Method article
15 Oct 2013
Method article
| 15 Oct 2013
A workflow for building and calibrating 3-D geomechanical models &ndash a case study for a gas reservoir in the North German Basin
K. Fischer and A. Henk
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Luisa Röckel, Steffen Ahlers, Birgit Müller, Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, and Frank Schilling
Solid Earth, 13, 1087–1105, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1087-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1087-2022, 2022
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Reactivation of tectonic faults can lead to earthquakes and jeopardize underground operations. The reactivation potential is linked to fault properties and the tectonic stress field. We create 3D geometries for major faults in Germany and use stress data from a 3D geomechanical–numerical model to calculate their reactivation potential and compare it to seismic events. The reactivation potential in general is highest for NNE–SSW- and NW–SE-striking faults and strongly depends on the fault dip.
Karsten Reiter, Steffen Ahlers, Sophia Morawietz, Luisa Röckel, Tobias Hergert, Andreas Henk, Birgit Müller, and Oliver Heidbach
Saf. Nucl. Waste Disposal, 1, 75–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-75-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-75-2021, 2021
Luisa Röckel, Steffen Ahlers, Sophia Morawietz, Birgit Müller, Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, and Frank Schilling
Saf. Nucl. Waste Disposal, 1, 77–78, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-77-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-77-2021, 2021
Steffen Ahlers, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, Karsten Reiter, Birgit Müller, Luisa Röckel, Oliver Heidbach, Sophia Morawietz, Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth, and Denis Anikiev
Saf. Nucl. Waste Disposal, 1, 163–164, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-163-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-163-2021, 2021
Steffen Ahlers, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, Karsten Reiter, Birgit Müller, Luisa Röckel, Oliver Heidbach, Sophia Morawietz, Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth, and Denis Anikiev
Solid Earth, 12, 1777–1799, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1777-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1777-2021, 2021
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Knowledge about the stress state in the upper crust is of great importance for many economic and scientific questions. However, our knowledge in Germany is limited since available datasets only provide pointwise, incomplete and heterogeneous information. We present the first 3D geomechanical model that provides a continuous description of the contemporary crustal stress state for Germany. The model is calibrated by the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress and stress magnitudes.
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Manuel D. Menzel, Janos L. Urai, Estibalitz Ukar, Thierry Decrausaz, and Marguerite Godard
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Solid Earth, 13, 15–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-15-2022, 2022
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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
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Yueyang Xia, Jacob Geersen, Dirk Klaeschen, Bo Ma, Dietrich Lange, Michael Riedel, Michael Schnabel, and Heidrun Kopp
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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
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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
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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.
Sonia Yeung, Marnie Forster, Emmanuel Skourtsos, and Gordon Lister
Solid Earth, 12, 2255–2275, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2255-2021, 2021
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We do not know when the ancient Tethys Ocean lithosphere began to founder, but one clue can be found in subduction accreted tectonic slices, including Gondwanan basement terranes on the island of Ios, Cyclades, Greece. We propose a 250–300 km southwards jump of the subduction megathrust with a period of flat-slab subduction followed by slab break-off. The initiation and its subsequent rollback of a new subduction zone would explain the onset of Oligo–Miocene extension and accompanying magmatism.
Rahul Prabhakaran, Giovanni Bertotti, Janos Urai, and David Smeulders
Solid Earth, 12, 2159–2209, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2159-2021, 2021
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Rock fractures are organized as networks with spatially varying arrangements. Due to networks' influence on bulk rock behaviour, it is important to quantify network spatial variation. We utilize an approach where fracture networks are treated as spatial graphs. By combining graph similarity measures with clustering techniques, spatial clusters within large-scale fracture networks are identified and organized hierarchically. The method is validated on a dataset with nearly 300 000 fractures.
Olivier Lacombe, Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Guilhem Hoareau, Aurélie Labeur, Christophe Pecheyran, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 12, 2145–2157, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, 2021
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This paper aims to illustrate how the timing and duration of contractional deformation associated with folding in orogenic forelands can be constrained by the dating of brittle mesostructures observed in folded strata. The study combines new and already published absolute ages of fractures to provide, for the first time, an educated discussion about the factors controlling the duration of the sequence of deformation encompassing layer-parallel shortening, fold growth, and late fold tightening.
