CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7. EXAMPLES OF POST-VARISCAN REACTIVATION IN THE BRISTOL CHANNEL BORDERLANDS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE BRISTOL CHANNEL BASIN.

Gutmanis et al. (1991) gave evidence for composite Mesozoic and Recent movement along the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone in the Bristol Channel Basin. The investigation of post-Palaeozoic tectonism is subdivided into three different themes: (1)

7.1 AIMS The aims of this chapter are (1) to present evidence to show that post-Variscan fault reactivation consists of at least two events, an early negative inversion and late positive inversion; and (2) to show that onshore geology can be used as an analogue for the late history of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone. 7.2 INTRODUCTION The Late Palaeozoic in North Devon and Cornwall is locally covered by isolated outliers of Mesozoic and Tertiary strata whilst the Vale of Glamorgan contains inliers of Upper Palaeozoic rocks. The partial cover of Mesozoic and Tertiary enables a structural investigation of the reactivation and inversion of Palaeozoic faults during post-Palaeozoic tectonism further to the work edited by Cooper & Williams (1989). The current investigation concentrates on the description of examples of faults that transect the regional PalaeozoicMesozoic unconformity and clearly show different senses of movement above and below the unconformity. Indisputable examples of inversion are however rare in the Bristol Channel Borderlands and, to obtain further information on possible reactivation events the movement vectors on sets of Variscan faults are compared with that of similarly trending postPalaeozoic faults in adjacent areas. Opposing kinematic histories are taken to represent indirect evidence for inversion whilst similar kinematic histories suggest either reactivation or a common post-Palaeozoic origin. Evidence of reactivation in the Bristol Channel Borderlands assists in delineating the Mesozoic and Tertiary structural history of the Bristol Channel Basin to a similar degree of resolution as Chapman (1989) described the evolution of the Western Approaches Basin. In particular, structures in Mesozoic strata in the region are used as a guide in defining the possible reactivation history of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone further than the inversion event identified by Brooks et al. (1988). An analogous basin which has undergone reactivation is the Wessex Basin. The structural evolution of the Wessex Basin (Lake & Karner, 1987) and new data presented by Jenkyns & Senior (1991) suggested that inversion and intra-Mesozoic faulting were common. Similarly,

brief regional comparisons of the Bristol Channel Basin and onshore veneers with neighbouring post-Palaeozoic basins such as the Celtic Sea and Wessex Basins; (2) the role of onshore analogues in the illustration of the structural history of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone; and (3) details of reactivation and inversion in the Bristol Channel Borderlands. 7.3 INVERSION TECTONICS IN SW BRITAIN Early studies of post-Palaeozoic tectonism in SW Britain (eg Jones, 1931) neglected the possibilities of intra-Mesozoic movements. George (1974) stressed this weakness and postulated both Mid Jurassic and Mid Cretaceous movements. Folds such as the Cowbridge Anticline, where the amplitude of the Cowbridge Anticline in the Rhaetic and Lias is about 70m, were taken as examples of structures modified by Mesozoic tectonism. Another example, the Penmark Syncline, (Chapter 5) is also expressed in Liassic strata of the Vale of Glamorgan. An early inference on structures in Jurassic rocks was that the Alpine Orogeny occupied a prolonged interval from Mid Mesozoic times onwards which was followed by a Mid Caenozoic revival. However comparisons made between the tectonic history of the Wessex Basin, Celtic Sea Basin and Bristol Channel Basin (Fig. 7.1) show that postPalaeozoic deformation is polyphase. Geological surveys along the coasts of North Devon and South Wales also provide evidence for multiple episodes of negative and positive inversion beginning with the reactivation of Variscan faults.

Fig. 7.1 Comparison of the tectonic history of the Bristol Channel Basin, the Wessex Basin and Celtic Sea Basin. Based on Lake & Karner (1987).

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

The following examples of faults evidence several episodes of regional Mesozoic deformation during the Pre-Alpine history of SW Britain (refer to Fig. 7.2 for localities): (1) inversion of Variscan faults in the South Wales Coalfield, Culm and North Devon Basins, of unknown age, eg Moel Gilau Fault; (2) Permian negative inversion at Portledge and Crediton; (3) Triassic negative inversion at Barry; (4) Liassic synsedimentary faulting at Penarth; (5) post-Liassic negative and positive inversion of the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone (NSCFZ) at Watchet; and (6) Early Cretaceous negative inversion of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone. The list of faults above illustrates that the pre-Alpine history of SW Britain was multiphase.

7.3.1 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF A NEGATIVELY INVERTED FAULT. Ideally, rocks above the Late Palaeozoic unconformity must be bound by extensional faults and linked below the unconformity to Variscan thrusts and thrust-related folds.

The three following observations led to the identification of the post-Variscan extensional faults formed by negative inversion: (1) faulted Permian outliers in North Devon, eg Crediton and Portledge above folded Carboniferous rocks; (2) areas of faulted, red-stained Carboniferous rocks of the Culm Basin containing Variscan folds; and (3) faulted Devonian rocks of the North Devon Basin overlain by red-stained clasts.

Ferric staining of clasts and Upper Palaeozoic rocks in addition to the preservation of local Permian outliers only within fault-related troughs indicates that the present upland Exmoor land surface of Devon generally corresponds to the Late Palaeozoic erosion surface and plane of unconformity (Edmonds et al, 1985). From the observations, above, extensional faults transect this surface and link with compressional structures below. Therefore there is good evidence for negative inversion.

7.3.2 EXAMPLES OF EARLY NEGATIVE INVERSION A likely example of a negatively inverted fault is the Portledge Fault at Peppercombe which
Fig. 7.2 Location of examples of reactivated faults in the Bristol Channel Borderlands. Key: MG Moel Gilau Fault; D-St M Dinas St Mary's Well Bay Fault; MM Merthyr Mawr Fault; TyW Trwyny-Witch Fault; NP faults at Nash Point; BCFZ Bristol Channel Fault Zone; C Cothelstone Fault; NSCFZ North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone; LF Lynton Fault; CM Combe Martin Valley Fault; S Sticklepath Fault; P Portledge Fault; SMM faulting at Speke's Mill Mouth.

defines the northern margin of the Peppercombe outlier. The Portledge Fault extends eastwards into Carboniferous strata and has a strike which is identical to the underlying Variscan structure. The decametre extensional displacement indicates that the Portledge Fault has a substantial length and probably continues at depth, linking with a Variscan thrust.

