INVERSION TECTONICS

Wessex basin
 regional
null-points
footwall short-cuts
buttressing
Inversion in
mountain belts
 Regional

the continuous level/orientation

of a horizon through the region
(away from the fault structure)
Regional for green horizon
For ideal contractional structures
all parts of the structure move to
ABOVE their regional.. For ideal
extensional structures all parts
move to BELOW their regional.
 Net contraction

Null point
Net extension
Footwall
short-cut
Beware vertical exag
Inversion or fault-bend fold?
Why structural style matters
for regional orogenic studies
Inheritance in the Apennines?

Inversion in the Adriatic

Argnani & Gamberi 1997

Eastern part of CROP-03

Ultra-reactivation model.
Basement-involved,
low displacements
(8.5 km vs 22 km)

Butler et al. 2004

 Basement involved but not simply fault reactivation (like Vercors)

Scisciani et al. 2002 (J. Struct Geol)

 Thrust nucleates on
pre-existing normal fault

Richard Morgan
Deep water Nigeria
More information?

Geological Society (London) Spec Publs:

Inversion Tectonics (44)
Basin Inversion (88)