Articles | Volume 11, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1931-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1931-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Oct 2020
Research article |
| 28 Oct 2020
| 28 Oct 2020
Near-surface Palaeocene fluid flow, mineralisation and faulting at Flamborough Head, UK: new field observations and U–Pb calcite dating constraints
Geochronology and Tracers Facility, British Geological Survey,
Environmental Science Centre, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
Jack K. Lee
Geochronology and Tracers Facility, British Geological Survey,
Environmental Science Centre, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Science Labs, Durham,
UK
Robert E. Holdsworth
Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Science Labs, Durham,
UK
Christopher Jeans
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Place,
Cambridge, UK
Andrew R. Farrant
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nottingham,
UK
Richard Haslam
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Nottingham,
UK
Related authors
Henning Lorenz, Jan-Erik Rosberg, Christopher Juhlin, Iwona Klonowska, Rodolphe Lescoutre, George Westmeijer, Bjarne S. G. Almqvist, Mark Anderson, Stefan Bertilsson, Mark Dopson, Jens Kallmeyer, Jochem Kück, Oliver Lehnert, Luca Menegon, Christophe Pascal, Simon Rejkjær, and Nick N. W. Roberts
Sci. Dril., 30, 43–57, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project provides insights into the deep structure and bedrock of a ca. 400 Ma old major orogen to study deformation processes that are hidden at depth from direct access in modern mountain belts. This paper describes the successful operations at the second site. It provides an overview of the retrieved geological section that differs from the expected and summarises the scientific potential of the accomplished data sets and drill core.
Perach Nuriel, Jörn-Frederik Wotzlaw, Maria Ovtcharova, Anton Vaks, Ciprian Stremtan, Martin Šala, Nick M. W. Roberts, and Andrew R. C. Kylander-Clark
Geochronology, 3, 35–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-35-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-35-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This contribution presents a new reference material, ASH-15 flowstone with an age of 2.965 ± 0.011 Ma (95 % CI), to be used for in situ U–Pb dating of carbonate material. The new age analyses include the use of the EARTHTIME isotopic tracers and a large number of sub-samples (n = 37) with small aliquots (1–7 mg) each that are more representative of laser-ablation spot analysis. The new results could improve the propagated uncertainties on the final age with a minimal value of 0.4 %.
Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Aurélie Labeur, Olivier Lacombe, Daniel Koehn, Andrea Billi, Guilhem Hoareau, Adrian Boyce, Cédric M. John, Marta Marchegiano, Nick M. Roberts, Ian L. Millar, Fanny Claverie, Christophe Pecheyran, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 11, 1617–1641, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1617-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1617-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports a multiproxy approach to reconstruct the depth, timing, and extent of the past fluid flow during the formation of a fold-and-thrust belt in the Northern Apennines, Italy. The unique combination of paleopiezometry and absolute dating returns the absolute timing of the sequence of deformation. Combined with burial models, this leads to predict the expected temperatures for fluid, highlighting a limited hydrothermal fluid flow we relate to the large-scale subsurface geometry.
Nick M. W. Roberts, Kerstin Drost, Matthew S. A. Horstwood, Daniel J. Condon, David Chew, Henrik Drake, Antoni E. Milodowski, Noah M. McLean, Andrew J. Smye, Richard J. Walker, Richard Haslam, Keith Hodson, Jonathan Imber, Nicolas Beaudoin, and Jack K. Lee
Geochronology, 2, 33–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-33-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-33-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Here we review current progress in LA-ICP-MS U–Pb carbonate geochronology and present strategies for acquisition and interpretation of carbonate U–Pb dates. We cover topics from imaging techniques and U and Pb incorporation into calcite to potential limitations of the method – disequilibrium and isotope mobility. We demonstrate the incorporation of imaging and compositional data to help refine and interpret U–Pb dates. We expect this paper to become a
go-toreference paper for years to come.
H. Lorenz, J.-E. Rosberg, C. Juhlin, L. Bjelm, B. S. G. Almqvist, T. Berthet, R. Conze, D. G. Gee, I. Klonowska, C. Pascal, K. Pedersen, N. M. W. Roberts, and C.-F. Tsang
Sci. Dril., 19, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-19-1-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-19-1-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) scientific drilling project successfully drilled a 2.5km fully cored borehole (COSC-1) through allochthonous subduction-related high-grade metamorphic gneisses and into the underlying thrust zone. This paper summarizes the scientific rationale of the project and presents first preliminary results.
Henning Lorenz, Jan-Erik Rosberg, Christopher Juhlin, Iwona Klonowska, Rodolphe Lescoutre, George Westmeijer, Bjarne S. G. Almqvist, Mark Anderson, Stefan Bertilsson, Mark Dopson, Jens Kallmeyer, Jochem Kück, Oliver Lehnert, Luca Menegon, Christophe Pascal, Simon Rejkjær, and Nick N. W. Roberts
Sci. Dril., 30, 43–57, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-43-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project provides insights into the deep structure and bedrock of a ca. 400 Ma old major orogen to study deformation processes that are hidden at depth from direct access in modern mountain belts. This paper describes the successful operations at the second site. It provides an overview of the retrieved geological section that differs from the expected and summarises the scientific potential of the accomplished data sets and drill core.
Perach Nuriel, Jörn-Frederik Wotzlaw, Maria Ovtcharova, Anton Vaks, Ciprian Stremtan, Martin Šala, Nick M. W. Roberts, and Andrew R. C. Kylander-Clark
Geochronology, 3, 35–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-35-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-35-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This contribution presents a new reference material, ASH-15 flowstone with an age of 2.965 ± 0.011 Ma (95 % CI), to be used for in situ U–Pb dating of carbonate material. The new age analyses include the use of the EARTHTIME isotopic tracers and a large number of sub-samples (n = 37) with small aliquots (1–7 mg) each that are more representative of laser-ablation spot analysis. The new results could improve the propagated uncertainties on the final age with a minimal value of 0.4 %.
José Manuel Benítez-Pérez, Pedro Castiñeiras, Juan Gómez-Barreiro, José R. Martínez Catalán, Andrew Kylander-Clark, and Robert Holdsworth
Solid Earth, 11, 2303–2325, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2303-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2303-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Sobrado unit represents an allochthonous tectonic slice of exhumed high-grade metamorphic rocks formed during a complex sequence of orogenic processes in the middle to lower crust. We have combined U–Pb geochronology and REE analyses (LASS-ICP-MS) of accessory minerals in migmatitic paragneiss (monazite, zircon) and mylonitic amphibolites (titanite) to constrain the evolution. A Middle Devonian minimum age for HP metamorphism has been obtained.
Anna M. Dichiarante, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Robert E. Holdsworth, Tore I. Bjørnarå, and Edward D. Dempsey
Solid Earth, 11, 2221–2244, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2221-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2221-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We studied the characteristics of fracture systems in the Devonian rocks of the Orcadian Basin in Caithness. These mineral-filled fractures have properties that may be used to predict the size and spatial arrangement of similar structures in offshore basins. This includes the Clair field in the Faroe–Shetland Basin.
Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Aurélie Labeur, Olivier Lacombe, Daniel Koehn, Andrea Billi, Guilhem Hoareau, Adrian Boyce, Cédric M. John, Marta Marchegiano, Nick M. Roberts, Ian L. Millar, Fanny Claverie, Christophe Pecheyran, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 11, 1617–1641, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1617-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1617-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports a multiproxy approach to reconstruct the depth, timing, and extent of the past fluid flow during the formation of a fold-and-thrust belt in the Northern Apennines, Italy. The unique combination of paleopiezometry and absolute dating returns the absolute timing of the sequence of deformation. Combined with burial models, this leads to predict the expected temperatures for fluid, highlighting a limited hydrothermal fluid flow we relate to the large-scale subsurface geometry.
