The discovery of a conjugate system of faults in the Wharton Basin intraplate deformation zone.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28070561.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.1601689 and PMC identifier 5214956.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
The deformation at well-defined, narrow plate boundaries depends on the relative plate motion, but how the deformation takes place within a distributed plate boundary zone remains a conundrum. This was confirmed by the seismological analyses of the 2012 great Wharton Basin earthquakes [moment magnitude (<i>M</i><sub>w</sub>) 8.6], which suggested the rupture of several faults at high angles to one another. Using high-resolution bathymetry and seismic reflection data, we report the discovery of new N294°E-striking shear zones, oblique to the plate fabric. These shear zones are expressed by sets of normal faults striking at N335°E, defining the direction of the principal compressional stress in the region. Also, we have imaged left-lateral strike-slip faults along reactivated N7°E-oriented oceanic fracture zones. The shear zones and the reactivated fracture zones form a conjugate system of faults, which accommodate present-day intraplate deformation in the Wharton Basin.