Deformational mechanisms along active strike-slip faults

Deformational mechanisms along active strike-slip faults
Author: Stacey Ann Tyburski
Publisher:
Total Pages: 388
Release: 1992
Genre: Geology
ISBN:

Download Deformational mechanisms along active strike-slip faults Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The northwest part of the North America-Caribbean plate boundary zone is characterized by active, left-lateral strike-slip faults that are well constrained seismically and are corroborated by on- and offshore geologic mapping. The onshore plate boundary zone comprises the Motogua and Polochic fault systems of southern Guatemala which join and continue offshore as the Swan Islands fault zone along the southern edge of the Cayman trough. At the Mid-Cayman spreading center in the central Caribbean Sea, the fault motion is transferred at a 100 km wide left-step in the fault system to the Oriente fault zone. A third system, the Walton fault zone, continues east from the Mid-Cayman Spreading center to define the Gonave microplate. Seafloor features produced by strike-slip faulting along the Swan Islands and Walton fault zones have been imaged and mapped using the SeaMARC II side-scan sonar and swath bathymetric mapping system, single-channel seismic data, multichannel seismic data and 3.5 kHz depth profiles. Structures mapped along the Swan Islands and Walton fault zones include: 1) twenty-six restraining bends and five releasing bends ranging in size from several kilometers in area to several hundred kilometers in area; 2)en echelon folds which occur only within the restraining bends; 3) straight, continuous fault segments of up to several tens of kilometers in length; 4) restraining and releasing bends forming in "paired" configurations; and 5) a fault-parallel fold belt fold and thrust belt adjacent to a major restraining bend. The features observed along the Swan Islands and Walton fault systems are compared to other features observed along other strike-slip fault systems, from which empirical models have previously been derived. Based on the features observed in these strike-slip systems, a rigid plate scenario is envisioned where the geometry of the fault and the direction of plate motion have controlled the types of deformation that have occurred. In a related study, microtectonic features in an area of Neogene extension within the northwestern Caribbean plate were investigated in order to provide insight on the nature of intraplate deformation related to the motion along the plate boundary. Microtectonic features were measured in the Sula-Yojoa rift of northwestern Honduras with the intention of inverting the data to estimate stress states responsible for the observed strains. Data inversion for the estimation of stress states could not be undertaken with the available measurements, however, the observations made can be used to support several existing models for the intraplate deformation as well as to encourage the elimination of other models.

Mechanisms of Strain Transfer Along Strike-slip Faults

Mechanisms of Strain Transfer Along Strike-slip Faults
Author: Jacob August Selander
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN: 9781321807325

Download Mechanisms of Strain Transfer Along Strike-slip Faults Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The overall length of a fault is proportional to the potential size of earthquakes it may produce and its cumulative displacement. Because longer faults are capable of producing larger earthquakes, it is important to understand mechanisms by which faults propagate, how faults may or may not link, and how displacement gradients are accommodated along strike. In order to assess the roles that these mechanisms play in accommodating active deformation, I examine distributed faulting in the Mojave segment of the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ), a broad region of overall dextral shear east of the San Andreas Fault. First, I investigate fault-tip deformation along the northwest Gravel Hills fault. Deformation at this actively propagating fault tip is a combination of en-echelon faulting and folding within a 10-km long damage zone, and broad warping of the surrounding crust over a radius roughly equal to the local seismogenic depth. Elastic half-space modeling of the buried fault tip suggests the presence of a steep displacement gradient over the final 10-15 km of fault length, a portion of which is accommodated via aseismic accumulation of permanent deformation. To address fault connectivity, I focus on a broad restraining step in the Calico- Blackwater fault system and use structural cross-sections to evaluate potential links between these strike-slip faults. I find that hard structural links connect the Calico fault to the Harper Lake, Manix, Tin Can Alley, and Blackwater faults and that approximately 80% of total displacement is transferred from the Calico fault to these intersecting structures. These new structural connections and the suggestion of steep displacement gradients at fault tips predict how late Quaternary slip rates may be distributed along the Calico- Blackwater system and intersecting faults. To test these predictions, I present late Quaternary displacement rates at five new locations on the Calico, Harper Lake, and Gravel Hills faults, and within the hanging wall of the Mud Hills thrust. The distribution of these rates mimics the long-term connectivity patterns shown from my structural interpretations. Slip rates also exhibit a decrease to the northwest along the Harper Lake- Gravel Hills fault, consistent with the expected decline due to fault-tip deformation. Overall, the distribution of geologic dextral slip rates suggests that the Mojave ECSZ is best modeled as a network of short, incompletely connected faults with a significant component of distributed deformation occurring in the crustal volume surrounding major structures.