Nick M. W. Roberts, Kerstin Drost, Matthew S. A. Horstwood, Daniel J. Condon, David Chew, Henrik Drake, Antoni E. Milodowski, Noah M. McLean, Andrew J. Smye, Richard J. Walker, Richard Haslam, Keith Hodson, Jonathan Imber, Nicolas Beaudoin, and Jack K. Lee
Geochronology, 2, 33–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-33-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-33-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Here we review current progress in LA-ICP-MS U–Pb carbonate geochronology and present strategies for acquisition and interpretation of carbonate U–Pb dates. We cover topics from imaging techniques and U and Pb incorporation into calcite to potential limitations of the method – disequilibrium and isotope mobility. We demonstrate the incorporation of imaging and compositional data to help refine and interpret U–Pb dates. We expect this paper to become a
go-toreference paper for years to come.
Alodie Bubeck, Richard J. Walker, Jonathan Imber, Robert E. Holdsworth, Christopher J. MacLeod, and David A. Holwell
Solid Earth, 8, 1161–1180, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1161-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-1161-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We present a field-based study of relay zone development using examples from the Koa’e fault system (Hawai’i) and the Krafla fissure swarm (Iceland). We show the evolution of second-order deformation within these zones and illustrate the effects of horizontal (heave) displacement gradients in evolving continental rift systems. Data are consistent with faults and intrusions from the Faroe Islands and E Greenland. We propose a new model for the evolution of segmented basins along the NE Atlantic.
C. Nehme, S. Verheyden, S. R. Noble, A. R. Farrant, D. Sahy, J. Hellstrom, J. J. Delannoy, and P. Claeys
Clim. Past, 11, 1785–1799, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1785-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1785-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The Levant is a key area to study palaeoclimatic responses over G-IG cycles. A precisely dated MIS 5 stalagmite (129–84ka) from Kanaan Cave, Lebanon, with growth rate and isotopic records variations indicate a warm humid phase at the last interglacial (~129-125ka). A shift in δ18O values (125-122ka) is driven by the source effect of the eastern Med. during sapropel 5 (S5). Low growth rates and high δ18O-δ13C values (~122-84ka) mark the onset of glacial inception and transition to drier phase.
H. Lorenz, J.-E. Rosberg, C. Juhlin, L. Bjelm, B. S. G. Almqvist, T. Berthet, R. Conze, D. G. Gee, I. Klonowska, C. Pascal, K. Pedersen, N. M. W. Roberts, and C.-F. Tsang
Sci. Dril., 19, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-19-1-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-19-1-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) scientific drilling project successfully drilled a 2.5km fully cored borehole (COSC-1) through allochthonous subduction-related high-grade metamorphic gneisses and into the underlying thrust zone. This paper summarizes the scientific rationale of the project and presents first preliminary results.
Related subject area
Subject area: Tectonic plate interactions, magma genesis, and lithosphere deformation at all scales | Editorial team: Structural geology and tectonics, paleoseismology, rock physics, experimental deformation | Discipline: Structural geology
Earthquake swarms frozen in an exhumed hydrothermal system (Bolfin Fault Zone, Chile)
Reconciling post-orogenic faulting, paleostress evolution, and structural inheritance in the seismogenic northern Apennines (Italy): insights from the Monti Martani Fault System
Understanding the stress field at the lateral termination of a thrust fold using generic geomechanical models and clustering methods
Localized shear and distributed strain accumulation as competing shear accommodation mechanisms in crustal shear zones: constraining their dictating factors
Influence of water on crystallographic preferred orientation patterns in a naturally deformed quartzite
Geomorphic expressions of active rifting reflect the role of structural inheritance: a new model for the evolution of the Shanxi Rift, northern China
Unbiased statistical length analysis of linear features: Adapting survival analysis to geological applications
Driven magmatism and crustal thinning of coastal southern China in response to subduction
Selection and characterization of the target fault for fluid-induced activation and earthquake rupture experiments
Naturally fractured reservoir characterisation in heterogeneous sandstones: insight for uranium in situ recovery (Imouraren, Niger)
Multiscalar 3D temporal structural characterisation of Smøla island, mid-Norwegian passive margin: an analogue for unravelling the tectonic history of offshore basement highs
Impact of faults on the remote stress state
Subduction plate interface shear stress associated with rapid subduction at deep slow earthquake depths: example from the Sanbagawa belt, southwestern Japan
Multiple phase rifting and subsequent inversion in the West Netherlands Basin: implications for geothermal reservoir characterization
Analogue modelling of basin inversion: implications for the Araripe Basin (Brazil)
Natural fracture patterns at Swift Reservoir anticline, NW Montana: the influence of structural position and lithology from multiple observation scales
Rapid hydration and weakening of anhydrite under stress: implications for natural hydration in the Earth's crust and mantle
Analogue experiments on releasing and restraining bends and their application to the study of the Barents Shear Margin
Structural framework and timing of the Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits, Kiruna mining district, Sweden
Does the syn- versus post-rift thickness ratio have an impact on the inversion-related structural style?
Inversion of accommodation zones in salt-bearing extensional systems: insights from analog modeling
Structural control of inherited salt structures during inversion of a domino basement-fault system from an analogue modelling approach
Kinematics and time-resolved evolution of the main thrust-sense shear zone in the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge (the Vinschgau Shear Zone, eastern Alps)
Role of inheritance during tectonic inversion of a rift system in basement-involved to salt-decoupled transition: analogue modelling and application to the Pyrenean–Biscay system
Water release and homogenization by dynamic recrystallization of quartz
Hydrothermal activity of the Lake Abhe geothermal field (Djibouti): Structural controls and paths for further exploration
Time-dependent frictional properties of granular materials used in analogue modelling: implications for mimicking fault healing during reactivation and inversion
Large grain-size-dependent rheology contrasts of halite at low differential stress: evidence from microstructural study of naturally deformed gneissic Zechstein 2 rock salt (Kristallbrockensalz) from the northern Netherlands
Analogue modelling of the inversion of multiple extensional basins in foreland fold-and-thrust belts
A contribution to the quantification of crustal shortening and kinematics of deformation across the Western Andes ( ∼ 20–22° S)
Rift thermal inheritance in the SW Alps (France): insights from RSCM thermometry and 1D thermal numerical modelling
The Luangwa Rift Active Fault Database and fault reactivation along the southwestern branch of the East African Rift
Clustering has a meaning: optimization of angular similarity to detect 3D geometric anomalies in geological terrains
Shear zone evolution and the path of earthquake rupture
Mechanical compaction mechanisms in the input sediments of the Sumatra subduction complex – insights from microstructural analysis of cores from IODP Expedition 362
Detecting micro fractures: a comprehensive comparison of conventional and machine-learning-based segmentation methods
Multiscale lineament analysis and permeability heterogeneity of fractured crystalline basement blocks
Structural characterization and K–Ar illite dating of reactivated, complex and heterogeneous fault zones: lessons from the Zuccale Fault, Northern Apennines
How do differences in interpreting seismic images affect estimates of geological slip rates?
