LINKED SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF PROPAGATINGNORMAL FAULTS

Two distinct phases in the structural evolution of normal faults can b e identified in the Miocene Gulf of Suez rift: (1) an initial growth f old stage when the fault is a buried structure and (2) a subsequent su rface faulting stage. During the growth fold stage, strata thin and be come truncated toward the fault zone and are rotated and diverge away from the buried fault into growth synclines. In contrast, once the fau lt breaks surface, strata form a divergent wedge, which is rotated and thickens into the fault. The two tectono-stratigraphic styles also oc cur contemporaneously along the length of a single fault segment. Grow th folding characterizes deformation around the ends of fault segments where the fault is blind, whereas the center of fault segments are ch aracterized by surface faulting. These observations suggest that marke d along-strike variation in stratal surfaces and facies stacking patte rns will occur in depositional sequences in areas of normal faulting.