Imaging the ramp–décollement geometry of the Chelungpu fault using coseismic GPS displacements from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake

We use coseismic GPS data from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake to estimate the subsurface shape of the Chelungpu fault that ruptured during the earthquake. Studies prior to the earthquake suggest a ramp–décollement geometry for the Chelungpu fault, yet many finite source inversions using GPS and seismic data assume slip occurred on the down-dip extension of the Chelungpu ramp, rather than on a sub-horizontal décollement. We test whether slip occurred on the décollement or the down-dip extension of the ramp using well-established methods of inverting GPS data for geometry and slip on faults represented as elastic dislocations. We find that a significant portion of the coseismic slip did indeed occur on a sub-horizontal décollement located at 8 km depth. The slip on the décollement contributes 21% of the total modeled moment release. We estimate the fault geometry assuming several different models for the distribution of elastic properties in the earth: homogeneous, layered, and layered with lateral material contrast across the fault. It is shown, however, that heterogeneity has little influence on our estimated fault geometry. We also investigate several competing interpretations of deformation within the E/W trending rupture zone at the northern end of the 1999 ground ruptures. We demonstrate that the GPS data require a 22- to 35-km-long lateral ramp at the northern end, contradicting other investigations that propose deformation is concentrated within 10 km of the Chelungpu fault. Lastly, we propose a simple tectonic model for the development of the lateral ramp.     

Structural architecture and tectonic evolution of the Maghara inverted basin,Northern Sinai,Egypt

Large NE–SW oriented asymmetric inversion anticlines bounded on their southeastern sides by reverse faults affect the exposed Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Maghara area (northern Sinai). Seismic data indicate an earlier Jurassic rifting phase and surface structures indicate Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary inversion phase. The geometry of the early extensional fault system clearly affected the sense of slip of the inverted faults and the geometry of the inversion anticlines. Rift-parallel fault segments were reactivated by reverse slip whereas rift-oblique fault segments were reactivated as oblique-slip faults or lateral/oblique ramps. New syn-inversion faults include two short conjugate strike-slip sets dissecting the forelimbs of inversion anticlines and the inverted faults as well as a set of transverse normal faults dissecting the backlimbs. Small anticline–syncline fold pairs ornamenting the steep flanks of the inversion anticlines are located at the transfer zones between en echelon segments of the inverted faults.     

Curved structures and interference fold patterns associated with lateral ramps in the Eastern Cordillera, Central Andes of Argentina

The conspicuous curved structures located at the eastern front of the Eastern Cordillera between 25° and 26° south latitude is coincident with the salient recognized as the El Crestón arc. Major oblique strike-slip faults associated with these strongly curved structures were interpreted as lateral ramps of an eastward displaced thrust sheet. The displacement along these oblique lateral ramps generated the local N–S stress components responsible for the complex hanging wall deformation. Accompanying each lateral ramp, there are two belts of strong oblique fault and folding: the upper Juramento River valley area and El Brete area.On both margins of the Juramento River upper valley, there is extensive map-scale evidence of complex deformation above an oblique ramp. The N–S striking folds originated during Pliocene Andean orogeny were subsequently or simultaneously folded by E–W oriented folds. The lateral ramps delimiting the thrust sheet coincident with the El Crestón arc salient are strike-slip faults emplaced in the abrupt transitions between thick strata forming the salient and thin strata outside of it. El Crestón arc is a salient related to the pre-deformational Cretaceous rift geometry, which developed over a portion of this basin (Metán depocenter) that was initially thicker. The displacement along the northern lateral ramp is sinistral, whereas it is dextral in the southern ramp. The southern end of the Eastern Cordillera of Argentina shows a particular structure reflecting a pronounced along strike variations related to the pre-deformational sedimentary thickness of the Cretaceous basin.     

