Casey W. Nixon

Fault interactions and reactivation within a normal-fault network at Milne Point, Alaska

A normal-fault network from Milne Point, Alaska, is investigated focusing on characterizing geometry, displacement, strain, and different fault interactions. The network, constrained from three-dimensional seismic reflection data, comprises two generations of faults: Cenozoic north-northeast–trending faults and Jurassic west-northwest–trending faults, which highly compartmentalize Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous reservoirs. The west-northwest–trending faults are influenced by a similarly oriented underlying structural grain. This influence is characterized by increases in throw on several faults, strain localization, reorientation of faults and an increase in linkage maturity. Reconstructing fault plane geometries and mapping spatial variations in throw identified key characteristic features in their interactions and reactivation of pre-existing structures. Faults are divided into isolated, abutting, and splaying faults. Isolated faults exhibit a range of displacement profiles depending on the degree of restriction at fault tips. Fault splays accommodate step-like decreases in throw along larger main faults with a throw maximum at the intersection with the main fault. Throw profiles of abutting faults are divided into two groups: early stage abutting faults with throw minima at both the isolated and abutting tips, and developed abutting faults with throw maxima near the abutting tip. Developed abutting faults accumulate throw after initial abutment, locally reactivating and transferring throw onto the pre-existing fault. Two abutting faults can link kinematically by reactivating a segment of the pre-existing fault forming a trailing fault. The motion sense of the trailing fault can be synthetic or antithetic to the reactivated pre-existing fault, producing increases or decreases in the throw of the pre-existing fault, respectively.

Seismicity of the central Afar rift and implications for Tendaho dam hazards

Abstract Temporary broadband seismic networks deployed from 2007 to 2011 around the Afar triple junction of the East African Rift System provide insights into seismicity patterns of the actively deforming crust around the 1.86 km3 impounded lake system behind the Tendaho dam. The observed seismicity correlates well with the active magmatic centres around central Afar. The area around the dam site is characterized by a network of intersecting NNE- and NW-trending faults. Seismicity clusters observed in the specified time interval indicate that both fault sets are active and are potential sources of seismogenic hazards. The dam neighbourhood is naturally active and it is a challenge to associate the observed seismic activity to either a change in magmato-tectonic conditions or attribute it to the influence of reservoir load. It is evident that the dam region experiences high levels of seismic and volcano-tectonic unrest, regardless of the origin of the activity. The spatial overlap of narrow zones of crustal seismicity and upper mantle low velocity zones observed in S-wave tomography models suggests that melt production zones guide the distribution of strain during continental rupture. Given its volcanically and seismically active setting, the Tendaho dam site and the surrounding region require continuous monitoring for the safety of downstream populations and development infrastructures in the Afar National Regional State of Ethiopia.

Drilling to Resolve the Evolution of the Corinth Rift

The initiation and evolution of continental rifting, ultimately leading to rifted margin and ocean basin formation, are major unanswered questions in solid Earth–plate tectonics. Many previous insights have come from mature rifted margins where activity has ceased or from computer models. The Gulf of Corinth Rift in central Greece presents an ideal laboratory for the study of young, highly active rifting that complements other rift zones (e.g., the East African and Gulf of California rifts). Exposure and preservation of syn-rift stratigraphy, high rates of extension, and an existing network of offshore seismic data offer a unique opportunity to constrain the rift history and basin development at exceptionally high resolution in the Gulf of Corinth.

NetworkGT: A GIS tool for geometric and topological analysis of two-dimensional fracture networks

Fractures rarely occur individually but more usually as networks of numerous fractures whose arrangement, abundance, and interaction control the mechanical and transport properties of rock masses. Of particular importance are the distributions and spatial variations of different geometric (locations, orientation, length, etc.) and topological (intersections, connectivity, etc.) attributes of fractures in a network. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide a means to map and digitize two-dimensional fracture networks from a variety of field and remote sensing data and to display the results in the form of quality maps. We introduce NetworkGT, an open-source toolbox for ArcGIS capable of efficient sampling, analysis, and spatial mapping of geometric and topological attributes of two-dimensional fracture networks. The toolbox helps to extract and plot geometric and topological information from a given two-dimensional fracture network including: rose diagrams, plots of frequency distribution and topology, and maps of topological parameters. Using a fracture network example from offshore NW Devon, United Kingdom, we illustrate the practicality and effectiveness of the toolbox. This includes computing a contour grid with 1326 subsampled regions within the fracture network, which is used to demonstrate the quantitative capabilities of the toolbox and the ability to spatially map important network properties. The toolbox will help to facilitate the increasing application of geometry and topology in the analysis and comparison of fracture networks at a range of scales. Furthermore, the integration of the NetworkGT toolbox into ArcGIS allows two-dimensional fracture networks to be interpreted, mapped, and fully analyzed within the same software package.

