The effects of initial wedge taper on area-balancing restoration of a fold-thrust belt
The effects of initial wedge taper on area-balancing restoration of a fold-thrust belt
The conventional area-balancing method uses a single regional slope, commonly parallel to basal detachment and generally horizontal, to restore a deformed geological section to an initial rectangular shape. However, most fold-thrust belts exhibit a wedge or trapezium (i.e., a quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides) shape in cross section with stratigraphic sequence thinning into the basin. Two new, simple, quantitative solutions are developed to restore a thrust belt with more realistic geometries, which assume that the initial shape is a trapezium. This allows exploration of the function of initial wedge taper (represented by surface slope and basal dip) in controlling shortening estimate using area balancing. The new methods are tested against sandbox models and natural examples of fold-thrust belts using a range of input parameters to evaluate the uncertainties in shortening calculation. We find the results are very sensitive to both initial surface slope and initial basal slope. This study highlights the significance of initial wedge taper in determining shortening across a fold-thrust belt, with accurate shortening estimates requiring independent constraint of this important geometry. Previous studies that used area balancing to predict depth to detachment and/or to estimate shortening without considering the effects of initial wedge taper may need reevaluation.
21-41
Yang, Xiaodong
0c44aab1-3c52-4e2a-925e-565a34967c57
Sanderson, David J.
5653bc11-b905-4985-8c16-c655b2170ba9
Mcneill, Lisa C.
1fe6a1e0-ca1a-4b6f-8469-309d0f9de0cf
Peel, Frank J.
ccbb86f8-56a0-4b59-b664-e772a9c4015f
1 January 2022
Yang, Xiaodong
0c44aab1-3c52-4e2a-925e-565a34967c57
Sanderson, David J.
5653bc11-b905-4985-8c16-c655b2170ba9
Mcneill, Lisa C.
1fe6a1e0-ca1a-4b6f-8469-309d0f9de0cf
Peel, Frank J.
ccbb86f8-56a0-4b59-b664-e772a9c4015f
Yang, Xiaodong, Sanderson, David J., Mcneill, Lisa C. and Peel, Frank J.
(2022)
The effects of initial wedge taper on area-balancing restoration of a fold-thrust belt.
AAPG Bulletin, 106 (1), .
(doi:10.1306/04212118218).
Abstract
The conventional area-balancing method uses a single regional slope, commonly parallel to basal detachment and generally horizontal, to restore a deformed geological section to an initial rectangular shape. However, most fold-thrust belts exhibit a wedge or trapezium (i.e., a quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides) shape in cross section with stratigraphic sequence thinning into the basin. Two new, simple, quantitative solutions are developed to restore a thrust belt with more realistic geometries, which assume that the initial shape is a trapezium. This allows exploration of the function of initial wedge taper (represented by surface slope and basal dip) in controlling shortening estimate using area balancing. The new methods are tested against sandbox models and natural examples of fold-thrust belts using a range of input parameters to evaluate the uncertainties in shortening calculation. We find the results are very sensitive to both initial surface slope and initial basal slope. This study highlights the significance of initial wedge taper in determining shortening across a fold-thrust belt, with accurate shortening estimates requiring independent constraint of this important geometry. Previous studies that used area balancing to predict depth to detachment and/or to estimate shortening without considering the effects of initial wedge taper may need reevaluation.
Text
The effects of initial wedge taper on area-balancing restoration
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 January 2022
Published date: 1 January 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
We acknowledge the funding to Xiaodong Yang from the UK Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training in Oil and Gas and the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, and University of Southampton. We very much appreciate the three anonymous reviewers for their robust reviews, insightful comments, and important suggestions that significantly improved the manuscript. Line-draw seismic profiles are based on seismic data provided by Petroleum Geo-Services. We thank editor Cara Burberry, AAPG Editor Robert K. Merrill, and Frances Whitehurst for handling this paper and providing helpful editorial advice.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454417
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454417
ISSN: 0149-1423
PURE UUID: b86ebb37-73e4-46f2-b294-fc7561b4abdc
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 09 Feb 2022 17:33
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 07:05
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Xiaodong Yang
Author:
Frank J. Peel
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