The following examples of faults illustrate numerous episodes of possible syn-Alpine Late Mesozoic and Tertiary reactivation (Fig. 7.2): (1) the E-W trending post-Liassic Trwyn-yWitch Fault at Southerndown; (2) the NW-SE trending post-Triassic St Mary's Well Bay Fault; (3) NW-SE and N-S trending post-Liassic faults at Nash Point and the related Merthyr Mawr Fault; (4) the Cothelstone Fault at Watchet; (5) the Early-Mid Tertiary Sticklepath Fault; (6) the Combe Martin Valley Fault. These six faults illustrate that Alpine compression was also multiphase in SW Britain.
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However it is also possible that the strike of the Portledge Fault is parallel to an underlying Variscan fold axis and that it does not link with a thrust. Extensional faulting along axial planes of chevron folds has been observed, for example, at Hartland Quay. The displacement on such faults is small in comparison to that on the Portledge Fault. It is therefore likely the Portledge Fault had a Variscan origin.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

The southern margin is marked by a moderately north dipping unconformity between red breccias and ferric stained sandstones of the Bude Formation (Fig. 7.3). The outlier consists of ferric coarse to fine grained lithic quartz wacke and monomict pebble breccia containing clasts of Carboniferous sandstone (Fig. 7.4). Palaeomagnetic data from the breccia and wacke indicate a Permo-Triassic remnant magnetism (Fig. 7.5). The ferric stained Bude Formation immediately beneath the unconformity also yields a Permo-Triassic magnetism. The beds dip moderately and thicken towards the Portledge Fault suggesting (1) synsedimentary extension and (2) that the Peppercombe outlier is a trap door basin. Holloway & Chadwick (1986) gave a Permo-Triassic age for extension along the nearby Crediton Fault that probably represents the same regional phase of negative inversion.

Fig. 7.3 Photographs A-C show the structural and stratigraphic contacts bounding the Peppercombe outlier. A, shows a poorly exposed extensional fault juxtaposing Permo-Triassic breccioconglomerates and sandstones, and red stained sandstones, siltstones and shales of the Carboniferous Bude Formation. B & C, show the gentle to moderate dip of the unconformity between PermoTriassic and Carboniferous and the reorientation of a Variscan fold immediately beneath the erosion surface. D, shows the typical Variscan folding and mesoscale thrusting in the red stained Bude Formation nearby which has an original Variscan orientation.

Fig. 7.5 Palaeomagnetic data from the Peppercombe outlier showing a Permo-Triassic orientation. The axis of magnetisation plunges too steeply to be Carboniferous in age. Other candidates for Permian inversion are (a) extensional faults displacing ferric stained chevron folds immediately south of Hartland Quay at Speke's Mill Mouth; and (b) mesoscale extensional faults along the Foreland Point-Lynmouth section which show drag close to thrust planes with a contradictory extensional sense of shear (Fig. 7.6). However, in these examples there are no post-Variscan strata preserved so that the age of negative inversion is unknown and it is possible that the later negative inversion events described below produced these structures. NB a similar problem arises in assigning a movement
Fig. 7.4 The grainsize and texture of the red beds in the Peppercombe outlier.
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history to the Moel Gilau Fault in the South Wales Coalfield.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7.3.3 EXAMPLES OF INTRA-JURASSIC FAULTING Jenkyns and Senior (1991) gave evidence for intra-Jurassic faulting in the Wessex Basin and its margins. This faulting is probably related to basement fault reactivation. There is also evidence for intra-Jurassic faulting in the Bristol Channel Borderlands. The Rhaetic-Liassic strata of Penarth Head contain moderately south dipping extensional faults restricted to the Liassic (Fig. 7.7). The faults are truncated above by further Liassic strata and lose displacement downwards apparently along a bedding surface. These faults represent evidence for the continuation of local Mesozoic extension and do not represent regional reactivation.

Fig. 7.6 A & B Mesoscale displacement thrust from the Foreland Point-Lynmouth section showing an anomalous drag close to the thrust plane possibly due to post-Variscan extension. Indirect evidence for Mid Permian inversion is the inferred change in thickness of the Permian sequence, over 100m thick, underlying the Glastonbury Syncline (Burton Row borehole, 1:50,000 series sheet 279 & parts of 263 & 295, Weston super Mare). The Permian is shown to thicken towards faults bounding the Glastonbury Syncline. If these faults are linked to Variscan thrusts then negative inversion has occurred. There is good evidence for thrusting at depth eg (Williams & Chapman, 1986; Donato, 1988) The regional post-Variscan unconformity is exposed along coastal sections in the west of the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic conglomerates and Liassic cherty-conglomeratic limestones onlap Carboniferous Limestone eg at Barry and Trwyn-y-Witch, Southerndown. At Friar's Point near Barry, south dipping bedding surfaces or thrust flats in Carboniferous Limestone have been inverted as extensional faults within the overlying breccioconglomerates (see section 7.4.5). This is small-scale evidence for Triassic negative inversion. Observations indicating the expected regional Permo-Triassic negative inversion are (1) the anomalously thick Triassic sequence (550m) beneath the Glastonbury Syncline which contrasts with the thin sequence near Wick St Lawrence, north of Weston super Mare; and (2) the sedimentary variation within the Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group in the western part of the Wessex Basin (Ruffell, 1990).
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Fig. 7.7 A-E Examples of tectonic and synsedimentary faults in Rhaetic to Liassic strata from Penarth Head. The photographs show good evidence for intra-Jurassic faulting and unrelated Late Mesozoic tectonism. C & D, show views of the same fault. It is unclear, due to erosion, whether it represents another synsedimentary structure.

