EXAM 2 Flashcards
thrust faults place…
older rocks on top of younger
thrust systems propagate towards…
foreland
how are new thrust faults created
when stress required to move fault > stress required to break rock a thrust falut is created
the geometry of fold and thrust systems depends on…
- friction coefficient on fault surfaces
- failure strength of the rocks
thrust fault example: foreland rocks become harder to break
reactivation of older fault was easier than fracturing more competent lithology in foreland
where is friction on faults higher in thrust faults
new faults form closer to the ramp of existing faults
thrust fault example: high friction faults and strong material in foreland
it may be more energetically favorable to produce a “back thrust”
thrust fault example: low friction faults and strong material in foreland
reactivation of multiple older faults because faulting is easier than breaking
thrust fault example: very weak layer between hard basement and soft overlying sediment
low friction surface makes it easiest to continue faulting at contact before breaking overlying layers
types of thrust systems
- fault bend fold
- in-sequence thrust system
- out-sequence thrust system
- duplex
- fault-propagation fold
fault bend fold
thrust cuts up section at footwall ramp
in-sequence thrust system
older to younger
out-sequence thrust system
younger to older
types of extensional fault systems
- rift
- basin and range
- normal fault systems
- large displacement normal faults
- domino fault model
draw a rift system
yay
what are grabens
the downthrown blocks in extensional systems (hanging wall)
what are horts
the upthrown blocks (footwall)
draw a basin and range system
yay
what are ranges
ranges are the exhumed footwall blocks
what is exhumation
the transport of a rock to the surface
what is need denudation
the mechanical and chemical of erosion, weathering, and mass wasting “removal of material”
what is tectonic denudation
removal of material by faulting
results of exhumation
- normal faulting exposes rock
- weathering breaks down the rock
- erosion or mass wasting transports the sediment to the basins
normal fault system
parallel closely spaced faults
large displacement/magnitude extension
- during continued extension, it becomes more efficient to slip on a lower angle fault; some stretching is accommodated by rotation
domino fault model
- faults shallow as fault blocks rotate
- faults become too shallow and new higher angle faults will develop
space problem
rigid block rotation along planar faults creates gaps in the crust, which is impossible