between previously discontinuous segmented fault traces.     

Geometry and kinematics of the Mosha Fault, south central Alborz Range, Iran: An example of basement involved thrusting

Field investigation of the western part of the Mosha Fault in several structural sections in the south central Alborz Range showed that the fault has a high angle of dip to the north, and emplaces Precambrian to Cenozoic rocks over the Eocene Karaj Formation. Study of the kinematics of the Mosha Fault in this area, based on S–C fabric and microstructures, demonstrates that it is a deep-seated semi-ductile thrust. Strain analysis on rock samples from different sections across the Mosha Fault shows a flattening pattern of deformation in which the long axis of the strain ellipsoid is aligned in the fault shear sense. The Mosha Fault is associated with a large hanging-wall anticline, cored by Precambrian rocks, and series of footwall synclines, formed of late Tertiary rocks. This geometry, together with several low angle short-cut thrusts in the fault footwall, implies that the Mosha Fault is an inverted normal fault which has been reactivated since the late Tertiary. In the study area, the reverse fault mechanism was associated with the rapid uplift and igneous activity in the central Alborz Range during the late Tertiary, unlike in the eastern portion of the fault, where the fault kinematics was replaced by a strike-slip mechanism in the Late Miocene.     

The Rila-Pastra Normal Fault and multi-stage extensional unroofing in the Rila Mountains (SW Bulgaria)

The Rhodope Metamorphic Province represents the core of an Alpine orogen affected by strong syn- and postorogenic extension. We report evidence for multiple phases of extensional unroofing from the western border of the Rila Mountains in the lower Rila valley, SW Bulgaria. The most prominent structure is the Rila-Pastra Normal Fault (RPNF), a major extensional fault and shear zone of Eocene to Early Oligocene age. The fault zone includes, from base to top, mylonites, ultramylonites and cataclasites, indicating deformation under progressively decreasing temperature, from amphibolite-facies to low-temperature brittle deformation. It strikes E–W with a top-to-the-N-to NW-directed sense of shear. Basement rocks in the hanging wall and footwall both display amphibolite-facies conditions. The foliation of the hanging-wall gneisses, however, is discordantly cut by the fault, while the foliation of the footwall gneisses is seen to curve into parallelism with the fault when approaching it. Two ductile splays of the RPNF occur in the footwall, which are subparallel to the foliation of the surrounding gneisses and merge laterally into the mylonites of the main fault zone. The concordance between the foliation in the footwall and the RPNF suggests that deformation and cooling in the footwall occurred simultaneously with extensional shearing, while the hanging-wall gneisses had already been exhumed previously. The RPNF is associated with thick deposits of an Early Oligocene, syntectonic breccia on top of its hanging wall. Integrating our results with previous studies, we distinguish the following stages of extensional faulting: (1) Late Cretaceous NW–SE extension (Gabrov Dol Detachment), exhumation of the present day hanging wall of the RPNF; (2) Eocene to Early Oligocene NW–SE to N–S extension (RPNF); (3) Miocene to Pliocene E–W extension (Western Border Fault), formation of the Djerman Graben; (4) Holocene to recent N–S to NW–SE extension (Stob Fault), reactivating the SW part of the Western Border Fault.     

Field evidence for normal fault linkage and relay ramp evolution: the Kırkağaç Fault Zone,western Anatolia (Turkey)

Linking of normal faults forms at all scales as a relay ramp during growth stages and represents the most efficient way for faults to lengthen during their progressive formation. Here, I study the linking of normal faulting along the active K?rka?aç Fault Zone within the west Anatolian extensional system to reconstruct fault interaction in time and space using both field- and computer-based data. I find that (i) connecting of the relay zone/ramp occurred with two breaching faults of different generations and that (ii) the propagation was facilitated by the presence of pre-existing structures, inherited from the ?zmir-Bal?kesir transfer zone. Hence, the linkage cannot be compared directly to a simple fault growth model. Therefore, I propose a combined scenario of both hangingwall and footwall fault propagation mechanisms that explain the present-day geometry of the composite fault line. The computer-based analyses show that the approximate slip rate is 0.38 mm/year during the Quaternary, and a NE–SW-directed extension is mainly responsible for the recent faulting along the K?rka?aç Fault Zone. The proposed structural scenario also highlights the active fault termination and should be considered in future seismic hazard assessments for the region that includes densely populated settlements.     

