Plio-Quaternary Shortening Structures in Northern Tunisia

Abstract

Morphotectonic analysis shows the effects of local uplift related to active reverse and strike-slip faults in Northern Tunisia. Furthermore, we find that the main reverse-sinistral NE-SW oriented faults like the Alia-Teboursouk fault are segmented by conjugate WNW-ESE active dextral faults. The dextral faults, namely the Dhkila and Oued Zarga faults, have cut the drainage basins, uplifting and displacing the middle segment of the Tine River basin. The main anomalies of the normalized steepness index (Ksn) coincide with regions uplifted by the fault system or associated folds. Furthermore, some of the anomalies depict the footwall of late Miocene normal faults that exhumed competent Cretaceous sediments.