Deformation produced by oblique rifting

With oblique rifting, both extension perpendicular to the rift trend and shear parallel to the rift trend contribute to rift formation. The relative amounts of extension and shear depend on α, the acute angle between the rift trend and the relative displacement direction between opposite sides of the rift. Analytical and experimental (clay) models of combined extension and left-lateral shear suggest the fault patterns produced by oblique rifting. If α is less than 30°, conjugate sets of steeply dipping strike-slip faults form in rifts. Sinistral and dextral strike-slip faults trend subparallel and at large angles to the rift trend, respectively. If α is about 30°, strike-slip, oblique-slip and/or normal faults form in rifts. Faults with sinistral and dextral strike slip trend subparallel and at large angles to the rift trend, respectively. Normal faults strike about 30° counterclockwise from the rift trend. If α exceeds 30°, normal faults form in rifts. They have moderate dips and generally strike obliquely to the rift trend and to the relative displacement direction between opposite sides of the rift. If α equals 90°, the normal faults strike parallel to the rift trend and perpendicularly to the displacement direction.The modeling results apply to the Gulf of California and Gulf of Aden, two Tertiary continental rift systems produced by combined extension and shear. Our results explain the presence and trends of oblique-slip and strike-slip faults along the margins of the Gulf of California and the oblique trend (relative to the rift trend) of many normal faults along the margins of both the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Aden.     

Strain compatibility and fault linkage in relay zones on normal faults

Relay zones on normal faults are unlikely to have tabular geometries as depicted in idealised models. Rotation of a relay ramp between non-parallel and non-planar relay-bounding faults will inevitably lead to strain compatibility problems causing open gaps or overlaps within the relay zone. Linkage of relay-bounding faults does not evolve from a single branch point. Rather, linkage occurs at multiple points along the fault tip lines giving rise to initially discontinuous branch lines. Where linkage occurs along a discontinuous slip-aligned branch line, displacement at different levels within the relay zone is partitioned between variable amounts of ramp rotation and slip across the branch line. The linking fault propagates when strain compatibility can no longer be maintained by continuous deformation processes, such as thickening or thinning of incompetent layers within the relay ramp. Step-like changes in vertical displacement vs. distance (d − x) profiles on horizons containing apparently intact relay ramps are probably indicative of incipient breaching and can be used predict the presence of a slip-aligned branch line in the sub-surface. Despite the complexity of the strain distribution within relay zones, the total vertical displacement across the relay remains geometrically coherent at all levels.     

Reactivated strike–slip faults: examples from north Cornwall, UK

Several strike–slip faults at Crackington Haven, UK show evidence of right-lateral movement with tip cracks and dilatational jogs, which have been reactivated by left-lateral strike–slip movement. Evidence for reactivation includes two slickenside striae on a single fault surface, two groups of tip cracks with different orientations and very low displacement gradients or negative (left-lateral) displacements at fault tips.

Evidence for the relative age of the two strike–slip movements is (1) the first formed tip cracks associated with right-lateral slip are deformed, whereas the tip cracks formed during left-lateral slip show no deformation; (2) some of the tip cracks associated with right-lateral movement show left-lateral reactivation; and (3) left-lateral displacement is commonly recorded at the tips of dominantly right-lateral faults.

The orientation of the tip cracks to the main fault is 30–70° clockwise for right-lateral slip, and 20–40° counter-clockwise for left-lateral slip. The structure formed by this process of strike–slip reactivation is termed a “tree structure” because it is similar to a tree with branches. The angular difference between these two groups of tip cracks could be interpreted as due to different stress distribution (e.g., transtensional/transpressional, near-field or far-field stress), different fracture modes or fractures utilizing pre-existing planes of weakness.

Most of the d–x profiles have similar patterns, which show low or negative displacement at the segment fault tips. Although the d–x profiles are complicated by fault segments and reactivation, they provide clear evidence for reactivation. Profiles that experienced two opposite slip movements show various shapes depending on the amount of displacement and the slip sequence. For a larger slip followed by a smaller slip with opposite sense, the profile would be expected to record very low or reverse displacement at fault tips due to late-stage tip propagation. Whereas for a smaller slip followed by larger slip with opposite sense, the d–x profile would be flatter with no reverse displacement at the tips. Reactivation also decreases the ratio of d_max/L since for an original right-lateral fault, left lateral reactivation will reduce the net displacement (d_max) along a fault and increase the fault length (L).

Finally we compare Crackington Haven faults with these in the Atacama system of northern Chile. The Salar Grande Fault (SGF) formed as a left-lateral fault with large displacement in its central region. Later right-lateral reactivation is preserved at the fault tips and at the smaller sub-parallel Cerro Chuculay Fault. These faults resemble those seen at Crackington Haven.     

