3D seismic analysis of the structure and evolution of a salt-influenced normal fault zone: A test of competing fault growth models

In this paper we determine the structure and evolution of a normal fault system by applying qualitative and quantitative fault analysis techniques to a 3D seismic reflection dataset from the Suez Rift, Egypt. Our analysis indicates that the October Fault Zone is composed of two fault systems that are locally decoupled across a salt-bearing interval of Late Miocene (Messinian) age. The sub-salt system offsets pre-rift crystalline basement, and was active during the Late Oligocene-early Middle Miocene. It is composed of four, planar, NW–SE-striking segments that are hard- linked by N–S-striking segments, and up to 2 km of displacement occurs at top basement, suggesting that this fault system nucleated at or, more likely, below this structural level. The supra-salt system was active during the Pliocene-Holocene, and is composed of four, NW–SE-striking, listric fault segments, which are soft-linked by unbreached relay zones. Segments in the supra-salt fault system nucleated within Pliocene strata and have maximum throws of up to 482 m. Locally, the segments of the supra-salt fault system breach the Messinian salt to hard-link downwards with the underlying, sub-salt fault system, thus forming the upper part of a fault zone composed of: (i) a single, amalgamated fault system below the salt and (ii) a fault system composed of multiple soft-linked segments above the salt. Analysis of throw-distance (T-x) and throw-depth (T-z) plots for the supra-salt fault system, isopach maps of the associated growth strata and backstripping of intervening relay zones indicates that these faults rapidly established their lengths during the early stages of their slip history. The fault tips were then effectively ‘pinned’ and the faults accumulated displacement via predominantly downward propagation. We interpret that the October Fault Zone had the following evolutionary trend; (i) growth of the sub-salt fault system during the Oligocene-to-early Middle Miocene; (ii) cessation of activity on the sub-salt fault system during the Middle Miocene-to-?Early Pliocene; (iii) stretching of the sub- and supra-salt intervals during Pliocene regional extension, which resulted in mild reactivation of the sub-salt fault system and nucleation of the segmented supra-salt fault system, which at this time was geometrically decoupled from the sub-salt fault system; and (iv) Pliocene-to-Holocene growth of the supra-salt fault system by downwards vertical tip line propagation, which resulted in downward breaching of the salt and dip-linkage with the sub-salt fault system. The structure of the October Fault Zone and the rapid establishment of supra-salt fault lengths are compatible with the predictions of the coherent fault model, although we note that individual segments in the supra-salt array grew in accordance with the isolated fault model. Our study thereby indicates that both coherent and isolated fault models may be applicable to the growth of kilometre-scale, basin-bounding faults. Furthermore, we highlight the role that fault reactivation and dip-linkage in mechanically layered sequences can play in controlling the three-dimensional geometry of normal faults.     

The role of gravitational collapse in controlling the evolution of crestal fault systems (Espírito Santo Basin,SE Brazil)

A high-quality 3D seismic volume from offshore Espírito Santo Basin (SE Brazil) is used to assess the importance of gravitational collapse to the formation of crestal faults above salt structures. A crestal fault system is imaged in detail using seismic attributes such as curvature and variance, which are later complemented by analyses of throw vs. distance (T-D) and throw vs. depth (T-Z). In the study area, crestal faults comprise closely spaced arrays and are bounded by large listric faults, herein called border faults. Two episodes of growth are identified in two opposite-dipping fault families separated by a transverse accommodation zone. Statistical analyses for eighty-four (84) faults show that fault spacing is < 250 m, with border faults showing the larger throw values. Fault throw varies between 8 ms and 80 ms two-way time for crestal faults, and 60–80 ms two-way time for border faults. Fault length varies between ∼410 m and 1750 m, with border faults ranging from 1250 m to 1750 m. This work shows that border faults accommodated most of the strain associated with salt growth and collapse. The growth history of crestal faults favours an isolated fault propagation model with fault segment linkage being associated with the lateral propagation of discrete fault segments. Importantly, two episodes of fault growth are identified as synchronous to two phases of seafloor erosion, rendering local unconformities as competent markers of fault reactivation at a local scale. This paper has crucial implications for the understanding of fault growth as a means to assess drilling risk and oil and gas migration on continental margins. As a corollary, this work demonstrates that: 1) a certain degree of spatial organisation occurs in crestal fault systems; 2) transverse accommodation zones can form regions in which fault propagation is enhanced and regional dips of faults change in 4D.     

