|
Fault-Displacement Studies |
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
Fault displacements derived from a seismic reflection survey of an offshore oilfield are projected onto a vertical plane parallel to the fault strike and the displacement values contoured. In addition to those for single faults, displacement diagrams are also constructed for fault arrays by aggregating the displacement values on selected faults. Displacement contours form regular and systematic patterns, even when there is no continuity between the fault surfaces in the array. A system in which linkage between the elements of a fault array is achieved by ductile strain of the intervening rock is referred to as soft-linked and is regarded as the general case. Geometrical coherence, with regular and systematic displacement patterns, exists at all stages in the growth of a fault array, implying a kinematic coherence requiring a high degree of synchronous movement, as opposed to sequential development, on individual elements in the array.
Conventional maps and diagrams allow representation of only two orders of magnitude of fault displacement rather than the five or more which may occur. A soft-domino model is presented in which the role of ductile strains is acknowledged both in accommodating varying displacements on fault surfaces and in extension on structures too small to be represented individually, and in which the rotation of rigid fault blocks is of reduced importance when compared with rigid-domino models.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  S. Tesfaye, M.G. Rowan, K. Mueller, B.D. Trudgill, and D.J. Harding Relay and accommodation zones in the Dobe and Hanle grabens, central Afar, Ethiopia and Djibouti Journal of the Geological Society, 2008; 165: 535 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. J. Jolley, D. Barr, J. J. Walsh, and R. J. Knipe Structurally complex reservoirs: an introduction Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2007; 292: 1 - 24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. W. Rutten and M. A. J. Verschuren Building and unfaulting fault-horizon networks Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2003; 212: 39 - 57. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Smith and I. R. Hatton Inversion tectonics in the Lyme Bay-West Dorset area of the Wessex Basin, UK Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1998; 133: 267 - 281. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J. Knipe, G. Jones, and Q. J. Fisher Faulting, fault sealing and fluid flow in hydrocarbon reservoirs: an introduction Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1998; 147: vii - xxi. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Cartwright, C. Mansfield, and B. Trudgill The growth of normal faults by segment linkage Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1996; 99: 163 - 177. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. T. Needham, G. Yielding, and B. Freeman Analysis of fault geometry and displacement patterns Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1996; 99: 189 - 199. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. W. Insley, F. X. Murphy, D. Naylor, and M. Critchley The use of satellite imagery in the validation and verification of structural interpretations for hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan and Yemen Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1996; 99: 321 - 343. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