2008年汶川大地震小鱼洞地表破裂带精细填图

5·12汶川Mw7.9级地震为罕见的、地壳尺度位移配分于多条平行断裂的板内逆冲走滑型地震。在2条北东走向、近平行的主要地表破裂间,发育北西走向的小鱼洞地表破裂。介绍了对小鱼洞北西向地表破裂的精细填图。小鱼洞地表破裂空间上位于灌县-江油与映秀-北川断裂间,全长约8km,总体走向310°,为南西盘抬升、逆冲兼具左旋走滑性质。地表破裂在南东端走向变化较大,从300~310°变为南北向,并与灌县-江油地表破裂带的磁峰段相连。小鱼洞地表破裂的垂向位错自北西往南东方向递减,北西端陡坎高度最大3.4m,南东端则小于0.2m,衰减梯度约为0.5m/km。左旋走滑位移测量点较少,集中在中段的小鱼洞镇附近,所测最大左旋走滑位移约为2.2m,一般走滑位错与同处垂直位错具有同步变化的特征。小鱼洞断裂近地表的倾角较缓,为30°±15°。结合已有地貌、地球物理和地质研究结果,提出小鱼洞断裂是向下与灌县-江油断裂交会的侧向断坡,位于映秀-北川断裂中南段间的断面倾角差异的撕裂部位,连接映秀-北川和灌县-江油断裂。在运动学上,认为小鱼洞断裂是以斜向断坡为几何形态的撕裂断裂,调节了北东走向的主断裂的运动学横向差异。小鱼洞断裂上的同震位移矢量与N70°、80°E的区域主压应力场方向匹配。这一方向与龙门山高原边界斜交。     

Rupture progression along discontinuous oblique fault sets: implications for the Karadere rupture segment of the 1999 Izmit earthquake, and future rupture in the Sea of Marmara

Large earthquakes in strike-slip regimes commonly rupture fault segments that are oblique to each other in both strike and dip. This was the case during the 1999 Izmit earthquake, which mainly ruptured E–W-striking right-lateral faults but also ruptured the N60°E-striking Karadere fault at the eastern end of the main rupture. It will also likely be so for any future large fault rupture in the adjacent Sea of Marmara. Our aim here is to characterize the effects of regional stress direction, stress triggering due to rupture, and mechanical slip interaction on the composite rupture process. We examine the failure tendency and slip mechanism on secondary faults that are oblique in strike and dip to a vertical strike-slip fault or “master” fault. For a regional stress field well-oriented for slip on a vertical right-lateral strike-slip fault, we determine that oblique normal faulting is most favored on dipping faults with two different strikes, both of which are oriented clockwise from the strike-slip fault. The orientation closer in strike to the master fault is predicted to slip with right-lateral oblique normal slip, the other one with left-lateral oblique normal slip. The most favored secondary fault orientations depend on the effective coefficient of friction on the faults and the ratio of the vertical stress to the maximum horizontal stress. If the regional stress instead causes left-lateral slip on the vertical master fault, the most favored secondary faults would be oriented counterclockwise from the master fault. For secondary faults striking ±30° oblique to the master fault, right-lateral slip on the master fault brings both these secondary fault orientations closer to the Coulomb condition for shear failure with oblique right-lateral slip. For a secondary fault striking 30° counterclockwise, the predicted stress change and the component of reverse slip both increase for shallower-angle dips of the secondary fault. For a secondary fault striking 30° clockwise, the predicted stress change decreases but the predicted component of normal slip increases for shallower-angle dips of the secondary fault. When both the vertical master fault and the dipping secondary fault are allowed to slip, mechanical interaction produces sharp gradients or discontinuities in slip across their intersection lines. This can effectively constrain rupture to limited portions of larger faults, depending on the locations of fault intersections. Across the fault intersection line, predicted rakes can vary by >40° and the sense of lateral slip can reverse. Application of these results provides a potential explanation for why only a limited portion of the Karadere fault ruptured during the Izmit earthquake. Our results also suggest that the geometries of fault intersection within the Sea of Marmara favor composite rupture of multiple oblique fault segments.     

