Major Normal Faults Research Articles

Miocene initiation and acceleration of extension in the South Lunggar rift, western Tibet: Evolution of an active detachment system from structural mapping and (U‐Th)/He thermochronology

Ongoing extension in Tibet may have begun in the middle to late Miocene, but there are few robust estimates of the rates, timing, or magnitude of Neogene deformation within the Tibetan plateau. We present a comprehensive study of the seismically active South Lunggar rift in southwestern Tibet incorporating mapping, U‐Pb geochronology and zircon (U‐Th)/He thermochronology. The South Lunggar rift is the southern continuation of the North Lunggar rift and comprises a ~50 km N‐S central horst bound by two major normal faults, the west‐dipping South Lunggar detachment and the east‐dipping Palung Co fault. The SLD dips at the rangefront ~20°W and exhumes a well‐developed mylonite zone in its footwall displaying fabrics indicative of normal‐sense shear. The range is composed of felsic orthogneiss, mafic amphibolite, and leucogranite intrusions dated at ~16 and 63 Ma. Zircon (U‐Th)/He cooling ages are Oligocene through late Pliocene, with the youngest ages observed in the footwall of the SLD. We tested ~25,000 unique thermokinematic forward models in Pecube against the structural and (U‐Th)/He data to fully bracket the allowable ranges in fault initiations, accelerations, and slip rates. We find that normal faulting in the SLR began in the middle Miocene with horizontal extension rates of ~1 mm a−1, and in the north accelerated at 8 Ma to 2.5–3.0 mm a−1 as faulting commenced on the SLD. Cumulative horizontal extension across the SLR ranges from <10 km in the south to 19–21 km in the north.

Origin and evolution of the Deception Island caldera (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica)

Deception Island has been interpreted variously as a classical ring fault caldera, as a tectonically controlled collapse caldera or as a tectonic depression. Review of previous studies combined with new fieldwork has allowed us to obtain a more precise model of the formation and internal structure of the Deception Island caldera. It formed as a result of the explosive eruption of basaltic-to-andesitic magmas, mostly as pyroclastic density currents representing in total a bulk volume of the order of 90 km3. Caldera collapse occurred rapidly along a polygonal structural network consisting of several pre-existing major normal faults. These faults, which originated as a result of regional tectonics, controlled pre- and post-caldera volcanism on the island. The formation of the caldera generated a very active geothermal system inside its depression, which is responsible for most of the present-day seismic activity and may also have a significant influence on the observed surface deformation. Our results do not support the hypothesis that there is a large but shallow, active magma chamber beneath the current caldera; instead we suggest that recent eruptions have been fed by small batches of deeper-sourced magmas. The intrusive remains of these eruptions and probably of other minor intrusions that have not reached the surface provide the main heat source that sustains the current geothermal system.

Late Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine system in the Karacasu Basin (SW Anatolia, Turkey): Depositional, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic implications

The sedimentary record of the late Cenozoic Karacasu Basin, a long-lived continental half-graben from southwestern Turkey, is characterized by siliciclastic and carbonate deposits. Sedimentation was controlled by an active NW–SE trending major normal fault along the basin's southern margin and by climatically-induced lake-level changes. Detailed facies analysis subdivides the entire Neogene–Quaternary basin-fill into three distinct litostratigraphic units representing paleogeographic changes and sedimentation patterns throughout the basin evolution.Sedimentation commenced in the late Miocene with the deposition of proximal–medial alluvial fan and fluvial facies (Damdere Formation; FA1). At this stage, alluvial fans developed in elevated areas to the south, prograding towards the basin center. At the beginning of the Pliocene, fresh to slightly alkaline, shallow lake deposits (FA2a) of the Karacaören Formation formed. The lake became open and meromictic conditions developed (FA2b). Pollen data from the FA2b facies show that climate was arid to humid. Climate probably changed cyclically through time producing alternation of Artemisia steppe (cold and dry periods) and more forested vegetation (warm and wet). The open lake facies passes upwards into lake margin facies (FA2c), but it was still dominated by alkaline to slightly saline lake conditions. Sedimentation was almost continuous from the late Miocene to Pleistocene.In the early Quaternary, the basin was dissected by the re-activation of basin bounding faults. The unconformable base of the overlying Quaternary deposits (Karacasu Formation; FA3) reflected the basin's transformation from a half-graben into a full-graben system. Oxygen isotope data from carbonates show an alternation of humid climatic periods, when freshwater settings predominated, and semiarid/arid periods in which the basin hosted alkaline and saline water lakes. Neotectonic activity has rejuvenated many of the basin-bounding faults, causing development of talus aprons and local alluvial fans. The basin was progressively incised by modern rivers that have largely smoothed out the topographic relief of the graben margins.

