The transpressional strain model applied to strike-slip, oblique-convergent and oblique-divergent deformation

Krantz, Robert W.

doi:10.1016/0191-8141(94)00129-n

Cited by 70 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…We think that this is the simplest assumption, considering that the folds are located within a transpressional restraining double bend where shortening perpendicular to the master fault is to be expected. If wrench folding is signifi cant, then our minimum estimate is too high (e.g., Jamison, 1991;Krantz, 1995;Teyssier and Tikoff, 1998). Along section B-B′ we have assumed chevron fold geometries, consistent with the style of deformation observed in the fi eld.…”

Section: Shortening Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Akato Tagh bend along the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest Tibet 1: Smoothing by vertical-axis rotation and the effect of topographic stresses on bend-flanking faults

Cowgill

Yin

Arrowsmith

et al. 2004

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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To better understand the mechanics of restraining double bends and the strike-slip faults in which they occur, we investigated the relationship between topography and bedrock structure within the Akato Tagh, the largest restraining double bend along the active, left-slip Altyn Tagh fault. The bend comprises a ~90-km long, east-west striking central fault segment fl anked by two N70°E-striking sections that parallel the regional strike of the Altyn Tagh system. The three segments form two inside corners in the southwest and northeast sectors of the uplift where they link. We fi nd that both the topography and bedrock structure of the Akato Tagh restraining bend are strongly asymmetric. The highest and widest parts of the uplift are focused into two topographic nodes, one in each inside corner of the bend. Structural mapping of the western half of the bend suggests the southwest node coincides with a region of anomalously high, bend-perpendicular shortening. We also fi nd that partitioned, transpressional deformation within the Akato Tagh borderlands is absorbed by bend-parallel strike-slip faulting and bend-perpendicular folding, unlike the thrusting reported from many other double bends. Synthesis of these results leads to three implications of general signifi cance. First, we show that focusing of bend-perpendicular shortening into the two inside corners of a restraining double bend may cause both the bend and the fault to undergo vertical-axis rotation, thereby reducing the bend angle and smoothing the trace during progressive deformation. Such vertical-axis rotation may help explain why fault trace complexity is inversely related to total displacement along strike-slip faults. Second, we calculate four independent age estimates for the Akato Tagh bend, all of which are much younger than the Altyn Tagh system. We use these estimates in a companion study to postulate that the Altyn Tagh and similarly multi-stranded strike-slip systems may evolve by net strain hardening. Third, comparison of the Akato Tagh with other restraining double bends highlights systematic differences in the style of borderland faulting and we speculate that these variations result from different states of stress adjacent to the bends. Strike-slip dominated bends such as the Akato Tagh may form where σ H = σ 1 , σ v = σ 2 , and σ h = σ 3 whereas thrust-dominated bends like the Santa Cruz bend along the San Andreas fault form when σ H = σ 1 , σ h = σ 2 , σ v = σ 3 . This hypothesis predicts that the style of faulting along a restraining double bend can evolve during progressive deformation, and we show that either weakening of borderland faults or growth of restraining bend topography can convert thrust-dominated bends into strike-slip dominated uplifts such as the Akato Tagh.

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Section: Shortening Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Akato Tagh bend along the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest Tibet 1: Smoothing by vertical-axis rotation and the effect of topographic stresses on bend-flanking faults

Cowgill

Yin

Arrowsmith

et al. 2004

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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“…The identification of transpression or transtension regimes is typically based upon the following: (1) identification of the main active structures during each event; (2) mean trend of the slip vector or transport direction; (3) angle AE formed between the transport direction and fault zone boundary; (4) angle Ł between the horizontal maximum (instantaneous) strain axis and fault zone boundary (with 0 , Ł < 458 in transpression and 458 , Ł , 908 in transtension); (5) general trend of the principal strain axes (Sanderson & Marchini 1984;McCoss 1986;Fossen & Tikoff 1993;Tikoff & Teyssier 1994;Krantz 1995). Therefore, in an effort to determine the primary geometric and kinematic elements of the D A and D B events and thus the transpressional or transtensional component associated with them, we applied the geometrical construction as proposed by McCoss (1986).…”

Section: Fault-slip Analysis and Stress Regimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transtensional origin of the NE–SW Simitli basin along the Strouma (Strymon) Lineament, SW Bulgaria

