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Effects of mass waste events on thrust wedges: Analogue experiments and application to the Makran accretionary wedge
Author(s) -
Smit Jeroen,
Burg JeanPierre,
Dolati Asghar,
Sokoutis Dimitrios
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
tectonics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.465
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1944-9194
pISSN - 0278-7407
DOI - 10.1029/2009tc002526
Subject(s) - accretionary wedge , geology , imbrication , wedge (geometry) , thrust , seismology , submarine pipeline , geomorphology , subduction , tectonics , geotechnical engineering , geometry , physics , mathematics , thermodynamics
Olistostromes cover large portions of active thrust wedges like Makran, Gulf of Cadiz, and offshore Borneo. Olistostrome emplacement by submarine mass flow represents an instantaneous and massive mass redistribution that may influence thrust wedge mechanics. Different scenarios are experimentally tested. They show that the postolistostrome wedge development depends on the thickness and extent of the added load. These results are discussed after the example of the Iranian Makran wedge, situated between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Mass redistribution caused by a late Miocene mass flow may explain a change in deformation style from intense folding and thrusting to gentle folding and eventually a jump of thrust imbrication toward the frontal offshore part of this active accretionary wedge.