This chapter starts with a review of the knowledge about petroleum generation, and its controlling mechanisms and factors. Then it follows with expulsion and its controlling mechanisms and factors. Subsequent discussion focuses on source rock richness and maturity characterization. The main portion of the chapter deals with source rocks in strike-slip terrains and transform margin settings, providing a number of worldwide examples.

This chapter starts with the introduction of heat conduction and its controlling parameters. It then describes the control of thermal regimes of transform margins and strike-slip terrains by a number of material parameters such as specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and radioactive heat production rate, which, together with their controlling factors, are described individually.

This chapter goes through a list of potential thermal regimes occurring prior to the development of the strike-slip setting or transform margin. These have a strong impact on the thermal regime among all controlling factors. This is due to the fact that the thermal regime affects the host continental lithosphere in many different aspects, such as its thickness, metamorphic reactions, melt formation, rheological zonation, and mechanical behavior. Following a brief summary of basic concepts of heat transport and generation, and heat flow presently observed at the Earth’s surface, the chapter discusses thermal regimes and temperature distribution with depth that can exist in continental lithosphere affected by transform margin formation. It sets the stage for the subsequent evolution, which is strongly dependent on the initial subsurface temperature field. Although this influence progressively diminishes as the transform margin evolves, the knowledge of pre-existing thermal regimes may also help to understand spatial variations along a specific transform margin segment and present-day differences between transform margins.

This chapter describes the effect of erosion and deposition on the thermal regimes of strike-slip and pull-apart terrains, and transform margins. It defines the significant deposition rate, which is faster than 0.1 mmyr–1, as exerting a noticeable cooling effect on the surface heat flow while a significant erosional rate has the opposite effect, resulting in advection of hotter material toward the surface. It support this discussion with examples from the East Slovakian and Vienna pull-apart basins in the Western Carpathians, Wasatch normal fault example from Utah, and offshore North Gabon and East Indian examples.

The chapter defines the top seal as a transient feature on the geological timescale. It divides seals into lithological and fault seals. The chapter goes through the physical apparatus controlling the behavior of various types of seals, all the main mechanisms involved together with their controlling factors, and finishes with an attempt to use case strike-slip and transform regions for describing the seals of these settings in a systematic way, trying to tie their variability to variations in the structural architecture of their respective settings.

This chapter discusses fluid flow mechanisms at strike-slip fault-related and transform margin-related settings. It focuses on the identification of specific fluid flow systems, and, subsequently, the determination of their role in the local fluid regime, as well as their migration pathways, time span of their activity, fluid sources, and their controlling factors. The discussion draws from the current literature on case studies, as well as numerical and analog models.

Many of the world’s continents are bounded, or traversed, by vast fault networks that move laterally, like the well-known San Andreas Fault. These strike-slip regimes are vitally important to the world’s natural resources – petroleum, water, and geothermal energy. This book covers all aspects of transform and strike-slip regimes: how they initiate, how they develop, and the natural resources associated with them. Numerous global case studies are utilized to illustrate structural development, thermal and fluid flow implications, and commercial applicability. The work aims to be useful to a broad range of readers, from students of geology and researchers specializing in strike-slip regimes to geoscientists and managers involved in the business of natural resources and energy solutions.

This chapter focuses on how the thermal evolution of transform margins is controlled by deformation related to ridge migration parallel to the margin, creating pronounced thermal perturbation. It draws from insights provided from the three-dimensional thermal finite element models using a kinematic boundary condition to account for sea-floor spreading center migration. The models are used to quantitatively investigate the complex spatial patterns and temporal changes in the thermal regime of the ocean–continent transform development stage and subsequent transform margin. The models demonstrate the consequences for the uplift history, structural style and crustal structure of a transform margin as lithospheric strength is strongly temperature dependent.

The chapter describes the development history and controlling dynamics of strike-slip faulting in various geologic settings, and its transition to continental breakup and the early drifting stage.