Tectonics of Strike-slip Restraining and Releasing Bends

Tectonics of Strike-slip Restraining and Releasing Bends
Author: W. D. Cunningham
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2007
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781862392380

Download Tectonics of Strike-slip Restraining and Releasing Bends Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This volume addresses the tectonic complexity and diversity of strike-slip restraining and releasing bends with 18 contributions divided into four thematic sections: a topical review of fault bends and their global distribution; bends, sedimentary basins and earthquake hazards; restraining bends, transpressional deformation and basement controls on development; releasing bends, transtensional deformation and fluid flow.

Strike-slip Deformation, Basin Formation, and Sedimentation

Strike-slip Deformation, Basin Formation, and Sedimentation
Author: Kevin T. Biddle
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Total Pages: 408
Release: 1985
Genre: Science
ISBN:

Download Strike-slip Deformation, Basin Formation, and Sedimentation Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The volume is organized into three sections entitled Overview, Extensional Settings and Contractional Settings together with a glossary of terms having to do with strike-slip deformation, basin formation and sedimentation.

A History of Persian Earthquakes

A History of Persian Earthquakes
Author: N. N. Ambraseys
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2005-11-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521021876

Download A History of Persian Earthquakes Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

A study of the historical seismicity of Iran over the last thirteen centuries.

Treatise on Geophysics

Treatise on Geophysics
Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 5604
Release: 2015-04-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0444538038

Download Treatise on Geophysics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Treatise on Geophysics, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and in-depth study of the physics of the Earth beyond what any geophysics text has provided previously. Thoroughly revised and updated, it provides fundamental and state-of-the-art discussion of all aspects of geophysics. A highlight of the second edition is a new volume on Near Surface Geophysics that discusses the role of geophysics in the exploitation and conservation of natural resources and the assessment of degradation of natural systems by pollution. Additional features include new material in the Planets and Moon, Mantle Dynamics, Core Dynamics, Crustal and Lithosphere Dynamics, Evolution of the Earth, and Geodesy volumes. New material is also presented on the uses of Earth gravity measurements. This title is essential for professionals, researchers, professors, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of Geophysics and Earth system science. Comprehensive and detailed coverage of all aspects of geophysics Fundamental and state-of-the-art discussions of all research topics Integration of topics into a coherent whole

The Effects of Seismic Stress Changes on Off-fault Deformation in the Norumbega Fault System, Southern Maine

The Effects of Seismic Stress Changes on Off-fault Deformation in the Norumbega Fault System, Southern Maine
Author: Catherine Ross
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN:

Download The Effects of Seismic Stress Changes on Off-fault Deformation in the Norumbega Fault System, Southern Maine Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

