Journal of Structural Geology Best Paper of the Year Award 2024

conferito da Journal of Structural Geology - 2024 - Among the several excellent manuscripts considered for the Journal of Structural Geology Best Paper of the Year Award 2024, the paper by Giovanni Camanni and co-authors is awarded for the top quality of research carried out by employing innovative methods as well as traditional field structural analysis. This paper focuses on the processes associated to with the formation of relay zones bounded by high-angle extensional faults. Although the topic has been studied for a long time by structural geologists, the detailed analysis of the internal structure and assessment of the main deformation mechanisms of relay zones has been so far a challenging task. In this regard, the paper by Giovanni Camanni and co-authors nicely shows how the integration of basic field structural methods with digital structural analysis of 3D virtual outcrop models can shed light on this intriguing and fascinating topic. Giovanni Camanni and co-authors studied the displacement transfer mechanisms across a reservoir-scale relay zone adjacent to the Moab Fault (Utah, USA). By combining field structural analysis with 3D photogrammetry of the exposures, and with the subsequent analysis of the digital model of seven faulted stratigraphic horizons, the authors investigate a relay zone oblique to bedding in 3D. The authors documented that displacement is transferred both horizontally and vertically across the relay zone thanks to a very low-angle dipping ramp and to antithetic faults, respectively. The results demonstrate that multiple mechanisms can take place coevally to facilitate transfer of displacement across individual relay zones. The results of the work conducted by Giovanni Camanni and co-authors were reported in meticulous 3D maps of the faults crosscutting the relay zone, detailed assessment of the slip distribution documented along the individual faults, and in a comprehensive geometrical configuration of the relay-bounding faults. The latter configuration was designed from the original results of structural and displacement analyses, and permitted the assessment of a conceptual model representing the invoked mechanisms for displacement transfer across oblique relay zones. In summary, this is an excellent piece of work that is clearly communicated to the reader. We would like to congratulate with the first author, Giovanni Camanni, and with the co-authors for this excellent contribution, which the Journal of Structural Geology is proud to have had the opportunity to publish.