TY - JOUR A1 - Heidbach, Oliver A1 - Rajabi, Mojtaba A1 - Cui, Xiaofeng A1 - Fuchs, Karl A1 - Mueller, Birgit A1 - Reinecker, John A1 - Reiter, Karsten A1 - Tingay, Mark A1 - Wenzel, Friedemann A1 - Xie, Furen A1 - Ziegler, Moritz O. A1 - Zoback, Mary-Lou A1 - Zoback, Mark T1 - The World Stress Map database release 2016 BT - Crustal stress pattern across scales JF - Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth N2 - Knowledge of the present-day crustal in-situ stress field is a key for the understanding of geodynamic processes such as global plate tectonics and earthquakes. It is also essential for the management of geo-reservoirs and underground storage sites for energy and waste. Since 1986, the World Stress Map (WSM) project has systematically compiled the orientation of maximum horizontal stress (S-Hmax). For the 30th anniversary of the project, the WSM database has been updated significantly with 42,870 data records which is double the amount of data in comparison to the database release in 2008. The update focuses on areas with previously sparse data coverage to resolve the stress pattern on different spatial scales. In this paper, we present details of the new WSM database release 2016 and an analysis of global and regional stress pattern. With the higher data density, we can now resolve stress pattern heterogeneities from plate-wide to local scales. In particular, we show two examples of 40 degrees-60 degrees S-Hmax rotations within 70 km. These rotations can be used as proxies to better understand the relative importance of plate boundary forces that control the long wave-length pattern in comparison to regional and local controls of the crustal stress state. In the new WSM project phase IV that started in 2017, we will continue to further refine the information on the S-Hmax orientation and the stress regime. However, we will also focus on the compilation of stress magnitude data as this information is essential for the calibration of geomechanical-numerical models. This enables us to derive a 3-D continuous description of the stress tensor from point-wise and incomplete stress tensor information provided with the WSM database. Such forward models are required for safety aspects of anthropogenic activities in the underground and for a better understanding of tectonic processes such as the earthquake cycle. KW - Tectonic stress KW - Database KW - Stress tensor KW - Geomechanical modelling Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.07.007 SN - 0040-1951 SN - 1879-3266 VL - 744 SP - 484 EP - 498 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soumaya, Abdelkader A1 - Ben Ayed, Noureddine A1 - Rajabi, Mojtaba A1 - Meghraoui, Mustapha A1 - Delvaux, Damien A1 - Kadri, Ali A1 - Ziegler, Moritz A1 - Maouche, Said A1 - Braham, Ahmed T1 - Active Faulting Geometry and Stress Pattern Near Complex Strike-Slip Systems Along the Maghreb Region BT - Constraints on Active Convergence in the Western Mediterranean JF - Tectonics N2 - The Maghreb region (from Tunisia to Gibraltar) is a key area in the western Mediterranean to study the active tectonics and stress pattern across the Africa-Eurasia convergent plate boundary. In the present study, we compile comprehensive data set of well-constrained crustal stress indicators (from single focal mechanism solutions, formal inversion of focal mechanism solutions, and young geologic fault slip data) based on our and published data analyses. Stress inversion of focal mechanisms reveals a first-order transpression-compatible stress field and a second-order spatial variation of tectonic regime across the Maghreb region, with a relatively stable S-Hmax orientation from east to west. Therefore, the present-day active contraction of the western Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is accommodated by (1) E-W strike-slip faulting with reverse component along the Eastern Tell and Saharan-Tunisian Atlas, (2) a predominantly NE trending thrust faulting with strike-slip component in the Western Tell part, and (3) a conjugate strike-slip faulting regime with normal component in the Alboran/Rif domain. This spatial variation of the present-day stress field and faulting regime is relatively in agreement with the inferred stress information from neotectonic features. According to existing and newly proposed structural models, we highlight the role of main geometrically complex shear zones in the present-day stress pattern of the Maghreb region. Then, different geometries of these major inherited strike-slip faults and its related fractures (V-shaped conjugate fractures, horsetail splays faults, and Riedel fractures) impose their component on the second- and third-order stress regimes. Neotectonic and smoothed present-day stress map (mean S-Hmax orientation) reveal that plate boundary forces acting on the Africa-Eurasia collisional plates control the long wavelength of the stress field pattern in the Maghreb. The current tectonic deformations and the upper crustal stress field in the study area are governed by the interplay of the oblique plate convergence (i.e., Africa-Eurasia), lithosphere-mantle interaction, and preexisting tectonic weakness zones. KW - Maghreb KW - strike-slip system KW - conjugate fractures KW - horsetail splays KW - active stress KW - tectonic regime Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018TC004983 SN - 0278-7407 SN - 1944-9194 VL - 37 IS - 9 SP - 3148 EP - 3173 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER -