Lyell Collection
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Lyell Centre  |   Lyell Collection  |   Subscriptions   |   Geological Society  |   Email alerts  |   Online bookshop  |   Help

Keywords:
Author:
Advanced search>>
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Walsh, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Strand, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2001; v. 186; p. 157-170;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.186.01.10
© 2001 Geological Society of London

Geometric Controls and Fault System Evolution

Geometric controls on the evolution of normal fault systems

J. J. Walsh1,3, C. Childs1,3, V. Meyer1,5, T. Manzocchi1,3, J. Imber1,3, A. Nicol1,4, G. Tuckwell2, W. R. Bailey1,3, C. G. Bonson1,3, J. Watterson1,6, P. A. Nell1,7 & J. Strand1,3

1 Fault Analysis Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK
2 School of Earth Sciences and Geography, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
3 Fault Analysis Group, Department of Geology, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland fault{at}fag.ucd.ie
4 Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
5 Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, Cedex 05, France
6 Fault Analysis Group, Liverpool University Marine Laboratory, Port Erin, Isle of Man IM9 6JA
7 Badley Earth Sciences Ltd, North Beck Lane, Hundleby, Spilsby PE23 5NB, UK

The growth of normal fault arrays is examined in basins where sedimentation rates were higher than fault displacement rates and where fault growth histories are recorded by thickness and displacement variations within syn-faulting sequences. Progressive strain localization is the principal feature of the growth history of normal faults for study areas from the Inner Moray Firth, a sub-basin of the North Sea, and from the Timor Sea, offshore Australia. The kinematics of faulting are similar in both study areas. Fault displacement rates correlate with fault size, where size is measured in terms of either displacement or length. Small faults have higher mortality rates than larger faults throughout the growth of the fault system. Displacement and strain are progressively localized onto the larger faults at the expense of smaller faults at progressively larger scales. Strain localization and the preferential growth of larger faults are attributed to geometric factors, such as size and location, rather than to the mechanical properties of fault rock in individual faults. This conclusion is supported by numerical models that reproduce the main characteristics of fault system growth established from both study areas.





This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
J. Imber, R. E. Holdsworth, S. A. F. Smith, S. P. Jefferies, and C. Collettini
Frictional-viscous flow, seismicity and the geology of weak faults: a review and future directions
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2008; 299: 151 - 173.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
C. Collettini and M. R. Barchi
A comparison of structural data and seismic images for low-angle normal faults in the Northern Apennines (Central Italy): constraints on activity
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2004; 224: 95 - 112.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
R. E. Holdsworth, M. Handa, J. A. Miller, and I. S. Buick
Continental reactivation and reworking: an introduction
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2001; 184: 1 - 12.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
E. H. Rutter, R. E. Holdsworth, and R. J. Knipe
The nature and tectonic significance of fault-zone weakening: an introduction
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2001; 186: 1 - 11.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
L. E. Beacom, R. E. Holdsworth, K. J. W. McCaffrey, and T. B. Anderson
A quantitative study of the influence of pre-existing compositional and fabric heterogeneities upon fracture-zone development during basement reactivation
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2001; 186: 195 - 211.
[Abstract] [PDF]