Abstract
Sandbox models have been widely used to investigate normal fault geometries, evolution and propagation. As modelling attempts to investigate more aspects of normal faulting, the effects of pre-existing fabrics on normal fault geometry developed within the brittle upper crust have become a topic of interest. Analogue models have been developed for oblique rifting and the influence of pre-existing fabrics on transfer zone geometry. These models use pre-cut geometries in underlying plates to impose `pre-existing' fabrics on the developing normal fault system. However, to really mimic natural systems it is the sand itself that should contain the pre-existing fabrics. The problem is that cohesionless sand has no tensile strength, while the influence of pre-existing fabrics on rift structure in the upper crust attests to the important role played by relatively small variations in rock strength anisotropy caused by pre-existing fabrics. Consequently it is necessary to assess how significant the departures are between model and natural examples and whether a new approach to modelling pre-existing rift structures is required.
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