Mechanics and Thermal Structure of Compressional and Extensional Wedges

这笔赠款将支持继续开展沉积楔体力学方面的工作。PI开发了侵蚀临界锥形褶皱冲断带的运动学和热学模型，使用台湾西部的稳态褶皱冲断带作为建模工作的中心部分。主要的新项目是将力学和热模型扩展到挤压楔体的伸展对应部位，即过浅角度滑脱断层的正常断层材料楔体。PI开发了这些结构的临界锥度模型(类似于压缩楔体的模型)，需要测试良好的结构数据，特别是孔隙流体压力数据。为此，他们最近从墨西哥湾的布拉索斯海脊伸展楔形构造获得了一套广泛的工业地震和钻探数据。他们将以布拉索斯楔形物为主要例子，开发一个完整的伸展楔形物的力学、运动学和热学模型。

This grant will support continued work on the mechanics of sedimentary wedges. The PIs have developed a kinematic and thermal model of an eroding critically tapered fold-and-thrust belt, using the steady-state fold-and-thrust belt in western Taiwan as the center piece of modelling efforts. The principal new project is to extend mechanical and thermal models to the extensional counterparts of compressive wedge, namely the normally faulted wedges of material that overly shallow angle detachment faults. The PIs have developed a critical taper model of these structures which (like the model of a compressional wedge) requires good structural and especially pore-fluid pressure data to be tested. They have recently acquired an extensive set of industrial seismic and drilling data from the Brazos Ridge extensional wedge in the Gulf of Mexico for this purpose. They will develop a complete mechanical, kinematic and thermal model of an extensional wedge, using the Brazos wedge as the main example.