"Exhumed fault rocks contain records of past earthquakes and provide insights into deformation processes associated with seismic slip. Static stress changes caused by fault displacement may be of significant magnitude around fault bends, ends, intersections, and have been shown to partially explain aftershock distributions (Poliakov et al., 2002; Savage et al., 2017). Post-seismic relaxation around the faults may change the recurrence interval of large events along certain fault strands in a fault system (Freed, 2005; Felzer and Brodsky, 2005; Richards-Dinger et al., 2010). In the brittle-ductile transition zone, these stress concentrations may be relaxed after earthquakes by ductile flow. I used an outcrop of pseudotachylyte faults and nearby deformed wallrock as a small-scale model of a seismic fault system to test whether wallrock deformation is the result of staticstress changes associated with earthquake displacements. To do this, I used a newly developed technique of measuring strain across off-fault deformation features and comparing the strain to static stress change maps. I used Coulomb3, a fault modeling software, to model the static stress changes (with model inputs constrained by field observations) and compared the orientation and relative magnitude of compressive and tensile predicted stress changes with the shortening and elongation represented by wallrock deformation features.In the Fort Foster Brittle Zone (Kittery, Maine; Swanson, 2006), I mapped a 5.6 m-long area with two interconnected, sub-parallel pseudotachylyte fault veins cutting an ultramylonite zone, and associated wallrock deformation features including pseudotachylyte injections, pseudotachylyte-filled voids, mm-[mu]m subsidiary faults, and folds. High-resolution photos, orientation measurements, and coseismic offsets were used to generate a simplified fault model in Coulomb3. I measured strain across the off-fault deformation features in the fault-parallel and perpendicular directions. Using microstructural analysis, I also determined the deformation mechanisms involved in the formation of each type of wallrock feature. As some deformation mechanisms are rate-limited, this information can also be used to infer whether features could have formed co-seismically, post-seismically, or require longer timescales of creep. I used spatial statistics (Local Indicators of Spatial Association or LISA) to test whether the areas of significant stress change predicted by the Coulomb3 model correlate with areas of substantial wallrock deformation on the strain map interpreted from field observations.The correlation of orientation and magnitude between static stress change and strain is strongest at the major bends in the bounding faults. The correlation confirms my hypothesis that stress changes caused by co-seismic displacements were at least partially relieved by off-fault deformation. The correlation between static stress change and strain is strongest for pseudotachylyte melt-related features and strike-slip faults, but weakest for the folds. The strong association implies that the melt-related features and strike-slip faults are the most likely features to have formed in the co- to post-seismic interval to facilitate post-seismic relaxation.Additionally, a microstructural analysis reveals that the deformation features (injection veins, dilational zones, and strike-slip faults) either involve pseudotachylyte melt production and quenching, brittle fracturing, or cataclasis with the exception of the folds. Cataclasis and frictional sliding are not rate-limited, but because strike-slip faults are strongly correlated with areas of static stress increase, and are therefore interpreted to form in response to co-seismic displacements, they can be constrained to the co- to post-seismic period. Features that are melt-filled represent coseismic deformation because of the short quench times of pseudotachylyte. The folds in the wallrock deformed by a combination..." --

Tectonic Geomorphology

Tectonic Geomorphology
Author: Douglas W. Burbank
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2011-11-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1444345044

Download Tectonic Geomorphology Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Tectonic geomorphology is the study of the interplay between tectonic and surface processes that shape the landscape in regions of active deformation and at time scales ranging from days to millions of years. Over the past decade, recent advances in the quantification of both rates and the physical basis of tectonic and surface processes have underpinned an explosion of new research in the field of tectonic geomorphology. Modern tectonic geomorphology is an exceptionally integrative field that utilizes techniques and data derived from studies of geomorphology, seismology, geochronology, structure, geodesy, stratigraphy, meteorology and Quaternary science. While integrating new insights and highlighting controversies from the ten years of research since the 1st edition, this 2nd edition of Tectonic Geomorphology reviews the fundamentals of the subject, including the nature of faulting and folding, the creation and use of geomorphic markers for tracing deformation, chronological techniques that are used to date events and quantify rates, geodetic techniques for defining recent deformation, and paleoseismologic approaches to calibrate past deformation. Overall, this book focuses on the current understanding of the dynamic interplay between surface processes and active tectonics. As it ranges from the timescales of individual earthquakes to the growth and decay of mountain belts, this book provides a timely synthesis of modern research for upper-level undergraduate and graduate earth science students and for practicing geologists. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/burbank/geomorphology.

Living on an Active Earth

Living on an Active Earth
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2003-09-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309065623

Download Living on an Active Earth Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The destructive force of earthquakes has stimulated human inquiry since ancient times, yet the scientific study of earthquakes is a surprisingly recent endeavor. Instrumental recordings of earthquakes were not made until the second half of the 19th century, and the primary mechanism for generating seismic waves was not identified until the beginning of the 20th century. From this recent start, a range of laboratory, field, and theoretical investigations have developed into a vigorous new discipline: the science of earthquakes. As a basic science, it provides a comprehensive understanding of earthquake behavior and related phenomena in the Earth and other terrestrial planets. As an applied science, it provides a knowledge base of great practical value for a global society whose infrastructure is built on the Earth's active crust. This book describes the growth and origins of earthquake science and identifies research and data collection efforts that will strengthen the scientific and social contributions of this exciting new discipline.