The role of inherited structures and basin geometry during the 3D inversion of a passive continental margin: the case of the Doldenhorn-Aar Massif system (Central Swiss Alps)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Musso Piantelli ◽  
David Mair ◽  
Marco Herwegh ◽  
Alfons Berger ◽  
Eva Kurmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Passive Continental Margin ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Cylindrical Shape ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Aar Massif

<p>Inversion of passive margins and their transportation into fold-and-thrust belts is a critical stage of mountain building processes and their structural interpretation is fundamental for understanding collisional orogens. Due to the multitude of parameters that influence their formation (e.g. the interaction between sedimentary cover and basement, the mechanical stratigraphy or the rheology of different rock types) as well as along-strike internal variations, a single cross-sectional view is insufficient in exploring the 3D evolution of a fold-and-thrust belt. Hence, a 3D geological characterization is required to better comprehend such complex systems. Based on a detailed digital map, a 3D structural model of the current tectonic situation and sequential retrodeformation, we elaborate the 3D evolution of a part of the former European passive continental margin. In this setting, we focus on the Doldenhorn Nappe (DN) and the underlying western Aar massif (external Central Alps, Switzerland). The DN is part of the Helvetic nappe system and consists of a large-scale recumbent fold with a thin inverted limb of intensively deformed sediments (Herwegh and Pfiffner 2005). The sedimentary rocks of the DN were deposited in Mesozoic-Cenozoic times in a small-sized basin, which has been inverted during the compression of the Alpine orogeny (Burkhard 1988). Along NNW-SSE striking geological cross-sections, restoration techniques reveal the original asymmetric triangular shape of the DN basin and how the basin has been exhumed from ~ -12 km (Berger et al. 2020) to its present position at 4km elevation above sea level throughout several Alpine deformation stages. Moreover, the model allows to visualize the current structural position of the DN and the massif as well as the geometric and overprinting relationships of the articulated deformation sequence that shaped the investigated area throughout the Alpine evolution. Here we document that: (i) the DN is a strongly non-cylindrical recumbent fold that progressively pinches out toward the NE; (ii) significant along-strike (W-E) stratigraphy thickness variations are reflected in structural variations from a single basal thrust deformation (W) to an in-sequence thrust deformation (E); and (iii) the progressive exhumation of the basement units towards the E and thrusting towards the N. In this context, special emphasis is given to illustrate how three-dimensional geometry of inherited pre-orogenic structures (e.g., Variscan-Permian and rifting related basement cover structures) play a key role in the structural style of fold-and-thrust belts. In summary, today’s structural position of the DN is the result of the inversion of a small basin in an early stage of thrusting, which was followed by sub-vertical buoyancy driven exhumation of the Aar massif and subsequent thrust related shortening. All three stages are deeply coupled with an original non-cylindrical shape of the former European passive continental margin.</p>

Varying thrust geometry along the Central Atlas fronts: structural criteria for 3-D reconstruction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio M. Casas ◽  
Pablo Calvín ◽  
Pablo Santolaria ◽  
Tania Mochales ◽  
Hmidou El-Ouardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thickness Ratio ◽  
Basin Inversion ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Igneous Intrusions ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Thrust Sheets ◽  
Cover Thickness