Structure of a normal seismogenic fault zone in carbonates: The Vado di Corno Fault,Campo Imperatore,Central Apennines (Italy)

The Vado di Corno Fault Zone (VCFZ) is an active extensional fault cutting through carbonates in the Italian Central Apennines. The fault zone was exhumed from ∼2 km depth and accommodated a normal throw of ∼2 km since Early-Pleistocene. In the studied area, the master fault of the VCFZ dips N210/54° and juxtaposes Quaternary colluvial deposits in the hangingwall with cataclastic dolostones in the footwall. Detailed mapping of the fault zone rocks within the ∼300 m thick footwall-block evidenced the presence of five main structural units (Low Strain Damage Zone, High Strain Damage Zone, Breccia Unit, Cataclastic Unit 1 and Cataclastic Unit 2). The Breccia Unit results from the Pleistocene extensional reactivation of a pre-existing Pliocene thrust. The Cataclastic Unit 1 forms a ∼40 m thick band lining the master fault and recording in-situ shattering due to the propagation of multiple seismic ruptures. Seismic faulting is suggested also by the occurrence of mirror-like slip surfaces, highly localized sheared calcite-bearing veins and fluidized cataclasites. The VCFZ architecture compares well with seismological studies of the L'Aquila 2009 seismic sequence (mainshock M_W 6.1), which imaged the reactivation of shallow-seated low-angle normal faults (Breccia Unit) cut by major high-angle normal faults (Cataclastic Units).     

断层内部结构及其对封闭性的影响

先前的研究多考虑断层封堵和开启的2种极端状态,近来的研究认为,在多数情况下断层处于2种之间的状态,只有在静止期具有封闭能力的断层,才有可能对油气起封堵作用。分析断层对流体运移的影响,需要分析断层在演化过程中的内部结构特征。断层可以划分出破碎带、诱导裂缝带和围岩3部分,断层岩和伴生裂缝构成破碎带的主体部分。常见的断层岩包括断层角砾岩、断层泥和部分碎裂岩,它们充填在断层裂缝空间中,断层内部结构受断层形成时的构造应力性质、断层活动强度和围岩岩性因素的控制。从动态角度看,随着断距增加,断层活动伴随着裂缝的发育和岩石的破碎混杂,可用泥质源岩层厚度和断距的比值来划分不同的发育阶段。断层活动期为油气运移通道,在静止时表现出差异性的封闭,通常用断层渗透率和排替压力2个参数来定量评价断层的封闭程度。断层岩渗透率主要受断距、泥质含量、埋深等因素的控制;断层排替压力的预测方法有2种:一种是从断层岩成岩角度分析的"等效埋深法",另一种是分析实测排替压力与主控地质因素的"拟合法"。通过简化的断层模型,建立了渗透率、排替压力与主控因素的预测关系。和储层类似,流体在断层中的运移遵循多孔介质的渗流特征。利用断层两侧的流体压力和油气柱高度并不能直接评价封闭性能,还必须考虑油气充注史和流体压力变化历史。     

Palaeopermeability structure within fault-damage zones: A snap-shot from microfracture analyses in a strike-slip system

