Formation and Suppression of Strike-Slip Fault Systems
Abstract
Strike-slip faults are a defining feature of plate tectonics, yet many aspects of their development and evolution remain unresolved. For intact materials and/or regions, a standard sequence of shear development is predicted from physical models and field studies, commencing with the formation of Riedel shears and culminating with the development of a throughgoing fault. However, for materials and/or regions that contain crustal heterogeneities (normal and/or thrust faults, joints, etc.) that predate shear deformation, kinematic evolution of strike-slip faulting is poorly constrained. We present a new plane-stress finite-strain physical analog model developed to investigate primary deformation zone evolution in simple shear, pure strike-slip fault systems in which faults or joints are present before shear initiation. Experimental results suggest that preexisting mechanical discontinuities (faults and/or joints) have a marked effect on the geometry of such systems, causing deflection, lateral distribution, and suppression of shears. A lower limit is placed on shear offset necessary to produce a throughgoing fault in systems containing preexisting structures. Fault zone development observed in these experiments provides new insight for kinematic interpretation of structural data from strike-slip fault zones on Earth, Venus, and other terrestrial bodies.
- Publication:
-
Pure and Applied Geophysics
- Pub Date:
- November 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s00024-014-0826-7
- Bibcode:
- 2014PApGe.171.2899C
- Keywords:
-
- Strike-slip faults;
- analog modeling;
- wet kaolin;
- brothers fault zone;
- SISZ;
- venus