Premium
A strike‐slip core complex from the Najd fault system, Arabian shield
Author(s) -
Meyer Sven Erik,
Passchier Cees,
AbuAlam Tamer,
Stüwe Kurt
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/ter.12111
Subject(s) - geology , metamorphic core complex , strike slip tectonics , seismology , shield , shear zone , slip (aerodynamics) , shear (geology) , dome (geology) , metamorphic rock , fault (geology) , detachment fault , crust , echelon formation , petrology , extensional definition , geochemistry , tectonics , geomorphology , physics , thermodynamics
Metamorphic core complexes are usually thought to be associated with regional crustal extension and crustal thinning, where deep crustal material is exhumed along gently dipping normal shear zones oblique to the regional extension direction. We present a new mechanism whereby metamorphic core complexes can be exhumed along crustal‐scale strike‐slip fault systems that accommodated crustal shortening. The Qazaz metamorphic dome in Saudi Arabia was exhumed along a gently dipping jog in a crustal‐scale vertical strike‐slip fault zone that caused more than 25 km of exhumation of lower crustal rocks by 30 km of lateral motion. Subsequently, the complex was transected by a branch of the strike‐slip fault zone, and the segments were separated by another 30 km of lateral motion. Strike‐slip core complexes like the Qazaz Dome may be common and may have an important local effect on crustal strength.