Analogue modelling of conjugate strike-slip faults in the Cratonic basin: A case from the Tarim Basin, NW China

With the wide application of high-quality three-dimensional (3-D) seismic volumes in hydrocarbon exploration, it has been found that a special type of fault system, i.e., conjugate strike-slip fault system, is often developed in the Cratonic basins (e.g., Tarim Basin, Sichuan Basin, and Ordos Basin in China). They not only can directly indicate the principal stress direction, but also play a crucial role in controlling the transport and formation of hydrocarbons in the basin. Analysis of 3-D seismic data revealed that the Tarim Basin exhibited typical X-shaped (symmetrical) and asymmetrical (two sets of faults differing greatly in number) conjugate strike-slip fault systems. However, there is a lack of analogue models on the geometries and progressive evolution of conjugate strike-slip faults, as well as a poor understanding of the mechanisms of asymmetric conjugate strike-slip fault systems. Additionally, previous experiments have not been compared with such natural examples.

Based on the structural analysis of strike-slip faults in the Tarim Basin using seismic reflection data, we used three sets of symmetric (rectangular shape) and two sets of asymmetric (parallelogram shape) rubber basement models to investigate the geometries and progressive evolution of conjugate strike-slip faults. In this study, our research successfully modelled the kinematic and geometric evolution of different types of conjugate strike-slip fault systems, and found that they have the same acute angle and that the direction of their angular bisectors is parallel to the direction of contraction. In symmetric models, we observed the development of numerous typical X-shaped conjugate strike-slip faults were developed. Conversely, the development of two sets of faults in the asymmetric models showed an asymmetry, i.e., one set of faults was more obviously developed than the other, and with the degree of asymmetry increased, the asymmetry was even more obvious. Furthermore, we analysed the stress state of the models using the Mohr space and inferred that the stress state of the model changed from the strike-slip in the early stages to the extension in the later stages.

We proposed two synoptic models, namely, the symmetric conjugate strike-slip fault system (SCSFS) model and the asymmetric conjugate strike-slip fault system (ACSFS) model, for conjugate strike-slip fault systems based on the results of the different models. The models and experimental results were compared with natural examples of the two sets of strike-slip fault systems in the Tabei uplift in China’s Tarim Basin, which exhibited many strong similarities in their structural geometries, and they also provided further insight into the mechanisms of strike-slip faults in the Tabei uplift. These synoptic models proposed based on the analogue models may provide useful templates for the seismic interpretation and mechanism of different types of conjugate strike-slip fault systems in nature and for inferring the orientation of the maximum principal stress.