Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Introduction Reverse faults Reverse faults are faults where the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall. They cause a shortening of the crust in the horizontal direction. The maximum compressive stress is therefore close to horizontal. Since Mohr-Coulomb failure occurs at an angle <45 to the maximum compressive stress, reverse faults are expected to be dipping <45 near the surface. Reverse faults are often associated with detachment levels, which have a much shallower inclination. Such reverse faults with a low dip angle are thrusts (dip angle <<45). Just like normal faults they may have a listric shape with a steeper part at the surface, which bends into a shallow dip at depth. The movement along a thrust and the formation of multiple splays or imbricates can form complex systems, usually involving folding as well. These are fold-and-thrust belts. This chapter mostly deals with such systems.
Fig. 5.1. Tectonic setting with a normal (right) and a backthrusting (left) fold-and-thrust belt. The back-thrusting typically occurs behind an arc or micro-continental sliver.

Thrusts

Fold-and-thrust belts

Geodynamical settings of fold-and-thrust belts Major fold-and-thrust belts are associated with subduction (Fig. 5.1). Normally the thrusting is in the opposite direction as subduction, but back-thrusting can also occur, where thrusting is in the same direction as subduction (compare with synthetic and antithetic normal faults in previous chapter). Some examples of large fold-and-thrust belts are: Andes: subduction beneath a continent Taiwan: subduction beneath an arc Himalayans: underthrusting of continent (India) under a continent (Asia) Rocky Mountains: back thrusting away from the subduction

Back-thrusting

Fig. 5.2. (a) Fenster, klippe, salient and re-entrant in map view and in a vertical cross section. (b) A famous klippe at Crow's nest Pass in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Crow's Nest Mountain is a remnant of a eastwards translated thrust sheet.

Nappe or thrust sheet Allochtonous Autochtonous

A large body of rock that is translated by a flat-lying thrust is a nappe or thrust sheet. Nappes can be transported over many tens of kilometres. The Alps are essentially composed of a stack of such nappes. Material that is transported away from its origin is called allochtonous. The counterpart is autochtonous (still in its original place). Page 36

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Salient & re-entrant Klippe Fenster

Because thrust are usually shallow dipping, their outcrop pattern may be complicated. Some terms you need to know (Fig. 5.2a): A salient is a part of the thrust that is ahead of the main thrust front. A re-entrant is the opposite A klippe is a part of the thrust and overlying rocks that is completely isolated, i.e. surrounded by its footwall (Fig. 5.2b). A fenster is an isolated area of footwall outcrop. Main types of thrust-related structures Three types of structures are common in fold-and-thrust belts: Detachment folds and pop-ups: These structures form to accommodate the space problems that arise at the tip of a blind detachment. Fault-propagation folds: These structures form to accommodate the space problems at the tip of an upwards-propagating thrust or imbricate. Fault-bend folds: These structures form when a fault is not straight. Detachment folds and pop-ups If there is fault movement along a blind detachment, space problems at the tip necessitate the formation of accommodation structures (Fig. 5.3). The accommodation can be by propagation of the detachment fault, or by the formation of folds. An anticlinal fold can form if material escapes upwards. This is usually possible, since the surface of the Earth is a free surface. Since detachments usually form in incompetent units, these units usually accommodate the space problem by inhomogeneous deformation, including thickening of the units. Competent layers tend to only rotate in kink bands, while maintaining their original thickness. The detachment folds that form when an incompetent layer is missing and all layers can only fold by rotation of limbs are called pop-up structures. When they have flat crests they are called box-folds.

Detachment folds & pop-ups Fault-propagation folds Fault-bend folds

Kink bands

Pop-up structure Box folds

Fig. 5.3. (a) Blind detachment. (b) Displacement along the detachment without any accommodation would lead to an impossible overlap of the moving and non-moving block. (c) Instead, an anticline may form above the detachment tip. The uplifted excess area must be equal to the overlap area in (b). This area depends on stratigraphic level relative to the detachment. (d) Box folds are pop-up structures with a flat crest.

There are two end-member mechanisms for the formation of detachment folds (Fig. 5.4): (1) Rotation of the limbs, making the fold ever taller and narrower. The kink in the layers remains in the same point within the folding layers. (2) Migration of the kink band. The fold limbs maintain a constant angle, but become longer with progressive fault movement. (3) In reality, one would often have a combination of these two end-member mechanisms.

Page 37

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Fig. 5.4. Main mechanisms of the formation of detachment folds. From Shaw, Connors & Suppe (2005) Seismic interpretation of contractional fault-related faults. An AAPG Seismic Atlas. Studies in Geology 53.

