Importance of pre-existing fault size for the evolution of

an inverted fault system

CATHAL REILLY1,2,3*, ANDREW NICOL1,2,4 & JOHN WALSH2
1
GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
2
Fault Analysis Group, School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
3
Present address: Midland Valley, Floor 9, 2 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 1RW, UK
4
Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury,
Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
*Corresponding author (e-mail: cathal@mve.com)

Abstract: Fault inversion has been documented in many basins worldwide, yet the details of how
the initial extensional faults impact on the geometry and growth of the reactivated contractional
system is often poorly resolved by the available data. Two-dimensional (2D) and 3D seismic reflec-
tion, and well data have been used to chart the evolution of inverted faults from the Taranaki Basin,
offshore New Zealand. Sedimentary rocks up to 8 km thick record Late Cretaceous–Paleocene
normal faults inverted during Miocene and younger shortening. The displacement and length of
early normal faults is a key determinant for the reactivation and size of the subsequent reverse
faults. All normal faults with maximum vertical displacements ≥600 m and lengths ≥9 km
were inverted along their entire length, while smaller faults were not inverted. The proportion
of the total basin-wide strain accommodated on each fault is comparable between deformational
episodes. The hierarchy of reverse fault lengths was established rapidly, with longer faults accruing
a greater proportion of the total strain from an early stage of shortening. The reverse fault system
is dominated by inverted normal faults, which accrue displacement at the expense of smaller faults,
and utilize the largest crustal-scale elements of the pre-existing system. The size of pre-existing
heterogeneities is an important control for the magnitude and spatial extent of elevated stresses
during contraction, which, in turn, control the dimensions, locations and displacements of
subsequent fault growth.

Fault inversion (Fig. 1) occurs globally in a variety
of sedimentary basin settings, including subduction
margins, orogenic foredeeps, intracratonic basins
and ‘peri-orogenic’ regions of continental escape
tectonics (Turner & Williams 2004 and references
therein). Basin inversion has been recognized for
almost a century (Lamplugh 1920; Stille 1924)
and is typically achieved by fault inversion with
early normal faults reactivated during later contrac-
tion (Glennie & Boegner 1981; Hayward & Graham
1989; Williams et al. 1989; Bishop & Buchanan
1995; Brun & Nalpas 1996; Turner & Williams
2004). Hanging-wall anticlines formed in associa-
tion with inversion produce structural culminations
that, in many basins, contain important hydro-
carbon accumulations (Fig. 1) (e.g. Fraser & Gaw-
thorpe 1990; Uliana et al. 1995; Gluyas et al. 2003;
Madon et al. 2004; Warren 2009). Hydrocarbon
exploration of inversion structures has produced
a large body of seismic reflection data that help
constrain the geometrical and kinematic relation-
ships between extensional and contractional fault
systems (e.g. Davis 1983; Badley et al. 1989; Bishop
& Buchanan 1995; Wang et al. 1995; Bulnes &
McClay 1998; Withjack et al. 2010; Grimaldi &
Dorobek 2011; Jackson et al. 2013). Such seismic
data are utilized in this paper to investigate the influ-
ence of early normal faults on the evolution of
an inverted fault system in the offshore Taranaki
Basin, New Zealand.
Fault inversion is selective and often only a small
percentage (,10%) of the initial normal fault sys-
tem are reactivated (e.g. Davis 1983; Badley et al.
1989; Williams et al. 1989; Sibson 1995; Kelly
et al. 1999; Panien et al. 2005). A number of fac-
tors may control which faults are reactivated dur-
ing inversion, including: the relative orientation of
the pre-existing faults and the principal horizon-
tal shortening direction during inversion (Brun &
Nalpas 1996; Panien et al. 2005; Del Ventisette