Fault-zone structure and weakening processes in basin-scale reverse faults: The Moonlight Fault Zone,South Island,New Zealand

The >200 km long Moonlight Fault Zone (MFZ) in southern New Zealand was an Oligocene basin-bounding normal fault zone that reactivated in the Miocene as a high-angle reverse fault (present dip angle 65°–75°). Regional exhumation in the last c. 5 Ma has resulted in deep exposures of the MFZ that present an opportunity to study the structure and deformation processes that were active in a basin-scale reverse fault at basement depths. Syn-rift sediments are preserved only as thin fault-bound slivers. The hanging wall and footwall of the MFZ are mainly greenschist facies quartzofeldspathic schists that have a steeply-dipping (55°–75°) foliation subparallel to the main fault trace. In more fissile lithologies (e.g. greyschists), hanging-wall deformation occurred by the development of foliation-parallel breccia layers up to a few centimetres thick. Greyschists in the footwall deformed mainly by folding and formation of tabular, foliation-parallel breccias up to 1 m wide. Where the hanging-wall contains more competent lithologies (e.g. greenschist facies metabasite) it is laced with networks of pseudotachylyte that formed parallel to the host rock foliation in a damage zone extending up to 500 m from the main fault trace. The fault core contains an up to 20 m thick sequence of breccias, cataclasites and foliated cataclasites preserving evidence for the progressive development of interconnected networks of (partly authigenic) chlorite and muscovite. Deformation in the fault core occurred by cataclasis of quartz and albite, frictional sliding of chlorite and muscovite grains, and dissolution-precipitation. Combined with published friction and permeability data, our observations suggest that: 1) host rock lithology and anisotropy were the primary controls on the structure of the MFZ at basement depths and 2) high-angle reverse slip was facilitated by the low frictional strength of fault core materials. Restriction of pseudotachylyte networks to the hanging-wall of the MFZ further suggests that the wide, phyllosilicate-rich fault core acted as an efficient hydrological barrier, resulting in a relatively hydrous footwall and fault core but a relatively dry hanging-wall.     

Normal fault corrugation: implications for growth and seismicity of active normal faults

Large normal faults are corrugated. Corrugations appear to form from overlapping or en échelon fault arrays by two breakthrough mechanisms: lateral propagation of curved fault-tips and linkage by connecting faults. Both mechanisms include localized fault-parallel extension and eventual abandonment of relay ramps. These breakthrough mechanisms produce distinctive hanging wall and footwall geometries indicative of fault system evolution. From such geometries, we can estimate the positions of tilted relay ramps or ramp segments and ramp internal deformation in incompletely exposed or poorly imaged fault systems. We examine the evolution of normal fault corrugations at Fish Slough (California), Yucca Mountain (Nevada), and Pleasant Valley (Nevada), in the Basin and Range province. We discuss how evolution of the Pleasant Valley and Yucca Mountain systems relates to seismicity. For example, the 1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake produced four en échelon ruptures that appeared as overlapping segments of a single immature fault at depth. At Yucca Mountain, we argue that an en échelon array, which includes the Solitario Canyon and Iron Ridge faults, should be considered a single source, such that western Yucca Mountain could experience up to a M_w 6.9 earthquake compared to M_w 6.6 estimates for the largest individual segment.     

Structural analysis of the Gachsar sub-zone in central Alborz range; constrain for inversion tectonics followed by the range transverse faulting

Analysis of the Gachsar structural sub-zone has been carried out to constrain structural evolution of the central Alborz range situated in the central Alpine Himalayan orogenic system. The sub-zone bounded by the northward-dipping Kandovan Fault to the north and the southward-dipping Taleghan Fault to the south is transversely cut by several sinistral faults. The Kandovan Fault that controls development of the Eocene rocks in its footwall from the Paleozoic–Mesozoic units in the fault hanging wall is interpreted as an inverted basin-bounding fault. Structural evidences include the presence of a thin-skinned imbricate thrust system propagated from a detachment zone that acts as a footwall shortcut thrust, development of large synclines in the fault footwall as well as back thrusts and pop-up structures on the fault hanging wall. Kinematics of the inverted Kandovan Fault and its accompanying structures constrain the N–S shortening direction proposed for the Alborz range until Late Miocene. The transverse sinistral faults that are in acute angle of 15° to a major magnetic lineament, which represents a basement fault, are interpreted to develop as synthetic Riedel shears on the cover sequences during reactivation of the basement fault. This overprinting of the transverse faults on the earlier inverted extensional fault occurs since the Late Miocene when the south Caspian basin block attained a SSW movement relative to the central Iran. Therefore, recent deformation in the range is a result of the basement transverse-fault reactivation.     