7.3.4 LATE NEGATIVE INVERSION EVENT Brooks et al (1988) gave evidence for the negative inversion of the Bristol Channel Thrust to form the Bristol Channel Fault Zone. It is shown in Chapter 6 that the Bristol Channel Fault Zone consists of at least two faults, the Gravel Margin Fault and the Bristol Channel Fault, which partly or wholly grew in post-Late Jurassic times (probably Early Cretaceous) from the BCT and GMT (Miliorizos, 1991) (Fig. 7.8). The unconformity between Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous strata in the Wessex Basin, South Celtic Sea and Outer Bristol Channel suggests a pre-Late Cretaceous age for negative inversion of the Variscan
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

thrusts beneath the Inner Bristol Channel. A Late Mesozoic unconformity is imaged on seismic section SWAT 4 Figure 7.9. This section traverses the North and South Celtic Sea Basins and shows that a major syncline, associated with an extensional fault zone above a possible thrust, is best developed beneath the Upper Cretaceous layer. Since synclinal folding is likely to result from displacement gradients and/or the listric shape of faulting, the fault zone must also have a major pre-Late Cretaceous movement history (probably Early Cretaceous).

7.4 CASE STUDIES OF FAULTS: LATE MESOZOIC AND TERTIARY POSITIVE INVERSION AND LATE STRIKE-SLIP. The following section gives field details of faults which may be related to inversion of Variscan basement faults. The Variscan faults are inverted root faults, defined here as faults or fault zones that have grown upwards into overlying strata as stem faults which display a different sense of movement. For example there is good evidence that the Cothelstone Fault has a Variscan dextral strike-slip component. However at Nash Point where the offshore and upward continuation of the Cothelstone Fault is predicted to affect the Mesozoic strata there is evidence for oblique slip and normal faulting. In this case the Variscan basement structure is the root fault and the Nash Point faults are stem faults. Evidence for inversion is based on regional considerations of, for example, fault length and displacement. 7.4.1 FAULTS AT NASH POINT Decametre-length faults displace Liassic strata between Nash Point and Cwm Nash (Fig. 7.10). Faults generally strike NW-SE and N-S (Fig. 7.11) (some trend E-W) and contain moderate-steeply plunging dip-slip lineations. The sense of movement is oblique and normal. Displacement is on a decimetre to metre scale (Fig. 7.12). E-W trending faults display oblique slip displacements. Planar tension gashes strike NNW-SSE and are oblique to the fault strike.

Fig. 7.8 The seismic structure of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone (BCFZ) on Merlin GECOPRAKLA line 155 in the Inner Bristol Channel. The interpreted section shows the negative inversion of the Variscan BCT and GMT which formed the BCF and GMF and splays of the BCFZ.

Fig. 7.9 A part of seismic line SWAT 4 traversing the North and South Celtic Sea Basins. The section shows the unconformity at Cretaceous levels (highlighted by arrows) overlying a major syncline above a possible Variscan thrust.
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Fig. 7.10 Stem faults at Nash Point, above the basement related Cothelstone-Merthyr Mawr root fault, which were probably formed during a Late Mesozoic-Tertiary N-S compressional event.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Fig. 7.11 Aerial and cliff section views of faulting in the foreshore between Nash Point and Cwm Nash. Displacements along the faults are on a metre scale. Displacements and movement vectors along faults at Nash Point contrast with those along the Cothelstone Fault but are probably kinematically related to the root fault. The change in strike and sense of movement may be due to a refraction of the principal stresses on passing up sequence from a thick Palaeozoic sequence to a Mesozoic veneer during the same tectonic event. Fig. 7.12 Oblique-slip and normal faulting in Liassic strata of Nash Point.

7.4.2 THE MERTHYR MAWR FAULT The NW-SE trending Merthyr Mawr Fault juxtaposes Triassic breccio-conglomerate to the west and Carboniferous Friar's Point Limestone to the east (Fig. 7.13). The fault strikes 150 and has an exposed length of 500m across the wave cut platform of Black Rocks, 1km SE of Newton. Beds in the Friar's Point Limestone are folded close to the fault trace. Clasts in the breccio-conglomerate display a fracture cleavage that trends about 120 and dips steeply towards the NE. Minor faults in the Friar's Point Limestone are sub-parallel to the Merthyr Mawr Fault and show dextral displacements. Mesoscale faults in the breccio-conglomerate trend 035. Near Newton Point, on the west side of the Merthyr Mawr Fault, a veneer of Trias overlies Carboniferous Oxwich Head Limestone. The displacement along the Merthyr Mawr Fault must therefore be large enough to juxtapose Friar's Point Limestone and Oxwich Head Limestone. By analogy with the NW-SE trending mesoscale faults in the Friar's Point Limestone the displacement along the Merthyr Mawr Fault is dextral but the amount of displacement however is indeterminate.
Fig. 7.13 Sketch map of the Merthyr Mawr Fault at Black Rocks near Newton based on 1:10,000 scale mapping. Key: Carboniferous, FPL Friar's Point Limestone, OxHL Oxwich Head Limestone; TBr Triassic Breccio-conglomerate.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Fig. 7.15 Fault map of the Cothelstone Fault at Daw's Castle Enclosure and the wave cut platform bordering Warren Bay. The map is based on 1:10,000 scale mapping. Key: 1 & 2 represent normal and late reverse movement along the NSCFZ respectively. Boxes mark hangingwall of faults; ticks mark side of downthrow. Fig. 7.14 Structure of the Cothelstone Fault and the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone near Watchet. 7.4.3 THE COTHELSTONE FAULT The Cothelstone Fault crops out at Watchet, Daw's Castle Enclosure and extends across the wave cut platform to the NW into Warren Bay (Fig. 7.14A). It juxtaposes a variety of Triassic and Liassic strata along its strike such as (1) the Rhaetic and the White Lias; (2) thickly bedded Triassic marls and sandstones and thinly bedded buff red Triassic marls; and (3) Triassic marls and Liassic planorbis beds (Fig. 7.15). The Cothelstone Fault trends about 320 but is linked to the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone which trends approximately EW. At Daw's Castle Enclosure the Cothelstone Fault dips 60 towards the SW. Liassic strata bounded by splays of the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone on either side of the Cothelstone Fault have been offset by about 100m. Related drag folds near the Cothelstone Fault extend for about 200m from the point of intersection of the Liassic strata and the Cothelstone Fault; they indicate a post-Liassic dextral strike-slip component (Fig. 7.16). Fig. 7.16 Sketch map of the drag folding associated with the Cothelstone Fault indicating a dextral displacement. Key to stratigraphy: T Triassic red marls; Rh Rhaetic green and red marls; L Liassic limestones and shales. Numbers represent angle of dip.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Inferences If the Cothelstone Fault extends north-westwards, it is likely that it is associated with faults at Nash Point and probably with the Merthyr Mawr Fault. Both the Merthyr Mawr and Cothelstone Faults have dextral displacements and NW-SE trends. The Nash Point Faults could be splays to this fault zone formed in a N-S compressive regime in which NW-SE trending faults moved dextrally whilst N-S trending faults were extensional. Tension gashes, though oblique to faulting could be kinematically related. Stratigraphic surveys were carried out on Tusker Rock by A. Ramsay and onshore (eg BGS Beacon's Down Borehole) by the author to establish the exact present dextral offset along the Cothelstone Fault (Chapter 6). Even though Mesozoic mesostructure and seismic evidence of Variscan structure point to dextral strike-slip movement, the author failed to find evidence of displacements large enough to coincide with those calculated for the Quantocks and offshore seismic data. However it is possible that the Cothelstone Fault loses displacement northwards before entering the South Wales Coalfield as the extensional Gardiner's Fault. 7.4.4 FAULTS AT ST MARY'S WELL BAY Post-Rhaetic faults from the W side of Lavernock Point to W St Mary's Well Bay (Fig. 7.17) mainly trend between NW-SE and NE-SW. Few trend ENE-WSW. Fault dips are moderate or steep towards the east and west. Slickenside lineations plunge gently to moderately. Faults display normal and reverse dip-slip components but generally a dextral strike-slip component of displacement. ENE-WSW trending faults are generally reverse.