2.5-D Gravity/Magnetic Model Studies in Sahl El Qaa Area, Southwestern Sinai, Egypt

The 2.5-D gravity-magnetic models of the upper crustal structures of Sahl El Qaa Area, Southwestern Sinai were constructed along seven profiles, focusing on the uppermost crustal layers to a depth of 4–5 km. In addition separation filtering process; spectral analysis and trend analysis were used to investigate the Bouguer and total intensity aeromagnetic field maps qualitatively and quantitatively. The study showed that the regional structures consist of tilted blocks in the form of a major NW-synclinal feature with an axis dipping northward. This feature is dissected by the NE trending cross faults forming horsts, grabens and step-fault structures. The tilted blocks are controlled by a major normal fault system and are greatly modified in the dip regime from north to south. They show a regional NW dip regime in northern and southern parts, where the depth to the basement reaches about 2–3 km in the down dip. In the central portion, the basin is dipping steeply to the east, with maximum depths attaining about 4–5 km.

Geometry and kinematics of the Ocheon Fault System along the boundary between the Miocene Pohang and Janggi basins, SE Korea, and its tectonic implications

Detailed geological mapping and observations of various structural elements were made in order to determine the geometry and kinematics of the Ocheon Fault System (OFS) along the boundary between the Early Miocene Janggi and the Middle Miocene Pohang basins, SE Korea, and to reveal its roles on the basin evolutions. The OFS is a NE-trending relayed fault system composed of a number of NE or NNE-trending normal-slip and sinistral-normal oblique-slip faults, and has a scissor fault geometry decreasing in vertical offset southwestward. The constituent faults created independent grabens or half-grabens on the hanging-walls for the deposition of the Early or Middle Miocene strata. The OFS was initially the northwestern border fault of the Janggi Basin which acted as normal faults by the WNW-ESE tensional stress associated with the NNW-directed dextral simple shear caused by the East Sea opening. Afterwards, it experienced clockwise rotation with change of slip sense from normal-slip to sinistral-normal oblique-slip in response to the progressive dextral simple shear. At about 17 Ma, the shear stress propagating westward was released rapidly by the dextral strike-slip faulting of the NNW-trending Yeonil Tectonic Line (YTL) and the normal faulting of the NNE-trending western border faults of the Pohang Basin. At that time, the depocenter suddenly migrated northward and the depositional environment also changed rapidly from terrestrial to marine due to dramatic subsidence of the Pohang Basin. The Pohang Basin is interpreted to be a pull-apart basin extended at releasing bend/overstep between two PDZs (Principal Displacement Zones), i.e., the YTL and probably the East Korea Fault. The OFS was also reactivated as the eastern border faults of the Pohang Basin. In contrast to the western border faults, the OFS was rotated clockwise and could not be linked with the YTL because of its scissor fault geometry. Our results suggest that the NNW-trending regional dextral shear stress persisted for a considerable period of time in SE Korea during the East Sea opening, supporting the pull-apart opening of the East Sea rather than the fan-shaped opening. Most of the previous studies advocating the pull-apart opening emphasize the role of the NNE-trending strikeslip faults, like the Yangsan fault and OFS, as PDZs. In contrast, this study suggests that the NNE-trending faults in SE Korea acted as major normal faults at releasing bends or stepovers in the NNW-trending dextral fault system during the East Sea opening.