Surface features associated with transform faults: A comparison between observed examples and an experimental model

In several tectonic provinces where active ridge segments are offset, transform faults are expected but not observed. This paper discusses the evolution of the surface expression of some transform faults with the help of a few geological examples and a simple experimental clay model in which the importance of en-échelon fault systems is assessed. We conclude that the azimuth of observed fault traces may not coincide with the direction of movement, but be oblique to it. Thus we must be cautious when using a fieldobserved fault direction to infer a transform-fault direction for use in plate-tectonics models. This study also suggests the scale at which the assumption of rigid plates fails.     

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.     

Neotectonic and volcanic characteristics of the Karasu fault zone (Anatolia,Turkey): The transition zone between the Dead Sea transform and the East Anatolian fault zone

The Karasu Rift (Antakya province, SE Turkey) has developed between east-dipping, NNE-striking faults of the Karasu fault zone, which define the western margin of the rift and west-dipping, N–S to N20°–30°E-striking faults of Dead Sea Transform fault zone (DST) in the central part and eastern margin of the rift. The strand of the Karasu fault zone that bounds the basin from west forms a linkage zone between the DST and the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). The greater vertical offset on the western margin faults relative to the eastern ones indicates asymmetrical evolution of the rift as implied by the higher escarpments and accumulation of extensive, thick alluvial fans on the western margins of the rift. The thickness of the Quaternary sedimentary fill is more than 465 m, with clastic sediments intercalated with basaltic lavas. The Quaternary alkali basaltic volcanism accompanied fluvial to lacustrine sedimentation between 1.57 ± 0.08 and 0.05 ± 0.03 Ma. The faults are left-lateral oblique-slip faults as indicated by left-stepping faulting patterns, slip-lineation data and left-laterally offset lava flows and stream channels along the Karasu fault zone. At Hacılar village, an offset lava flow, dated to 0.08 ± 0.06 Ma, indicates a rate of left-lateral oblique slip of approximately 4.1 mm·year^–1. Overall, the Karasu Rift is an asymmetrical transtensional basin, which has developed between seismically active splays of the left-lateral DST and the left-lateral oblique-slip Karasu fault zone during the neotectonic period.     

青海西南部乌丽活动断裂系的地质特征及灾害效应

乌丽活动断裂系发育于乌丽山地，是青藏高原北部重要的区域性活动构造体系，由乌丽北山活动断裂、乌丽盆缘活动断裂和乌丽南山活动断裂所组成，主要包括17条不同规模、不同性质的活动断层。大部分活动断层属左旋斜滑断层，部分活动断层为左旋走滑断层。据地质观测资料估算，典型活动断层全新世左旋走滑速度分量为1．2—3．5mm／a、垂直下滑速度分量为0．5—3．5mm／a。沿乌丽活动断裂系发育5条宽100—400m的构造裂缝带、大量串珠状冰丘群与少量移动冰丘，构造裂缝产生的高密度地表破裂和移动冰丘造成的地表拱曲变形是影响青藏铁路、公路线路工程安全的主要地质灾害。     

高邮凹陷南断阶调节带断层构造特征分析与数值模拟

在高邮凹陷南断阶北界上,始新世出现的总体北北东走向、左阶雁列状真②断层带内发育了许庄与方巷调节带。各反射层构造图显示,这两个调节带内部发育了连接与非连接两大类断层。其中连接断层可分为垂向连接、斜向连接与弧形连接3类,而非连接断层可分为同向平行断层、区域斜向正断层、斜向与横向断坡拉张断层、斜向与垂向连接-扩展断层、派生斜列断层、网状断层8类。本文通过有限差分法与有限单元法数值模拟,再现了调节带内各类断层的发育过程。结果表明,调节带内的断层一方面是区域应力直接作用的产物,另一方面是边界断层斜向拉张与扩展、断坡弯曲等影响的结果。故而,调节带内断层的发育受多种因素影响,常形成复杂的断层组合。     

Geometric evolution of a plate interface–branch fault system: Its effects on the tectonic development of the Himalayas

Crustal deformation due to fault slip depends strongly on fault geometry, and fault geometry is changed by the deformation of the crust. This feedback mechanism causes the geometrical evolution of the fault system. We have studied the progress of the geometrical evolution of a plate interface–branch fault system through numerical simulation, based on elastic–viscoelastic dislocation theory. If the plate interface is smooth, no significant change occurs in fault geometry. If the plate interface has a ramp, we observe the gradual horizontal motion of the ramp toward the hanging-wall side of the interface at half the plate convergence rate. The offset of the ramp decreases with time. The dip-angle of thrust faults branching from the plate interface increases more rapidly as the dip of the fault increases. We have applied these results to the plate interface–branch fault system at the India–Eurasia collision boundary and obtained a scenario for the tectonic development of the Himalayas for the last 30 Myr.     

