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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Structural Geology and Tectonics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1494093

The geometry and evolution of the deeply buried structural wedge in the Kuqa fold-and-thrust belt: insights from numerical simulation

Provisionally accepted
Weili Chen Weili Chen 1Wei Wang Wei Wang 2*Jiaqi Zhao Jiaqi Zhao 1Hongwei Yin Hongwei Yin 3Fangjie Hu Fangjie Hu 1Yong Zhang Yong Zhang 2Zhihao Li Zhihao Li 1Dong Jia Dong Jia 3Chunbo Zhang Chunbo Zhang 1
  • 1 Exploration and Development Research Institute, PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company, korla, China
  • 2 Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing, China
  • 3 School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Numerical simulation is used to investigate the influence of thickness variation on the evolution of buried structural wedges, representing structures formed between two detachments.Simulations are based on the Kuqa fold-and-thrust belt, characterized by a tapered sedimentary sequence. Two sets of models were developed, one considering syn-tectonic sedimentation and the other without it. Model results indicate that an increase in thickness leads to larger intervals of thrusts, larger-scale thrust anticlines, and a reduced number of thrusts within the buried structural wedge, regardless of the presence of syn-tectonic sedimentation. The presence of syn-tectonic sedimentation is found to constrain the propagation of deformation within buried structural wedges, while increased thickness is observed to promote deformation propagation. Model results show that the deformation front expands toward the foreland from the thin model to the medium model and withdraws from the medium model to the thick model. This suggests that with the increase of wedge thickness, the restriction influence of syn-tectonic sedimentation on deformation propagation is more obvious than promotion. Model results show similarities in the structural features with the buried structural wedge in the Kuqa fold-and-thrust belt. With insights from numerical simulation, we suggest that the increased Mesozoic strata thickness from the west to east controls the structural variation along the strike. In the east, there are fewer thrust faults and larger fault intervals. Due to the restriction influence of the syn-tectonic sedimentation on the deformation propagation, the deformation front is an arc shape in the map view from west to east.

    Keywords: Deformation propagation, Thickness variation, numerical simulation, Kuqa Depression, Structural wedges, Fold-and-thrust belts

    Received: 10 Sep 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Wang, Zhao, Yin, Hu, Zhang, Li, Jia and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Wang, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.