SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY OF REPEATED MOVEMENT OF FAULTS

During the long geologic times, an area may have experienced repeated crustal movements in different directions and in different manners thus resulting in different stress fields. Most of the pre-existing faults would be reactivated under changing stress fields to be imparted some new mechanical properties and new features of movement. Sometimes,the later faults may develop by adapting to the earlier ones. Therefore,the reactivity of faults is common and can be seen from place to place. The research on the repeated movement of faults can be carried out,either macroscoscopically or microscopically or both. The former includes study of variation of fault shapes,superposition of slickensides,tectonic breccia and side structures,etc. and the latter microstructures and rock fabric analysis,etc.. The study of repeated movement of faults is of important significance in structural geology,mining geology,coalfield geology and endogenetic mineral deposits.