Investigating Strike-Slip Faulting Parallel to the Icelandic Plate
Boundary Using Boundary Element Models
Abstract
Most faults in Iceland strike roughly parallel to the divergent plate
boundary, a part of the Mid-Atlantic Rift, which would be expected to
lead to primarily normal faulting. However, several studies have
observed a significant component of rift-parallel strike-slip faulting
in Iceland. To investigate these fault kinematics, we use the boundary
element method to model fault slip and crustal stress patterns of the
Icelandic tectonic system, including a spherical hotspot and uniaxial
stress that represents rifting. On a network of faults, we estimate the
slip required to relieve traction imposed by hotspot inflation and
remote stress and compare the model results with observed slip
kinematics, crustal seismicity, and geodetic data. We note a good fit
between model-predicted and observed deformation metrics, with both
indicating significant components of normal and strike-slip faulting as
well as consistency between recent data and longer-term records of
geologic fault slip. Possible stress permutations between steeply
plunging σ1 and σ2 axes are common in
our models, suggesting that localized stress perturbations may impact
strike-slip faulting. Some increases in model complexity, including
older hotspot configurations and allowing fault opening to simulate dike
intrusion, show improvement to model fit in select regions. This work
provides new insight into the physical mechanisms driving faulting
styles within Iceland away from the current active plate boundary,
implying that a significant portion of observed strike-slip faulting is
likely caused by the combined effects of tectonic rifting, hotspot
impacts, and mechanical interactions across the fault network.