Planar tension gashes trend NNW-SSE and ENE-WSW. In one instance a NNW trending tension gash displaces an ENE trending tension gash. Nearby in Sully Bay, there are examples of NE-SW trending envelopes of en echelon tension gashes indicating sinistral shear and N-S trending planar tension gashes. Decametre length faults also strike N-S whilst metre-length faults can also strike NW-SE and NE-SW. An example of a NE-SW trending fault has a sinistral sense of movement. N-S trending faults have normal displacements. Faults striking E of N have sinistral strike components. Conjugate joint sets strike NE-SW and NW-SE. Other joints strike E-W and NNE-SSW. Inferences The faults at St Mary's Well Bay form a very local fault zone in a section of coast containing few major faults. It is likely that, similarly to the Cothelstone Fault, the St Mary's Well Bay faults are linked to a Variscan root structure, the Dinas cross fault, which can be found further NW within the South Wales Coalfield (Fig. 7.18). The kinematics of the faults and tension gashes suggest that a N-S compressive regime was dominant, indicating a late Mesozoic or possibly Caenozoic reactivation of the Variscan cross fault.

Fig. 7.18 A & B Sketch maps of the St Mary's Well Bay Fault and Dinas cross fault to the NW. The Dinas root fault has probably grown upwards into the Triassic strata of St Mary's Well Bay as a strike slip fault. Key to (A): P Pontypridd, C Cardiff. Pz Palaeozoic; Mz Mesozoic; UC Unconformity. Key to (B): MG Moel Gilau Fault; TyN Ty'n-y-nant Fault; D Dinas Fault; C Cymmer Fault; Ll Llanwonno Fault; M Miskin Fault. Thrusting is represented by lines marked with triangles on the hangingwall blocks. The location of (B) from Woodland & Evans (1964) is shown on (A).

Fig. 7.17 Oblique-slip (dextral strike-slip) mesoscale faults in Triassic strata of St Mary's Well Bay which may represent stem faults of the reactivated Dinas cross fault of the South Wales Coalfield. These post-Triassic faults are related to a major fault which juxtaposes the Triassic in the west and Rhaetic-Liassic strata in the east.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7.4.5 FAULTS AT BARRY AND COLD KNAP West of Barry at Cold Knap, there are post-Liassic NE-SW and NW-SE and also NNW and NNE striking faults (7.19). Slickenside lineations are horizontal or plunge gently. NE-SW trending faults have sinistral strike components.

Inference The contrast in fault types above is due to the polyphase post-Variscan deformation. Early NS extension produced faulting at Barry whilst late N-S compression formed the faults at Cold Knap. 7.4.6 THE TRWYN-Y-WITCH FAULT The Trwyn-y-Witch Fault (Fig. 7.20A) strikes approximately ENE-WSW along southern headland of Dunraven Bay and dips moderately towards the south. In its hangingwall it contains Carboniferous High Tor Limestone overlain unconformably by Liassic Sutton Stone. In its footwall are other Lower Liassic Marginal Facies and Porthkerry Formation. At Carboniferous Limestone levels the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault is a south dipping ramp thrust containing a north facing hangingwall anticline. The fault extends upwards through the plane of unconformity into cherty conglomeratic limestone forming the Sutton Stone. At these Liassic levels the Trwyn-y-Witch fault is a strike slip fault. There are at least two sets of gently plunging slickenside lineations within a narrow fault zone about 1.5m wide. One set of crystalline slickenside fibres and grooves closest to the fault wall plunges about 25 towards 235. The other set, within a veneer of shale upon the crystalline, brecciated fault wall plunge about 5 towards 080. Other kinematic indicators such as microfolds and brecciation fabrics occur in the fault zone (Fig. 7.21). In the footwall near the fault zone

Fig. 7.19 Examples of strike-slip faults in Liassic strata of Cold Knap near Barry. Conjugate tension gashes trend NW-SE and NE-SW whilst WNW trending envelopes of en echelon tension gashes contain NW striking arrays indicating a sinistral shear along a WNWESE trending axis. Faults at Barry contrast with those at Cold Knap. Near Friar's Point metre-length, dip-slip normal faults displace the Triassic red marls. Across the irregular unconformity surface between weathered Carboniferous Friar's Point Limestone and Triassic breccio-conglomerate there are further extensional faults. Friar's Point Limestone dips moderately towards the south and contains discrete decimetre to metre spaced bedding surfaces. One example of a bedding surface or thrust flat has undergone extensional slip which continues upwards across the plane of unconformity into the breccio-conglomerate. Within the Triassic unit the fault has a steep dip and displaces clasts of Carboniferous Limestone by about 10cm with a normal sense. Close to the intersection of the fault and the plane of unconformity there is fine angular brecciation of clasts within the breccio-conglomerate. The anomalously fine clast size and close proximity to the fault plane suggest that this localised brecciation is tectonic and further evidence for post-Triassic extensional faulting.
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there are moderately tight folds within the Porthkerry Formation at beach level with axial traces trending WNW-ESE and NW-SE.