<p> Multiple constraints, including poorly known parameters, determine along-strike changes of frontal thrust structures in fold-and-thrust belts. Along the 400 km long, continuous Central Moroccan Atlas belt, structural style shows significant changes, preserving similar figures of shortening. This implies the absence of large-scale vertical-axes rotations, as demonstrated by paleomagnetic studies accomplished during the development of this project. The main factors controlling thrust geometry are:</p><p>- the geometry of Triassic-Jurassic extensional basins subsequently inverted during Cenozoic compression, with especial mention to changes of cover thickness and orientation of structures</p><p>- transfer of displacement between the northern and southern thrust systems</p><p>- transfer of displacement between the basement (Paleozoic) units and the Mesozoic cover through the Upper Triassic detachment. This factor strongly determines the width of the belt in each transect, as it occurs in other basement-and-cover fold-and-thrust belts</p><p>- cover/detachment thickness ratio.</p><p>- localization and partitioning of deformation between different structures in the inner part and the borders of the massif</p><p>- amount of superposition between different cover thrust sheets, including folded thrusts</p><p>- structural style, changing from thin-skinned style to large recumbent folds along strike, probably depending on P-T conditions and cover thickness</p><p>- backthrusts related to low cover thickness/detachment thickness ratio, especially frequent in the northern Atlas thrusts</p><p>- differential shortening between sections related to layer-parallel shortening and folds associated with cleavage development in the central part of the chain</p><p>- influence of previous structures, such as individual diapirs, salt walls or igneous intrusions that modify the pre-compressional geometry of the detachment level, nucleate structures and favor buttressing. This feature can also be a source of errors in the calculation of shortening.</p><p> All these factors result in strong along-strike changes such as branching of thrust surfaces, progression of deformation towards the foreland and differential cleavage development. Influence of structures developed during the basinal/diapiric/igneous stage results in a variability of trends that varies between from less than 10° to more than 30°, what allows in some cases to distinguish between structures controlled by basinal features and newly formed thrusts.</p><p>In spite of the different techniques for cross-sections reconstruction, and in some cases, the different interpretations for the origin of structures, the shortening figures obtained along the chain are remarkably constant, on the range of 35 km, thus implying a 18 to 30% of shortening for most of the transects what attests for the reliability of the results.</p><p>Recognition and quantification of factors controlling the development of structures is the fundamental step to determine the main thrust surfaces, and the secondary backthrusts in a region where basin inversion is one of the main constraints. Structural criteria point to a dominant southward vergence and secondary northwards-directed thrusts. Minor strike-slip components were probably localized in the core of the chain. Present-day 3-D reconstruction of the Atlas is currently being done considering all these inputs as well as those obtained from merging the vast dataset obtained.</p>

What steers deformation within fold-and-thrust belts: insights from the carbonate multilayer footwall of the Belluno Thrust, Italian eastern Southern Alps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costantino Zuccari ◽  
Giulio Viola ◽  
Gianluca Vignaroli ◽  
Luca Aldega
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Strain Localisation ◽  
Geometric Framework ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Cumulative Strain ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Sheet Silicates ◽  
Slip Planes ◽  
Multiple Deformation

<p>Despite significant recent progress in the understanding and quantification of the parameters controlling deformation modes in carbonate multilayers within fold-and-thrust belts, the details of early deformation and faulting during the initial stages of large-scale thrusting remain poorly documented and understood. Aiming to narrow this knowledge gap, we have chosen to study the relatively low-strain carbonate multilayer footwall of the Belluno Thrust (BT), one of the most external and S-vergent thrusts of the eastern Southern Alps (Italy). The BT footwall is composed of a c. 600 m thick Meso-Cenozoic multilayer succession of shallow water carbonate and pelagic sedimentary units characterized by strong mineralogical heterogeneity, with calcite (32-98%), sheet silicates (1-27%), and quartz (1-37%) as principal components. Its structural framework reflects cumulative strain due to multiple deformation events and is defined by the superposition of different structures such as i) south-verging asymmetric folds, ii) faulted folds, cut by slip planes with centimetric to metric throw, iii) SC-C’ fabrics in the marly layers, and iv) cataclastic domains.  Structures recording the early shortening increments are generally well preserved mesoscopic upright folds. Asymmetric folds with gently N-dipping backlimbs and steeply S-dipping (or even overturned N-dipping) forelimbs, record further shortening of the early upright and symmetrical folds. Strain is strongly partitioned within the marly layers, with discrete faults commonly defined by multiple slip surfaces forming duplex geometries and SC-C’ fabrics and exploiting millimetric to centimetric marly beds as detachment layers. Thrusts and diffuse reverse faults not associated with any cataclasite localise along the backlimbs of the asymmetric folds, suggesting dominant layer-parallel shortening. Cataclasites develop instead along the thrust surfaces that cut across the steeply dipping (locally even overturned) forelimbs, where cataclastic flow becomes the dominant deformation mechanism. On the vertical forelimbs, cataclasis and strain localisation are commonly associated with veins, which contributed to harden the rock system.  </p><p>Based on our systematic observations, we propose that deformation progressively evolved from folding and layer-parallel shortening (initial phases) to faulting and cataclasis (final phases) as a function of the dynamic interplay of the following factors: i) the geometrical relationships between fault orientation, fold attitude (forelimb and backlimb domains) and stress field, ii) the lithotype, which we conveniently account for by referring to the ratio between the cumulative thickness of the outcrop marly layers and the total measured stratigraphic thickness, iii) the involvement of fluids during deformation, iv) the mineral assemblage of the involved layers and v) the geometric framework of the domain localising strain with respect to the principal stress axes orientation. We conclude that these parameters play a major role in guiding strain localisation and partitioning during continuous shortening within fold-and-thrust belts. They also govern the transition from overall aseismic creep to coseismic rupturing at the scale of mesoscopic structures and, possibly, of the entire belt.</p>