Τρανός

Kachev

Mountrakis

2008

JGS

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Several depocentres have developed along the NNW-SSE-striking Strouma (Strymon) Lineament since the Miocene, forming the Strouma/Strymon graben system. Some of these basins, including the Dzherman and Simitli, strike at high angles to the lineament. The rhomboid-shaped Simitli basin is limited in the south by the NE-SW-striking, seismically active Kroupnik fault and contains terrestrial clastic sediments, which have been deposited since the Sarmatian. Its formation is attributed to 'wrench-dominated transtension' (D B event) which activated the basin's NE-SW-striking boundary faults as left-lateral strike-slip structures during the Early-Middle Miocene. This deformation was associated with NNE-SSW contraction and WNW-ESE extension and succeeded the NNE-SSW contraction caused by 'pure shear-dominated transpression' (D A event), which governed the region in Late Oligocene-Early Miocene times. During the Middle-Late Miocene, the D B event was followed by WNW-ESE 'pure shear-dominated extension' (D 1 event), which caused further widening of the basin. The transtensional origin of the Simitli basin is explained by lateral extrusion of the crustal mass squeezed between the Apulian-Adriatic microplate and the European foreland towards the North Aegean Sea. The subduction retreat of the Hellenic orogen possibly enhanced this lateral extrusion, and from the Late Miocene onwards the NE-SW-oriented back-arc extension balanced the continuing retreat.

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“…These components of deformation are incorporated into a strain-factorization tectonic model of dextral transpression with additional shearing in a vertical plane transmitted upward from the subduction megathrust. The model is developed using geometrical and mathematical formulations presented by Elliott (1972), Sanderson and Marchini (1984), Bradley and Bruhn (1988), Krantz (1995), and Teyssier et al (1995). The tectonic model is shown graphically in Figure 10 and the mathematical formulation is developed in the Appendix.…”

Section: Strain-factorization Tectonic Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deformation driven by subduction and microplate collision: Geodynamics of Cook Inlet basin, Alaska

Bruhn

Haeussler

2006

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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Late Neogene and younger deformation in Cook Inlet basin is caused by dextral transpression in the plate margin of southcentral Alaska. Collision and subduction ofthe Yakutat microplate at the northeastern end of the Aleutian subduction zone is driving the accretionary complex of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains toward the Alaska Range on the opposite side of the basin. This deformation creates belts of fault-cored anticlines that are prolifi c traps of hydrocarbons and are also potential sources for damaging earthquakes. The faults dip steeply, extend into the Mesozoic basement beneath the Tertiary basin fi ll, and form conjugate fl ower structures at some localities. Comparing the geometry of the natural faults and folds with analog models created in a sandbox deformation apparatus suggests that some of the faults accommodate signifi cant dextral as well as reverse-slip motion. We develop a tectonic model in which dextral shearing and horizontal shortening of the basin is driven by microplate collision with an additional component of thrust-type strain caused by plate subduction. This model predicts temporally fl uctuating stress fi elds that are coupled to the recurrence intervals of large-magnitude subduction zone earthquakes. The maximum principal compressive stress is oriented east-southeast to east-northeast with nearly vertical least compressive stress when the basin's lithosphere is mostly decoupled from the underlying subduction megathrust. This stress tensor is compatible with principal stresses inferred from focal mechanisms of earthquakes that occur within the crust beneath Cook Inlet basin. Locking of the megathrust between great magnitude earthquakes may cause the maximum prin-cipal compressive stress to rotate toward the northwest. Moderate dipping faults that strike north to northeast may be optimally oriented for rupture in the ambient stress fi eld, but steeply dipping faults within the cores of some anticlines are unfavorably oriented with respect to both modeled and observed stress fi elds, suggesting that elevated fl uid pressure may be required to trigger fault rupture.

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The transpressional strain model applied to strike-slip, oblique-convergent and oblique-divergent deformation

Cited by 70 publications

References 13 publications

The Akato Tagh bend along the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest Tibet 1: Smoothing by vertical-axis rotation and the effect of topographic stresses on bend-flanking faults

The Akato Tagh bend along the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest Tibet 1: Smoothing by vertical-axis rotation and the effect of topographic stresses on bend-flanking faults

Transtensional origin of the NE–SW Simitli basin along the Strouma (Strymon) Lineament, SW Bulgaria

Deformation driven by subduction and microplate collision: Geodynamics of Cook Inlet basin, Alaska

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