Fig. 7.20 A-D (A) is a photo-mosaic of the Heritage Coast from the south side of Trwyn-y-Witch to Nash Point. It is likely that faulting along the north side of the headland (Fig. 7.22) links with the decametre scale folding highlighted in the foreground of the mosaic. B-D show examples of mesoscale faulting nearby for comparison with the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7.4.7 THE NORTH SOMERSET COASTAL FAULT ZONE (NSCFZ)-WATCHET FAULT The NSCFZ extends E-W along the coast of Somerset. It has been observed at Warren Farm west of Watchet, St Audrie's Bay and Kilve. The NSCFZ dips moderately towards the south and generally contains Trias in its footwall and Lias in its hangingwall Figs 7.14 & 7.23), indicating that it has a major normal downthrow to the south. However near Watchet at Warren Bay and Warren Farm the NSCFZ has tightly folded Lias in its hangingwall. Immediately on the west side of the Cothelstone Fault at Daw's Castle the NSCFZ consists of four splays. Two of the splays exposed in the foreshore closest to the cliff line can be traced to the E across the Cothelstone Fault and juxtapose Rhaetic, Lias and Trias red marl (Fig. 7.15). East of Daw's Castle the NSCFZ is prominent within the Triassic red marls (Fig. 7.24). Fig. 7.21 Kinematic indicators along the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault. Inferences If these folds are kinematically related to the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault, a sinistral sense of movement is inferred for the fault. This agrees with (1) the sense of movement along the crystalline slickenside fibres and (2) an interpretation of the brecciation fabric within the fault zone as mesoscale duplex structures. In argument against a sinistral movement are (1) an interpretation of the brecciation fabric as a dextral SC-fabric (Fig. 7.22) and (2) the dextral sense of movement obtained from the late set of slickenside lineations within the veneer of shale. A likely explanation for all the structures is that a multiphase post-Liassic strike-slip movement had reactivated a Variscan ramp thrust. Fig. 7.25 shows the structure within the Triassic red marls of Penarth to emphasise the intensity of faulting along the Somerset coast due to the NSCFZ.

Fig. 7.22 Alternative interpretations of the structural fabric in the brecciated zone bordering the Trwyny-Witch Fault. A, B & C show details of the brecciated fabric which is also represented in photographs of Fig. 7.21. Fig. 7.23 Structure of the NSCFZ near St Audrie's Bay. Inferences The description above indicates that the NSCFZ had a composite movement history. The post-Liassic extension may have been associated with negative inversion of the BCT and GMT to the north whilst the late compressive phase may be Late Mesozoic or Caenozoic and related to the NW-SE dextral strike-slip phase along, for example, the St Mary's Well Bay faults, Cothelstone Fault and Cold Knap faults. It is possible that the late history of the Bristol Channel fault zone is analogous to the NSCFZ onshore.
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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7.4.8 THE STICKLEPATH FAULT The NW-SE trending Sticklepath Fault crosses Devon and displaces E-W trending Variscan structures with a dextral offset. Along its length there are Tertiary pull-apart basins which indicate a sinistral strike-slip displacement (Holloway & Chadwick, 1986). Within these basins there are Oligocene clays and lignites such as at Petrockstow and Bovey Tracey (Fig. 7.26). To the NW, along strike, the Tertiary granite of Lundy marks the position of the fault line.

The Sticklepath Fault crosses the coast of North Devon near Abbotsham. Here, exposures of grey kaolinitic clay can be found of similar texture to that of the local clay basins further south (Hecht, pers. comm. 1991). There is also evidence for intense deformation and non pervasive cleavage formation in the Upper Carboniferous rocks of the Culm Basin nearby (Fig. 7.27). Both suggest that this area of coast has been affected by movement along the Sticklepath Fault. Fig. 7.24 Prominent faulting and gypsum remobilisation in the Red Marls near Watchet, associated with the NSCFZ.

Fig. 7.26 A-D Examples of dipping Eocene-Oligocene kaolinitic clay and lignite beds of the Fig. 7.25 Structure of the Red Marls at Penarth and Barry, contrasting with the intense deformation in Red Marls near Watchet. Petrockstow Basin.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Inferences There is clear evidence that in addition to dextral strike-slip along NW-SE trending faults and reverse movement along the NSCFZ, Eocene-Oligocene sinistral strike-slip has also occurred. The age relationship between the sinistral strike-slip event and the regional compression is uncertain. However Holloway & Chadwick (1986) presented evidence for a local dextral strike-slip event post-dating the major sinistral movement along the Sticklepath Fault. This suggests that dextral strike-slip on other NW trending faults may also post-date the sinistral event. 7.4.9 THE COMBE MARTIN VALLEY FAULT The Combe Martin Valley Fault extends through the harbour of Combe Martin where the wave cut platform and cliff section are dominated by Variscan folds and thrusts. Leading inland from Combe Martin there is a NW-SE trending valley which runs along the Combe Martin Fault. It is likely that the Combe Martin Valley Fault is a Variscan NW trending fault which has a post-Variscan movement history. Strike sections through the southern part of the Inner Bristol Channel reveal a large number of sub-vertical faults cross cutting the Mesozoic sequence. One of the most prominent of these faults can be correlated directly with the Combe Martin Valley Fault (Fig. 7.28) i.e. the SE extrapolation of the seismically imaged fault intersects the North Devon coast at Combe Martin. If this correlation is correct, the Combe Martin Valley Fault normally displaces the base of the Mesozoic by about 0.1s TWTT (about 150m). This value is in very close agreement with vertical displacement estimate given by Edmonds et al (1985) of 152.4m. Lateral displacements of about 2km are also given. Mesoscale evidence for the Combe Martin Fault may be the presence of tension gashes directed along a NW trend.

Fig. 7.28 Seismic structure of a steeply dipping fault which correlates with the Combe Martin Valley Fault (CMVF). Fig. 7.27 A-H Evidence for locally intense cleavage formation and ductile deformation in Carboniferous rocks near Greencliff where the Sticklepath Fault is expected to intersect the North Devon Coast. The amount of displacement along the fault is small in the offshore Mesozoic strata.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

7.4.10 OFFSHORE FAULT-RELATED TERTIARY BASINS Evidence for a fault-related Tertiary basin occurs on the southern part of Merlin GECOPRAKLA line 131, south of Pembroke and west of Lundy. This indicates that the late sinistral strike-slip event was a significant episode of inversion in N Devon. Obvious analogues are the Petrockstow and Bovey Tracey Basins along the Sticklepath Fault. 7.4.11 THE MOEL GILAU FAULT The Moel Gilau Fault is probably the biggest reactivation structure in the South Wales Coalfield other than the major Caledonoid Disturbances.