Progressive veining during peridotite carbonation: insights from listvenites in Hole BT1B, Samail ophiolite (Oman)
Tectonic evolution of the Indio Hills segment of the San Andreas fault in southern California, southwestern USA
Structural diagenesis in ultra-deep tight sandstones in the Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin, China
Variscan structures and their control on latest to post-Variscan basin architecture: insights from the westernmost Bohemian Massif and southeastern Germany
Multi-disciplinary characterizations of the BedrettoLab – a new underground geoscience research facility
Biotite supports long-range diffusive transport in dissolution–precipitation creep in halite through small porosity fluctuations
De-risking the energy transition by quantifying the uncertainties in fault stability
Virtual field trip to the Esla Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain): delivering traditional geological mapping skills remotely using real data
Marine forearc structure of eastern Java and its role in the 1994 Java tsunami earthquake
Roughness of fracture surfaces in numerical models and laboratory experiments
Impact of basement thrust faults on low-angle normal faults and rift basin evolution: a case study in the Enping sag, Pearl River Basin
Simone Masoch, Giorgio Pennacchioni, Michele Fondriest, Rodrigo Gomila, Piero Poli, José Cembrano, and Giulio Di Toro
Solid Earth, 16, 23–43, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-23-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-23-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate an exhumed hydrothermal system in the Atacama Desert (Chile) to understand how earthquake swarms form. Wall rocks near fault veins experienced high-stress pulses, and fault veins underwent cyclic crack opening and shearing. These findings suggest ancient earthquake swarm activity, from dynamic crack propagation to repeated crack opening and shearing. This system represents a unique geological record of earthquake swarms, providing insights into their initiation and evolution.
Riccardo Asti, Selina Bonini, Giulio Viola, and Gianluca Vignaroli
Solid Earth, 15, 1525–1551, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1525-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study addresses the tectonic evolution of the seismogenic Monti Martani Fault System (northern Apennines, Italy). By applying a field-based structural geology approach, we reconstruct the evolution of the stress field and we challenge the current interpretation of the fault system in terms of both geometry and state of activity. We stress that the peculiar behavior of this system during post-orogenic extension is still significantly influenced by the pre-orogenic structural template.
Anthony Adwan, Bertrand Maillot, Pauline Souloumiac, Christophe Barnes, Christophe Nussbaum, Meinert Rahn, and Thomas Van Stiphout
Solid Earth, 15, 1445–1463, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1445-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1445-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use computer simulations to study how stress is distributed in large-scale geological models, focusing on how fault lines behave under pressure. By running many 2D and 3D simulations with varying conditions, we discover patterns in how faults form and interact. Our findings reveal that even small changes in conditions can lead to different stress outcomes. This research helps us better understand earthquake mechanics and could improve predictions of fault behavior in real-world scenarios.
Pramit Chatterjee, Arnab Roy, and Nibir Mandal
Solid Earth, 15, 1281–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1281-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1281-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding strain accumulation processes in shear zones is essential for explaining failure mechanisms at great crustal depths. This study explores the rheological and kinematic factors determining the varying modes of shear accommodation in natural shear zones. Numerical simulations suggest that an interplay of parameters – initial viscosity, bulk shear rate, and internal cohesion – governs the dominance of one accommodation mechanism over another.
Jeffrey M. Rahl, Brendan Moehringer, Kenneth S. Befus, and John S. Singleton
Solid Earth, 15, 1233–1240, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1233-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1233-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At the high temperatures present in the deeper crust, minerals such as quartz can flow much like silly putty. The detailed mechanisms of how atoms are reorganized depends upon several factors, such as the temperature and the rate of which the mineral changes shape. We present observations from a naturally deformed rock showing that the amount of water present also influences the type of deformation in quartz, with implications for geological interpretations.
Malte Froemchen, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Mark B. Allen, Jeroen van Hunen, Thomas B. Phillips, and Yueren Xu
Solid Earth, 15, 1203–1231, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1203-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1203-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Shanxi Rift is a young, active rift in northern China that formed atop a Proterozoic orogen. The impact of these structures on active rift faults is poorly understood. Here, we quantify the landscape response to active faulting and compare it with published maps of inherited structures. We find that inherited structures played an important role in the segmentation of the Shanxi Rift and in the development of rift interaction zones, which are the most active regions in the Shanxi Rift.
Gabriele Benedetti, Stefano Casiraghi, Daniela Bertacchi, and Andrea Luigi Paolo Bistacchi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2818, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2818, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At any scale, the limited size of a study area introduces a bias in the interpretation of linear features, defined as right-censoring bias. We show the effects of not considering such bias and apply survival analysis techniques to obtain unbiased estimates of multiple parametrical distributions in three censored length datasets. Finally, we propose a novel approach to select the most representative model from a sensible candidate pool using the Probability Integral Transform technique.
Jinbao Su, Wenbin Zhu, and Guangwei Li
Solid Earth, 15, 1133–1141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1133-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The late Mesozoic igneous rocks in the South China Block exhibit flare-ups and lulls, which form in compressional or extensional backgrounds. The ascending of magma forms a mush-like head and decreases crustal thickness. The presence of faults and pre-existing magmas will accelerate emplacement of underplating magma. The magmatism at different times may be formed under similar subduction conditions, and the boundary compression forces will delay magma ascent.
Peter Achtziger-Zupančič, Alberto Ceccato, Alba Simona Zappone, Giacomo Pozzi, Alexis Shakas, Florian Amann, Whitney Maria Behr, Daniel Escallon Botero, Domenico Giardini, Marian Hertrich, Mohammadreza Jalali, Xiaodong Ma, Men-Andrin Meier, Julian Osten, Stefan Wiemer, and Massimo Cocco
Solid Earth, 15, 1087–1112, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1087-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We detail the selection and characterization of a fault zone for earthquake experiments in the Fault Activation and Earthquake Ruptures (FEAR) project at the Bedretto Lab. FEAR, which studies earthquake processes, overcame data collection challenges near faults. The fault zone in Rotondo granite was selected based on geometry, monitorability, and hydro-mechanical properties. Remote sensing, borehole logging, and geological mapping were used to create a 3D model for precise monitoring.
Maxime Jamet, Gregory Ballas, Roger Soliva, Olivier Gerbeaud, Thierry Lefebvre, Christine Leredde, and Didier Loggia
Solid Earth, 15, 895–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-895-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study characterizes the Tchirezrine II sandstone reservoir in northern Niger. Crucial for potential uranium in situ recovery (ISR), our multifaceted approach reveals (i) a network of homogeneously distributed orthogonal structures, (ii) the impact of clustered E–W fault structures on anisotropic fluid flow, and (iii) local changes in the matrix behaviour of the reservoir as a function of the density and nature of the deformation structure.
Matthew S. Hodge, Guri Venvik, Jochen Knies, Roelant van der Lelij, Jasmin Schönenberger, Øystein Nordgulen, Marco Brönner, Aziz Nasuti, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 15, 589–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-589-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Smøla island, in the mid-Norwegian margin, has complex fracture and fault patterns resulting from tectonic activity. This study uses a multiple-method approach to unravel Smøla's tectonic history. We found five different phases of deformation related to various fracture geometries and minerals dating back hundreds of millions of years. 3D models of these features visualise these structures in space. This approach may help us to understand offshore oil and gas reservoirs hosted in the basement.
Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, and Moritz O. Ziegler
Solid Earth, 15, 305–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-305-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
It is generally assumed that faults have an influence on the stress state of the Earth’s crust. It is questionable whether this influence is still present far away from a fault. Simple numerical models were used to investigate the extent of the influence of faults on the stress state. Several models with different fault representations were investigated. The stress fluctuations further away from the fault (> 1 km) are very small.
