Progressive development of an accretionary wedge margin from oblique thrust to strike-slip fault (Mikulov Fault, Outer Western Carpathians).

The Outer Western Carpathians are fractured by several syn-thrust and post-thrust faults. One of them, the Mikulov Fault, has been studied using a combination of surface and subsurface methods. The former comprised the analysis of a LiDAR digital terrain model and aerial photographic interpretation while the latter comprised the analysis of ERT profiles and 2D seismic reflection profiles interpreted with the aid of borehole data. Paleostress analysis has also been used to understand the stress history and progressive development of the fault. By combining these methods it has been possible to define a distinct N-S directed fault zone that intersects or delineates the majority of the Jurassic limestone nappe outliers around the highlands of Pavlov Hills. This almost continuous fault zone runs for several kilometers on the Czech side of the border and extends further south into Austria. The thrusted Jurassic limestone bodies are cut by the fault zone, which tectonically crushed the limestone in its core and the cores of the secondary fault branches. The mapped pattern of the fault zone suggests branching and reattaching with the production of lenticular tectonic slices. Consequently, we interpret the fault as a prominent sinistral shear zone. This is indicated on the surface by block displacement on Svatý kopeček Hill and by the orientation of the accompanying subvertical Riedel shears with identified horizontal lineation. Subsurface kinematic indication derives from the interpretation of a prominent negative flower structure in the deep seismic profiles, just beneath the fault zone. The ERT profiles have revealed that the limestone bodies are tectonically bound by accompanying fault branches. Moreover, paleostress analysis suggest that fault zone activity can be divided into three main stages: (i) NE-SW thrust faults indicate thrusting of the Carpathian accretion wedge over the Bohemian Massif; (ii) NE-SW strike-slip faulting, during which the fault blocks moved along the faults in the direction of propagating wedge; (iii) N-S strike-slip faulting, marking the change in compression direction and transition from thrusting to a strike-slip regime. The main movement along the fault is probably of the late Miocene age and probably continues to the present day.

 

The research was funded by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GC22-24206J).