83% found this document useful (6 votes)

3K views204 pages

Structural Geology (Park)

Basic concepts of structural geology

Uploaded by

Suyash Date

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

83% found this document useful (6 votes)

3K views204 pages

Structural Geology (Park)

Basic concepts of structural geology

Uploaded by

Suyash Date

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

You are on page 1/ 204

FOUNDATIONS OF

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
FOUNDATIONS OF
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Third edition

R. G. Park PhD,FGS, CGeol

Professor of Tectonic Geology
University of Keele, UK

I~ ~~o~:~~n~~;up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Text©R. G Park 1997

The right of R. G. Parkto be identified as authorof this Work has beenasserted

by him in accordancewith the Copyright, Designsand Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means,electronicor mechanical, including photocopy,
recording or any information storageand retrieval system,withoutpermission in
writing from the publisheror underlicencefrom the Copyright Licensing Agency
Limited, of 90 Tottenham CourtRoad, London W1T4LP.

Any personwho commitsany unauthorised act in relationto this publlcafion may

be liableto criminalprosecution and civilclaimsfordamages.

First published in 1983by:

Chapman & Hall
Second edition1989
Thirdedition 1997

Reprinted in 2005by:
Routledge
2 ParkSquare
Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxon
OX144RN

Routkdreis onimprint orth~ 7iJyIor & Fmnds Group

08 09 I 10 9 8 7 6 5

A cataloguerecord for this book is availablefrom the BritishLibrary

ISBN-10: 07487 5802X

ISBN-13: 9780748758029

Pagemake-up byAFS ImageSetters

Printed and bound in Indiaby Replika Press Pvt. Ltd.

CONTENTS

Preface ix

Introduction xi

PART 1: GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND DEFORMATION 1

I Basic concepts 3
1.I Stratigraphic terms and concepts 3
1.2 Geometry of inclined planes and lines 5
1.3 Representation of structures on geological maps 6
Further reading 8

2 Faultsand fractures 9
2. I Rock fractures 9
2.2 Fault geometry and nomenclature 9
2.3 Rocks produced by faulting (fault rocks) II
2.4 Features associated with fault planes 13
2.5 Fault associations 14
2.6 Thrust systems IS
2.7 Extensional fault systems 18
2.8 Strike-slip fault systems 21
2.9 Inversion 22
2.10 Joints 23
Further reading 24

3 Folds 25
3.1 Meaning and significance of folds 25
3.2 Basic fold geometry and nomenclature 25
3.3 Fold orientation 26
3.4 Classification of folds 27
3.5 Geometry of the fold profile 30
3.6 Description of fold systems 32
3.7 Folds in three dimensions 34
3.8 Folding mechanisms and fold geometry 35
3.9 Relationship between faults, folds and shear zones 37
Further reading 39
vi Contents

4 Foliation, lineation and fabric 41

4.1 Foliation 41
4.2 Lineation 47
4.3 Boudinage 51
4.4 Fabric 51
Further reading 53

5 Stress 55
5.1 Force and stress 55
5.2 Normal stress and shear stress 56
5.3 Stress at a 'point' - the stress components 57
5.4 Principal stresses and the stress axial cross 57
5.5 Stresses acting on a given plane 58
5.6 Hydrostatic and deviatoric stresses 59
5.7 Stress fields and stress trajectories 60
Further reading 61

6 Strain 63
6.1 Nature of strain 63
6.2 Measurement of strain 63
6.3 Principal strain axes and the strain ellipsoid 65
6.4 Pure shear and simple shear (distortion and rotation) 65
6.5 Special types of homogeneous strain 66
6.6 Volume change during deformation 66
6.7 Graphical representation of homogeneous strain 67
6.8 Progressive deformation and finite strain 68
6.9 Relationship between stress and strain 69
Further reading 70

7 Stress and strain in materials 71

7.1 Ideal elastic and viscous strain 71
7.2 Elastoviscous, plastic and viscoelastic behaviour 72
7.3 Brittle and ductile behaviour 73
7.4 The effects of variation in stress 73
7.5 The effect of hydrostatic pressure 73
7.6 The effect of temperature 74
7.7 The effect of pore-fluid pressure 75
7.8 The effect of time: strain rate 75
7.9 Summary: physical controls on strain behaviour 76
7.10 Mechanisms of rock deformation 77
Further reading 79

8 Determination of strain in rocks 81

8.1 Finding the principal strain axes 81
8.2 Initially spherical objects as strain markers 81
8.3 Deformed conglomerates as strain markers 83
8.4 Bilaterally symmetrical fossils as strain markers 84
8.5 Strain determination in three dimensions 86
Contents vii

8.6 Use of fold sets in strain determination 86

8.7 Two-dimensional strainfrom balanced sections 87
8.8 Bulk homogeneous strain 87
8.9 Superimposition of strains 89
Further reading 90

9 Faulting and stress 91

9.1 Stress conditions for brittle failure 91
9.2 Fault orientation in relation to stress and strainaxes 95
9.3 Faulting and earthquakes 97
Further reading 101

10 Strain in folds and shear zones 101

10.1 Folding mechanisms and fold geometry 101
10.2 Characteristics of buckle folds 104
10.3 Oblique shear or flow folding 109
10.4 Kinking and formation of chevron folds 111
10.5 Conditions controlling the fold mechanism 113
10.6 Shearzones 114
Further reading 119

11 Structural geology of igneous intrusions 121

11.1 Structures found within igneous bodies 121
11.2 Structural classification of intrusive igneous bodies 121
11.3 Methods of emplacement of igneous intrusions 123
11.4 Dilational emplacement of dykes and sills 124
11.5 Emplacement of cone-sheets and radial dykes 126
11.6 Mode of emplacement of large intrusions 128
Further reading 129

12 Gravity-controlled structures 131

12.1 The effect of topographic relief 131
12.2 Effects of gravity on thrust sheets and nappes 131
12.3 Salt tectonics 133
12.4 Mantled gneiss domes and granite diapirism 135
Further reading 138

PART 2: GEOTECTONICS 139

13 Major Earth structure 141
13.1 Major topographic features of the Earth 141
13.2 Present-day tectonic activity 143
13.3 Stable and unstable tectonic zones 145
Furtherreading 145

14 Plate tectonics 147

14.1 Historical context 147
14.2 The concept of lithospheric plates 148
14.3 Nature of plate boundaries 153
viii Contents
14.4 Geometry of plate motion 156
14.5 Driving mechanism for plate motion 159
Further reading 159

15 Geological structure and plate tectonics 161

15.1 Recognition of inactive plate boundaries 161
15.2 Structure of constructive boundaries 161
15.3 Structure of subduction zones 164
15.4 Structure of continental collision zones 167
15.5 Structure of conservative boundaries: the San Andreas fault 170
15.6 Structure of intraplate regions 172
Further reading 173

16 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts 175

16.1 The Caledonian orogenic belt in Britain 175
16.2 The Early Proterozoic Eastern Churchill and Nagssugtoqidian belts 183
16.3 The Archaean Superior Province 188
Further reading 191

Appendix: Stereographic projection 193

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND DEFORMATION

BASIC CONCEPTS 1

Before commencing the study of geological struc- dips to the west'. The term is also used to describe
tures, it is important to acquire a basic understanding various characteristics of the beds, such as 'cross-
of the geometry of undeformed sedimentary bedding' and 'graded bedding'.
sequences, the geometry of inclined planes and lines, The simplest type of bedding geometry consists
and how the three-dimensional geometry of a de- of a set of parallel planes, representing a group of
formed area may be portrayed and reconstructed by beds, or a formation, of uniform thickness.
means of maps and cross-sections. The following However, in practice, beds and formations vary
account is only a brief summary of the more im- laterally in thickness, in which case the geometry of
portant aspects, and students of Structural Geology the formation must be described by two non-
are advised that practice in map interpretation is an parallel bounding surfaces. Thickness variation in
essential aid to understanding the subject. such a formation may be described by a set of
isopachytes (see below).
1.1 STRATIGRAPHIC TERMS AND
CONCEPTS UNCONFORMITIES AND ALLIED STRUCTURES

Breaks in the stratigraphic record, representing

BEDDING OR STRATIFICATION: DEFINITIONS
intervals of geological time not marked by
AND GEOMETRY

A bed is a layer of rock deposited at the surface

of the Earth. It is bounded above and below by
distinct surfaces (bedding planes) which usually m~::
- . -
:::~ :.:.: ::::::::::::: ::::;;gg :'-
.- ---- - ~ _-o~_~_-__ . U
diastern?

mark a break in the continuity of sedimentation

caused by a cessation of sedimentation, or a period
of erosion, or a change in the type or source of
the sediment. Beds are normally sedimentary, but p
may also consist of volcanogenic material. A thick-
ness in the range from centimetres to metres is
usually implied. 'Bed' is synonymous with stratum,
but the latter term is almost invariably used in the
plural (e.g. 'Silurian strata'). Beds may be relatively
homogeneous in composition and internal structure,
and represent more or less continuous deposition.
However, the term is also used for a sedimentary
unit composed of numerous thin distinct layers.
The term bedded means composed of beds: thus A B c D E

'bedded rocks', 'thin-bedded', 'cross-bedded' etc, Figure 1.1 Schematic cross-section illustrating the
bedding is used as a collective noun for the beds various types of stratigraphic break. (From Roberts,
in a particular outcrop or area: thus, 'the bedding 1982.)
4 Basic concepts

sediment deposition, are known variously as diastems, Unconformities are distinguished from other
non-sequences, paraconformities, disconformities and stratigraphic breaks by angular discordance
unconformities (Figure 1.1). Diastems represent between the older beds below the unconformity
pauses in sedimentation, marked by abrupt changes surface and the younger beds above. Hence an
in sediment type, producing surfaces of discon- unconformity represents the following sequence of
tinuity (bedding planes) but no other evidence of events:
a time gap. Non-sequences (or paracon-
1. deposition of lower strata;
formities) are similar to diastems but exhibit
2. tilting or other deformation of lower strata;
faunal or other evidence of a time gap. Discon-
3. erosion;
formities are marked by evidence of erosion
4. deposition of upper strata.
during the sedimentary break. but the bedding
below the erosion surface is parallel to that above, The structure produced by the discordance of
i.e. there has been no deformation of the lower younger upon older strata is termed overstep,
series of beds prior to erosion. and the basal beds of the younger series are said to

A B
4
~P;~:;''--~'' 3

iJl4tj!f~~~~~~%w*~
c

TOPLAP
Sirota oqoi-is t on
as c result of ,oedeo";';,;'
e-uor y oyco ssoq) 'II til oer'voos r l r-or
er osor

..------------1
I ,

~--- ---~

ONLAP
'1 tio,iy nor /0"'\01 strala ter -rcr-o: e c-oqr cs sve.y
oqonst an init"al1y .ncunco surface.
I --- --- ------1
I I

~ J

DOWNLAP
nit.c Iy inclined strata term.note downdio cqoinst
an in t.ouv 'lor;zon[ol or inclined st.rtcce

Figure 1.2 Geometry of sedimentary sequences. A. Onlap of successive beds 1-4, each resting partly on older
basement, illustrating transgression. B. Offlap of successive beds 1-4, associated with regression. C. Relationship
between onlap, toplap and downlap in a transgressive sequence.
Geometry of inclined planes and lines 5

true dip
plun uo

Figure 1.3 Inclined planes and lines. A. Strike and dip of an inclined plane. The true dip of the plane ABCD is
the angle XAD; the angle YAC is an apparent dip. B. Plunge and pitch of an inclined line. The plunge of the line
AC is the angle YAC; the pitch is the angle BAC.

'overstep' the various strata of the older series trun- 1.2 GEOMETRY OF INCLINED PLANES
cated by the erosion surface (Figure 1.I). A non- AND LINES
conformity is a type of unconformity where
younger strata rest on an erosion surface cut across The attitude of inclined planes, such as bedding,
non-bedded igneous rocks. foliation, faults, etc, is conventionally described in
terms of the 'strike' and 'dip' of the plane (Figure
I.3A). The strike is the unique direction of a hori-
zontal straight line on the inclined plane and is
GEOMETRY OF SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCES
recorded as a compass bearing (azimuth). The dip
Onlap is the term used to describe a structure is the inclination or tilt of a planar surface, e.g.
formed where successive wedge-shaped beds bedding or foliation, measured from the horizontal.
extend further than the margin of the underlying The true dip of a plane is measured in a vertical
bed, such that they lie partly on older basement plane perpendicular to the strike, and is the maxi-
(Figure 1.2A). Such a structure is typical of sedi- mum angle from the horizontal that can be
mentary sequences in expanding basins, where the measured for a given plane. Lines in any other
shorelines migrate towards the centre of the land- orientation on the plane are at a smaller mclinahon
mass, thus decreasing its surface area. This process to the horizontal; such angles are termed apparent
is called transgression. The term overlap is dips. The apparent dip is thus the angle of inclin-
synonymous with onlap. Offlap is the structure ation of a given plane with the horizontal,
formed where successive wedge-shaped beds do measured in a plane that is not orthogonal to the
not extend to the margin of the underlying bed but strike. The angle of apparent dip measured in a
terminate within it (Figure 1.2B). Such a structure series of vertical planes varies from zero (parallel to
is typical of sedimentary sequences in contracting the strike) to a maximum in the direction of true
basins, where the shorelines migrate towards the dip. If the angle of apparent dip in two different
centre of the basin, thus enlarging the land surface. directions is measured, the true dip can be cal-
This process is termed regression Other terms culated using a stereogram (see Appendix).
used to describe the geometry of sedimentary The direction of dip (i.e. the direction in which
sequences are toplap and downlap The the plane dips downwards from the surface) is
relationship between onlap, toplap and downlap in measured either directly as a compass bearing
a transgressivesequenceis illustrated in Figure 1.2C. (azimuth) or in relation to the strike direction,
6 Basic concepts
which is 90° from the dip direction. Thus a bed direction of plunge, thus, 30° to 045° or 30° NE.
may be said to dip at 30° SE, if the strike direction The pitch is the orientation of a line, measured as
is specified, or at 30° to 110° if it is not. The an angle from the horizontal in a specified non-
conventional representation of strike and dip on a vertical plane. A measurement of pitch must give
geological map is by a line parallel to the strike, the strike and dip of the plane of measurement, plus
with a short tick indicating the dip direction (Figure the angle of pitch and the strike direction from
1.5A). On older maps, this symbol may be replaced which the pitch angle is measured (since there are
by an arrow parallel to the dip direction with the two possible directions in a given plane for the
amount of dip in degrees placed alongside. same pitch angle) (Figure 1.38). This method is
The orientation of a linear structure (e.g. a fold useful in the field where precise measurements of
axis) is measured in terms of plunge or pitch. The angles within inclined joint, foliation or bedding
plunge is the angle between the line and the hori- planes are more convenient than direct measure-
zontal in the vertical plane. The plunge is given as ment of the plunge. The plunge may be easily
an angle and a bearing (azimuth), which is the derived using a stereogram (see Appendix). The
instrument used in the field to measure the inclina-
tion (dip) of a planar surface or the plunge of a
strik e Hnes lineation is termed a clinometer and is often
combined with a compass in order to measure the
orientation of planes or lines with reference to
geographic coordinates.

1.3 REPRESENTATION OF STRUCTURES

ON GEOLOGICAL MAPS

A On geological maps, the attitude of planar beds,

etc. may be recorded by a set of strike lines drawn
parallel to the strike of the plane or set of planes
in question. If the dip of the planes is constant, the
strike lines are straight, with uniform spacing. An
increase in dip produces a decrease in spacing and a
decrease in dip produces an increase in spacing
(Figure 1.4A). A surface with variable strike is
represented by curved strike lines known as struc-
ture contours (Figure 1.48; see also Figure 15.9).
B
Structure contours follow a constant height on a
Figure 1.4 Strike lines and structure (stratum) con- geological surface, and a set of such contours,
tours. A. Strike lines at heights of 0 to 500 m on the drawn at uniform height intervals, represents the
inclined plane (coloured) project as a set of parallel three-dimensional shape of the surface in the same
strike lines (labelled (}-{), 1-I, etc.) on the horizontal way that topographic contours represent the height
plane (i.e the map); the spacing is closer on the steeper variation of the land surface on a topographic
part than on the shallower part of the inclined plane. map.
B. An inclined cylinder (plunging fold) intersects a set
A less precise, but often more convenient, method
of horizontal planes at heights of 0-500 m in curved
lines termed structure contours or stratum contours, of portraying the structure on a map is to use
which project on the horizontal plane (map), as shown, form lines. These are lines drawn on a map to
to give a map representation of the shape of the indicate the general direction of the strike of a
structure. folded surface (Figure 3.17B-D). A tick on the line
Representation of structures on geological maps 7

indicates the dip. A set of form lines will illustrate N

the geometry of the folding in a similar way to the
outcrop pattern of the strata, for example, but are
more precise, and are not affected by topography.
t
They can therefore be used in areas where indivi-
dual formations have not been mapped. A set of
form line contours can be drawn in a precise
manner such that the spacing is proportional to the A
dip (see Ragan, 1973). A contoured map
constructed by this means will illustrate the shape
of a folded surface in the same way as structure
contours. A form surface is any planar surface A outlier B
that intersects the ground surface as form lines and inlier

which may be used for structural mapping.

An isopachyte is a line joining points of equal
stratigraphic thickness of a formation or group of
strata. An isopachyte map is contoured to indicate Figure 1.5 Outlier and inlier produced by the inter-
the three-dimensional shape of a unit of variable section of gently folded strata with topographic relief:
the hill produces an outcrop of younger rock sur-
thickness. The technique is used, for example, in the
rounded by older rock (outlier), and the valley an
study of sedimentary basins and in portraying the outcrop of older rock surrounded by younger rock
geometry of stratigraphic units cut off by (inlier). A, map; B, vertical cross-section.
unconformities. Isopachyte maps may be prepared
from borehole data from which thicknesses are
directly obtainable, or by geometric construction
using stratum contours for the top and base of the graphic levels and older beds at lower levels.
unit, and subtracting the lower from the higher Outcrops of younger rocks completely surrounded
values where they intersect. by older rocks are termed outliers, and corres-
The line of intersection of a stratigraphic bound- pond to hills separated by erosion from other
ary with a higher stratigraphic boundary such as outcrops of the same beds (Figure 1.5). Conversely,
an unconformity is marked by the zero isopachyte an inlier is an area of older rocks surrounded by
of the rock body between the two boundaries in younger rocks, e.g. in a valley cut through younger
question. This line is often termed the feather strata.
edge, e.g. 'the feather edge of the base of the Coal
Measures on the base of the Triassic'.
CROSS-SECfIONS
A related term is subcrop, which is the 'sub-
surface outcrop' of a rock unit. A stratigraphic It is usually necessary to supplement the two-
formation may intersect a subsurface plane, e.g. an dimensional information on the geological structure
unconformity or fault, in a subcrop, which repre- of an area provided by the geological map by
sents the area of the plane lying between the lines one or more cross-sections, which are diagram-
of intersection (feather edges) of the boundaries of matic representations (normally constructed in the
the formation. vertical plane) of the geology of an area. Reason-
able assumptions must be made about the way in
which structures visible at the surface continue
TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECTS
downwards, and the surface information may be
In areas of horizontal or gently-dipping strata, supplemented by data from boreholes, wells, etc.
outcrop patterns are controlled mainly by the topo- Cross-sections may be drawn along a particular line
graphic relief. Younger beds occur at higher topo- or lines on the map, chosen to illustrate the vertical
8 Basic concepts
structure most effectively. The combination of reconstruction, in the form of a map or cross-
map and cross-section should ideally give a good section, is often employed for this purpose, and is
three-dimensional picture of the geological structure termed a palinspastic reconstruction. Balanced
of an area (e.g. Figure 1.58 is a vertical cross-section sections (see section 2.6) are a special type of
of the map represented in Figure 1.5A). In complex palinspastic reconstruction much used in the inter-
areas, several lines of section may be used to give a pretation of complex fold/fault belts.
better coverage of the structural variation.
Instead of a vertical section, a down-plunge
projection may be employed; this is a recon- FURTHER READING
structed profile or cross-section of a fold structure
drawn perpendicular to the plunge of the fold axis. Maltman, A. (1990) Geological Maps: an Introduction,
Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
This is done to give a more accurate representation
Ragan, D.M. (1973) Structural Geology: an Introduc-
of the fold geometry (see section 3.5). tion to Geometrical Techniques, 2nd ed, Wiley, New
It is important in interpreting the history of an York.
area to be able to visualize the original geometry Roberts, J.L. (1982) Introduction to Geological Maps
of a set of rocks before deformation. A geometrical and Structures, Pergamon, Oxford.
FAULTS AND FRACTURES 2

2.1 ROCK FRACTURES important sites of mineralization, since dilational

fractures developed under extension are normally
A fracture is the commonest type of geological
occupied by vein material such as quartz or calcite
structure, and may be seen in any rock exposure.
deposited from aqueous solution in the space
Fractures are cracks across which the cohesion of
created as the fracture opens. Such veins are a
the material is lost. and may be regarded as planes
valuable source of ore minerals. From a structural
or surfaces of discontinuity. Where there is a
point of view, veins are useful in indicating that
measurable displacement across the fracture plane,
fractures are dilational, i.e. that the wall rocks have
that is, where the rock on one side has moved
been moved aside to allow the vein material to
along the fracture relative to the other side, the
form (Figure 10.22B).
fracture is termed a 'fault'. A fault may thus be
defined as a planar fracture across which the rock
has been displaced in a direction that is generally 2.2 FAULT GEOMETRY AND
parallel to the fracture plane. NOMENCLATURE
Where there is no displacement, or where the
displacement is too small to be easily visible, the GEOMETRY OF DISPLACEMENT
fracture is termed a joint. The distinction between
The main elements of the displacement geometry
the two is somewhat artificial, and depends on the
of a fault are shown in Figure 2.1. Where the fault
scale of observation; however, in practice, the great
plane is non-vertical, the block above the fault is
majority of fractures show negligible displacement
referred to as the hangingwall and the block
and are classified as joints.
below the fault as the footwall. The inclination of
Fractures are important in a number of ways.
a fault plane may be given as a dip, in the same
Their presence significantly affects the strength of a
way as bedding (Figure 1.3A), but is sometimes
rock. and they must be carefully studied in civil
measured as the angle between the fault plane and
engineering operations such as those involved in
the vertical, in which case it is termed the hade.
the construction of tunnels and darns. They are also
The displacement of the fault plane between the
two blocks may take any direction within the fault
plane. Faults with a displacement parallel to the strike
of the fault plane are termed strike-slip faults
and those with a displacement parallel to the dip of
the fault plane are termed dip-slip faults. Faults
with oblique-slip displacements are regarded as
having strike-slip and dip-slip components, as shown
in Figure 2.1. Strike-slip faults may also be called
hangingwall P' wrench, tear or transcurrent faults.
Figure 2.1 Components of fault displacement: ss, The measurement of the displacement on dip-slip
strike-slip component; ds, dip-slip component; tr'. true faults is often made with reference to the horizontal
displacement vector. and vertical components of the displacement. which
10 Faults and fractures
h hangingwall block

Figure 2.2 Geometry of dip-slip fault displacement:

h, heave; i, throw;IX, angle of dip; e,
angle of hade
footwall block
A
(= 90° - dip angle); cis, dip-slip component of dis-
placement.
--r-
throw t B
tan IX = - - =-
heave h --.- D
and
throw D
sin IX = - - - - - -
true displacement
t B
=
cis
where IX is the dip of the fault.

are termed respectively the heave and the throw

(Figure 2.2). It is the throw, or vertical displace- B
ment, that is normally quoted for a dip-slip fault footwall hangingwall
rather than the true displacement. The relationship
B'
between these elements is shown in Figure 2.2.
It is important to realize that fault displacements
D'
are difficult to measure in practice because it is c
frequently impossible to match precise points on Figure 2.3 Measurement of fault displacement. A.
each side of the fault. If bedding is displaced, we The fault affects dipping bedding BB and vertical dyke
cannot be certain how much of the apparent displa- DO. The true displacement vector is PP'. B. Map at
cement is due to dip-slip and how much to strike- erosion level E of A shows horizontal displacement of
slip movement (Figure 2.3A B). The problem is bedding and dyke along fault. Note that the amount of
overcome if the direction of movement on the fault displacement appears to be different. The true hori-
plane is indicated by movement striations (see section zontal displacement is shown by the vertical dyke DO.
C. View of fault plane looking down from the right,
2.4) or if there is a measurable offset on a vertical showing the trace of bedding BB and dyke DO on the
structure, such as a dyke, which can be used to footwall displaced to positions B'B' and 0'0' on the
measure the strike-slip component (Figure 2.3C). hangingwall. The true displacement PP' is given by the
movement of intersection X of BB and DO to position
X'. The strike-slip component ss is given by the dis-
SENSE OF DISPLACEMENT placement of the vertical dyke DO to 0'0'. The dip-
slip component cis must be measured using both dyke
The sense of relative displacement on faults is and bedding displacements.
important and depends upon the orientation of the
fault with respect to the direction of compression normal when the hangingwall moves down and
or extension within the rock (see section 9.2). In the reverse when the hangingwall moves up, relative
case of dip-slip faults, the displacement is termed to the footwall (Figure 2.4A.).
Rocks produced by faulting (fault rocks) 11

viewed by an observer standing on one side of

the fault (Figure 2.4B).
HI!I 'F
b Reverse .·:iti?? 2.3 ROCKS PRODUCED BY FAULTING
(FAULT ROCKS)
The nomenclature and classification of fault rocks
is summarized in Table 2.1.