Neotectonic and volcanic characteristics of the Karasu fault zone (Anatolia,Turkey): The transition zone between the Dead Sea transform and the East Anatolian fault zone

Abstract

The Karasu Rift (Antakya province, SE Turkey) has developed between east-dipping, NNE-striking faults of the Karasu fault zone, which define the western margin of the rift and westdipping, N-S to N20°-30°E-striking faults of Dead Sea Transform fault zone (DST) in the central part and eastern margin of the rift. The strand of the Karasu fault zone that bounds the basin from west forms a linkage zone between the DST and the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). The greater vertical offset on the western margin faults relative to the eastern ones indicates asymmetrical evolution of the rift as implied by the higher escarpments and accumulation of extensive, thick alluvial fans on the western margins of the rift. The thickness of the Quaternary sedimentary fill is more than 465 m, with clastic sediments intercalated with basaltic lavas. The Quaternary alkali basaltic volcanism accompanied fluvial to lacustrine sedimentation between 1.57 ± 0.08 and 0.05 ± 0.03 Ma. The faults are left-lateral oblique-slip faults as indicated by left-stepping faulting patterns, slip-lineation data and left-laterally offset lava flows and stream channels along the Karasu fault zone. At Hacilar village, an offset lava flow, dated to 0.08 ± 0.06 Ma, indicates a rate of leftlateral oblique slip of approximately 4.1 mm?year^?1. Overall, the Karasu Rift is an asymmetrical transtensional basin, which has developed between seismically active splays of the left-lateral DST and the left-lateral oblique-slip Karasu fault zone during the neotectonic period. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Enabling 3D geomechanical restoration of strike- and oblique-slip faults using geological constraints,with applications to the deep-water Niger Delta

We present a new approach of using local constraints on fault slip to perform three-dimensional geomechanical restorations. Geomechanical restoration has been performed previously on extensional and contractional systems, yet attempts to restore strike- and oblique-slip fault systems have generally failed to recover viable fault-slip patterns. The use of local measures of slip as constraints in the restoration overcomes this difficulty and enables restorations of complex strike- and oblique slip-systems. To explore this approach, we develop a synthetic restraining bend system to evaluate different ways that local slip constraints can be applied. Our restorations show that classical boundary conditions fail to reproduce the fault offset and strain pattern. In contrast, adding piercing points and/or properly constraining lateral walls enables restoration of the structure and resolves the correct pattern of slip along the faults. We then restore a complex system of tear-faults in the deepwater Niger Delta basin. We use channel offsets imaged by the seismic data to define local fault-slip constraints. Balancing these constraints equally on both sides of the major faults yields the most consistent restoration outcomes. This approach resolves reasonable slip styles on the complex set of thrust, normal, and strike-slip faults in the structure. This suggests that limited geologic fault slip constraints can be effectively incorporated in geomechanical restorations, yielding accurate restoration kinematics and thereby forecasting faults slip patterns within the structures.     

Seafloor spreading, obduction and triple junction tectonics of the Mineoka Ophiolite, Central Japan

The Tertiary Mineoka ophiolite occurs in a fault zone at the intersection of the Honshu and Izu forearcs in central Japan and displays structural evidence for three major phases of deformation: normal and oblique-slip faults and hydrothermal veins formed during the seafloor spreading evolution of the ophiolite at a ridge-transform fault intersection. These structures may represent repeated changes in differential stress and pore-fluid pressures during their formation. The second series of deformation is characterized by oblique thrust faults with Riedel shears and no significant mineral veining, and is interpreted to have resulted from transpressional dextral faulting during the obduction of the ophiolite through oblique convergence and tectonic accretion. This deformation occurred at the NW corner of a TTT-type (trench–trench–trench) triple junction in the NW Pacific rim before the middle Miocene. The third series of deformation of the ophiolite is marked by contractional and oblique shear zones, Riedel shears, and thrust faults that crosscut and offset earlier structures, and that give the Mineoka fault zone its lenticular (phacoidal) fabric at all scales. This deformation phase was associated with the establishment and the southward migration of the TTT Boso triple junction and with the kinematics of oblique subduction and forearc sliver fault development. The composite Mineoka ophiolite hence displays rocks and structures that evolved during its complex geodynamic history involving seafloor spreading, tectonic accretion, and triple junction evolution in the NW Pacific Rim.     

