Analogue modelling of intraplate strike-slip tectonics: A review and new experimental results

Intraplate strike-slip zones commonly display intricate 3-D geometries, with rapid changes in structural style along strike and with depth. Strike-slip deformation typically results in complex vertical and horizontal sections that can be difficult to interpret coherently. Physical modelling of strike-slip fault systems is a powerful and graphic tool to help in providing a unified picture of the evolution of strike-slip zones with considerable spatial and temporal detail. A large number of experimental studies have investigated different aspects of strike-slip tectonics using materials such as dry sand, wet clay, or silicone. The choice of analogue material and experimental design exerts a strong control on the structures that form in the model. Here we present a review of different experimental setups used to investigate intraplate strike-slip tectonics, from the classical Riedel experiment to more sophisticated setups using brittle and viscous analogue materials. We review our current understanding from models of distributed shear, transtension, transpression, pull-apart basins formed in releasing stepovers, and popups formed in restraining stepovers. In addition, we present the results of two new experimental series that investigated (1) the effect of crustal weak zones on strike-slip fault-zone segmentation and (2) strike-slip and transpressional reactivation of extensional basins. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.