Yukinojo Koyama, Simon R. Wallis, and Takayoshi Nagaya
Solid Earth, 15, 143–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-143-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Stress along a subduction plate boundary is important for understanding subduction phenomena such as earthquakes. We estimated paleo-stress using quartz recrystallized grain size combined with deformation temperature and P–T paths of exhumed rocks. The obtained results show differential stresses of 30.8–82.7 MPa consistent over depths of 17–27 km in the paleo-subduction boundary. The obtained stress may represent the initial conditions under which slow earthquakes nucleated in the same domain.
Annelotte Weert, Kei Ogata, Francesco Vinci, Coen Leo, Giovanni Bertotti, Jerome Amory, and Stefano Tavani
Solid Earth, 15, 121–141, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
On the road to a sustainable planet, geothermal energy is considered one of the main substitutes when it comes to heating. The geological history of an area can have a major influence on the application of these geothermal systems, as demonstrated in the West Netherlands Basin. Here, multiple episodes of rifting and subsequent basin inversion have controlled the distribution of the reservoir rocks, thus influencing the locations where geothermal energy can be exploited.
Pâmela C. Richetti, Frank Zwaan, Guido Schreurs, Renata S. Schmitt, and Timothy C. Schmid
Solid Earth, 14, 1245–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1245-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Araripe Basin in NE Brazil was originally formed during Cretaceous times, as South America and Africa broke up. The basin is an important analogue to offshore South Atlantic break-up basins; its sediments were uplifted and are now found at 1000 m height, allowing for studies thereof, but the cause of the uplift remains debated. Here we ran a series of tectonic laboratory experiments that show how a specific plate tectonic configuration can explain the evolution of the Araripe Basin.
Adam J. Cawood, Hannah Watkins, Clare E. Bond, Marian J. Warren, and Mark A. Cooper
Solid Earth, 14, 1005–1030, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1005-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we test conceptual models of fracture development by investigating fractures across multiple scales. We find that most fractures increase in abundance towards the fold hinge, and we interpret these as being fold related. Other fractures at the site show inconsistent orientations and are unrelated to fold formation. Our results show that predicting fracture patterns requires the consideration of multiple geologic variables.
Johanna Heeb, David Healy, Nicholas E. Timms, and Enrique Gomez-Rivas
Solid Earth, 14, 985–1003, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-985-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Hydration of rocks is a key process in the Earth’s crust and mantle that is accompanied by changes in physical traits and mechanical behaviour of rocks. This study assesses the influence of stress on hydration reaction kinetics and mechanics in experiments on anhydrite. We show that hydration occurs readily under stress and results in localized hydration along fractures and mechanic weakening. New gypsum growth is selective and depends on the stress field and host anhydrite crystal orientation.
Roy Helge Gabrielsen, Panagiotis Athanasios Giannenas, Dimitrios Sokoutis, Ernst Willingshofer, Muhammad Hassaan, and Jan Inge Faleide
Solid Earth, 14, 961–983, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-961-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Barents Shear Margin defines the border between the relatively shallow Barents Sea that is situated on a continental plate and the deep ocean. This margin's evolution history was probably influenced by plate tectonic reorganizations. From scaled experiments, we deduced several types of structures (faults, folds, and sedimentary basins) that help us to improve the understanding of the history of the opening of the North Atlantic.
Leslie Logan, Ervin Veress, Joel B. H. Andersson, Olof Martinsson, and Tobias E. Bauer
Solid Earth, 14, 763–784, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-763-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Pahtohavare Cu ± Au deposits in the Kiruna mining district have a dubious timing of formation and have not been contextualized within an up-to-date tectonic framework. Structural mapping was carried out to reveal that the deposits are hosted in brittle structures that cut a noncylindrical, SE-plunging anticline constrained to have formed during the late-Svecokarelian orogeny. These results show that Cu ± Au mineralization formed more than ca. 80 Myr after iron oxide–apatite mineralization.
Alexandra Tamas, Dan M. Tamas, Gabor Tari, Csaba Krezsek, Alexandru Lapadat, and Zsolt Schleder
Solid Earth, 14, 741–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-741-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Tectonic processes are complex and often difficult to understand due to the limitations of surface or subsurface data. One such process is inversion tectonics, which means that an area initially developed in an extension (such as the opening of an ocean) is reversed to compression (the process leading to mountain building). In this research, we use a laboratory method (analogue modelling), and with the help of a sandbox, we try to better understand structures (folds/faults) related to inversion.
Elizabeth Parker Wilson, Pablo Granado, Pablo Santolaria, Oriol Ferrer, and Josep Anton Muñoz
Solid Earth, 14, 709–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-709-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work focuses on the control of accommodation zones on extensional and subsequent inversion in salt-detached domains using sandbox analogue models. During extension, the transfer zone acts as a pathway for the movement of salt, changing the expected geometries. When inverted, the salt layer and syn-inversion sedimentation control the deformation style in the salt-detached cover system. Three natural cases are compared to the model results and show similar inversion geometries.
Oriol Ferrer, Eloi Carola, and Ken McClay
Solid Earth, 14, 571–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-571-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using an experimental approach based on scaled sandbox models, this work aims to understand how salt above different rotational fault blocks influences the cover geometry and evolution, first during extension and then during inversion. The results show that inherited salt structures constrain contractional deformation. We show for the first time how welds and fault welds are reopened during contractional deformation, having direct implications for the subsurface exploration of natural resources.
Chiara Montemagni, Stefano Zanchetta, Martina Rocca, Igor M. Villa, Corrado Morelli, Volkmar Mair, and Andrea Zanchi
Solid Earth, 14, 551–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-551-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Vinschgau Shear Zone (VSZ) is one of the largest and most significant shear zones developed within the Late Cretaceous thrust stack in the Austroalpine domain of the eastern Alps. 40Ar / 39Ar geochronology constrains the activity of the VSZ between 97 and 80 Ma. The decreasing vorticity towards the core of the shear zone, coupled with the younging of mylonites, points to a shear thinning behavior. The deepest units of the Eo-Alpine orogenic wedge were exhumed along the VSZ.
Jordi Miró, Oriol Ferrer, Josep Anton Muñoz, and Gianreto Manastchal
Solid Earth, 14, 425–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-425-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using the Asturian–Basque–Cantabrian system and analogue (sandbox) models, this work focuses on the linkage between basement-controlled and salt-decoupled domains and how deformation is accommodated between the two during extension and subsequent inversion. Analogue models show significant structural variability in the transitional domain, with oblique structures that can be strongly modified by syn-contractional sedimentation. Experimental results are consistent with the case study.
Junichi Fukuda, Takamoto Okudaira, and Yukiko Ohtomo
Solid Earth, 14, 409–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We measured water distributions in deformed quartz by infrared spectroscopy mapping and used the results to discuss changes in water distribution resulting from textural development. Because of the grain size reduction process (dynamic recrystallization), water contents decrease from 40–1750 wt ppm in host grains of ~2 mm to 100–510 wt ppm in recrystallized regions composed of fine grains of ~10 µm. Our results indicate that water is released and homogenized by dynamic recrystallization.