Structural evidence for superposition of transtension on transpression in the Zagros collision zone: Main Recent Fault,Piranshahr area,NW Iran

The Main Recent Fault of the Zagros Orogen is an active major dextral strike-slip fault along the Zagros collision zone, generated by oblique continent–continent collision of the Arabian plate with Iranian micro-continent. Two different fault styles are observed along the Piranshahr fault segment of the Main Recent Fault in NW Iran. The first style is a SW-dipping oblique reverse fault with dextral strike-slip displacement and the second style consists of cross-cutting NE-dipping, oblique normal fault dipping to the NE with the same dextral strike-slip displacement. A fault propagation anticline is generated SW of the oblique reverse fault. An active pull-apart basin has been produced to the NE of the Piranshahr oblique normal fault and is associated with other sub-parallel NE-dipping normal faults cutting the reverse oblique fault. Another cross-cutting set of NE–SW trending normal faults are also exist in the pull-apart area. We conclude that the NE verging major dextral oblique reverse fault initiated as a SW verging thrust system due to dextral transpression tectonic of the Zagros collision zone and later it has been overprinted by the NE-dipping oblique normal fault producing dextral strike-slip displacement reflecting progressive change of transpression into transtension in the collision zone. The active Piranshahr pull-apart basin has been generated due to a releasing damage zone along the NW segment of the Main Recent Fault in this area at an overlap of Piranshahr oblique normal fault segment of the Main Recent Fault and the Serow fault, the continuation of the Main Recent Fault to the N.     

东濮凹陷伸展连锁断层系统及其演化作用

东濮凹陷NNE向的主干基底断层向深部延伸与深层的拆离滑脱断层衔接在一起,与诱导出的调节断层以不同的方式连接,构成东濮凹陷的伸展连锁断层系统。东濮凹陷不同区段的连锁断层形态表现出不同的几何学和运动学特征。北区兰聊主断层面表现为相对较缓的平面式形态,伸展连锁断层系统总体上为多米诺式半地堑系。中区伸展连锁断层系统总体上表现为大型铲式正断层上盘的一个不对称的地堑。南区兰聊主断层面表现为坡坪式形态,断陷结构相对复杂。东濮凹陷伸展连锁断层系统的演化大体分为4期,不同区带伸展连锁断层系统演化模式不同,对古近系沉积和石油地质条件有较大的影响。     

郯庐断裂带渤海段与沂沭断裂带衔接关系

以郯庐断裂带渤海段和沂沭断裂带的衔接点潍北凹陷为切入点,依据高精度大地电磁和地震剖面,解析了潍北凹陷的多条断裂,并结合地层发育等特征,研究渤海段中生代断裂活动及其与沂沭断裂带的构造关系。研究认为这些断裂可能属于不同的断裂体系。在潍北凹陷解析出的郯西(Fa)和郯东(Fb)两条断裂为古近纪正断裂系,呈现上陡下缓的勺状形态,消失在中地壳,切割部位较浅,主要控制新生界沉积。新生代正断裂系下部发育有6条显著的中生代断裂(F1—F6),为中生代伸展断裂系,其中东(F6)、西(F1)两条断裂的断裂面整体近直立,切穿深部的下地壳,并向下继续延伸,与中间4条断裂共同控制中生界沉积。结合区域地质背景和重磁延拓等资料,推断其向南分别与沂沭断裂带西支鄌郚—葛沟断裂和东支昌邑—大店断裂相衔接,向北伸入渤海湾盆地深部,并对浅部古近纪正断裂系的形成演化具有明显的约束作用。      

Structural geology controls on groundwater flow: Lembang Fault case study, West Java, Indonesia

