Paleostress CEBS: GFZ

The post-Variscan Paleostress History of the Central European Basin System (CEBS)

Calcite slickensides along a steeply dipping fault plane indicate a left-lateral (sinistral) sense of movement along the fault (marked by the arrow) (© J. Sippel, 09.08.2006). *(Judith Sippel)*

Goal
The structural inventory of Late Carboniferous – Mesozoic rocks of the basin fill shall give indications on the evolution of paleostress states since Permian times.

Methods
Differently oriented faults, along each of which the sense of movement is derived from fault surface structures (Slickensides), provide first constraints on local kinematics. The observed kinematic patterns are assumed to be causatively related to tectonically-induced stress states. For the calculation of paleostress states a new method has been developed which facilitates the evaluation of polyphase fault patterns by combining different well-established approaches (Sippel et al., in press).

Depth to top pre-Permian illustrating the major structural elements of the Central European Basin System which strike NW-SE (e.g. Elbe Fault System, Ringkøbing Fyn High, Tornquist Zone; modified after Scheck-Wenderoth & Lamarche, 2005). A second set... — Depth to top pre-Permian illustrating the major structural elements of the Central European Basin System which strike NW-SE (e.g. Elbe Fault System, Ringkøbing Fyn High, Tornquist Zone; modified after Scheck-Wenderoth & Lamarche, 2005). A second set of structures trends N S (e.g. Glückstadt Graben (GG), Horn Graben (HG), and Central Graben (CG)). Coordinates: UTM, Zone 33 N. (© Judith Sippel) *(Judith Sippel)*

Results
From the southern margin of the CEBS we derived paleostress states which primarily can be related to the Late Cretaceous – Early Tertiary inversion of the basin system.

Cooperations
DFG SPP 1135: Dynamics of Sedimentary Basins