7.5 THE ORIENTATION OF TENSION GASHES IN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN Fig. 7.29 shows examples of tension gashes from the Vale of Glamorgan which give further evidence in addition to faulting (eg from Dunraven Bay Fig. 7.30) and open folding of Mesozoic strata for N-S compression. N-S planar tension gashes and conjugate NW-SE dextral and NE-SW sinistral sigmoidal tension gashes are common. However it is difficult to correlate the palaeo-stress system responsible for fault reactivation and tension gash formation due to the multiphase nature of deformation eg strike-slip along the E-W Trwyn-yWitch Fault and oblique slip along NW-SE faults at Nash Point. Furthermore some tension gashes strike between NW and NE trending sets and have incongruous senses of shear for a simple N-S compressive system.

The fault strikes east-west and has a variable southerly dip. Based on interpretations of the northern ends of the Vale reflection lines (Chapter 5) it dips at about 40 and links with a Variscan flat thrust at a depth of about 3-4km. It is unclear as to whether the geometry of the fault is listric as quoted by Frodsham (1990). The displacement cannot be resolved on the seismic data. However Frodsham (1990) stated that the displacement reaches a maximum of about 1140m, downthrowing to the south and that there appears to be a rapid lateral loss of displacement eastwards towards a probable tip at which point some of the displacement is accommodated by the en echelon Ty'n-y-nant Fault. The Ty'n-y-nant Fault has a displacement of only 90m.

The general east-west trend of the Moel Gilau Fault indicates that it has a Variscan origin. By analogy to east-west trending faults of North Devon and SW Dyfed, it may even have a pre-Variscan history, for example the thickness of Middle Coal Measure strata increases southwards across the fault (Chapter 4). Gayer & Jones (1989) suggested that the Moel Gilau Fault controlled the passage of northward vergent thrusts into the Coalfield during Variscan compression. Seismic evidence for this is inconclusive. However Frodsham (1990) stated that the fault displaces coalfield cross faults and Variscan folding and therefore suggested that the main surface extension is post-Variscan in age. Frodsham further suggested that the parallel nature of the Moel Gilau Fault and the Bristol Channel fault zone may indicate a Triassic extensional reactivation history for the fault. If this analogy with the Bristol Channel Fault Zone is correct, a major Early Cretaceous movement event is more likely. However a broader analogy with the Crediton Fault in North Devon suggests that the total extensional displacement along the fault is partly Permo-Triassic in age. Fig. 7.29 A-H Planar and sigmoidal tension gashes in Liassic strata of the South Wales coast. The photographs show good evidence for N-S trending planar tension gashes and sigmoidal tension gash envelopes trending other than N-S.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Fig. 7.30 Examples of faults from Dunraven Bay. Striation analysis of these faults is combined with tension gash orientations to reconstruct palaeo-stress orientations.

7.6 STRIATION ANALYSIS OF POST-VARISCAN FAULTS FROM THE BRISTOL CHANNEL BORDERLANDS. Fig. 7.31 shows stereographic projections of fault data from the Vale of Glamorgan and Somerset. Contoured stereographic projections summarise the data and illustrate the deduced stress orientations for a small sample of faults rigorously measured for the Right Trihedra Analysis (Lisle, 1988). Both the low correlation value and anomalous stress orientation obtained are probably a result of a multigenerational sample of faults as would be expected across the study area. Further and more detailed surveys are required to (1) resolve the exact stress orientations and (2) to identify discrete populations of faults rather than type examples as outlined in this study. Once populations have been identified and the stress system qualified then the sense of movement along reactivated Variscan faults can easily be predicted and tested by direct field observations.
Fig. 7.31 Stereographic projections of fault data from the Bristol Channel Borderlands and striation analysis contour plots to show the deduced palaeostress orientation for a small population of faults using the Right Dihedra and Right Trihedra method of analysis (Lisle, 1988). A-H, located on the sketch map, represent small samples of fault data from each locality. The striation analysis plots give contours in percentage probability of the occurrence of the maximum principal compressive stress axis at any given point.
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7.7 CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES Cooper, M.A. & Williams, G.D., 1989. (eds.). Inversion Tectonics. Geological Society Baker, J.W., 1982. The Precambrian of south-west Dyfed. In:Geological Excursions in Dyfed, south-west Wales, (ed.) M.G. Bassett. Published for the Geologists' Association, South Wales Group by the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Dunham, R.J., 1962. Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional texture. In W.E. Ham (ed.), Classification of Brooks, M., 1970. Pre-Llandovery tectonism and the Malvern structure. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Volume 81, part 2, pp. 249-268. Durrance, E.M. & Laming, D.J.C., 1982. (eds.) The Geology of Devon, University of Brooks, M., 1992. Discussion on the crustal evolutionary model for the Variscides of Ireland and Wales from SWAT seismic data; reply by B. Le Gall with collaboration of C. Bois and the ECORSSWAT Group. Journal of the Geological Society of London, Volume 149, Part 4, p. 681. Freshney, E.C., Beer, K.C. & Williams, B.J., 1979. Geology of the country around Chumleigh. Memoirs of the Geological Brooks, M., Trayner, P.M. & Trimble, T.J., 1988. Survey of Great Britain, (Sheet 309 N.S.). Exeter. Edmonds, E.A., Whittaker, A. & Williams, B.J., 1985. Geology of the country around Ilfracombe and Barnstaple. British Geological Survey. Memoir for sheet 277 and 293 N.S. carbonate rocks. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 1, pp. 108-121. Special Publication, No.44. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Boston, Melbourne.

The Bristol Channel Borderlands contain a variety of post-Variscan faults that are in some cases demonstrably linked to Variscan root structures. There is clear evidence for a polyphase Mesozoic-Caenozoic movement history which in some cases involved the inversion of earlier Mesozoic stem structures.

