scholarly journals Fold-to-Fault Progression of a Major Thrust Zone Revealed in Horses of the North Mountain Fault Zone, Virginia and West Virginia, USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Randall C. Orndorff

The method of emplacement and sequential deformation of major thrust zones may be deciphered by detailed geologic mapping of these important structures. Thrust fault zones may have added complexity when horse blocks are contained within them. However, these horses can be an important indicator of the fault development holding information on fault-propagation folding or fold-to-fault progression. The North Mountain fault zone of the Central Appalachians, USA, was studied in order to better understand the relationships of horse blocks to hanging wall and footwall structures. The North Mountain fault zone in northwestern Virginia and eastern panhandle of West Virginia is the Late Mississippian to Permian Alleghanian structure that developed after regional-scale folding. Evidence for this deformation sequence is a consistent progression of right-side up to overturned strata in horses within the fault zone. Rocks on the southeast side (hinterland) of the zone are almost exclusively right-side up, whereas rocks on the northwest side (foreland) of the zone are almost exclusively overturned. This suggests that the fault zone developed along the overturned southeast limb of a syncline to the northwest and the adjacent upright limb of a faulted anticline to the southeast.


Author(s):  
D. Susong ◽  
R. Smith ◽  
R. Bruhn

The Teton normal-fault zone extends for over 80 km along the eastern front of the Teton Range. Mapping and profiling of Quaternary fault scarps shows that the scarps are nearly continous for 55 km with scarp heights varying from about 10 m to 40 m. The largest scarps occur adjacent to the topographically highest parts of the Teton range. The scarps locally offset glacial moraine crests in a left-lateral sense. On a regional scale the scarps exhibit a right-stepping, en echelon geometry that is also consistent with a component of left-lateral displacenent. The Teton fault is structurally subdivided into three segments. One prominent geometrical segment boundary occurs just south Taggart Lake, where the range front bends through an angle of 23° and a major structural boundary extends through the hanging wall basin, as inferred by gravity data. This boundary may have influenced the history of Quaternary earthquake occurrences because vertical offset across faults scarps is greater to the north of the boundary, than to the south. The lengths of the proposed segments and scarp size are consistent with M7 to 7.5 earthquakes for the Teton fault zone.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Caroir ◽  
Frank Chanier ◽  
Virginie Gaullier ◽  
Julien Bailleul ◽  
Agnès Maillard-Lenoir ◽  
...  

<p>The Anatolia-Aegean microplate is currently extruding toward the South and the South-West. This extrusion is classically attributed to the southward retreat of the Aegean subduction zone together with the northward displacement of the Arabian plate. The displacement of Aegean-Anatolian block relative to Eurasia is accommodated by dextral motion along the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), with current slip rates of about 20 mm/yr. The NAF is propagating westward within the North Aegean domain where it gets separated into two main branches, one of them bordering the North Aegean Trough (NAT). This particular context is responsible for dextral and normal stress regimes between the Aegean plate and the Eurasian plate. South-West of the NAT, there is no identified major faults in the continuity of the NAF major branch and the plate boundary deformation is apparently distributed within a wide domain. This area is characterised by slip rates of 20 to 25 mm/yr relative to Eurasian plate but also by clockwise rotation of about 10° since ca 4 Myr. It constitutes a major extensional area involving three large rift basins: the Corinth Gulf, the Almiros Basin and the Sperchios-North Evia Gulf. The latter develops in the axis of the western termination of the NAT, and is therefore a key area to understand the present-day dynamics and the evolution of deformation within this diffuse plate boundary area.</p><p>Our study is mainly based on new structural data from field analysis and from very high resolution seismic reflexion profiles (Sparker 50-300 Joules) acquired during the WATER survey in July-August 2017 onboard the R/V “Téthys II”, but also on existing data on recent to active tectonics (i.e. earthquakes distribution, focal mechanisms, GPS data, etc.). The results from our new marine data emphasize the structural organisation and the evolution of the deformation within the North Evia region, SW of the NAT.</p><p>The combination of our structural analysis (offshore and onshore data) with available data on active/recent deformation led us to define several structural domains within the North Evia region, at the western termination of the North Anatolian Fault. The North Evia Gulf shows four main fault zones, among them the Central Basin Fault Zone (CBFZ) which is obliquely cross-cutting the rift basin and represents the continuity of the onshore Kamena Vourla - Arkitsa Fault System (KVAFS). Other major fault zones, such as the Aedipsos Politika Fault System (APFS) and the Melouna Fault Zone (MFZ) played an important role in the rift initiation but evolved recently with a left-lateral strike-slip motion. Moreover, our seismic dataset allowed to identify several faults in the Skopelos Basin including a large NW-dipping fault which affects the bathymetry and shows an important total vertical offset (>300m). Finally, we propose an update of the deformation pattern in the North Evia region including two lineaments with dextral motion that extend southwestward the North Anatolian Fault system into the Oreoi Channel and the Skopelos Basin. Moreover, the North Evia Gulf domain is dominated by active N-S extension and sinistral reactivation of former large normal faults.</p>



