 |
 |
Hello all I believe the term transform fault concept was introduced by J.Tuzo Wilson: 1965, A new class of faults and their bearing on continental drift, Nature, v. 207, p. 343-347. The original concept was that a plate boundary was "transformed" from divergent (or convergent) to strike-slip motion at a point called a 'transform". Hence a "transform fault" was a fault linking two transforms. This sense, and the original meaning of "transform" to refer to a point, was progressively lost as "transform fault" became abbreviated to just "transform". The Pengiun Dictionary definition seems to be referring to the original concept of 'transforms' when it talks about the "ends of constructive and destructive plate margins". Although Wilson's work was mainly on mid-ocean ridge systems, it's pretty clear that the intent was to define a transform fault as any strike-slip fault that is also what we would now call a plate boundary. Hence faults like the San Andreas that cut portions of continental lithosphere are definitely included. This is the sense in which the term is used in most in most subsequent undergraduate books on plate tectonics (e.g. Cox & Hart: Plate Tectonics How It Works 1986) and in most introductory textbooks too. John Waldron At 07:43 AM 2006/6/9, you wrote: >Googling 'Transform Fault' gives all sorts of confusing definitions >for the term — and Philip Kearey's 1996 'New Penguin Dictionary of >Geology' gives the following: >"transform fault: A special form of strike-slip fault which joins the >ends of constructive and destructive plate margins." What on earth is >a student to make of that? John Waldron, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2E3 Tel: 780-492-3892. Fax: 780-492-3892. [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------- University spam filters may reject some sources of mail. If this happens, try me at [log in to unmask]