General characteristics of detachment folds There is usually an incompetent layer at the detachment. This layer is thickened in the core of the fold. The frontal axial plane or kink band ends at the tip of the detachment. Detachment folds are usually upright and symmetric to moderately asymmetric, with the steep limb facing the thrusting direction. Competent layers usually maintain their original thickness. The fold becomes smaller towards the tip of the detachment (axial planes converge), because the excess area (A) enclosed by the fold is equal to the stratigraphic level above the detachment (H) and the offset (F), with A = H ! F.

Fig. 5.5. Example of a detachment fold in a mountain face at Opal Mountain, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The fold axial planes converge to the lower left, where the tip of the detachment is inferred. Layers in the core of the fold are more strongly deformed.

Page 38

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Fault-propagation folds

Faults can propagate. The detachment can propagate in its own plane, but often it splays upwards towards the surface. As long as the splay does not reach the surface, folding must accommodate the absence of fault movement in front of the tip. Characteristic fault-propagation folds form. A typical aspect is that the fault tip progressively shifts forward and upward, as the fold structure develops (Fig. 5.6). Fault-propagation folds are characterised by: A distinct asymmetry with a steep forelimb and a shallow back limb. The frontal synclinal axial plane ends at the fault tip. Folds get tighter downwards. Slip on the fold decreases towards the fault tip. Upward (listric) curvature of the fault produces a syncline at the back of the system (a fault-bend fold, see next section)

Fig. 5.6. Development of a fault propagation fold. (a) Beginning situation. (b) After some slip along the fault, a fold starts to develop. Slip is accommodated in front of the tip by upward escape of material. (c) Situation after another increment of slip and fault propagation.

Imbricate fans

Leading imbricate fan

Trailing imbricate fan

An upward splay rarely comes alone. Usually splays form sequentially at the tip of a detachment, with each splay forming a fault-propagation fold. Such a system we call an imbricate fan. In a leading imbricate fan the youngest imbricate is in the front, carrying the older imbricates "on its back", which is sometimes called "piggy-backing". This is the most common situation. The older imbricates are rotated to a steeper position (Fig. 5.7a) In a trailing imbricate fan, the youngest imbricate is at the rear, thrusting over older imbricates (Fig. 5.7b).

Fig. 5.7. (a) Leading imbricate fan. The youngest imbricate is at the front and the older imbricates get progressively steepened. (b) Trailing imbricate fan, with the youngest imbricate at the back. #1 is the oldest imbricate, #3 the youngest

Page 39

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Fault-bend folds

Active axial plane Passive axial plane

Thrusts have ramps and flats, just like normal faults can have. The bends in the faults produce accommodation folds: fault-bend folds. Two types of axial planes develop (Fig. 5.8): Active axial planes: These are fixed relative to the fault ramps and flats. Each bend in the fault is associated with an active axial plane. Passive axial planes: These are fixed relative to the layers they bend. They move together with the material along the fault. Figure 5.9 shows an example of a ramp-flat system in a small-scale thrust.

Fig. 5.8. Progressive development of a thrust with a ramp and two flats. A = active axial planes, through which materials moves. P = passive axial planes that move with the material.

Fig. 5.9. Example of a small-scale ramp-flat system in sedimentary rocks from Sestri Levante in Italy. The fault has stepped up from the bottom (left) to the top (right) of the competent layer. The distance between the two axial planes indicate the offset along this fault. Compass for scale

Page 40

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Compressional duplex

Duplexes also form under compression. As with extensional duplexes, they consist of a number of lenses or horses, bounded by a fault on both sides. One of the most famous textbook examples comes from Crow's Nest Pass in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (Fig. 5.10). The duplex consists of many small horses, that make a progressively bigger angle with the roof- and floor-fault from left to right. This means that the youngest horses are at the leading end in the front (left).

Fig. 5.10. Small-scale duplex structure with 23 horses. The oldest horses on the right have been steepened by riding piggy-back on the younger horses on the left. Crow's Nest Pass. Canadian Rocky Mountains. Original structure dipping about 40 to the right.

Hinterland-dipping duplex Foreland-dipping duplex

As with imbricate fans, you can have different types of duplexes, depending on when the new horses are formed relative to the displacement of the older horses. a) If new horses are formed at the front (in the slip direction), the older horses are tilted to the back and you get a hinterland-dipping duplex (Figs 5.10 and 5.11a). This is the most common of the two types. b) However, if the new horse only forms after the older horses have moved over it, one gets a foreland-dipping duplex. (Fig. 5.11b).