Vincent Famin, Hugues Raimbourg, Muriel Andreani, and Anne-Marie Boullier
Solid Earth, 12, 2067–2085, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2067-2021, 2021
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Sediments accumulated in accretionary prisms are deformed by the compression imposed by plate subduction. Here we show that deformation of the sediments transforms some minerals in them. We suggest that these mineral transformations are due to the proliferation of microorganisms boosted by deformation. Deformation-enhanced microbial proliferation may change our view of sedimentary and tectonic processes in subduction zones.
Marta Adamuszek, Dan M. Tămaş, Jessica Barabasch, and Janos L. Urai
Solid Earth, 12, 2041–2065, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2041-2021, 2021
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We analyse folded multilayer sequences in the Ocnele Mari salt mine (Romania) to gain insight into the long-term rheological behaviour of rock salt. Our results indicate the large role of even a small number of impurities in the rock salt for its effective mechanical behaviour. We demonstrate how the development of folds that occur at various scales can be used to constrain the viscosity ratio in the deformed multilayer sequence.
Dario Zampieri, Paola Vannoli, and Pierfrancesco Burrato
Solid Earth, 12, 1967–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1967-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1967-2021, 2021
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The long-lived Schio-Vicenza Fault System is a major shear zone cross-cutting the foreland and the thrust belt of the eastern southern Alps. We review 150 years of scientific works and explain its activity and kinematics, characterized by sinistral and dextral transcurrent motion along its southern and northern sections, respectively, by a geodynamic model that has the Adria indenter as the main actor and coherently reconciles the available geological and geophysical evidence collected so far.
Vincent F. Verwater, Eline Le Breton, Mark R. Handy, Vincenzo Picotti, Azam Jozi Najafabadi, and Christian Haberland
Solid Earth, 12, 1309–1334, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1309-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1309-2021, 2021
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Balancing along geological cross sections reveals that the Giudicarie Belt comprises two kinematic domains. The SW domain accommodated at least ~ 18 km Late Oligocene to Early Miocene shortening. Since the Middle Miocene, the SW domain experienced at least ~ 12–22 km shortening, whereas the NE domain underwent at least ~ 25–35 km. Together, these domains contributed to ~ 40–47 km of sinistral offset of the Periadriatic Fault along the Northern Giudicarie Fault since the Late Oligocene.
Emma A. H. Michie, Mark J. Mulrooney, and Alvar Braathen
Solid Earth, 12, 1259–1286, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1259-2021, 2021
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Generating an accurate model of the subsurface is crucial when assessing a site for CO2 storage, particularly for a fault-bound storage site that may act as a seal or could reactivate upon CO2 injection. However, we have shown how picking strategy, i.e. line spacing, chosen to create the model significantly influences any subsequent fault analyses but is surprisingly rarely discussed. This analysis has been performed on the Vette Fault bounding the Smeaheia potential CO2 storage site.
David J. Anastasio, Frank J. Pazzaglia, Josep M. Parés, Kenneth P. Kodama, Claudio Berti, James A. Fisher, Alessandro Montanari, and Lorraine K. Carnes
Solid Earth, 12, 1125–1142, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1125-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1125-2021, 2021
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The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) technique provides an effective way to interpret deforming mountain belts. In both the Betics, Spain, and Apennines, Italy, weak but well-organized AMS fabrics were recovered from young unconsolidated and unburied rocks that could not be analyzed with more traditional methods. Collectively, these studies demonstrate the novel ways that AMS can be combined with other data to resolve earthquake hazards in space and time.
Stefano Urbani, Guido Giordano, Federico Lucci, Federico Rossetti, and Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez
Solid Earth, 12, 1111–1124, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1111-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1111-2021, 2021
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Structural studies in active calderas have a key role in the exploration of geothermal systems. We reply in detail to the points raised by the comment of Norini and Groppelli (2020), strengthening the relevance of our structural fieldwork for geothermal exploration and exploitation in active caldera geothermal systems including the Los Humeros caldera.
Jakob Bolz and Jonas Kley
Solid Earth, 12, 1005–1024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1005-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1005-2021, 2021
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To assess the role smaller graben structures near the southern edge of the Central European Basin System play in the basin’s overall deformational history, we take advantage of a feature found on some of these structures, where slivers from older rock units appear along the graben's main fault, surrounded on both sides by younger strata. The implications for the geometry of the fault provide a substantially improved estimate for the magnitude of normal and thrust motion along the fault system.
