Hi Lorna,
Yes. I think this is possible, and I guess it is related to the depth of nucleation plus the rate of fault tip propagation (see also P/S ratio of Hardy and McClay, 1999). If the 'minor' fault nucleates at a shallower depth and/or propagates more quickly, than it can breach the free surface before the 'major' fault.
There is a very nice example of this type of relationship along the Thal Fault, Suez Rift, Egypt; check out Gawthorpe et al. (2003) in JSG. Figures 7 and 9 are perhaps most informative, and they show how growth strata nicely constrains the timing of surface-breaching on the antithetic fault vs. coeval fault-propagation folding on the master fault.
I hope this helps.
Chris
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Dr Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson
Statoil Senior Lecturer in Basin Analysis
Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Imperial College
Prince Consort Road
LONDON
SW7 2BP
England
UK
email: [log in to unmask]
webpage: www.imperial.ac.uk/people/c.jackson
phone: +44(0)2075947450
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-----Original Message-----
From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lorna Strachan
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2011 12:34 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Can an antithetic/synthetic fault be surface breaching while master (normal) fault is still blind?
Dear All,
I wonder if anyone could help me with the following question...
Can an antithetic/synthetic fault be surface breaching while the master (normal) fault is still blind?
I'm working in a rift setting and trying to address a few loose ends.
Cheers,
Lorna
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