Paleostress field reconstruction in the western Dharwar craton, south India: Evidence from brittle faults and associated structures of younger granites

We present new fault slip data to decipher the tectonic stress regime in younger granites (2.61 Ga) of western Dharwar craton (WDC), south India. The study is based on paleostress reconstruction of the terrain using fault-slip data from the small scale oblique slip normal faults of Chitradurga granite. Paleostress analysis using Right Dihedron and Rotational Optimization methods reveal that these faults have developed under NNE-SSW directed extension. Similar results are also obtained when left-lateral and right-lateral oblique-slip normal faults are treated as separate entities. It is envisaged that all faults in Chitradurga granite have developed under a single tectonic event and are considered to be extensional shear fractures. We interpret that the oblique-slip normal faults in granite oriented along NNW-SSE to N-S (P shear), NW-SE (R shear), NE-SW (R′ shear), and WNW-ESE (T) are defined as the respective shear components of the regional riedel shear system. It developed due to sinistral movement along the Chitradurga Shear Zone (CSZ) during late D3 deformation at shallow crustal level. The fault planes act as primary or secondary shear planes, depending on their proximity to the CSZ and kinematically fit well with regional far-field compression. The present study addresses the formation of oblique slip normal faults in the Chitradurga granite and its implication in reconstructing the paleostress field in the Precambrian south Indian shield. •We present new fault-slip data from syn-tectonic granites (Chitradurga) of Dharwar craton.•Oblique-slip normal faults in Chitradurga granite are result of Dharwar craton amalgamation.•We propose a regional scale riedel shear model in an extensional stress regime.