Domingo G. A. M. Aerden, Alejandro Ruiz-Fuentes, Mohammad Sayab, and Aidan Forde
Solid Earth, 12, 971–992, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-971-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-971-2021, 2021
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We studied the geometry of foliations and microfolds preserved within metamorphic garnet crystals using X-ray tomography. The studied rocks are blueschists from Ile de Groix formed during Late Devonian subduction of Gondwana under Armorica. Several sets of differently oriented microfabrics were found recording variations in the direction of subduction. Comparison with similar data for Iberia supports that Iberia rotated only 10–20° during the Cretaceous opening of the North Atlantic.
Alessandro Tibaldi, Noemi Corti, Emanuela De Beni, Fabio Luca Bonali, Susanna Falsaperla, Horst Langer, Marco Neri, Massimo Cantarero, Danilo Reitano, and Luca Fallati
Solid Earth, 12, 801–816, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-801-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-801-2021, 2021
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The Northeast Rift of Mt Etna is affected by ground deformation linked to gravity sliding of the volcano flank and dike injection. Drone surveys show that the rift is affected by NE-striking extensional fractures and normal faults. Given an age of 1614 CE for the offset lavas, we obtained an extension rate of 1.9 cm yr−1 for the last 406 years. The stress field is characterised by a NW–SE σHmin. Drone surveys allow us to quickly collect data with a resolution of 2–3 cm.
Matteo Demurtas, Steven A.F. Smith, Elena Spagnuolo, and Giulio Di Toro
Solid Earth, 12, 595–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-595-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-595-2021, 2021
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We performed shear experiments on calcite–dolomite gouge mixtures to better understand the behaviour of carbonates during sub-seismic to seismic deformation in the shallow crust. The development of a foliation in the gouge was only restricted to coseismic sliding, whereas fluidisation occurred over a wide range of slip velocities (sub-seismic to coseismic) in the presence of water. These observations will contribute to a better interpretation of the rock record.
James Gilgannon, Marius Waldvogel, Thomas Poulet, Florian Fusseis, Alfons Berger, Auke Barnhoorn, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 12, 405–420, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-405-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-405-2021, 2021
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Using experiments that simulate deep tectonic interfaces, known as viscous shear zones, we found that these zones spontaneously develop periodic sheets of small pores. The presence of porous layers in deep rocks undergoing tectonic deformation is significant because it requires a change to the current model of how the Earth deforms. Emergent porous layers in viscous rocks will focus mineralising fluids and could lead to the seismic failure of rocks that are never supposed to have this occur.
Jef Deckers, Bernd Rombaut, Koen Van Noten, and Kris Vanneste
Solid Earth, 12, 345–361, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-345-2021, 2021
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This study shows the presence of two structural domains in the western border fault system of the Roer Valley graben. These domains, dominated by NW–SE-striking faults, displayed distinctly different strain distributions during both Late Cretaceous compression and Cenozoic extension. The southern domain is characterized by narrow, localized faulting, while the northern domain is characterized by wide, distributed faulting. The non-colinear WNW–ESE Grote Brogel fault links both domains.
José Piquer, Orlando Rivera, Gonzalo Yáñez, and Nicolás Oyarzún
Solid Earth, 12, 253–273, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-253-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-253-2021, 2021
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A proper recognition of deep, long-lived fault systems is very important for society. They can produce potentially dangerous earthquakes. They can also act as pathways for magmas and hydrothermal fluids, leading to the formation of volcanoes, geothermal systems and mineral deposits. However, the manifestations of these very old faults in the present-day surface can be very subtle. Here, we present a detailed, multi-disciplinary study of a fault system of this type in the Andes of central Chile.
Antonin Bilau, Yann Rolland, Stéphane Schwartz, Nicolas Godeau, Abel Guihou, Pierre Deschamps, Benjamin Brigaud, Aurélie Noret, Thierry Dumont, and Cécile Gautheron
Solid Earth, 12, 237–251, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-237-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-237-2021, 2021
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As a result of the collision between the European and Apulian plates, the Alps have experienced several evolutionary stages. The Penninic frontal thrust (PFT) (major thrust) was associated with compression, and now seismic studies show ongoing extensional activity. Calcite mineralization associated with shortening and extensional structures was sampled. The last deformation stages are dated by U–Pb on calcite at ~ 3.5 and ~ 2.5 Ma. Isotope analysis evidences deep crustal fluid mobilization.
