Influence of diapirs on the development of non-cylindrical arcuate fold-and-thrust beltsResults from analogue models of progressive arcs
- Ana Crespo-Blanc 1
- Alejandro Jiménez-Bonilla 2
- Juan Carlos Balanyá 2
- Inmaculada Expósito 2
- Manuel Díaz-Azpiroz 2
- 1 Universidad de Granada, España
- 2 Universidad Pablo de Olavide, España
ISSN: 0213-683X
Year of publication: 2017
Issue Title: Comunicaciones presentadas en la LXII Sesión Científica / Guadalupe, 25 de Mayo de 2017
Issue: 62
Pages: 19-22
Type: Article
More publications in: Geogaceta
Abstract
In this paper, we present analogue models built to test the diapir role on the along-strike segmentation of fold-and-thrust belts in progressive arcs. To model the progressive arc, we used a protruding backstop that deformed in map view while the experiments run. This backstop indented a parallelepiped formed by silicone at the bottom and sand, in which silicone cylinders were added to simulate diapirs. Various types of models with different size and distribution of the diapirs were made in order to investigate the strain partitioning modes around these heterogeneities. The deformation style of the models is characterized by a highly non-cylindrical arcuate fold-and-thrust belt with blocks bounded by normal or strike-slip faults that strongly rotated clockwise or anti-clockwise. The diapirs are key heterogeneities for the nucleation and linking of structures at the beginning of the experiment. When shortening proceed, their influence on the fold-and-thrust belt geometry diminished with respect to that of the backstop protrusion.