Table Of ContentUnderstanding Faults
Detecting, Dating, and Modeling
Edited by
David Tanner
Christian Brandes
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List of contributors
Christian Brandes, Institut fu¨r Geologie, Leibniz Universita¨t Hannover, Hannover,
Germany
Hermann Buness, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover,
Germany
Conrad Childs,Fault AnalysisGroup, SchoolofGeologicalSciences, UCD,Dublin,
Ireland
A˚keFagereng,SchoolofEarth&OceanSciences,CardiffUniversity,Cardiff,United
Kingdom
Gerald Gabriel, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover,
Germany
Nicolai Gestermann, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources,
Hannover,Germany
Thomas Gu¨nther, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover,
Germany
Andreas Henk, Institute of Applied Geosciences, Technical University Darmstadt,
Darmstadt, Germany
JanIgel,LeibnizInstituteforAppliedGeophysics(LIAG),Hannover,Germany
Matt Ikari, MARUMeCenter for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of
Geosciences, UniversityofBremen,Bremen, Germany
MichaelKettermann,DepartmentofGeodynamicsandSedimentology,Universityof
Vienna,Vienna,Austria
TomManzocchi,FaultAnalysisGroup,SchoolofGeologicalSciences,UCD,Dublin,
Ireland
Christopher K. Morley, Department of Geological Sciences, Faculty of Science,
Chiang MaiUniversity,ChiangMai,Thailand
AndrewNicol,DepartmentofGeologicalSciences, UniversityofCanterbury,Christ-
church, NewZealand
Stefan Nielsen, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United
Kingdom
Andre´ Niemeijer, Department of Geoscience, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The
Netherlands
Thomas Plenefisch, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources,
Hannover,Germany
xi
xii Listofcontributors
PeterSkiba,LeibnizInstituteforAppliedGeophysics(LIAG),Hannover,Germany
Luca Smeraglia, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza University of Rome,
Rome,Italy
Takahiro Tagami, Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of
Science,KyotoUniversity,Kyoto,Japan
David C. Tanner, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover,
Germany
Sumiko Tsukamoto, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover,
Germany
Christoph von Hagke, Institute of Geology & Palaeontology, RWTH Aachen Uni-
versity,Aachen,Germany
John Walsh, Fault Analysis Group, School of Geological Sciences, UCD, Dublin,
Ireland
Thomas R. Walter, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam,
Germany
ErnstWillingshofer,Department ofEarth Sciences,UtrechtUniversity,Utrecht,The
Netherlands
Horst Zwingmann, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Faculty of Science,
KyotoUniversity,Kyoto,Japan
Preface
Thisbookistheaccumulationofmanyyearsofresearchonfaultsandrepresents
ourownpersonalviewsofthestateoftheartinfaultanalysis.Someyearsago,
we recognisedthat,althoughdifferent branchesofgeoscienceallregard faults
andtheprocessesoffaultingasimportant,eachgrouphasitsownmethodsand
theories.Consequently,abookthatfocusesonallaspectsoffaultswasmissing
onthemarket.
Wehadtwoaimswhencompilingthisbook.First,wewantedtoprovidea
holisticviewonallfacetsoffaulting,withafocusonfaultprocessesandfault
detection.Second,thisbookpresentsatransdisciplinaryapproachthatunitesthe
differentgeosciencesub-disciplinesthatareconcernedwithfaults,inparticular
showingtheadvantagesofcombiningthemethods.Forinstance,itisimportant
to connect the way faults are treated in structural geology with seismological
methods of fault analysis. We believe that this holistic treatment is the key to
understand faults, and to develop advanced predictive fault models. We have
attemptedtokeep thestyleofthebook sothat studentsfrom any geo-relevant
backgroundcanreadit.Nevertheless,wealsotriedreachalevelbetweentext-
bookandresearcharticletomakethebookinterestingfortheadvancedreader.In
addition, forreasons ofbrevity, somechaptersareshorterthan wewouldlike;
thereforewemadeanefforttocitethebackgroundandadvancedreadinginthese
subjects.
Discussion with many colleagues has shaped the book. In addition to the
authors in the book, they include; Peter Eichhubl, Bob Holdsworth, Catherine
Homberg,ChristopherA.-L.Jackson,Ru¨digerKillian,CharlotteM.Krawczyk,
Katharina Mu¨ller, Anne Pluymakers, Janos Urai, Jennifer Ziesch. We humbly
claimanymistakesforourselves.