From: Childs, C., Holdsworth, R. E., Jackson, C. A.-L., Manzocchi, T., Walsh, J. J. & Yielding, G. (eds)
The Geometry and Growth of Normal Faults. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 439,
http://doi.org/10.1144/SP439.2
# 2016 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved.
For permissions: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/permissions. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
 C. REILLY ET AL.
(a) Normal Fault
Vertical
displacement
(Vd)
(b) Fault and basin inversion
Vertical
separation
(Vs)
Inverted
displacement
(Id)
Id=Vd-Vs
Fig. 1. Schematic cross-section of an inverted fault and basin. Growth strata deposited during extension (green) and
contraction (white) are separated by intervals of tectonic quiescence (grey, blue and yellow units) (modified from
Williams et al. 1989). Displacements measured in this paper are also shown.
et al. 2006; Withjack et al. 2010); fault dip, with
shallower dips more conducive to inversion (Sibson
1995; Kelly et al. 1999); fluid overpressure, which
promotes reduction of the effective normal stress
on the fault surface (Sibson 1995; Turner & Wil-
liams 2004); and the size of original normal faults,
with larger faults more likely to invert (e.g. Eisen-
stadt & Withjack 1995; Kelly et al. 1999; Panien
et al. 2005). Whatever the precise mechanism con-
trolling which faults reactivate, it is clear that inher-
itance from pre-existing structures can profoundly
influence the evolution of later fault systems (Chad-
wick & Evans 1995; Morley 1995; Lezzar et al.
2002; Walsh et al. 2003; Morley et al. 2004; Wor-
thington & Walsh 2011). In addition to controlling
the orientation, location and size of inverted faults,
early normal faults may promote rapid establish-
ment of final fault lengths and strain localization
onto a small number of primary structures (Morley
1999; Meyer et al. 2002; Childs et al. 2003; Walsh
et al. 2002; Giba et al. 2012).
The role of fault size (i.e. length and maximum
displacement) in selective inversion, and the impact
that reactivation has on fault growth, is considered
here using seismic reflection data from the southern
Post-Inversion
sedimentation
Syn-Inversion
sedimentation
Post-Rift
sedimentation
Syn-Rift
sedimentation
Basement
Taranaki Basin in offshore New Zealand. Within
this portion of the basin, normal faults of Late
Cretaceous –Paleocene age (c. 80 –55 Ma) were in-
verted during Miocene and younger shortening
(Figs 2b, c & 3). The strike and dip of the early, nor-
mal faults are approximately uniform (NE–SW
and 55 –708, respectively), while the extension and
shortening directions during respective deformation
episodes were approximately coaxial and trend per-
pendicular to fault strike (King & Thrasher 1996;
Reilly et al. 2015). Therefore, neither changes in
the obliquity of slip nor variations in fault dip are
likely to control which structures were inverted.
However, the Late Cretaceous – Paleocene normal
faults have a range of sizes, with vertical displace-
ments of 10 m –3.5 km resolved on 2D and 3D seis-
mic reflection lines (Fig. 3). The wide range of fault
sizes (i.e. three orders of magnitude) enables the
dependence of inversion on fault size to be exam-
ined (Figs 4 & 5). The seismic data also provide a
rare 3D perspective of the geometrical and kine-
matic evolution of inverted normal faults. These
data show a clear control of fault size on inver-
sion, and suggest that size, spatial distribution and
relative fault sizes in the early extension system
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION
pre-condition the geometry and kinematics of the
inverted fault array.
Geological setting
The Taranaki Basin has experienced both extension
and shortening since about 80 Ma (e.g. Figs 2 & 3)
(King & Thrasher 1996). Normal faults develo-
ped throughout the Taranaki Basin during the Late
Cretaceous–Paleocene (c. 80–55 Ma) and reflect
crustal extension during Gondwana break-up
(Thrasher 1990; King & Thrasher 1996; Hemmings-
Sykes 2011). These normal faults are commonly
the oldest structures that displace sedimentary strata
(Figs 2 & 3). They produced a series of half-graben
sedimentary basins that contain strata up to 4 km
thick. The normal faults mainly strike north–south
and NE–SW with dips of 55 –708, suggesting a
principal horizontal extension direction of approxi-
mately NW–SE. Their displacements range from
,10 m to large, basin-bounding faults (.3.5 km)
and have maximum lengths of up to around 90 km
(Figs 2–5).
Contraction and associated inversion in the
basin commenced no later than Early Oligocene
and migrated westwards across the basin during
the Miocene (Pilaar & Wakefield 1978; Knox
1982; Schmidt & Robinson 1989; King & Thrasher
1996; Reilly et al. 2015). In the SW of the basin,
some reverse faults have been active during the
Quaternary (Fig. 6). Shortening in the basin is
inferred to have been driven by convergence along
the Australian–Pacific plate boundary through New
Zealand (Ballance 1976; Walcott 1978; Holt &
Stern 1994; Stagpoole & Nicol 2008; Reilly et al.
2015). The resulting reverse faults are approxima-
tely dip-slip, with an inferred principal horizon-
tal shortening direction of approximately NW–SE,
and are commonly associated with asymmetric