Kathryn E. Elphick, Craig R. Sloss, Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, and Christoph E. Schrank
Solid Earth, 12, 141–170, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-141-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-141-2021, 2021
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We analysed a sedimentary rock package located in Castlepoint, New Zealand, to test the control of the tectonic setting on the observed deformation structures. In extension and contraction, we observed faults and small fault-like structures characterised by complex spatial patterns and a reduction in porosity and grain size compared with the host rock. With these properties, the structures are likely to act as barriers to fluid flow and cause compartmentalisation of the sedimentary sequence.
Penelope I. R. Wilson, Robert W. Wilson, David J. Sanderson, Ian Jarvis, and Kenneth J. W. McCaffrey
Solid Earth, 12, 95–117, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-95-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-95-2021, 2021
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Magma accommodation in the shallow crust leads to deformation of the surrounding host rock through the creation of faults, fractures and folds. This deformation will impact fluid flow around intrusive magma bodies (including sills and laccoliths) by changing the porosity and permeability network of the host rock. The results may have important implications for industries where fluid flow within the subsurface adds value (e.g. oil and gas, hydrology, geothermal and carbon sequestration).
Martin Balcewicz, Benedikt Ahrens, Kevin Lippert, and Erik H. Saenger
Solid Earth, 12, 35–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-35-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-35-2021, 2021
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The geothermal potential of a carbonate reservoir in the Rhine-Ruhr area, Germany, was investigated by field and laboratory investigations. The carbonate layer of interest is approx. 150 m thick; located at 4 to 6 km depth; and might extend below Essen, Bochum, and Dortmund. We proposed focusing on discontinuities striking NNW–SSE for geothermal applications, as these are the most common, strike in the direction of the main horizontal stress, and dominate reservoir fluid flow.
Andrea Bistacchi, Silvia Mittempergher, Mattia Martinelli, and Fabrizio Storti
Solid Earth, 11, 2535–2547, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2535-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2535-2020, 2020
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We present an innovative workflow for the statistical analysis of fracture data collected along scanlines. Our methodology is based on performing non-parametric statistical tests, which allow detection of important features of the spatial distribution of fractures, and on the analysis of the cumulative spacing function (CSF) and cumulative spacing derivative (CSD), which allows the boundaries of stationary domains to be defined in an objective way.
Martina Kirilova, Virginia Toy, Katrina Sauer, François Renard, Klaus Gessner, Richard Wirth, Xianghui Xiao, and Risa Matsumura
Solid Earth, 11, 2425–2438, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2425-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2425-2020, 2020
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Processes associated with open pores can change the physical properties of rocks and cause earthquakes. In borehole samples from the Alpine Fault zone, we show that many pores in these rocks were filled by weak materials that can slide easily. The amount of open spaces was thus reduced, and fluids circulating within them built up high pressures. Both weak materials and high pressures within pores reduce the rock strength; thus the state of pores here can trigger the next Alpine Fault earthquake.
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
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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
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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.
Leonardo Del Sole, Marco Antonellini, Roger Soliva, Gregory Ballas, Fabrizio Balsamo, and Giulio Viola
Solid Earth, 11, 2169–2195, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2169-2020, 2020
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This study focuses on the impact of deformation bands on fluid flow and diagenesis in porous sandstones in two different case studies (northern Apennines, Italy; Provence, France) by combining a variety of multiscalar mapping techniques, detailed field and microstructural observations, and stable isotope analysis. We show that deformation bands buffer and compartmentalize fluid flow and foster and localize diagenesis, recorded by carbonate cement nodules spatially associated with the bands.
Billy James Andrews, Zoe Kai Shipton, Richard Lord, and Lucy McKay
Solid Earth, 11, 2119–2140, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2119-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2119-2020, 2020
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Through geological mapping we find that fault zone internal structure depends on whether or not the fault cuts multiple lithologies, the presence of shale layers, and the orientation of joints and coal cleats at the time of faulting. During faulting, cementation of fractures (i.e. vein formation) is highest where the fractures are most connected. This leads to the counter-intuitive result that the highest-fracture-density part of the network often has the lowest open-fracture connectivity.
Nicolas Mansard, Holger Stünitz, Hugues Raimbourg, Jacques Précigout, Alexis Plunder, and Lucille Nègre
Solid Earth, 11, 2141–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2141-2020, 2020
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Our rock deformation experiments (solid-medium Griggs-type apparatus) on wet assemblages of mafic compositions show that the ability of minerals to react controls the portions of rocks that deform and that minor chemical and mineralogical variations can considerably modify the strength of deformed assemblages. Our study suggests that the rheology of mafic rocks, which constitute a large part of the oceanic crust, cannot be summarized as being rheologically controlled by monophase materials.
