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Compressional Structures
& Cross section Restoration
Jan Kees Blom
December 2011
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Outline
Compressional plate margins
Types of deformation
Fold & Thrust belts
Folds
Thrusts
Balanced cross sections
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Compressional tectonics
Compressional tectonics are the
result of (sub)horizontal
contraction of the crust

1
is horizontal,
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vertical
We find compressional tectonics
along active plate margins.
It may result in subduction of
oceanic crust and strong
deformation of the continental
crust: orogenesis or mountain
building
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Active
margins
Tarbuck & Lutgens 1994
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Active margins, where?
Active margins are found
where two plates approach
each other
The Alpine-Himalayan Belt
the Andes
The Alaskan-Japanese belt
Indonesia, the Philippines
Ancient examples:
Ural, Hercynian Chains,
Scotland
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Onset of compression
The first stages of compression lead to the subduction of an
oceanic plate, due to the difference in density
A volcanic arc will be formed over the subducting plate.
The sediments deposited on the seafloor will be deformed in the
accretionary wedge.
Tarbuck & Lutgens 1994
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Volcanic arc
The volcanism associated with
subduction is andesitic in
nature, leading to very explosive
and destructive volcanoes
Examples are the Krakatoa, Mt.
Fuji, Etna, Merapi, Pinatubo,
Mt.St.Helens (pictures),
Vesuvius, etc.
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Continental collision
When the compression
continues, the continents
collide.
As there is no difference
in density between
continents, they will not
be subducted.
This leads to intense
deformation in the
collision zone =>
orogenesis or mountain
building
Tarbuck & Lutgens 1994
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Himalayas
In the Himalayas, the
Indian plate is partly
subducted below the
Asian plate, due to the
speed of the collision.
The oceanic plate breaks
off when the continents
collide
Tarbuck & Lutgens 1994
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Types of deformation
We can observe two kinds of deformation associated with continental
collisions:
brittle: faults
ductile: folds
These are generally found together: Fold and thrust belts
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Fold & Thrust Belts
F & T Belts can be found:
along the subduction trench, in sediments that are scraped off
the subducting plate (accretionary prism)
in the fore arc basin
in the back arc basin
Davis & Reynolds 1996, Fig 10.37
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Orogenesis
In the center of the
orogen, complicated
processes, (thrusting,
metamorphism, granite
intrusions) give complex
structures (picture)
Examples from the Alps
and the Appalachians
illustrate this
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The Alps
Twiss & Moores
1992, Fig. 6.20 &
11.1
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The Western Alps
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The Appalachians
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Fold and Thrust Belts
Emphasis here on fold and thrust belts
The crystalline basement is usually deformed in the core of the
orogen. As a result of this, the sedimentary cover will be
displaced outward and deformed separately from the basement
=> detachment along weak layers (salt, shales)
Example: Alps / Jura mountains:
Twiss & Moores 1992, Fig.11.2
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The detached cover is deformed, the basement is not.
Type of deformation is dependent on:

Detachment
Amount of
shortening
Type of
cover (soft
or strong
rocks)
Thickness
of cover
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Folds: definitions
Monocline: flexure in layers
antiform: concave side
upward
synform: concave side
downward
anticline: old rocks in core
syncline: young rocks in core
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Folds: definitions 2
Hingle line: line of maximum
curvature
Inflection line: line where
direction of folding changes
Fold limb: part between hinges
limb angle: angle between limbs
fold axis: straight line through
hinges of plane
axial plane or surface: plane
through fold axes of different layers
Note difference between cilindrical
fold (straight hinge line or fold
axis) and non cilindrical fold
(curved hinge line)
Wavelength and amplitude may
vary strongly in nature
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Folds: orientations
Fold orientation is described by:
the orientations of the limbs
the fold axis
the axial plane
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Folds



Folds occur in all shapes and sizes, from complex and small (ptygmatic
(irregular) folds in Spain, left) to relatively simple and large (Canadian
Rockies, right)
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Fold size
Folds do not continue
forever
They stop and start
somewhere =>
fold axis
orientation
variable
total shortening
variable