Understanding fault zone permeability and its spatial distribution allows the assessment of fluid-migration leading to precipitation of hydrothermal minerals. This work is aimed at unraveling the conditions and distribution of fluid transport properties in fault zones based on hydrothermally filled microfractures, which reflect the ‘‘frozen-in’’ instantaneous advective hydrothermal activity and record palaeopermeability conditions of the fault-fracture system. We studied the Jorgillo Fault, an exposed 20 km long, left-lateral strike-slip fault, which juxtaposes Jurassic gabbro against metadiorite belonging to the Atacama Fault System in northern Chile. Tracings of microfracture networks of 19 oriented thin sections from a 400 m long transect across the main fault trace was carried out to estimate the hydraulic properties of the low-strain fault damagezone, adjacent to the high-strain fault core, by assuming penny-shaped microfractures of constant radius and aperture within an anisotropic fracture system. Palaeopermeability values of 9.1*10⁻¹¹ to 3.2*10⁻¹³ m² in the gabbro and of 5.0*10⁻¹⁰ to 1.2*10⁻¹³ m² in the metadiorite were determined, both decreasing perpendicularly away from the fault core. Fracture porosity values range from 40.00% to 0.28%. The Jorgillo Fault has acted as a left-lateral dilational fault-bend, generating large-scale dilation sites north of the JF during co-seismic activity.     

Fault zone architecture and fluid flow in interlayered basaltic volcaniclastic-crystalline sequences

Faults in continental flood basalt sequences potentially control subsurface fluid flow. We present field and microstructural observations from fault zones cutting interlayered basaltic volcaniclastic-crystalline sequences within the North Atlantic Igneous Province. Fractures likely initiate within lava units, before linking through the volcaniclastic units. Through-going faults show refraction, with subvertical faults in the lavas joined to variably inclined faults in the volcaniclastic layers. At >1.0 m displacement, volcaniclastic units are progressively dragged into the fault plane forming a smear. Volcaniclastic sandstones deform by flow. Claystones fracture, and are incorporated into smears as breccia. Experimentally measured host and fault rock sample permeabilities, at aquifer to reservoir pressures (i.e., 10–90 MPa; ∼0.3–3.0 km depth) show fault rocks from low displacement faults have relatively low permeability (10⁻¹⁷–10⁻²⁰ m²); fault rocks from higher displacement structures have comparatively high permeability (10⁻¹⁵–10⁻¹⁷ m²). Our observations suggest that permeability is determined by the opposing influences of clay mineralization, which decreases permeability, versus the development of interconnected, higher permeability zeolite veins. Brecciation and the formation of zeolite vein networks within claystone smears results in high permeability. Zeolite veins in volcaniclastic units form poorly-connected, spaced sets, parallel to the slip plane, hence sequence permeability remains low.     

Late Quaternary activity of the Feldbiss Fault Zone, Roer Valley Rift System, the Netherlands, based on displaced fluvial terrace fragments

The Meuse River crosses the Feldbiss Fault Zone, one of the main border fault zones of the Roer Valley Graben in the southern part of the Netherlands. Uplift of the area south of the Feldbiss Fault Zone forced the Meuse River to incise and, as a result, a flight of terraces was formed. Faults of the Feldbiss Fault Zone have displaced the Middle and Late Pleistocene terrace deposits. In this study, an extensive geomorphological survey was carried out to locate the faults of the Feldbiss Fault Zone and to determine the displacement history of terrace deposits.The Feldbiss Fault Zone is characterized by an average displacement rate of 0.041–0.047 mm a⁻¹ during the Late Pleistocene. Individual faults show an average displacement rate ranging between 0.010 and 0.034 mm a⁻¹. The spatial variation in displacement rates along the individual faults reveals a system of overstepping faults. These normal faults developed by reactivation of Paleozoic strike-slip faults.As fault displacements at the bases of the younger terrace deposits are apparently similar to the tops of the adjacent older terrace, the age of these horizons is the same within thousands of years. This implies that the model of terrace development by rapid fluvial incision followed by slow aggradation does apply for this area.     

Complete 40Ar resetting in an ultracataclasite by reactivation of a fossil seismogenic fault along the subducting plate interface in the Mugi Mélange of the Shimanto accretionary complex,southwest Japan

We used the K–Ar ages of clay-sized mineral grains to investigate the timing of activity on the Minami-Awa Fault, which is a fossil seismogenic fault along a subducting plate interface separating the coherent strata of the Shimanto accretionary complex to the north from the tectonic mélange to the south. The K–Ar ages from the matrix shale of the mélange range from 85 to 48 Ma and decrease with decreasing amount of detrital mica, indicating that they record a mixture of authigenic illite related to burial diagenesis and detrital mica. In contrast, the K–Ar ages of an ultracataclasite within the fault core are significantly younger, ranging from 29 to 23 Ma, and are unrelated to grain size and amount of detrital mica. This indicates that s Ar diffused completely from the ultracataclasite between 29 and 23 Ma, which postdates the formation of authigenic illite by at least several million years. The diffusion of ⁴⁰Ar in the ultracataclasite was probably caused by frictional heating or high-temperature fluid migration that occurred when the fault was reactivated. The results indicate that seismogenic faults that separate tectonic mélange from coherent strata in accretionary complexes may slip, not only during accretion, but also long after accretion.     

