Fault zone architecture of a large plate-bounding strike-slip fault
- New Zealand's Alpine Fault is a large, platebounding strike-slip fault, which ruptures in large (M-w > 8) earthquakes. We conducted field and laboratory analyses of fault rocks to assess its fault zone architecture. Results reveal that the Alpine Fault Zone has a complex geometry, comprising an anastomosing network of multiple slip planes that have accommodated different amounts of displacement. This contrasts with the previous perception of the Alpine Fault Zone, which assumes a single principal slip zone accommodated all displacement. This interpretation is supported by results of drilling projects and geophysical investigations. Furthermore, observations presented here show that the young, largely unconsolidated sediments that constitute the footwall at shallow depths have a significant influence on fault gouge rheological properties and structure.
Author details: | Bernhard SchuckORCiDGND, Anja M. SchleicherORCiDGND, Christoph Janssen, Virginia G. ToyORCiD, Georg DresenORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-95-2020 |
ISSN: | 1869-9529 |
Title of parent work (English): | Solid Earth |
Subtitle (English): | A case study from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand |
Publisher: | Copernicus Publications |
Place of publishing: | Göttingen |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2020/01/22 |
Publication year: | 2020 |
Release date: | 2024/03/13 |
Tag: | Fluid Flow; Ion-Beam (FIB); central south island; frictional properties; hanging wall; internal structure; san andreas fault; strain localization; thickness-displacement relationships; weakening mechanisms |
Volume: | 11 |
Issue: | 1 |
Number of pages: | 30 |
First page: | 95 |
Last Page: | 124 |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
DOAJ gelistet | |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 1428 |