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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
An experimental study of the secondary deformation produced by oblique-slip normal faulting
Roy W. Schlische,1 Martha Oliver Withjack,2 Gloria Eisenstadt3
1Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854-8066; email: [email protected]
2Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854-8066
3Department of Geology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0049
AUTHORS
Roy W. Schlische is an associate professor of structural geology at Rutgers University. He received his B.A. degree from Rutgers University and his M.A. degree and Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he studied the structural and stratigraphic evolution of Triassic-Jurassic rift basins in eastern North America. His research interests include extensional tectonics, fault-population studies, experimental 
modeling
of geologic structures, and basin inversion.
Martha Oliver Withjack received her Ph.D. from Brown University in 1978, studying the mechanics of continental rifting. She currently is a professor of structural geology at Rutgers University. Before joining Rutgers, she worked as a research geoscientist at Cities Service, ARCO, and Mobil. Her research interests include extensional, inversion, and salt tectonics; physical and analytical modeling of structures; and structural interpretation of seismic data. She received the Matson Memorial Award in 1999 and is currently first vice chair of the Geological Society of America's structural geology and tectonics division.
Gloria Eisenstadt is a consultant and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Eisenstadt worked at Mobil Technology Company from 1989 to 2000 as a researcher, international structural consultant, and technical teacher. Eisenstadt received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in geology from Temple University and her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied the structural evolution of the Innuitian fold belt in Ellesmere Island, arctic Canada. Her current interests are physical modeling and seismic interpretation of inversion structures.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Mobil Technology Company for providing Schlische access to its experimental equipment. This research was partially supported by National Science Foundation grant EAR 9706199 to Schlische. Our work greatly benefited from discussions with Rolf Ackermann, Amy Clifton, Karen Fredricks, Geof Geary, Peter Hennings, Judith Sheridan, and Sarah Tindall and technical support from Charlie Wall and Frank Roof. We appreciate the careful and helpful reviews of Rolf Ackermann, Mark Baum, Albert W. Bally, Amy Clifton, Karen Fredricks, Barry McBride, and Bruno Vendeville.
ABSTRACT
We have used scaled clay models to define the secondary deformation produced by oblique-slip normal faulting. In the models, the master fault beneath the clay layer dips 45 degrees and strikes at a 45 degrees angle relative to the heave direction (i.e., the horizontal component of the displacement direction). Thus, the master fault has both normal dip-slip and strike-slip components of displacement. The modeling
results show the following. (1) The fault patterns produced by oblique-slip normal faulting vary significantly with depth. Secondary faults that strike obliquely to the master-fault trend are more abundant near the top of the clay layer, whereas secondary faults that are subparallel to the master-fault trend are more abundant at depth. (2) A single episode of oblique-slip normal faulting produces two populations of secondary faults that have different trends and ages. Secondary faults that strike obliquely to the master-fault trend are more abundant during the early stages of the experiments, whereas secondary faults that strike subparallel to the master-fault trend are more abundant during the later stages of the experiments. (3) Relay ramps between overlapping secondary synthetic normal faults are wide and temporally persistent in oblique-slip models. The ramps are cut by numerous small-scale normal faults that are subparallel to the ramp-bounding faults. Cross faults are uncommon and begin to develop only during the final stages of the experiments. (4) Both map and cross section data are necessary to distinguish among the deformation patterns produced by strike-slip, oblique-slip, and dip-slip faulting. The map views of oblique-slip models closely resemble those of strike-slip models; in both models, many of the secondary faults strike obliquely to the master-fault trend. These map views, however, differ considerably from those of dip-slip models, in which most of the secondary faults strike subparallel to the master-fault trend. Alternatively, the cross sectional views of oblique-slip models are similar to those of dip-slip
models; in both models, a highly faulted extensional forced fold develops. These cross sectional views are dissimilar to those of strike-slip models, which show no appreciable folding and no change of regional level.
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