About this title - Fold and Thrust Belts: Structural Style, Evolution and Exploration

10.1144/sp490 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 490 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
J. A. Hammerstein ◽  
R. Di Cuia ◽  
M. A. Cottam ◽  
G. Zamora ◽  
R. W. H. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts

Structural style of the White Pointer and Hammerhead Delta—deepwater fold-thrust belts, Bight Basin, Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin MacDonald ◽  
Rosalind King ◽  
Richard Hillis ◽  
Guillaume Backé
Keyword(s):  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Seal Failure ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Strong Positive Relationship ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Gas Chimneys ◽  
Gippsland Basin

GeoScience Victoria and partners have undertaken the first detailed basin-wide study of the regional top seal in the Gippsland Basin. The Gippsland Basin is an attractive site for geological carbon storage (GCS) because of the close proximity to emission sources and the potential for large-scale storage projects. This top seal assessment involved the analysis of seal attributes (geometry, capacity and mineralogy) and empirical evidence for seal failure (soil gas geochemical anomalies, gas chimneys, hydrocarbon seepage and oil slicks). These datasets have been integrated to produce a qualitative evaluation of the containment potential for GCS, and also hydrocarbons, across the basin. Mineralogical analysis of the top seal has revealed that the Lakes Entrance Formation is principally a smectite-rich claystone. The geometry of the top seal is consistent with deposition in an early post-rift setting where marine sediments filled palaeo-topographic lows. The seal thickness and depth to seal base are greatest in the Central Deep and decrease toward the margins. There is a strong positive relationship between seal capacity column heights, seal thickness, depth to seal base and smectite content. At greater burial depths (below 700 m) and where smectite content is greater than 70%, seal capacity is increased (supportable column heights above 150 m). Natural hydrocarbon leakage and seepage onshore and offshore is correlated with fault distribution and areas of poor seal capacity. This study provides a framework for qualitatively evaluating seal potential at a basin scale. It has shown that the potential of the regional top seal over the Central Deep, Southern Terrace, central eastern Lake Wellington Depression and the southern to central near shore areas in the Seaspray Depression are most suitable for the containment of supercritical CO2. Further toward the margin of the regional seal in both onshore and offshore areas, containment of supercritical CO2 is less likely.

scholarly journals Control of 3D tectonic inheritance on fold-and-thrust belts: insights from 3D numerical models and application to the Helvetic nappe system

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Spitz ◽  
Arthur Bauville ◽  
Jean-Luc Epard ◽  
Boris J. P. Kaus ◽  
Anton A. Popov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
3D Model ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Thrust Belt ◽  
First Order ◽  
Tectonic Inheritance ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belt ◽  
Model Configuration ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Half Graben