Vladimir Shipilin, David C. Tanner, Hartwig von Hartmann, and Inga Moeck
Solid Earth, 11, 2097–2117, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2097-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2097-2020, 2020
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In our work, we carry out an in-depth structural analysis of a geometrically decoupled fault system in the southern German Molasse Basin using a high-resolution 3-D seismic dataset. Based on this analysis, we reconstruct the tectonic history and changes in the stress regimes to explain the structure and evolution of faults. The results contribute in understanding the driving mechanisms behind formation, propagation, and reactivation of faults during foreland basin formation.
Eric Salomon, Atle Rotevatn, Thomas Berg Kristensen, Sten-Andreas Grundvåg, Gijs Allard Henstra, Anna Nele Meckler, Richard Albert, and Axel Gerdes
Solid Earth, 11, 1987–2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1987-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1987-2020, 2020
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This study focuses on the impact of major rift border faults on fluid circulation and hanging wall sediment diagenesis by investigating a well-exposed example in NE Greenland using field observations, U–Pb calcite dating, clumped isotope, and minor element analyses. We show that fault-proximal sediments became calcite cemented quickly after deposition to form a near-impermeable barrier along the fault, which has important implications for border fault zone evolution and reservoir assessments.
Nick M. W. Roberts, Jack K. Lee, Robert E. Holdsworth, Christopher Jeans, Andrew R. Farrant, and Richard Haslam
Solid Earth, 11, 1931–1945, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1931-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1931-2020, 2020
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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.
Melchior Schuh-Senlis, Cedric Thieulot, Paul Cupillard, and Guillaume Caumon
Solid Earth, 11, 1909–1930, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1909-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1909-2020, 2020
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This paper presents a numerical method for restoring models of the subsurface to a previous state in their deformation history, acting as a numerical time machine for geological structures. The method relies on the assumption that rock layers can be modeled as highly viscous fluids. It shows promising results on simple setups, including models with faults and non-flat topography. While issues still remain, this could open a way to add more physics to reverse time structural modeling.
Gábor Tari, Didier Arbouille, Zsolt Schléder, and Tamás Tóth
Solid Earth, 11, 1865–1889, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1865-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1865-2020, 2020
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Inversion tectonics has been studied in detail by both academic researchers and industry experts around the world for the last 30 years. Inverted structures provide important traps for petroleum exploration which can be categorized into two end-member modes of evolution. This paper attempts to provide a brief synoptic view of inversion tectonics from the point of view of the petroleum industry, emphasizing the main subsurface challenges of understanding this structural geology phenomenon.
Elizabeth S. Petrie, Kelly K. Bradbury, Laura Cuccio, Kayla Smith, James P. Evans, John P. Ortiz, Kellie Kerner, Mark Person, and Peter Mozley
Solid Earth, 11, 1803–1821, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1803-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1803-2020, 2020
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A summary of observed rock properties across the contact between crystalline basement rock and the overlying younger sedimentary rocks from outcrop and core samples is presented. The data span a range of tectonic settings and describe the rock types immediately adjacent to the contact. The range of features observed at these contacts can influence the migration of fluids. The observations presented here are critical for the safe implementation of fluid injection and geothermal production.
Christopher Weismüller, Rahul Prabhakaran, Martijn Passchier, Janos L. Urai, Giovanni Bertotti, and Klaus Reicherter
Solid Earth, 11, 1773–1802, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1773-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1773-2020, 2020
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We photographed a fractured limestone pavement with a drone to compare manual and automatic fracture tracing and analyze the evolution and spatial variation of the fracture network in high resolution. We show that automated tools can produce results comparable to manual tracing in shorter time but do not yet allow the interpretation of fracture generations. This work pioneers the automatic fracture mapping of a complete outcrop in detail, and the results can be used as fracture benchmark.
Romesh Palamakumbura, Maarten Krabbendam, Katie Whitbread, and Christian Arnhardt
Solid Earth, 11, 1731–1746, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1731-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1731-2020, 2020
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The aim of this paper is to describe, evaluate and develop a simple but robust low-cost method for capturing 2-D fracture network data in GIS and make them more accessible to a broader range of users in both academia and industry. We present a breakdown of the key steps in the methodology, which provides an understanding of how to avoid error and improve the accuracy of the final dataset. The 2-D digital method can be used to interpret traces of 2-D linear features on a wide variety of scales.
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