A provisional version of Fig, 7.31 constructed 1989 to 1990. In light of the evidence for late compression in the Vale of Glamorgan and Somerset it is likely that the Bristol Channel Fault Zone underwent positive inversion from LateCretaceous to Tertiary times in addition to Early Cretaceous negative inversion.

Mesozoic reactivation of Variscan thrusting in the Bristol Channel area, UK. Journal of the Geological Society of London, Volume 145, pp. 439-444. Frodsham, K., 1990. An investigation of Geological structure within opencast coal sites in South Wales. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff. Chapman, T.J., 1989. The Permian to Cretaceous

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marios Miliorizos 7th February 2008

structural evolution of the Western Approaches Basin (Melville Sub-basin), UK. From Cooper, M.A. & Williams, G.D. (eds), 1989. Inversion Tectonics. Geological Society Special Publications No.44, pp. 177-200.

Gardiner, P.R.R. & Sheridan, D.J.R., 1981. Tectonic framework of the Celtic Sea and adjacent areas with special reference to the location of the Variscan Front. Journal of Structural Geology, Volume 3, No. 3, pp. 317-331.

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CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands Gayer, R.A. & Jones, J., 1989. The Variscan foreland in South Wales. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, 9, pp. 177-179. Jones, J.A., 1989. Sedimentation and tectonics in George, T.N., 1970. South Wales (3rd Edition), British Regional Geology, HMSO. the eastern part of the South Wales Coalfield. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff. George, T.N., 1974. The Cenozoic Evolution of Wales. In: The Upper Palaeozoic and Post-Palaeozoic rocks of Wales, (Ed.) T.R. Owen. University of Wales Press, Cardiff. Jones, J.A., 1991. A mountain front model for the Variscan deformation of the South Wales Coalfield. Journal of the Geological Society of London, Volume 148, Part 5, pp. 881891. Williams, H., Turner, F.J. & Gilbert, C.M., 1954. Petrography, San Francisco, Freeman. Kelling, G., 1974. Upper Carboniferous Sedimentation in South Wales. In: The Gutmanis, J.C., Hailwood, E.A., Maddock R.H. & Vita-Finzi, C., 1991. The use of dating techniques to constrain the age of fault activity: a case history from north Somerset, United Kingdom. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 24, pp. 363-374. Kelling, G., 1988. Silesian sedimentation and tectonics in the South Wales Basin: a brief review. In: Besly, B. & Kelling, G. (eds.), Sedimentation in a Synorogenic Basin Holloway, S. & Chadwick, R.A., 1986. The Sticklepath-Lustleigh fault zone: Tertiary sinistral reactivation of a Variscan dextral strike-slip fault. Journal of the Geological Society, London, Volume 143, pp. 447452. Lake, S.D. & Karner, G.D.,1987. The structure and evolution of the Wessex Basin, southern England: an example of inversion Jenkyns, H.C. & Senior, J.R., 1991. Geological evidence for intra-Jurassic faulting in the Wessex Basin and its margins. Journal of the Geological Society, London, Volume 148, pp. 245-260. Le Gall, B., 1991. Crustal evolutionary model for the Variscides of Ireland and Wales from SWAT seismic data. Journal of the Jones, O.T., 1931. Some episodes in the geological Geological Society of London, Volume tectonics. Tectonophysics, Volume 137, pp. 347-378. Woodland, A.W. & Evans, W.B., 1964. The Complex: the Upper Carboniferous of North-west Europe. Blackie, Glasgow and London, pp. 38-42. Upper Palaeozoic and Post-Palaeozoic Rocks of Wales, (ed.) T.R. Owen. University of Wales Press, Cardiff. history of the Bristol Channel region. Rep. Brit. Ass., Bristol, 1930, pp. 57-82. 148, pp. 759-774.

CHAPTER SEVEN Tectonic Evolution of the Bristol Channel borderlands

Lisle, R.J., 1988. ROMSA: A BASIC Program for Paleostress Analysis using Fault-Striation Data. Computers & Geosciences, Volume 14, No.2, pp. 255-259.

Mechie, J. & Brooks, M., 1984. A seismic study of deep geological structure in the Bristol Channel area. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 87, pp. 661689.

Miliorizos, M., 1991. Sub-Mesozoic stratigraphy and Variscan structure under the Inner Bristol Channel. (Abstract). Proceedings of the Ussher Society, Volume 7, Part 4, p. 430.

Powell, C.M., 1987. Inversion tectonics in SW Dyfed. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 98, pp. 193-203.

Ruffell, A., 1990. Stratigraphy and structure of the Mercia Mudstone Group (Triassic) in the western part of the Wessex Basin. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, Volume 7, pp. 263-267.

Geology of the South Wales Coalfield, Part IV. The country around Pontypridd and Maesteg. (Explanation of one-inch geological sheet 248). Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. England and Wales. Third Edition, London, HMSO.

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FIGURE CAPTIONS

Fig. 7.9 A part of seismic line SWAT 4 traversing the North and South Celtic Sea Basins. The section shows the unconformity at Cretaceous levels (highlighted by arrows) overlying a major syncline above a possible

Fig. 7.1 Comparison of the tectonic history of the Bristol Channel Basin, the Wessex Basin and Celtic Sea Basin. Based on Lake & Karner (1987).

Variscan thrust.