Three-dimensional structure along the inverted Palaeoproterozoic Fiery Creek Fault System, Mount Isa terrane, Australia

The NW-dipping Fiery Creek Fault System, located in the northern Mount Isa terrane, comprises numerous sub-parallel faults that record multiple episodes of Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic movement. Hanging wall wedge-shaped stratal geometries and marked stratal thickness variation across the fault system indicate that the earliest movement occurred during episodic intracontinental extension (Mount Isa Rift Event; ca. 1710–1655 Ma). Reactivation of the fault system during regional shortening and basin inversion associated with the Mesoproterozoic Isan Orogeny (ca. 1590–1500 Ma) resulted in complex three-dimensional hanging wall geometries and highly variable strain in the hanging wall strata along the fault system. This has resulted in the development of discrete hanging wall deformation compartments, that are characterised by different structural styles. High strain compartments are characterised by relatively intense folding and the development of break-back thrusts, whereas low strain compartments are only weakly folded. Variations in hanging wall strain are attributed to selective reactivation of normal fault segments, controlled by the pre-inversion fault dip and lithological contrasts across the faults. Variation of the pre-inversion fault dip is interpreted to have been caused by episodic tilt-block rotation during crustal extension. Moderately dipping faults active early in the Mount Isa Rift Event show the greatest degree of reactivation, whereas younger and steeper normal faults have behaved as buttresses during inversion with strain focussed in zones of upright folding in the hanging wall.     

The tectonic evolution of the Qiongdongnan Basin in the northern margin of the South China Sea

Qiongdongnan Basin is a Cenozoic rift basin located on the northern passive continental margin of the South China Sea. Due to a lack of geologic observations, its evolution was not clear in the past. However, recently acquired 2-D seismic reflection data provide an opportunity to investigate its tectonic evolution. It shows that the Qiongdongnan Basin comprises a main rift zone which is 50–100 km wide and more than 400 km long. The main rift zone is arcuate in map view and its orientation changes from ENE–WSW in the west to nearly E–W in the east. It can be divided into three major segments. The generally linear fault trace shown by many border faults in map view implies that the eastern and middle segments were controlled by faults reactivated from NE to ENE trending and nearly E–W trending pre-existing fabrics, respectively. The western segment was controlled by a left-lateral strike-slip fault. The fault patterns shown by the central and eastern segments indicate that the extension direction for the opening of the rift basin was dominantly NW–SE. A semi-quantitative analysis of the fault cut-offs identifies three stages of rifting evolution: (1) 40.4–33.9 Ma, sparsely distributed NE-trending faults formed mainly in the western and the central part of the study area; (2) 33.9–28.4 Ma, the main rift zone formed and the area influenced by faulting was extended into the eastern part of the study area and (3) 28.4–20.4 Ma, the subsidence area was further enlarged but mainly extended into the flanking area of the main rift zone. In addition, Estimates of extensional strain along NW–SE-trending seismic profiles, which cross the main rift zone, vary between 15 and 39 km, which are generally comparable to the sinistral displacement on the Red River Fault Zone offshore, implying that this fault zone, in terms of sinistral motion, terminated at a location near the southern end of the Yinggehai Basin. Finally, these observations let us to favour a hybrid model for the opening of the South China Sea and probably the Qiongdongnan Basin.     

