AAPG Bulletin, Vol.86, No.4, 671-693, 2002
Fold-accommodation faults
Fold-accommodation faults are secondary faults that accommodate strain variations related to structural and stratigraphic position during fold evolution. Four main types of fold-accommodation faults are commonly found. Out-of-syncline and into-anticline thrusts form primarily because of an increase in bed curvature within fold although differential layer-parallel strain at different scales cores, also contributes to fault slip. Depending on the kinematic evolution the thrusts may propagate along the steep or of the major fold, gentle limb of an asymmetric fold or along the hinge of symmetric folds. Wedge thrusts are primarily formed in competent units because of variations in penetrative layer-parallel strain between adjacent units. Limb wedges occur as hanging-wall and/or footwall fault-bend and fault-tip folds, whereas hinge wedges occur as multiple nested faults that tend to thicken the more competent units. Forelimb and backlimb thrusts form by a variety of mechanisms. Forelimb space-accommodation thrusts are low-displacement thrusts that resolve strain discontinuities resulting from increased curvature in fold cores. Forelimb shear thrusts form in the late stages of folding because of rotation and layer-parallel extension on the steep forelimbs of folds. Most backlimb thrusts originate as out-of-syncline thrusts. They may eventually link with forelimb thrusts to form forelimb-backlimb thrusts. Back thrusts accommodate hanging-wall strain during the formation of fault-related folds. They either form selectively in competent units or propagate through the section at the same rate as the main thrust. Although fold-accommodation faults are secondary features, they are important elements that define the geometry and size of structural traps in fold-thrust structures. Accurate mapping of these structures is therefore critical in interpreting the structural geometry of fold and thrust belts.