Figure 2.4 A. Normal and reverse displacements on

dip-slip faults (vertical sections). F, footwall H, hang-
ingwall. a, normal fault; b. reverse fault; c, thrust; d, lag
(low-angle normal fault). B. Sinistral and dextral dis-
placements on strike-slip faults (plan view).

An alternative way of expressing the displacement

in dip-slip faults is to refer to the direction of throw.
The direction of dip of normal faults is towards the
downthrown side, whereas in reverse faults the dip is
directed towards the upthrown side. The sense of
displacement in a reverse fault results in lower
(normally older) rocks being placed above higher
(normally younger) rocks, whereas the opposite is
true in normal faults.
Dip-slip faults dipping at less than 45 °, i.e. low-
angle faults, are distinguished from high-angle dip-
slip faults. If the sense of movement is reverse they
are termed thrusts, and if the sense of movement
is normal they are termed low-angle normal
faults, or sometimes, lags. Thrusts are particularly
important in orogenic belts and often have displace- Figure 2.5 Crush-rocks produced by faulting. A.
ments of many tens of kilometres. The Moine Gradational change from unaltered rock on the right.
thrust, which marks the northwestern margin of the through mylonite, to ultramylonite on the left in
Caledonian orogenic belt in northwestern Scotland amphibolite from Ness, Lewis. Plane polars, x 14.
(Figure 16.2), has an estimated displacement of (From Sibson, 1977, plate 3.) B. Discordant intrusive
about 100 Ian. veins of dark pseudotachylite cutting foliated gneiss
(from Cairloch, NW Scotland). Plane polars, x 5.
In the case of strike-slip faults, the displacement
C. Devitrified spherulitic structure in pseudotachylite
is termed sinistral (or left-lateral) if the opposite from vein cutting Lewisian gneiss at Gairloch, NW Scot-
block moves to the left, and dextral (or right- land. Plane polars, x 250. (B and C from Park. R.G. (1961)
lateral) if the opposite block moves to the right, as American Journal of Science, 259, 542-50, plate 1.)
12 Faults and fractures
Table 2.1. Classificationof fault rocks. (From Sibson, 1977.)

Random-fabric Foliated

Incohesive
Fault breccia
(visible fragments> 30";'; of rock mass)

Fault gouge
(visible fragments < 30% or rock mass)

Cohesive

Pseudotaehylite

c
c 0
'§ .~ Crush breccia fragments> 0.5em) ~
OIJ.~ 8
~~ Fine crush breccia (0.1 em < frags. < 0.5 em) I

~.5
0
0-
Crush microbreccia (fragments < 0.1em)
'8 g
o Q)
~-ocf----------------r----,----------- f--
's ~"'O ,=
0'
't~
~ '<;; ~ 0
0-
~.;
~ oo~
...- 5 Protoeataclasite
'"
Q)
Protomylonite 0V)
I
E
'C'
~.E == f-------------- 'C
Q) 'C
'"
Q) f---"
:::
ell "=:
~§~
Q
Q)
0'- ..
';: ~ .!:! '"
.~ '"
s
oV) :::
u ..
:l
-g
U
~
Cataclasite '<;;
U'" ..
,'§1
<:l
:;,
Mylonite '2
0
:::,
S ~
I
C>.
e

~.sf--------------
·2.c u
'"
~
'"
.~ :E -
2~ ~c-, ~
i1 ::
f-oo
Ultraeataclasite ..., Ultramylonite
0
I
Q., 0
I

-::-0
~
o c
8
.. :l
00
0
Blastomylonite
C C
.- 0
'"
OQ. .

FAULT BRECCIA AND GOUGE Since such zones are normally softer and more
easily eroded than the unfaulted rock. they give rise
Many faults are marked by a zone of broken and to the marked topographic depressions often asso-
crushed rock fragments of varying size. This ma- dated with fault outcrops.
terial is called fault breccia where the visible
fragments make up an appreciable proportion of
COHESIVE CRUSH ROCKS
the rock. Where the bulk of the rock consists of
fine powder, the material is termed fault gouge. Fault breccia and gouge are essentially loose-
Iftt\nd
~
I.....
rod<> b.Jd ..... I'"
..u.:". N
drptI\ _ _ kirdld ",10• ••• o:<Ulh rod<>
l .• fEAruJ.ES ASSOCIATED W ITH FAULT
PLAN ES
_ bnl wlwft thO' rod ;,. IIthiwd -.:l thO'
.... _d P""'w.n' ho... .. ftWIy ..... c&lOtd ~
sxxecsces
~ ......, d thO' rod _ _. Sudl rod. 1ft F.... pLro.. frorr.-'y .r.- ....,. '" .mMd
Iomwd av-h ~. wi..- fr4" b b .....t...,. ea-d by thr ~ or p;oW.'$"'- d
~ thO' rocb. -.:l catadnit wi..- thr thr " 7 Utt • • .....-t ........ Sudl iNtI-n
~-""" "P"~poo. 1ft~ l lid..noioko_ ThrglOO","no_
~dlht rod.. tod.c:ot.'$ thr ",dU' d rtUttw " ....".l'1li tJ Iht
f...u 1ft caIod . Ii.......... otriationo 01 . Ii ....
lin... (FIg\ft Ib/\l. S1ickrn6brn 1ft stnlc·
t.n. wNch 1ft fomcd by thr growth d fobtouo
""""""
Struo:hnI goologl.b gtTJ<'fally 0/1"""", 10 d.1trtgulIoh
........... -t. ... 'fY'U- nocobk and haY<' tIww \ong
un p....11tl1o ,... <Lr«tlon of mohon (Fwn 11>8)
rod. formtd \nltr 'brilllr' rorJihono by brcWng
-.:l ~ 01 tho rnbriol lut...,I• • il ) from l\..,..
n- roo)' hi' ustd 10 dttormint thr""'"" of mow-
mtrlt alOl'lll . loult pt..ne..... hown in F;,.:urt 161:.
forn...d ..,door 'd..ctiIt' condition. by continuouo ....
ayololliuhon or flow (""" oe<to::>n 7 ,j for <lrfinitions
d bnllir -.:l <btiIo). Finrr.~ nxb pro<U:td FLEXURES AS5OC1Arm WITH f AULTS
by It.. \ott.. J"'<><ft' 1ft hord-.:l1W>ly', with. pIotry
~ nxb.odiouUng • fad! UM.. ' .....'y t><hht
"' .....y 1 _, -.:lift Iomwd ...)'I_il'" (I1g\n opm folds 01 IIr:uno whidl oppta' 10 be- r-.lotwI
l. M ). Whore- ~ .. drImnonllht rod<>
•• Iomwd l>'-to m)'looil'"
•
UlTRAMYLONlT'E ....-..:0 PSElJO().
r """""
E>ctrt<nt ~ pro<bft • rod '0I'\'O"fd of
~ fnptm ... dft. o/b:n bIocl, _ d
u1h. ,..._..,... SJ-"- Sudl INIm.Il II Iomwd
..h..",)'lonit. (F~ U Al frsctIonol heblg
ea-d by ,opd ....................... ~ thr
l..n lNy be- -.ificio.nI In mtlt IOmI' of tm .......
n.l. f"....q • glassy ~. oItm C'OnI...-.q:
spM-uI'lfoo. t.......d !,","udo l. <hylit.. which
fonns ....... inhudirog into tho od,oconl frocture<l
rOO< (Fillun' B R, C). SiOC<' the- gl..,y INltNl is
lISl.Iillly dtvllT1f;rd and cortoino • high proportion
of ,""",,t<d fr;ogmrnh. ... ohm di/f,cull to dis-
~ from ubornylontto ncrpl .rn.. I'Iigh
""11'.*", P~. is ~ly formrd
0I'IIy • drpth .. thr <NIt ...-.lo:r modrr. . bel
P"f""'a'f .n:I • rNtrwty ................ ,......
no. • f.Mt ~ oolt 8""lt" .Ill thr ..-I~
.... drwlov ~ .Ill .... "oai.ott
~ rod .. dorpor ...... rroghI: bot ...p-.i by. f ;pn U A H....t 't'"""'d' oIo:>wr.s ~
myIorR. - - . " " . .... .n.r SoIrM-. 6 .....
14 Faults and fractures

strained zone

A before fracture B after fracture

Figure 2.7 Association of faults and flexures. Normal

drag: ductile bending in a strained zone (A) may
precede fault movement (B), causing flexure in the
rocks adjacentto the fault.

result from an initial ductile strain that precedes

B fracturing (Figure 2.7). Reverse drag folds in the
hangingwall of normal dip-slip faults are referred to
displacement relative to as rollovers and are important in extensional fault-
lower block
ing (see section 2.7).

2.5 FAULT ASSOCIATIONS

Faults are usually found in groups of the same type.
Thus a major fault with a large displacement may
be accompanied by a set of smaller parallel faults
with the same sense of displacement; these are
known as synthetic faults. Faults which dip in
c the opposite direction to the main set are termed
antithetic.
Figure 2.6 cont. B. Calcite growth fibre steps on a
fault surface in limestone, Wildhom nappe, Switzerland.
(From Ramsay and Huber, 1983. The Techniques of
Modern Structural Geology, 1, Academic Press,
London, fig. 13.33.) The observed fault wall has moved
upwards relative to the opposite wall, now removed.
C. Diagram showing how growth fibre steps form as a
result of fault movement.
A graben

to the fault movement. The term normal drag is

used to desaibe a fold that bends in the direction
of fault movement, and reverse drag to desaibe
a fold that bends in the opposite sense. Some
i
B horst
normal drag folds have originated by the dragging
action of the opposing fault block. while others Figure 2.8 Graben and horst structure.
Thrust systems 15

is transferred from one to the other. Such a fault

is known as a transfer fault (Figure 2.10).

FAULT SYSTEMS

main fault ends

Sets of faults of the same age can generally be
ascribed to some regional tectonic control which,
Figure 2.9 Splay faults at the termination of a main for example, might exert a uniform compression or
fault. The displacement on the main fault may be extension across the region. We shall see in chapter
spread over a large area around the termination of the 15 that constructive plate boundaries are associated
main fault by the cumulative effectof displacements on with divergent tectonic regimes, destructive boun-
smaller branching faults.
daries with convergent regimes, and transform
faults with strike-slip regimes. Each of these regimes
Major uplifted or depressed blocks may be is characterized by a specific fault system; thus
bounded by sets of faults of the same type but convergent regimes are characterized by thrust
opposite sense of movement. A depressed block systems, and divergent regimes by extensional fault
bounded by normal faults is termed a graben and systems. Although faults of different types may be
an elevated block a horst (Figure 2.8). Major found in association with those of the main fault
graben features which extend for long distances are system, it is the latter that are dominant and from
called rifts. Two well-known examples are the great which the nature of the regional tectonic control
African rift system (Figure 15.1) and the Rhine rift, may be determined. Three systems will now be
both of which consist of a series of connected considered: thrust systems, extensional fault systems
graben extending for hundreds of kilometres. and strike-slip fault systems.
Fault sets need not consist of parallel faults.
Quite complex arrangements of branching faults
2.6 THRUST SYSTEMS
may accompany a major fault (Figure 15.8) and
very often the termination of a fault is marked by The detailed structure of many thrust belts is ex-
branching splay faults which spread the displace- tremely complex (see for example section 16.1 and
ment over a large area (Figure 2.9). Figures 16.2 and 16.3). However, much of the
Faults may terminate against other faults of complexity may be explained by careful reconstruc-
different types; for example, two thrusts may be tion following certain simple basic rules, e.g. by
linked by a strike-slip fault so that the displacement constructing balanced sections as described below.

THRUST GEOMETRY
moving slab stationary slab
Where thrusts affect a set of bedded rocks that
are near-horizontal in attitude, the thrusts generally
follow a staircase path made up of alternating
ramps and flats (Figure 2.I1A). The flats are
where the thrust sheet slides along a relatively
weak bedding plane (often called a detachment or
decollement plane) and the ramps are sections
where the thrust cuts upwards through the strati-
graphic sequence at an angle of typically around
30° to the horizontal. In uninverted strata, thrust
Figure 2.10 Transference of displacement from thrust displacements of this type always place older strata
to strike-slip fault. upon younger strata.
16 Faults and fractures
hangingwall ramp

footwall ramp

A B

~
. ...~
. . . . ~. ~

~ "'" '" "" '"

-,
-:..... .
.

~
.~ "
' ~~ ..
c "" ~
~< : < . <~"
o
roof thrust

imbricate zone floor thrust

E triangle zone

Figure 2.11 Structures and terminology of thrust zones. A. Shape of thrust surface: ramps and flats. B. Hanging-
wall geometry: a fold in the hangingwall must result from a ramp. C. Piggyback thrust sequence (new thrusts
develop in the footwall). D. Overstep thrust sequence (new thrusts develop in the hangingwall). E. Structure of a
duplex: imbricate thrust slices are contained between a floor thrust and a roof thrust. F. Pop-up structure formed
by backthrusting (see text). G. Triangle zone formed by backthrusting (see text). (After Butler, RWH (1983) Jour-
nal of Structural Geology, 4, 239-45.)

The ramp that is cut in the hangingwall is in Figure 2.11B. Folds formed in this way are a
oblique to the bedding in the hangingwall sheet. geometric consequence of the thrust movement.
Therefore, as this sheet moves up the footwall ramp Ramps do not necessarily strike perpendicular
and along a flat, the bedding will be folded as shown to the direction of transport, but are also found
Thrust systems 17
oblique or even parallel to the transport direction, that of the main thrust movement (i.e. antithetic
in which case there will be a strike-slip component thrusts) are occasionally found in thrust belts, and
of movement along them. are known as back thrusts. These may be ex-
plained by the additional layer-parallel compression
induced by gravity as the sheet climbs up the ramp.
SEQUENCE OF THRUSTING
The uplifted hangingwall block thus formed is
Thrusts may develop in sequence either forwards or termed a pop-up (Figure 2.11F). If the backlhrust
backwards from the first thrust (Figure 2.11(, D). truncates an earlier thrust, a triangle zone is
Where the later thrusts develop in the footwall of formed (Figure 2.11G).
the original thrusts, the earlier hangingwalls are Another cause of complication in thrust belts is
carried forwards by the later hangingwalls to form a the occurrence of low-angle normal faulting due to
piggyback sequence (Figure 2.110. Conversely, extension at or near the thrust front. This has been
if the thrusts migrate backwards so that later thrusts attributed to gravitational sliding induced by the
develop in the hangingwalls of the earlier thrusts, over-thickened thrust stack.
an overstep sequence develops so that the higher
thrusts will be the later thrusts (Figure 2.110).
BALANCED SECTIONS
Piggyback sequences are considered to be the
normal mode of propagation in thrust systems, but Section 'balancing' has been developed as a method
many thrust belts exhibit local out-of-sequence of unravelling complex thrust and extensional fault
thrusts that originate at or below the level of the zones by restoring them to their original lengths,
sole thrust and cut up through the imbricate stack in order to measure the fault displacement and to
behind the thrust front, often using pre-existing reconstruct the sequence of movements respon-
fault planes. Such thrusts may locally violate the sible for their often complex geometry (Figure
normal rule that thrusts place older strata upon 2.12).
younger strata. The section must be taken perpendicular to the
'orogenic strike', (i.e. the main fold trend). Individual
horizons in the deformed section are restored to
FORMATION OF A DUPLEX
their original lengths and the section is said to be
Thrust sequences often result in the stacking up of 'balanced' if the restored lengths of all the measured
many thrust sheets, making up an imbricate zone. horizons are equal, and equivalent to the original
In sequences of piggyback type, an imbricate zone length. Deformed sections are normally balanced
may be bounded at the top by the original thrust down to a basal detachment plane or sliding
surface, forming a roof thrust, and at the base by horizon below which the rocks are assumed to be
the currently active thrust surface, forming a floor unaffected by the shortening. Two common ex-
thrust (Figure 2.11E). The whole thrust package is planations for sections that do not balance are (1)
termed a duplex, and the individual imbricate inter-layer slip (very common in thrust tectonics)
sheets within the duplex are called horses. A and (2) different amounts of layer-parallel shorten-
typical duplex therefore consists of a roof thrust and ing (see Figure 10.7) in different beds (Figure
a floor thrust enclosing a stacked-up pile of horses. 2.12(, D). There is no unique solution to a section-
The currently active thrust surface which lies at the balancing problem and usually some assumptions
base of the thrust sequence, and which extends have to be made to achieve a solution. A common
beyond it to the edge of the displaced zone, is assumption is that restored thrust dips should be
termed the sole thrust. at 30o-35~ A three-dimensional study of fault
displacements can be made if sufficient data are
available and, except in the simplest types of fault
BACK THRUSTS AND EXTENSIONAL FAULTING
belts, movements in the third dimension should be
Thrusts with a displacement direction opposite to considered.
18 Faults and fractures

I, )1

:.·.:. · . · .·.·.·.·.·. .
. . . . . . . . :: .... .. ..,..../.
" .;.;;l 1
:.....::"- :'.:.:-:.:. '.'-::'......:-::1 2

3
-_------'1
I 3

c D

Figure 2.12 Construction of balanced sections, A. A section is restored by putting each layer back to its original
position. The section 'balances' if all the restored layers are of equal length. Sections may not balance for several
reasons. In B, the lower layers have been strongly distorted by the shear resistance at the ramp, so that the dis-
placement on the left side is 3 units compared with 5+ units on the right side. Such distortion is often achieved
by varying amounts of inter-layer slip. In C the restored length of layers 1, 2 and 3 are different (D) because the
lower layers have deformed more by shortening and thickening than by folding. (Based on Dahlstrom, CD.A.
(1969) Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 6, 743-7.)

2.7 EXTENSIONAL FAULT SYSTEMS the Basin and Range Province of the western
USA.
It is a comparatively common feature for specific Classical views on faulting, and on the formation
regions of the crust to exhibit sets of related of graben and rifts, visualized extension being
faults on which the individual displacements accommodated by dip-slip movements on steep
produce a net extension in the system as a normal faults (Figure 2.8) or by the filling of exten-
whole. Such fault systems are characteristic of the sional fissures by magma. However, the normal
extensional. or divergent, tectonic regimes asso- fault!graben model can only provide a relatively
ciated with (1) oceanic and continental rift zones small amount of extension, and in more recent
and (2) regions of continental back-arc extension times the importance of low-angle normal faults
on the upper plate of subduction zones, such as has been emphasized as a method of achieving the
f.x'm.i(malfQull.ysl~m. 19

~~ ~s:s::
• ........,.,... fo"""'ll l " l - ' ' ' ' ' ' rono
J

Fig u .. 2.13 Ext..-..ionol

foul >y>~ A Ev<>I~
mndd illLatrmng p ~iv •
• oxl<mion ocro"...,."l.kd by
block rot.tion .00 ". • l<>w-
""lll< . ><l rn~ ono l raJ•.(Aft."
lliI.". CS ond o.v i>, GA .
( 19M), Th. origin of mn. -
morphic <0« """'pl......
/0.""" of 51"",.,.1 G<"log~.
I I , 6~.l B. u.~i< f.oIt
with hong" gwoll fOllow'"
.ft;c l~ . A",.. A and 8 Of<

equoI, 1M odJU5lm<n\ '"

hangingw.alJ 'hape implies in-
tffiIiII d..formobcn C. Fl. 11
'''''p g..,....!ry of foult 1""<>-
d"""" g-...mcoOy """0>-
NlY foJd; ng in hangingwoU
D. An!ilhmc f~" in hong-
..gwolL E- Synlhmc f,.h. in
foolw.ll forming 1i>1ri< fill. F,
Exl«>sionol dupb w~h b<tri<
filt\ ond ."tah<hc: ~
Ion Ill--f oI~ Cibb<. AD
(198 4) /0.",.1 0{ I~, Cw·
log;,al 5c< jtl~ 0{ I.<>nJc",
141, 609-20,) G. T w<> I",tic
foulh hnkod by • lr.,..(...
f-.lt; all th_ dd""h on Ih.
...". ""~ f. ult
20 Faults and fractures
much larger extensions that have been estimated The above listric geometries are based on obser-
in certain extensional provinces, such as the vations and interpretations of shallow seismicprofiles
Basin and Range Province in the western USA of marine sedimentary sequences. A problem with
(Figure 15.4). the listric fault model, however, is that large, cur-
Three principal geometric elements have been rently active extensional faults observed on land
identified in fault systems associated with large are steep and planar down to about 10 km. It is
extensions: (1) low-angle normal faults acting as necessary therefore to speculate as to how the
detachment planes (sole faults), (2) rotated fault listric curvature and the low-angle detachment are
blocks, and (3) curved or listric fault surfaces (Figure produced. The answer is thought to lie in the more
2.13A). The widespread occurrence of such geo- ductile properties of the middle and lower parts of
metries has been confinned by seismic profiles the crust, where movement zones are typically low-
obtained in the petroleum exploration of marine angle. The effect of progressive extension is thought
basins. to deform and rotate earlier-formed planar faults into
a listric geometry as shown in Figure 2.13A.
LISTRIC FAULTS AND LARGE EXTENSIONS

A listric fault is a curved normal fault which

achieves a rotation in the hangingwall as a geo-
TRANSFER FAULTS IN EXTENSIONAL SYSTEMS
metric consequence of the displacement, and may
be accompanied by an accommodation fold known Extensional fault systems frequently contain steep
as a rollover anticline (Figure 2.138). The transfer faults with strike-slip displacements. Such
detachment or sole fault in extensional systems has faults are integral to the system and transfer displa-
the same function as that in thrust fault systems, cement from one dip-slip plane to another. They
and may possess a similar ramp-flat geometry are smaller-scale counterparts of oceanic transform
(Figure 2. Be) necessitating complex accommo- faults (see section 14.3). Figure 2.13G shows how
dation structures in the hangingwall. The accommo- two dip-slip faults may be linked by a transfer fault,
dation may take place by the formation of a set each detaching on the same sole fault. Transfer
of antithetic faults, which have the effect of extend- faults may separate imbricate fault-fold packages
ing and thinning the hangingwall (Figure 2.130). that are geometrically distinct and uncorrelatable
As extension proceeds, the sole fault may migrate across the fault.
into the footwall, producing a set of synthetic listric
faults known as a listric fan (Figure 2.13E), in an
analogous way to the propagation of thrusts into Figure 2.14 Strike-slip fault systems. A. Local com-
the foreland in piggyback thrust sequences. The pressional and extensional structures produced by fault
fault blocks formed in this process are termed terminations and fault overlaps in strike-slip faulting. B.
riders. The migration of the sole fault into the Formation of raised and depressed wedge-shaped
blocks by local transpression and transtension on a
footwall may create an extensional duplex branching strike-slip system. (A and B after Reading.
bounded by a roof fault. Figure 2.13F shows the 1980.) C. Positive and negative Hower structures pro-
complex type of geometry that may be produced duced by convergence and divergence respectively in
by a combination of hangingwall and footwall strike-slip motion. Dot and cross symbols within circles
collapse resulting from progressive extension. indicate out-of-page and into-page components of
The rotated blocks formed by these processes motion respectively. D. Diagrams illustrating the for-
form half-graben at the surface and these may mation of strike-slip duplex structure in transpression
(a) and transtension (b). Note that the structures are
become filled with sediment (see Figure 2.13A).
analogous morphologically to compressional and
Upper-crustal extension on fault systems of this extensional dip-slip fault duplexes respectively. (C and
type may be transferred to mid-crustal levels and D from Park, R.G. (1988) Geological Structures and
below by low-angle mylonite zones Moving Plates, Blackie, Glasgow and London.)
Strike-slip fault systems 21

2.8 STRIKE-SLIP FAULT SYSTEMS in the system as a whole are characteristic of

tectonic regimes associated with major continental
Sets of related faults on which the individual transform fault zones (see section 15.5), such as
movements produce a net strike-slip displacement the San Andreas fault zone (Figure 15.8). An

Fault termination

Fault over lap

Before movement

llT1 3~
ff2f+-l -
--t-l1llT

Positive flower structure --+

-
2 2
~

Out of page
i&4
Into page

Nega tive flowe r structure

-#m1ffiiT- 3
3
c o
22 Faults and fractures
important feature of continental strike-slip regimes STRIKE-SUP DUPLEXES AND DISPLACED
is that in addition to strike-slip faults, they also TERRANES
contain examples of compressional and exten-
Strike-slip duplexes (Figure 2.14E), which are ana-
sional structures. Such zones are also characterized
logous geometrically to thrust and extensional
by differential vertical movements, which create
duplexes, may be formed at bends in a strike-slip
rapid alternations between uplifted blocks and
fault as a result of the progressive migration of the
depressed basins.
active fault into one wall. Transtensional duplexes
Major strike-slip zones, such as the San Andreas
are morphologically equivalent to extensional
fault zone, are of the order of 100-200 km across,
duplexes, and transpressional duplexes to thrust
within which quite complex tectonic effects take
duplexes respectively. Large pieces of crust may
place. Strike-slip faults, which typically form a
become detached and isolated from one block.
branching network. are the most important type of
transferred to the opposing block. and transported
structure, but important secondary geometrical
far from their sites of origin, becoming 'displaced
effects result from the irregularity of the fault
terranes' (see section 15.5).
geometry. For example, localized strains are
produced around fault terminations that are either
compressional or extensional, depending on the
2.9 INVERSION
sense of movement (Figure 2. 14A). Fault overlaps
thus create local zones of compression or extension The term inversion is used to describe the pro-
(Figure 2.148); compressional zones may be charac- cess of regional reversal of tectonic movement
terized by reverse faults or by folds, and from subsidence to uplift, say, or from extension
extensional zones by normal faults. to compression. Typically, inversion involves the
Pull-apart basins formed in local extensional reactivation of faults with the opposite sense of
zones as a result of this process are a diagnostic movement, such that normal faults experience a
feature of strike-slip regimes. change to reverse movement, or thrusts become
low-angle reverse faults. In positive inversion, a
region changes from subsidence to uplift, and in
TRANSTENSION AND TRANSPRESSION
negative inversion, from uplift to subsidence.
Local changes of direction in strike-slip faults Such movements form an integral part of the
create local zones where the fault trend is oblique tectonic evolution of orogenic belts.
to the movement direction, causing either The recognition of inversion in individual struc-
compression or extension across the fault. Where tures and groups of structures has become very
strike-slip movement is combined with extension, important in hydrocarbon exploration, since where
the process is termed transtension; where strike- inversion is involved the interpretation of structures
slip and compression are combined, the result is at depth may be completely different to that with
transpression. In complex curving fault net- unmodified extensional or compressional structures.
works, where branching faults have opposed dips, Inversion may create a set of structures that display
overall strike-slip displacement leads to oblique slip variation in net sense of movement; thus compres-
movement on individual fault segments. The sional re-activation of normal faults may give rise
resulting convergence and divergence of wedge- to a mixture of apparently normal and apparently
shaped blocks gives rise to the formation of alter- reverse faults.
nate raised and depressed zones (Figure 2.140. Because the crust is stronger in compression than
Combinations of folds and faults produced in local in extension, and because extensional structures
zones of transpression or transtension are termed are consequently more widespread. when regional
flower structures. These are positive for uplifted compression takes place it will typically be easier to
blocks and negative for depressed blocks (Figure re-activate old extensional planes of weakness,
2.140). given that they are suitably oriented, than to create
Joints 23

Figure 2.15 Inversion: extensional half-graben re-

activated in compression. Note that compressional Figure 2.17 Relationship of joint sets to major folds.
folds coexist with net normal displacement. Regular joint sets perpendicular to bedding may be
divided into longitudinal (parallel to fold axes), trans-
verse (perpendicular to fold axes) and diagonal (oblique
new faults. Thus, for example, the Alpine compres- to fold axes).
sion of northwest Europe has created widespread
Tertiary folds and reverse faults by inversion of rock, giving a conspicuous blocky appearance to
Mesozoic extensional normal faults. the outcrop (Figure 2.16). More commonly,
Figure 2.15 shows the basic geometry of an however, joints are much less regular and system-
extensional half-graben subjected to compression atic. Where a recognizable joint set exists, it can
during inversion. The strata above the half-graben usually be related in some way both to a regional
are shortened and folded, although the fault may tectonic control and to the geometry of the rock
still appear to be normal. body containing the joints. For example, joint sets
are frequently found both perpendicular and parallel
2.10 JOINTS to the bedding in layered rocks. The perpendicular
joints may form two or more intersecting sets
Joints may occur in sets of parallel. regularly spaced which bear a simple relationship to the regional fold
fractures, and several sets may occur in the same geometry (Figure 2.17). Under favourable circum-
stances, it is possible to relate regular joint sets that
occur regionally in various different rock types to
a regional compression or extension in the same
way as folds.