Apatite fission-track data from upper Cretaceous formations in the Yuan'an Graben (China): Constraints on the timing of synsedimentary fault activity

Abstract Apatite fission-track signatures of upper Cretaceous Formations in the Yuan'an Graben are made to constraint on the timing of the Yuan'an and Tongchenghe synsedimentary fault activity. The apatite fission-track ages range from 102.0 ± 14.6 to 84.1 ± 3.7 Ma with P ( χ 2 ) >0.05; the mean confined track lengths of 14.18 ± 0.09 and 14.16 ± 0.08 μm with mean D par values of 2.25 ± 0.02 and 2.26 ± 0.03 μm, respectively. These data are interpreted as dating their source-area exhumation, recording the exhumation and cooling of the footwall during major normal faulting. The results indicate that the timing of the Yuan'an and Tongchenghe synsedimentary fault activity occurred at 117–82 Ma and the intensive movement at 100–82 Ma; the onset time of extension in Jianghan Basin is ca. 117 Ma, which is related to the lithospheric extension associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Asian Plate.

Miocene paleotopography of the Central Alps

Reconstructing surface elevation, surface uplift, and relief histories is fundamental to understanding the growth of mountain ranges, to explore their topographic limits, and relate these to the interplay between geodynamic and Earth surface processes. Here, we aim to quantify Miocene paleoelevation of the Central European Alps through stable isotope paleoaltimetry. The novelty of our approach, which renders our analysis less sensitive to past climate change, is that stable isotope proxies of identical age are analyzed from both the high internal parts of the Alpine orogen and the adjacent foreland basin. Whereas the foreland basin was at or near sea level and traces the combined effects of upstream changes in rainfall amount and composition, the high Alpine site additionally records the effect of elevation on stable isotopes in precipitation. We compare hydrogen isotopic ratios (δD) in mica and chlorite that interacted with meteoric water along the Simplon detachment, a major normal fault that developed at high elevations, with meteoric water compositions deduced from carbonate-bearing paleosols of the North-Alpine foreland basin.δD values of muscovite (−126‰) and chlorite (−135‰) from the brittle hanging wall and of recrystallized muscovite (−108‰) and biotite (−140‰) from adjacent footwall mylonites provide unequivocal evidence for localized syntectonic meteoric water interaction along the Simplon detachment. Detailed 40Ar/39Ar and fission track geochronology constrains the timing of isotopic exchange to ca. 14.5Ma, when the footwall mylonites passed through the ductile to brittle transition. Age-equivalent oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) measured within pedogenic carbonate from North-Alpine foreland paleosols that developed near Miocene sea level serve as our low-elevation point of reference. δ18O values in these paleosols, dated with ca. 100ka precision, vary between +19 and +25‰ (SMOW) with average values of +20‰ at ca. 14.5Ma. Using the relative differences between meteoric water compositions in the foreland basin and the high Alpine Simplon detachment, our isotope data are consistent with a mid-Miocene minimum average elevation difference of 2350 (+700/−500) m for the Simplon region. Our results indicate that Miocene Alpine elevations were at least comparable to those of today and are likely to have acted as an important barrier to Atlantic-derived moisture transport into central Europe and Eurasia since that time.