footwall-verging folds (i.e. hanging-wall anticlines
and footwall synclines) (Figs 2 & 3).
Dataset and methods
2D and 3D seismic reflection surveys tied to petro-
leum exploration wells have been utilized to esti-
mate the displacement histories of faults and the
influence of fault size on subsequent inversion (e.g.
Fig. 3). These seismic data provide information on
the style of deformation, while displacement back-
stripping using seismic reflection lines enables the
timing of fault growth to be estimated.
The evolution of the faults is recorded by syn-
faulting growth strata and by up-sequence changes
in the magnitude and style (normal and reverse
dip slip) of displacements (e.g. Fig. 1). Faulted
strata comprise a Late Cretaceous and younger
sedimentary succession, with a total thickness of
approximately 800 m –8 km, unconformably over-
lying Mesozoic basement (Fig. 2). Within the sedi-
mentary sequence, up to 16 horizons were mapped
on 916 2D seismic reflection lines (with a total
length of almost 25 000 km) and within five 3D seis-
mic reflection surveys (with a total area of almost
3500 km2) (Reilly et al. 2015). The interpreted
seismic horizons are approximately isochronous,
with ages estimated using biostratigraphy from
35 wells (Roncaglia et al. 2008, 2010, 2013; Mor-
gans 2013). The interpreted horizons have a tempo-
ral resolution of c. 1–4 myr since 24 Ma and c. 5–
10 myr prior to the Miocene. Approximately 1000
faults with vertical displacements of around 15 –
2200 ms (10 m –3.5 km) have been mapped in the
southern Taranaki Basin. The basin hosts normal
faults that formed during Late Cretaceous and
Paleocene rifting, reverse faults that formed during
the Late Eocene –Miocene, and Plio-Pleistocene
(in the south of the southern Taranaki Basin) con-
traction. In addition, the north part of the southern
Taranaki Basin hosts normal faults that formed dur-
ing Plio-Pleistocene extension (Fig. 6) (Pilaar &
Wakefield 1978; Knox 1982; Schmidt & Robinson
1989; King 1990; Hoolihan & Yang 1991; Thrasher
1992; Palmer & Andrews 1993; Holt & Stern 1994;
King & Thrasher 1996; Nicol et al. 2005; Stagpoole
& Nicol 2008; Giba et al. 2010; Reilly et al. 2015).
A small proportion (,10%) of the earliest formed
normal faults was inverted during later contraction,
which also resulted in the formation of new reverse
faults. Examination of individual seismic lines sug-
gests that inversion is mainly limited to the largest
displacement faults in the basin (Figs 2 & 3).
Displacement measurements and displacement
back-stripping were used to determine the kinema-
tic history of 21 faults, with maximum vertical
displacements of ≥500 m. To measure both fault
displacement (fault-surface slip) and fault-related
folding, vertical separations were recorded between
footwall and hanging-wall fold hinges. Vertical sep-
aration of the hinges is considered to be a proxy for
fault vertical displacement, and here the term dis-
placement refers to vertical displacement and/or
vertical separation. In cases where the anticlinal
hinge had been eroded, the eroded surfaces have
been projected to the hanging-wall anticline hinge
to enable an estimation of vertical separation. Dis-
placement back-stripping was performed on indi-
vidual seismic sections by sequentially subtracting
displacements on progressively older horizons from
all underlying horizons (for further discussion of
the methodology, refer to: Petersen et al. 1992;
Childs et al. 1993, 2003; Clausen et al. 1994). The
back-stripping method has been modified slightly
to account for inverted faults with early normal
and late reverse displacements (and folding). Taking
C. REILLY ET AL.
Fig. 2.
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION
Fig. 2. (Continued) Faults and structural setting of the southern Taranaki Basin. (a) Plate boundary setting and study area location. New Zealand Pacific Plate relative motion
vectors relative to the Australian Plate are from Beavan & Haines (2001). (b) Map of main faults in the southern Taranaki Basin active since approximately 80 Ma. Triangles
and ticks on faults indicate dip directions of present reverse and normal faults, respectively. Thick red lines across northern and southern parts of the basin, a– a′ and b– b′ ,
show the locations of the regional cross-sections in (c) and (d). (c) & (d) Cross-sections a–a′ and b –b′ across the NE and SW of the southern Taranaki Basin, respectively.
Individual seismic line names that make up the cross-sections and extents on the sections are shown in black above each section. Sediment thickness variations indicate the
timing and sense of movement on large faults in the basin (e.g. Fig. 1). Note also the death of small normal faults, terminating in the Late Cretaceous–Paleocene sequence
and not undergoing later reactivation.
 C. REILLY ET AL.
Fig. 3. Example of (a) an uninterpreted and (b) an interpreted seismic reflection line showing inverted and non-inverted normal faults, and new reverse faults (labelled in b).
The location of the seismic line is shown in Figure 2b. Schematic tectonic history outlines Cretaceous– Paleocene rifting, Eocene quiescence, Oligocene –Recent contraction
and Plio-Pleistocene rifting in the north of the study area. TTWT, two-way transit time.
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION

Fig. 4. Maximum displacement v. length plots for (a) normal and (b) reverse faults in the southern Taranaki Basin.
Inverted (filled circles) and non-inverted normal faults (a) and newly formed reverse fault (b) (open circles) are
differentiated in each plot. Inverted faults represent the largest approximately 10% of the original normal faults and
have maximum vertical displacements and trace lengths of approximately .600 m and .9 km, respectively.
Displacements were measured in milliseconds and converted to metres using the depth-conversion method of
Thrasher & Cahill (1990), with more recently calculated velocity values for southern Taranaki Basin intervals (Hill
& Milner 2012). Global fault data (filled small grey circles) are compiled from the literature (e.g. Schlishe et al.
1996; Bailey et al. 2005) augmented by recent unpublished compilations.

measured reverse vertical displacements as negative
values and subtracting them from the apparent dis-
placements on the oldest syn-rift strata in the same
cross-section allows the original normal displace-
ment associated with the extensional event to be
quantified (Fig. 1). For 14 of the 21 faults, multiple
seismic sections, spaced at 0.5–2 km, were back-
stripped to produce along-strike displacement pro-
files that record displacements for extensional and
contractional phases of faulting (e.g. Fig. 7) (for
further discussion of the back-stripping technique
as applied to inverted faults refer to Reilly et al.
2015). Strata were not decompacted during back-
stripping as displacement loss due to sediment
compaction is usually ,20% (Taylor et al. 2008)
and does not impact our first-order conclusions.
In addition to back-stripping, the maximum dis-
placement and lengths of 165 faults were measured
for one or both of the deformation episodes, and are
shown in Figure 4. Collectively, these data provide
information on the evolution of the fault systems
and the role that fault size plays in inversion.
Fault size and inversion
In the southern Taranaki Basin, fault size (displace-
ment and length) provides an important control
on subsequent reactivation, with only the larger
 C. REILLY ET AL.
Fig. 5. Plots comparing (a) normal and inverted vertical displacements and (b) trace lengths for large inverted faults
in the southern Taranaki Basin. The data show a positive relationship clustered around the 1:1 lines, suggesting that
displacements and lengths during reverse and normal phases of faulting are similar.
normal faults inverted during shortening. The size
dependence of inversion is illustrated in Figure 4,
which shows the maximum vertical displacement
v. length for normal and reverse faults. On each
graph, the Taranaki Basin data are consistent with
the global dataset, suggesting that in displacement–
length space the faults examined in this study are
typical of many faults worldwide. The most striking
aspect of these graphs is the segregation of inver-
ted and non-inverted faults. In Figure 4a, only the
largest 14 normal faults in the initial extensional
system were inverted. At the end of the Paleocene,
these 14 extensional faults had maximum displace-
ments and lengths of ≥600 m and ≥9 km, respecti-
vely. Displacement–length relationships for reverse
faults (Fig. 4b) are similar to those observed for
normal faults (Fig. 4a), with the majority of the larg-
est structures in the reverse system (i.e. ≥600 m
maximum separation and ≥9 km length) being in-
verted normal faults.
Along-strike displacement profiles support the
view that fault lengths and maximum displacements
were generally comparable during each faulting
episode (Fig. 7). The likelihood of fault propa-
gation during inversion appears to increase with
decreasing size of the initial normal fault (Fig. 7).
For the largest faults in the system (displacement
≥c. 800 m and trace length ≥c. 25 km), the tips
remained stationary with no resolvable propa-
gation during inversion beyond the pre-existing
normal fault (Fig. 7a–d, left). In the few cases,
where fault lengths differed pre- and post-inversion,
contraction resulted in the propagation and crea-
tion of new fault lengths (Fig. 7e, f). Examples
where parts of the initial normal faults were only
inverted along part of their length have not been
observed.
Stable fault lengths are often accompanied by
comparable maximum displacement magnitudes
for normal and reverse faulting. The correspondence
of maximum displacements is considered to be
fortuitous, and arises because regional finite strains
during extension and shortening were approxima-
tely equal across the southern Taranaki Basin.
In circumstances where regional extensional and
contractional strains differed significantly, it is
expected that the maximum displacements would
also be different between faulting phases. Even