Weareverygratefultothereviewerswhohavecriticallyreadcertainchapters
and provided constructive reviews, namely: Istva´n Dunkl, Ingo Heyde, Inga
Moeck,AndyNicol,ShigeruSueoka,MartinScho¨pfer.TillSchiererandLotta
Hanzelmannarethankedforredrawingsomeofthefigures.
xiii
Chapter 1
Introduction
David C. Tannera, Christian Brandesb
aLeibnizInstituteforAppliedGeophysics(LIAG),Hannover,Germany;bInstitutfu¨rGeologie,
LeibnizUniversita¨tHannover,Hannover,Germany
Chapter outline
Definitionofafaultsurface,fault References 9
kinematicsanddisplacement 5
Since the advent of plate tectonics, geoscience has rapidly developed. Within
the field of geoscience, tectonic research on faults represents a highly diverse
sub-discipline. It underwent a transformation over the last few decades in its
approach to understanding the Earth, by combining observations that are
derived from natural rocks, experiments, and modelling studies. This over-
came the previous, simple kinematic and steady-state fault descriptions, and
allowed the analysis of dynamic and transient processes (Huntington, K.W.,
Klepeis,K.A.,with66communitycontributors,2018).Wefollowthispathto
present a book that delivers a holistic dynamic treatment of faults.
Faults are structural elements in the lithosphere that compensate for
deformation under brittle conditions. At greater depth, faults can pass into
shearzones,whereplasticdeformationoccurs, whichmeansthatdeformation
mechanisms vary along a fault. Faults are very widespread in the lithosphere
andtheygenerallyoccuringroups,whichmeansthatthesubsurfacestructure
is often more heterogeneous than expected. In addition, faults are complex
structuresthatareinsufficientlydescribedbysimplegeometricalmodels.Such
models might work on the first-order scale, but faults (especially faults with
displacementsofmorethanseveral10sofmetres)tendtoevolveintocomplex
faultzonesthatareveryheterogeneousintermsofgeometry,compositionand
structure.Assuch,theyhaveastrongcontrolonthesubsurfacefluidflowand
in the case of active faults, significantly influence rupture behaviour. Conse-
quently, very different geoscience sub-disciplines, such as structural geology,
geomechanics, seismology, engineering geology, petroleum geology, and
Quaternary geology require profound knowledge of faults. Faults are the
source of earthquakes and thus they are the connecting elements between
UnderstandingFaults.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815985-9.00001-1
Copyright©2020ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. 1
2 UnderstandingFaults
structural geology and seismology. For instance, although both disciplines
focus on faults, they often treat them from very different perspectives and
investigate them on different temporal and spatial scales. Whereas, structural
geology treats faults very directly, but often based on outcrop studies, seis-
mology often concentrates on the signals (seismic waves) that are emitted
duringfaultactivity.Thisleadstoisolated andthusrestrictedviewsonfaults.
Analysingfaultzoneheterogeneityisakeytaskincharacterizingafault.In
this context, there are many questions unsolved and understanding faults is a
complex problem. Although there has been great progress in fault analysis
overthelasttwodecades,aunifiedfaultmodelisstilllackingthatcanserveas
a predictive tool for fault zone composition, structure and for fault slip
behaviour. Especially fault behaviour needs to be understood on different
spatial and temporal scales.
When active faults move, they may enter a seismic phase, during which
earthquakesoccur.Theco-relatedearthmovementsthattakeplaceduringthe
earthquake, such as landslides, tsunami, and the destruction of infrastructure
meanthatearthquakesareoneofthemostimportantglobalgeologicalhazards
(Fig. 1.1). It is this side of faulting that is most well-known. Earthquakes, at
the very best, destroy infrastructure and, at the very worst, cause loss of life.
Since 1990, earthquakes have cost 27000 lives on average, each year
FIG. 1.1 300m high landslip caused by the 2016 magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake in the
SouthIslandofNewZealand.Thephotowastakentwoyearsaftertheearthquake,whichoccurred
2minutesaftermidnighton14November2016.
Introduction Chapter | 1 3
(A) (B)
FIG.1.2 Scenariosinwhichfaultsareuseful.(A)Hydrocarbonstrappedbyfaulting.(B)fault
guidinghydrothermalenergytothesurfaceandashallowborehole.
