ALBERT

Description: This dataset presents the raw data from two experimental series of analogue models and four numerical models performed to investigate Rift-Rift-Rift triple junction dynamics, supporting the modelling results described in the submitted paper. Numerical models were run in order to support the outcomes obtained from the analogue models. Our experimental series tested the case of a totally symmetric RRR junction (with rift branch angles trending at 120° and direction of stretching similarly trending at 120°; SY Series) or a less symmetric triple junction (with rift branches trending at 120° but with one of these experiencing orthogonal extension; OR Series), and testing the role of a single or two phases of extension coupled with effect of differential velocities between the three moving plates. An overview of the performed analogue and numerical models is provided in Table 1. Analogue models have been analysed quantitatively by means of photogrammetric reconstruction of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) used for 3D quantification of the deformation, and top-view photo analysis for qualitative descriptions. The analogue materials used in the setup of these models are described in Montanari et al. (2017), Del Ventisette et al. (2019) and Maestrelli et al. (2020). Numerical models were run with the finite element software ASPECT (e.g., Kronbichler et al., 2012; Heister et al., 2017; Rose et al., 2017).

Description: As a rifted margin starts to tilt due to thermal subsidence, evaporitic bodies can become unstable, initiating gravity-driven salt tectonics. Our understanding of such processes has greatly benefitted from tectonic modelling efforts, yet a topic that has however gotten limited attention so far is the influence of large-scale salt basin geometry on subsequent salt tectonics. The aim of this work is therefore to systematically test how salt basin geometry (initial salt basin depocenter location, i.e. where salt is thickest, as well as mean salt thickness) influence salt tectonic systems by means of analogue experiments. These experiments were analyzed qualitatively using top view photography, and quantitatively through Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), and 3D photogrammetry (Structure-from-Motion, SfM) to obtain their surface displacement and topographic evolution. The model results show that the degree of (instantaneous) margin basin tilt, followed by the mean salt thickness are dominant factors controlling deformation, as enhancing basin tilt and/or mean salt thickness promotes deformation. Focusing on experiments with constant basin tilt and mean salt thickness to filter out these dominant factors, we find that the initial salt depocenter location has various effects on the distribution and expression of tectonic domains. Most importantly, a more upslope depocenter leads to increased downslope displacement of material, and more subsidence (localized accommodation space generation) in the upslope domain when compared to a setting involving a depocenter situated farther downslope. A significant factor in these differences is the basal drag associated with locally thinner salt layers. When comparing our results with natural examples, we find a fair correlation expressed in the links between salt depocenter location and post-salt depositional patterns: the subsidence distribution due to the specific salt depocenter location creates accommodation space for subsequent sedimentation. These correlations are applicable when interpreting the early stages of salt tectonics, when sedimentary loading has not become dominant yet.

Description: Rift-Rift-Rift triple junctions are key features of emergent plate boundary networks during fragmentation of a continent. A key example of such a setting is the Afar triple junction where the African, Arabian and Somalian plates interact. We performed analog and numerical models simulating continental break-up in a Rift-Rift-Rift setting to investigate the resulting structural pattern and evolution. We modified the ratio between plate velocities, and we performed single-stage (with all plates moving at the same time) and two-stage (where one plate first moves alone and then all the plates move simultaneously) models. Additionally, the direction of extension was changed to induce orthogonal extension in one of the three rift branches. Our models suggest that differential extension velocities in the rift branches determine the localization of the structural triple junction, which is located closer to the rift branch experiencing slower extension velocities. Furthermore, imposed velocities affect the deformation resulting in end-member fault patterns. The effect of applying similar velocities in all rift arms is to induce a symmetric fault pattern (generating a Y-shaped geometry). In contrast, a faster plate generates structures trending orthogonal to dominant velocity vectors, while faults associated with the movement of the slower plates remain subordinate (generating a T-shaped pattern). Two-stage models reveal high-angle faults interacting at the triple junction, confirming that differential extension velocities strongly affect fault patterns. These latter models show large-scale similarities with fault patterns observed in the Afar triple junction, providing insights into the factors controlling the structural evolution of this area.

Description: This data set includes the results of digital image correlation of 35 brittle-viscous experiments on gravitational salt tectonics performed at the Tectonic Modelling Lab of the University of Rennes 1 (UR1). The experiments demonstrate the influence of basin geometry on gravity-driven salt tectonics. Detailed descriptions of the experiments can be found in Zwaan et al. (2021) to which this data set is supplementary. The data presented here consist of movies and images displaying the cumulative analogue model surface displacement, digital elevation models as well as profiles of the downslope cumulative displacements and surface elevation.

Description: Rift-Rift-Rift triple junctions are regions where three plates interact, generating complex networks of variably oriented faults. While the geometry of the fault networks is easily constrained from their surface expression, what remains unclear is how the kinematics of faults and their interactions vary spatially, and how these relate to the unusual crustal motions that result from three plates diverging from each other. The Afar depression lies at the triple junction between the African, Arabian, and Somalian plates (in the Horn of Africa), where the unique combination of observational data from structural mapping, seismicity, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) allows us to understand the link between fault kinematics and plate motions. We complement these observations with an analog model to gain insights into how the patterns and directions of faults relate to overall plate motions. A key finding in both the model and nature is that some adjacent normal faults form at high angles and generate T-shaped structures. These purely normal faults are synchronously active, which means that the extension direction varies ∼90° locally. These kinematic contrasts in our model and in nature occur despite the relatively smooth pattern of overall surface motions. The results indicate that normal faults interacting at high angles to form the T-shaped structures can evolve synchronously within a stress field that varies gently in magnitude but dramatically in orientation over a few kilometers.