though the maximum displacements and fault
lengths are often comparable, the shapes of dis-
placement profiles between deformation episodes
can be similar or vary significantly (Fig. 7). In
Figure 7a, for example, the location of the maxi-
mum displacement and the associated displacement
gradients are similar between faulting phases,
suggesting that the fault interactions that gave rise
to these displacement variations (cf. Nicol et al.
1996) did not vary markedly between episodes.
The strong positive correlation of lengths and
displacements between deformation phases is indi-
cated in Figure 5 and arises because the largest
faults during the initial normal faulting were also
the largest inverted faults. The similarity of fault
lengths during each deformation phase suggests
that the crustal heterogeneities produced by the orig-
inal normal faults provided a pre-eminent control
on the location, orientation and length of the subse-
quent reverse faults. As a consequence, the hierar-
chy of the largest reverse faults (i.e. their relative
sizes and locations) appears to have been strongly
influenced by the sizes of the pre-existing normal
faults. As the inverted faults accommodated most
(c. 80%) of the contraction in the basin and their
relative sizes were inherited from the pre-existing
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION
Fig. 6. Horizon surfaces and fault polygons from
interpretations carried out in this study for
(a) Pleistocene, (b) Late Miocene and (c) Late
Cretaceous time periods.
normal fault system, individual inverted faults
accommodated a similar proportion of the total
strain across the basin during each deformation
episode.
Fault reactivation (both extensional and con-
tractional) and associated strain localization onto
pre-existing structures is widely attributed to
the original faults representing zones of crustal
weakness (e.g. McKenzie 1969; Raleigh et al.
1972; White et al. 1986; Imber et al. 1997; Holds-
worth 2004; Worthington & Walsh 2011). At out-
crop scale, weak fault rock is commonly observed:
within fault zones, however, the width, structure
and thickness of weak fault rock are highly hetero-
geneous on metre to decametre scales (e.g. Childs
et al. 2009). Walsh et al. (2001) contended that
outcrop-scale heterogeneities are unlikely to control
regional-scale reactivation and, instead, suggested
that the geometrical properties of a fault system
(e.g. fault dimensions and locations relative to
other elements in fault array) exert a first-order
control on fault reactivation and system evolution.
Their conclusions are supported by numerical
Distinct Element Models, which suggest that fault
dimensions and locations have a greater impact
on subsequent growth than fault strength (Walsh
et al. 2001). The geometrical properties of pre-
existing faults are important for subsequent reacti-
vation because they produce crustal heterogeneity
that locally concentrates stress. Such heterogeneity
may reflect the presence of a shear fabric and/or
the juxtaposition of rocks with different strengths,
and need not be characterized by an inherent
fault-zone weakness. The role of heterogeneities in
concentrating stress is widely recognized in material
science literature, with the load required to rupture
an existing crack inversely proportional to the
length of the heterogeneity (Griffith 1921; Gordon
1978; Murakami 2002; Pilkey & Pilkey 2008).
Therefore, the size of the fault is likely to be an
important determinant for the magnitude and spatial
extent of elevated stresses, which, in turn, con-
trol the dimensions and locations of future failure
(Walsh et al. 2001).
Newly formed reverse faults are typically smaller
than inverted faults, with displacements of ≤600 m.
Furthermore, the locations of the newly formed
reverse faults differ from the smaller original nor-
mal faults. New reverse faults are predominantly
located distal to inverted faults and appear to form
in areas of regional shortening deficit rather
than being clustered close the inverted faults
(Fig. 8e). Lines A and B, drawn parallel to the
principal horizontal shortening direction (Fig. 8e),
for example, show that the number of new faults
are at a maximum across the centre of the basin
on line B where the number and size of inverted
faults is at a minimum. The resulting shortening def-
icit in the central portion of line B is inferred to
have been partly accommodated by the initiation
of new small reverse faults. The dearth of newly for-
med small reverse faults close to the inverted faults
may partly arise because, in these areas, the majo-
rity of the stress was concentrated on the inverted
structures, and the areas enclosing these faults
were effectively destressed (e.g. Ackermann &
 C. REILLY ET AL.