(Guha-Sapiretal.,2011).Topeoplewholiveonplateboundaries,e.g.inNew
Zealand,Japan,andthewestcoastofNorthAmerica,theirlivesaregovernby
earthquakes (Fig. 1.1). Even within continental plates, there are less frequent
and, for that reason, even more surprising earthquakes.
There is a lesser-known side of faulting, which is clearly beneficial to
humankind. Many fault zones are known to act as conduits for the focused
migrationoffluidsandclearlyplay acentral roleindetermining the location,
modesoftransport,andemplacementofeconomicallyimportanthydrocarbon
and hydrological reservoirs, and hydrothermal mineral deposits (Fig. 1.2A).
For instance, water can migrate along a fault damage zone and appear at the
surface as hot springs along the fault trace (Fig. 1.2B). The ancient Romans
recognised this was the case around Aachen in Germany, and it was for this
reason that they settled there (they called it “Aquae Granni“ - at the waters,
Fig. 1.3). In fact, the springs around Aachen deliver far more thermal power
than the SuperC borehole that was drilled in Aachen specifically for
geothermal use, showing that the faults are far better at delivering thermal
energythanthesurroundingrocks(Dijkshoornetal.,2013).Similarsituations,
where hot springs are sourced by faults, are found, for instance, in Indonesia
(Brehme et al.,. 2014), along the well-named Hot Springs Fault and other
faultsinCalifornia(Onderdonketal.,2011;Onderdonk,2012),andalongthe
AlpineFaultinNewZealand(Coxetal.,2015),tonamejustafewexamples.
Thisisanimportantobservationandmovesfaultsintofocusforexplorationof
geothermal energy plays (Moeck, 2014).
Explorationforgeothermalenergynowoftenconcentratesonfindingfaults
atdepth,preferablystillactiveorrecentlyactive(Bartonetal.,1995;Carewitz
and Karson, 1997; Huenges and Ledru, 2011). This is because the faults form
both pathways (parallel to the fault surface) and baffles to the flow of
hydrothermalwater(acrossthefault;seeChapter8-Faultseal).Lovelessetal.
(2014)suggestedthatfaultscouldevendeterminethesuccessorfailureoflow
4 UnderstandingFaults
FIG. 1.3 The Elisenbrunnen in Aachen, built in neoclassic style in 1827, allows visitors to
samplethehighlysulphurous,52(cid:2)Cmineralwaterthatmigratesalongthemanyfaultsinthearea
(seeChapter8)photo:NilsChudalla.
enthalpy geothermal projects. For example, Blackwell et al. (2000) show that
90%ormoreofmajorknowngeothermalsystemsintheBasinandRangearea
ofAmericaarewithin3kmoflatePleistoceneoryoungerfaults.Faultscanalso
seal an otherwise open reservoir and trap hydrocarbons or ore minerals that
wouldnormallyescapeanddissipate(Fig.1.2B).Amajorityofpetroleumtraps
are due to fault closures and/or fault-rock seals (Sorkhabi and Tsuji, 2005).
Theamountofknowledgethatisnotknownaboutafaultcanbeshownby
the surprises that have resulted from scientific deep-drilling projects that
aimed to cross major faults. For instance, the SAFOD project was designed
withthepurposeofdrillingthroughtheSanAndreasFaultatadepthof2.7km
(e.g.,HickmanandZoback,2004;Zobacketal.,2011).Thefaultwasfoundto
be profoundly weak (coefficient of friction¼0.15; Lockner et al., 2011;
Carpenter et al., 2015), which can be attributed tothe presence of smectite in
shear fractures (Warr et al., 2014).
TheGermanContinentalDeepDrillingProgram(AbbreviationinGerman,
KTB) drilled through the Franconian Lineament, a major strike-slip fault of
westernborderoftheBohemianMassifinNEBavaria,Germany(seeSection
3.4; Fig. 3.16), The borehole probably crossed the fault at a depth of
6850e7950m (Emmermann and Lauterjung, 1997). Most surprising was the
presence of graphite along the fault plane, making electromagnetics the best
geophysicalmethodtodeterminethepositionofthefaultatdepth(Rathetal.,
2001). All the basement rocks drilled also contained a surprising amount of
free fluids (Emmermann and Lauterjung, 1997), but significant inflows of
fluids were noted along the fault zones (Huenges et al., 1997), evenat depths
down to 9km.
