• Login
    About WHOAS
    View Item 
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    • View Item
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WHOASCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywordsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Rapid rotation of normal faults due to flexural stresses : an explanation for the global distribution of normal fault dips

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    jgrb50610.pdf (1.320Mb)
    Date
    2014-04-24
    Author
    Olive, Jean-Arthur L.  Concept link
    Behn, Mark D.  Concept link
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/6771
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010512
    DOI
    10.1002/2013JB010512
    Keyword
     Normal fault dip; Fault rotation; Core complex; Work minimization 
    Abstract
    We present a mechanical model to explain why most seismically active normal faults have dips much lower (30–60°) than expected from Anderson-Byerlee theory (60–65°). Our model builds on classic finite extension theory but incorporates rotation of the active fault plane as a response to the buildup of bending stresses with increasing extension. We postulate that fault plane rotation acts to minimize the amount of extensional work required to sustain slip on the fault. In an elastic layer, this assumption results in rapid rotation of the active fault plane from ~60° down to 30–45° before fault heave has reached ~50% of the faulted layer thickness. Commensurate but overall slower rotation occurs in faulted layers of finite strength. Fault rotation rates scale as the inverse of the faulted layer thickness, which is in quantitative agreement with 2-D geodynamic simulations that include an elastoplastic description of the lithosphere. We show that fault rotation promotes longer-lived fault extension compared to continued slip on a high-angle normal fault and discuss the implications of such a mechanism for fault evolution in continental rift systems and oceanic spreading centers.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 119 (2014): 3722–3739, doi:10.1002/2013JB010512.
    Collections
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 119 (2014): 3722–3739
     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Fault rotation and core complex formation : significant processes in seafloor formation at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13°–15°N) 

      Smith, Deborah K.; Escartin, Javier E.; Schouten, Hans A.; Cann, Johnson R. (American Geophysical Union, 2008-03-05)
      The region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between the Fifteen-Twenty and Marathon fracture zones displays the topographic characteristics of prevalent and vigorous tectonic extension. Normal faults show large amounts of ...
    • Thumbnail

      Mechanism for normal faulting in the subducting plate at the Mariana Trench 

      Zhou, Zhiyuan; Lin, Jian; Behn, Mark D.; Olive, Jean-Arthur L. (John Wiley & Sons, 2015-06-02)
      We investigate the mechanisms of normal fault initiation and evolution in the subducting Pacific Plate near the Mariana Trench, through bathymetry analysis and geodynamic modeling. We model the subducting plate as an ...
    • Thumbnail

      Mechanical and geological controls on the long-term evolution of normal faults 

      Olive, Jean-Arthur L. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2015-02)
      This thesis investigates the long-term evolution of rift-bounding normal faults in extensional environments. My main objective is to develop a theoretical framework that explains the controls on maximum fault offset in ...
    All Items in WHOAS are protected by original copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. WHOAS also supports the use of the Creative Commons licenses for original content.
    A service of the MBLWHOI Library | About WHOAS
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Privacy Policy
    Core Trust Logo