Structural characteristics and implication on tectonic evolution of the Daerbute strike-slip fault in West Junggar area, NW China

Abstract

The Daerbute fault zone, located in the northwestern margin of the Junggar basin, in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is a regional strike-slip fault with a length of ~ 400 km. The NE-SW trending Daerbute fault zone presents a distinct linear trend in plain view, cutting through both the Zair Mountain and the Hala’alate Mountain. Because of the intense contraction and shearing, the rocks within the fault zone experienced high degree of cataclasis, schistosity, and mylonization, resulting in rocks that are easily eroded to form a valley with a width of 300–500 m and a depth of 50–100 m after weathering and erosion. The well-exposed outcrops along the Daerbute fault zone present sub-horizontal striations and sub-vertical fault steps, indicating sub-horizontal shearing along the observed fault planes. Flower structures and horizontal drag folds are also observed in both the well-exposed outcrops and high-resolution satellite images. The distribution of accommodating strike-slip splay faults, e.g., the 973-pluton fault and the Great Jurassic Trough fault, are in accordance with the Riedel model of simple shear. The seismic and time-frequency electromagnetic (TFEM) sections also demonstrate the typical strike-slip characteristics of the Daerbute fault zone. Based on detailed field observations of well-exposed outcrops and seismic sections, the Daerbute fault can be subdivided into two segments: the western segment presents multiple fault cores and damage zones, whereas the eastern segment only presents a single fault core, in which the rocks experienced a higher degree of rock cataclasis, schistosity, and mylonization. In the central overlapping portion between the two segments, the sediments within the fault zone are primarily reddish sandstones, conglomerates, and some mudstones, of which the palynological tests suggest middle Permian as the timing of deposition. The deformation timing of the Daerbute fault was estimated by integrating the depocenters’ basinward migration and initiation of the splay faults (e.g., the Great Jurassic Trough fault and the 973-pluton fault). These results indicate that there were probably two periods of faulting deformation for the Daerbute fault. By integrating our study with previous studies, we speculate that the Daerbute fault experienced a two-phase strike-slip faulting deformation, commencing with the initial dextral strike-slip faulting in mid-late Permian, and then being inversed to sinistral strike-slip faulting since the Triassic. The results of this study can provide useful insights for the regional tectonics and local hydrocarbon exploration.

Keywords

Daerbute fault / structural characteristics / deformation timing / West Junggar

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Xinjiang Oil Field Company of PetroChina for their permission to use the relevant geological and geophysical data. The constructive comments from the three anonymous reviewers are highly appreciated. This research has been financially supported by: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41272142, 41502192, and 41702138), the National Science and Technology Major Project (2017ZX05001003), Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Acdemy of Sciences (XDA14010301), the Provincial Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2012DM011), and the Open Funding of the Key Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources (No. TPR-2016-02).

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