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Modelling asymmetric deformation along a curved strike-slip basement-fault system

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Abstract

Large-scale curved strike-slip fault systems along which significant amounts of displacement have taken place are common in nature. Scaled analogue experiments were used in this study to investigate strike-slip deformation in cover units above a curved basement-fault system simulated by a rigid plate with an in-built curvature depicting a half-circular fault. The model results show that en-echelon, right-stepping Riedel shears and low-angle synthetic shears (Y-shears) always form at the beginning of deformation, and grow outwards with splay faults, most of which evolve into thrusts at later stages of deformation. Digital image correlation (DIC) analyses of the surface displacement vectors show that a diffuse zone of deformation progressively changes into en-echelon shears, which gradually develop into throughgoing shear zones with further deformation. The geometries of Riedel shears along two sides of the basement fault (i.e. concave and convex sides) show significant differences in fault shape and intersection angles between the faults and the curved basement fault, indicating an asymmetry in deformation with a much wider deformation zone occurring on the concave side. As a result, en-echelon and/or overlapping flower structures develop along the curved basement strike-slip fault system. In particular, Riedel shears with a upward-convex geometry are localised in both sides of the curved basement fault and a continuous reverse oblique-slip fault forms at the concave side. When compared with the geometry of curved strike-slip faults in nature (e.g. the Daliangshan shear zone in Xichang basin and the Red River shear zone in the Yinggehai basin, China) the model results depict the asymmetric evolution pattern of the faults on either side of curved basement faults.

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(modified from Naylor et al. 1986; Richard et al. 1995) and b Curved basement faults, indicating an asymmetry in deformation along the curved basement fault. Riedel shears with a pronounced helicoidal geometry locate at both sides of basement faults (a), however, they are located at one side of the curved basement fault, as a half of helicoidal geometry (b). In particular, a continuous oblique-slip fault forms at the concave side in the distributed models with two basement faults

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(modified from Hu et al. 1991), of which the later shows the distributed deformation is characterised by an oblique-slip fault in the southwest, and en-echelon shears in the northeast. c, e Interpreted seismic sections showing different structures across the basin (c and d insets are modified from Rangin et al. 1995 and Zhu et al. 2009). Most faults in the cover are characterised with gentle dips in the western segment, while faults possess steep angles to vertical in the eastern segment

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 2017JQ0025 and 41572111), and by the Special Project of Chinese National Fundamental Research (No. 2016ZX05024-05-07). HK is supported by the Swedish Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation/Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Bin Deng, Dong Lai, Yu He, Gang Yang, Qiang Luo, Xinjian Wang & Shugen Liu

  2. Hans Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden

    Hemin Koyi

  3. CNOOC Ltd.-Zhanjiang, Zhanjiang, 524057, Guangdong Province, China

    Caiwei Fan

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  1. Bin Deng
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  2. Hemin Koyi
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Correspondence to Bin Deng.

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Deng, B., Koyi, H., Fan, C. et al. Modelling asymmetric deformation along a curved strike-slip basement-fault system. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 110, 165–182 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-020-01943-4

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