Fault zone development and strain partitioning in an extensional strike-slip duplex: A case study from the Mesozoic Atacama fault system, Northern Chile

Upper crustal strike-slip duplexes provide an excellent opportunity to address the fundamental question of fault zone development and strain partitioning in an evolving system. Detailed field mapping of the Mesozoic Atacama fault system in the Coastal Cordillera of Northern Chile documents the progressive development of second- and third-order faults forming a duplex at a dilational jog between two overstepping master faults: the sinistral strike-slip, NNW-striking, Jorgillo and Bolfin faults. These are constituted by a meter-wide core of foliated S-C ultracataclasite and cataclasite, flanked by a damage zone of protocataclasite, splay faults and veins. Lateral separation of markers along master faults is on the order of a few kilometers. Second-order, NW-striking, oblique-slip subsidiary fault zones do not show foliated ultracataclasite; lateral sinistral separations are in the range of  10 to 200 m with a relatively minor normal dip-slip component. In turn, third-order, east–west striking normal faults exhibit centimetric displacement. Oblique-slip (sinistral–normal) fault zones located at the southern termination of the Bolfin fault form a well-developed imbricate fan structure. They exhibit a relatively simple architecture of extensional and extensional-shear fractures bound by low displacement shear fractures. Kinematic analysis of fault slip data from mesoscopic faults within the duplex area, document that the NW-striking and the EW-striking faults accommodate transtension and extension, respectively. Examination of master and subsidiary faults of the duplex indicates a strong correlation between total displacement and internal fault structure. Faults started from arrays of en echelon extensional/extensional-shear fractures that then coalesced into throughgoing strike-slip faults. Further displacement leads to the formation of discrete bands of cataclasite and ultracataclasite that take up a significant part of the total displacement. We interpret that the duplex formed by progressive linkage of horsetail-like structures at the southern tip of the Bolfin fault that joined splay faults coming from the Jorgillo and Coloso faults. The geometry and kinematics of faults is compared with that observed in analog models to gain an insight into the kinematic processes leading to complex strike-slip fault zones in the upper crust.     

Active transfer fault zone linking a segmented extensional system (Betics, southern Spain): Insight into heterogeneous extension driven by edge delamination

Pliocene and Quaternary tectonic structures mainly consisting of segmented northwest–southeast normal faults, and associated seismicity in the central Betics do not agree with the transpressive tectonic nature of the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary in the Ibero-Maghrebian region. Active extensional deformation here is heterogeneous, individual segmented normal faults being linked by relay ramps and transfer faults, including oblique-slip and both dextral and sinistral strike-slip faults. Normal faults extend the hanging wall of an extensional detachment that is the active segment of a complex system of successive WSW-directed extensional detachments which have thinned the Betic upper crust since middle Miocene. Two areas, which are connected by an active 40-km long dextral strike-slip transfer fault zone, concentrate present-day extension. Both the seismicity distribution and focal mechanisms agree with the position and regime of the observed faults. The activity of the transfer zone during middle Miocene to present implies a mode of extension which must have remained substantially the same over the entire period. Thus, the mechanisms driving extension should still be operating. Both the westward migration of the extensional loci and the high asymmetry of the extensional systems can be related to edge delamination below the south Iberian margin coupled with roll-back under the Alborán Sea; involving the asymmetric westward inflow of asthenospheric material under the margins.     

CROSS-SECTIONS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS:PROBLEMS IN RESTORATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CRUSTAL SHORTENING

CROSS-SECTIONS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS:PROBLEMS IN RESTORATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CRUSTAL SHORTENING1　PowersPM ,LillieRJ ,YeatsRS .StructureandshorteningoftheKangraandDehraDunreentrants ,Sub Himalaya ,India[J].GSABulletin ,1998,110 :10 10～ 10 2 7.…