The geometry of planar domino-style normal faults above a dipping basal detachment

Geometrical analysis of planar domino-style normal faults rooted into a dipping basal detachment fault allows derivation of equations which relate: (1) horizontal extension within the upper plate; (2) dip of the detachment; (3) final fault dips; (4) rotation that faults and beds undergo; and (5) net slip on domino-style faults. Past geometrical models have focused on extremely idealized and non-unique geometries, in which domino-style faults are parallel and similar cut-off points are all at the same elevation after faulting. This corresponds to evenly spaced domino-style faults above a horizontal detachment. Considering non-parallel faults and dipping detachments introduces unique geometries, which allows calculation, for example, of permissible depth ranges to the detachment. Horizontal extension varies significantly: (1) with dip of the detachment; and (2) for synthetic and antithetic cases, in which the domino-style faults dip in the same or opposite direction, respectively, as the detachment. When other factors (e.g. rotation and fault dips) are held constant, horizontal extension greatly increases for moderate detachment dips and moderately decreases for antithetic detachment dips, as compared to the horizontal detachment case. This is important because the synthetic case has been widely reported.