PRESSURE-RELEASE (UNLOADING) JOINTS

Many joints are due to the release of 'stored' pres-
sure. The weight of a great thickness of overlying
strata causes deeply buried rock to be compressed.
However, once the overlying rock has been
eroded, this load pressure is reduced and the rock
expands by the development of tensional joints
which are often parallel to bedding surfaces in sedi-
mentary strata, or to the temporary erosion surface
in massive igneous rocks, where they are termed
sheet joints.

COOLING JOINTS
Another common cause of joint formation is the
Figure 2.16 Joint sets in thin-bedded Devonian sand- contraction that takes place in a cooling igneous
stones, Lligwy Bay, Anglesey. body. Tabular igneous bodies, i.e. dykes and sills,
.. Antr'm (fig\« 218) i, ~ ....u·1mown n omplt of
lhio Iypr of olructIIrr.

FURTHER READING
C_..-d. MP. (1 _ ) I~ Ttdonn, in Ceo" ·
_ ..J «f_'it>or '"" P1. H..-.cocil. P..S.mon,
o.foni PI' 2f9-)(l4
C__ ci MP . Drwry. U . .-.l Horocod<. P1. I....)
U 9a?) C>oI,......J £,-,,,,,,,,,,,,! r......... ~ s,.,..
1
P. w;,,,,it>or ~ ,lot CfoI<Iri<_15«>tI~ ~ t-/ooo. 1.
Iiobbs, BE. Mot-. W D. .-.l WiIIoona, P,F. (1 _ )
A. /)1,11,... af 51_I. ... ~. lnd ..... Wolty.
N.... York IAn • .mlonl vnm!1..lbo<Ic]
M<C\oy, KR .-.l P~. NJ lodil U*lJ r/rrwol oJ
MlWO r",....... Spon.ol P.bhao,_ ~ I~ Gt"""..
..J
50><",~
Ro~
'"H,Cw..J.J•. ,
, (l 9tlO) 0...-_ .-.l rwognbon
of , ltik-olip I... .y......., s,.. 1 ....M;,.,I.. . ~
I.. 1. '".oIi",,~1 A...,...,;.", ~ W ,,,,,ol"'<>ti>l' , 4,
Fls .. ,r 1.U Po/)'sonoI cooIirls ;on.. f""""ll 1- U ,
colunww _ .. \>MI. Gaorf'. C.._oy. Co Soboon. RH, (/911) F...lt ,od.. .-.l f.. ~ m«Nnoomo,
Mlnm. Ih om HoImn. A (I91!) ,,"on "'" ~ PIll"" J..,...I '" ,I" w<>1ot;,..J 5o><" ty .f w.J••, tH ,
;w CHIoD. " ....... ftg.... J,7 ~opIo. I. A,,", 191- 1 1J. IC i..... . uwNI cloooilic. li<>n <>I f.u1t rock>

'''''', ..-.l di.._ tho ,.t,,_ olvp briw..." myIoJUl<.

~yl".-.l odw.- foult roch l
T _ RJ, .-.l MO<>Ift, E,M, 1\9921 5,...".,.1
CH/osY. F---. Now Y<rt. lo..pt... J- 1 g 'vr
~~ n~oboul ~
f..... .-.l i<>rio- wilto ............. iIoatr_ 1
FOLDS 3

While fractures are the commonest expression of the main elements of the geometry of the fold shape
rock deformation. there can be no doubt that folds are, firstly, the hinge (or closure), which is the
are the most spedacular. When we see a bed of zone of maximum curvature of the surface, and
rock that was originally flat and planar bent into a secondly, the limbs, which are the areas between
huge arch many hundreds of metres in height, we the hinges. A single fold comprises a hinge and
are forced to recognize in a very direct way the two limbs which enclose the hinge. In a series of
existence of the tremendous forces that ad upon folds, each limb is common to two adjacent folds.
the Earth's crust. The sight of a large-scale fold in a Depending on the actual shape of the fold, that is,
mountainside, as can be seen in the Alps and other on the way in which a surface changes curvature,
mountain belts, is much more satisfying as an the hinge may be very sharply defined and the
expression of deformation than reconstructions limbs relatively straight (Figure 3.1B), or the curva-
based on mapping, although the latter may be ture may be more constant around the fold if it
equally convincing. approaches a cylindrical shape (Figure 3.IC). If it is
possible to define a line along which the maximum
3.1 MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF curvature of the fold takes place, this line is called
FOLDS the hinge line. In a truly cylindrical fold, where
the fold surface corresponds to part of the surface
A fold is a structure produced when an originally of a cylinder, neither hinge nor limb can be defined,
planar surface becomes bent or curved as a result but such examples are uncommon. The term
of deformation. We have seen that fractures result 'cylindrical' used in this sense should not be
from brittle deformation that causes the rock to confused with 'cylindroidal' which is defined in
break completely along discrete planes. Folds, section 3.7.
however, are an expression of a different type of
deformation which produces gradual and more
continuous changes in a rock layer, both in its atti-
tude and internally, as the rock accommodates to
changes in shape. Such a deformation is more
pervasive than that responsible for faulting and is
typically more ductile. The difference between
brittle and ductile deformation and the way rocks
accommodate physically to deformation are dis-
cussed in Chapter 7.

3.2 BASIC FOLD GEOMETRY AND

NOMENCLATURE

FOLD HINGE AND LIMBS c

If we consider a single folded surface(Figure 3.1A, B), Figure 3.1 Hinge and limbs of a fold.
26 Folds

is termed the inter-limb angle or fold angle.

The tightness or openness of a fold as expressed
by this angle is a useful method of classifying
folds (Figure 3.7A) and reflects the amount of
deformation.

axial plane AMPLITUDE AND WAVELENGTH

A B
(imaginary)
Amplitude and wavelength are convenient meas-
Figure 3.2 Axis, axial plane and axial surface of a ures of the size of a fold (Figure 3.3). The wave-
fold. length of a fold is the distance between the hinges
on each side of the fold. If these are not visible,
the half-wavelength may be measured instead by
FOLD AXIS AND AXIAL PLANE
taking the distance between the two inflexion
In describing the attitude of a fold, it is useful to points on each side of the fold hinge. The in-
refer not to the attitudes of both limbs but to the flexion points are where the sense of curvature
imaginary plane that is equidistant from each limb changes from one fold into the next (Figure 3.3A).
and which bisects the angle between them. This The amplitude, or 'height', of a fold may be
plane is termed the axial plane and cuts the hinge measured by taking half the perpendicular distance
zone of the fold along a line termed the fold axis from the hinge to the line joining the two hinges
(Figure 3.2A). Provided that the limbs of a fold on each side, or alternatively the perpendicular
are sufficiently well defined, the determination of distance from the hinge to the line joining the two
the orientation of the axial plane and axis will give nearest inflexion points.
a precise description of the orientation of the fold.
It must be remembered, however, that these terms
refer only to a single fold surface. 3.3 FOLD ORIENTATION
The orientation of a fold may be obtained in the
field by measuring the attitudes of both limbs, and if
FOLD AXIAL SURFACE the limbs are relatively straight and regular, this
When we wish to describe a fold consisting of a information is sufficient for a complete description
number of folded layers, the axial planes of the of the fold attitude. However, it is more convenient,
different folded surfaces may not correspond. In
sucha case, it is usually more convenient to refer to
the fold axial surface, which is defined as a single
surface passing through the hinge lines of each
successive fold surface (Figure 3.2B). Such a surface
is, in general, not planar, and may not correspond
with the axial planes of the individual layers in the
fold. The hinge lines are not always easy to locate
by eye if the hinge zone is broad, and the conceptis H
only appropriate for relatively tight folds with
well-defined hinges.

INTER-LIMB ANGLE Figure 3.3 Amplitude and wavelength of a fold. J.,

wavelength; a, amplitude; H, hinge; I. inflexion point
The smaller angle made by the limbs of a fold (see text).
Classification offolds 27

angle of plunge axial surface as a line. This line is termed the fold
axial trace. The dip and strike of the axial plane or
axial surface may be plotted in the same way as
for a bedding plane.
The attitude of the fold axis is measured as the
angle between the axis and the horizontal. This
angle, which must be measured in a vertical plane
(like the dip angle) is termed the fold plunge
(Figure 3.4), so a complete description of the orien-
tation of a fold axis is given as an amount and
direction of plunge; for example, a fold may be
Figure 3.4 Plunge of a fold. The angle of plunge is described as having a plunge of 30° towards (on a
measured from the horizontal, in a vertical plane. bearing of) 105°.

and conveys more useful information, to describe

3.4 CLASSIFICAnON OF FOLDS
and record folds in terms of their axial planes or
surfaces, and axes. Thus on a map, the position of a The classification of folds is based on four main
fold is shown by drawing the outcrop of the fold features or properties: direction of closing, attitude

n A antiform B synform

C neutral fold
younger r:»

older (core)

younger (core)
F axial surface of anticline
E

Figure 3.5 Closing and facing directions of a fold. A. antiform - an upward-closing fold. B, synform - a down-
ward-closing fold. C neutral fold - a sideways-closing fold. D, anticline - older rocks in core; fold faces upwards.
E, syncline - younger rocks in core; fold faces downwards and is an antiformal syncline. F, refolded recumbent
anticline, W; fold at X is a synformal anticline, lower part of fold at Y is an antilormal syncline, and Z is a synfor-
mal syncline.
28 Folds
of axial surface, size of inter-limb angle and shape
of profile.

CLOSING AND FACING DIRECTION axial plane C overfold

A upright B inclined
Folds that close upwards, that is where the limbs crest
dip away from the hinge, are termed antiforms

hi"9Z(~
(Figure 3.5A) and those that close downwards,
where the limbs dip towards the hinge, are termed
synforms (Figure 3.5B). Folds that close sideways D recumbent
are termed neutral folds (Figure 3.5C). Under trough
normal conditions where the bedding becomes E
younger upwards, an antiform will contain older
Figure 3.6 Altitude of the fold axial plane. A,
rocks in its core; it is then given the more farniliar
upright. B, inclined. C overfold. D, recumbent. E,
name 'anticline'. Thus the term anticline strictly distinction between crest and trough lines and hinge
applies only to a fold with older rocks in its core lines in an inclined fold.
(Figure 3.5D). Conversely, a syncline is a fold that
contains younger rocks in its core (Figure 3.5E).
In areas of more complex folding, where strata X is a synformal anticline and faces downwards,
are commonly inverted. it is possible to find down- since the strata are inverted. The lower pari: of fold
ward-closing anticlines or upward-closing synclines Y is an antiformal syncline, and also faces down-
(Figure 3.5F). In such cases it is convenient to speak wards. Fold Z is an upward-facing synform, i.e. a
of the facing direction of a fold, which is defined synformal syncline. The main fold at W, where it
as the direction along the axial surface in which the has a subhorizontal axial surface, is a neutral fold,
strata become younger. Thus in Figure 3.5F, fold facing towards the left.

180' 120'

30'

.v::.:.-------- O'

I\~::::::_------- 0'

30'

180' 120'
A B

~igur.e 3.7 A. Cla~sification of folds based on the inter-limb angle. (After Fleuty, 1964.) B. Measurement of
~nter-~b angle IX In folds with rounded profile. Tangents are drawn to the fold surface at the points of
Inflexion.
Classification offolds 29

ATIITUDE OF AXIAL PLANE

Folds may be divided into three groups based on
the dip of the axial plane, or surface. Folds with
steep to vertical axial planes are termed upright,
those with moderately dipping axial planes are
termed inclined and those with subhorizontal axial
planes are termed recumbent (Figure 3.6A-D).
The division between these classes is not rigidly
defined. Inclined folds where one limb is inverted
are often termed overfolds (Figure 3.6C). In
inclined folds, the highest and lowest points on the
fold surface do not in general correspond with the ,E
hinges and it is sometimes useful to use the terms
crest and trough respectively for these positions
(Figure 3.6E). The crest is of interest in petroleum
exploration, since it may form a trap for oil or gas,
which may be contained in a permeable layer
sealed by an impermeable layer above.

INTER-LIMB ANGLE
The size of the inter-limbangle measures the degree
of tightness of a fold and reflects the amount of
compression experienced by the folded strata. Figure F
3.7A shows a classification scheme that subdivides
folds into five classes: gentle (180°-120°), open
(120°-70°), close (70-30°), tight (30°-0°) and
isoclinal (0°). These limits are intended only as a
general guide; precision is better achieved, if re-
quired by stating the angle. Gentle folds are often
termed flexures. Problems arise in measuring the
fold angle where the limbs are not straight. In such

~G
Figure 3.8 Types of fold profile, A. Parallel- coloured
lines show constant layer thickness measured perpen-
A parallel
dicular to fold surface. B. Similar - coloured lines show
constant layer thickness measured parallel to axial
surface. C. Concentric - coloured lines are radii of a
circle. D. Chevron - coloured lines are kink planes (axial
surface traces) separating straight fold limbs. E. Folds of
generally similar style in marble, Sokumfiell, Norway. F.
Folds of generally parallel style in aplite layer (above
coin) in gneiss, Cristallina, Switzerland. G. Kink band in
laminated siltstone, Bigsbury, south Devon. (E-G from
C concentric o chevron Ramsay and Huber, 1987.)
30 Folds
a case, tangents can be drawn to the curve at the point layers may be parallel whereas the fold as a whole
of inflexion (Figure 3.78). The inter-limb angle is the is usually similar. Where such a fold is markedly
smaller angle made by the two tangents. asymmetric, the superimposed short limbs give the
appearance of bands running across the rock. Such
bands, which are effectively contained within ad-
PROFILE
jacent axial surfaces, are known as kink bands
The fold profile is the shape of a folded layer (Figure 3.8G).
observed in the plane perpendirular to the fold axis. These fold types represent end-members of con-
Folds exhibit considerable variation in profile, and tinuous series of natural folds. Thus concentric to
since this variation partly reflects differences in the chevron represents one series, from extreme
mechanism of formation (see Chapter 10), a precise rounded to extreme angular, and parallel to similar
description of this profile is often very important. represents another. Folds may be described in terms
The main categories of profile are shown in of how closely they approach these ideal types.
Figure 3.8. The simplest is the parallel fold, For more exact work in folds, it is necessary to
where the fold surfaces bounding the folded layer record the changes in curvature in more detail, as
are parallel; in such a fold, the thickness of the described in the following section.
folded layer measured perpendirular to the fold
surface (i.e. the orthogonal thickness) is constant
(Figure 3.8A E). A special case of parallel fold is 3.5 GEOMETRY OF THE FOLD PROFILE
termed a concentric fold. This is where adjacent
A useful way of portraying the geometry of the
fold surfaces are arcs of a circle with a common
fold profile, and thereby of comparing it with one
centre, known as the centre of curvature of the
of the ideal fold models, is to plot the change in
fold (Figure 3.8C).
thickness of the folded layer as it varies away from
Parallel folds affect only a limited thickness of
the hinge. At any particular position on the fold
layers as a consequence of their geometry, so that
surface, the tangent to the curve is drawn at an
upright parallel folds die out both upwards and
angle a with a line perpendirular to the axial
downwards. This property is especially obvious in
surface (Figure 3.9). The thickness of the layer at
the case of concentric folds (Figure 3.8C), where
that angle, fa' is then measured by taking the
the extent of the fold is limited by the centres of
perpendirular distance between the two parallel
curvature. Beyond the centres of curvature, the
tangents making the angle iJ. with the inner and
shortening would be accommodated by faulting or
outer arcs respectively. The value of iJ. reaches a
by a different type of folding.
Another type of fold is the similar fold, in
which the orthogonal thickness of the folded layer
changes in a systematic way such that the fold
maintains a constant thickness measured parallel to
the axial surface (Figure 3.88, F). In a true similar
fold, the shape of adjacent curves should corres- axial surface

pond precisely, and this property enables a similar

fold to maintain its shape indefinitely along the
axial surface through successive layers.
Folds that possess planar limbs and sharp angular
hinges are known as chevron folds (Figure Figure 3.9 Method of measuring variation in layer
thickness fa in a fold. Measurement is made at the point
3.80); the term accordion fold is used synony-
where the tangent to the outer curve makes an angle
mously. Such folds exhibit the rurious property IX with the perpendicular to the axial surface. (After
of being apparently both similar and parallel - in Ramsay, J.G (1967) Fa/ding and Fracturing of Rocks,
the sense that many of the individual folded McGraw-Hill New York, figure 7.18.)
Geometry of the fold profile 31
the fold is therefore similar. Isogons that are perpen-
dicular to the folded layer indicate a parallel fold.
These rules lead to a convenient fold classification.

parallel folds
1.0 (t constant) FOLD CLASSIFICATION BASED ON DIP
ISOGONS
.5' The fold classification is shown in Figure 3.12.
---
~"
There are three classes: class 1 - folds with conver-
.... curve ends at
gent isogons; class 2 - folds with parallel isogons
point of inflexion
05
(similar folds); and class 3 - folds with divergent
folds with isogons.
similar folds
thinned limbs Class 1 is subdivided into three subclasses
according to the degree of convergence. Thus class
1A folds are strongly convergent, the isogons
o 30' making an angle greater than rx with the axial
(1 surface. Class 18 folds are parallel folds where the
isogons are perpendicular to the fold surface and
Figure 3.10 Graph showing curves of t' against (X make an angle rx with the axial surface. Class 1C
for various types of fold. t' = tJto where to is the
folds are weakly convergent, the isogons making
layer thickness at the hinge. (After Ramsay, J.G (1967)
Folding and Fracturing of Rocks, McGraw-Hill. New an angle less than rx with the axial surface.
York, figure 7.25.) These classes can be shown on the t'lrx plot
(Figure 3.10). There is a large field of folds with
thinned limbs, which is divided by the curve repre-
maximum at the point of inflexion, where the sense senting class 2 similar folds, where the orthogonal
of curvature changes into the next fold. A plot is thickness changes according to the relationship
then made of the variation of t' with a, where t' = cos rx. It is rather important to measure such a
t' = t~/to and to is the thickness at the hinge. The
curves of t' against rx are characteristically different
for the different fold models (Figure 3.10).
'"
Q)

~
:::J
U

DIP ISOGON METHOD C

:;; Q)

An alternative method of portraying the fold ~~

profile is to draw a set of lines joining points of c:: '"

'" >

equal limb dip (i.e. equal values of rx) in successive

layers through the fold profile. These lines of equal
-~0.£'"E
c:: '"
"0 Q)

dip are called dip isogons. The method is illus- -'"

c:: '"
:.=.r.
'"
trated in Figure 3.11. The dip of the isogons reflects
'"
5 ~'"
differences in curvature between the outer and Cl Q)
o.r.
inner arcs of the folded layer. Thus if the isogons core "~ ~
converge towards the core of the fold the curva-
ture of the outer arc is less than that of the inner Figure 3.11 Construction of dip isogons. The iso-
gons join points on successive fold surfaces with the
arc. Conversely if the isogons diverge towards the
same inclination (X. In this example, the isogons
core of the fold the curvature of the outer arc is converge towards the fold core. (After Ramsay, J.G
greater than that of the inner arc. If the isogons are (1967) Folding and Fracturing of Rocks, McGraw-Hill,
parallel, the curvature of the two arcs is equal, and New York, figure 7.18.)
32 Folds

class 1A class 1B
class 1C

co nvergent isogons
1.5

class lA

class 1B
1.0

cl ass 1C
r

C'' '
~'\t
0 .5
class 3 '"
class 2 class 3
parallel isogons divergent isogons 0
30 ' 60 ' 90 '

Figure 3.12 Fold classification based on dip isogons - see text. (After Ramsay, J.G (1967) Folding and Fraciur-
iMg of Rocks, McGraw-Hill, New York. figures 7.24 and 7.25.)

fold precisely, since many similar-looking folds limbs are of equal length, and asymmetric if the
actually belong to class 1C and may have formed limbs are of unequal length (Figure 3.13). Folds
by a different mechanism from the class 2 folds (see showing systematic differences in thickness be-
section 10.2). tween two sets of limbs are also asymmetric. A
monocline is a special type of asymmetric fold
where one limb is very short in relation to the
3.6 DESCRIPTION OF FOLD SYSTEMS adjoining limbs. The term monocline is normally
The way in which folds are arranged in systems, used for large-scale folds produced by a local steep-
and how they are related to each other, is just as ening in dip.
important in understanding their process of for-
mation as the shape of the individual folds. We
shall examine several important features of fold
systems: their symmetry, the existence of different
scales of folding in the same layer, and the variation A symmetric

in profile shape between different layers.

FOLD SYMMETRY B asymmetric

A set of folds is regarded as symmetric if the Figure 3.13 Symmetric and asymmetric folds.
Description of fold system s 33

left-hand limbs of anticlines, through M-shaped

over the hinge area, to S-shaped on the right-hand
limbs, when viewed in profile.
The existence of folds of different orders of
magnitude can produce a very complicated shape
A in the folded surface. Locally measured bedding
dips on such a surface will give very little idea, in
general, of the overall shape of the main structure.
However, this shape can be considerably simplified
by drawing an enveloping surface, which is a
surface drawn through the hinge lines of all the
folds (Figure 3.14B). If the enveloping surface is
itself folded, a second enveloping surface may be
B
drawn to produce further simplification.

Figure 3.14 Parasitic folds and the use of the en-

veloping surface. A. Parasitic folds have an asymmetric HARMONIC AND DISHARMONIC SYSTEMS
'2' profile on the left-hand limb of the anticline, a Where sets of folds in adjacent layers correspond
symmetric 'M' profile on the crest and an asymmetric
'S' profile on the right-hand limb. B. A complex profile
with each other in wavelength symmetry and
may be Simplified by drawing one or more enveloping general shape, the system is called harmonic.
surfaces joining the parasitic fold hinges. However, in many cases, the wavelength and shape
of folds in adjacent layers are quite different; this
is often due to differences in physical properties or
FOLD VERGENCE thickness (see section 10.2). Such fold systems are
A set of asymmetric folds is said to verge in the known as disharmonic (Figure 3.15; see also
direction indicated by the shorter limbs of the anti- Figures 10.5 and 10.6).
forms of the set. Thus a set of folds may be de-
scribed as indicating southwesterly vergence, or
CONJUGATE AND POLYCUNAL SYSTEMS
'verging southwest'. The concept of vergence is
applied more usually to overturned or highly asym- A pair of asyrrunetric folds with opposite senses
metric folds, often associated with thrusts, which of asymmetry such that the axial surfaces dip to-
exhibit a sense of overturning or thrusting in a par- wards each other are termed conjugate folds
ticular direction (for an example see Figure 16.3).

