Analogue sandbox modelling of Miocene extensional faulting in the Outer Moray Firth

Higgs, W.G.; McClay, Ken

doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.1993.071.01.07

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Early studies have suggested that the layer-parallel displacement of these faults is accommodated by regional extension of the host succession (e.g., Higgs and McClay, 1993;Clausen et al, 1999); a hypothesis further developed by recent field studies suggesting polygonal faults form due to radial extension (Antonellini and Mollema, 2015;Petracchini et al, 2015). As outlined above, it is difficult to explain the observed uniform distribution of fault strikes in this system by unidirectional gravity-driven or tectonic extension, but could radial extension of the host succession explain the observed fault displacement?…”

Section: Strainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(1) density inversion by differential compaction between the host succession and the overlying strata (Henriet et al, 1988;Watterson et al, 2000); (2) internal layer-parallel extension of the host succession driven by gravitational sliding (Higgs and McClay, 1993;Clausen et al, 1999); (3) hydraulic fracturing due to differential compaction and overpressure build-up (Cartwright, 1994a,b); (4) syneresis (i.e., spontaneous contraction of a sediment-water gel (Dewhurst et al, 1999); (5) low coefficients of residual friction that are too low to sustain in situ stresses along the fault plane (Goulty, 2001(Goulty, , 2002(Goulty, , 2008); (6) particle dissolution during diagenesis, which induces tensile stresses of sufficient magnitude for normal faulting (Shin et al, 2008;Cartwright, 2011); and (7) yielding, which describes behavior of clays not captured by classic Mohr-Coulomb or Drucker-Prager criteria (Laurent et al, 2012). There is thus clearly a lack of consensus on the mechanism driving polygonal faulting, reflecting, at least in part, our poor understanding of their kinematics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Kinematics of Polygonal Fault Systems: Observations from the Northern North Sea

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Layer-bound, low-displacement normal faults, arranged into a broadly polygonal pattern, are common in many sedimentary basins. Despite having constrained their gross geometry, we have a relatively poor understanding of the processes controlling the nucleation and growth (i.e., the kinematics) of polygonal fault systems. In this study we use high-resolution 3-D seismic reflection and borehole data from the northern North Sea to undertake a detailed kinematic analysis of faults forming part of a seismically well-imaged polygonal fault system hosted within the up to 1,000 m thick, Early Palaeocene-to-Middle Miocene mudstones of the Hordaland Group. Growth strata and displacement-depth profiles indicate faulting commenced during the Eocene to early Oligocene, with reactivation possibly occurring in the late Oligocene to middle Miocene. Mapping the position of displacement maxima on 137 polygonal faults suggests that the majority (64%) nucleated in the lower 500 m of the Hordaland Group. The uniform distribution of polygonal fault strikes in the area indicates that nucleation and growth were not driven by gravity or far-field tectonic extension as has previously been suggested. Instead, fault growth was likely facilitated by low coefficients of residual friction on existing slip surfaces, and probably involved significant layer-parallel contraction (strains of 0.01-0.19) of the host strata. To summarize, our kinematic analysis provides new insights into the spatial and temporal evolution of polygonal fault systems.

show abstract

Section: Strainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinematics of Polygonal Fault Systems: Observations from the Northern North Sea

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This change in sedimentation could be a result of either source area rejuvenation due to uplift, or a result of increased erosion rates due to climate change. Higgs and McClay [1993] suggest a tilt of the Moray Firth region from the NW occurred late in the deposition of the lower Miocene sequence (20 -16 Ma). As a result of this tilt, the upper Miocene deposits onlap older sequences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Minor Miocene extensional faulting affected Oligo-Miocene sediments in the Outer Moray Firth Basin as the Paleogene slope sequence underwent a gravitational collapse caused by the uplift of the NW region. The faulting, and hence the tilting, is timed as middle Miocene [Higgs and McClay, 1993].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cenozoic vertical motions in the Moray Firth Basin associated with initiation of the Iceland Plume

Mackay¹,

Turner

Jones

et al. 2005

Tectonics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is likely that the Iceland mantle plume generated transient uplift across the North Atlantic region when it initiated in earliest Cenozoic time. However, transient uplift recorded in sedimentary basins fringing the region can be overprinted by the effects of permanent uplift. Identifying and quantifying transient uplift can only be achieved in areas which have a well‐constrained stratigraphic record and across which the relative importance of permanent and transient uplift varies (e.g., the Moray Firth Basin, North Sea). By analyzing the subsidence of 50 boreholes from the Moray Firth Basin (MFB), residual vertical motions unrelated to rifting have been isolated. Transient uplift of 180–425 m occurred during Paleocene times. The western MFB has also been affected by permanent Cenozoic uplift, with denudation decreasing from 1.3 ± 0.1 km in the west of the basin to zero denudation east of 1°W. Dynamic support above the Iceland Plume led to transient uplift of the entire MFB in early Paleocene times, peaking in latest Paleocene times. In early Eocene times the effect of the plume waned, and subsidence occurred. Paleocene permanent uplift of the NW British Isles is generally accepted to have been due to magmatic underplating of the crust emplaced during the British Tertiary Igneous Province (61–58.5 Ma). The cause of Neogene uplift events is poorly understood, but it could also be associated with the Iceland Plume.

show abstract

“…Up to now, more than 50 basins have found the existence of polygonal faults. Some geologists presented different formation mechanisms, including density inversion [3,4], gravity sliding or collapse [5], episodic hydrofracturing [6], "volumetric contraction" [7], and low coefficients of friction [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic Expression of Polygonal Faults and Its Impact on Fluid Flow Migration for Gas Hydrates Formation in Deep Water of the South China Sea

Chen

Wang

et al. 2011

Journal of Geological Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Polygonal faults were identified from three-dimensional (3D) seismic data in the middle-late Miocene marine sequences of the South China Sea. Polygonal faults in the study area are normal faults with fault lengths ranging from 100 to 1500 m, fault spaces ranging from 40 to 800 m, and throws ranging from 10 to 40 m. Gas hydrate was inferred from the seismic polarity, the reflection strength, and the temperature-pressure equilibrium computation results. Gas hydrates located in the sediments above the polygonal faults layer. Polygonal faults can act as pathways for the migration of fluid flow, which can supply hydrocarbons for the formation of gas hydrates.

show abstract

Analogue sandbox modelling of Miocene extensional faulting in the Outer Moray Firth

Cited by 33 publications

References 16 publications

Kinematics of Polygonal Fault Systems: Observations from the Northern North Sea

Kinematics of Polygonal Fault Systems: Observations from the Northern North Sea

Cenozoic vertical motions in the Moray Firth Basin associated with initiation of the Iceland Plume

Seismic Expression of Polygonal Faults and Its Impact on Fluid Flow Migration for Gas Hydrates Formation in Deep Water of the South China Sea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About