Variable behavior of the Dead Sea Fault along the southern Arava segment from GPS measurements

The Dead Sea Fault is a major strike-slip fault bounding the Arabia plate and the Sinai subplate. On the basis of three GPS campaign measurements, 12 years apart, at 19 sites distributed in Israel and Jordan, complemented by Israeli permanent stations, we compute the present-day deformation across the Wadi Arava fault, the southern segment of the Dead Sea Fault. Elastic locked-fault modelling of fault-parallel velocities provides a slip rate of 4.7 ± 0.7 mm/yr and a locking depth of 11.6 ± 5.3 km in its central part. Along its northern part, south of the Dead Sea, the simple model proposed for the central profile does not fit the velocity field well. To fit the data, two faults have to be taken into account, on both sides of the sedimentary basin of the Dead Sea, each fault accommodating ∼ 2 mm/yr. Locking depths are small (less than 2 km on the western branch, ∼ 6 km on the eastern branch). Along the southern profile, we are once again unable to fit the data using the simple model, similar to the central profile. It is very difficult to propose a velocity greater than 4 mm/yr, i.e. smaller than that along the central profile. This leads us to propose that a part of the relative movement from Sinai to Arabia is accommodated along faults located west of our profiles.     

Newly found Tunglo Active Fault System in the fold and thrust belt in northwestern Taiwan deduced from deformed terraces and its tectonic significance

We found active faults in the fold and thrust belt between Tunglo town and the Tachia River in northwestern Taiwan. The surface rupture occurred in 1999 and 1935 nearby the study area, but no historical surface rupture is recorded in this area, suggesting that the seismic energy has been accumulated during the recent time. Deformed fluvial terraces aid in understanding late Quaternary tectonics in this tectonically active area. This area contains newly identified faults that we group as the Tunglo Fault System, which formed after the area's oldest fluvial terrace and appears at least 16 km long in roughly N–S orientation. Its progressive deformations are all recorded in associated terraces developed during the middle to late Quaternary. In the north, the system consists of two subparallel active faults, the Tunglo Fault and Tunglo East Fault, striking N–S and facing each other from opposite sides of the northward flowing Hsihu River, whose course may be controlled by interactions of above-mentioned two active faults. The northern part of the Tunglo Fault, to the west of the river, is a reverse fault with upthrown side on the west; conversely the Tunglo East Fault, to the east, is also a reverse fault, but with upthrown side on the east. Both faults are marked by a flexural scarp or eastward tilting of fluvial terraces. Considering a Quaternary syncline lies subparallel to the east of this fault system, the Tunglo Fault might be originated as a bending moment fault and the Tunglo East Fault as a flexural slip fault. However, they have developed as obvious reverse faults, which have progressive deformation under E–W compressive stress field of Taiwan. Farther south, a west-facing high scarp, the Tunglo South Fault, strikes NNE–SSW, oblique to the region's E–W direction of compression. Probably due to the strain partitioning, the Tunglo South Fault generates en echelon, elongated ridges and swales to accommodate right-lateral strike–slip displacement. Other structures in the area include eastward-striking portion of the Sanyi Fault, which has no evidence for late Quaternary surface rupture on this fault; perhaps slip on this part of Sanyi Fault ceased when the Tunglo Fault System became active.     

Late Quaternary deformation features along the Anninghe Fault on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

On the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, the Anninghe, Zemuhe and Xiaojiang faults comprise a N–S-trending active left-lateral fault system extending more than 700 km. The northernmost Anninghe Fault extends for ∼200 km, consisting of two sub-parallel N–S trending strands. Along the western strand, the fault traces occur almost strictly along the broad and flat Anninghe valley, displacing high terraces, alluvial fans and tributary channels of the Anninghe River. The eastern strand, on the other hand, cuts through the steep mountain slopes, with prominent rectilinear upslope-facing scarps and shutter ridges against pounded fluvial sediments from the east. The displacements along the eastern strand are much larger than that along the western strand, indicating the eastern strand is the major fault absorbing the E–W shortening. This study demonstrates that the Anninghe Fault is now acting as a relief-building boundary fault and absorbing the E–W compression under the eastwards motion of the Tibetan Plateau. Accordingly, the Anninghe region is a topographic transition area from steep relief to low gradient topography. The variation in topographic gradient is consistent with the differing tectonic regime between southern and northern parts of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Scaling properties within the Gulf of Corinth, Greece; comparison between offshore and onshore active faults