PARASITIC FOLDS
Very often a set of folds with a small wavelength
is found superimposed upon folds of larger wave-
length. The smaller folds, which occur on the limbs
or hinge of the larger folds, are known as para-
sitic folds (Figure 3.14A). In many cases, there is
a systematic relationship between the symmetry of
the parasitic folds and their position on the larger
folds. Thus when both small-scale and large-scale Figure 3.15 Disharmonic folds. The wavelength of
folds are generated together, the sense of asym- the inner, thinner layers is much shorter than that of
metry will generally change from Z-shaped on the the outer layers.
34 Folds

A box fold B conjugate kink bands

C polyclinal folds

Figure 3.16 Conjugate and polyclinal folds. A. Box fold - a symmelTic fold with four hinges. B. Conjugate kink
bands producing an asymmelTic structure. C. Polyclinal folds with variableaxialsurfaces.

(Figure 3.16B). A common type of conjugate fold part of a dome is called a basin (Figure 3.17C D).
is a box fold (Figure 3.16A), where the fold angles
are approximately 90°, forming an almost redan-
gular structure. A polydinal fold system is a CULMINATIONS AND DEPRESSIONS
more complex structure formed when the axial In a surface affeded by non-cylindroidal folds,
surfaces of adjacent folds have differing orientations whether periclinal or more complex, the fold axes
(Figure 3.160. are generally curved and vary in height. Points of
maximum elevation along curved fold axes are
termed culminations, and points of minimum
3.7 FOLDS IN THREE DIMENSIONS
elevation are termed depressions. In certain cases,
In the preceding sections, we have been discussing culminations on antiformal fold axes will be domes
a geometrical classification of folds based essentially and depressions on synformal fold axes, basins.
on the two-dimensional fold profile, ignoring the
third dimension. Folds that maintain a constant
profile are termed cylindroidal folds. Such folds INTERFERENCE PATTERNS AND
may be generated by a line moving parallel to itself SUPERIMPOSED FOLDS
so that the fold surface produced contains a set of Many complex fold systems are the result of inter-
parallel lines. However non-cylindroidal folds, ference between two or more fold sets of simpler
which vary in profile shape, are very common, and geometry. If a layer which already possesses a set of
we shall discuss several special types. folds is refolded by a second set of folds, a compli-
cated three-dimensional shape is produced (Figure
3.18A). The second set of folds is said to be super-
PERICUNES, DOMES AND BASINS
imposed on the first, and the resulting geometry
A peridine is a fold whose amplitude decreases is termed an interference structure. Such struc-
regularly to zero in both directions, so the fold has tures are easily recognized by the outcrop patterns
precise limits in space (Figure 3.17A, B). The term they produce. The type of outcrop pattern depends
pericline is usually applied only to large-scale folds. on the geometry of the two fold sets and on their
Periclines may be either anticlinal (antiformal) or relationship to each other.
synclinal (synformal). Anticlinal periclines are some- Three charaderistic types of interference struc-
times termed brachyantidines, and synclinal ture are shown in Figure 3.18B: (1) closed dome
periclines, brachysyndines. and basin shapes, (2) crescent and mushroom
A dome is a special type of antiformal pericline or 'stirrup' shapes, and (3) hooked double zigzag
where the dip is radial, that is, in plan view the shapes. In the latter two cases the order of super-
structure is close to circular. The synformal counter- imposition is clear from the fad that the earlier
•

@@
F;ll U", 3.17 r""dnos, o:lomr. and 1>...,., A. Q biiq"" oir pholo groph of pori of • L" g< ...hcbn.ol p<nd", . ,n I~
slo"". "omori Mounl.ll/\ Irm (krofd EdU<.tior..J sm.., '''-I 22, c""rt..y Il<rofilm. W ) l\. PIan ~"'" " r
. yndin.ol (S) and onb di ",,1(A) p<ri<]j showi"8 typlc.ol '«noe'.oh.ped outcrop<. C. D. Pt." view. of • ~; n and
• dome. Anowhe.d. indKote dIp d t<ction

folds and Ihri, axial rracn '" folded around the 3.' FOLDING MECHA/IO'SMS "11.:0 FOLD
1aI.... fold ax... , An . 'ampI.. of • 1ao-gM<:ak- ITWf' GEOMETRY
mI.n.,....... palt""' from I"" Lorn Monar ....a of
Scoltar.:l is ,hown in Figure 3 1&C. D The g«>rnetry Several different ~ or ITl<."lI.:xk 01
of ouperYnposed folds is disrnss«! in more delail farming folds have betn sup;g<><ktL The most
in section 10.3 mportant distinction betwMl t""",, methods lies
36 Folds

Loch Monar

A
F2 1 km
'-----'

1. dome and basin

2. crescent and mushroom

o
B F1

3. double zigzag

Figure 3.18 Superimposed folds. A. Refolding of an

already folded layer, with folds Fl, by a second fold
F2, producing a complex three-dimensional shape. B.
Three main types of outcrop pattern (interference struc-
ture) produced by superimposition. Fold axial traces
shown in colour. C. An example of an interference
structure from Loch Monar, northwest Scotland. D.
The Loch Monar fold before F2 refolding. (C and D
after Ramsay, J.G (1967) Folding and Fracturing of
Rocks, McGraw-Hill, New York, figure 10.20.) E. Inter-
ference structure caused by superimposition of steeply
inclined open to tight folds on earlier isoclinal folds in
Precambrian banded gneiss, Harmano, Orust, south-
west Sweden.

in whether a layer responds actively to a compres- illustrated by the buckling of a thin sheet under
sive stress applied parallel to its length in forming lateral pressure, and the second by the gravitational
the fold, or whether it responds passively to a bending of a layer draped over a depressed base-
change in shape or in position brought about by ment block (Figure 3.19). Both are unrealistic
movements taking place outside the layer and models in the sense that they ignore the effect of
obliquely to it. The first of these methods may be the material enclosing the layer, which in practice
Relationship between faults, folds and shear zones 37

layers, which modifies the profile geometry from a

parallel towards a similar shape (Figure 3.8A, B).
The process of flexural slip involves slip between
A
B successive layers deformed by buckling or some
other mechanism (Figure 10.lB). This type of
Figure 3.19 Active buckling (A) and passive bending folding characterizes the deformation of relatively
(B). strong layers separated by planes or thin zones of
weakness. Kinking forms folds of the kink band
has a very important role in determining or modi- or chevron type which typically have straight limbs
fying the fold geometry. and sharp hinges (Figure 3.80). Their geometry is
controlled by the rotation of sets of layers which
remain planar between the kink planes, whereas
BUCKLING rapid changes of orientation occur along the kink
planes. The limbs of the fold deform by flexural
Ideally, in a fold produced by buckling under lateral
slip. Kinking often produces folds of overall similar
compression of a single layer, the layer maintains
profile, although the individual layers exhibit differ-
its thickness throughout so that a parallel or
ent geometries.
concentric fold is produced (Figure 3.8A). The
deformation produced within the layer is dictated
by extension around the outer arc and compression
in the inner arc, separated by a neutral surface near
the centre of the layer (Figure 10.lA). The geo- 3.9 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAULTS,
metry of natural buckle folds is much more FOLDS AND SHEAR ZONES
complex, however, and is discussed in section 10.2.
At the beginning of this chapter it was pointed
out that whereas faults are the product of rather
BENDING sudden brittle failure, folds were typically formed
by slow continuous changes. However, the two
The most common types of fold produced by processes are not completely separate, as will be
bending are the accommodation structures formed seen when we discuss the physical behaviour of
in thrust and extensional systems, such as hanging- rocks under deformation in Chapter 7. For exam-
wall anticlines and rollovers (see sections 2.6 and ple, under certain conditions, folding may lead to
2.7). In such folds the role of gravity is dominant, fracture as deformation progresses. Conversely,
and the layer is deformed passively by accommo- the process of fault displacement itself may lead to
dating to changes in shape of the surface over folding, as shown by the development of geo-
which it is moving. In practice, of course, the layers metrically necessary folds in the hangingwall of
are also subject to layer-parallel compressive or thrusts and extensional faults (Figures 2.11 and
extensional forces, which trigger other mechanisms 2.13). Moreover, layers of stronger material inter-
such as buckling or kinking. Moreover, the response bedded with weaker material may exhibit frac-
of a layer to passive bending requires an additional turing, while the weaker material shows only
mechanism to produce the change in shape. folding (Figure 3.20).
Rocks become more ductile at deeper levels in
the crust, and a brittle fault at the surface may pass
OTHER MECHANISMS
downwards into a structure where the displacement
Folds produced by buckling, for example, may be between the two fault blocks is taken up by a type
modified by other processes. These will be dis- of ductile structure called a 'shear zone' (see below),
cussed in detail in Chapter 10. Some processes which embodies characteristics of both folds and
involve internal deformation within the folded faults.
38 Folds
deformation. In practice it is very difficult to
distinguish between faults that precede the fold-
ing and those that develop contemporaneously.
Some of the famous slides of the Scottish High-
lands (the Sgurr Beag slide for example) are
actually ductile shear zones developed under meta-
morphic conditions and associated with wide belts

zone of ductile deformation

Figure 3.20 Faults developed during folding, Lady

anticline, Saundersfoot. Pembrokeshire. Note thrusts
developed in competent layers to accommodate to the
tight chevron shape.

SHEAR ZONES
A shear zone is a zone of ductile or brittle--ductile
deformation between two blocks that have moved
relative to each other (Figure 3.21). There are no
discrete fracture planes in an ideally ductile shear
zone, but in practice there is a complete gradation
between a fault zone and a shear zone, with inter-
mediate stages being represented by brittle-ductile
shear zones containing faults (Figure 3.22). The
structure and mode of formation of shear zones are
discussed in more detail in section 10.6.

SUOfS
The term slide was originally used for a fault that
developed during folding. The type examples of B
such structures in the Scottish Highlands are
Figure 3.21 A. Simplified geometry of a shear zone.
low-angle thrusts or extensional faults developed (Note that in most real shear zones, the marker layers
in association with large-scale recumbent folds, would be curved through the zone rather than straight).
and often themselves folded by subsequent B. Shear zone in gneiss, Tshaba River, Zimbabwe.
Further reading 39
region of brittle fault structures of the latter type, where the slide
corresponds either to a shear zone or to one or
more faults within and genetically related to a
shear zone. The term is not widely used outside
the British Isles.

reg ion of ductile shear

FURTHER READING
Fleuty, MJ (1964) The description of folds. Proceedings
of fhe Geological Association, 75 ,461-89.
Hobbs, BE, Means, W.o. and Williams, P.F. (1986)
An Outline of Structural Geology, 2nd edn, Wiley,
New York.
2 3 Price, NJ and Cosgrove, J.W. (1990) Analysis of
Geological Structures, Cambridge University Press.
Figure 3.22 Transition from brittle fault to ductile [See chapter 10.1
shear at depth. Ramsay, J.G. and Huber, M.1. (1987) The Techniques
of Modern Structural Geology, Vol. 2: Folds and
Fractures, Academic Press, New York. [See chapter 2
of intense deformation. Structural geologists for a comprehensive treatment of fold morphology.]
generally now use the term 'slide' to describe See also further reading for Chapter 10.
FOLIATION, LINEATION AND FABRIC 4

Structures found in rocks from the deeper levels of the first set of surfaces may be indeterminate.
of the oust are characteristically different from In many areas there is a foliation parallel to
those formed at higher levels. The difference is due bedding, often termed a bedding foliation. This
mainly to the effect of the increased temperature may arise either as a result of the load pressure of
and pressure in these regions, which increases the overlying strata, or through deformation associated
ductility of the rocks, and to strong compression with folding, in which case the foliation will locally
leading to intense and repeated folding. cut the bedding in fold hinges (see Figure 4.68).
Three important generalizations may be made
concerning the structures at deeper crustal levels.
TYPES OF FOLIATION
1. Folding, rather than faulting, is the typical mode
The nomenclature of the various types of foliation
of deformation.
is rather confusing. This reflects the fact that for
2. Sets of new planar surfaces (cleavage, schis-
many years the origin of such structures as slaty
tosity, etc.) are commonly developed.
cleavage and gneissose banding, for example, was
3. Pervasive recrystallization under compression re-
not fully understood. The term cleavage refers to
sults in the internal rearrangement of the rock
the fissility of a rock. which allows it to be split
texture producing a new 'fabric', or structural
along a set of foliation planes, and embraces struc-
texture,
hires of various origins, formed at low metamorphic
grade. It is replaced at higher grades by 'schistosity'
and 'gneissosity' (see below). The four main types
4.1 FOLIATION
of cleavage are: (1) slaty cleavage, which is the
A foliation is a set of new planar surfaces very pervasive cleavage found in typical roofing
produced in a rock as a result of deformation. Folia- slates, owing to the parallel alignment of elongate
tion is a general term covering several different minerals or grains; (2) fracture cleavage, a set of
kinds of structure produced in different ways. closely spaced fractures; (3) crenulation cleavage,
Examples of common types of foliation are shown a banded structure produced by microfolding; and
in Figure 4.1. (4) solution cleavage, in which differential solu-
'Slaty cleavage', 'schistosity' and 'gneissosity' tion and deposition of the more soluble minerals in
are all examples of foliations. Many rocks exhibit the rock has' produced a compositional banding.
several generations of foliation, which are distin- These cleavage types are end-members between
guished chronologically using the system S1, S2, which continuous variation can occur, and any
S3, etc. Earlier foliations are deformed and cut by particular example of cleavage may incorporate
later foliations, enabling the structural history of the elements of two or more of these end-members.
rocks to be established. The bedding is usually the This may be illustrated by the cleavage tetrahedron
first recognizable planar surface, and may be desig- (Figure 4.2).
nated SS or SO. Sometimes, however, the bedding Foliations may either be penetrative, i.e. per-
is obliterated by deformation and the first visible vasive, affecting all parts of the rock. or they
planar surfaces are tectonic; in other cases the origin may be non-penetrative, i.e. occur at intervals,
42 Foliation, lineation and fabric

Figure 4.1 Examples of rock cleavage. A. Axial-plane cleavage in folded sandstones of the South Stack series,
Rhoscolyn, Anglesey. B. Pressure-solution cleavage in Huronian tillite, Whitefish Falls, Ontario, Canada. Note
concentrations of dark material forming 'pressure shadows' around pebbles. C. Photomicrograph showing the devel-
opment of crenulation cleavage in slate. The cleavage 'planes' correspond to zones of superimposed short limbs of
asymmetric crenulations which are enriched in micas, etc, relative to quartz, thus forming darker layers. (From photo-
graph by w.o. Means (1977) in Atlas of Rock Cleavage (eds BM. Bayly, GJ Borradaile and C.McA. Powell),
University of Tasmania, Hobart) D. Shape fabric foliation produced by the alignment of f1aHened and elongated
pebbles in a deformed conglomerate. Stevenson Lake, Manitoba. (Photograph by I.F. Ermanovics.)
Foliation 43

Slaty pond to the plane of flattening of such defonned

objects, which leads us to conclude that the parallel
orientation of grain aggregates and tabular minerals
is due to intense compression of the rock in a direc-
tion perpendicular to the plane of the cleavage.
This compression has resulted in the rotation of
previously fonned minerals and has also controlled
Fracture
the growth of new minerals, causing them to be
aligned in the direction of the cleavage. Slaty
Crenulation
cleavage appears to fonn only when a suitable rock
Figure 4.2 The cleavage tetrahedron (see text). has been compressed by about 30% of its initial
length.
separated by unaffected rock. Non-penetrative
cleavage is often termed spaced cleavage. FRACTURE CLEAVAGE
Whether or not a foliation is regarded as penetra-
As the name suggests, a fracture cleavage consists
tive depends on the scale of observation; penetra-
of parallel, closely spaced fractures. Fracture cleav-
tive foliation at outcrop or hand-specimen scale
age is usually easy to distinguish from slaty
may appear as discrete planes in thin section.
cleavage because it consists of discrete planes sepa-
Schistosity is a foliation produced by parallel
rated by slabs of uncleaved rock called micro-
alignment of tabular or elongate minerals, such as
lithons. Displacement of the rock across these
micas or hornblende, in rocks that have undergone
planes may often be visible in thin section, showing
more intense metamorphic recrystallization. Gneis-
that the planes are microfaults. This type of
sose banding or gneissosity is another type of
cleavage is fonned under brittle conditions at low
foliation, and is produced by compositional layer-
temperatures and is typical of defonned relatively
ing, similar to bedding but of metamorphic or
strong rocks such as sandstones.
defonnational origin. These various types of foli-
Fracture cleavage may accompany slaty
ation will now be described in more detail.
cleavage, either in the same rock or in adjoining
layers, and in some cases displacements may take
place on previously fonned slaty cleavage planes.
SLATY CLEAVAGE
This has caused some confusion in the past over
This type of cleavage is best shown in fine-grained the origin of slaty cleavage.
rocks such as mudstones that have been deformed Fractures may be compressional in origin (shear
under very low-grade metamorphism. Consequently fractures) or extensional, in which case they will
the nature of the internal changes in the rock that often be filled by quartz or calcite (see Figure 6.12).
have produced this penetrative fissility is not usually Certain examples of extensional fracture cleavage
obvious at outcrop or in hand specimen. Under the are thought to be due to hydraulic fracturing
microscope, however, the nature of the cleavage caused by the pressure of water forced out of sedi-
becomes much clearer. The cleavage planes are then ments by the load effect of the strata above.
seen to be due partly to the parallel orientation of
sheet-like minerals such as muscovite and clays, and
CRENULATION CLEAVAGE
partly to the parallel arrangement of tabular or
lensoid aggregates of particles. Crenulation cleavage is caused, as the name sug-
The origin of this structure becomes clear when gests, by small-scale folding (crenulation) of very
we examine slates containing deformed objects of thin layers or laminations within a rock. If the axial
known initial shape, such as fossils, or reduction surfaces of such crenulations are closely-spaced
spots. The plane of the cleavage is seen to corres- and parallel, they produce a marked foliation
44 Foliation, lineation and fabric

~
A asymmetric axial surface traces
/.
axial surface traces B symmetric

Figure 4.3 Crenulation cleavage. A, asymmetric; B, symmetric. The cleavage is parallel to the axial surface traces
(colour) of the crenulations,

(Figure 4.3). This foliation is often enhanced by generally very finely laminated shales. If the crenu-
selective recrystallization, leading to a concentration lations are on a sufficiently small scale, the resulting
of certain constituents in layers (see Solution cleav- cleavage becomes indistinguishable from other
age, below). Thus micas, for example, may become types of slaty cleavage in hand specimen.
concentrated in one set of limbs of asymmetric
crenulations or in both sets of limbs of symmetric
crenulations, as a result of the migration of quartz SOLUTION CLEAVAGE
or calcite into limbs or hinges (Figure 4.IC). The A new compositional banding can arise through
combination of compositional banding and parallel the migration of certain constituents of a rock
orientation of platy minerals provides planar weak- during deformation, and, for example, often accom-
nesses that can impart a strong fissility to the panies the formation of a crenulation cleavage (see
rock. above). This phenomenon, which is common in
Crenulation cleavage is very commonly asso- low-grade or unmetamorphosed rocks, is caused
ciated with the deformation of rocks that already by the process of pressure solution and the
possess a strong cleavage or schistosity as a result resulting cleavage is termed solution cleavage
of an earlier deformation. The early foliation planes (Figure 4.4A).
provide a well-laminated structure which assists The solution and accompanying deposition
the crenulation process. appear to be part of a diffusion process which takes
Previously undeformed rocks may also possess place by means of a grain-boundary fluid phase
a crenulation cleavage in suitable lithologies - (see section 4.4). Solution occurs on grain or layer

Figure 4.4 Compositional layering produced by deformation. AI' Solution cleavage in synform affecting Devo-
nian slates, Tor Cross, Devon. The light-coloured silt layers are cut by a penetrative cleavage defined by seams
enriched in dark material presumably owing to the solution and redeposition of the light material elsewhere. A 2 .
Close-up of AI' B. Photomicrograph of A showing dark layers where material is thought to have been dissolved.
Bedding is clearly shown dipping steeply to the right (scale bar 2 mm). (A and B from photograph by H.R. Burger
(I977) in Atlas of Rock Cleavage (eds B.M. Bayly, C]. Borradaile and CMeA. Powell), University of Tasmania,
Hobart.) C. Gneissose banding produced by deformation. The three photographs show three stages in the defor-
mation of a coarse-gained leucogabbro from the Archaean of West Greenland. In C I the mafic areas are easily
recognizable although generally elongate and recrystallized. In C 2 the rock has been transformed into a gneiss
with alternating lensoid mafic and felsic components. In C 3 further deformation has resulted in a striped rock
whose origins could not be determined from this outcrop alone. (From Bridgwater, D., Keto, L., McGregor, V.R.
and Myers, l.S. (I976) in Geology of Greenland (eds A. Escher and w.s. Watt), Geological Survey of Greenland,
Copenhagen, figures 48-50.)
46 Foliation, lineation and fabric
A schistosity can be produced directly from a
slaty cleavage merely by a coarsening of the grain-
size, consequent on an increase in temperature.
Crenulation cleavage may also pass into schistosity
as a result of grain-size coarsening. Many schistose
rocks show a combination of mineral alignment
(true schistosity) and a tabular or lensoid arrange-
ment (i.e. a shape alignment), similar to that seen in
many slates, produced by compression but on a
larger scale.

Figure 4.5 Stylolites in Niagaran limestone. (From GNEISSOSITY

Price, N]. and Cosgrove, j,W. (1990) Analysis of
Geological Structures, Cambridge University Press, A parallel banding produced by alternating layers
Cambridge, figure 15.3.) of different composition is an important feature of
many deformed metamorphic rocks, and can arise
in several different ways. We have already dis-
boundaries that are perpendicular to the direction
cussed how the migration of certain constituents
of greatest compression and deposition takes place
during the formation of a crenulation cleavage can
on surfaces that are perpendicular to the direction
produce such a banding. Preferential redistribution
of extension or least compression. In its most
of minerals in a metamorphic rock is termed meta-
common form, this structure consists of alternating
morphic segregation or metamorphic differ-
lighter and darker bands, where the darker bands
entiation and is very important in producing
are produced by the removal by solution of calcite
compositional layering in deformed rocks.
or quartz (Figure 4.4B). The same process is respon-
Compositional layering is a characteristic feature
sible for the formation of stylolites, which are a
of most gneisses and is termed gneissosity or
common feature of limestones (Figure 4.5); these
'gneissose banding'. Gneisses are coarse-grained
structures form usually along bedding surfaces by
metamorphic rocks, typically quartzo-feldspathic in
pressure solution at localized sites on the surface,
composition. The distinction between schists and
resulting in distortion of the originally planar
gneisses is not clear cut, and individual geologists
surface. The new surfaceis typically highly irregular,
have their own preferencesas to where the dividing
and is marked by concentrations of insoluble dark
line should be drawn. Many metamorphic rocks
material.
display both schistosity and gneissosity.
The origin of the compositional layering in
gneisses has occasioned much debate in the past
SCHISTOSITY
and it is now clear that several different processes
With increasing metamorphic grade, slates are are involved. Many gneisses with a layered or
transformed to schists by an increase in the size of lensoid structure (augen gneisses) have clearly
the newly formed metamorphic minerals. In slates, originated as coarse-grained plutonic rocks, often
the aligned planar minerals that produce the slaty rather variable in composition with abundant
cleavage are invisible to the naked eye, whereas in cross-cutting veins. Under intense deformation
schists, the individual tabular crystals of mica, horn- such rocks become layered, partly as a result of
blende, etc. are large enough to be visible in hand the flattening and elongation of large crystals, and
specimen. A foliation marked by the parallel orien- also due to the rotation of veins and other hetero-
tation of such .tabular minerals in a metamorphic geneities into the plane of flattening (Figure
rock with a sufficiently coarse grain size is called a 4.4C). Metamorphic segregation is also important
schistosity. in the production of gneissose banding, either by
Lineation 47

enhancing a defonnational layering or by pro-

ducing a new layering by pressure solution.
Intensely deformed gneisses of sedimentary
origin (paragneisses) and derived from sediments of
mixed composition, e.g. greywackes or arkoses,
are often very difficult to distinguish from those of
igneous origin (orthogneisses). In view of the above,
it is clear that the presence of a compositional band- A
ing cannot be assumed to indicate a sedimentary
origin.