(a) Cape Egmont Fault 1600

(b) Kahurangi Fault
Pre-existing 1400
1000
fault 1200

Inverted fault 1000

800

500
600

400

200

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

2500

(c) Wakamarama Fault (d) Maari Fault

1200
Displacement (ms)

2000
1000

1500
800

600
1000

400

500
200

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25

400
(e) Surville Fault (f) Whitiki Fault
1200

1000 300

800
Inverted fault tips
200
600
Inverted fault tips
400 Original
fault tips 100

200 Original
fault tips
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 5 10 15 20 25

Distance along fault trace (km)

Fig. 7. Along-strike displacement profiles for the (a) Cape Egmont, (b) Kahurangi, (c) Wakamarama, (d) Maari,
(e) Surville and (f) Whitiki faults in the southern Taranaki Basin (see Fig. 2 for locations). Total normal displacement
on the top basement horizon is shown by the grey curve, and reverse displacement on the base Oligocene horizon,
accommodated during inversion by the black curve. In (a–d), the normal and inverted profiles have comparable
lengths, while (b –d) also have comparable displacement distributions. By contrast, the Surville (e) and Whitiki
(f) faults propagated laterally during inversion, and presently exceed the original normal fault length.

Schlische 1997). Our observations support the view to their final configuration. Displacement back-
that large faults can increase or decrease stresses to stripping of individual faults constrains the evolu-
nearby faults in the system, which has the potential tion of the reverse fault system in the southern
to locally promote or impede the development of Taranaki Basin since about 20 Ma (Fig. 8). Perform-
inverted faults (Cowie 1998; Walsh et al. 2001). ing displacement back-stripping on multiple seis-
mic sections along the strike of each fault enables
changes in their length to be mapped through time
Fault-system evolution and strain (for a full description of method refer to Reilly
localization et al. 2015, fig. 8). During the Miocene, contrac-
tion and fault inversion episodically stepped west-
Analysis of finite displacements and lengths at the wards across the southern Taranaki Basin (Reilly
cessation of each faulting episode (Figs 4– 7) pro- et al. 2015) (Fig. 8). By the end of the Miocene
vides limited information on how the faults grew (c. 6 Ma), the areal extent of contraction was similar
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION
Fig. 8. Maps showing temporal changes in the spatial distribution and types of faulting in the southern Taranaki Basin: (a) (60 Ma) Late Cretaceous– Paleocene extension;
(b) (30 Ma) Oligocene onset of eastern basin contraction; (c) (20 Ma) Early Miocene contraction; (d) (10 Ma) Mid-Miocene westwards migration of contraction; (e) (6 Ma) the
Latest Miocene greatest extent of contraction; and (f) (3 Ma) Plio-Pleistocene southwards migration of extension. The maps were produced using displacement back-stripping
of strata imaged in 2D and 3D seismic reflection lines (e.g. Fig. 3). Active normal faults (black), possible active normal faults (dashed black), active inverted faults (red),
possible active inverted faults (dashed red) and active, newly formed reverse faults (green). Lines A and B show the locations of regional strain estimates (see the text for
further discussion).
 C. REILLY ET AL.

