| Using scaled physical models to study the deformation pattern produced by basement-involved oblique extension |
Two populations of secondary faults are associated with oblique-slip normal faulting. The first set consists of normal faults that are subperpendicular to the displacement direction. The second set consists of oblique-slip normal faults that are subparallel to the trend of the master fault. This trend becomes more prominent at depth within the clay layer. The master-fault trend also becomes more prominent as the thickness of the clay layer decreases. Fault lengths initially follow a power-law size distribution but exhibit an exponential size distribution with increasing strain. Increasing displacement rate results in a decrease in fault size, an increase in the number of faults, a decrease in the spacing between faults, and a decrease in the width of the deformed zone; fault trends are unaffected. The deformation pattern in cross section consists of a highly faulted extensional forced fold. Antithetic faults are most numerous near the top surface of the model and decrease in number with depth.
The map views of the oblique-slip models closely resemble those formed in left-lateral strike-slip models (i.e., two secondary fault populations). These map views, however, differ considerably from those formed in models of dip-slip normal faulting, which show a single secondary fault trend. Alternatively, the cross-sectional views of the oblique-slip models are similar to those formed in dip-slip models (i.e, a highly faulted extensional forced fold). These cross-sectional views are dissimilar to those formed in strike-slip models, which show no appreciable or consistent vertical offsets along the secondary faults. Thus, it is necessary to use both map and cross-section data to distinguish among the fault patterns produced by strike-slip, oblique-slip, and dip-slip faulting.
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