PLANAR SHAPE FABRIC

The structure produced by a set of parallel, dimen-
sionally oriented objects within a deformed rock is rootless intrafolial folds
called a shape fabric, and a planar shape fabric is intrafolial folds
B
a type of foliation. These aligned objects may be
grains, or grain aggregates, such as pebbles, ooliths,
fossils, etc. (see Figure 4.1D). Planar shape fabric is
one of the elements contributing to slaty cleavage.
The subject of fabrics is discussed in more detail in
section 4.4. (divergent fan) (convergent fan)
C o
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOLDS AND Figure 4.6 Relationship between folds and foliation.
FOLIATIONS A. A foliation developed during folding is often
subparallel to the fold axial surface. B. Intense defonna-
The defonnation that is responsible for the forma-
tion may cause thinning and rotation of fold limbs into
tion of a foliation will normally also produce folds in the plane of the foliation, ultimately causing the limb
a suitably layered rock. Since the two structures are to disappear (see text). Types of folds thus formed are
produced by the same compression, they generally intrafolial and rootless intrafolial folds. CD. Foliation
bear a simple geometrical relationship to each other. developed during folding often has a simple fan-shaped
A foliation that corresponds to a plane of flattening arrangement about the axial surface - C divergent
is parallel or sub-parallel to the axial surface of a fan; D, convergent fan.
related fold (Figure 4.6A) or forms a fan-shaped
structure arranged symmetrically about the axial
4.2 LINEAnON
surface (Figure 4.6C, D). Under intense deformation,
tight to isoclinal folds are produced whose limbs A lineation is a set of linear structures produced
may become thinned and modified until they are in a rock as a result of deformation and is therefore
indistinguishable from the foliation, and only the the linear counterpart of a foliation.
fold hinges are clearly definable. Such folds are There are many types of lineation, and one of
termed intrafolial folds (Figure 4.68). Where the the problems facing an inexperienced geologist in
hinges are completely detached from the limbs, the the field is to distinguish significant from insignifi-
folds are called rootless intrafolial folds. cant lineations. Since any two planes intersect in a
The association between folds and foliations line, the more planar surfaces there are in an ex-
conveys valuable information about the conditions posure, the more potential lineations there will be.
of deformation of a rock and is discussed more It is important to identify the nature of the surface(s)
fully in Chapter 10. on which the lineations occur. Common examples
48 Foliation, lineation and fabric
2. axes of parallel crenelations or small-scale folds;

~ 3. dimensional elongation of a set of deformed

objects such as pebbles, ooids, megacrysts, etc,
~ lineation
4. parallel orientation of elongate minerals (mineral
lineations);
lineation '
A B 5. intersections of sets of planes (intersection linea-
tions).
lineation

LINEATIONS INDICATING MOVEMENT

DIRECTION
Fault surfaces showing slickensides (section 2.4)
commonly exhibit grooves or striations indicating
bedding
c D the direction of relative movement (Figure 4.7A). A
similar type of lineation is often found on bedding
surfaces involved in 'flexural slip folding' (see
section 10.1), where successive layers have moved
over one another as the folds tighten (Figure 4.7B).
Such lineations usually make a large angle with
the fold axis. Both these types of lineation lie in a
particular surface and do not permeate the body of
rock in which they are found. They are thus non-
E F
penetrative structures.

CRENULATION AXES
foliation
Rocks that are finely laminated and affected by
lineation intense small-scale folding (crenulation) exhibit a
strongly developed linear structure due to the
abundant parallel fold hinges that permeate the rock
Figure 4.7 Types of lineation. A. Slickenside striation (Figure 4.70. Slaty or schistose rocks frequently
on a fault. B. Striations on a bedding plane caused by exhibit two or more sets of such crenulations and
flexural slip. C. Crenulation lineations. D. Intersection crenelation cleavages, and individual foliation
lineation between bedding and cleavage. E. Mineral surfaces may then contain two intersecting sets of
elongation lineation. F. Mineral intersection lineation. crenulation lineations forming a small-scale inter-
G. Fabric that is partly planar and partly linear.
ference pattern.

of lineation are slickenside striations, crenulation fold

axes, elongate pebbles in a deformed conglomerate, INTERSECTIONS OF PLANES
lines of intersection of bedding and cleavage in slate,
One of the commonest types of lineation is formed
and alignment of the longer dimension of elongate
when two sets of planar structures intersect.
minerals.
Strongly developed lineations are often found at
A convenient subdivision of lineations can be
the intersection of bedding and cleavage (Figure
made as follows:
4.60) or of two foliations - a schistosity and a
1. lineations indicating the direction of movement crenulation cleavage, for example. Such intersection
along a surface (e.g. slickenside striations); lineations are very often parallel to local fold axes
Li>w,li o~ 49

•
Hg~"" 4.8 b .."pJ<. 01 ~"".. >tru<tu..
A. Strong ly dowlop«! .odd"", linrohm in
lnvt5ian .. Ino", >chin from If.e Loch
M.... Croup, c..rloch, nortnW<'>1 Sro\.
land. 11. Mullion , lruo;llJu if' ,.meal
bedding . ~.bc . brlw..... •.... Monr and
<I.. - II'>< ,I.l. h.. btrn mostly ...movtd
by ..o~on _ Nmh EJd. C..",..,y (From
Hobbs, M..... and Willi.."., 19156. llgure
';,9,)
50 Foliation, lineation and fabric
and crenulation lineations that belong to the same face between competent and incompetent layers
episode of defonnation. (sandstone and shale for instance) and results partly
Great care must be taken in the field to deter- from the folding of the interface and partly from
mine the origin of a lineation before it is recorded the effect of bedding-foliation intersection (Figure
and measured, since the structural significance of 4.8B). Other types of rodding or mullion structure
different lineations may be quite different. Many may represent an elongation lineation. and lie
insignificant lineations may be observed at an ex- parallel to the direction of extension; in cases of
posure caused, for example, by the intersection of a boudinage (see section 4.3), the rods or mullions
foliation on a random joint surface, or on the may be perpendicular to the extension direction.
surface of the exposure itself, and these should be Each example should be carefully examined to
ignored. Crenulation lineations and intersection lin- determine its true nature.
eations parallel to the local fold axes were often
called 'b-lineations', and lineations parallel to the
MINERAL ORIENTAnON
movement direction were called 'a-lineations' in the
older literature, but these terms are not recom- Parallel linear orientation of individual minerals is
mended. very common in deformed metamorphic rocks.
Lineations of this type are usually called mineral
lineations (Figure 4.6E). The parallel alignment of
DIMENSIONAL ELONCA nON
the crystals forming the lineation may be due to
An important type of lineation termed an elonga- rotation into a favoured attitude as a result of the
tion lineation is formed by the parallel alignment defonnation. or to the effect of recrystallization
of a set of elongate objects within a rock body as under pressure, when certain crystallographic orien-
a result of defonnation. There is a wide variety of tations are encouraged and others suppressed.
objects that may define such an elongation linea- Minerals that grow preferentially in a particular
tion. Obvious examples are pebbles, ooids and direction under stress are said to show growth
spherulites, but individual grains or grain aggre- anisotropy.
gates, or indeed any kind of heterogeneity within Mineral lineations may be caused by the align-
the rock may acquire an elongate shape as a result ment of crystals with an elongate habit, e.g. horn-
of defonnation and contribute to an elongation blende (Figure 4.7E), but they may also be caused
lineation. In strongly deformed rocks, such a linea- by the alignment of minerals with a platy habit, e.g.
tion may pervade the whole rock and consist of micas, if they are arranged in such a way as to fonn
many different types of oriented feature. an intersection lineation (Figure 4.7F). In the latter
case, they may be arranged randomly in the plane
perpendicular to the lineation.
RODDINC AND MULUON STRUCTURE
Many mineral lineations are associated with foli-
Many highly deformed rocks possess a rodded ations, particularly where the latter are also formed
structure whose origin is not immediately apparent by mineral orientation, or, as is commonly the case,
(e.g. Figure 4.8A B). Rods may be formed by the by a combination of dimensional and crystallo-
hinges of crenulated quartz veins, or may represent graphic planar orientation (Figure 4.7G). In such
extremely elongate pebbles. In rocks that have been cases, the planar and linear elements are both
subjected to very high strains, pebbles that are only aspects of the same three-dimensional geometry
a few centimetres across may measure one or more which reflects the way the rock has been defonned
metres long, in which case the true nature of the (see section 6.3). We may envisage a continuous
lineation may not be apparent at first sight. A progression from a purely linear structure with no
rodded structure with dimensions of tens of centi- planar element, reflecting elongation without flat-
metres across is often termed mullion structure. tening, through a variety of structures produced by
A common type of mullion is formed at the inter- combinations of elongation and flattening, to a
Fabric 51
purely planar structure with no linear element
which reflects purely flattening.

4.3 BOUDINAGE
When relatively strong layers of rock are stretched
and become elongated during deformation. they
may separate into blocks (Figure 4.9C) or form A linear boudinage
lensoid or pillow-shaped structures separated by
narrow 'necks' (Figure 4.9A. D). Such structures are
called boudins (or 'pull-apart' structures) and the
process of elongation that produced them is called
boudinage. Where the separation is incomplete
and the layers show a narrowing or 'necking', the
structures are often termed pinch-and-swell
structures. Boudins may either be linear and form
an elongation lineation (Figure 4.9A) or they may
form a two-dimensional chocolate-tablet struc- B chocolate-tablet boudinage
ture if extension has occurred in both directions
within the plane of the layer (Figure 4.9B).
Boudins characteristically form in relatively thin
layers (usually up to about I m in thickness) that
are stronger and more competent than the en-
closing rock which therefore tends to stretch in a
ductile fashion and flow into the spaces between
the boudins. Many boudins, particularly of the
'pull-apart' type, are separated by veins of quartz or
calcite or, in high-grade metamorphic rocks, pegrna-
Htic material.
Boudins are particularly useful as indicators of
the directions of extension in very intensely de-
formed rocks. The relationship between boudinage
and folding during progressive deformation is c
discussed in section 6.8.

4.4 FABRIC
The fabric of a rock body is the geometrical
arrangement of all the structural elements within

Figure 4.9 Boudinage. A. Linear boudinage. B.

'Chocolate-tablet' boudinage produced by two direc-
tions of extension. C. Boudinage (pinch-and-swell)
structure in quartzite layer. D. Folded boudinage shown
by thin dykes in Precambrian gneisses at Trorney,
southern Norway. D
52 Foliation, lineation and fabric
the body. It can be regarded as the structural y
'texture' of the rock. Only structural elements
observed on a relatively small scale (hand-specimen
or microscopic size) are normally considered as
fabric, not large-scale structures. Thus fabric study
effectively involves structural analysis at grain-size
level.
A fabric is made up of a number of fabric
elements each consisting of a group of geometric
features of the same kind. These elements are
usually either planar or linear. Planar fabric elements
include the small-scale expressions of a foliation, whole fold x y
e.g. the dimensional or crystallographic orientation Figure 4.10 Homogeneous domains (X, Y) in a
of grains and grain aggregates. They also include heterogeneous fabric. Stereograrns show poles to
various kinds of planar discontinuities, such as grain planar fabric over the whole fold and in domains X
boundaries, twin planes and dislocations within andY.
crystals. Fabric elements usually produce a planar or
linear orientation, but it is possible to have 'random'
fabrics, consisting of randomly oriented fabric electron microscope, has shown that deformation
elements. A fabric composed of dimensionally on the submicroscopic scale is very heterogeneous
oriented objects (e.g. grains or grain-aggregates) is and takes place by displacements along a series of
known as a shape fabric. dislocations or discontinuities within grains and on
The fabric of a rock expresses the geometry of grain boundaries. The processes involved in the
the deformation in the same way as foliations and production of the crystal microfabric are discussed
lineations do, and reflects the way in which the in more detail in section 7.10 (see also Hobbs,
rock has accommodated itself to deformation by Means and Williams, 1986).
changes in the shape, pattern and orientation of the There are a number of different types of
grain network. discontinuity at individual crystal scale. In addi-
tion to the grain boundaries, these discontinuities
consist principally of crystal defects, the nature of
HOMOGENEITY OF FABRICS which is controUed by the molecular structure of
the crystal. Planar defects are normally parallel to
The fabric of a rock is said to be homogeneous
one of the crystallographic planes in a crystal
if any two parts, similarly oriented, show identical
and allow displacements to take place within the
structure. The term is usually applied to a particular
crystal. These displacements enable the crystal to
fabric element (a foliation, for example). The scale
change its shape to accommodate the deform-
of observation is important, since the fabric element
ation. Many crystals show planar defects, usually
in question may be homogeneous at hand-specimen
of limited extent, across which there is a very
scale but heterogeneous at thin-section scale.
small displacement of the crystal structure. These
Heterogeneous fabrics can be divided into
defects are called stacking faults and are impor-
homogeneous domains in order to simplify the
tant in the propagation of dislocations that may
analysis (Figure 4.10).
subsequently form more pervasive deformation
planes.
Sub-grain boundaries are planar defects
MICROFABRIC ELEMENTS
within grains; they separate regions of slightly
Detailed study of how deformation affects in- different lattice orientation and are visible as a small
dividual grains, carried out particularly with the change in extinction angle (Figure 4.11A, B). Such
FilfU'~ 4.11 M icI<>fobri< iOl oy.till
SC>~. A DefOhNt"'" band< in n.lu-
rally Monn«! q..... rt .. El. Kin\:.
~ in Nluro ~y <!dorTr-..d
biotite, IloIh II..-.d B hom liN"'"
"""'P tt.. unlrill 11....' _ oc.Ie
marl O ~ min; cro...,J polon. (From
Hobl», M 1986, fig 2J 1)
C FI.tt""e<t g in t..1ur< tir>g
from inlragrIDUiar glidillfl and Iwin_
ning in experim"" lally <!donned
colde. C,. undefonned Unero
~ C" >I>o<t..necl by SO'l'o at
.co °C and I.SI<b.t confin;nS
PC""''' iI W"!. strain ral• . Plane
polin, (Photog~ by E,H, Rull'"
ond N.D. Show (19 m in "'11., .f
R.,.CI,.""g, (ed. ElM. llayly, G.)
Bo",ad>.ik and C. MeII. Powell!.
Uruveni ty of 1 asmoni.. Hobart.)

boundar;rs cau" 1M well_known phono""""", d t'U R T H ER READING

un dul OM' ntinction in <fl3Itz. Hobb., B E. Mean~ w .o, ..-.d w,[~ PJ , (J9861
tn fo rm ~l i on bilfid. Me narrow pI.mar 7-""'-" A>I (lull,., of 51""1,,,. 1 &oIogy. lnd ..n
Witty,
containing material thai 1m delumoed di(f..,.tnlly 1->... Vorl< IConloirn in exceUer.l ..mOIl on rniffi>.
from 1M ad;oining pam d It... crystal either by a f.btico- I
<mall ~e in lattice orien l.onon or by 0 more Tum<r, H and W..... L.E. (J 96.l ) 5I' '''''. '. I ...... ly ~·,
gf M,I.""",p.i, 1,,1""'- 10, McC...w-HiU. N...
rornplic.lt'd smes of cNng", D nonnat ion Yorl<. [l1uo " still lhe mosl oomprehe.wve de",np .
I~mell ,"" ;ore ~ <p<rioI type d M orrnabon b.or>:l
Ii.e w",l o n ItdorOc f"'rico, the g<Donelricoi
thai f'D"i<'5" a Worm sInJcture bui exhibil a differ· ....IY". o f olruclu and lhe u" of st",eo graplvc
enl refractive index from the host crysI:aL Another pcOj<cboo on .INdu l g<ology.]
type of d<1'ormation b.nd io eau<ed by deforma_
ti on tw inn ing (FigIfi UIBt which io common The fo tlow.. g .hmOd only be ..ad ilier Chapter>
in many cryslals, tspOO.aIIy calcite. This sIIuct\.o"e io S-lO of lhi, book ho..... been lackled·
1""00"""" by a slight relation of lhe l7}"lal lalti",. C<ngrOYe, jW. (1970) The fOmlilOOn of mnutatioo

.....
in a homog'-""'OUS 1TWIh<.T, bctw..", the twin <IN . Oge, 10.,••1of Ih, G,olog".1 5o<i,ly of LmJo•.
In ISS-7~
54 Foliation, lineation and fabric
Gray, D.R. and Durney, DW. (1979) Crenulation context of a general treatment of extensional
cleavage differentiation: implications of solution- structures.]
deposition processes. Journal of Structural Geology, Price, J.N. and Hancock. P.L. (1972) Development of
1,73-80. fracture cleavage and kindred structures. Proceedings
Platt, J.P. and Vissers, R.L.M. (1980) Extensional struc- of the 24th International Geological Congress,
tures in anisotropic rocks. Journal of Structural Section 3, pp. 584-92. [Discusses the hydraulic frac-
Geology, 2, 397-410. [Discusses boudinage in the turing mechanism.]
STRESS 5

In the following six chapters, 5-10, structures are forces are due to gravity and to the relative move-
discussed and explained in terms of the processes ments of large rock masses in the crust and upper
that governed their formation (i.e, processes of mantle. Since gravitational force is proportional to
deformation). To do this, we need to start with a mass, the weight of an overlying column of rock
theoretical treatment of deformation in terms of the constitutes a very significant force on rocks at
causal forces or pressures that act on a rock body, depth in the crust.
and of the geometrical changes resulting from The forces acting on a portion of rock produce
these. The behaviour of materials in response to a set of 'stresses' (see below), and the amount of
deformation is then discussed, together with the deformation caused by these stresses is measured
various physical controls, such as temperature and by the change in dimensions of the body. This
confining pressure, that influence this response. We change may consist of a change in shape, or
shall also examine methods of quantitative deter- volume, or both shape and volume (Figure 5.1) and
mination of deformation in rocks. Having discussed constitutes the 'strain' (see Chapter 6).
the more theoretical aspects of deformation we
shall then be in a position to deal with the deforma-
5.1 FORCE AND STRESS
tion mechanisms involved in faulting, folding and
the emplacement of igneous intrusions. In order to understand the concept of stress, we
The deformation of a material is the process must first define 'force': a force is the product of a
whereby physical changes are produced in the mass and its acceleration. Force is a vector quantity,
material as a result of the action of applied forces. and thus possesses both amount and direction; it
The forces that act on the rocks of the Earth's crust can be represented by a line whose length specifies
arise in various ways. The most important of these the amount and whose orientation specifies the
orientation of the force. The sense of direction may
be indicated by an arrow (see Figure 5.2).

(p1;""'~ I RESOLUTION OF FORCES

-~ Figure 5.2A shows how a force F may be resolved

into two components F1 and F2 at right angles
and conversely (Figure 5.2B), how any two forces

l~m
F1 and F2 may be represented by their resultant F.
shape change
By extending this principle, it is clear that any

UJ shape and
system of forces acting at a point can be repre-
sented by a single resultant force.
volume change I h
vo ume c ange
DEFINITION OF STRESS
Figure 5.1 Effects of stress on a cube: a change in
shape and/or volume. In rock deformation, we usually neglect any overall
56 Stress

F1 L?7 F2
1 bar = ro' pascals =
The dimensions of stress are thus
(length - I) x (time - 2).
0.1 MPa.

(mass) x

Figure 5.2 Resolution of forces. A. Force F resolved 5.2 NORMAL STRESS AND SHEAR STRESS
into two components FI and F2. B. Two forces FI and A force F acting on a body can be resolved into
F2 represented by resultant F (see text).
a normal stress acting perpendicular to a surface
within the body and a shear stress acting parallel
acceleration of a body and treat the system of to the surface (Figure 5.3A). Normal stresses are
forces as closed. i.e. opposing forces cancel out. conventionally given the symbol (J (sigma) and
This situation is governed by Newton's third law shear stresses. (tau). In three dimensions, it can be
of motion. which states: 'For a body at rest or in seen that r can be resolved into two further
uniform motion. to every action there is an equal components • 1 and '2 at right angles to each other.
and opposite reaction'. Thus we have converted the force F into three
We can now define stress: a stress is a pair of mutually perpendicular stresses (Figure 5.3B). Note
equal and opposite forces acting on unit area of a that stresses cannot be resolved in the same way as
body. Thus a stress results from a force acting on a forces - they have to be converted into forces by
surface (either real or imaginary) surrounding or multiplying them by the area over which they act.
within a body, and comprises both the force and
the reaction of the material on the other side of the
APPLICATIONS TO GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES
surface. The magnitude of the stress depends on
the magnitude of the force and on the surface area The application of normal and shear stresses can
over which it acts. Thus: be illustrated with reference to two simple geo-
logical examples: the stress at a fault plane (Figure
Stress = Force/Area.
5.4A) and the stress at a bedding plane undergoing
The force of gravity can give rise to a stress which flexural slip folding (Figure 5.4B), both resulting
is measured by calculating its effect across a surface. from opposed compressive forces F. Clearly the
Gravity makes an important contribution to the sense of fault displacement and bedding-plane slip
stress field governing the formation of folds and can be predicted if the direction of the force is
faults. known. and vice versa.

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
The standard 51 unit of force is the newton (N), F
which is defined as:

1 newton = 1 kilogram metre per second squared

(I kg m s"). A B

The 51 unit for both pressure and stress is the Figure 5.3 A. Normal stress a perpendicular to the
pascal (Pa), which is defined as: plane and shear stress r parallel to the plane produced
by opposed forces F acting on a plane (in two dimen-
1 pascal = 1 newton per square metre (1 N m - 2). sions). B. In three dimensions, the shear stress r can be
further resolved into r I and r 2 at right angles, giving
A more commonly used unit is the bar or the three stresses, all mutually at right angles, resulting
kilobar, where: from the forces F.
Principal stresses and the stress axial cross 57

Because the forces are equal and opposite, the

stresses on opposite faces are identical. The nine
components are:

,, a. L>y Ln
A ay L y• Lyz
az Lu Lzy

Since the definition of stress precludes any contri-

bution from an overall rotation of the cube, oppos-
ing shear stresses about the axes x, y and z must
balance - otherwise the cube would rotate about
B
these axes. Thus:
Figure 5.4 Normal and shear stresses at a fault plane
(A) and a bedding plane during flexural slip folding (8)
produced by resolving opposed compressive forces F. leaving six independent stress components, three
normal stresses, o; ay , a, and three shear stresses,
L>y' Lyz • Lu • Therefore, for an arbitrarily chosen set
5.3 STRESS AT A 'POINT' - THE STRESS
of orthogonal axes x, y and z, six independent
COMPONENTS
quantities are necessary to specify completely the
In order to consider the state of stress at a point state of stress at a point.
in three-dimensional space, we must imagine the
effect of a system of forces on an infinitesimal
(vanishingly small) cube (Figure 5.5). The system of 5.4 PRINCIPAL STRESSES AND THE STRESS
forces can be resolved into a single force F which AXIAL CROSS
acts at the centre of the cube. Since the cube is very Rather than use arbitrary axes x, y and z, it is con-
small, we can consider the forces acting on each venient to choose new axes a, b and c such that
face of the cube to be equal to F. If we make the the shear stresses are zero. That is:
edges of the cube parallel to orthogonal axes x, y
and z, the components of stress acting on the cube Lab = L", = L", = 0
are as shown in Figure 5.5. There are nine stress
components, three on each face (Figure 5.3B). The three mutually perpendicular planes on which
the shear stress is zero are called principal stress
planes, and the normal stresses across them are
called the principal stress axes. These are given
z
F the conventional notation a., a z and a, (where
a, > a z > a J ) or greatest, intermediate and least
principal stresses, respectively. A state of stress is
specified completely by giving both the direction
y and the size of each of the three principal stresses.

"'---1----------'---- x THE STRESS AXIAL CROSS

F The three mutually perpendicular stress axes are
Figure 5.5 Stress components for an infinitesimal often termed the stress axial cross in which the
cube acted on by opposed compressive forces F (see lengths of the axes may be drawn proportional to
text). the magnitudes of the principal stresses (Figure 5.6).
58 Stress
and

Since

cos' 8 = i (1 + cos 28)

and

Figure 5.6 The stress axial cross (principal stress axes sin 2 8 = HI - cos 28)
(11 > (12 > (13; see text).
we can rewrite these equations as follows:

5.5 STRESSES ACTING ON A GIVEN PLANE (1 = H(11 + (12) + H(11 - (12) cos 28 (5.3)
If the principal stresses are known. the stresses and
acting on any plane with known orientation can be
calculated. The problem is easier to visualize in
two dimensions.
Consider the stresses acting on a plane AB
whose normal makes an angle 8 (theta) with (11 in MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESS
a two-dimensional stress field with principal stresses
(11 and (12 (Figure 5.7). Since we cannot resolve
The value of r in the last equation is a maximum
stresses (11 and (12 we must convert these stresses when 28 = 90° and sin 28 = 1. Thus the planes
to forces. Let the line AB represent unit length (one of maximum shear stress make an angle of 45° with
(11 and (12 regardless of the values of (11 and (12.
side of a square of unit area in three dimensions).
Then OA = sin 8 and OB = cos 8. The forces In these positions,
acting along OA and OB are thus (11 cos 8 and (5.5)
(12 sin 8 respectively (from force = stress x area).