2012 ◽  
Vol 204-208 ◽  
pp. 119-122
Author(s):  
You Xi Wang ◽  
Guang Zhe Deng

The fault breaks continuous ground stress distribution. The rock mass in fault zone is weak and broken, it becomes stress decreasing zone. The paper, which is combined with engineering practice and rock mechanics test, numerically simulates geological environment of fault zones and analyzes faults trend direction influence on ground stress distribution in the metal mine. The results demonstrates that deep faults breaks down the continuity of ground stress distribution, principle stresses in lower wall of faults are smaller than it in hanging wall while high deep ground stresses are in cross district of hanging-wall of fault-zone and ore bed



Author(s):  
Emily J. Kleber ◽  
Adam P. McKean ◽  
Adam I. Hiscock ◽  
Michael D. Hylland ◽  
Christian L. Hardwick ◽  
...  

Abstract The 18 March 2020 Mw 5.7 Magna, Utah, earthquake was the largest earthquake in Utah since the 1992 ML 5.8 St. George earthquake. The geologic setting of the Magna earthquake is well documented by recent geologic mapping at 1:24,000 scale and 1:62,500 scale at and near the epicenter northeast of Magna, Utah. Subsurface fault modeling from surficial geologic mapping, structural cross sections, deep borehole data, and geophysical data reveals a complex system of faulting concentrated in the hanging wall of the Weber and Salt Lake City segments of the Wasatch fault zone including the Harkers fault, the West Valley fault zone, and the newly interpreted Saltair graben. Based on geologic and geophysical data (seismic and gravity), we interpret the mainshock of the Magna earthquake as having occurred on a relatively gently dipping part of the Salt Lake City segment, with aftershocks concentrated in the Saltair graben and West Valley fault zone. Postearthquake rapid reconnaissance of geological effects of the Magna earthquake documented liquefaction near the earthquake epicenter, along the Jordan River, and along the Great Salt Lake shoreline. Subaerial and subaqueous sand boils were identified in regions with roadway infrastructure and artificial fill, whereas collapse features were noted along the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Potential syneresis cracking and pooling in large areas indicated fluctuating groundwater likely related to earthquake ground shaking. The moderate magnitude of the Magna earthquake and minimal geological effects highlight the critical importance of earthquake research from multidisciplinary fields in the geosciences and preparedness on the Wasatch Front.



1982 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wadge

SummaryA submarine fissure eruption of Upper Miocene age produced a modest volume of alkaline basalt at Low Layton, on the north coast of Jamaica. The eruption occurred in no more than a few hundred metres of water and produced a series of hyaloclastites, pillow breccias and pillow lavas, massive lavas, and dikes with an ENE en échelon structure. The volcano lies on the trend of one of the island's major E–W strike-slip fault zones: the Dunavale Fault Zone. The K–Ar age of the eruption of 9.5 ± 0.5 Ma. B.P. corresponds to an extension of the Mid-Cayman Rise spreading centre inferred from magnetic anomalies and bathymetry of the Cayman Trough to the north and west of Jamaica. The Low Layton eruption was part of the response of the strike-slip fault systems adjacent to this spreading centre during this brief episode of tectonic readjustment.



Geosites ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Robert Biek

The Sevier fault is spectacularly displayed on the north side of Utah Highway 12 at the entrance to Red Canyon, where it offsets a 500,000-year-old basaltic lava flow. The fault is one of several active, major faults that break apart the western margin of the Colorado Plateau in southwestern Utah. The Sevier fault is a “normal” fault, a type of fault that forms during extension of the earth’s crust, where one side of the fault moves down relative to the other side. In this case, the down-dropped side (the hanging wall) is west of the fault; the upthrown side (the footwall) lies to the east. The contrasting colors of rocks across the fault make the fault stand out in vivid detail. Immediately south of Red Canyon, the 5-million-year-old Rock Canyon lava flow, which erupted on the eastern slope of the Markagunt Plateau, flowed eastward and crossed the fault (which at the time juxtaposed non-resistant fan alluvium against coarse-grained volcaniclastic deposits) (Biek and others, 2015). The flow is now offset 775 to 1130 feet (235-345 m) along the main strand of the fault, yielding an anomalously low vertical slip rate of about 0.05 mm/yr (Lund and others, 2008). However, this eastern branch of the Sevier fault accounts for only part of the total displacement on the fault zone. A concealed, down-to-the-west fault is present west of coarse-grained volcaniclastic strata at the base of the Claron cliffs. Seismic reflection data indicate that the total displacement on the fault zone in this area is about 3000 feet (900 m) (Lundin, 1987, 1989; Davis, 1999).