Fig. 5.11. Hinterland-dipping (a) or foreland-dipping (b) duplexes form depending on the timing of the formation of new horses, relative to the movement of older horses. Active fold is the thick line, de-activated faults are drawn with a mediumthick line.

Fig. 5.12. Example of a "mini" fold-and-thrust belt on Santorini Island, Greece. The structure was formed by slumping of still soft volcanic sediments.

Page 41

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

Fig. 5.13. Fold-and-thrust structure in Mesozoic sediments at Molinos, NE Spain. The trace of the frontal thrust that breached the surface is shown on the left. Several fault-propagation folds to the right are the result of the propagation of blind faults that did not breach the surface. Tectonic transport to the left (north).

Fold and thrust belts

Fold and thrust belts (Fig. 5.12-13) are found in many places in the world, usually associated with subduction. In general there is the situation that a substrate moves relative to the overlying thrusting rocks. The two are separated by a detachment. The geometry is similar to a bulldozer pushing a pile of sand.

Fig. 5.14. Section through a fold-and-thrust belt (eastern front of Rocky Mountains).

Such belts are normally wedge shaped or tapered (like in an accretionary wedge). They are thin in the front and thicker at the back (Fig. 5.14). These wedge-shaped or tapered fold and thrust belt characteristically have: Shallow dipping thrusts in the front, and steeper ones in the rear. The latter steepened by the younger imbricates in the front of the belt Stratigraphically deeper units outcropping in the rear, and youngest strata in the front. Metamorphic grade increasing from front to rear, as deeper rocks are exposed in the rear of the belt. Angle of taper What determines the wedge shape and the angle of taper (" )? Consider a wedge as shown in figure 5.12 or a bulldozer pushing a layer of sand. The base of the wedge is the detachment and to get sliding, the critical shear stress must be reached at this detachment. The force applied from the rear is balanced by the friction of the material sliding over the detachment. The differential stress (!#) thus decreases from the rear of the wedge to the front of the wedge. The size of the Mohr circle for stress is equal to the differential stress. The size of the circle thus decreases from rear to front. Page 42

Structural Geology

Chapter 5: Reverse faults and thrusts

The position of the circle along the normal stress axis is determined by the pressure. The pressure is proportional to depth. The pressure at the detachment is therefore highest at the rear, where the detachment is deepest. The vertical stress at the detachment is proportional to depth. The horizontal stress is added by the push from the rear, so we can take the vertical stress (#yy) as the minimum principal stress. Consider three points A, B, and C on the detachment at the base of a wedge (Fig. 5.15). (" = 0) Case 1. The angle of taper is zero (" = 0) (Fig. 5.15a). The depth to the detachment is the same everywhere, and therefore #yy is constant. The minimum stress for all Mohr circles is the same, so they are all left-aligned. !# is highest for point C and smallest for point A. If failure occurs, it will first occur at point C at the rear of the wedge. If the back of the wedge gets thicker by thrusting, but the front remains undeformed, the taper increases: " gets bigger. Case 2. The angle of taper is equal to the critical taper (" = "crit) (Fig. 5.15b). The size of the Mohr circle at C is larger than that at A, but because C is deeper, its circle is shifted to the right. At the critical angle of taper, all Mohr circles simultaneously touch the failure envelope. The whole detachment is activated. Case 3. The angle of taper is larger than the critical taper (" > " crit) (Fig. 5.15c). Now the pressure increase from point A to C is so large that the Mohr circle for C does not touch the failure envelope, even though it has the largest differential stress. In this case the detachment only fails at the front (point A). Movement at the front and not at the rear means the wedge gets stretched and the angle of taper decreases. We see that the wedge develops towards the critical angle of taper. If the wedge is too shallow, thrusting at the rear thickens the wedge at the rear and increases the taper. If the wedge is to steep, thrusting at the front will decrease the taper. The wedge is in balance at the critical angle of taper. This angle is clearly related to the failure properties of the material and the friction along the detachment. Erosion effect Erosion can change the angle of taper, and thus influence thrusting in a wedge.

(" = "crit) Critical angle of taper (" > "crit)

Fig. 5.15. Explanation of the concept of a critical angle of taper. (a) Taper is zero, so thrusting only occurs at the rear of the wedge at point C. (b) Wedge at the critical angle of taper, with thrusting along the whole detachment, as the Mohr circles for all points touch the failure envelope. (c) Wedge at a taper larger than the critical angle of taper. Now point A at the front of the wedge is the first to reach failure.

Page 43