The Nevis-Cardrona Fault System, Central Otago, New Zealand: Late Quaternary tectonics and structural development

1988 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Beanland ◽  
Sarah A. Barrow-Hurlbert
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Structural Development

scholarly journals Quaternary Geometry, Kinematics and Paleoearthquake History at the Intersection of the Strike-Slip North Island Fault System and Taupo Rift, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vasiliki Mouslopoulou
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Normal Faulting ◽  
Fault Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Australian Plate ◽  
C 30

<p>The North Island of New Zealand sits astride the Hikurangi margin along which the oceanic Pacific Plate is being obliquely subducted beneath the continental Australian Plate. The North Island Fault System1 (NIFS), in the North Island of New Zealand, is the principal active strike-slip fault system in the overriding Australian Plate accommodating up to 30% of the margin parallel plate motion. This study focuses on the northern termination of the NIFS, near its intersection with the active Taupo Rift, and comprises three complementary components of research: 1) the investigation of the late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) geometries and kinematics of the northern NIFS as derived from displaced geomorphic landforms and outcrop geology, 2) examination of the spatial and temporal distribution of  paleoearthquakes in the NIFS over the last 18 kyr, as derived by fault-trenching and displaced landforms, and consideration of how these distributions may have produced the documented late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) kinematics of the northern NIFS, and 3) Investigation of the temporal stability of the late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) geometries and kinematics throughout the Quaternary (1-2 Ma), derived from gravity, seismic-reflection, drillhole, topographic and outcrop data. The late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) kinematics of the northern NIFS transition northward along strike, from strike-slip to oblique-normal faulting, adjacent to the rift. With increasing proximity to the Taupo Rift the slip vector pitch on each of the faults in the NIFS steepens gradually by up to 60 degrees, while the mean fault-dip decreases from 90 degrees to 60 degrees W. Adjustments in the kinematics of the NIFS reflect the gradual accommodation of the NW-SE extension that is distributed outside the main physiographic boundary of the Taupo Rift. Sub-parallelism of slip vectors in the NIFS with the line of intersection between the two synchronous fault systems reduces potential space problems and facilitates the development of a kinematically coherent fault intersection, which allows the strike-slip component of slip to be transferred into the rift. Transfer of displacement from the NIFS into the rift accounts for a significant amount of the northeastward increase of extension along the rift. Steepening of the pitch of slip vectors towards the northern termination of the NIFS allows the kinematics and geometry of faulting to change efficiently, from strike-lip to normal faulting, providing an alternative mechanism to vertical axis rotations for terminating large strike-lip faults. Analyses of kinematic constraints from worldwide examples of synchronous strike-lip and normal faults that intersect to form two or three plate configurations, within either oceanic or continental crust, suggest that displacement is often transferred between the two fault systems in a similar manner to that documented at the NIFS - Taupo Rift fault intersection. The late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) change in the kinematics of the NIFS along strike, from dominantly strike-slip to oblique-normal faulting, arises due to a combination of rupture arrest during individual earthquakes and variations in the orientation of the coseismic slip vectors. At least 80 % of all surface rupturing earthquakes appear to have terminated within the kinematic transition zone from strike-slip to oblique-normal slip. Fault segmentation reduces the magnitudes of large surface rupturing earthquakes in the northern NIFS from 7.4-7.6 to c. 7.0. Interdependence of throw rates between the NIFS and Taupo Rift suggests that the intersection of the two fault systems has functioned coherently for much of the last 0.6-1.5 Myr. Oblique-normal slip faults in the NIFS and the Edgecumbe Fault in the rift accommodated higher throw rates since 300 kyr than during the last 0.6-1.5 Myr. Acceleration of these throw rates may have occurred in response to eastward migration of rifting, increasing both the rates of faulting and the pitch of slip vectors. The late Quaternary (e.g. 30 kyr) kinematics, and perhaps also the stability, of the intersection zone has been geologically short lived and applied for the last c. 300 kyr.</p>

scholarly journals Quaternary Geometry, Kinematics and Paleoearthquake History at the Intersection of the Strike-Slip North Island Fault System and Taupo Rift, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vasiliki Mouslopoulou
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Normal Faulting ◽  
Fault Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Australian Plate ◽  
C 30