Bastien Walter, Yves Géraud, Alexiane Favier, Nadjib Chibati, and Marc Diraison
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-397, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Lake Abhe in southwestern Djibouti is known for its exposures of massive hydrothermal chimneys and hot springs on the lake’s eastern shore. This study highlights the control of the main structural faults of the area on the development of these hydrothermal features. This work contributes to better understand hydrothermal fluid pathways in this area and may help further exploration for the geothermal development of this remarkable site.
Michael Rudolf, Matthias Rosenau, and Onno Oncken
Solid Earth, 14, 311–331, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-311-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Analogue models of tectonic processes rely on the reproduction of their geometry, kinematics and dynamics. An important property is fault behaviour, which is linked to the frictional characteristics of the fault gouge. This is represented by granular materials, such as quartz sand. In our study we investigate the time-dependent frictional properties of various analogue materials and highlight their impact on the suitability of these materials for analogue models focusing on fault reactivation.
Jessica Barabasch, Joyce Schmatz, Jop Klaver, Alexander Schwedt, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 14, 271–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed Zechstein salt with microscopes and observed specific microstructures that indicate much faster deformation in rock salt with fine halite grains when compared to salt with larger grains. This is important because people build large cavities in the subsurface salt for energy storage or want to deposit radioactive waste inside it. When engineers and scientists use grain-size data and equations that include this mechanism, it will help to make better predictions in geological models.
Nicolás Molnar and Susanne Buiter
Solid Earth, 14, 213–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-213-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Progression of orogenic wedges over pre-existing extensional structures is common in nature, but deciphering the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation from the geological record remains challenging. Our laboratory experiments provide insights on how horizontal stresses are transferred across a heterogeneous crust, constrain which pre-shortening conditions can either favour or hinder the reactivatation of extensional structures, and explain what implications they have on critical taper theory.
Tania Habel, Martine Simoes, Robin Lacassin, Daniel Carrizo, and German Aguilar
Solid Earth, 14, 17–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-17-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Central Andes are one of the most emblematic reliefs on Earth, but their western flank remains understudied. Here we explore two rare key sites in the hostile conditions of the Atacama desert to build cross-sections, quantify crustal shortening, and discuss the timing of this deformation at ∼20–22°S. We propose that the structures of the Western Andes accommodated significant crustal shortening here, but only during the earliest stages of mountain building.
Naïm Célini, Frédéric Mouthereau, Abdeltif Lahfid, Claude Gout, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 14, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the peak temperature of sedimentary rocks of the SW Alps (France), using Raman spectroscopy on carbonaceous material. This method provides an estimate of the peak temperature achieved by organic-rich rocks. To determine the timing and the tectonic context of the origin of these temperatures we use 1D thermal modelling. We find that the high temperatures up to 300 °C were achieved during precollisional extensional events, not during tectonic burial in the Western Alps.
Luke N. J. Wedmore, Tess Turner, Juliet Biggs, Jack N. Williams, Henry M. Sichingabula, Christine Kabumbu, and Kawawa Banda
Solid Earth, 13, 1731–1753, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1731-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mapping and compiling the attributes of faults capable of hosting earthquakes are important for the next generation of seismic hazard assessment. We document 18 active faults in the Luangwa Rift, Zambia, in an active fault database. These faults are between 9 and 207 km long offset Quaternary sediments, have scarps up to ~30 m high, and are capable of hosting earthquakes from Mw 5.8 to 8.1. We associate the Molaza Fault with surface ruptures from two unattributed M 6+ 20th century earthquakes.
Michał P. Michalak, Lesław Teper, Florian Wellmann, Jerzy Żaba, Krzysztof Gaidzik, Marcin Kostur, Yuriy P. Maystrenko, and Paulina Leonowicz
Solid Earth, 13, 1697–1720, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1697-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
When characterizing geological/geophysical surfaces, various geometric attributes are calculated, such as dip angle (1D) or dip direction (2D). However, the boundaries between specific values may be subjective and without optimization significance, resulting from using default color palletes. This study proposes minimizing cosine distance among within-cluster observations to detect 3D anomalies. Our results suggest that the method holds promise for identification of megacylinders or megacones.
Erik M. Young, Christie D. Rowe, and James D. Kirkpatrick
Solid Earth, 13, 1607–1629, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1607-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Studying how earthquakes spread deep within the faults they originate from is crucial to improving our understanding of the earthquake process. We mapped preserved ancient earthquake surfaces that are now exposed in South Africa and studied their relationship with the shape and type of rocks surrounding them. We determined that these surfaces are not random and are instead associated with specific kinds of rocks and that their shape is linked to the evolution of the faults in which they occur.
Sivaji Lahiri, Kitty L. Milliken, Peter Vrolijk, Guillaume Desbois, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 13, 1513–1539, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1513-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the mechanism of mechanical compaction is important. Previous studies on mechanical compaction were mostly done by performing experiments. Studies on natural rocks are rare due to compositional heterogeneity of the sedimentary succession with depth. Due to remarkable similarity in composition and grain size, the Sumatra subduction complex provides a unique opportunity to study the micromechanism of mechanical compaction on natural samples.
Dongwon Lee, Nikolaos Karadimitriou, Matthias Ruf, and Holger Steeb
Solid Earth, 13, 1475–1494, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1475-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research article focuses on filtering and segmentation methods employed in high-resolution µXRCT studies for crystalline rocks, bearing fractures, or fracture networks, of very small aperture. Specifically, we focus on the identification of artificially induced (via quenching) fractures in Carrara marble samples. Results from the same dataset from all five different methods adopted were produced and compared with each other in terms of their output quality and time efficiency.
Alberto Ceccato, Giulia Tartaglia, Marco Antonellini, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 13, 1431–1453, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth's surface is commonly characterized by the occurrence of fractures, which can be mapped, and their can be geometry quantified on digital representations of the surface at different scales of observation. Here we present a series of analytical and statistical tools, which can aid the quantification of fracture spatial distribution at different scales. In doing so, we can improve our understanding of how fracture geometry and geology affect fluid flow within the fractured Earth crust.
Giulio Viola, Giovanni Musumeci, Francesco Mazzarini, Lorenzo Tavazzani, Manuel Curzi, Espen Torgersen, Roelant van der Lelij, and Luca Aldega
Solid Earth, 13, 1327–1351, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1327-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A structural-geochronological approach helps to unravel the Zuccale Fault's architecture. By mapping its internal structure and dating some of its fault rocks, we constrained a deformation history lasting 20 Myr starting at ca. 22 Ma. Such long activity is recorded by now tightly juxtaposed brittle structural facies, i.e. different types of fault rocks. Our results also have implications on the regional evolution of the northern Apennines, of which the Zuccale Fault is an important structure.
Wan-Lin Hu
Solid Earth, 13, 1281–1290, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1281-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Having a seismic image is generally expected to enable us to better determine fault geometry and thus estimate geological slip rates accurately. However, the process of interpreting seismic images may introduce unintended uncertainties, which have not yet been widely discussed. Here, a case of a shear fault-bend fold in the frontal Himalaya is used to demonstrate how differences in interpretations can affect the following estimates of slip rates and dependent conclusions.
Manuel D. Menzel, Janos L. Urai, Estibalitz Ukar, Thierry Decrausaz, and Marguerite Godard
Solid Earth, 13, 1191–1218, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1191-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mantle rocks can bind large quantities of carbon by reaction with CO2, but this capacity requires fluid pathways not to be clogged by carbonate. We studied mantle rocks from Oman to understand the mechanisms allowing their transformation into carbonate and quartz. Using advanced imaging techniques, we show that abundant veins were essential fluid pathways driving the reaction. Our results show that tectonic stress was important for fracture opening and a key ingredient for carbon fixation.
Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl, Steffen G. Bergh, and Arthur G. Sylvester
Solid Earth, 13, 1169–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1169-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The San Andreas fault is a major active fault associated with ongoing earthquake sequences in southern California. The present study investigates the development of the Indio Hills area in the Coachella Valley along the main San Andreas fault and the Indio Hills fault. The Indio Hills area is located near an area with high ongoing earthquake activity (Brawley seismic zone), and, therefore, its recent tectonic evolution has implications for earthquake prediction.
Jin Lai, Dong Li, Yong Ai, Hongkun Liu, Deyang Cai, Kangjun Chen, Yuqiang Xie, and Guiwen Wang
Solid Earth, 13, 975–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
(1) Structural diagenesis analysis is performed on the ultra-deep tight sandstone. (2) Fracture and intergranular pores are related to the low in situ stress magnitudes. (3) Dissolution is associated with the presence of fracture.
Hamed Fazlikhani, Wolfgang Bauer, and Harald Stollhofen
Solid Earth, 13, 393–416, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-393-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Interpretation of newly acquired FRANKEN 2D seismic survey data in southeeastern Germany shows that upper Paleozoic low-grade metasedimentary rocks and possible nappe units are transported by Variscan shear zones to ca. 65 km west of the Franconian Fault System (FFS). We show that the locations of post-Variscan upper Carboniferous–Permian normal faults and associated graben and half-graben basins are controlled by the geometry of underlying Variscan shear zones.
Xiaodong Ma, Marian Hertrich, Florian Amann, Kai Bröker, Nima Gholizadeh Doonechaly, Valentin Gischig, Rebecca Hochreutener, Philipp Kästli, Hannes Krietsch, Michèle Marti, Barbara Nägeli, Morteza Nejati, Anne Obermann, Katrin Plenkers, Antonio P. Rinaldi, Alexis Shakas, Linus Villiger, Quinn Wenning, Alba Zappone, Falko Bethmann, Raymi Castilla, Francisco Seberto, Peter Meier, Thomas Driesner, Simon Loew, Hansruedi Maurer, Martin O. Saar, Stefan Wiemer, and Domenico Giardini
Solid Earth, 13, 301–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Questions on issues such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments require a better understanding of the fractured rock. Experiments conducted at reduced scales but with higher-resolution observations can shed some light. To this end, the BedrettoLab was recently established in an existing tunnel in Ticino, Switzerland, with preliminary efforts to characterize realistic rock mass behavior at the hectometer scale.
Berit Schwichtenberg, Florian Fusseis, Ian B. Butler, and Edward Andò
Solid Earth, 13, 41–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-41-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Hydraulic rock properties such as porosity and permeability are relevant factors that have an impact on groundwater resources, geological repositories and fossil fuel reservoirs. We investigate the influence of chemical compaction upon the porosity evolution in salt–biotite mixtures and related transport length scales by conducting laboratory experiments in combination with 4-D analysis. Our observations invite a renewed discussion of the effect of sheet silicates on chemical compaction.
David Healy and Stephen Paul Hicks
Solid Earth, 13, 15–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The energy transition requires operations in faulted rocks. To manage the technical challenges and public concern over possible induced earthquakes, we need to quantify the risks. We calculate the probability of fault slip based on uncertain inputs, stresses, fluid pressures, and the mechanical properties of rocks in fault zones. Our examples highlight the specific gaps in our knowledge. Citizen science projects could produce useful data and include the public in the discussions about hazards.
Manuel I. de Paz-Álvarez, Thomas G. Blenkinsop, David M. Buchs, George E. Gibbons, and Lesley Cherns
Solid Earth, 13, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a virtual geological mapping course implemented in response to travelling and social restrictions derived from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The course was designed to replicate a physical mapping exercise as closely as possible with the aid of real field data and photographs collected by the authors during previous years in the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain). The course is delivered through Google Earth via a KMZ file with outcrop descriptions and links to GitHub-hosted photographs.
Yueyang Xia, Jacob Geersen, Dirk Klaeschen, Bo Ma, Dietrich Lange, Michael Riedel, Michael Schnabel, and Heidrun Kopp
Solid Earth, 12, 2467–2477, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2467-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The 2 June 1994 Java tsunami earthquake ruptured in a seismically quiet subduction zone and generated a larger-than-expected tsunami. Here, we re-process a seismic line across the rupture area. We show that a subducting seamount is located up-dip of the mainshock in a region that did not rupture during the earthquake. Seamount subduction modulates the topography of the marine forearc and acts as a seismic barrier in the 1994 earthquake rupture.
Steffen Abe and Hagen Deckert
Solid Earth, 12, 2407–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2407-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use numerical simulations and laboratory experiments on rock samples to investigate how stress conditions influence the geometry and roughness of fracture surfaces. The roughness of the surfaces was analyzed in terms of absolute roughness and scaling properties. The results show that the surfaces are self-affine but with different scaling properties between the numerical models and the real rock samples. Results suggest that stress conditions have little influence on the surface roughness.
Chao Deng, Rixiang Zhu, Jianhui Han, Yu Shu, Yuxiang Wu, Kefeng Hou, and Wei Long
Solid Earth, 12, 2327–2350, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2327-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses seismic reflection data to interpret the geometric relationship and evolution of intra-basement and rift-related structures in the Enping sag in the northern South China Sea. Our observations suggest the primary control of pre-existing thrust faults is the formation of low-angle normal faults, with possible help from low-friction materials, and the significant role of pre-existing basement thrust faults in fault geometry, paleotopography, and syn-rift stratigraphy of rift basins.
Cited articles
Ault, A. K., Frenzel, M., Reiners, P. W., Woodcock, N. H., and Thomson, S. N.:
Record of paleofluid circulation in faults revealed by hematite (U-Th)/He
and apatite fission-track dating: An example from Gower Peninsula fault
fissures, Wales, Lithosphere, 8, 379–385, 2016.
Beaudoin, N., Lacombe, O., Roberts, N. M., and Koehn, D.: U-Pb dating of
calcite veins reveals complex stress evolution and thrust sequence in the
Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, Geology, 46, 1015–1018, 2018.
Bergemann, C. A., Gnos, E., Berger, A., Whitehouse, M. J., Mullis, J., Walter,
F., and Bojar, H. P.: Constraining long-term fault activity in the brittle
domain through in situ dating of hydrothermal monazite, Terra Nova, 30, 440–446, 2018.
Blundell, D. J.: Cenozoic inversion and uplift of southern Britain, in:
Exhumation of the North Atlantic margin: Timing, Mechanisms and Implications
for Petroleum Exploration, edited by: Doré, A. G., Cartwright, J. A.,
Stoker, M. S., Turner, J. P., and White, N., Geological Society, London,
Special Publications, 196, 85–101, 2002.
Chadwick, R. A.: Aspects of basin inversion in southern Britain, J. Geol. Soc., 150, 311–322, 1993.
Dichiarante, A. M., Holdsworth, R. E., Dempsey, E. D., Selby, D., McCaffrey,
K. J. W., Michie, U. M., Morgan, G., and Bonniface, J.: New structural and
Re–Os geochronological evidence constraining the age of faulting and
associated mineralization in the Devonian Orcadian Basin, Scotland, J. Geol. Soc., 173,
457–473, 2016.
Emery, A.: Palaeopressure reconstruction to explain observed natural
hydraulic fractures in the Cleveland Basin, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 77, 535–552, 2016.
