Fault reactivation in brittle-viscous wrench systems-dynamically scaled analogue models and application to the Rhine-Bresse transfer zone

Late Pliocene to recent en-échelon aligned folds and isolated thrust faults in the cover of the RBTZ are attributed to thick-skinned reactivation of basement faults. A comparison of natural and experimentally obtained structures suggests that fault reactivation occurred under low displacement rates (<1 mm/a). This results in a low mechanical coupling between basement and cover in areas with significantly thick décollement layers, providing an explanation for decoupled stresses between basement and cover, such as observed in the northern Jura Mountains.