Abstract The temporal and spatial evolution of thrust fault arrays is currently poorly understood, and marine fold and thrust belts at the toe of passive margin gravitational systems, imaged by commercial 3D seismic reflection datasets, afford a unique opportunity to investigate this problem in three dimensions. Using an extensive 3D seismic data set and age data, the total cumulative strain (shortening) and interval strain rates have been calculated for 11 thrust-related folds mapped in the toe-thrust region of the southern lobe of the Niger Delta. For the first time, the sequence of thrust nucleation, propagation and linkage through time at a scale of 10 s km both along and across strike is documented. Short thrust segments had nucleated throughout the entire study area by 15 Ma. They then grew largely by lateral growth and linkage, increasing the fault trace length and generating asymmetric strain-distance plots, for the first 50% of their history. Thereafter, growth continued by shortening, with minimal along strike increase in fault length. Changes in shortening-distance data between adjacent structures across strike suggest that the change in growth mode occurred once the thrusts had linked in 3D through the common underlying detachment. Over the entire thrust array the strain rate varies through time, starting slowly (

中文翻译：

---

逆冲断层阵列在空间和时间上的增长：以深水尼日尔三角洲为例

摘要 目前对逆冲断层阵列的时空演化知之甚少，商业3D地震反射数据集成像的被动边缘重力系统趾部的海洋褶皱和逆冲带为从三个维度研究这一问题提供了独特的机会。使用广泛的 3D 地震数据集和年龄数据，计算了绘制在尼日尔三角洲南瓣的趾部冲断区的 11 个与推力相关的褶皱的总累积应变（缩短）和区间应变率。首次记录了沿走向和跨走向的 10 s km 尺度上的推力成核、传播和联系的顺序。整个研究区域的短推力段在 15 Ma 时成核。然后它们主要通过横向增长和联系增长，在其历史的前 50% 内增加故障轨迹长度并生成不对称的应变距离图。此后，通过缩短继续增长，断层长度沿走向的增加最小。跨冲击相邻结构之间缩短距离数据的变化表明，一旦推力通过共同的潜在分离以 3D 方式连接，就会发生增长模式的变化。在整个推力阵列上，应变率随时间变化，开始缓慢（跨冲击相邻结构之间缩短距离数据的变化表明，一旦推力通过共同的潜在分离以 3D 方式连接，就会发生增长模式的变化。在整个推力阵列上，应变率随时间变化，开始缓慢（跨冲击相邻结构之间缩短距离数据的变化表明，一旦推力通过共同的潜在分离以 3D 方式连接，就会发生增长模式的变化。在整个推力阵列上，应变率随时间变化，开始缓慢（