Fig. 9. Schematic block diagram showing the evolution of the inverted fault system in the southern Taranaki Basin.
(a) Extensional normal faults with a range of sizes form and create half-graben that fill with sediment (b).
(c) Following extension, uniform thickness strata are deposited across the basin during a period of thermal
subsidence and tectonic quiescence. (d) Basin contraction coaxial with the original extension direction. The largest
of the original normal faults are inverted with associated anticlines in the fault hanging walls and low-amplitude
synclines in their footwalls. The uplifted hanging-wall anticlines are partially eroded with the sediment deposited in
the adjacent synclines.
 SIZE CONTROLS ON INVERSION
to that of the earlier extension. The positive relation-
ships in Figures 4 and 5 arise, in part, because of the
spatial coincidence of the regions of normal and
reverse faulting, and would not be expected to be
so pronounced if the region of overlap was smaller.
If, for example, we had sampled the normal and
reverse fault systems at 20 Ma, when contraction
was concentrated along the eastern margin of the
basin (Fig. 8), all but three of the faults in Figure 5
would be lying on the x-axis with no clear relation-
ship between the lengths and displacements during
each deformation phase. Therefore, for the relation-
ships in Figure 5 to apply widely to other basins,
each deformation phase should reoccupy appro-
ximately the same regions of the crust: this is not
always the case. It has, for example, been variously
shown elsewhere that inversion episodes can affect
a part of a previously extensional basin (e.g. Wang
et al. 1995), the entire basin (e.g. Uliana et al.
1995; Grimaldi & Dorobek 2011) or different parts
of a basin at different times (e.g. Jackson et al.
2013). In addition to inversion at 20 Ma being lim-
ited to the large basin-bounding faults, it seems that
few new smaller faults were generated at this time.
The absence of smaller faults may arise because
the basin-bounding faults collectively extend along
strike for at least 400 km, producing crustal-scale
heterogeneities that are large enough to accommo-
date the entire stress (and strain) associated with
the regional shortening at this time.
Normal fault systems typically develop in asso-
ciation with strain localization and progressive con-
centration of displacements onto the largest fault(s)
in a system, with the remainder of faults dying
(Nicol et al. 1997; Cowie 1998; Walsh et al. 2001,
2002; Meyer et al. 2002; Gawthorpe et al. 2003;
Whipp et al. 2014). Superficially, the fault maps in
Figure 8 appear to indicate that, rather than localiz-
ing with increasing finite strain, contractional fault-
ing became more spatially distributed with time.
The increase in geographical spread of the active
faulting is, in part, due to a change in boundary con-
ditions during contraction that may reflect increases
in the rates of convergence across the plate boun-
dary during the Miocene, as proposed by Reilly
et al. (2015) from regional analysis of fault evo-
lution. In addition to the increase in regional spread
of contraction, many new smaller faults (displa-
cements ,400 m and lengths ,10 km) formed
between 5 and 7 Ma, when the rates of shortening
across the basin were at a maximum of up to about
1 mm a21. These smaller faults accommodate a
small, but important, component of the total strain
(c. 12%) and appear to have been initiated in asso-
ciation with an order of magnitude increase in the
regional rates of shortening (Reilly et al. 2015).
Smaller faults initiated in the Late Miocene cea-
sed to accrue displacement by 3 Ma (Fig. 7f).
Fault death in the central basin was probably due,
in part, to a change in plate boundary conditions
and a decrease in the rates of shortening associated
with the southwards migration of intra-arc exten-
sion (King & Thrasher 1996; Cande & Stock
2004; Giba et al. 2010; Seebeck et al. 2014; Reilly
et al. 2015). Further south, where the basin extends
onshore in the northern South Island, the rates of
shortening have not decreased significantly since
5 Ma, yet few of the smaller reverse faults remained
active at 3 Ma (Fig. 8). Near the coastline, the death
of these small faults may be partly due to strain
localization onto the larger faults.
The evolution of the inverted fault system in the
southern Taranaki Basin, where the principal hori-
zontal extension and shortening axes were coaxial,
is illustrated schematically in Figure 9. The key ele-
ments of the model are that: (i) only the largest of
the early normal faults are reactivated during inver-
sion; (ii) the locations and lengths of inverted faults
are generally inherited from earlier normal faults;
and (iii) for those faults that were inverted, the hier-
archy of fault sizes is maintained between defor-
mation phases. As the locations and displacements
of newly formed reverse faults appear to be con-
trolled by the larger inverted faults, it is suggested
that the inverted faults establish their final length
early. Displacement profiles for inverted faults in
the Taranaki Basin typically show little evidence
of propagation, which is consistent with the idea
that the lengths of contractional faults were estab-
lished early. Such rapid early growth in fault
lengths has been proposed for natural fault systems
(Walsh et al. 2002) and from analogue models
(Schlagenhauf et al. 2008), and may be a feature
of many fault systems whether they are reactivated
or new, extensional or contractional. It is possible
that, because of the crustal-scale heterogeneities
produced by early normal faults, the final lengths
of inverted faults formed instantaneously on geo-
logical timescales (e.g. ,100 kyr): that is, within
several seismic cycles. However, in common with
normal fault systems (e.g. Walsh et al. 2002; Meyer
et al. 2002), the seismic reflection and well data
are not sufficiently detailed to quantify the timing
or the rates of this early propagation.
Conclusions
The role of fault size in the inversion of pre-existing
normal faults has been examined using 2D and 3D
seismic reflection lines tied to wells. The size (dis-
placement and length) of early normal faults is
shown to be a key determinant for the reactivation
and size of the subsequent reverse faults when short-
ening and extension directions are parallel. In the
southern Taranaki Basin, all normal faults with
 C. REILLY ET AL.
maximum vertical displacements ≥c. 600 m and
trace lengths ≥c. 9 km were inverted, while few
faults with maximum vertical displacements and
trace lengths smaller than this were inverted. In
the majority of cases, the entire length of the initial
normal fault was inverted, with the proportion of
the total basin-wide strain accommodated on the
fault comparable between both extensional and
contractional deformational episodes. The hierarchy
of reverse fault lengths was established rapidly,
with longer faults accruing a greater proportion of
the total strain from an early stage of deformation.
The reverse fault system is dominated by inverted
faults, which accrue displacement at the expense
of smaller faults, and utilize the largest crustal-scale
elements of the pre-existing system. The size of
pre-existing crustal heterogeneities is an important
determinant for the magnitude and spatial extent
of elevated stresses, which, in turn, control the dimen-
sions, locations and displacements of subsequent
fault growth.
Funding for this work was provided by a GNS Science
Scholarship, with support from the Fault Analysis Group
at University College Dublin. Constructive comments
from Jonathan Imber, Chris Jackson, David McNamara
and Hannu Seebeck helped to improve the manuscript.
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