Thrust fault growth within accretionary wedges: New Insights from 3D seismic reflection data

Abstract:

The shallow parts of subduction megathrust faults are typically thought to be aseismic and incapable of propagating seismic rupture. The 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, however, ruptured all the way to the trench, proving that in some locations rupture can propagate through the accretionary wedge. An improved understanding of the structural character and physical properties of accretionary wedges is therefore crucial to begin to assess why such anomalously shallow seismic rupture occurs. Despite its importance, we know surprisingly little regarding the 3D geometry and kinematics of thrust network development in accretionary prisms, largely due to a lack of 3D seismic reflection data providing high-resolution, 3D images of entire networks. Thus our current understanding is largely underpinned by observations from analogue and numerical modelling, with limited observational data from natural examples.

In this contribution we use PSDM, 3D seismic reflection data from the Nankai margin (3D Muroto dataset, available from the UTIG Academic Seismic Portal, Marine Geoscience Data System) to examine how imbricate thrust fault networks evolve during accretionary wedge growth. Previous studies have reported en-echelon thrust fault geometries from the NW part of the dataset, and have related this complex structure to seamount subduction. We unravel the evolution of faults within the protothrust and imbricate thrust zones by interpreting multiple horizons across faults and measuring fault displacement and fold amplitude along-strike; by doing this, we are able to investigate the three dimensional accrual of strain. We document a number of local displacement minima along-strike of faults, suggesting that, the protothrust and imbricate thrusts developed from the linkage of smaller, previously isolated fault segments. We also demonstrate that the majority of faults grew upward from the décollement, although there is some evidence for downward fault propagation. Our observations reveal that fault segmentation is not restricted to the NW and we propose that segmentation and linkage is in fact the norm for imbricate thrust zone faults. The complex fault interactions documented here have implications for hydraulic compartmentalisation and pore fluid pressure along the shallow parts of the megathrust.