PhD student - Adriaan Van Herk
Funding - PhD Studentship funded by Clifton Scientific Trust (UK).
Research Partners
Objectives
It is widely recognised that basement faults exercise strong controls on the geometries of normal faults within overlying cover sequences formed during subsequent extension. Details of the evolution of reactivated fault systems are, however, poorly defined. Recent work suggests that reactivated normal fault systems are characterised by an initial phase of rapid growth in fault length, followed by a prolonged period of accumulation and localisation of fault displacements. This model of fault system evolution differs from the more traditional view of fault growth, where faults progressively lengthen as fault displacements increase. The aim of this project is to understand the controls of basement structure on the initiation and subsequent growth of faults in cover sequences. High quality 3D seismic data from the Timor Sea, together with recently developed numerical modelling capabilities, provide a basis for developing a more detailed understanding of the evolution of reactivated normal fault systems than has hitherto been possible. Seismic data analysis and numerical modelling will be complemented by fieldwork in the Western U.S. and New Zealand.