Evans, A. L., Fitch, F. J., and Miller, J. A.: Potassium-argon age
determinations on some British Tertiary igneous rocks, J. Geol. Soc., 129, 419–438, 1973.
Farrant, A. R., Woods, M. A., Maurice, L., Haslam, R., Raines, M., and
Kendall, R.: Geology of the Kilham area and its influence on groundwater
flow, British Geological Survey commissioned report CR/16/023, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, 2016.
Faÿ-Gomord, O., Allanic, C., Verbiest, M., Lasseur, E., Swennen, R., and
Gauthier, B.: Synsedimentary Polygonal Faults System in Tight
Chalk: Multiscale Evidence From Outcrop, Flamborough Head (UK), in: 79th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2017, June 2017, 1, 1–5, EAGE Publications, the Netherlands, 2017.
Faÿ-Gomord, O., Allanic, C., Verbiest, M., Honlet, R., Champenois, F.,
Bonifacie, M., Chaduteau, C., Wouters, S., Muchez, P., Lasseur, E., and
Swennen, R.: Understanding Fluid Flow during Tectonic Reactivation: An
Example from the Flamborough Head Chalk Outcrop (UK), Geofluids, 2018, 9352143, https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9352143, 2018.
Fitch, F. J., Hooker, P. J., Miller, J. A., and Brereton, N. R.: Glauconite
dating of Palaeocene-Eocene rocks from East Kent and the time-scale of
Palaeogene volcanism in the North Atlantic region, J. Geol. Soc., 135, 499–512, 1978.
Frenzel, M. and Woodcock, N. H.: Cockade breccia: Product of mineralisation
along dilational faults, J. Struct. Geol., 68, 194–206, 2014.
Goodfellow, B. W., Viola, G., Bingen, B., Nuriel, P., and Kylander-Clark,
A. R.: Palaeocene faulting in SE Sweden from U–Pb dating of slickenfibre
calcite, Terra Nova, 29, 321–328, 2017.
Hansman, R. J., Albert, R., Gerdes, A., and Ring, U.: Absolute ages of
multiple generations of brittle structures by U-Pb dating of
calcite, Geology, 46, 207–210, 2018.
Hardman, K., Holdsworth, R. E., Dempsey, E., and McCaffrey, K.: The nature and
significance of rift-related, near-surface fissure fill networks in
fractured carbonates below regional unconformities, J. Geol. Soc.,
https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-074, online first, 2020.
Hardman, R. F. P.: Chalk reservoirs of the North Sea, B. Geol. Soc. Denmark, 30, 119–137, 1982.
Hill, C. A., Polyak, V. J., Asmerom, Y., and Provencio, P.: Constraints on a
Late Cretaceous uplift, denudation, and incision of the Grand Canyon region,
southwestern Colorado Plateau, USA, from U-Pb dating of lacustrine
limestone, Tectonics, 35, 896–906, 2016.
Holdsworth, R. E., Tavarnelli, E., Clegg, P., Pinheiro, R. V. L., Jones, R. R., and McCaffrey, K. J. W.: Domainal deformation patterns and strain partitioning during transpression: an example from the Southern Uplands terrane, Scotland, J. Geol. Soc., 159, 401–415, 2002.
Holdsworth, R. E., McCaffrey, K. J. W., Dempsey, E., Roberts, N. M. W., Hardman,
K., Morton, A., Feely, M., Hunt, J., Conway, A., and Robertson, A.: Natural
fracture propping and earthquake-induced oil migration in fractured basement
reservoirs, Geology, 47, 700–704, 2019.
Holdsworth, R. E., Trice, R., Hardman, K., McCaffrey, K. J. W., Morton, A.,
Frei, D., Dempsey, E., Bird, A., Rogers, S.: The nature and age of
basement host rocks and fissure fills in the Lancaster field fractured
reservoir, West of Shetland, J. Geol. Soc., 177, 1057–1073, 2020.
Holland, M. and Urai, J. L.: Evolution of anastomosing crack–seal vein
networks in limestones: Insight from an exhumed high-pressure cell, Jabal
Shams, Oman Mountains, J. Struct. Geol., 32, 1279–1290, 2010.
Horstwood, M. S., Košler, J., Gehrels, G., Jackson, S. E., McLean, N. M.,
Paton, C., Pearson, N. J., Sircombe, K., Sylvester, P., Vermeesch, P., and
Bowring, J. F.: Community-derived standards for LA-ICP-MS U-(Th-) Pb
geochronology–Uncertainty propagation, age interpretation and data
reporting, Geostand. Geoanal. Res., 40, 311–332, 2016.
Jeans, C. V.: The Market Weighton Structure: tectonics, sedimentation and
diagenesis during the Cretaceous, P. Yorks. Geol. Soc., 39, 409–444, 1973.
Jolley, D. W. and Bell, B. R.: The evolution of the North Atlantic Igneous
Province and the opening of the NE Atlantic rift, in: The North Atlantic
Igneous Province: Stratigraphy, Tectonic, Volcanic and Magmatic Processes,
edited by: Jolley, D. W. and Bell, B. R., Geological Society, London, Special
Publications, 197, 1–13, 2002.
Kent, P. E.: Subsidence and uplift in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: a
double inversion, P. Yorks. Geol. Soc., 42, 505–524, 1980.
Kent, P. E., Raynor, D. H., and Hemingway, J. E.: Structural history. The
Geology and Mineral Resources of Yorkshire, Yorkshire Geological Society Occasional Publication, 2, 13–28, 1974.
Kirby, G. A. and Swallow, P. W.: Tectonism and sedimentation in the
Flamborough Head region of north-east England, P. Yorks. Geol. Soc., 46, 301–309, 1987.
Kirby, G. A., Smith, K., Smith, N. J. P., and Swallow, P. W.: Oil and Gas
generation in eastern England, in: Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe,
edited by: Brooks, J. and Glennie, K., Graham and Trotman, London, 171–180,
1987.
Lamplugh, G. W.: Notes on the White Chalk of Yorkshire, Parts I. and
II, P. Yorks. Geol. Soc., 13, 65–87, 1895.
Lewis, C. L., Green, P. F., Carter, A., and Hurford, A. J.: Elevated K/T
palaeotemperatures throughout Nortwest England: three kilometres of Tertiary
erosion?, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 112, 131–145, 1992.
Ludwig, K. R.: User's manual for Isoplot 4.15: A geochronological toolkit for
Microsoft Excel, Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, California, USA,
2011.
MacDonald, A. M. and Allen, D. J.: Aquifer properties of the Chalk of England,
Q. J. Eng. Geol. Hydroge., 34, 371–384,
2001.
Mallon, A. J. and Swarbrick, R. E.: A compaction trend for non-reservoir North
Sea Chalk, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 19, 527–539, 2002.
Mortimore, R. N.: Late Cretaceous tectono-sedimentary events in NW
Europe, P. Geologist. Assoc., 129, 392–420, 2018.
Mortimore, R. N.: Late Cretaceous to Miocene and Quaternary deformation
history of the Chalk: Channels, slumps, faults, folds and
glacitectonics, P. Geologist. Assoc., 130, 27–65, 2019.
Nadin, P. A., Kusznir, N. J., and Cheadle, M. J.: Early Tertiary plume uplift of
the North Sea and Faeroe-Shetland basins, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 148, 109–127, 1997.
