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Quick-Look Techniques for Evaluating Two-Dimensional Cross Sections in Detached Contractional Settings

¹ Department of Geology and Geography, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, 46135; mswilke{at}depauw.edu
² Department of Geology and Geography, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, 46135; current address: U.S. Geological Survey, MS 954, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia, 20192

Scott Wilkerson earned his B.S. degree in geology from Murray State University (1987) and his Ph.D. in structural geology from the University of Illinois (1991). Prior to joining the faculty at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1995, Wilkerson was a member of the Structural Analysis Group at Exxon Production Research in Houston, Texas. Wilkerson's present research interests include 2-D and 3-D structural analysis of the geometric, kinematic, and mechanical development of contractional fault-related folds.Connie L. Dicken received her B.A. degree in geology from DePauw University in 1999. She currently works at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia, on the eastern mineral resources team as a geographic information system supporter and geologist.

For more than 30 yr, geologists and geophysicists have used balancing techniques to constrain their cross-sectional interpretations in detached contractional settings. The quality of the resulting interpretations commonly directly correlates to the quality of the data, the balancing and interpretational experience of the interpreter, and the time allotted for the interpretation. We demystify the balancing process and present quick-look techniques for quickly and effectively detecting and preventing common cross section balancing errors in detached contractional settings. Common balancing problems are highlighted through close scrutiny of hanging-wall and footwall ramps and flats; such analysis helps identify inconsistencies in the numbers of ramps and flats, in the strata and stratal thicknesses in corresponding ramps, and in displacement along the fault. These techniques possess the additional advantages of being useful at any stage of the interpretational process for time or depth sections and being easily comprehensible by students, geologists, geophysicists, and managers alike. The quick-look techniques, however, are not an all-encompassing panacea. They do not guarantee a unique and/or correct cross-sectional interpretation; instead, they serve to focus the interpreter's attention on potentially problematic areas in the cross section that might require explanation and/or reinterpretation.