Field evidence has shown that Lembang Fault (West Java, Indonesia) can act as a groundwater flow barrier. There are outcrops along the footwall comprising consolidated brecciated rock with very low permeability, springs and hot springs occurring along down-thrown hanging-wall rock adjacent to the fault, and a high permeability layer of old and young Tangkuban Parahu eruptive materials (hanging wall) juxtaposed against the low permeability of the older volcanic layer of Bukit Tunggul unit (footwall). Two different environmental tracers were utilized in the study: electrical conductivity measurement and stable isotope analysis. Hydraulic head was measured at some wells along the fault and water electrical conductivity measurements were carried out in a small catchment, the upper part of Cikapundung River basin, which is located just north of Bandung City. Water samples for stable isotope composition analysis were taken from 19 observation wells distributed randomly inside the basin. All analysis data lead to the recognition that Lembang Fault blocks the groundwater flow. No indication was found for water being recharged at higher elevation in the northern part of Bandung Basin, which means the recharged water in Mount Tangkuban Parahu area does not reach Bandung Plain.     

Geomorphological signatures of the evolution of active normal faults along the Langshan Mountains,North China

Segmentation, propagation, and linkage of normal faults often occur in regions of active extension, and observations of the distribution and structural properties of segment boundaries can provide important insights for seismic hazard assessment. In this study, we carry out quantitative geomorphological analysis to evaluate the relative tectonic activity along the Langshan Piedmont Fault (LPF), which bounds the NW margin of the Hetao Graben, North China. On the basis of obtained morphometric indices (HI, BS, Smf, VF, SLK, and χ), tectonic knickpoint heights, footwall topography, and small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV)-based field observations, we demonstrate that: (i) The Langshan landscape is in a state of disequilibrium in response to active rock uplift and channel incision; (ii) The LPF consists of two major fault segments with lengths of 65 and 95 km, respectively, which likely have been linked with each other; (iii) Rupturing of the whole of one segment can generate an earthquake of M_w ~7.3–7.5, and earthquake magnitude may reach M_w ~7.8 if the entire fault trace of ~160 km is ruptured, posing a significant seismic risk in the western Hetao Graben. These findings would further our understanding of normal fault evolution through space and time in actively extending regions.     

The geometrical evolution of normal fault systems

The purpose of this paper is to examine the kinematic behaviour of normal fault systems and see what general conditions govern their geometrical evolution. We pay particular attention to seismological and surface data from regions of present day active normal faulting, as the instantaneous three-dimensional geometry at the time of fault movement is better known in active regions than in areas where the faults are now static.Most normal faults are concave upward, or listric. This shape can be produced by geometric constraints, either because the faults reactivate curved thrusts, or because they must be curved to accommodate rotations. Another effect which will produce curved faults is the variation of rheology with depth: brittle failure at shallow depths produces less fault rotation than does distributed creep in the lower part of the crust. An important geometric feature of normal faulting is the uplift of the footwall. The amount of such uplift is related not only to the elastic properties of the lithosphere, but also to the throw and dip of the fault. A striking feature of active normal faults is that they occur in groups in which all the faults dip in the same direction. This behaviour arises because the faults cannot intersect: if they do, one must cease to be active. The rotation which such fault systems produce reduces the dip of the faults until a new steeply dipping fault is formed. Once a new fault cuts pre-existing faults the earlier faults become locked, and a new set of faults must propagate rapidly across the whole region involved. Many of these geometric constraints also apply to thrust faulting.     

The Mesozoic structural evolution of the Gorgon Platform,North Carnarvon Basin,Australia

The Gorgon Platform is located on the southeastern edge of the Exmouth Plateau in the North Carnarvon Basin, North West Shelf, Australia. A structural analysis using three-dimensional (3D) seismic data has revealed four major sets of extensional faults, namely, (1) the Exmouth Plateau extensional fault system, (2) the basin bounding fault system (Exmouth Plateau–Gorgon Platform Boundary Fault), (3) an intra-rift fault system in the graben between the Exmouth Plateau and the Gorgon Platform and (4) an intra-rift fault system within the graben between the Exmouth Plateau and the Exmouth Sub-basin. Fault throw-length analyses imply that the initial fault segments, which formed the Exmouth Plateau–Gorgon Platform Boundary Fault (EG Boundary Fault), were subsequently connected vertically and laterally by both soft- and hard-linked structures. These major extensional fault systems were controlled by three different extensional events during the Early and Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and illustrate the strong role of structural inheritance in determining fault orientation and linkage. The Lower and Middle Jurassic and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous syn-kinematic sequences are separated by unconformities.