Faults

By
Tausif Ahmad
What is a Fault?
A fault is any surface or narrow zone with visible shear displacement
along the zone.
OR
A fault is a discontinuity with wall-parallel displacement dominated by
brittle deformation mechanisms.
OR
According to Angelier (1994), faults are discontinuities for which
visible displacements have occurred, primarily parallel to the fault
plane. Brittle fault rocks result from the process of cataclasis and are
classified according to Ramsay & Huber (1987).
Fault Terminology
Wall - Rock adjacent to a fault surface is
the wall of the fault, and the body of rock
that moved as a consequence of slip on
the fault is a fault block.
Fault Plane - the plane along which the
rock or crustal material has fractured
Hanging Wall Block - the rock material
which lies above the fault plane
Footwall Block - the rock material
which lies below the fault plane.
Dip of the Fault Plane
To describe the attitude of a fault precisely, we measure the strike and dip (or dip and dip direction)
of the fault.
When fault movement occurs, one fault block slides relative to the other, which is described by the
net slip.
You can completely describe displacement by specifying the net-slip vector, which connects two
formerly adjacent points that are now on opposite walls of the fault.
To describe a net-slip vector, you must specify its magnitude and orientation (plunge and bearing,
or rake on a plane), and the sense of slip (or shear sense).
Shear sense defines the relative displacement of one wall of the fault with respect to the other
wall; that is, whether one wall went up or down, and/or to the left or right of the other wall.
Like any vector, the net-slip vector can be divided into components.
Generally we use the strike and dip of the fault as a reference frame for defining these components.
Specifically, you measure the dip-slip component of net slip in the direction parallel to the dip
direction, and the strike-slip component of net slip in the direction parallel to the strike.
Horizontal Faults: Faults with a dip of about 0°;
Sub Horizontal Faults: If the fault dip is between about 10° and 0°, it is
called subhorizontal.
Listric Faults: Faults that have a steep dip close to the Earth’s surface and
have a shallow dip at depth. Because of the progressive decrease in dip with
depth, listric faults have a curved profile that is concave up.
Moderately dipping Faults: with dips between about faults 30° and 60°.
Shallowly dipping Faults: with dips between about faults 10° and 30°; these
faults are also called low-angle faults.
Steeply dipping Faults: Faults with dips between about 60° and 80°; these
faults are also called high-angle faults.
Vertical faults Faults: that have a dip of about 90°; if the fault dip is close to
90° (e.g., is between about 80° and 90°), the fault can be called subvertical.
Displacement, slip and separation
The vector connecting two points that were connected prior to faulting indicates the local
displacement vector or net slip direction.
A series of displacement vectors over the slip surface gives us the displacement field or slip field on
the surface.
1. Dip slip Faults: If the net-slip vector parallels the dip direction of the fault (within ∼10°), the
fault is called a dip-slip fault;
2. Strike slip Faults: if the vector roughly parallels the strike of the fault, the fault is called a strike-
slip fault.
3. Oblique-slip Faults: Many faults show some deviation from true dip-slip and strike-slip
displacement in the sense that the net slip vector is oblique. Such faults are called oblique-slip
faults.
The degree of obliquity is given by the pitch (also called rake), which is the angle between the
strike of the slip surface and the slip vector (striation).
Horizontal separation is the separation of layers observed on a horizontal exposure or map.
while the dip separation is that observed in a vertical section
Three Types of Faults
In Non-vertical faults separate the hanging wall from the underlying footwall, on
the basis of which the faults are classified as:
1. Normal Faults
Where the hanging wall is lowered or downthrown relative to the footwall, the
fault is a normal fault.
2. Reverse Faults
The opposite case, where the hanging wall is upthrown relative to the footwall, is a
reverse fault.
3. Strike-Slip Faults
If the movement is lateral, i.e. in the horizontal plane, then the fault is a strike-slip
fault. Strike-slip faults can be sinistral (left-lateral) or dextral (right-lateral) (from
the Latin words sinister and dexter, meaning left and right, respectively).
To define sense of slip on a strike-slip fault, imagine that
you are standing on one side of the fault and are
looking across the fault to the other side.
If the opposite wall of the fault moves to your right,
the fault is rightlateral (or dextral), and if the
opposite wall of the fault moves to your left, the fault
is left-lateral (or sinistral.
Note that this displacement does not depend on
which side of the fault you are standing on.
Finally, we define shear sense on an oblique-slip fault
by specifying whether the dip-slip component of
movement is hanging-wall up or down, and whether
the strike-slip component is right-lateral or left-lateral.
Normal faults
Dominate extensional tectonic environments
Form locally in both convergent and
transcurrent tectonic settings
Form locally in response to removal or addition
of material
The fault is at an angle
One block lies above the fault (hanging wall)
The other block lies below the fault (footwall)
When movement occurs along a normal fault,
the hanging wall slips downward
We also distinguish among faults on the basis of whether they cause
shortening or lengthening of the layers that are cut.
Imagine that a fault cuts and displaces a horizontal bed marked with
points X and Y.
Before movement, X and Y project to points A and B on an imaginary
plane above the bedding plane.
If the hanging wall moves down, then points X and Y project to A and B
′.
The length AB′ is greater than the length AB.
In other words, movement on this fault effectively lengthens the layer.
We call a fault which results in lengthening of a layer an extensional
fault.
By contrast, the faulting shown in figure above resulted in a decrease in
the distance between points X and Y (AB > AB″).
We call a fault which results in shortening of a body of rock a
contractional fault.
Contractional faults result in duplication of section, as measured along a
line that crosses the fault and is perpendicular to stratigraphic
boundaries, whereas extensional faults result in loss of section.
Generally, one can use the term “normal fault” as a synonym for an
extensional fault, and the term “reverse fault” as synonym for
contractional faults.
Extension of the lithosphere 1
Extension of the lithosphere 2
Lithospheric Extension