Resolving these forces perpendicular and parallel to

the plane AB, the normal stress (1 and shear stress
r are as follows: STRESS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

The geometry in three dimensions can be derived

(5.1) from the above by considering a plane of unit area
making angles of 81 , 82 and 83 with the three prin-
cipal stress axes (11' (12 and (13. The normal stress
on this plane is:
B
(1 = (11 COS
2
8 1 + (12 COS
2
82 + (13 COS
2
83 (5.6)
and the shear stress is given by:

r2 = «(11 - (12)2 COS

2
81 cos' 82
+ «(12 - (1J2 cos' 82 cos' 83

+ «(13 -
2
(11)2 COS 83 cos' 81 (5.7)

Figure 5.7 Normal and shear stresses on a plane The reader should refer to a more advanced text-
inclined to the principal stress axes (in two dimensions). book (e.g. Ramsay, 1967) for the derivations of the
See text for explanation. last equations.
Hydrostatic and deviatoric stresses 59

Figure 5.8 Planes of maximum shear stress (colour) /1,

make angles of 45 0 with the principal stress axes. There

are three sets of planes intersecting in (11' (12 and (1 J' Figure 5.9 Shear stress on a plane inclined at angles
OJ' O2 and OJ to the principal stress axes. The shear
direction is oblique to all three axes and makesan angle
PLANES OF MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESS (X with the strike of the plane.

From equation 5.7, it can be shown that there are

three sets of planes of maximwn shear stress,
each plane making an angle of 45° with one pair
of principal stresses and intersecting the third stress P, which represents the hydrostatic stress
(Figure 5.8). component of the stress field. Thus:

(5.8)
DIRECTION OF MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESS IN A
PLANE
If a plane makes an angle with all three principal The remaining part of the stress system is referred
stress axes (Figure 5.9), the direction of maximwn to as the deviatoric stress component, which
shear stress in the plane will depend on the relative consists of three deviatoric stresses 0'1 - P,
0'2 - P and O'J - P. These deviatoric stresses
magnitudes of 0'1' 0'2 and 0'3' and on the angles
that the plane makes with the three stress axes (see measure the departure of the stress system from
Ramsay, 1967, for further details). symmetry and control the extent of shape change
or distortion in a body, whereas the hydrostatic
stress component controls the change in volwne
(Figure 5.10).
5.6 HYDROSTATIC AND DEVIATORIC
In rocks at depth, stresses that are hydrostatic
STRESSES
and due solely to the weight of overlying rock
Where the principal stresses are equal, the state of are termed Iithostatic. The vertical component
stress is said to be hydrostatic, i.e. it corresponds of lithostatic stress has the value pgz, where p
to the stress state of a fluid. It may be seen from is the density of the overlying rock. g the value
equation (5.5) that the shear stress r is zero in this of gravity and z the depth. Note that the litho-
situation. Hydrostatic stress will cause volwne static stress (or pressure) will not in general
changes but not shape changes in a material. correspond to the mean stress, P, since P
In a system with unequal principal stresses 0'1' depends also on the values of the horizontal
0'2 and 0'3' it is convenient to recognize a mean stresses.
60 Stress
p ",-p and 0"2 are shown in Figure S.Il. Individual trajec-
tories may be curved or bent, but obviously the
principal stresses must remain at right angles to
p each other at each point in the curves. Examples of
the use of stress trajectories in analysing fault and
dyke patterns are given in subsequent chapters
(Figures 9.10 and 11.7).
p ",-p
A B

Figure 5.10 Effects of hydrostatic and deviatoric

stresses (shown in two dimensions). A. Hydrostatic COMBINATION OF STRESS FIELDS
stress P causes a volume change. B. Deviatoric stresses
(11 - P and (1 J - P cause a shape change. Two or more stress fields of different origin may
be superimposed to give a combined stress field. An
example of such a combined field is shown in Figure
5.7 STRESS FIELDS AND STRESS
9.10. Stresses at any point may be combined by
TRAJECTORIES
calculating each set of stresses in the form of stress
Until now we have been considering stress at a components with reference to the same set of axes
'point', but normally stresses will vary throughout x, y and z. The combined stress system is found
a rock body, fonning what is known as a stress by adding the components, e.g. 0", = 0"'1 + 0"'2'
field. Stress variation can be portrayed and L,y = L Z1Y1 + L z2y, ' etc. The new principal stresses
analysed using stress trajectories, which are lines may then be found by calculating positions for
showing continuous variation in principal stress which L = O. The method for calculating the prin-
orientation from one point to another through a cipal stress axes given six stress components is
body. Two-dimensional stress trajectories of 0"1' given by Ramsay (I967, pp. 31-4).

----+ r--.--- ----r- - r--- -,--- ----r- - ,--- --.- - - .- - -----,

applied stress

Figure 5 .11 Stress trajectories. The diagram shows theoretical stress trajectories (colour) in a rectangular block
of crust subjected to a variable horizontal stress (1H applied to the sides of the block and a uniform vertical gravita-
tional stress (1v . The intermediate principal stress (1z is perpendicular to the plane of the diagram. The stress axial
cross at any point A can be found by interpolation. (After Hafner, W. (1951) Bulletin of the Geological Society
of America, 62, 373-98.
Further reading 61

dilation B inhomogeneous strain

(volume change)
Figure 6.2 Homogeneous (A) and inhomogeneous

n
U distortion
(shape change)
(8) strain (see text).

The difference between homogeneous and in-

homogeneous strain can be illustrated simply by
the folded layer of Figure 6.3. Taken as a whole,
the fold exhibits inhomogeneous strain. However,
the straight limbs of the fold taken separately ex-
hibit homogeneous strain. This is an example of a
total strain very useful principle in strain analysis, which is that
complex inhomogeneous strains are most con-
Figure 6.1 The nature of strain: dilation, distortion veniently studied by breaking them down into
and rotation.
smaller homogeneous domains (cf. the study of
fabric in section 4.4, and Figure 4.10).
HOMOGENEOUS AND INHOMOGENEOUS
STRAIN 6.2 MEASUREMENT OF STRAIN
If the amount of strain in all parts of a body is Strain may be measured in two ways: either by a
equal, the strain is said to be homogeneous change in length of a line (linear strain, or exten-
(Figure 6.2A). The criteria for homogeneous strain sion) or by a change in the angle between two
are that straight lines remain straight and that paral- lines (angular strain, or shear strain) (Figure 6.4).
64 Strain
Alternatively, the change in length of a line
may be given by the stretch, which is defined as
the ratio of the new length to the old length.
Thus:
() = 1/10 = (1 + e) (6.2)
For many purposes this measure of strain is
more convenient. In the study of large crustal
deformations, the term stretch is replaced by the
{3-factor.
2. Shear strain

y (gamma) = tan l/J (psi) (6.3)

Figure 6.3 Domains of homogeneous (H) and in-

where l/J is the deflection of an originally right
homogeneous (I) strain in a folded layer (see text). angle.
e, () and y are all dimensionless quantities meas-
uring the strain in a particular direction.
Any strain geometry can be measured as a com-
bination of these changes. They are defined as
follows.
STRAIN IN TWO DIMENSIONS
1. Extension
Consider a circle of unit radius deformed into an
(6.1)
ellipse with major axis ()I and minor axis ()z (Figure
where 10 is the original length and I the new length 6.4C). This ellipse is known as the strain ellipse.
of a line. Note that a positive value of e is an The point P (r, y) on the unit circle is transferred to
elongation, whereas a negative value of e is a p' (XI' YI) on the ellipse. If (X is the angle made by
shortening. OP and the x-axis before deformation, and (X' the

A extension
y
e = (1-/o}!lo
[]7 B shear strain .,' = tan ljJ

_+- ~---,-p_x --t-------"'--F----'-- --+-""--x

y
C the strain ellipse

Figure 6.4 Extension, shear strain and the strain ellipse. A. Extension e = (1- 1 0)/10 , B. Shear slTain
=
y tan t/J. C. The strain ellipse (see text for explanation).
Pure shear and simple shear (distortion and rotation) 65

angle after deformation, then, since XI = xO I and 6.3 PRINCIPAL STRAIN AXES AND THE
YI = y02' STRAIN ELLIPSOID
I YI y02 O2 An alternative and more useful way to describe
tan z = - = - = tan 0( - (6.4)
XI xO I 01 the strain is to select three mutually perpendicular
axes X, Y and z such that they are parallel respec-
and therefore, tively to the directions of greatest, intermediate and
tan O('ltan 0( = 02/0 1 (6.5) least elongation of the strained body. These axes
x, Y and z are known as the principal strain
The length of the line OP is changed by an amount axes. They may be conveniently regarded as the
0, such that axes of an ellipsoid, the strain ellipsoid, which is
02 = XI2 + YI2 = 02I cos + 02.
2
2 SIn
0(
2
0( (6.6) the shape taken up by a deformed sphere of unit
radius (Figure 6.6). The maximum, intermediate and

STRAIN IN THREE DIMENSIONS °

minimum axes, X, Y and Z, of this ellipsoid repre-
sent respectively the stretches 1, O2 and 03 along
X, Y and z, and are known as the principal
The strain of a body can be measured in three
strains. To complete the description of the geo-
dimensions with reference to three arbitrarily
metry of the strain, the orientations of X, Y and Z
chosen coordinate axes a, b and c in the same way
with respect to reference axes a, b and c have to
as for stress (see section 5.4). By taking an infini-
be given in addition.
tesimal cube with sides parallel to a, b and c, we
can describe the strain 'at a point' with reference to
the change in shape of the cube, which becomes a
c
parallelepiped (Figure 6.5). The infinitesimal strain
can thus be measured by a set of extensions and
deflections with reference to axes a, b and c
necessary to transform the cube into the strain
parallelepiped.

c
x C

Figure 6.6 The strain ellipsoid: principal strain axes

x, y and z (see text for explanation).

b
6.4 PURE SHEAR AND SIMPLE SHEAR
(DISTORTION AND ROTATION)
a
If the orientations of the principal strains X, Y
Figure 6.5 Strain in three dimensions: deformation and Z have not changed during the deformation,
of a cube with sides parallel to orthogonal axes a, b the strain is non-rotational, and is described as
and c (see text for explanation).
coaxial. Such a strain is generally known as pure
shear (Figure 6.7A). Where a change in orientation
Alternatively, the strained body could be de- has occurred, the strain is described as rotational,
scribed by reference to a set of displacement or non-coaxial, and this process is known as
vectors by which the eight comers of the cube simple shear (Figure 6.7B). The difference is more
were displaced to a set of new positions. easily portrayed in two dimensions.
66 Strain
(T3 X
X

~z
1 X

(T' ~D~ ~
[Hz ------4

ITl
~

i A pure shear
r

l?1 ~jgj ~
----'"

D .---
~

B simple shear

Figure 6.7 Pure shear and simple shear. In the process of pure shear (A), which involves coaxial or non-
rotational strain, the orientations of the principal strains X and Z do not change during progressive deformation.
In simple shear (B), which involves rotational strain, principal strains X and Z rotate in a clockwise manner during
progressive deformation.

A strain may thus be described in terms of a 2. AXIALLY SYMMETRIC SHORTENING

distortional component, which measures the ellip- (X =y > Z) (Figure 6.8B)
soid shape, plus a rotational component, which
This is a flattening type of strain which involves
measures the rotation of the principal strain axes
uniform shortening in the Z direction and equal
from their original attitudes in the unstrained state.
extension in all directions at right angles to it. The
deformed shape corresponds to an oblate type of
strain ellipsoid, i.e, like a pancake.

6.5 SPECIAL TYPES OF HOMOGENEOUS

3. PLANE STRAlN (X > Y = 1 > Z) (Figure 6.8C)
STRAIN
It is convenient to recognize three special cases of This type of strain is distinguished by the inter-
homogeneous strain which can be distinguished by mediate principal strain axis remaining unchanged
particular ratios of the principal strains X, Y and (i.e. Y has unit length). X is extended and Z is
Z. In the general case, the three are unequal and shortened. Thus plane strain is a special type of
X > Y > Z. The special cases, shown in Figure triaxial ellipsoid.
6.8, are as follows.
6.6 VOLUME CHANGE DURING
DEFORMAnON
Changes in volume commonly accompany shape
1. AXIALLY SYMMETRIC EXTENSION changes during deformation, and if these are not
=
(X > Y Z) (Figure 6.8A) recognized they can cause misleading estimates of
This is a constrictional type of strain which in- the principal strain ratios. The volume change,
volves uniform extension in the X direction and termed the dilation, L\ (delta), is given by:
equal shortening in all directions at right angles to
L\ = (V - Vo)/V o (6.7)
it. The deformed shape corresponds to a prolate
type of strain ellipsoid, i.e. like a rugby ball or where V and Vo are the volumes in the deformed
cigar. and undeformed states respectively.
Graphical representation of homogeneous strain 67

or as
1+A = Ox x Oy X 0: (6 .9)
where 0 is the stretch.

6.7 GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF

HOMOGENEOUS STRAIN
y
A convenient way of expressing the various strain
states is to use the Flinn diagram (Flinn. 1962). In
this diagram (Figure 6.9A), the ratios of the prin-
A
cipal strains are taken. such that
a = X/Y = Ox/Oy (6.10)
and
b = Y/Z = OJO: (6.11)
and a is plotted against b.

y
k = x constrictional k =1
strain
B ~~
~
<6"
'1>~ A
II ~
'll flatten ing
strain

uniaxial ob late
b = O,.jO,

c
a 2 B

Figure 6.8 Special types of homogeneous strain. A. flattening

Axially symmetric extension (X > Y = Z). This is a
strain
prolate uniaxial ellipsoid. B. Axially symmetric shorten-
ing (X = y > Z). This is an oblate uniaxial ellipsoid. 2 3
C. Plane strain (X > Y = 1 > Z). This is a triaxial ellip- b
soid, in which the intermediate axis is unchanged.
Figure 6.9 Graphical representation of strain ellip-
soids : the Flinn diagram. A. Different ellipsoids are
described using the value k = (a - 1)/(b - 1) (see
Since the volume of the strain ellipsoid derived text for explanation), B. If the volume is not constant,
from a unit sphere of volume 171: is 1(X X Y X Z), the line a = b(I + L\) divides the field of constricHonal
the dilation is given by: strain from the field of flattening strain. The diagram
shows the effect of a 20% volume reduction. (A and B
A = (X X Y X Z) - 1 (6.8) after Plinn, 1962, and Ramsay and Huber, 1983.)
68 Strain
The different shapes of ellipsoids are distin- strain is not necessarily a reliable guide to the
guished using the value k, such that various intermediate states of strain. Even quite
simple cases of progressive strain display marked
k = (a - l)/(b - 1) (6.12)
changes in strain pattern with time.
The various strain states can be described as
follows:
Axially symmetric extension: k = 00
Constridional strain (prolate ellipsoids): 1 < k < 00 finite strain
Plane strain (at constant volume): k = 1 unstrained
Flattening strain (oblate ellipsoids): 0 < k < 1
Axially symmetric flattening: k = 0 Figure 6.10 Progressive deformation, The finite strain
is achieved by adding successive strain increments to
In this way the shape of an ellipsoid can be de- the initial unstrained shape.
saibed using only the value of parameter k, and
constrictional and flattening strains can immediately At any given instant during progressive deform-
be distinguished by whether k is greater or less ation, it is theoretically possible to distinguish the
than 1. finite strain (total strain up to that time) from the
Figure 6.9A is constructed assuming a constant infinitesimal strain at that point in time. In two
volume, since the line k = 1 will pass through the dimensions, the finite strain ellipse (Figure 6.11A)
origin only when the volwne change L\ = o. can be divided into sectors of elongation and con-
When L\ =j:. 0, equation (6.12) reduces to traction separated by lines of no finite longitudinal
strain (i.e. zero extension). Suitably oriented layers
1 + L\ = e. x e z will exhibit boudinage in elongation sectors and
= alb (6.13) folding in contraction sectors. The infinitesimal strain
ellipse (Figure 6.11B)at that instant will show sectors
e
since y = 1 for k = 1 ellipsoid. whose lines are currently elongating or contracting.
Therefore By superimposing the two ellipses, we can dis-
a = b(l + 1\) (6.14) tinguish four zones:

Thus for a volwne change of L\, the line zone 1: continued elongation (boudins),
a = b(1 + L\) represents plane strain and divides
zone 2: contraction followed by elongation (un-
the constrictional from the flattening fields (Figure folded or boudinaged folds);
6.9B). zone 3: elongation followed by contraction (folded
boudins),
zone 4: continued contraction (folds).
6.8 PROGRESSIVE DEFORMAnON AND
The distribution of these zones or sectors will
FINITE STRAIN
depend on the strain history and, in particular, on
The strained body at the time of measurement whether the strain is coaxial (i.e. pure shear - Figure
represents the total strain acquired by the body up 6.110 or rotational (i.e. Simple shear - Figure
to that time, and is produced by adding a series of 6.110). Observations of the orientations of folded
strain increments as the body takes up a succession and boudinaged layers are therefore of great value
of different shapes and positions in response to in investigating progressive deformation.
the applied stress (Figure 6.10). This process, from
initial to final position, is termed progressive
GROWfH FIBRE ANALYSIS
deformation, and the final strain at the time of
measurement is termed the finite strain. It is Another very useful method of investigating the
important to recognize that the nature of the finite strain history is to analyse the orientation of quartz
Relationship between stress and strain 69
contracting in direction are recorded in this way . The process
of periodic opening of cracks and filling with vein
material is known as the crack-seal mechanism
and is described in detail by Ramsay and Huber
(1983).

6.9 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND

A B
STRAIN
Since a strain results from the action of a stress,
there must always be a direct geometrical relation-
ship between the two. However, since the geo-
metry of both stress and strain fields changes with
3

c o
Figure 6.11 Changing fields of elongation and
contraction during progressive deformation (in two
dimensions). A. The finite strain ellipse. Fields of elon-
gated lines (boudinage) and contracted lines (folds) are
separated by lines of zero extension which retain their
original length ( = radius of undeformed circle). B. The
infinitesimal strain ellipse. Fields that at any instant
during progressive deformation are contracting or
elongating . C. Superimposition of ellipses A and B for
pure shear will produce three zones: 1. continued elon-
gation; 2, contraction followed by elongation; and 3,
continued contraction . D. Superimposition of ellipses
A and B for simple shear will produce an asymmetric
arrangement of four zones: 1. continued elongation;
2, contraction followed by elongation; 3, elongation
followed by contraction; and 4, continued contrac-
tion. (After Ramsay, 1967, figures 3.56 and 3.62.)

or calcite growth fibres commonly found in

extensional cracks or veins. These growth fibres are
crystals oriented parallel to the direction in which
Figure 6 .12 Growth fibres in an extensional crack.
the walls of the crack have opened and thus mark The crystals are aligned in the extension direction.
the direction of extension in the rock (Figure 6.12). Quartz-calcite vein in siliceous limestone. Gemmipass,
Changes in fibre orientation mark changes in the Switzerland. (From Ramsay and Huber, 1987, figure
extension direction. Often quite complex changes 13.7.
70 Strain

time, the relationship may not be a simple one. 2, 3 and 4 of A are respectively identical with those
We can illustrate this principle with reference to the of B although they have been produced differently.
two cases of homogeneous strain shown in Figure Thus the position of the stress axes can only be
6.7 - pure shear and simple shear. reconstructed by reference to the strain history of
In the case of pure shear (Figure 6.7A), the orien- the deformed body.
tation of the principal finite strain axes and the Examples of how the stress field may be recon-
principal stress axes correspond, with X II (J3' structed from fault displacement data are discussed
Y II (J 2 and Z II (J 1; that is, the direction of greatest in section 9.2.
extension corresponds to the direction of minimum
stress (which in many cases would be negative, or
tensional) and the direction of least extension or FURTHER READING
greatest shortening corresponds to the direction of
Flinn, D. (1962) On folding during three-dimensional
maximum stress.
progressive deformation. Quarterly Journal of the
However, in the Simple shear case (Figure 6.7B), Geological Society of London, 118, 385-433.
only the intermediate stress and strain axes corre- Means, W.o. (1976) Stress and Strain, Springer-Verlag,
spond (since it is plane strain), and the X and Z New York.
axes rotate progressively clockwise with increasing Ramsay, J.G. (1967) Folding and Fracturing of Rocks,
strain away from their initial position; they will McGraw-HilI, New York.
not in general correspond with the orientations of Ramsay, J.G. and Huber, M.I. (1983) The Techniques
of Modern Structural Geology, Vol. 1: Strain
the (J 1 and (J 3 stress axes.
Analysis, Academic Press, New York.
Since only the strain axes are observed in natural Skiernaa, L. (1980) Rotation and deformation of
deformation, the position of the stress axes cannot randomly oriented planar and linear structures in
immediately be deduced. It can be seen from Figure progressive simple shear. Journal of Structural
6.7 that the magnitudes of the strain axes at stages Geology, 2, 101-9.
STRESS AND STRAIN IN MATERIALS 7

The way in which individual minerals respond to directly proportional to the stress, i.e. stress and
stress varies widely, depending on the physical strain have a linear relationship (Figure 7.1A). Rocks
conditions under which the deformation takes exhibit perfectly elasticbehaviour only under certain
place, and also on the compositional and mechani- restricted conditions.
cal properties of the material. Before considering
the behaviour of rocks under stress, we shall discuss
VISCOUS STRAIN
various 'ideal' types of response.
In ideal viscous strain, there is no recovery after
removal of the deforming stress, i.e, all the move-
7.1 IDEAL ELASTIC AND VISCOUS STRAIN
ment is permanent. Ideal viscous or 'Newtonian'
behaviour is exhibited by the flow of fluids and is
ELASTIC STRAIN
governed by the equation
In ideal elastic strain, the removal of the de-
forming stress causes an immediate return of the
a = "Ie (7.3)
body to its original unstrained shape. This type
of strain is therefore temporary, and recoverable,
and can be demonstrated by the compression and
release of a spring. It corresponds to the type
of strain associated, for example, with the propa-
gation of seismic waves through the Earth, or
with the passage of sound waves through any
medium. strain, e strain-rate, e
The behaviour of perfectly elastic bodies is A B
governed by Hooke's law, which states that
e = a l]: (7.1) viscous
where e is the extensional strain, a the applied
'"c "- '" viscous
.~
:j ~ ---- \ yield stress
~ a,
stress and E a constant known as Young's '" - elastic <;; - elastic
modulus or the elasticity of the material. Thus
stress/strain is a constant. time. t strain. e
Also c D

ev = PIK (7.2) Figure 7.1 Deformation of material: types of ideal

strain. A. Ideal elastic strain: (J ex e. B. Ideal viscous
where ev is the dilational strain = (V - Vo)IV o,
strain: (J ex e. c. Ideal elastoviscous strain at constant
where V is the new volume, Vo the original stress - an instantaneous elastic strain is followed by
volume, P the hydrostatic pressure, and K a viscous strain for a stress of longer duration. D. Ideal
constant termed the compressibility. Thus for plastic strain - elastic strain at low values of stress is
elastic shape and volume changes, the strain is replaced by viscous strain above the yield stress.
72 Stress and strain in materials
where 11 (eta) is a constant termed the viscosity PLASTIC BEHAVIOUR
of the material and e is the strain rate (rate of
A plastic material is one that behaves elastically
change of shape with time). Thus in ideal viscous
at low values of stress, but above a certain critical
strain, the stress is linearly related to the strain rate
value of stress (the yield stress - see section 7.4)
(Figure 7.18), so the higher the applied stress, the
it behaves in a perfectly viscous manner (Figure
faster the material will deform, and the total strain
7.10).
is dependent on both the magnitude of the stress
and the length of time for which it is applied. That
is, stress = viscosity x strain rate. VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOUR
For a constant stress, the strain will increase
linearly with time t, since, integrating equation A material that, for a given stress, exhibits a basi-
(7.3), cally elastic type of strain but which takes a certain
time to reach its limiting value is said to show
e = af/l1 (7.4) viscoelastic behaviour (Figure 7.2). Conversely,
the removal of the stress does not cause an im-
For more realistic equations of flow, the 'effective mediate return to the undeformed state, but there is
viscosity' varies with both temperature and stress. a delayed recovery of the elastic strain. Delayed
recovery is responsible for certain earthquake after-
shocks which represent continued movements
7.2 ELASTOVISCOUS, PLASTIC AND foUowing the main release of strain represented by
VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOUR the earthquake (see section 9.3). Most rocks exhibit
Real rock materials combine the properties of ideal viscoelastic behaviour at low values of stress.
elastic and viscous bodies, and the strain in such The behaviour of rock materials under stress
materials may be regarded as having both elastic cannot be described in terms of simple models of
and viscous components. One approximation to the elastic, viscous or plastic behaviour but includes their
total strain may be obtained by adding equations charaderistics in combination. Figure 7.2 shows
(7.1) and (7.4) to give diagrammatically how the strain-time diagram of a
typical viscoelastic/plastic material (like most rocks)
e = a/ E (elastic component) exhibits elements of all the above models. The term
viscoelastic is also used in a rather looser sense to
+ af/l1 (viscous component) (7.5) describe any combination of elastic and viscous
behaviour. In practice, the relationship between
at constant stress. However, this equation over- stress and strain in rock deformation varies both
Simplifies the relationship and several other fadors with the magnitude of the stress and with the strain
have to be taken into account. rate.

