Modeling of natural fault systems at various scales

Faults in rocks occur at all scales, from submicroscopic to lithospheric scale. The proposed research will investigate the geometry of fault-systems and the associated host-rock deformation at three selected scales, from hand- specimen- to outcrop- to sedimentary basin-scale. Following up on the Hertha-Firnberg project of the applicant on geometrical and mechanical modelling of host-rock deformation around ideal fault ellipses, it is planned to extend the research to examine the geometrical and mechanical properties of natural, irregular fault systems. Natural fault geometries and deflected marker horizons from (1) industrial reflection seismic data from normal fault systems in the south-eastern Vienna basin, (2) Ground Penetrating Radar profiles recorded adjacent to well-exposed faults in sedimentary sequences, and (3) neutron tomographic images displaying faults in calcarenitic rock samples will serve as input data for the construction of three-dimensional structural models. Numercial modeling using a boundary element code (Poly3D) will provide constraints on faulting history, evaluating the boundary conditions and mechanical fault properties for the observed geometries. These multilateral investigations promise to permit the inference of mechanical fault properties from observed geometrical features.

Faults in rocks occur at all scales, from submicroscopic to lithospheric scale. The proposed research will investigate the geometry of fault-systems and the associated host-rock deformation at three selected scales, from hand- specimen- to outcrop- to sedimentary basin-scale. Following up on the Hertha-Firnberg project of the applicant on geometrical and mechanical modelling of host-rock deformation around ideal fault ellipses, it is planned to extend the research to examine the geometrical and mechanical properties of natural, irregular fault systems. Natural fault geometries and deflected marker horizons from (1) industrial reflection seismic data from normal fault systems in the south-eastern Vienna basin, (2) Ground Penetrating Radar profiles recorded adjacent to well-exposed faults in sedimentary sequences, and (3) neutron tomographic images displaying faults in calcarenitic rock samples will serve as input data for the construction of three-dimensional structural models. Numercial modeling using a boundary element code (Poly3D) will provide constraints on faulting history, evaluating the boundary conditions and mechanical fault properties for the observed geometries. These multilateral investigations promise to permit the inference of mechanical fault properties from observed geometrical features.