Faults I

Fault
A fault is a mesoscopic to macroscopic plane
(listric faults are curved at large scale!) along
which the two blocks on either side have displaced
(slipped) relative to one another
The slip is primarily due to brittle deformation
This distinguishes faults from fault/shear
zone
Deformation in a fault zone is distributed along
a set of closely-spaced faults within a zone
Deformation in a shear zone is ductile (i.e., high
strain without macroscopic loss of cohesion),
involving either crystal plastic or catraclastic flow
mechanisms (or a combination = semibrittle)

Scale of Faults
The range of size for faults is from:
microscopic, mm scale (10-3 m), to
thousands of kilometer (106 m)
(regional, lithospheric)
A fault is called a shear fracture if
its dimensions are smaller than one
meter

Net Slip
The net slip of a fault is the magnitude
and direction of relative displacement on
the fault plane between two previously
contiguous points (piercing points).
The net slip is a vector; it requires
magnitude (e.g., in meters) and a
direction (trend/plunge)
It can be resolved into its components
We also need to define the sense of
slip (or shear) to completely define the
net slip

Net slip
The net slip vector can be resolved into
any arbitrary pair of components, for
example
along the strike (strike-slip)
along the dip (dip-slip)
oblique to the strike (oblique-slip)
This is the most common case!
The components for the dip-slip are:
Heave: horizontal component of dipslip
Throw: vertical component of dip-slip

Measuring Net Slip

Need two previously contiguous points
(piercing points) on the fault plane
These two points (one on the hanging wall
and the other on the footwall) are the
intersection of a so-called piercing line with
the fault
The piercing line, defined by intersection
of two planes (e.g., two beddings, fault and
bedding), becomes broken after faulting

Slip Lineation
Lineation on the fault plane that form parallel to
the net slip, for at least the last increment of
slip
Slip lineation forms parallel to the intersection of the
fault plane and the movement plane (M-plane, which
is the 1 3 plane)
The 1 3 plane, of course, is perpendicular to the
2, which lies on the plane of the fault(s)
It also contains the pole to the fault
The M-plane is constructed by putting the pole to
the fault and the slip lineation on a same great circle
The attitude of the slip lineation provides the
attitude of latest slip (trend/plunge)
The sense of slip may be provided with shear
indicators on the fault surface

Slickenside
d surface &
Slip fibers

Anderson Faulting
Theory
The surface of Earth is a principal
plane of stress (i.e., there is no shear
stress along the surface of Earth)
The normal to the surface is therefore
parallel to one of the principal
stresses (1, 2, 3)

Principal stresses and

faults
According to the Anderson theory of
faulting, one principal axis of stress is
always perpendicular to the earth
surface
(i.e., is vertical), while the other two
are horizontal
Normal fault: 1 is vertical
Reverse fault: 3 is vertical
Strike-slip fault: 2 is vertical

Terminology - Non-vertical
faults
Block above the fault plane is the
hanging-wall
Block below the fault plane is the
footwall

By convention, geologist keep track

of the movement of the hanging wall
(not the footwall)
The hanging wall can move up or down
This is the basis of the classification
of faults

Plots of slip lineation for

kinematic analysis

These plots (of slip linear) are used for

kinematic analysis, i.e., determining the
direction of motion along the fault
For this we need the attitude of the fault,
the orientation of the slip lines, and the
sense of slip

In this plot, the slip line is decorated

with an arrow which indicates the
direction (and sense) of slip (along the
M-Plane)

Procedure for plotting

Plot the trace of the fault and its pole
fault data

If there are two conjugate faults, then plot

both
Note:
The conjugate faults develop if the difference in
the value between the maximum and the other
two principal stresses is significant
If the intermediate and minimum principal
stresses are equal, and say 1 is vertical, then
normal faults with variable strikes would develop.