Folds: Dip isogons
Dip isogons: lines that connect points of identical dip
in vertically oriented folds
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Class 1B: parallel folds
Class 2: similar folds
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Folding: types
Parallel folds: no change in layer
thickness as measured
perpendicular to layer. Therefore
layer not flowing--clue to
mechanical properties. Layers are
in a sense "concentric". Don't
continue for long distances down
axial surface perpendicular to axis
due to "room problem".
Similar folds, folds in which the
layer thickness does not change
parallel to the axial surface. Clearly
layer must flow internally to
change shape.
Kink (m to microscale) and
Chevron folds (several m to
regional scale): Planar limbs, sharp
hinges, composed of many thin
layers.
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Fold types
Parallel (below)
Similar (right)
Chevron (below right)
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Folding:
(dis)harmonic
Harmonic folds: different
layers with same wavelength
usually in regular
alternations of beds
Disharmonic folds: different
layers with different
wavelengths
usually in beds with
irregular bed thickness
Flexural Slip: slippage along
layers during folding
common with differences
in lithology
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Fold shapes
Open, tight, isoclinal fold based
on fold angle
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Parasitic folds
Thinner layers fold first
When thick layer folds, thin folds become asymmetric and
parasitic due to flexural flow
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Folds from space 1:
Dome in Mauretania
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Folds from space 2:
Anticlinal ridges in the Zagros
Mountains, Iran
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Folds from space 3:
Folded sandstone ridges in the
Flinders Ranges, Australia
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Folds, map view



Folds give a symmetrical sequence in outcropping rocks, as illustrated by
this plunging syncline in the Argentina, as well as in map view (example
from the Ardennes).
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Axial cleavage
Due to the stresses involved
in folding, platy minerals can
rotate or recrystallise at
straight angles to
1
,
resulting in a foliation and
possibly a cleavage parallel to
the axial plane of the folds.
(foliation: preferred
orientation of minerals,
cleavage: fracture planes)
Below: cleavage types
Overprinting cleavage
In clay rich rocks, continued
deformation may lead to the
formation of new generation of
cleavage
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Refraction of cleavage
As not all rock types have the same
composition, a cleavage will not develop in all
rocks, and will in some cases be folded with the
layers:
refraction of cleavage
Twiss & Moores 1992, Fig.11.22
Van Hise Rock, WI
Quartzite (right and left) and
shale (middle)
Wheres the anticline (assuming
the cleavage was formed by the
folding)?
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C: fold and
cleavage were
formed at
different times
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Hydrocarbons
Anticlines form ideal structural traps for hydrocarbon accumulations
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Fold growth
A small shortening of a fold
leads to large changes of
height
Shortening leads to volume
opening in core of fold.
Ductile material, if present,
will have to fill this volume..
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Thrusting
If not enough ductile
material is present (A),
or if the rocks are not
ductile enough to fold (B),
or if folding has gone too
far (C),
faulting will occur,
resulting in thrust and
reverse faults
Twiss & Moores 1992, Fig.6.11
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Thrusting
Thrusts are generally very large
structures, which put older
rocks on top of younger rocks,
and high metamorphic rocks on
top of low metamorphic rocks.
Example: Keystone Thrust,
West of Las Vegas, USA
Skinner & Porter 1995, Fig 14.17
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Glarus thrust


Thrusts put older rocks on top of younger rocks
The Glarus thrust in Switserland was the first fault to be recognised as a thrust
It places Permian Volcanics on top of rocks from the Eocene
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Glarus 2
It was originally
interpreted as two
large recumbent
folds by Escher von
der Linth (1841,
top), who did not
dare to publish his
real cross sections.
Heim and Bertrand
reinterpreted it as a
thrust (1884,
bottom), clarifying
the structure of this
part of the Alps
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Piggy back
Along thrusts, the rock mass is
usually not thrusted all at once,
but is deformed by a number of
thrusts, with new thrusts forming
at the deformation front:
Piggy backs (below, Taiwan,
right: sandbox models)
Liu Huiqi et al.,1992 (top), Davis & Reynolds 1996 (bottom)
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Thrust in outcrop (Taiwan)
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Piggy Backs
In Piggy Backs, or
imbrication zones, it is
the foot wall that is
deformed with continued
deformation
Note the typical ramp &
flat structure of the fault
plane, that in part follows
the layers (flat) and then
jumps to a higher
stratigraphic level (ramp)
Can become more
difficult
Back thrusts
Thrusts dipping opposite to general direction of movement
Often caused by ramp in subsurface
N of Oslo:
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Ramp & Flat
Top: fault plane parallel to
footwall: flat (Canadian
Rockies)
Bottom right : flat at left of
picture, ramp in middle (Chili)
Below: fault bend fold in UK
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Associated structures
Ramp structure
Ramps can have complex shapes, leading to complex
structures in hanging wall
Lateral ramps may lead to tear faults
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Duplex
A system of faulted blocks stacked on top of each other, separated by
thrust faults above and below the blocks is called a duplex.









