Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

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| Editors: Jan Harff, Martin Meschede, Sven Petersen, Jörn Thiede

Transform Fault

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_121-2
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Synonyms

Conservative plate boundary

Definition

A transform fault is a plate boundary along which plate motion is parallel with the strike of the boundary. Along such a boundary, ideally, crust is neither generated nor destroyed, and that is why they are also called conservative plate boundaries. In real life, the thermal and mechanical properties of the crust and upper mantle and the time-averaged behaviour of the spreading centre and subduction zones in the oceans impose a finite width on transform faults in which deformation is complex, forming a fault zone rather than a single clean fault. Large, active, continental transform faults, such as the San Andreas Fault system in California, the North Anatolian Fault system in northern Turkey, the Alpine Fault in New Zealand, and the Altyn Tagh Fault in northern Tibetan Plateau, constitute veritable keirogens. In this entry, the emphasis is on the oceanic transform faults, in keeping with the theme of the volume.

Introduction

The concept...

Keywords

Subduction Zone Fracture Zone Oceanic Crust Tarim Basin Plate Boundary 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculty of Mines, Department of Geology and Eurasia Institute of Earth SciencesIstanbul Technical UniversityAyazaga, IstanbulTurkey