Earthquake Clustering and Energy Release of the African–Arabian Rift System

The earthquakes associated with continental deformation are spatially and temporally variable and are fundamental in understanding fault activity and seismogenic hazards. We conduct KK ‐means cluster analysis on seismicity in the African–Arabian rift systems to create the first computationally objective analysis of the pattern of earthquakes. We use seismic moment to compute spatial variations in maximum credible earthquake (Mcred) and likely time to the next major release of seismic energy. Our best‐fit model has 32 clusters of ∼100–400  km∼100–400  km in length, with cluster size decreasing northward along the rift and cluster boundaries correlating with major structural segmentation of the rift. Mcred varies between MwMw 5.2 and 7.4 across the whole dataset, with the highest values estimated in portions of the rift where the majority of extension is accommodated by seismogenic failure.

High-angle, not low-angle, normal faults dominate early rift extension in the Corinth Rift, central Greece

Low-angle normal faults (LANFs) accommodate extension during late-stage rifting and breakup, but what is more difficult to explain is the existence of LANFs in less-stretched continental rifts. A critical example is the <5 Ma Corinth Rift, central Greece, where microseismicity, the geometry of exposed fault planes, and deep seismically imaged faults have been used to argue for the presence of <30°-dipping normal faults. However, new and reinterpreted data call into question whether LANFs have been influential in controlling the observed rift geometry, which involves (1) exposed steep fault planes, (2) significant uplift of the southern rift margin, (3) time-averaged (tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years) uplift-to-subsidence ratios across south coast faults of 1:1–1:2, and (4) north margin subsidence. We test whether slip on a mature LANF can reproduce the long-term (tens of thousands of years) geometry and morphology of the Corinth Rift using a finite-element method, to model the uplift and subsidence fields associated with proposed fault geometries. Models involving LANFs at depth produce very minor coseismic uplift of the south margin, and post-seismic relaxation results in net subsidence. In contrast, models involving steep planar faults to the brittle-ductile transition produce displacement fields involving an uplifted south margin with uplift-to-subsidence ratios of ~1:2–3, compatible with geological observations. We therefore propose that LANFs cannot have controlled the geometry of the Corinth Rift over time scales of tens of thousands of years. We suggest that although LANFs may become important in the transition to breakup, in areas that have undergone mild stretching, do not have significant magmatic activity, and do not have optimally oriented preexisting low-angle structures, high-angle faulting would be the dominant strain accommodation mechanism in the upper crust during early rifting.

Rapid spatiotemporal variations in rift structure during development of the Corinth Rift, central Greece: Rapid Changes in Rift Structure, Corinth

The Corinth Rift, central Greece, enables analysis of early rift development as it is young (<5 Ma) and highly active and its full history is recorded at high resolution by sedimentary systems. A complete compilation of marine geophysical data, complemented by onshore data, is used to develop a high-resolution chronostratigraphy and detailed fault history for the offshore Corinth Rift, integrating interpretations and reconciling previous discrepancies. Rift migration and localization of deformation have been significant within the rift since inception. Over the last circa 2 Myr the rift transitioned from a spatially complex rift to a uniform asymmetric rift, but this transition did not occur synchronously along strike. Isochore maps at circa 100 kyr intervals illustrate a change in fault polarity within the short interval circa 620–340 ka, characterized by progressive transfer of activity from major south dipping faults to north dipping faults and southward migration of discrete depocenters at ~30 m/kyr. Since circa 340 ka there has been localization and linkage of the dominant north dipping border fault system along the southern rift margin, demonstrated by lateral growth of discrete depocenters at ~40 m/kyr. A single central depocenter formed by circa 130 ka, indicating full fault linkage. These results indicate that rift localization is progressive (not instantaneous) and can be synchronous once a rift border fault system is established. This study illustrates that development processes within young rifts occur at 100 kyr timescales, including rapid changes in rift symmetry and growth and linkage of major rift faults.