Estimation of the variation in apparent displacement along normal fault traces refracted by differential compaction

doi:10.1016/0191-8141(95)00065-L

Journal of Structural Geology

Volume 17, Issue 12, December 1995, Pages 1789-1792

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Abstract

Initially planar fault surfaces can be refracted by differential compaction, sudden changes in the displacement gradient taking place at the contact of different lithologies. As a result, the original displacement pattern, e.g. a cone-type in an idealized case, can be changed into a zigzag-type, especially when the initial dip angle of the fault and differential compaction are high. Compared with pre- and syn-faulting compaction, post-faulting compaction is more likely to change the initial displacement pattern along normal faults which were active near the sediment surface. Based upon the assumption that compaction is homogeneous vertical strain, the original fault geometry and displacement pattern can be estimated by means of decompaction and related geometric calculations.

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Cited by (5)

Normal faults, layering and elastic properties of rocks
2014, Tectonophysics
Citation Excerpt :
Such refraction may have various origins. First, this may result from a late differential compaction within the layered section (Davison, 1987; Mandl, 1988; Wang, 1995). This process is limited for faults that grew at important depth (i.e. < 500 m) because the compaction decreases exponentially with depth (Giles, 1997).
We study mesoscale normal faults cutting alternating limestone and clay-rich layers in several localities in the South-Eastern Mesozoic sedimentary basin (France). The displacement gradients, defined as the displacement variation per unit length along fault profile, and the mean fault dips are correlated to the structural and petrophysical properties of the host rock, including the carbonate content, the stiffness, the layering pattern and the maximum burial depth. Analysis of the fault dips indicates that the faults propagate (downward or upward) from an initial fracture from one unit to another rather than through connections of fractures that nucleated in different units. The fault dips are consistent with shear, mixed mode and tensile failures in limestone units. They are consistent with shear failure or are abnormally low in the clay-rich units. Among the studied attributes, in limestone units the failure mode is related to the contrast of the Young's modulus between the limestone and the clay-rich layers. A high contrast promotes tensile failure, whereas a low contrast promotes mixed mode or shear failures. In clay-rich layers, the dip is related to the layering pattern and abnormally low dips are promoted in thin clay-rich layers surrounded by thick limestone units. Specific displacement gradients characterize each lithology of the layered section. It ranges from 0.06 to 0.2 in the clay-rich units and it increases with Young's modulus. The analyses of the fault dips and the displacement gradients have implications in term of local stress. Both analyses converge and they can be related to a variation in stress controlled by the variation in stiffness through the layering.
Synsedimentary seismotectonic features in Triassic and Cretaceous sediments of the Intrasudetic Basin (U Devěti křížů locality) – regional implications
2016, Geological Quarterly
Extensional strain and displacement distribution due to mesoscale normal faults in Late Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary rocks along the northwestern side of the Red Sea, Egypt
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The influence of layering and pre-existing joints on the development of internal structure in normal fault zones: The Lodève basin, France
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^∗: Present address: Department of Applied Geology, School of Mines, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

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Estimation of the variation in apparent displacement along normal fault traces refracted by differential compaction

Abstract

J. Struct. Geol.

J. Struct. Geol.

J. Struct. Geol.

J. Struct. Geol.

J. Struct. Geol.

Density, porosity and compaction of sedimentary rocks

Bull. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol.

Compaction curves

Bull. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol.

Displacement geometry in the volume containing a single normal fault

Bull. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol.