Kinematic structural forward modeling for fault trajectory prediction in seismic interpretation

Mohammed Alarfaj, Donald C. Lawton

The unique relationship between fault shape and hanging-wall deformation in extensional settings is explained by the rollover concepts. These concepts are modeled and described along with factors controlling deformational geometries such as fault shape, sedimentation and slip ratios, hanging-wall shear direction and shear angles. The concepts are applied to model and predict a fault deep shape from seismic images where the fault may not be visible.