Self-consistent rolling-hinge model for the evolution of large-offset low-angle normal faults

The nature of the physical processes responsible for the formation of continental and oceanic metamorphic core complexes is widely debated. The controversy focuses primarily on whether the low-angle normal faults observed in these environments formed and slipped at low angles or were rotated from an original high-angle orientation after large offsets. We describe a self-consistent numerical model for the extension of a brittle layer that can spontaneously produce normal-fault structures. In our formulation, a fault or faults form because strength is locally reduced with increasing strain. If the reduction in fault strength is