ELASTOVISCOUS BEHAVIOUR
T

I1
A material that basically obeys the viscous law c
.~ total elastic
(equation 7.3) but that behaves elastically for stres- l/l
component
ses of short duration is termed elastoviscous visco -elast ic
yield ----4 --- . - - - - - -- - -
(Figure 7.10). Pitch is a good example of such a per~ane nt
point elastic
strain
material. When stressed it will show elastic strain
which is completely recoverable if the stress is T
stress
i
stress
time ---->
rapidly removed. The material will flow, however, applied removed
exhibiting perfectly viscous behaviour, for a stress Figure 7.2 Ideal slTain-time relationship for a typical
held for any length of time. plastic material deformed above its yield point.
The effect of hydrostatic pressure 73

7.3 BRITTLE AND DUCTILE BEHAVIOUR ing value of strain which is basically elastic. Above
a cerl:ain critical value of stress known as the 'yield
Where deformation leads to failure, the material
stress' a-; (see 'yield strength', below), the material
loses cohesion by the development of a fracture
exhibits essentially viscous behaviour for succes-
or fractures, across which the continuity of the
sively higher values of stress 0"c- 0"D after an initial
material is broken. This type of behaviour is called
viscoelastic strain. Above a second critical value of
brittle behaviour and governs the development of
stress known as the 'failure stress' 0"R (see 'failure
faults and joints (see Chapter 9). Ductile behav-
strength', below), the material exhibits accelerated
iour, in contrast, produces permanent strain that
viscous flow for higher values of stress 0"E' 0"F lead-
exhibits smooth variations across the deformed
ing to failure after the initial viscoelastic and viscous
sample or rock without any marked discontinuities.
stages (d. the creep curve, Figure 7.4).
Most rock materials are capable of exhibiting either
We may distinguish three main fields on a
brittle or ductile behaviour, depending on such
typical strain-time diagram, corresponding to a
factors as the size of the differential stress
progressive increase in stress - elastic, viscous and
(0"1 - O"J)' the hydrostatic pressure, the temperature,
failure. In the case of a ductile substance, the
the fluid pressure and the strain rate. In sections
viscous field is enlarged at the expense of the elastic
7.4-7.8 we consider the effect of each of these
factors on the strain, based on the results of labora-
and failure fields, and O"R» O"y.

tory experiments on rock materials.

STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
The measured strength of a material is simply the
7.4 THE EFFECTS OF VARIATION IN value of the applied stress at which failure occurs,
STRESS Many materials possess both a yield strength,
The effect of the differential stress (0"1 - O"J) is defined as the limiting stress above which permanent
considered separately from that of the hydrostatic deformation occurs, and a failure strength, or
part of the stress. Figure 7.3 summarizes diagram- ultimate strength, above which failure occurs.
matically the effects of increasing differential stress The values of compressive and tensile strength are
on the strain-time curve. For a low value of stress normally different (see section 9.1) - i.e. the yield
O"N the material may exhibit entirely elastic be-
strength and failure strength are usually higher under
haviour. For slightly larger values of stress 0"B the a compressive differential stress (0"1 - O"J positive)
strain may be partly viscoelastic, but there is a limit- than under a tensile differential stress (0"1 - 0"J
negative).
Values of strength measured (or extrapolated)
over long time periods are much smaller than those
failure field
measured for shorl: periods of time (the 'instan-
(JR (failure stress)
/,;, / taneous' strength). The long-term strength of most
C'''' .
<9Q><l" VISCOUS rocks is only in the range 20--60% of their in-
/"09 field stantaneous strength (see effect of strain rate,
C
section 7.9).
III

~ ---- --- Gc ~
\ (Jy (yield
V~~-+-+--I- elast ic.I --+---4-(J8 stress) 7.5 THE EFFECT OF HYDROSTATIC
F-+--+--+--+ field -1---1--1- (J A PRESSURE
time In considering the effect of an applied stress field
Figure 7.3 Diagrammatic representation of the effect during deformation, the hydrostatic and deviatoric
of increasing stress on a strain-time curve (see text for stress components must be considered separately
explanation). (see section 5.6). Rocks at depth in the crust are
74 Stress and strain in materials
the yield stress is raised to around 1400 bars and is
followed by a steady viscous increase in strain, indi-
increasing confining cating that the material has become ductile at high
L»:_ _ --"= ..!<>!J-"--+ pressure (depth) pressure.

7.6 THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

2 3 4 With increasing temperature, the yield stress (J y is
strain . % lowered and the failure stress (J R is raised, which
Figure 7.4 Effect of increasing confining pressure on has the effect of enlarging the viscous field of
stress-strain curves for the experimental deformation deformation at the expense of the elastic and failure
of Wombeyan marble. Increase in confining pressure fields (cf. Figure 7.3). Consequently the material
raises the yield stress or strength of the rock. (After may be said to show an increase in ductility.
Paterson, M.S. (1958) Bulletin of the Geological Society The effect of temperature on the stress-strain
of America, 69, 465-76.) curves for the experimental deformation of marble
is shown in Figure 7.5. The yield stress at 800 °C is
less than 0.5 kilobar, about one-sixth of its value
subjected to the gravitational load pressure of the at room temperature. Moreover, the strain range of
overlying column of rock. This pressure can be viscous behaviour is considerably increased.
assumed to be effectively hydrostatic, and is simply These observations are consistent with our geo-
related to the thickness and mean density of the logical experience of metamorphic rocks deformed
overlying material. The pressure at the base of a at elevated temperature and pressure. These exhibit
35 Ian thick crust is about 10 kilobars, and realistic much more ductile types of deformation than do
pressures for most naturally deformed crustal rocks the equivalent rocks at the surface.
range from several hundred bars upwards.
The hydrostatic pressure causes elastic volume
changes that depend on the compressibility of the
material (see equation (7.2)). The size of these
volume changes is unimportant except at great incre asing
depth. Primary seismic waves propagate by means
of elastic volume changes in the material through
which the waves are transmitted.
A more important aspect of hydrostatic pressure
in the study of strain is its effect on the strength
of materials. In laboratory experiments, the effect
of hydrostatic pressure is investigated by varying
the confining pressure, which is the radial
stress applied to a deforming rock specimen 0 '--- - - -'--- - - -'--- - -----"
5 10 15
subjected to a uniaxial compression or extension.
strain, %
With increasing confining pressure, both the yield
stress (J y and the failure stress (J R are raised. Figure 7.5 Effect of increasing temperature on the
giving the material a higher effective strength. stress-strain curves for the experimental deformation
Figure 7.4 illustrates the effect of confining pressure of Yule marbleat 5 kilobars confining pressure. Increase
in temperature decreases the yield stress or strength
on the stress-strain curves for the experimental of the rock. (After Griggs, D.T., Turner, F.J. and Heard,
deformation of marble. At low pressures the H.C. (1960) in Rock Deformation (eds D.T. Griggs
response is basically elastic and failure occurs at and J. Handin), Memoirs of the Geological Society of
low values of (J . At 300 bars confining pressure, America, 79.)
The effect of time: strain rate 75
For saturated rocks, where the pore-fluid pres-
sure may be very high compared with the hydro-
40
static pressure, the effect of the high hydrostatic
pressure is cancelled out and the strength of a rock
reduced to near-surface conditions. The effect of
. . - - - -- \ - - - 700 "C (dry) high fluid pressure on rock at elevated temperature
is illustrated by the stress-strain curves for wet
and dry quartz crystals (Figure 7.6). The yield stress
_ - - -+ - - 900 "C (dry)
at 950°C in wet quartz is only about one-tenth of
that required for the dry material at the same
temperature. Clearly the ductility in this case is
greatly increased, which explains why certain mate-
rials, normally strong even at high temperature,
can flow under metamorphic conditions in the
2 4 6 8 presence of aqueous fluids.
strain. %

Figure 7.6 Effect of pore-fluid pressure. Stress-strain 7.8 THE EFFECT OF TIME: STRAIN RATE
curves for the deformation of wet and dry natural
quartz crystals at 15 kilobars confining pressure, The relationship between stress and strain for real
various temperatures and a strain rate of 0.8 x 1O- 5/ s. materials, which exhibit a combination of elastic,
See text for explanation. (After Griggs, DT (1967) viscous and plastic properties, depends critically on
Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the length of time for which the stress is applied.
14, 19-31.) In laboratory experiments on rocks, with short
durations of seconds or minutes, the behaviour of
7.7 THE EFFECT OF PORE-FLUID PRESSURE the material is effectively instantaneous in geologi-
cal terms and differs significantly from that of the
The presence of a fluid phase in rocks undergoing
same material under stresses with more geologi-
deformation is important in several ways. The most
cally realistic durations of months or years. The
important effect is to facilitate deformation by re-
long-term strain behaviour of materials is termed
ducing resistance to slip along planes of potential
creep. The important characteristic of creep beha-
movement within a rock from grain boundaries to
viour is that viscous strain is produced over long
major fault planes (see also section 9.I). The fluid
periods of time under low stresses that would
pressure has the effect of reducing the shear stress
produce only elastic effects if applied over short
required for slip, i.e. it reduces the shear strength of a
periods. Another way of expressing this difference
rock. This is because the direct pressure between ad-
in behaviour is to state that the strain rate has a de-
joining grains caused by the lithostatic or hydrostatic
cisive influence on the type of strain behaviour: that
pressure is countered by the effect of the pore-fluid
is, materials deforming under low strain rates that
pressure. Fluid pressure may also promote mineral-
are geologically realistic exhibit creep, whereas high
ogical reactions, particularly at elevated temperatures,
strain rates (e.g. of experimental deformation) are
that reduce the mechanical strength of the rock.
associated with geologically instantaneous strain.
The mechanical effect of the pore-fluid pressure
is given by
THE TYPICAL CREEP CURVE
(7.6)
Most rocks when subjected to a constant low stress
where P, is the effective pressure on the solid over a period of, say, months exhibit a strain curve
material, P the hydrostatic pressure, and P, the fluid that consists of three stages (Figure 7.7): an initial
pressure. transient stage, termed primary creep, where the
76 Stress and strain in materials

failure 10- 14 S-1 is only about 400 bars (40MPa), or 160

secondary bars (16 MPa) at 400 DC.
primary I creep
creep I
I
I 7.9 SUMMARY: PHYSICAL CONTROLS ON
tertiary creep STRAIN BEHAVIOUR
Brittle failure is typical of rocks at low confining
time

Figure 7.7 Creep: strain-time diagram for long time

periods. ..c
~
III

<Ii
1200
\ 20% in 100 sec
'" ~
material behaves viscoelastically, followed by a 800
steady-state stage termed secondary creep, where
'"
"iii
.~
c \'0"""0' stram rate
the material exhibits essentially viscous flow, and a Ql d
Q;
:=: e
final stage of tertiary creep, where the material '0
20% in 12 days

exhibits accelerated viscous strain leading ultimately

0
to failure. Creep at constant stress may be repre- 4 8 12
sented by an equation of the fonn strain. %
e=A+Blogt+Ct (7.7)
A
where A, B and C are constants reflecting the
physical properties of the material and the values of
the stress and temperature (d. equation (7.5)). Note representative
the resemblance of the typical creep curve to the
3.6
-_----:2S·C I
---~ Igeological
'ideal' strain-time curve of Figure 7.2.
The importance of strain rate in rock defonna-
3.2 ~~........ strain rate

~ ~........ I
_~oo(>,~"" ,~""}_ 400 bars
tion is exemplified by the fact that values of the
yield and ultimate (dry) strengths of rocks are much
higher if measured over short time periods than
-'"
III 2.8
00 .... .... I
'"
~ 2A (> .... ....
over geologically significant time periods. Defonna- 1il .... .... }
tion experiments lasting for days rather than
Cl
.Q
4 8
" '"
12
"16
seconds have been designed to investigate the
-log strain rate. per sec
effect of lower strain rates. A succession of stress-
strain curves for Yule marble (Figure 7.8A) at strain B
rates ranging from 2 x 10-3 S-1 (= 20% in 100 s)
Figure 7.8 Effect of strain rate on the stress-strain
to 2 X 10- 7 S-1 (= 20% in 12 days) demonstrate a
relationship. A. Stress-strain curves for Yule marble
gradual reduction of strength and increase in duc- deformed by extension at 600 DC at strain rates
tility with decrease in strain rate. ranging from 2 x 10- 3 S -1 to 2 X 10- 7 S -I (a. 2 x 10-3 ;
A strain rate of 2 x 10- 7 S-1 is still much greater b, 2x 10- 4 ; c, 2 x 10- 5; d, 2 x 10- 6 ; e, 2 x 10- 7 S-I).
than geological strain rates, which are around B. Stress-strain curves for deformation of Yule marble
14 at various temperatures, plotted as log stress at 10%
10- S-I, i.e. 10% in one million years. In order to
extrapolate the experimental results to such a low strain (~yield stress) against log strain rate. The curves
representing the experimental data are extrapolated
value, a log stress/log strain rate plot has been used
(dashed lines) to show the effect of lower strain rates
(Figure 7.8B). This plot indicates that at a tem- (see text for further explanation). (A and B after Heard,
perature of 300 DC the differential stress required to H.C. and Raleigh, C.B. (1972) Bulletin of the Geological
maintain steady ductile flow at a strain rate of Society of America, 83, 935-56.)
Mechanisms of rock deformation 77

pressure and low temperature appropriate to near- is slightly changed by an amount that is pro-
surface conditions. In the temperature-pressure portional to the size of the stress and which also
range found throughout the greater part of the depends on the interatomic bonding force - a
crust (e.g. hydrostatic pressures of 0.1-3 kilobars characteristic property of the crystal, and hence of
(1~300 MPa) and temperatures of 100--500 00. a particular rock type. This mechanism is respon-
however, most rocks show at least some ductile sible for the primary elastic stage of the typical
flow before failure. The yield strength, the critical creep strain curve.
value of stress difference required to initiate this Permanent viscous strain is produced by various
ductile behaviour, is rather high in many rocks and deformation mechanisms that operate on a micro-
would effectively inhibit yield under surface condi- scopic scale. There are three main types of process:
tions. However, the yield strength is dramatically 'cataclasis', 'intracrystalline plasticity' and 'diffusive
reduced by pore-fluid pressure (particularly at high mass transfer'; these will now be discussed.
temperatures) and, even more important, by de-
creasing the strain rate to geologically appropriate
CATACLASIS
rates of about 10- 14 s-1. Thus, given the physical
conditions existing at some depth within the crust, Cataclasis is the process of fracture and sliding
and several million years under stress, most rocks of rigid particles. It includes grain boundary
will exhibit the kind of ductile behaviour familiar to sliding, which is one of the most common
all geologists who have studied folded rocks in mechanisms of deformation, producing a parallel
metamorphic terrains. The same rocks under higher alignment of grain boundaries and rectangular grain
stresses and more rapid strain rates, however, will shapes. Individual particles are undistorted. This
fracture and generate earthquakes. process is therefore characterized by a shape fabric,
but not by a crystal orientation fabric. It operates
at low hydrostatic pressures and low temperatures,
7.10 MECHANISMS OF ROCK
and requires a high differential stress.
DEFORMA nON
Since rocks consist of aggregates of individual
INTRACRYSTALLINE PLASTICITY
crystal grains, normally of several different mineral
species, the way that they deform depends partly Intracrystalline plasticity comprises the two
on the properties of the individual crystals and processes of dislocation glide and dislocation
partly on the texture of the rock as a whole. An creep, both of which involve the movement of
igneous rock with an interlocking crystalline texture dislocations through the crystal lattice. These pro-
will clearly be stronger than a sandstone with a cesses result in changes to the crystal shape, and
weak carbonate cement, and stronger in tum than a give rise to a variety of characteristic crystal
rock that is cut by pervasive planar fractures, features, including undulose extinction, detormation
regardless of the nature of the actual minerals. bands, deformation twins, kink bands and defonna-
Much can be learned about the nature of rock tion lamellae (see section 4.4). These features give
defonnation by studying the microscopic fabric of rise to a preferred orientation of crystal domains,
defonned rocks (see section 4.4) and it is possible which, unlike grain boundary sliding, produce an
in favourable cases to reconstruct in detail how the oriented crystal fabric.
final strained shape of a defonned rock has been Dislocation glide becomes more difficult as de-
achieved by successive changes in crystal shapes formation proceeds, since the dislocations intersect
and interrelationships. and become entangled. Increasing stress is therefore
The purely elastic properties of a rock are con- required for deformation to proceed at the same
ferred on it by elastic distortions of the lattice strain rate; this condition is known as strain hard-
of individual crystals. When the lattice is sub- ening. Dislocation glide is replaced at higher
jected to a differential stress, the atomic spacing temperatures by dislocation creep, where continued
rooc -,
-,
, -,-.
'00
'" •>• ...~ '" ,
>

o,
-0 -..
0
A B
Figu rr 1.9 n.. drfo>rlN!ion milp_ Plot. of norrnahzrd ddfrr<nh.1 otr... ' 8""'" 1""P""lu.. v.owing Jid<h in
wlud> tl>< difkm1t ..-..dloni"", dorrunat. til. >I"., r.to; • field oo...dmn, the >I.... ril.. of Ire lw " odio<m
rrwcII.n;"". .... opprox..... ~ y ~ ...L F............. coni"..... of II.... rolf:. Fidd> of g«>int!i,.ny likely ott';n .. t..
.... wdod. A. Mop for w ", quartzite w~h 100 m 8roin !i=. sl=s !ICok ;,. <v.I~ for Wif mod..... 1'. at
9\XI c.
0
B, Mop for morbI. wdh 100m g,.in !i=. >1m<> 'cok is .... Iu.ted for ...... modulu~ 1'. " SOO °c. (After
Twi .. I< M~ 199L ~~ 19.1.)

<train i< aided by dini>ing "'* r:i

<i disloc.ilions SUMMA RY
th<1r original pbno, and by It.. elmmaoon of as.
Iocationo by rcaystalliLahon. Th.... pro<TSS<'S re- Moot rock Mormohon invol ve:! a combination of
~ inlermediole to high sIn-s< levels, and "P"fote Iwo or more of the abo"" typos of proctos, For
at reL.hvely high drain .. les throughout • large c>Wl1plo. diIfusi"" ....... Ironsfrr bupcrplasnctty)
le~alw"e 'ange. ~ by grain boundary .Iidmg is Ihouglt
10 be ....pon>ibl. for !he fonnalion 01 very fine.
grained my toNI.. (section 2.3). Sine<' most rocks ....
DIff USIVE MASS TRA ~ F ER polycrystar!lnc oggreg.tes, dlIfrrm "Y"loI p/Ias<'s
D iffllsi ~ . mu . Irand. , invol ws th< mo"""""" ""'y """'M dlIf.......t ~ IOf ....I..-.ce.
of moJr<.ilir-scalt mateNl whet. may bt in ether under ~ fae;.,. corolions. fuldspar ..... y
the solid slot<' or solution. In oolulion eN.,P deform calod..ocally w here.>. quart. IN)' exhibil
(oft"" termed p.......... solu t ion or cry_t a l p lu_ inlracrymlline plasticity. The moot rnport....t
l ici l y ), drfonnalion toks ~ by the lransfE'r <:i factors con~ lhe defonnahon mechanism ....
materi.oI in solu horL Thi> process is iIrp:>rlani in (t) !he ~lcaI properties of II... maten.l. (2) II...
tho formation of slructures such as "",tain spared magnitude of II... deviololic ond hyaOlsl a~c str...
cIeov.og.. and , tyIol i~ (.... oection 41) In componerb, (3) the pore-fIWI pr........, (4) the
suJ>e<plu l kil y , tht lransfoor of matrn.ol is in the ~oh«. ond (5) the grain ~, AU del"orrn;ilion
solid slak eitt..". vi. grain boundaries (C oble proccs>co IN)' be rnh.ncecI by chemic.ol readiDr6-
,ne p ) or within thl' oyst.l Lollia: (N.b u 1""" 11-.... f"OC""'" ore iJ'r.,.....,;b!e ond under
Honing cr'''P~ All these pro<TSS<'S I... pbce "!'P'opriale levels of stress ond physlc;o) condiliorn
.1 low stresses .,..j low , train r. l... and ..... giv e rise to w'lifmm visa>U5 flow - lhe ~
incn>asing Ierr.,eralure, toIution ~ iI ~ or <tndy-<loIe stage of the 0''''-'1' strain curve of
in lum by Coble ~ and Nabarro--Herring """'P Figure 7.7. Aco!'leralecl viscou'l /low i< -.ally
The . bove ITl<'Chani<ms may be ...tared by ""'''''' ........ by the 'f'I''''''' of m;crofnctur... or <lip ......
of a d~formation map (figwe 7.'1~ which shows fa""" IIvough the JOck in such a way !hat they link
in simplil1ed f..Non how sIfns, str..... r.~, ond up 10 form continuous pcrv",""" O'K 4 causing
~. ll= d..-tennin. which prOC<'!i> is Iikly 10 loss of cohesion ond failure,
of""'ot. 'Tho reLthve K"po,tn « 0I .lip-1ype ~
Further reading 79

and recrystallization in promoting viscous flow is progressive cycle of distortion and annealing recrys-
governed primarily by rock composition, tallization. Under such conditions the strain rate is
temperature and the presence of pore-fluids. Low- governed only by the effective viscosity (d.
temperature deformation involves mainly cataclasis equation (7.3)) of the material, and the size of the
and intracrystalline plasticity (or coldworking). differential stress.
Strain fabrics produced by both cataclasis and
cold-working may be removed at elevated
FURTHER READING
temperature by recrystallization. New unstrained
and generally polygonal sub-grains develop from Heard, H.C, Borg, !.Y., Carter, N.!. and Raleigh, CB.
the original strained grains, which eventually (eds) (1972) Flow and Fracture of Rocks, American
become replaced. This process of strain recovery Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph 16.
Jaeger, 1.C and Cook, N.G.W. (1976) Fundamentals of
is known as polygonization, hotworking or
Rock Mechanics, Chapman & Hall, New York.
annealing. The behaviour of crustal rocks below Twiss, RJ and Moores, EM. (1992) Structural
about 10-15 km (and also of upper mantle rocks) is Geology, Freeman, New York. [See chapters 18 and
largely governed by steady-state viscous flow at 19 for a comprehensive treatment of the theoretical
very low strain rates giving rise to a continuous and and experimental aspects of rock deformation.]
DETERMINATION OF STRAIN IN ROCKS 8

The quantitative evaluation of the total or bulk ellipsoid (see sections 4.1 and 6.3), enabling the
finite strain in a given area resulting from a defor- orientation of the Z strain axis to be found immedi-
mation is an important objective for the structural ately. In certain circumstances, the orientation of
geologist. If we wish to evaluate the effects of X may also be found by observing the 'stretching'
orogenic compression. for example, we would direction (i.e. an elongation lineation) in the plane
ideally need to know the magnitudes and orienta- of the foliation. and in this way all three strain axes
tions of the three principal strain axes in all parts of may be uniquely determined. However, strongly
the area Once the strain distribution is known. in linear fabrics (X > Y '" Z) or strongly planar fabrics
the form of a set of strain trajectories, or as a repre- (X '" Y > Z) will yield only one obvious principal
sentative bulk strain ellipsoid, we can try to explain strain axis.
it in terms of stress or movement models. Even if the orientation of all three principal strain
There are three quite different approaches to the axes can be measured, however, the complete
problem of quantifying strain. The first and most determination of the strain requires the measure-
obvious is to measure individual strain ellipsoids ment of the extensions or stretches along each. This
using various kinds of strained objects, and sum the demands the use of some object or objects of
results over the area in question. The second known initial shape. Such objects are termed strain
approach is to estimate the total shortening or elon- markers. A wide variety of strain markers has
gation by examining the geometry of folds or faults been used in strain studies. Much of the early work
(this method is, however, difficult to apply in three on strain determination was done on deformed
dimensions). The third, and in some ways the fossils, but the simplest methods involve the
simplest, approach is to assume that the strain on a measurement of initially spherical objects which
large scale is essentially homogeneous statistically, assume an ellipsoidal form after deformation.
and that the statistical arrangement of all planar and
linear structural elements throughout the area
8.2 INITIAllY SPHERICAL OBJECTS AS
reflects both the orientation and the size of the bulk
STRAIN MARKERS
finite principal strains. This approach has been parti-
cularly useful in dealing with highly deformed zones The strain ellipsoid assumed by objects which in-
in certain Precambrian gneiss terrains. itially had a spherical shape may be measured
directly if the objects can be seen in three dimen-
sions. Such objects include the ooids in oolitic lime-
8.1 FINDING THE PRINCIPAL STRAIN AXES
stones, the spherulites and vesicles found in volcanic
The problem of determining the strain in a de- rocks, reduction spots in slates, recrystallization
formed rock is made much easier if the principal spots in hornfels and various kinds of concretions.
strain axes can be found first. This is possible if the Since such objects are rarely perfectly spherical,
deformed rock possesses a new planar or linear some allowance has to be made for the initial varia-
fabric that reflects the finite strain geometry. Thus a tion in shape. This can be easily done if the shape
planar flattening fabric (slaty cleavage, schistosity variation is random by taking the geometric mean
or gneissosity) will lie in the XY plane of the strain of a number of observations, but if there is some
82 Determination of strain in rocks
non-random variation in initial shape, controlled by may be easily observed. Sometimes the larger par-
bedding for instance, a more sophisticated technique tides give a different result from the smaller ones,
must be employed (see later). perhaps because of differences in ductility.
Another problem concerns the degree of homo-
geneity of strain through the rock. Many strain
markers are made of material different from their CENTRE-TO-CENTRE METHOD
matrix, so the measured strain may not accurately If there is a large difference in ductility between
reflect that of the whole rock. Thus hard siliceous the measured objects and their matrix, the measured
or calcareous concretions would show much lower strain will obviously not apply to the whole rock.
strains than a more ductile shaly matrix. In the case, say, of quartz pebbles in a mudstone
matrix, much higher strains would take place in the
matrix than in the pebbles. To deal with this
DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF STRAIN AXES problem, the centre-to-centre method may be used.
This method relies on the fact that the distances
Any three non-parallel sections through the rock
between the centres of randomly arranged spheres
are sufficient to determine the strain axes, but the
calculations are easier if the three sections are
mutually perpendicular, especially if they are parallel
to the principal strain planes. Measurements can
be made directly from thin sections or polished
slabs, or on enlarged photographs if the objects are
small. To obtain an accurate result, a number of
measurements should be made. If these are plotted
on a graph of long-axis length against short-axis
length, the slope of the best-fit straight line through
o
the origin gives the mean value of the strain ratio
A
Y'j X' (ratio of minimum to maximum stretch) in
that plane (Figure 8.1). The visual method of plot- X' Y'
I I
ting is preferable to simply calculating the arith- m2 - - - - - ,- - - - - - - -+ - -
' ,' • 1
metic mean, since deviations from the straight line
E,O I
E I
"l:i I
til
15 U 1
; 5 I • • 1•
E .i m, - - - - - I - - - - - - I - -
E ~ I I
en 10
'x
co 30' 60' 90' 120' 150' 180'
o anglecx
.5:: 5
E B