<p>The North Island of New Zealand sits astride the Hikurangi margin along which the oceanic Pacific Plate is being obliquely subducted beneath the continental Australian Plate. The North Island Fault System1 (NIFS), in the North Island of New Zealand, is the principal active strike-slip fault system in the overriding Australian Plate accommodating up to 30% of the margin parallel plate motion. This study focuses on the northern termination of the NIFS, near its intersection with the active Taupo Rift, and comprises three complementary components of research: 1) the investigation of the late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) geometries and kinematics of the northern NIFS as derived from displaced geomorphic landforms and outcrop geology, 2) examination of the spatial and temporal distribution of  paleoearthquakes in the NIFS over the last 18 kyr, as derived by fault-trenching and displaced landforms, and consideration of how these distributions may have produced the documented late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) kinematics of the northern NIFS, and 3) Investigation of the temporal stability of the late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) geometries and kinematics throughout the Quaternary (1-2 Ma), derived from gravity, seismic-reflection, drillhole, topographic and outcrop data. The late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) kinematics of the northern NIFS transition northward along strike, from strike-slip to oblique-normal faulting, adjacent to the rift. With increasing proximity to the Taupo Rift the slip vector pitch on each of the faults in the NIFS steepens gradually by up to 60 degrees, while the mean fault-dip decreases from 90 degrees to 60 degrees W. Adjustments in the kinematics of the NIFS reflect the gradual accommodation of the NW-SE extension that is distributed outside the main physiographic boundary of the Taupo Rift. Sub-parallelism of slip vectors in the NIFS with the line of intersection between the two synchronous fault systems reduces potential space problems and facilitates the development of a kinematically coherent fault intersection, which allows the strike-slip component of slip to be transferred into the rift. Transfer of displacement from the NIFS into the rift accounts for a significant amount of the northeastward increase of extension along the rift. Steepening of the pitch of slip vectors towards the northern termination of the NIFS allows the kinematics and geometry of faulting to change efficiently, from strike-lip to normal faulting, providing an alternative mechanism to vertical axis rotations for terminating large strike-lip faults. Analyses of kinematic constraints from worldwide examples of synchronous strike-lip and normal faults that intersect to form two or three plate configurations, within either oceanic or continental crust, suggest that displacement is often transferred between the two fault systems in a similar manner to that documented at the NIFS - Taupo Rift fault intersection. The late Quaternary (c. 30 kyr) change in the kinematics of the NIFS along strike, from dominantly strike-slip to oblique-normal faulting, arises due to a combination of rupture arrest during individual earthquakes and variations in the orientation of the coseismic slip vectors. At least 80 % of all surface rupturing earthquakes appear to have terminated within the kinematic transition zone from strike-slip to oblique-normal slip. Fault segmentation reduces the magnitudes of large surface rupturing earthquakes in the northern NIFS from 7.4-7.6 to c. 7.0. Interdependence of throw rates between the NIFS and Taupo Rift suggests that the intersection of the two fault systems has functioned coherently for much of the last 0.6-1.5 Myr. Oblique-normal slip faults in the NIFS and the Edgecumbe Fault in the rift accommodated higher throw rates since 300 kyr than during the last 0.6-1.5 Myr. Acceleration of these throw rates may have occurred in response to eastward migration of rifting, increasing both the rates of faulting and the pitch of slip vectors. The late Quaternary (e.g. 30 kyr) kinematics, and perhaps also the stability, of the intersection zone has been geologically short lived and applied for the last c. 300 kyr.</p>

Late Quaternary paleolimnology of Onepoto maar, Auckland, New Zealand: Implications for the drivers of regional paleoclimate

2012 ◽  
Vol 253 ◽  
pp. 18-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Augustinus ◽  
Ursula Cochran ◽  
Giri Kattel ◽  
Donna D’Costa ◽  
Phil Shane
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Late Quaternary

Recurrent events on a Quaternary fault recorded in the mineralogy and micromorphology of a weathering profile, Yangsan Fault System, Korea

2005 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gi Young Jeong ◽  
Chang-Sik Cheong
Keyword(s):  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Recurrent Events ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Weathering Profile ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Yangsan Fault ◽  
Yangsan Fault System ◽  
Event Based

AbstractRecurrence characteristics of a Quaternary fault are generally investigated on the basis of field properties that are rapidly degraded by chemical weathering and erosion in warm humid climates. Here we show that in intense weathering environments, mineralogical and micromorphological investigations are valuable in paleoseismological reconstruction. A weathering profile developed in Late Quaternary marine terrace deposits along the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula was disturbed by tectonic movement that appears to be a simple one-time reverse faulting event based on field observations. A comparative analysis of the mineralogy, micromorphology, and chemistry of the weathering profile and fault gouge, however, reveals that both the microfissures in the deformed weathering profile and larger void spaces along the fault plane were filled with multi-stage accumulations of illuvial clay and silt minerals of detrital origin, suggesting a repetition of fissuring and subsequent sealing in the weathering profile as it underwent continuous mineralogical transformation and particle translocation. We reconstruct a sequence of multiple faulting events unrecognized in previous field surveys, which requires revision of the view that the Korean Peninsula was tectonically stable, during the Late Quaternary.