For each fault, plot the slip lineation (using its

trend/plunge or pitch) on the fault plane

 The intersection of the two conjugate faults defines the

direction of the 2
The bisector of the acute angle defines the 1, and the
bisector of the obtuse angle defines the 3
Both 1 and 3 lie on the M-Plane

Plot the M-plane (it contains the fault pole and slip line)
Decorate the slip line, on the M-plane/fault, with a short
line (called slip linear), drawn along the M-plane
If we know the sense of slip (e.g., normal, reverse),
say from slip fibers, decorate the line with an arrow to
indicate the relative movement of the HW block (e.g.,
arrow points updip along the M-plane)
Distinguish the upward slip lines from downward ones

Fault-slip data collected at selected sites along the main

transverse faults in the Northern Apennines. Bonini, 2009

 Notice that the direction of the 1 should be steep for

the case of normal faults, and the slip linear(s)
must be along the true dip, downdip toward the
premitive
For the case of a reverse fault, 1 should be gently
plunging, near the primitive, and the slip linear(s)
should point updip
For the case of strike slip fault, 1 is near the
primitive, and the sense of the slip is indicated by a
couple (remember that the acute wedge facing 1
goes in!).
For each case, conjugate faults intersect along the 2

Direction of shortening vs.

From
extension
the slip linear and faults
orientation, we can find the shortening
and extension axes for the fault
These axes lie on the M-plane
They are perpendicular to each other
The slip linear arrow points toward the
extension axis, and away from the
shortening direction

A set of conjugate normal

faults, with slip lines and
slip linears.

The corresponding M-planes and

M-axes (normal to the M-planes).

http://docvsoft.com/orient/Documentation/html/ch03_spherical.html

Tension axes or T-axes (yellow) and

pressure axes or P-axes (green) for the
same data set on last slide, with a
contoured gradient on the P-axes.

A beach ball diagram, can be plotted to

display the fault nodal planes. The nodal
planes are estimated based on the
eigenvectors of the M-axes and P-axes.

http://docvsoft.com/orient/Documentation/html/ch03_spherical.html

Differential stress and

Infaulting
sandbox experiments, it has been shown
that:

Normal faults form when 1 remains constant

while 3 weakens (i.e., differential stress
increases as 3 goes to the left on the Mohr
diagram)
i.e., vertical push is constant, while 3 (horizontal) is
reduced, i.e., circle grows to the left

Reverse faults form when 3 remains constant

while increases 1 increases
i.e., circle grows to the right on the Mohr diagram

Stress and Normal Faulting

Stress and Reverse Faulting

Terminology
Emergent fault
Active fault that cuts the surface of
Earth
Exhumed fault
Exposure of an inactive fault at the
surface due to uplift or erosion
Blind fault
A fault that dies out in the
subsurface without intersecting the
surface of Earth

General Types of Fault

Faults are divided into the following three
categories based on the relative
displacement of the fault blocks with
respect to the attitude of the fault plane:
Dip slip fault - The hanging wall block
moves (up or down) parallel to the dip of
the fault plane
The net slip is pure dip-slip

Classification of Faults
Strike slip fault - Both blocks move
parallel to the strike of the fault plane
There is no hanging wall in this case!
The net slip is pure strike-slip
Oblique slip fault - The displacement
vector is oblique to both strike and dip
The senses of both the dip slip (normal or
reverse) and strike slip (left- or right-lateral)
are needed for a oblique-slip fault
Left-lateral, normal, oblique-slip fault
Right-lateral, reverse, oblique-slip fault

Extensional or
Contractional
Contractional fault
Forms due to shortening of the layers
Rock units become duplicated
Includes reverse and thrust fault
Extensional fault
Forms due to lengthening of a layer
Involves loss of stratigraphic section
Includes normal fault

Extensional &
contractional Faults

Dip-slip Faults
Dip-slip - Motion is along the dip
High-angle ( >60o)
Intermediate angle (30o-60o)
Low-angle <30o)
Two types of dip-slip: Normal and Reverse
Normal fault - If the relative motion of the
hanging wall block is down-dip on the fault
Is caused by extension
Forms horst and graben
Example: Basin and Range, Mid-ocean ridge

Dip-slip Faults
Reverse fault, if the motion of the
hanging wall block is up-dip on the
fault.
Caused by contraction
e.g., faults in subduction zones

Thrust is a low-angle reverse fault

e.g. Grand Tetons; the Appalachians

Strike-slip Faults
Strike-slip - one block moves horizontally
past another block:
Are usually very long (100s - 1000s of
km)
NOTE:
At a small scale, fault attitude may be
constant
At a larger scale, however, both the dip
and/or strike of a fault may change

Strike-Slip Faults Types

Left-lateral (sinistral) strike slip fault
To an observer standing on one block and
looking across the fault, the other block
seems to have moved to the left