2016 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
Laxman Subedi ◽  
Kamala Kant Acharya

Lithological and microstructural study carried out in Bhainse –Manahari area, central Nepal reveals that the rock sequences of the Bhainse–Manahari area can be divided into two successions: the Nawakot Complex and the Kathmandu Complex. These two Complexes are separated by a distinct thrust boundary, the Mahabharat Thrust (MT). The Nawakot Complex consists of low-grade metamorphic rocks like slate, phyllite, quartzite and limestone while the Kathmandu Complex comprises medium grade (up to garnet grade) metamorphic rocks like garnet-schist, marble and mica-schist. The Mahabharat Thrust (MT) and the Manahari Thrust (MnT) are the two major thrusts in the study area. The MT separates the rocks of the Nawakot Complex (foot wall) in the south from the rocks of the Kathmandu Complex (hanging wall) in the north. The Manahari Thrust in the western part of the study area separates the Dunga Quartzite and the older Benighat Slates lying above it. The microstructure analysis reveals that the rocks in the thrust zone show higher deformation than in the neighboring rocks, and this gradually decreases away from the MT zone. The strain analysis of quartz grains reveals that the rock sequences of the hanging wall of the MT showed pure, simple and complex shear senses and the rocks of the footwall also showed the same pattern indicating MT as a stretching fault.



2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.C. Fabbri ◽  
C. Affentranger ◽  
S. Krastel ◽  
K. Lindhorst ◽  
M. Wessels ◽  
...  

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessments are primarily based on instrumentally recorded and historically documented earthquakes. For the northern part of the European Alpine Arc, slow crustal deformation results in low earthquake recurrence rates and brings up the necessity to extend our perspective beyond the existing earthquake catalog. The overdeepened basin of Lake Constance (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), located within the North-Alpine Molasse Basin, is investigated as an ideal (neo-) tectonic archive. The lake is surrounded by major tectonic structures and constrained via the North Alpine Front in the South, the Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the West, and the Hegau-Lake Constance Graben System in the North. Several fault zones reach Lake Constance such as the St. Gallen Fault Zone, a reactivated basement-rooted normal fault, active during several phases from the Permo-Carboniferous to the Mesozoic. To extend the catalog of potentially active fault zones, we compiled an extensive 445 km of multi-channel reflection seismic data in 2017, complementing a moderate-size GI-airgun survey from 2016. The two datasets reveal the complete overdeepened Quaternary trough and its sedimentary infill and the upper part of the Miocene Molasse bedrock. They additionally complement existing seismic vintages that investigated the mass-transport deposit chronology and Mesozoic fault structures. The compilation of 2D seismic data allowed investigating the seismic stratigraphy of the Quaternary infill and its underlying bedrock of Lake Constance, shaped by multiple glaciations. The 2D seismic sections revealed 154 fault indications in the Obersee Basin and 39 fault indications in the Untersee Basin. Their interpretative linkage results in 23 and five major fault planes, respectively. One of the major fault planes, traceable to Cenozoic bedrock, is associated with a prominent offset of the lake bottom on the multibeam bathymetric map. Across this area, high-resolution single channel data was acquired and a transect of five short cores was retrieved displaying significant sediment thickness changes across the seismically mapped fault trace with a surface-rupture related turbidite, all indicating repeated activity of a likely seismogenic strike-slip fault with a normal faulting component. We interpret this fault as northward continuation of the St. Gallen Fault Zone, previously described onshore on 3D seismic data.



1981 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
A.K Higgins ◽  
J.D Friderichsen ◽  
N.J Soper

The part of the North Greenland fold belt mapped in 1980 includes Johannes V. Jensen Land west of Polkorridoren, the group of large islands to the west, and the eastern margin of Nansen Land (Map 2). The rocks forming the fold belt are mainly Lower Palaeozoic turbiditic sediments, deposited in an E-W trending trough which is an extension of the Hazen trough of northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. Observations on the stratigraphy, structure and metamorphism of the fold belt are given in this report. Brief descriptions of the E-W trending Harder Fjord fault zone, the Kap Cannon thrust zone, and important swarms of basic dykes are also included. A geological map covering the parts of the North Greenland fold belt mapped in both 1979 and 1980 is found in the back of this report (Map 2), and indudes all the place names mentioned in the text.



Geosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1999-2017
Author(s):  
Luke Weidman ◽  
Jillian M. Maloney ◽  
Thomas K. Rockwell

Abstract Many fault zones trend through developed urban areas where their geomorphic expression is unclear, making it difficult to study fault zone details and assess seismic hazard. One example is the Holocene-active Rose Canyon fault zone, a strike-slip fault with potential to produce a M6.9 earthquake, which traverses the city of San Diego, California (USA). Several strands trend through densely populated areas, including downtown. Much of the developed environment in San Diego predates aerial imagery, making assessment of the natural landscape difficult. To comply with regulations on development in a seismically active area, geotechnical firms have conducted many private, small-scale fault studies in downtown San Diego since the 1980s. However, each report is site specific with minimal integration between neighboring sites, and there exists no resource where all data can be viewed simultaneously on a regional scale. Here, geotechnical data were mined from 268 individual reports and synthesized into an interactive geodatabase to elucidate fault geometry through downtown San Diego. In the geodatabase, fault segments were assigned a hazard classification, and their strike and dip characterized. Results show an active zone of discontinuous fault segments trending north-south in eastern downtown, including active faults outside the mapped regulatory Earthquake Fault Zone. Analysis of fault geometry shows high variability along strike that may be associated with a stepover into San Diego Bay. This type of geodatabase offers a method for compiling and analyzing a high volume of small-scale fault investigations for a more comprehensive understanding of fault zones located in developed regions.



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