Erosion rates of the New Zealand Southern Alps reflect long-term tectonics and transient climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duna Roda-Boluda ◽  
Taylor Schildgen ◽  
Hella Wittmann-Oelze ◽  
Stefanie Tofelde ◽  
Aaron Bufe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Seismic Cycle ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Alpine Fault ◽  
Oblique Convergence

&lt;p&gt;The Southern Alps of New Zealand are the expression of the oblique convergence between the Pacific and Australian plates, which move at a relative velocity of nearly 40 mm/yr. This convergence is accommodated by the range-bounding Alpine Fault, with a strike-slip component of ~30-40 mm/yr, and a shortening component normal to the fault of ~8-10 mm/yr. While strike-slip rates seem to be fairly constant along the Alpine Fault, throw rates appear to vary considerably, and whether the locus of maximum exhumation is located near the fault, at the main drainage divide, or part-way between, is still debated. These uncertainties stem from very limited data characterizing vertical deformation rates along and across the Southern Alps. Thermochronology has constrained the Southern Alps exhumation history since the Miocene, but Quaternary exhumation is hard to resolve precisely due to the very high exhumation rates. Likewise, GPS surveys estimate a vertical uplift of ~5 mm/yr, but integrate only over ~10 yr timescales and are restricted to one transect across the range.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To obtain insights into the Quaternary distribution and rates of exhumation of the western Southern Alps, we use new &lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;Be catchment-averaged erosion rates from 20 catchments along the western side of the range. Catchment-averaged erosion rates span an order of magnitude, between ~0.8 and &gt;10 mm/yr, but we find that erosion rates of &gt;10 mm/yr, a value often quoted in the literature as representative for the entire range, are very localized. Moreover, erosion rates decrease sharply north of the intersection with the Marlborough Fault System, suggesting substantial slip partitioning. These &lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;Be catchment-averaged erosion rates integrate, on average, over the last ~300 yrs. Considering that the last earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in 1717, these rates are representative of inter-seismic erosion. Lake sedimentation rates and coseismic landslide modelling suggest that long-term (~10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; yrs) erosion rates over a full seismic cycle could be ~40% greater than our inter-seismic erosion rates. If we assume steady state topography, such a scaling of our &lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;Be erosion rate estimates can be used to estimate rock uplift rates in the Southern Alps. Finally, we find that erosion, and hence potentially exhumation, does not seem to be localized at a particular distance from the fault, as some tectonic and provenance studies have suggested. Instead, we find that superimposed on the primary tectonic control, there is an elevation/temperature control on erosion rates, which is probably transient and related to frost-cracking and glacial retreat.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our results highlight the potential for &lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;Be catchment-averaged erosion rates to provide insights into the magnitude and distribution of tectonic deformation rates, and the limitations that arise from transient erosion controls related to the seismic cycle and climate-modulated surface processes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Synthetic Transfer Zone Characterization Using Seismic Attributes: An Example from the Parihaka Fault System in the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-73
Author(s):  
Pierre Karam ◽  
Shankar Mitra ◽  
Kurt Marfurt ◽  
Brett M. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Seismic Attributes ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Structural Interpretation ◽  
Transfer Zones ◽  
Seismic Characterization ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Transfer Zone

Synthetic transfer zones develop between fault segments which dip in the same direction, with relay ramps connecting the fault blocks separated by the different fault segments. The characteristics of the transfer zones are controlled by the lithology, deformation conditions, and strain magnitude. The Parihaka fault is a NE-SW trending set of three major en-echelon faults connected by relay ramps in the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. The structure in the basin is defined by extension during two episodes of deformation between the late Cretaceous and Paleocene and between the Late Miocene and recent. To better understand the evolution of a synthetic transfer zone, we study the geometry and secondary faulting between the individual fault segments in the Parihaka fault system using structural interpretation of 3D seismic data and seismic attributes. This interpretation allows for a unique application of seismic attributes to better study transfer zones. Seismic attributes, including coherence, dip, and curvature are effective tools to understand the detailed geometry and variation in displacement on the individual faults, the nature of secondary faulting along the transfer zones, and the relationship between the faults and drape folds. Seismic characterization of the fault system of Miocene to Pliocene age horizons highlights variations in the degree of faulting, deformation, and growth mechanism associated with different stages of transfer zone development. Coherence, dip, and curvature attributes show a direct correlation with structural parameters such as deformation, folding, and breaching of relay ramps.. All three attributes enhance the visualization of the major and associated secondary faults and better constrain their tectonic history. The observed correlation between seismic attributes and structural characteristics of transfer zones can significantly improve structural interpretation and exploration workflow.

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