Continental break-up mechanism; lessons from intermediate- and fast-extension settings

Abstract Continental break-up mechanisms vary systematically between slow- and fast-extension systems. Slow-extension break-up has been established from studies of the Central Atlantic, European and Adria margins. This study focuses on the intermediate and fast cases from Gabon and East India, and draws from the interpretation of reflection seismic, gravimetric and magnetic data. Interpretation indicates continental break-up via continental mantle unroofing in all systems, with modifications produced by magmatism in faster-extension systems. Break-up of the intermediate-extension Gabon system involves partial upper continental crustal decoupling from continental mantle; whereas, in the fast East Coast India system, decoupled and lower-crustal regimes underwent upwarping in ‘soggy’ zones in the footwalls of major normal faults. Usually, upper-crustal break-up is affected by pre-existing anisotropies, which form systems of constraining ‘rails’ for extending continental crust. This modifies the local stress regimes. They regain a regional character as the function of constraining rails vanishes during progressive unroofing of the upper mantle. Different regions attain different amounts of upper-crustal stretching prior to the break-up. The break-up location is then controlled by the upper-crustal energy balance principle of ‘wound linkage’, by which the minimum physical work is performed for linking upper-crustal ‘wounds’, leading to successful upper-crustal break-up. Supplementary material: Supplementary information and figures on the modelling of the mechanisms and architecture is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18525 .

Switch of Mesozoic extensional tectonic style in the Lusitanian basin (Portugal): Insights from magnetic fabrics

Magnetic fabrics in the Lusitanian basin show extreme variability in the orientation of strain axes during part of its Mesozoic extensional stage. A detailed study of Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) was done in Triassic and Upper Jurassic units in the onshore part of the basin. In the Triassic samples, the magnetic lineation shows a dominant NW–SE orientation, perpendicular to the main normal fault set and also to the extension directions inferred from the analysis of brittle mesostructures. For the Late Jurassic period, the AMS analysis indicates a dominant N–S to NE–SW extension. Moreover, these main directions are complicated by perpendicular solutions co-existing in the same sites. Comparison with syn-sedimentary faults reveals the difficulty in interpreting AMS data in these settings, although magnetic stability for the obtained solutions can be tracked through different mineralogical composition for the sampled rocks. Interpretation of the obtained fabrics through a Triassic radial extension regime is consistent with axes switching and local re-orientation of strain axes close to major normal faults related to the opening of the Northern Atlantic during the Jurassic.

Monitoring land subsidence and its induced geological hazard with Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry: A case study in Morelia, Mexico

Twenty three ENVISAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired in 2003–2010 were processed with conventional SAR Interferometry (InSAR) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry techniques, to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence in Morelia, Mexico. Subsiding areas are distributed as either concentrated circular patterns corresponding to intense groundwater extraction (e.g., Rio Grande meander area; maximum deformation of 7–8 cm/yr) or as elongate patterns oriented along NE–SW or E–W directions and parallel to major faults (i.e. La Colina, La Paloma and Central Camionera; maximum deformation of 4–5 cm/yr). High subsidence rates are also measured on the hanging wall of major normal faults, where the thickest sequences of compressible Quaternary sediments crop out. Strong contrasts in subsidence rates are identified across major faults, suggesting that these faults act as barriers to horizontal movement of groundwater. Subsidence rates show a weak positive correlation with the total thickness of compressible deposits, while there is no correlation with either water extraction rates or changes in static water level. Time-lapse analysis of ground deformation with conventional InSAR reveals temporal variations of subsidence north of the La Colina fault and the Rio Grande meander area. For this latter area, cross sections and 3D perspectives of InSAR measures, and analysis of subsidence rates through time, show an acceleration of subsidence velocities since 2005, corresponding to recasing of the Prados Verdes II well, whose location is centered in the area of highest subsidence.

The Campania‐Lucania Extensional Fault System, southern Italy: A suggestion for a uniform model of active extension in the Italian Apennines