Abstract. Fold-and-thrust belts and associated tectonic nappes are common in orogenic regions. They exhibit a wide variety of geometries and often a considerable along-strike variation. However, the mechanics of fold-and-thrust belt formation and the control of the initial geological configuration on this formation are still incompletely understood. Here, we apply three-dimensional (3D) thermo-mechanical numerical simulations of the shortening of the upper crustal region of a passive margin to investigate the control of 3D laterally variable inherited structures on the fold-and-thrust belt evolution and associated nappe formation. We consider tectonic inheritance by applying an initial model configuration with horst and graben structures having laterally variable geometry and with sedimentary layers having different mechanical strength. We use a visco-plastic rheology with temperature dependent flow laws and a Drucker-Prager yield criterion. The models show the folding, detachment and horizontal displacement of sedimentary units, which resemble structures of fold and thrust nappes. The models further show the stacking of nappes. The detachment of nappe-like structures is controlled by the initial basement and sedimentary layer geometry. Significant horizontal transport is facilitated by weak sedimentary units below these nappes. The initial half-graben geometry has a strong impact on the basement and sediment deformation. Generally, deeper half-grabens generate thicker nappes and stronger deformation of the neighboring horst while shallower half-grabens generate thinner nappes and less deformation in the horst. Horizontally continuous strong sediment layers, which are not restricted to inital graben structures, cause detachment folding and not overthrusting. The amplitude of the detachment folds is controlled by the underlying graben geometry. A mechanically weaker basement favors the formation of fold nappes while stronger basement favors thrust sheets. The applied model configuration is motivated by the application of the 3D model to the Helvetic nappe system of the French-Swiss Alps. Our model is able to reproduce several first-order structural features of this nappe system, namely (i) closure of a half-graben and associated formation of the Morcles and Doldenhorn nappes, (ii) the overthrusting of a nappe resembling the Wildhorn and Glarus nappes and (iii) the formation of a nappe pile resembling the Helvetic nappes resting above the Infrahelvetic complex. Furthermore, the finite strain pattern, temperature distribution and timing of the 3D model is in broad agreement with data from the Helvetic nappe system. Our model, hence, provides a first-order 3D reconstruction of the tectonic evolution of the Helvetic nappe system based on thermo-mechanical deformation processes.

A discussion of the (re)activation of basement structures during multi-phase shortening in thin- and thick-skinned styles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Molnar ◽  
Susanne Buiter
Keyword(s):  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Fault Reactivation ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Lateral Strain ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Experimental Apparatus ◽  
Analogue Models ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Multi Phase

<p>Shortening in fold-and-thrust belts can be accommodated with little or substantial basement involvement, with the former, thin-skinned, style arguably being the more common (Pfiffner, GSA Special Paper, 2006). Experimental studies on thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts have confirmed critical taper theory and have highlighted the roles of bulk rheology, embedded weak layers, décollement strength, and surface processes in structural evolution. However, analogue models of thick-skinned fold-and-thrust belts are less common, which may be related to practical challenges involved in shortening thick layers of brittle materials. Here we focus on basement fault reactivation, which has been suggested for several fold-and-thrust belts, such as the Swiss Alps, the Laramide belt in North America and the Sierras Pampeanas in South America, which show evidence of deep-rooted thrust systems, pointing to a thick-skinned style of shortening.</p><p>Within an orogenic system, the shortening style may change between thin- and thick-skinned in space (foreland to hinterland) and time. This raises the question how inherited structures from one shortening phase may influence the next. We aim to use analogue experiments of multi-phase shortening to discuss the effects of deep-seated shortening-related inherited structures, such as thrusts and basement topography, on the structural evolution of fold-and-thrust belts.</p><p>We employ a push-type experimental apparatus that can impose shortening in both thick- and thin-skinned style. The device has two independently moving backstops, permitting to change between these shortening styles over time, allowing the simulation of multiple contractional scenarios. We start with an initial stage of thick-skinned shortening, followed by either thin- or thick-skinned reactivation. We use quartz sand to simulate crustal materials and microbeads for embedded weak (sedimentary) layers. Surface and lateral strain, as well as topography, is quantified using a high-resolution particle imaging velocimetry and digital photogrammetry monitoring system.</p><p>We will present preliminary results of this innovative experimental approach with the objective of discussing to what extent pre-existing conditions in the basement control the geometric, kinematic, and mechanical evolution of thick-skinned and basement-involved thin-skinned tectonics. In this presentation, we hope for a discussion of mechanisms of localisation of shortening in brittle analogue models, of sequences of thin- and thick-skinned deformation expected during multi-phase shortening, and comparisons to ongoing research and natural observations. Questions we aim to discuss are: Can weaknesses and anisotropies within the basement influence and control later structural evolution? Are pre-existing structures, such as thrusts or shear zones within the basement, responsible for subsequent fault nucleation, thin-skinned folding or basement uplift? What role does the rheology of the basement-cover interface play in the reactivation of basement thrusts? Can we model these reactivations with an analogue setup?</p>