Nuriel, P., Weinberger, R., Kylander-Clark, A. R. C., Hacker, B. R., and
Craddock, J. P.: The onset of the Dead Sea transform based on calcite
age-strain analyses, Geology, 45, 587–590, 2017.
Nuriel, P., Craddock, J., Kylander-Clark, A. R., Uysal, T., Karabacak, V.,
Dirik, R. K., Hacker, B. R., and Weinberger, R.: Reactivation history of the
North Anatolian fault zone based on calcite age-strain analyses, Geology, 47,
465–469, 2019.
Nuriel, P., Wotzlaw, J. F., Ovtcharova, M., Vaks, A., Stremtan, C., Šala, M., Roberts, N. M. W. and Kylander-Clark, A. R.,: The use of ASH-15 flowstone as a matrix-matched reference material for laser-ablation U-Pb geochronology of calcite, Geochronology Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2020-22, in review, 2020.
Parrish, R. R., Parrish, C. M., and Lasalle, S.: Vein calcite dating reveals
Pyrenean orogen as cause of Paleogene deformation in southern
England, J. Geol. Soc., 175, 425–442, 2018.
Peacock, D. C. P. and Sanderson, D. J.: Strain and scaling of faults in the
chalk at Flamborough Head, UK, J. Struct. Geol., 16, 97–107, 1994.
Phillips, J.: Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire; Part l – the
Yorkshire Coast, London, Thomas Wilson and Sons, York, 1829.
Powell, J. H.: Jurassic sedimentation in the Cleveland Basin: a review, P. York. Geol. Soc., 58, 21–72, 2010.
Price, M.: Fluid flow in the Chalk of England, in: Fluid Flow in Sedimentary
Basins and Aquifers, edited by: Goff, J. C. and Williams, B. P. J.,
Geological Society, London,
Special Publications, 34, 141–156, 1987.
Rawson, P. F. and Wright, J. K.: The Yorkshire Coast (No. 34), Geologists' Association, London, 2000.
Ring, U. and Gerdes, A.: Kinematics of the Alpenrhein-Bodensee graben system
in the Central Alps: Oligocene/Miocene transtension due to formation of the
Western Alps arc, Tectonics, 35, 1367–1391, 2016.
Roberts, N. M. W. and Walker, R. J.: U-Pb geochronology of calcite-mineralized
faults: Absolute timing of rift-related fault events on the northeast
Atlantic margin, Geology, 44, 531–534, 2016.
Roberts, N. M. W., Rasbury, E. T., Parrish, R. R., Smith, C. J., Horstwood,
M. S., and Condon, D. J.: A calcite reference material for LA-ICP-MS U-Pb
geochronology, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 18, 2807–2814, 2017.
Roberts, N. M. W., Drost, K., Horstwood, M. S. A., Condon, D. J., Chew, D.,
Drake, H., Milodowski, A. E., McLean, N. M., Smye, A. J., Walker, R. J.,
Haslam, R., Hodson, K., Imber, J., Beaudoin, N., and Lee, J. K.: Laser
ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb
carbonate geochronology: strategies, progress, and limitations,
Geochronology, 2, 33–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-33-2020, 2020.
Sagi, D. A., De Paola, N., McCaffrey, K. J. W., and Holdsworth, R. E.: Fault and
fracture patterns in low porosity chalk and their potential influence on
sub-surface fluid flow – A case study from Flamborough Head,
UK, Tectonophysics, 690, 35–51, 2016.
Smeraglia, L., Aldega, L., Billi, A., Carminati, E., Di Fiore, F., Gerdes,
A., Albert, R., Rossetti, F., and Vignaroli, G.: Development of an Intrawedge
Tectonic Mélange by Out-of-Sequence Thrusting, Buttressing, and
Intraformational Rheological Contrast, Mt. Massico Ridge, Apennines, Italy, Tectonics, 38, 1223–1249, 2019.
Starmer, I. C.: Deformation of the Upper Cretaceous Chalk at Selwicks Bay,
Flamborough Head, Yorkshire: its significance in the structural evolution of
north-east England and the North Sea Basin, P. York. Geol. Soc., 50, 213–228, 1995.
Starmer, I. C.: The concentration of folding and faulting in the Chalk at
Staple Newk (Scale Nab), near Flamborough, East Yorkshire, P. York. Geol. Soc., 57, 95–106, 2008.
Starmer, I. C.: Folding and faulting in the chalk at dykes end, Bridlington
Bay, East Yorkshire, resulting from reactivations of the flamborough head
fault zone, P. York. Geol. Soc., 59, 195–201, 2013.
Tillberg, M., Drake, H., Zack, T., Kooijman, E., Whitehouse, M. J., and
Åström, M. E.: In situ Rb-Sr dating of slickenfibres in deep
crystalline basement faults, Sci. Rep.-UK, 10, 1–13, 2020.
van Gent, H. W., Holland, M., Urai, J. L., and Loosveld, R.: Evolution of
fault zones in carbonates with mechanical stratigraphy – insights from scale
models using layered cohesive powder, J. Struct. Geol., 32, 1375–1391, 2010.
Viola, G., Scheiber, T., Fredin, O., Zwingmann, H., Margreth, A., and Knies,
J.: Deconvoluting complex structural histories archived in brittle
fault zones, Nat. Commun., 7, 13448, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13448, 2016.
von Hagke, C., Kettermann, M., Bitsch, N., Bücken, D., Weismüller,
C., and Urai, J. L.: The effect of obliquity of slip in normal faults on
distribution of open fractures, Front. Earth Sci., 7, 18, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00018, 2019.
Walker, R. J., Holdsworth, R. E., Imber, J., and Ellis, D.: The development of
cavities and clastic infills along fault-related fractures in Tertiary
basalts on the NE Atlantic margin, J. Struct. Geol., 33, 92–106, 2011.
Whitham, F.: The stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Flamborough Chalk
Formation north of the Humber, north-east England, P. York. Geol. Soc., 49, 235–258, 1993.
Woodcock, N. H. and Mort, K.: Classification of fault breccias and related
fault rocks, Geol. Mag., 145, 435–440, 2008.
Woodcock, N. H., Omma, J. E., and Dickson, J. A. D.: Chaotic breccia along the
Dent Fault, NW England: implosion or collapse of a fault void?, J. Geol. Soc., 163,
431–446, 2006.
Woodcock, N. H., Miller, A. V. M., and Woodhouse, C. D.: Chaotic breccia zones on
the Pembroke Peninsula, south Wales: Evidence for collapse into voids along
dilational faults, J. Struct. Geol., 69, 91–107, 2014.
Wright, V., Woodcock, N. H., and Dickson, J. A. D.: Fissure fills along
faults: Variscan examples from Gower, South Wales, Geol. Mag., 146,
890–902, 2009.
Ziegler, P. A.: Geodynamic model for Alpine intra-plate compressional
deformation in Western and Central Europe, in: Inversion Tectonics, edited
by: Cooper, M. A. and Williams, G. D., Geological Society, London, Special
Publications, 44, 63–85, 1989.
Short summary
We characterise a well-known fractured and faulted exposure of Cretaceous chalk in NE England, combining field observations with novel U–Pb calcite dating. We show that the faulting and associated fluid flow occurred during the interval of ca. 64–56 Ma, predating earlier estimates of Alpine-related tectonic inversion. We demonstrate that the main extensional fault zone acted as a conduit linking voluminous fluid flow and linking deeper sedimentary layers with the shallow subsurface.
We characterise a well-known fractured and faulted exposure of Cretaceous chalk in NE England,...
Special issue