By integrating new field data, seismic lines interpretation and a critical review of the literature, this work highlights a regional array of normal faults in the southern Apennines of Italy, which have been active during the Quaternary and are referred to as the “Campania‐Lucania Extensional Fault System” (CLEFS). The CLEFS consists of three main NW‐SE striking alignments of normal faults, which for the first time are considered genetically linked and methodically described in their geometry, kinematics and displacement. The CROP04 seismic profile, crossing the central part of the CLEFS, was strictly constrained by detailed geological surveys and reinterpreted to define the downdip trajectory of the major normal faults. These latter have been observed to splay from an east dipping low‐angle detachment surface penetrating the upper crust to depths of 12–13 km. The time‐space evolution of the faults and the associated basins was defined through a review of the stratigraphic data on the syntectonic deposits. As regards the overall geometry and the associate sense of shear (top‐to‐east), the CLEFS sensibly differs from the extensional features described previously in this region but shows surprising affinities with the “Etrurian Fault System,” an extensional megastructure of the northern Apennines. Remarkable similarities concern the extent, the surface and subsurface geometry, the timing of activity and the amount of the associated deformation. These common characters recognized over a belt nearly 600 km long lead to formulation of a low‐angle normal fault–driven extension geometrical‐kinematic model, which is sound for the whole active extensional belt of Italy.

New insights into the structure and evolution of the Isle of Wight Monocline

High quality seismic reflection data acquired during hydrocarbon exploration activities provide evidence for the subsurface structure and evolution of one of England's most well known structures at outcrop: the Isle of Wight Monocline. It is generally seen as a major northerly verging monoclinal structure linked to the Purbeck Monocline to the west. The Isle of Wight Monocline is the result of the interplay between two inverted east–west trending, southerly dipping and overlapping down-to-the-south major syndepositional normal faults that were active during Triassic and Jurassic times: the Needles and Sandown faults. The area between the two faults tips forms an easterly-dipping relay ramp, down which sequences of all ages thicken. Both of these major normal faults were inverted during Cenozoic (Miocene: Alpine) compressional events, folding the overlying post-rift sequences of early Cretaceous to early Cenozoic (Palaeogene) age. Interpretation of the seismic reflection data suggest that previously unknown high angle, down-to-the-north reverse faults cut the northern limbs of both anticlines forming the composite monocline and are likely to come to crop in the steeply-dipping Chalk and/or the drift-covered Cenozoic sequences. Their identification marked a period of discussions and testing of the model by detailed field mapping. The existence and location of such faulting was proved through an iterative process with the result that a reverse fault zone is now mapped along the northern limb of the northern Sandown Anticline section of the Monocline. The main reverse faults on the Brighstone and Sandown anticlines result in up to circa 550 m of displacement at top Chalk level. It is thought that a series of smaller footwall short-cut faults affect the Cenozoic strata to the north of the main reverse fault, producing up-faulted sections of flatter-lying Cenozoic strata. Reverse displacements and the severity of folding on the inverted faults decreases on each fault segment in a complementary fashion in the area of the relay ramp as one fault takes up the movement at the expense of the other. The swing in strike of the Chalk in the area of shallowly dipping strata between Calbourne and Garstons is a result of deformation of the post-rift sequences across the relay ramp established between the overlapping fault tips of the Needles and Sandown faults and the interaction of the folds developed at the tips of the reverse faults.

Performance of the Italian strong motion network during the 2009, L’Aquila seismic sequence (central Italy)

