Articles | Volume 17, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-555-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-555-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Method article
| 
24 Mar 2026
Method article |
| 24 Mar 2026
| 24 Mar 2026
Fatbox: the Fault Analysis Toolbox
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, 14476, Germany
Thilo Wrona
Deutsche ErdWärme GmbH & Co KG, Karlsruhe, 76133, Germany
Sascha Brune
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, 14476, Germany
Derek Neuharth
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
Nicolas Molnar
formerly at: Tectonics and Geodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, 52064 Aachen, Germany
Alessandro La Rosa
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, 56126, Italy
John Naliboff
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 8780, USA
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Alessandro La Rosa, Pauline Gayrin, Sascha Brune, Carolina Pagli, Ameha A. Muluneh, Gianmaria Tortelli, and Derek Keir
Solid Earth, 16, 929–945, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-929-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-929-2025, 2025
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We propose a new method to map faults automatically in digital elevation models (DEMs) and measure long-term crustal deformation in rift contexts. By combining our data with rock ages, we reconstruct rift evolution in Afar during the last 4.5 Myr. We show that the rift axis is most active, with rifting propagating north-west over time. Here magma promotes crustal deformation and faulting caused by dike opening. In the southern sector Afar, two fault systems respond to different motions of diverging tectonic plates.
Alessandro La Rosa, Pauline Gayrin, Sascha Brune, Carolina Pagli, Ameha A. Muluneh, Gianmaria Tortelli, and Derek Keir
Solid Earth, 16, 929–945, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-929-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-929-2025, 2025
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We propose a new method to map faults automatically in digital elevation models (DEMs) and measure long-term crustal deformation in rift contexts. By combining our data with rock ages, we reconstruct rift evolution in Afar during the last 4.5 Myr. We show that the rift axis is most active, with rifting propagating north-west over time. Here magma promotes crustal deformation and faulting caused by dike opening. In the southern sector Afar, two fault systems respond to different motions of diverging tectonic plates.
Dylan A. Vasey, Peter M. Scully, John B. Naliboff, and Sascha Brune
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3578, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3578, 2025
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We present an open-access Python package (GDTchron) designed to forward model apatite (U-Th)/He, apatite fission track, and zircon (U-Th)/He ages using temperatures output by geodynamic numerical models. The software can be used in a parallelized workflow to calculate large numbers of ages. We present two examples of potential applications of GDTchron: a simple model of an uplifting box with perfectly efficient erosion and a complex model of continental rifting followed by mountain building.
Frank Zwaan, Tiago M. Alves, Patricia Cadenas, Mohamed Gouiza, Jordan J. J. Phethean, Sascha Brune, and Anne C. Glerum
Solid Earth, 15, 989–1028, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-989-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-989-2024, 2024
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Rifting and the break-up of continents are key aspects of Earth’s plate tectonic system. A thorough understanding of the geological processes involved in rifting, and of the associated natural hazards and resources, is of great importance in the context of the energy transition. Here, we provide a coherent overview of rift processes and the links with hazards and resources, and we assess future challenges and opportunities for (collaboration between) researchers, government, and industry.
Anne C. Glerum, Sascha Brune, Joseph M. Magnall, Philipp Weis, and Sarah A. Gleeson
Solid Earth, 15, 921–944, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-921-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-921-2024, 2024
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High-value zinc–lead deposits formed in sedimentary basins created when tectonic plates rifted apart. We use computer simulations of rifting and the associated sediment erosion and deposition to understand why they formed in some basins but not in others. Basins that contain a metal source, faults that focus fluids, and rocks that can host deposits occurred in both narrow and wide rifts for ≤ 3 Myr. The largest and the most deposits form in narrow margins of narrow asymmetric rifts.
Thilo Wrona, Indranil Pan, Rebecca E. Bell, Christopher A.-L. Jackson, Robert L. Gawthorpe, Haakon Fossen, Edoseghe E. Osagiede, and Sascha Brune
Solid Earth, 14, 1181–1195, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1181-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1181-2023, 2023
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We need to understand where faults are to do the following: (1) assess their seismic hazard, (2) explore for natural resources and (3) store CO2 safely in the subsurface. Currently, we still map subsurface faults primarily by hand using seismic reflection data, i.e. acoustic images of the Earth. Mapping faults this way is difficult and time-consuming. Here, we show how to use deep learning to accelerate fault mapping and how to use networks or graphs to simplify fault analyses.
Timothy Chris Schmid, Sascha Brune, Anne Glerum, and Guido Schreurs
Solid Earth, 14, 389–407, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-389-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-389-2023, 2023
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Continental rifts form by linkage of individual rift segments and disturb the regional stress field. We use analog and numerical models of such rift segment interactions to investigate the linkage of deformation and stresses and subsequent stress deflections from the regional stress pattern. This local stress re-orientation eventually causes rift deflection when multiple rift segments compete for linkage with opposingly propagating segments and may explain rift deflection as observed in nature.
Thomas B. Phillips, John B. Naliboff, Ken J. W. McCaffrey, Sophie Pan, Jeroen van Hunen, and Malte Froemchen
Solid Earth, 14, 369–388, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-369-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-369-2023, 2023
Short summary
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Continental crust comprises bodies of varying strength, formed through numerous tectonic events. When subject to extension, these areas produce distinct rift and fault systems. We use 3D models to examine how rifts form above
strongand
weakareas of crust. We find that faults become more developed in weak areas. Faults are initially stopped at the boundaries with stronger areas before eventually breaking through. We relate our model observations to rift systems globally.
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
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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.
Susanne J. H. Buiter, Sascha Brune, Derek Keir, and Gwenn Peron-Pinvidic
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-139, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-139, 2022
Preprint archived
Short summary
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Continental rifts can form when and where continents are stretched. Rifts are characterised by faults, sedimentary basins, earthquakes and/or volcanism. If rifting can continue, a rift may break a continent into conjugate margins such as along the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In some cases, however, rifting fails, such as in the West African Rift. We discuss continental rifting from inception to break-up, focussing on the processes at play, and illustrate these with several natural examples.
Eline Le Breton, Sascha Brune, Kamil Ustaszewski, Sabin Zahirovic, Maria Seton, and R. Dietmar Müller
Solid Earth, 12, 885–913, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-885-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-885-2021, 2021
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The former Piemont–Liguria Ocean, which separated Europe from Africa–Adria in the Jurassic, opened as an arm of the central Atlantic. Using plate reconstructions and geodynamic modeling, we show that the ocean reached only 250 km width between Europe and Adria. Moreover, at least 65 % of the lithosphere subducted into the mantle and/or incorporated into the Alps during convergence in Cretaceous and Cenozoic times comprised highly thinned continental crust, while only 35 % was truly oceanic.
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Short summary
When in extension, the Earth's crust accommodates deformation by breaking. Through time, faults grow into an intricate network that can be detected by changes in topography, or through modelling (numerical or analogue). This study demonstrates how the Python library Fatbox, the Fault Analysis Toolbox, can extract the network pattern automatically from said datasets and measure the geometry and kinematics of the fault network.
When in extension, the Earth's crust accommodates deformation by breaking. Through time, faults...