Caledonian foreland, near Oslo
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More associated
structures
Areas with a different mode of
thrusting or deformation are
separated by transfer- or tear
faults (middle)

Thrusts do not always reach the
surface: blind thrusts (bottom)

Fault bend faults
Is formed when a tectonic unit is
transported over a ramp
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Reservoirs
Thrust belts are potential
hydrocarbons areas, as they:
are associated with folds
contain extensive, potentially
sealing faults
examples:
Wyoming (top)
Spanish Pyrenees
(middle)
Po plain, Italy (bottom)
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Orogenic wedge
Snow plough
analogy.
New thrusts in
foreland
hinterland
thickens with
more deformation
and may even
have normal
faults
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Beer can experiment
How can such large rock masses be transported along thrusts?
Why are the rocks not pulverized by the enormous pressures needed to
displace these masses?
The solution lies probably with the role of water. Fluids can not be
compressed and so the hydrostatic pressure opposes the lithostatic
pressure..
As an illustration, the beer can experiment:
Davis &
Reynolds 1996
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Restoring & Balancing of Cross Sections
http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/
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Introduction
Whats restoring?
To recreate a geologic cross section to its original, pre-
deformational state
Whats balancing?
A method of restoring whereby the length, area or volume of the
restored section matches (balances) that of the deformed
section

Geometrical and conceptual validity
Valid cross sections can be restored

However, a balanced cross section is NOT necessarily correct
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Introduction










A correctly balanced cross section can be restored
without overlaps, curved layers, gaps or voids
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Introduction
Application of balancing
Works best in compressional or extensional situations
Does not work in strike slip setting
Works best in sedimentary strata in upper crust (low
temperature, brittle deformation)

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Balancing methods
Assumptions
Sections are constructed perpendicular to fold axes
Sections are constructed parallel to tectonic transport
No volume loss during deformation
Little or no strike-slip movement
Total area is conserved during deformation
Zagros belt
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Balancing methods
Some more assumptions (Dahlstrom & Suppe)
1. Thrust faults step up sharply and are not curved.
2. Thrust faults always step up.
3. Thrust faults in a given area step up at the same angle.
4. Folds can be drawn as kink folds.
5. Dips steeper than the normal angle of thrusting (30
o
) mean that
several overlapping thrusts (imbrications) exist.
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Balancing methods
Constant line length method
Used in areas where parallel folding occurs, constant bed thickness
Flexural slip may occur
Constant area method
Used in areas where bed thickness is not constant
Shear in balancing
Simple shear is applied to account for
ductile deformation in fault blocks
Simple shear preserves area, works often
better than line length preservation
Choosing right shear angle can be
difficult
Trishear has no fixed shear angle
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Models ductile deformation
at fault tip in triangular
zone
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Balancing methods
Constructing a balanced cross section
Determine stratigraphic thicknesses and variation
Establish one or two pin lines, points where there is no interbed
slip. Often in the foreland, where there is no deformation or on
the axial surface of an anticline
Measure away from the pin line
Iterative process
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Balancing methods
Constant line length method
1. Begin with pinning points where no deformation has occurred
2. Measure bed lengths between these two points
3. If the lengths do not match, retry iterative process











Correct Incorrect

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Constant area method
Pick two pinning points
Estimate amount of shortening between pinning points
Measure amount of structural relief
Given the known shortening, calculate the original thickness
of the deformable layer
relief
Current length (L)
Original length (L
0
)
Amount of
horizontal
shortening
(known)
detachment
Depth to detachment
= (fold area)/(shortening)
Fold
(area)
Balancing methods
R.J. Mellors
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Balancing
After balancing, the
section can be restored.
If this leads to problems,
the balancing has to be
redone until the restored
section is valid.
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Some nice graphs from Ebro basin
http://wija.ija.csic.es/gt/gdl/Gdl/Pyrenees-2004/Pyrenees.htm
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..and the western Alps
Restoration in map view
Like making a jigsaw puzzle
Gives information of total deformation and direction of
displacement.
Overlaps/ gaps point to errors in interpretation
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Examples from Fieldwork Vesc
Students construct
cross sections
Is this structure
possible?
Balancing using 2D
Move software
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Restoration in 2D Move
Restoring and balancing gives a clear answer
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Possible?
Vesc: Restoration in 3D

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Overview
Compressional plate margins
Types of deformation
Fold & Thrust belts
Folds
Thrusts
Balanced cross sections
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References
Fossen (2010): Structural Geology
Chapters 11.1, 12.1-3, 16, 20.
Davis & Reynolds (1996): Structural Geology of Rocks and
Regions, 2nd Edition
Ramsey & Huber (1983): The Techniques of Modern Structural
Geology. Volume 1: Strain Analysis
Twiss & Moores (1992): Structural Geology

Balancing:
Wilkerson, M.S., Dicken, C.L., 2001, Quick-look techniques for
evaluating two-dimensional cross sections in detached
contractional settings;
Dahlstrom, C. D. A., 1969, Balanced cross sections;
Suppe, J., 1985, Principles of Structural Geology;