Linkage and evolution of conjugate strike-slip fault zones in limestones of Somerset and Northumbria

Conjugate strike-slip fault zones that cover metre-scale areas at Beadnell, Northumbria, and Kilve, Somerset, were initialed as conjugate vein arrays. Early conjugate faults are linked by the propagation of one fault that eventually by-passes the other fault. A model for the development of strike-slip faults is presented, using fault and vein geometries and the position of damage zones with respect to the master faults as an indication of the propagation direction. This model includes the evolution of networks from (1) the initial random development of vein arrays, to (2) the isolated development of several unconnected conjugate fault segments that pass into vein arrays, through (3) the intersection of a conjugate set of master faults and linkage with minor antithetic faults, and the formation of new vein arrays with extensional geometries after a linked network of faults is established, to (4) breaching of intersection points by dominant faults, and finally (5) the propagation towards oversteps that are breached to form a through-going fault. The geometry of the active structures simplifies with time, as strain is localised along the master fault, but the complexities are preserved in the fault walls. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.