Right-lateral (dextral) strike slip fault

The block across the fault moved to the right
of the observer. e.g., San Andreas fault
Oblique-slip
motion is oblique to dip and strike
e.g., normal, left-lateral, right-lateral,
reverse

Fault Type
Listric fault:
The dip of the fault varies with depth.
Fault bend:
Is where both the dip and strike of a fault
changes.
Flat:
A fault which is locally parallel to the
bedding (in the hanging wall or the
footwall).
A fault parallel to bedding in the hanging
wall may be across the bedding in the
footwall, and vice versa!
Ramp: A fault which is locally across bedding

Ramps/Flats before & after

Thrusting

Bends
The change in the attitude of the fault
steps the fault either to the left (leftstep) or to the right (right-step)
Depending on the sense of
displacement of the fault, the right or
left step may produces either
contraction (restraining bends) or
extension (releasing bends) across
the step

Basement thrust over younger

sediments in transpressional
segment of San Andreas fault

Fault Separation
Distance between the displaced parts of a marker
as measured along a specific line, on a
specific plane.
Is usually not the same as the net slip,
unless the specified line is parallel to the
net slip.
It depends on the attitude of the displaced
marker.
NOTE:
Two non-parallel markers will produce different
separation
Separation along the fault for one marker may
show right-lateral, and for another, a left-lateral
sense of slip!

Fault Separation - Facts

A strike-slip fault cutting a horizontal
sequence of layers produces no
horizontal (strike) separation!
A dip-slip fault cutting vertical layers
produces no dip separation
Use linear features (e.g., fence, roads, etc.),
or trace of a planar feature, on a horizontal
plane, to determine the horizontal separation
Heave and throw are components of the dip
separation

Faulting
Faulting, as a mode of failure, is the most
significant way in which lithospheric masses
are tectonically transported relative to each
other, especially in the seismogenic upper
crust
Deformation in this brittle part of the crust takes
place by pressure-sensitive, strain rate-insensitive
frictional sliding on discrete fault planes with little
inelastic strain and dislocation activity
Faults commonly involve frictional sliding
along pre-existing joints, veins, and other
discontinuities, but can also initiate and
propagate in intact rocks

Fault Geomorphology &

Scale

Active faults such as the San

Andreas:

Show considerable variation in the

irregularity of their trace
Commonly occur in variably-oriented
strands or segments
The segments grow and link as the total
displacement increases
Range in fault length is over eight orders of
magnitude (10-3 m to 105 m)
Display a power law size distribution; i.e.,
fractal

Fault Surface Structures

Fault displacement produces frictionrelated striations (polishing and grooving)
indicating the latest, local direction of
movement and sometimes absolute
direction of movement
The slip lineation are called slickensides
or slickenlines
Fiber growth in the direction of fault
displacement, on the slickensided surface,
provide clear indications of relative offset
Extensional fractures occur at a high angle
to slip direction and dip steeply into fault
plane

Structural features to Recognize

Faults
polishing and grooving
slickensides
breccia
gouge
mylonite
shear zone
associated fractures
drag of layers adjacent to fault
juxtaposition of dissimilar rock types
displacement of planar structures

Fault
Brecci
a

Clay
Goug
e

Mylonite vs. Cataclasite

Geomorphic features

fault scarp
fault-line scarps
triangular facets
alignment of facets
increase of stream gradients at the
fault line
hanging valleys
aligned springs and vegetation
landslides
displaced stream courses

Fault Scarp

Fault-line scarp caused by

faulting of a resistant layer

Fault and Stress

Conjugate shear fractures develop at about
= 30 degrees from 1
1 bisects the acute angle of about 60o
between the two fractures
3 bisects the obtuse angle between the
two fractures

Faults and the Principal

Stresses
Reverse faults
are more likely to form if

is

vertical and constant (at a standard state),

while horizontal, compressive 1 and 2 increase
in value compared to the standard state
Normal faults form if 1 is vertical and
constant, while horizontal 3 and 2 decrease in
value, or if horizontal 3 is tensile
Strike-slip faults form if 2 is vertical and
constant, while horizontal 1 and 2 increase
and decreases in value, respectively

Semibrittle shear zone SC

Folitaion

Riedel
R, R',
and P
shears