On April 6, 2009, the town of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region (central Italy) was struck by a seismic event at 01:32 (UTC), of magnitude MW = 6.3. The mainshock was followed by a long period of intense seismic activity and within seven days after the mainshock there were seven events of magnitude MW ≥ 5 that occurred from April 6 to April 13. This long seismic sequence was characterized by a complex rupture mechanism that involved two major normal faults of the central Apennines: the Paganica and the Gorzano faults. The strong-motions of the mainshock were recorded by 64 stations of the Italian Strong-motion Network (RAN) operated by the National Civil Protection Department (DPC). Six stations of a local strong-motion array were working in NW L’Aquila suburb area. One of them, located at about 6 km from the Paganica fault surface tip-line, set up in trigger mode, recorded continuously for more than 20 min the mainshock and the aftershocks. Besides the mainshock, the RAN stations recorded in total 78 foreshocks and aftershocks of ML ≥ 3.5, during the period from January to December 2009. The corresponding waveforms provide the most extensive digital strong ground motion data set ever recorded in Italy. Moreover, the 48 three-component observations of events of magnitude MW ≥ 5, recorded at a distance less than 15 km from each of the major involved faults, provide a significant increasing of near-field records available for the Italian territory. Six days after the mainshock, the strong-motion dataset, referred to preliminary locations of the events with ML ≥ 4.0, was made available on the DPC web site (http://www.protezionecivile.it/) and at the same time it was delivered to the ITACA database (http://itaca.mi.ingv.it/ItacaNet/). This dataset has been used by many authors in scientific papers and by engineers, geophysicists and geologists for professional technical works. In this paper, the present-day available strong-motion signals from the L’Aquila sequence and the performance of the Italian strong-motion network in terms of the number and quality of recorded data, the geometry and data transmission system are described. In addition the role of the temporary network that represents an extension of the permanent Italian strong-motion network, supporting the emergency response by civil protection authorities and improving the network coverage has been evaluated.

Jurassic rifting evolution of the Apennines and Southern Alps (Italy): Parallels and differences

Jurassic rifting in the southern Alps and Northern Apennines occurred within a relatively short (2–4 m.y.) interval of tectonic activity (late Hettangian–early Sinemurian) in proximal areas (central-eastern southern Alps and Northern Apennines), and was followed by calm postrift sedimentation. The main axis of the rift jumped in the late Early Jurassic to the previously unaffected, mostly nonsubsiding and/or uplifted distal areas of southwestern Tuscany and the western southern Alps. Synchronous stretching occurred in the Helvetic-Brianconnais domains of the Alps and in the Longobucco-Caloveto area (Calabria), here interpreted as the conjugate margin of western southern Alps and southwestern Tuscany. Major differences occur in the extensional structural style of the southern Alps and Apennines. The Northern Apennines are characterized by diffuse thin-skinned stretching at shallow depths and by localized thick-skinned stretching at deeper crustal levels. This style contrasts with the well-known thick-skinned nature of extensional tectonics in the southern Alps, which are also characterized by a larger spacing between major normal faults. It is suggested that these different extensional styles were controlled by contrasting rheologies induced by the different stratigraphies. The strong strain partitioning and the diffuse shallow thin-skinned tectonics of the Northern Apennines basins are here related to the occurrence of thick (up to 2 km) evaporites that underlie a relatively thin (up to 1.3 km) carbonate platform.

Listric versus planar normal fault geometry: an example from the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin (E Austria)

In a gravel pit at the eastern margin of the Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin, a satellite of Vienna Basin (Austria), Neogene sediments are exposed in the hanging wall of a major normal fault. The anticlinal structure and associated conjugated secondary normal faults were previously interpreted as a rollover anticline above a listric normal fault. The spatial orientation and distribution of sedimentary horizons and crosscutting faults were mapped in detail on a laser scan of the outcrop wall. Subsequently, in order to assess the 3D distribution and geometry of this fault system, a series of parallel ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were recorded behind the outcrop wall. Both outcrop and GPR data were compiled in a 3D structural model, providing the basis for a kinematic reconstruction of the fault plane using balanced cross-section techniques. However, the kinematic reconstruction results in a geologically meaningless normal fault cutting down- and up-section. Additionally, no evidence for a weak layer serving as ductile detachment horizon (i.e. salt or clay horizon) can be identified in stratigraphic profiles. Instead, the observed deflection of stratigraphic horizons may be caused by a displacement gradient along a planar master fault, with a maximum displacement in the fault centre, decreasing towards the fault tips. Accordingly, the observed deflection of markers in the hanging wall—and in a nearby location in the footwall of the normal fault—is interpreted as large-scale fault drag along a planar fault that records a displacement gradient, instead of a rollover anticline related to a listric fault.