The Gulf of Corinth, Greece, is a 110-km-long by 30-km-wide active graben displaying strong seismicity hosted both on north and south dipping normal faults. This complex fault pattern consists of two fault populations, offshore and onshore. The offshore fault population is investigated by densely arranged seismic reflection profiles during the last 20 years, whereas the onshore fault population displays spectacular and well exposed faults, delineated by high accuracy mapping. We analyzed fault length and throw, in order to study the scaling properties of 136 well-determined offshore and onshore faults and the comparison between the two datasets. We examined the statistical properties on both fault populations, in order to describe the role of segmentation in the growth of faults and the different stages of the evolution of the fault networks.Our results on power law relationships associated with the scaling properties of the fault zones in the Gulf of Corinth, suggest that both fault populations are bi-fractal, providing the initiation of a sature state in deformation. In addition, the vertical throw of faults shows that both fault populations have similar properties but different distributions below and above 5 km, respectively. Displacement–length ratios, show that faults larger than 9 km appear to accumulate throw without any dramatic change to their length. These observations combined with other geophysical studies within the Gulf, suggest that the characteristic fault lengths of 5 km and 9 km can be correlated to the crustal mechanical structure and the seismicity of the Gulf.     

From surface fault traces to a fault growth model: The Vogar Fissure Swarm of the Reykjanes Peninsula,Southwest Iceland

The Vogar Fissure Swarm is one of four en-echelon fracture swarms that connect the Reykjanes Ridge to the South Iceland Seismic Zone and the Western Volcanic Zone. Occurring in an area of flat topography, this fissure swarm is clearly visible at the surface, where it can be seen to affect recent postglacial lavas. Using remote sensing methods to identify and measure all the faults and fractures in the swarm, combined with additional field observations and measurements, we measured 478 individual fractures, 33% of them being faults and 67% being fissures. The fracture lengths show roughly log-normal distributions. Most of the individual fractures belong to 68 main composite fractures, seven of which are longer than 2500 m and correspond to the main fault scarps of the fissure swarm. We showed that these main faults are distributed along five, equally spaced zones, ∼500 m apart and a few kilometers long. We drawn 71 across-strike profiles to characterize the shape of the fault scarps, and 5 along-strike profiles to characterize the evolution of vertical throw along the main faults. Each fault consists of a coalescence of individual segments of approximately equal length. Fault throws are never larger than 10 m and are smallest at the junctions between individual segments. Analyses of along-strike throw profiles allowed us to determine the early stages of growth after coalescence. The earliest stage is characterized by an increase in the throw of the central parts of segments. This is followed by a second stage during which the throw increases at the junctions between segments, progressively erasing these small-throw zones.     

Differential Late Paleozoic active margin evolution in South-Central Chile (37°S–40°S) – the Lanalhue Fault Zone

The N–S oriented Coastal Cordillera of South Central Chile shows marked lithological contrasts along strike at ∼38°S. Here, the sinistral NW–SE-striking Lanalhue Fault Zone (nomen novum) juxtaposes Permo-Carboniferous magmatic arc granitoids and associated, frontally accreted metasediments (Eastern Series) in the northeast with a Late Carboniferous to Triassic basal-accretionary forearc wedge complex (Western Series) in the southwest. The fault is interpreted as an initially ductile deformation zone with divergent character, located in the eastern flank of the basally growing, upwarping, and exhuming Western Series. It was later transformed and reactivated as a semiductile to brittle sinistral transform fault. Rb–Sr data and fluid inclusion studies of late-stage fault-related mineralizations revealed Early Permian ages between 280 and 270 Ma for fault activity, with subsequent minor erosion. Regionally, crystallization of arc intrusives and related metamorphism occurred between ∼306 and ∼286 Ma, preceded by early increments of convergence-related deformation. Basal Western Series accretion started at >290 Ma and lasted to ∼250 Ma. North of the Lanalhue fault, Late Paleozoic magmatic arc granitoids are nearly 100 km closer to the present day Andean trench than further south. We hypothesize that this marked difference in paleo-forearc width is due to an Early Permian period of subduction erosion north of 38°S, contrasting with ongoing accretion further south, which kinematically triggered the evolution of the Lanalhue Fault Zone. Permo-Triassic margin segmentation was due to differential forearc accretion and denudation characteristics, and is now expressed in contrasting lithologies and metamorphic signatures in todays Andean forearc region north and south of the Lanalhue Fault Zone.     

