Fault segment linkage and reactivation drive localized tectonic inversion in the Exmouth Plateau, NW Shelf Australia
Abstract
Abstract Tectonic inversion reshapes sedimentary basins when later shortening overprints earlier rifting, reorganizing stresses, topography, and fluid pathways. Because its seismic expression can be subtle and overprinted, inversion is often mapped inconsistently. The Exmouth Plateau (NW Shelf of Australia) preserves a thick rift–to–passive-margin succession and high-resolution 3D seismic data that image complex fault networks. Using horizon-based 3D mapping, variance attributes, and along-strike (T–x) and depth (T–z) throw analyses, we quantify fault segmentation, linkage, and reactivation, and diagnose inversion using reverse drag and “snakehead” forced-fold geometries. The general problem is to determine where, when, and why inversion localizes within a segmented rift architecture. Here we show that inversion is selective, restricted to two discrete uplifted domains, and focused where segmented faults overlap and interact, with deeper buttressing enhancing shortening during later stress reorganization. Compared with the view that inversion primarily tracks the magnitude of far-field compression, our results show that inherited three-dimensional fault geometry strongly modulates strain partitioning. Displacement patterns show predominantly blind fault growth during rifting, followed by later reactivation and segment linkage that created mechanically favorable sites for contractional reorganization. This yields transferable seismic criteria for separating inversion sensu…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Current state and future directions for deep learning based automatic seismic fault interpretation: A systematic review
- Physics of Partially Saturated Porous Media: Residual Saturation and Seismic-Wave Propagation
- Modern Imaging Using Seismic Reflection Data
- Effects of marine seismic surveys on free-ranging fauna: a systematic literature review
- A review of the recent seismic activity in the southern part of egypt (upper egypt)
- A review of research on mechanism of seismic attenuation and energy compensation
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.