Fig. 7.10 Stem faults at Nash Point, above the basement related Cothelstone-Merthyr Mawr root fault, which Fig. 7.2 Location of examples of reactivated faults in the Bristol Channel Borderlands. Key: MG Moel Gilau Fault; D-St M Dinas St Mary's Well Bay Fault; MM Merthyr Mawr Fault; TyW Trwyn-y-Witch Fault; NP faults at Nash Point; BCFZ Bristol Channel Fault Zone; C Cothelstone Fault; NSCFZ North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone; LF Lynton Fault; CM Combe Martin Valley Fault; S Sticklepath Fault; P Portledge Fault; SMM faulting at Speke's Mill Mouth. Fig. 7.11 Aerial and cliff section views of faulting in the foreshore between Nash Point and Cwm Nash. Displacements along the faults are on a metre scale. Displacements and movement vectors along faults at Nash Point contrast with those along the Cothelstone Fault but are probably kinematically related to the root fault. The change in strike and sense of movement may be due to a refraction of the principal stresses on passing up Fig. 7.3 Photographs A-C show the structural and stratigraphic contacts bounding the Peppercombe outlier. A, shows a poorly exposed extensional fault juxtaposing Permo-Triassic breccio-conglomerates and sandstones, and red stained sandstones, siltstones and shales of the Carboniferous Bude Formation. B & C, show the gentle to moderate dip of the unconformity between Permo-Triassic and Carboniferous and the reorientation of a Variscan fold immediately beneath the erosion surface. D, shows the typical Variscan folding and mesoscale thrusting in the red stained Bude Formation nearby which has an original Variscan orientation. Fig. 7.13 Sketch map of the Merthyr Mawr Fault at Black Rocks near Newton based on 1:10,000 scale mapping. Key: Carboniferous, FPL Friar's Point Limestone, OxHL Oxwich Head Limestone; TBr Triassic Breccio-conglomerate. Fig. 7.4 The grainsize and texture of the red beds in the Peppercombe outlier. Fig. 7.14 Structure of the Cothelstone Fault and the North Somerset Coastal Fault Zone near Watchet. Fig. 7.5 Palaeomagnetic data from the Peppercombe outlier showing a Permo-Triassic orientation. The axis of magnetisation plunges too steeply to be Carboniferous in age. Fig. 7.15 Fault map of the Cothelstone Fault at Daw's Castle Enclosure and the wave cut platform bordering Warren Bay. The map is based on 1:10 000 scale mapping. Key: 1 & 2 represent normal and late reverse Fig. 7.6 A & B Mesoscale displacement thrust from the Foreland Point-Lynmouth section showing an anomalous drag close to the thrust plane possibly due to post-Variscan extension. Fig. 7.16 Sketch map of the drag folding associated with the Cothelstone Fault indicating a dextral Fig. 7.7 A-E Examples of tectonic and synsedimentary faults in Rhaetic to Liassic strata from Penarth Head. The photographs show good evidence for intra-Jurassic faulting and unrelated Late Mesozoic tectonism. C & D, show views of the same fault. It is unclear, due to erosion, whether it represents another synsedimentary structure. Fig. 7.17 Oblique-slip (dextral strike-slip) mesoscale faults in Triassic strata of St Mary's Well Bay which may represent stem faults of the reactivated Dinas cross fault of the South Wales Coalfield. These post-Triassic Fig. 7.8 The seismic structure of the Bristol Channel Fault Zone (BCFZ) on Merlin GECO-PRAKLA line 155 in the Inner Bristol Channel. The interpreted section shows the negative inversion of the Variscan BCT and GMT which formed the BCF and GMF and splays of the BCFZ. faults are related to a major fault which juxtaposes the Triassic in the west and Rhaetic-Liassic strata in the east. displacement. Key to stratigraphy: T Triassic red marls; Rh Rhaetic green and red marls; L Liassic limestones and shales. Numbers represent angle of dip. movement along the NSCFZ respectively. Boxes mark hangingwall of faults; ticks mark side of downthrow. Fig. 7.12 Oblique-slip and normal faulting in Liassic strata of Nash Point. sequence from a thick Palaeozoic sequence to a Mesozoic veneer during the same tectonic event. were probably formed during a Late Mesozoic-Tertiary N-S compressional event.

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Fig. 7.18 A & B Sketch maps of the St Mary's Well Bay Fault and Dinas cross fault to the NW. The Dinas root fault has probably grown upwards into the Triassic strata of St Mary's Well Bay as a strike slip fault. Key to (A): P Pontypridd, C Cardiff. Pz Palaeozoic; Mz Mesozoic; UC Unconformity. Key to (B): MG Moel Gilau Fault; TyN Ty'n-y-nant Fault; D Dinas Fault; C Cymmer Fault; Ll Llanwonno Fault; M Miskin Fault. Thrusting is represented by lines marked with triangles on the hangingwall blocks. The location of (B) from Woodland & Evans (1964) is shown on (A).

Fig. 7.29 A-H Planar and sigmoidal tension gashes in Liassic strata of the South Wales coast. The photographs show good evidence for N-S trending planar tension gashes and sigmoidal tension gash envelopes trending other than N-S.

Fig. 7.30 Examples of faults from Dunraven Bay. Striation analysis of these faults is combined with tension gash orientations to reconstruct palaeo-stress orientations.

Fig. 7.19 Examples of strike-slip faults in Liassic strata of Cold Knap near Barry.

Fig. 7.31 Stereographic projections of fault data from the Bristol Channel Borderlands and striation analysis contour plots to show the deduced palaeostress orientation for a small population of faults using the Right

Fig. 7.20 A-D (A) is a photo-mosaic of the Heritage Coast from the south side of Trwyn-y-Witch to Nash Point. It is likely that faulting along the north side of the headland (Fig. 7.22) links with the decametre scale folding highlighted in the foreground of the mosaic. B-D show examples of mesoscale faulting nearby for comparison with the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault.

Dihedra and Right Trihedra method of analysis (Lisle, 1988). A-H, located on the sketch map, represent small samples of fault data from each locality. The striation analysis plots give contours in percentage probability of the occurrence of the maximum principal compressive stress axis at any given point.

Fig. 7.21 Kinematic indicators along the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault.

Fig. 7.22 Alternative interpretations of the structural fabric in the brecciated zone bordering the Trwyn-y-Witch Fault. A, B & C show details of the brecciated fabric which is also represented in photographs of Fig. 7.21.

Fig. 7.23 Structure of the NSCFZ near St Audrie's Bay.

Fig. 7.24 Prominent faulting and gypsum remobilisation in the Red Marls near Watchet, associated with the NSCFZ.

Fig. 7.25 Structure of the Red Marls at Penarth and Barry, contrasting with the intense deformation in Red Marls near Watchet.

Fig. 7.26 A-D Examples of dipping Eocene-Oligocene kaolinitic clay and lignite beds of the Petrockstow Basin.

Word document: PhD Chapter 7 Seven M. Miliorizos 7th February 2008

Fig. 7.27 A-H Evidence for locally intense cleavage formation and ductile deformation in Carboniferous rocks near Greencliff where the Sticklepath Fault is expected to intersect the North Devon Coast.

Fig. 7.28 Seismic structure of a steeply dipping fault which correlates with the Combe Martin Valley Fault (CMVF). The amount of displacement along the fault is small in the offshore Mesozoic strata.

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