U-series dating of co-seismic gypsum and submarine paleoseismology of active faults in Northern Chile (23°S)

The convergence of the Nazca and South American plates along the subduction margin of the central Andes results in large subduction earthquakes and tectonic activity along major fault systems. Despite its relevance, the paleoseismic record of this region is scarce, hampering our understanding about the relationship between the Andes building and earthquake occurrence. In this study, we used the U-series disequilibrium method to obtain absolute ages of paleoearthquake events associated with normal displacements along the active Mejillones and Salar del Carmen faults in the Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The ²³⁰Th–²³⁴U disequilibrium ages in co-seismic gypsum salts sampled along the fault traces together with marine evidences indicate that earthquakes occurred at ca. 29.7 ± 1.7 ka, 11 ± 4 ka and 2.4 ± 0.8 ka. When coupled with paleoseismic marine and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) records in the nearby Mejillones Bay evidencing large dislocations along the Mejillones Fault, the geochronological dataset presented here is consistent with the notion that gypsum salts formed during large earthquakes as a result of co-seismic dilatancy pumping of saline waters along the major faults. Based on maximum observed cumulative vertical offsets in the studied faults, this phenomena could have occurred episodically at a rate in the order of 1:40 to 1:50 with respect to the very large subduction earthquakes during the latest Pleistocene–Holocene period. The results presented here reveal that the U-series disequilibrium method can be successfully applied to date the gypsum salts deposited along faults during seismic events, and therefore directly constrain the age of large paleoearthquakes in hyperarid and seismically active zones.     

Spatial Characteristics and Controlling Factors of the Strike‐slip Fault Zones in the Northern Slope of Tazhong Uplift,Tarim Basin: Insight from 3D Seismic Data

The detailed characteristics of the Paleozoic strike-slip fault zones developed in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift are closely related to hydrocarbon explorations. In this study, five major strike-slip fault zones that cut through the Cambrian-Middle Devonian units are identified, by using 3D seismic data. Each of the strike-slip fault zones is characterized by two styles of deformation, namely deeper strike-slip faults and shallower en-echelon faults. By counting the reverse separation of the horizon along the deeper faults, activity intensity on the deeper strike-slip faults in the south is stronger than that on the northern ones. The angle between the strike of the shallower en-echelon normal faults and the principal displacement zone(PDZ) below them is likely to have a tendency to decrease slightly from the south to the north, which may indicate that activity intensity on the shallower southern en-echelon faults is stronger than that on the northern ones. Comparing the reverse separation along the deeper faults and the fault throw of the shallower faults, activity intensity of the Fault zone S1 is similar across different layers, while the activity intensity of the southern faults is larger than that of the northern ones. It is obvious that both the activity intensity of the same layer in different fault zones and different layers in the same fault zone have a macro characteristic in that the southern faults show stronger activity intensity than the northern ones. The Late Ordovician décollement layer developed in the Tazhong area and the peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin have been considered two main factors in the differential deformation characteristics of the strike-slip fault zones in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift. They controlled the differences in the multi-level and multi-stage deformations of the strike-slip faults, respectively. In particular, peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin were the dynamic source of the formatting and evolution of the strike-slip fault zones, and good candidates to accommodate the differential activity intensity of these faults.     