Structural evolution of the Piqiang Fault Zone, NW Tarim Basin, China

The Piqiang Fault is a prominent strike-slip (tear) fault that laterally partitions the Keping Shan Thrust Belt in the NW Tarim Basin, China. In satellite images, the Piqiang Fault appears as a sharp, NW-trending lineament that can be traced for more than 70 km. It is oblique to the general structural trend of the thrust belt and subparallel to the thrust transport direction. This paper presents a structural analysis of the Piqiang Fault, based on satellite image interpretation and field data. A net loss of Late Paleozoic sediment across the fault zone implies that it was initiated as a major normal fault during the Early Permian, and corresponds to widespread extension and magmatism during this period. Differential erosion across the fault resulted in the subsequent removal of sediment from the east relative to the west. During the Middle to Late Cenozoic, contraction of the NW Tarim Basin and the formation of the Keping Shan Thrust Belt resulted in reactivation of the Piqiang Fault as a strike-slip (tear) fault. The fault has accommodated lateral differences in thrust density and spacing which have arisen due to the abrupt, pre-existing change in stratigraphic thickness across it. The Piqiang Fault provides an insight into the formation of oblique, strike-slip (tear) faults in contractional belts and demonstrates the importance of inherited basement structures in such settings.

The South Tibet detachment shear zone in the Dinggye area: Time constraints on extrusion models of the Himalayas

We investigate the timing of end of motion along the South Tibet Detachment System (STDS), a major normal fault system that runs parallel to the Himalayan range for more than 1500 km. Near Dinggye (∼ 28°10′N, 87°40′E), the STD dips ∼ 10 ± 5° to the North and separates Paleozoic Tethyan series from Upper Himalayan Crystalline Series (UHCS). Immediately below the STD, the UHCS is highly deformed in the STD shear zone, lineations trend NNE and the shear senses are top to the NE. In micaschist, the P–T path constrained by pseudosection and garnet chemistry, shows successive metamorphic conditions of ∼ 0.6 GPa and ∼ 550 °C and 0.5 GPa and 625 °C. U/Pb dating of monazites and zircons in deformed and undeformed leucogranites suggests that ductile deformation lasted until at least ∼ 16 Ma but ended prior to ∼ 15 Ma in the STD shear zone ∼ 100 m below the detachment. Ar/Ar micas ages in the footwall span between ∼ 14.6 and 13.6 Ma, indicating rapid cooling down to ∼ 320 °C, and suggesting persistence of normal faulting, at that time. The STDS is cut and offset by the N–S trending Dinggye active normal fault which initiated prior to 11 Ma thus providing a minimum bound for the end of STDS motion. These data are interpreted as reflecting 0.3 GPa (11 km) to 0.6 GPa (22 km) of exhumation along the STDS starting prior to ∼ 16 Ma, ending between 13.6 and 11 Ma. The 1000 km long stretch of the STDS east of the Gurla Mandata probably stopped almost synchronously between 13 and 11 Ma ago, coevally with a sudden switch from NNE–SSW to E–W extension at the top of the accretionary prism, with a jump of the major thrust from the lower Main Central Thrust (MCTl) to the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), and with a change in the India and Asia convergence direction. This synchronism is probably better explained in the frame of a thrust wedge or thrust system model than a lower channel flow model. West of the Gurla Mandata the STDS appears to stop 5 to 3 Ma earlier, possibly related to local interactions with the Karakorum fault in a way that needs to be understood.

Relationships between carbonate fault rocks and fluid flow regime during propagation of the Neogene extensional faults of the Penedès basin (Catalan Coastal Ranges, NE Spain)