A discussion on the validation of structural interpretations based on the mechanics of sedimentary basins in the northwestern Mediterranean fold-and-thrust belts

2016 ◽  
Vol 187 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josselin Berthelon ◽  
William Sassi
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Thin Skin ◽  
Northwestern Mediterranean

Abstract Using the geologist’s interpretation of 6 published balanced cross-sections in the fold and thrust belts of the northwestern Mediterranean, a comparative analysis of the interpreted subsurface structural architecture is used to address the links between the structural style and the mechanics of fold and thrust emplacement. For each cross-section example, the geo-dataset and the methods used by the interpreters are different in quantity and quality. Here we have examined how useful is the content of information of each cross-section to constrain the structural evolution scenario. Each interpretation is examined according to considerations of the mechanics of sedimentary basin deformation and how uncertain is the extrapolation of fault trajectory at depth. It is shown that each case reveals a particular type of structural style: thin-skin or thick skin tectonics, fault-related folding, pre-existing fault pattern. The present structural analysis is used to determine for each cross-section the nature of the mechanical problem to address that will reduce uncertainty on the geologic scenario reconstruction. The proposed mechanical boundary conditions could serve to develop analog or numerical models that aim at testing the mechanical validity of the structural scenario of fold and thrust emplacement.

Structural evolution of the external zones derived from the Flysch trough and the South Iberian and Maghrebian paleomargins around the Gibraltar arc: a comparative study

2006 ◽  
Vol 177 (5) ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Crespo-Blanc ◽  
Dominique Frizon de Lamotte
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Accretionary Prism ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
The South ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Orogenic Wedge

Abstract The Betics and Rif cordillera constitute the northern and southern segments of the Gibraltar arc. Two different fold-and-thrust belts, deriving from the South Iberian and Maghrebian paleomargins respectively, developed in front of this orogenic system. By contrast, the Flysch Trough units and the overlying Alboran crustal domain (internal zones), which are situated in the uppermost part of the orogenic wedge, are common to both branches of the arc. The Flyschs Trough units constitute an inactive accretionary prism, derived from a deep elongated trough. From three large-scale profiles and some lithostratigraphic features of the involved sedimentary sequences, the Betic and Rif external domains are compared, mainly from a structural point of view. Although they are generally considered to show major similarities, the Betic and Rif external domains are in fact strikingly different, mainly concerning the structural style, deformation timing and metamorphism: a) the thick-skinned structure in the External Rif domain vs thin-skinned in the Subbetic domain; b) the pre-Oligocene and Miocene stacking in the External Rif domain vs the exclusively Miocene one in the Subbetic domain, and c) the metamorphism present only in part of the External Rif domain (low-grade greenschists facies). By contrast, it was not possible to establish any difference in structural style and deformation timing between the Flysch units outcropping in both branches of the Gibraltar arc.

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