 Thinning of the lithosphere

 Normal faulting at the surface
 High heat flow (rinsing of the isotherms)
 Thermal subsidence - > sedimentary basins
Starting point: rift to drift

Note thinning of crust and

lithosphere
Asthenosphere interacts with
crust
Volcanism, normal faults, high
geothermal gradient
Intracontinental extension

‘Master faults’ are normal faults

Strike roughly perpendicular to
extension direction (exception:
reactivation of older faults)
Tectonic Settings for Extension

Divergent plate motions

Gravitational collapse
• Over-thickened crust
• Continental margins
Salt Domes
Divergent Boundary Normal Faults, rifts
Extensional Tectonics
Continental
Extension
Divergent Boundaries (Continental Plate Separation)

Parallel valleys; volcanoes and earthquakes.

East African
Rift Valley

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Rifts
Rifts
Bounded by
normal faults
Elements of an extensional system in cross section
Normal faults are inclined faults, usually with a dip exceeding about
50 deg. Where the dip-slip component is large relative to the strike-
slip component, and where the hanging wall is moved downwards
relative to the foot wall.
Note topography, producing sedimentary depocenters
Detachment faults allow rotation of blocks bounded by high-angle
normal faults
Symmetry

Two conceptual models for

extension
Both have ductile thinning at
depth
One has dominant dip direction
(synthetic with respect to
detachment)
Pure shear vs. simple shear systems
Two modes of extension
Block Rotation
Sandbox- Block rotation

Sand above plasticine

Domino-style faulting

Fault blocks rotate with

progressive extension
Syntectonic sediments record
tilting with progressively
changing dip
Note this requires detachment at
depth
Domino block rotation in the Basin and Range
Successive generations of normal
faults

 Older faults rotate and become inactive

 New faults cross-cut them
 Result= large magnitude extension
Listric (curved) Faults- roll over anticlines
Small roll-overs
Sedimentation during faulting Growth faulting

Animation by R. Allmendinger
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/faculty/RWA/movies/
Curved faults – Block rotation Growth Strata
0

3
km
Folds related to dip-slip faults
Back Arc extension
North Sea Extensional Basin
Transform faults

Transfer motion between mid-

ocean ridge segments
Movement sense dictated by
variations in rate of extension;
can change along strike
Parallel movement direction
Gravitational Collapse of Mt. Belts
Basin and
Range
Province
New Mountains-Active Fault –Basin and Range
Province
Out crop- domino blocks
Gulf of Mexico
Passive Margin
Gulf of Mexico
Salt
Drift structures

Patterns recording continental

rifting preserved on both
continental margins
Note that low-density salt can
also participate in extension
Extension Above Salt Diapir
Transfer zone in a rift
Transfer faults

Form ‘hard’ links between

normal fault segments with
different magnitudes of
displacement
Fault-related folds terminate at
transfer faults Gibbs (1990)
‘Soft-linked’ normal faults

Fault displacement decreases

toward tip
Overlapping (en échelon) fault
tips produce relay ramp Walsh
and Watterson (1991)
Relay ramps effect sed transport

After Yielding and

Roberts (1992)
Duplexes may form in any (curviplanar) fault system

Note the association between fault-plane topography and duplexes

Horses believed to form by ‘lopping off’ irregularities on fault surface