Different types of fractures and fault rocks occur within the major normal fault zones bordering the NW of the Neogene Penedès basin (NE Spain). In the southwest part of the basin, the main fault is the Baix Penedès fault that places the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous dolomicrites of the footwall in contact with the Miocene siliciclastic sediments of the hangingwall. Within the footwall damage zone, different fracture systems and their respective associated breccias and cements have been recognized. Using a combination of structural, petrologic and geochemical analyses, we show that these fracture systems evolved from mainly tectonic to mainly karstic features during the progressive development and upward propagation of the fault. The earlier fractures and associated breccias represent the initial stages of the fault propagation, when the process zone formed around the fault tip was dominated by dilatant fracturing (fractures 1 and dilatant breccias B1). The fluid involved in this early deformation precipitated the dolomite cement C1, in equilibrium with the host-rock in a closed hydrogeological system. Localization of frictional processes generated cataclasites and ultracataclasites along distinct second-order faults (fractures 2). In these fractures, the dolomite cement C2 precipitated in relation to the incipient opening of the hydrological system to percolating meteoric waters. The later fractures and associated breccias represent the late stages of the fault propagation. These structures (fractures 3, fractures 4 and the dilatant breccias B2) were formed when the extensional deformation reached the surface, resulting in an increasingly open hydrogeological system. At these stages, deposition of the dolomitic sediment DS and precipitation of the calcite cements C3, C4 and C5 show the circulation of freshwaters in a vadose meteoric environment, i.e. in karstic conditions.

Stress aligned cracks in the upper crust of the Val d'Agri region as revealed by shear wave splitting

SUMMARY Shear wave splitting is measured at 19 seismic stations of a temporary network deployed in the Val d’Agri area to record low-magnitude seismic activity. The splitting results suggest the presence of an anisotropic layer between the surface and 15 km depth (i.e. above the hypocentres). The dominant fast polarization direction strikes NW–SE parallel to the Apennines orogen and is approximately parallel to the maximum horizontal stress in the region, as well as to major normal faults bordering the Val d’Agri basin. The size of the normalized delay times in the study region is about 0.01 s km −1 , suggesting 4.5 per cent shear wave velocity anisotropy (SWVA). On the south-western flank of the basin, where most of the seismicity occurs, we found larger values of normalized delay times, between 0.017 and 0.02 s km −1 . These high values suggest a 10 per cent of SWVA. These parameters agree with an interpretation of seismic anisotropy in terms of the Extensive-Dilatancy Anisotropy (EDA) model that considers the rock volume pervaded by fluid-saturated microcracks aligned by the active stress field. Anisotropic parameters are consistent with borehole image logs from deep exploration wells in the Val d’Agri oil field that detect pervasive fluid saturated microcracks striking NW–SE parallel to the maximum horizontal stress in the carbonatic reservoir. However, we cannot rule out the contribution of aligned macroscopic fractures because the main Quaternary normal faults are parallel to the maximum horizontal stress. The strong anisotropy and the seismicity concentration testify for active deformation along the SW flank of the basin.

Fission track analysis and thermotectonic history of the main borehole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling project

The Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) project, part of the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP), has completed drilling a 5158 m hole in the eastern part of the Dabie–Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt. This study reports on an apatite fission track analysis of core samples from 0 to 4000 m depth in the CCSD main hole (CCSD-MH). We determined the fission track ages of 38 apatite samples from different depths. The ages range between 98.6 ± 17.0 and 3.2 ± 1.3 Ma, showing a general decreasing trend with depth, from 87.1 ± 11.2 Ma at the surface to 3.2 ± 1.3 Ma at 3899 m depth. As a first approximation, an average uplift rate of ~ 35 m/Ma is calculated for the period 90–30 Ma. The trend in ages within the borehole shows some fluctuations, and indicates movements along major faults. It is inferred that the highest-level major normal fault occurs at a depth of ~ 350 m, recording a vertical displacement of ~ 400 m. Movement along another prominent normal fault at a depth of ~ 2150 m occurred subsequent to ~ 25 Ma. Three major reverse faults occur at about 2450, 3050 and 3250 m depth. Testing geological constrains against the fission track data set indicated an agreement with a reheating of the area during the late Cretaceous and Eocene, followed by cooling to ~ 80 °C during the Eocene and a low cooling until the samples reached their present-day position in the Donghai area.