Growth fault/rollover systems: Birth, growth, and decay

Growth fault/rollover systems are extremely common structures of thin-skinned extensional systems resulting from gravity gliding above salt. Their development is studied using laboratory experiments based on brittle-ductile models where the sedimentary cover and synkinematic sediments are simulated using brittle sand and the underlying decollement layer by viscous silicone putty. The experiments are compared to natural examples from seismic lines. The experimental results are used to present the evolution of growth fault rollover systems, these being the result of a finite amplitude instability with three distinct stages: birth, growth, and decay. Each of these stages is identified with typical structures which can be recognized on seismic sections. A discussion is presented on the interactions in time and space between synthetic and antithetic listric faults parallel and transverse to the direction of displacement.