Crustal memory and basin evolution in the Central European Basin System—new insights from a 3D structural model

The Central European Basin System (CEBS) is composed of a series of subbasins, the largest of which are (1) the Norwegian–Danish Basin (2), the North German Basin extending westward into the southern North Sea and (3) the Polish Basin. A 3D structural model of the CEBS is presented, which integrates the thickness of the crust below the Permian and five layers representing the Permian–Cenozoic sediments. Structural interpretations derived from the 3D model and from backstripping are discussed with respect to published seismic data. The analysis of structural relationships across the CEBS suggests that basin evolution was controlled to a large degree by the presence of major zones of crustal weakness. The NW–SE-striking Tornquist Zone, the Ringkøbing-Fyn High (RFH) and the Elbe Fault System (EFS) provided the borders for the large Permo–Mesozoic basins, which developed along axes parallel to these fault systems. The Tornquist Zone, as the most prominent of these zones, limited the area affected by Permian–Cenozoic subsidence to the north. Movements along the Tornquist Zone, the margins of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High and the Elbe Fault System could have influenced basin initiation. Thermal destabilization of the crust between the major NW–SE-striking fault systems, however, was a second factor controlling the initiation and subsidence in the Permo–Mesozoic basins. In the Triassic, a change of the regional stress field caused the formation of large grabens (Central Graben, Horn Graben, Glückstadt Graben) perpendicular to the Tornquist Zone, the Ringkøbing-Fyn High and the Elbe Fault System. The resulting subsidence pattern can be explained by a superposition of declining thermal subsidence and regional extension. This led to a dissection of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High, resulting in offsets of the older NW–SE elements by the younger N–S elements. In the Late Cretaceous, the NW–SE elements were reactivated during compression, the direction of which was such that it did not favour inversion of N–S elements. A distinct change in subsidence controlling factors led to a shift of the main depocentre to the central North Sea in the Cenozoic. In this last phase, N–S-striking structures in the North Sea and NW–SE-striking structures in The Netherlands are reactivated as subsidence areas which are in line with the direction of present maximum compression. The Moho topography below the CEBS varies over a wide range. Below the N–S-trending Cenozoic depocentre in the North Sea, the crust is only 20 km thick compared to about 30 km below the largest part of the CEBS. The crust is up to 40 km thick below the Ringkøbing-Fyn High and up to 45 km along the Teisseyre–Tornquist Zone. Crustal thickness gradients are present across the Tornquist Zone and across the borders of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High but not across the Elbe Fault System. The N–S-striking structural elements are generally underlain by a thinner crust than the other parts of the CEBS.The main fault systems in the Permian to Cenozoic sediment fill of the CEBS are located above zones in the deeper crust across which a change in geophysical properties as P-wave velocities or gravimetric response is observed. This indicates that these structures served as templates in the crustal memory and that the prerift configuration of the continental crust is a major controlling factor for the subsequent basin evolution.     

Spatial variations in damage zone width along strike-slip faults: An example from active faults in southwest Japan

Field investigations reveal spatial variations in fault zone width along strike-slip active faults of the Arima–Takatsuki Tectonic Line (ATTL) and the Rokko–Awaji Fault Zone (RAFZ) of southwest Japan, which together form a left-stepping geometric pattern. The fault zones are composed of damage zones dominated by fractured host rocks, non-foliated and foliated cataclasites, and a fault core zone that consists of cataclastic rocks including fault gouge and fault breccia. The fault damage zones of the ATTL are characterized by subsidiary faults and fractures that are asymmetrically developed on each side of the main fault. The width of the damage zone varies along faults developed within granitic rocks of the ATTL and RAFZ, from ∼50 to ∼1000 m. In contrast, the width of the damage zone within rhyolitic tuff on the northwestern side of the ATTL varies from ∼30 to ∼100 m. The fault core zone is generally concentrated in a narrow zone of ∼0.5–∼5 m in width, consisting mainly of pulverized cataclastic rocks that lack the primary cohesion of the host rocks, including a narrow zone of fault gouge (<0.5 m) and fault-breccia zones either side of the fault. The present results indicate that spatial variations in the width of damage zone and the asymmetric distribution of damage zones across the studied strike-slip faults are mainly caused by local concentrations in compressive stress within an overstep area between left-stepping strike-slip faults of the ATTL and RAFZ. The findings demonstrate that fault zone structures and the spatial distribution in the width of damage zone are strongly affected by the geometric patterns of strike-slip faults.