Figure 8.2 Finding the principal strain ratio in two

5 10 15 dimensions from the spacing of deformed objects. A.
major axis. mm Distance d between adjacent centres and angle IX made
with a reference line are measured for a number of ad-
Figure 8.1 Finding the principal strain ratio in two jacent centres. B. Plot of d against IX yields a minimum
dimensions from deformed circular objects. The long value of d (ml ) and a maximum value (ml ) which rep-
axis and short axis of a number of ellipses (e.g. Figure resent Y' and x' respectively. The orientation of X'
8.2A) are plotted. The slope of the coloured line gives and y' in relation to the reference line is given by IX x
the ratio Y'jX'. (After Ramsay and Huber, 1983, figure and lX y • (After Ramsay and Huber, 1983, figures 7.17
5.10A.) and 7.18.)
Deformed conglomerates as strain markers 83

are systematically altered during strain in such a

way that the changes in distance are related to direc-
tion. The ratio between the minimwn and maximwn
mean distances is equal to the strain ratio YjX' .
To determine this ratio, a plot is made of the
distances between adjacent centres against the
orientation of the line between the centres (Figure B final shapes
A initial shapes
8.2). The plot gives a minimwn and a maximwn
value (ml and m 2 respectively) for the distance, Figure 8.3 Effect of an initial elliptical shape on the
which is used to calculate the strain ratio, and two strain ratio and orientation. A. Initial shapes. 6. Final
corresponding values for (X ((Xy and (Xx) for the shapes, after a homogeneous strain X ', Y',
orientation of y' and X'.
The above method has the advantage that it If we can asswne that the pebbles originalIy
can be applied to any rock with randomly distribu- possessed an ellipsoidal shape, the final shape as
ted particles regardless of their respective ductilities measured in two dimensions will be a compromise
or whether they form perfect ellipses. The main between two ellipses both in direction and in axial
problem lies in determining accurately the positions ratio (Figure 8.3). The fluctuation in observed axial
of the centres of the particles. directions and axial ratios will thus have a system-
atic relationship to the tectonic axes.
8.3 DEFORMED CONGLOMERATES AS Figure 8.4 shows a graphical method of finding
STRAIN MARKERS the tectonic strain ratio and orientation of the major
axis of the strain ellipse by plotting R, the observed
Deformed conglomerates are much more common finite strain ratio YjX', against (X, the angle that
than other kinds of strain marker, and have there- the long axis of the ellipse X' makes with reference
fore been frequently used by structural geologists line (Xo' If enough measurements are made, the plot
for assessing strain in the field. Unfortunately yields maximwn and minimwn values of R (Figure
deformed conglomerates suffer from the serious 8.4A). The maximwn value records the case where
disadvantage that their initial shape is generally not the initial elongation is parallel or near-parallel to
spherical. Moreover, they may possess a primary
sedimentary orientation which, when added to the
deformation fabric, produces a compromise fabric
I
that cannot be simply analysed. Added to these

--m
- -'~~ -' ~ -
complications is a further factor - the effect of
ductility, both between different types of pebble i I
and between pebble and matrix. The centre-to- R . I .
centre method described above would circumvent . I
some of these problems, but centres of pebbles s.: - _ :.. . ' • •1• • •_ _
with a primary orientation fabric are unlikely to
possess a random distribution - an essential pre-
condition for this method . Much effort has been A B
expended by structural geologists in devising
satisfactory methods of analysing pebble strain. In Figure 8.4 Finding the principal strain ratio in two
general it is more useful to obtain a large number dimensions using pebbles with an initial elliptical shape
(see text) . A. Plot of R = X'jY ' (observed ratio)
of approximate results from different localities and
against angle a with reference line for a constant initial
rock types than to concentrate effort on obtaining shape ratio (A) and a variable initial shape ratio (6).
mathematically precise results from a single pebble The angle which X' makes with the reference line is a'.
bed that might be highly atypical. (After Ramsay, J.G. (1967), figures 5.27 and 5.28.)
84 Determination of strain in rocks

y' - - - --' Y' ---~

A X' B X'

Figure 8.S Finding the principal strain ratio in two dimensions using the angular shear strain in a bilaterally
symmetrical fossil. A. Before strain. B. After strain. The angular shear strain is 1/1 and the strain ratio is given by
Y'lX' = .J(tan O'ltan (0' + I/I)} (see text for explanation.)

the tectonic strain elongation and the minimum a brachiopod or a trilobite (Figure 8.5). The diver-
value records the case where the initial elongation gence from an original right angle will give the
is perpendicular to the tectonic strain elongation. angular shear strain l/J.
Therefore, To obtain the ratio of the principal strains in
(8.1) the plane of the fossils, only one measurement of l/J
is needed, provided that the orientations of the
and
principal strain axes in the plane are already known.
R~ = Ro/RT (8.2) The axis of greatest extension X' is commonly
where Ro is the original ratio ¥'a/X~ and RT the visible as a stretching lineation. If () is the original
tectonic strain ratio Yr/X~; the tectonic strain ratio angle between the axis of symmetry of the fossil
may be found by dividing (8.1) by (8.2), giving: and X', then 90° - () is the complementary angle
between the perpendicular to the symmetry axis
RT = Rmax/ Rmin (8.3) and X'. Both these angles change as a result of the
If the original ratio Ro is variable but smaller than angular shear strain l/J: () to (J' and (90° - ()) to
RT , the relationship still holds but Ro will represent (90° - ()' - l/J). From equation (6.4),
the maximum value of the original ratio and the
points on the graph will be distributed throughout
y' tan (J' tan (90° - ()' -l/J)
and
the area bounded by the envelope shown in Figure X' tan () X' tan (90° - ())
8.4B. If the orientation of the maximum strain axis (8.4a)
X' is not already known. it is given by the sym-
metry axis of the plot (cl in Figure 8.4A, B). This where X' and Y' are the principal strains in the
method is often referred to as the Rd 4J method, plane concerned. Thus, multiplying,
where R, is the finite strain and 4J the angle with
the reference line. tan ()' tan (90° - ()' - l/J)
tan () tan (90° - ())
8.4 BILATERALLY SYMMETRICAL FOSSILS = tan ()' tan (90° - ()' - l/J)
AS STRAIN MARKERS
(since tan () tan (90° - ()) = 1)
Two-dimensional strain may also be determined
tan ()'
by measuring the angular distortion of an original (8.4b)
right angle in a bilaterally symmetrical fossil such as - tan«()' + l/J)
Bilaterally symmetrical fossils as strain markers 85

reference
A line

Figure 8.6 A, initial and B, final, orientations and shapes of a number of bilaterally symmetrical fossils with vary-
ing orientation after a homogeneous strain of v'rx: (After Ramsay, J.G. (1967), figures 5.60 and 5.62.)

The above method is of course dependent on maximum angular shear strain from the curve and
knowing the direction of X' and v in the plane of using the formula:
the fossil, and these may not be immediately
obvious from the stretching lineation. However Y!X' = tan 8' jtan 8 (see equation 6.4) (8.5)
where there are a number of fossils in the same
Since the maximum shear strain occurs when
plane showing variation in angular shear strain
8 = 45° and tan 8 = 1,
(Figure 8.6), it is possible to measure both the strain
ratio and the orientation of the strain axes by find- Y'jX' = tan 8~ax (8.6)
ing the maximum angular shear strain. It is not
necessary that the fossils all be of the same species. The directions of X' and v in the plane of the
The angular shear strain l/t (measured as in fossils may also be found by observing shortened
Figure 8.5) may be plotted against the angle IX or elongated forms of deformed fossils that have
between a standard identifiable line in the fossil suffered no angular shear strain (Figure 8.7). The
(e.g. a hinge line) and an arbitrary reference line on axes of bilateral symmetry in these cases will be
the plane (Figure 8.68). If the section shows suffi- parallel to the maximum and minimum strain axes
cient variation in orientation, the resulting graph in the plane and a simple comparison between them
will take the form of a curve culling the IX axis at will yield the strain ratio directly. Thus. assuming
two points (i.e, where l/t = 0), which give the that the length/breadth ratio of both samples was
directions of the maximum and minimum strain originally identical, the strain ratio can be found
axes. The strain ratio is found by estimating the simply (see Figure 8.7).
86 Determination of strain in rocks

X' X' strain This is usually given in the form X:Y: Z =

5 : 2: 1, for example, i.e. taking Z = 1 (Figure 8.8).
Where the positions of the principal strain axes
X, Y and Z cannot be directly observed from the
rock fabric, the strain may be determined using any
I--'II_\·~L Y' -'--H-.rl- - Y' three mutually perpendicular sections on which the
strain ratio Y'j X' is measured. The method is
described by Ramsay (1967, pp. 142-7).

lo----~)I
formA I

form B

Figure 8.7 Finding the principal strain ratio in two

dimensions using short and long fossil shapes showing
no angular shear strain. If the lengths of the short and
long forms are respectively Xl and X z and the breadths
Yl and Yz' then the strain ratio Y'/X' = ../(YlYZ/XlXz), ( I, ----~I

Figure 8.9 Determination of shortenin~ from a

8.5 STRAIN DETERMINATION IN THREE folded layer. The strain ratio Y'Ix' = 1;/1 0 , assuming
the area of the layer hlo is constant.
DIMENSIONS
The methods outlined in the preceding sections
8.6 USE OF FOLD SETS IN STRAIN
are designed to discover the strain ratio y'jX' in a
DETERMINAnON
single plane. If this plane possesses two of the prin-
cipal strain axes, e.g. X and Y, it is a comparatively It is possible to measure the strain represented by
simple matter to obtain a second strain ratio in a a set of folds by comparing the final and the
plane normal to the first, containing say Y and Z. (presumed) initial shapes of a layered sequence. Fold
The two ratios thus obtained, Y: X and Z :Y, give geometry is often complex and depends partly on
a complete description of the three-dimensional the mechanism of formation. The relationship be-
tween fold geometry and strain is discussed in
more detail in Chapter 10; however, for our present
purpose, we can assume that a simplified analysis
XY plane-2.5: 1 can be made, in the plane perpendicular to the fold
YZ plane-2:1 axis, by comparing the initial and final lengths of
XZ plane-5: 1 a folded layer (Figure 8.9). If 10 is the original length
of a folded layer of thickness h and II is the new
length, the stretch measured perpendicular to the
axial plane is
strainratio: X:Y:Z-5:2:1 (8.7)
x Y
The stretch parallel to the axial plane is found by
Z
assuming that the area hlo is constant and dividing
Figure 8.8 Principal strain ratios in three dimensions. by the new length, thus:
If the strain ratios are known for any two of the three
principal strain planes (say XY and YZ), the strain X' = hlo /h = ~ (8.8)
ratios can be calculated in three dimensions. II II
Bulk homogeneous strain 87

The strain ratio is thus layers (Figure 8.10). The area of the section is
assumed to be constant, and the length II and
Y'jX' = li/I~ (8.9)
thickness tI of a deformed section are compared
This method takes no account of possible layer- with the original 'stratigraphic' thickness to of the
parallel shortening, but this effect can be minimized same sequence in an undeformed section. The
by comparing several layers of different thickness original length of the deformed section 10 is then
and physical properties and taking the maximum found by
value as an estimate of the total strain in that plane.
(8. lOa)
A more serious restriction is that the method can
only measure two-dimensional strain and takes no and the strain by
account of strain parallel to the fold axes. On a
large scale, however, estimates of strain based on
Y'/X' = li/I~ = t~/ti (8. lob)
the geometry of major folds are likely to be more The section must be taken perpendicular to the
accurate than observations based on strain markers 'orogenic strike', (i.e, the main fold trend). A three-
from specific lithologies that may be biased in dimensional study of fault displacements can be
favour of ductile lithologies and more highly made if sufficient data are available and, except in
strained zones. the simplest types of fault belts, strain in the third
dimension should be considered.
8.7 TWO-DIMENSIONAL STRAIN FROM
BALANCED SECTIONS 8.8 BULK HOMOGENEOUS STRAIN

Section balancing has been developed as a method A quite different approach to the problem of strain
of unravelling complex thrust and extensional fault measurement is to ignore the detail of local strain
zones by restoring them to their original lengths, in patterns, which are typically highly variable in any
order to measure the fault displacement and to case, and treat the strain as statistically homo-
reconstruct the sequence of movements responsible geneous over a given area. All the measured struc-
for their often complex geometry (see section 2.6). tural elements (foliations, fold axial planes, fold axes,
Two-dimensional strain can be estimated using etc.) in the area are plotted on a stereogram and
the same method as that described in the previous compared with the ideal distributions that would be
section, except that, instead of considering a Single obtained with various types of strain ellipsoid. In this
layer, we are concerned with the change in dimen- treatment we regard the bulk strain pattern as a
sions of a planar section consisting of a number of large-scale strain ellipsoid, wherein planar and linear

I, >1

Figure 8.10 Two-dimensional strain from balanced thrust sections. The section balances if all the restored layers
are of equal length (see section 2.6). The area of the section is assumed to be constant, and the length /1 and thick-
ness t, of a deformed section are compared with the original 'stratigraphic' thickness to of the same sequence in
an undeformed section. The original length of the deformed section, /0' is then found by measuring the restored
length of the section (see text).
88 Determination of strain in rocks
axial strain. where X = Y > Z, the planes will
rotate towards the XY plane (the plane of flaH:en-
ing) and the poles will rotate towards Z; for plane
strain. where X > Y > Z, the planes will again
rotate towards the XY plane but will first move
towards XZ if their poles lie in or near XY and the
A B c poles will again rotate towards Z; and for prolate
uniaxial (constridional) strain. where X > Y = Z,
Figure 8.11 Stereographic plot (one quadrant) the poles to the planes will migrate towards the
showing movement paths taken by poles to planes circumference of the stereogram and the planes will
undergoing passive rotations during progressive homo- intersect along the X-axis. As a consequence of
geneous defonnation. The dots show the positions of
the behaviour of planes under constrictional strains,
poles at infinite strain. A, k = o. oblate strain; B. k = 1.
plane strain; C. k = 00, prolate strain (see text for fold axes will migrate into parallelism with X (since
explanation). (After Flinn. D. (1962) Quarterly Journal the fold axes represent the intersections of the
of the Geological Society of London. 118, 385-433). planes of the fold surfaces). Directions of extension
indicated by boudinage structures (section 4.3)
may also be ploH:ed and will similarly migrate
elements rotate passively in response to progressive
towards 'ideal' positions parallel to X, or into the
strain towards the theoretical positions in the strain
XY plane where X = Y.
ellipsoid that would be taken up at infinite strain.
In this model, the planar structural elements are
regarded as passive rather than active; that is, the MEASUREMENT OF HOMOGENEOUS STRAIN
strain paH:ern is caused not by the active rotations
of planar surfaces around fold axes, for example, In order to make use of these properties in pro-
but by the passive rotations of a collection of viding a quantitative estimate of the bulk strain, it
randomly-oriented planar markers situated within a is necessary to measure the extent to which a strain
ductile matrix. ellipsoid departs from sphericity. The amount of
The bulk homogeneous strain model is most deformation can be defined by r, where
appropriate in studying areas of rather high strain
r=a+b-I (8.11)
where there was a considerable variation in attitude
of pre-strain surfaces. These conditions apply parti-
cularly within major shear zones in certain Pre-
cambrian gneiss complexes which have been y
studied using this approach. Figures 8.11 and 8.12
show how the model may be applied.

STRAIN FIELDS AND MOVEMENT PATHS

If we refer back to section 6.7, the various strain X Ll_L..!:=~~ Z
states were expressed in the Flinn diagram in terms A B
of the value k: Figure 8.11 shows stereogram quad-
rants representing the three special cases: oblate Figure 8.12 Equal-area plot (one quadrant) showing
uniaxial strain (k = 0). plane strain at constant an initially random distribution of poles to planes (A),
and (B) the distribution of the same poles at a strain
volume (k = I) and prolate uniaxial strain level of r = 3 (where r = a + b - I). Limits of distri-
(k = 00). The arrows show the movement paths bution for various other r values are shown. (Modified
taken by the poles to the planes, which rotate from Watterson. J. (1968) Meddelelser om Grenland,
passively under progressive strain. For oblate uni- 175, figure 41.)
Superimposition of strains 89

• ~I
a

B c D

Figure 8.13 Addition of strains in two dimensions where the strain axes are parallel. A shows the initial strain
Xi' ZI in a layer before folding. During folding (B) a second homogeneous strain Xl' Z, is added (C), The final
strain (D) varies - at the hinge a = ZIXl and b = X1Zl, whereas on the limbs c = X1Xl and d = ZIZl
(see text)

given that a = XIY = 0.10. and b = Y IZ = and 03 of a strain ellipsoid B along the axes x, y
OJO, (see equations (6.10) and '(6.11)). and z of another strain ellipsoid, A, with principal
Figure 8.12 shows the distribution of poles to strains X, Y and Z. The new stretches along x, y
planes in a stereogram at a strain level of r = 3 for and z are obtained by multiplying the respective
a particular type of ellipsoid (k = 1). The stereo- stretches, giving XIO I, Y10 l and Z303' To deter-
gram is also contoured to show the limits of distri- mine the geometry of the new finite strain ellipsoid,
bution of poles for different values of r. the strains should be described in tensor notation
Stereograrns can be constructed for several differ- as described by Means (1976).
ent k-values. Each will have a different set of r Figure 8.13 illustrates the principle of superimpos-
contours, depending on the ratios of XI Y and ition of strain in two dimensions in the special case
Y1Z. The correct k-value could thus be found by where the axes of the two strain ellipsoids corre-
comparison with these ideal distributions. Given a spond. The first strain is represented by three
sufficient number of measurements, and provided ellipses (with axes XI' ZI) in the plane of the layer
that our initial assumptions of random orientation (Figure 8.13A). The layer is isoclinally folded
are justified, it is possible to specify completely the (Figure 8.13B) and a second homogeneous flatten-
shape of the strain ellipsoid and consequently to ing strain imposed, represented by an ellipse with
quantify the amount of strain. axes Xl' Zl (Figure 8.13C), giving the superimposed
strain pattern of Figure 8.13D. The original strain
ellipses are now oriented in such a way that
8.9 SUPERIMPOSITION OF STRAINS
XI II z, in the fold hinge, whereas XI II x, on the
As for stresses, it is possible to add or subtract fold limb. The final strain in the hinge is therefore
strains, and two strain ellipsoids of whatever orien- a = ZIXl' b = XIZ, and on the limbs it is
tation may be added to produce a 'compromise' = =
c XIX1, d ZIZ1' giving final strain ratios in
ellipsoid. The principle may be illustrated by the hinge of X1Z1/ZIX l and on the limbs of
considering the effect of adding stretches 0 1, 0 1 ZIZ1/XIX1'
90 Determination of strain in rocks
FURTHER READING Ramsay, l.C. and Huber, M.1. (1983) The Techniques
of Modern Structural Geology, Vol. 1: Strain
Hossack. L (1979) The use of balanced cross-sections in
Analysis, Academic Press, New York. [This work
the calculationof orogenic contraction, a review. Journal
contains a comprehensive and rigorous treatment,
of theGeological Society of London, 136, 70S-H.
with examples, of all the main methods of strain
Means, W.o. (1976) Stress and Strain, Springer-Verlag,
analysis. It is clear and easy to read. and is highly
New York.
recommended to students who wish to pursue this
Ramsay, j.G. (1967) Folding and Fracturing of Rocks,
topic.]
McGraw-HilI, New York.
FAULTING AND STRESS 9

The morphology of faults has been described in angle between the shear fractures is bisected by the
Chapter 2. In this chapter we shall discuss faulting maximum principal stress axis a I .
as a process or mechanism, and how faults may be The actual fracture planes do not correspond to
related to stress. the planes of maximum shear stress, which make
angles of 45° with a l (see section 5.5). If the size
of the acute angle between the fracture planes is
2a, then the difference between this angle and the
9.1 STRESS CONDITIONS FOR BRITTLE 'ideal' angle made by the planes of maximum shear
FAILURE stress is /3 = 90° - 2a (Figure 9.18). The angle /3
When a material fractures under conditions of brittle is sometimes referred to as the angle of internal
deformation (see section 7.3), it is said to exhibit friction of the material and it is different for differ-
brittle failure. The stress conditions at the point ent stress states.
of failure are known as the stress criteria of
brittle strength. These criteria include both the THE MOHR STRESS DIAGRAM
shear stress and the hydrostatic pressure, and vary
with rock composition, temperature, etc. This diagram (Figure 9.2A) is a convenient way of
When rocks fail under compression in experi- portraying the relationship in two dimensions
mental conditions, it is found that, in general, two between shear stress, hydrostatic pressure and the
sets of planar shear fractures are formed which angle of failure at the point where failure occurs.
intersect in a line parallel to the intermediate princi- Each state of stress is represented by a circle with
pal stress axis a 1 (Figure 9.1A). Moreover, the acute centre (a l+( 3 )/ 2 (= the mean stress or hydro-
static component) and radius (a l - aJ/2 (= the
stress difference) that intersects the a axis in two
points, a I and a 3" It is assumed for convenience

*
"345 ~ I~ that a I > a 1 = a 3' Let the values of stresses a I
and a 3 at failure be represented by the circle shown
in Figure 9.2A and the angle between the shear
"J. ",
fractures be 2a, then the stress conditions at failure
Iy'
450 2 are represented by the point X. The shear stress at
f 'I failure, T R, is given by
planes of maximum
shear stress TR = Hal - aJcos/3 (9.1)
A B
from equation (5.4), since /3 = (90° - 2a). /3 is
Figure 9.1 Relationship between shear fractures and
principal stress axes. A. Shear fractures ideally intersect the angle that the tangent to the circle at X makes
in a, and make an acute angle with a; B. Plane perpen- with the horizontal. The hydrostatic pressure at
dicular to a 2. Shear fractures make an angle IX with failure is given by
a; and f3/2 with the planes of maximum shear stress.
Thus 21X + f3 = 90°. P = Hal +( 3) (9.2)
92 Faulting and stress

T Mohr failure envelope

- (1 (1
(1

field of unstable
stress states
«(1, +(13)/2 = P

A B

r Mohr failure envelope

500 1000 5 10
bars kilobars
stress state with stress state in
c o pore-fluid pressure P, dry rock

Figure 9.2 The Mohr stress diagram: failure criteria in two dimensions. A. Stress conditions at failure for a shear
fracture making an angle 0( with (11 (see text for explanation). B. The Mohr failure envelope joining points of
failure for different stress states separates the field of stable stress states from the failure field. Note that the shape
of the Mohr curve implies an increase in the values of the shear stress t and fracture angle 0( with an increase
in the mean (hydrostatic) stress «(11 + (13)/2. CO. Mohr envelopes derived from the experimental deformation of
Wombeyan marble (e) and Frederick diabase (dolerite) (0). (After Paterson, M.G. (1958) Bulletin of the Geological
Society of America, 69, 465-76 (C), and Brace, W.F. (1964) in State of Stress in the Earth's Crust (ed, W.R. Judd),
Elsevier, Amsterdam, figure 22 (0).) E. Effect of pore-fluid pressure. The black Mohr circle represents a stress state
where the shear stress is too low for failure to occur. The effect of pore-fluid pressure P, is to reduce the normal
stress to the value represented by the coloured circle, which intersects the failure envelope, indicating that
failure would occur.

and the normal stress across the fracture plane is and a3 at which failure occurred for a particular
given by rock specimen. The curve joining the points of
failure for the different stress states is called the
a= Hal + aJ - Hal - aJ sin{3 (9.3)
Mohr failure envelope, and divides the field of
(cf. equation (5.3)). stable stress states within the envelope from the
The effect of varying the stress conditions at failure field outside. This curve illustrates the general
failure is shown in Figure 9.28, where a nwnber of principle that the value of the shear stress t
circles are drawn to show various values of a 1 required to produce failure increases as the
Stress conditions for brittle failure 93

hydrostatic pressure (a 1 + a 3)/ 2 increases, i.e. as the material (d. section 4.4). Stress concentration
the size of the Mohr circle increases. occurs around the ends of the cracks, which spread
The diagram also shows the effect of negative spontaneously above a certain critical stress. The
compressive stress, or tensile stress, represented by Griffith crack theory leads to the relationship
that part of the Mohr envelope to the left of the
axis. It is clear from the shape of the envelope that
r
2
= 14a
t(a t + a)1 (9.5)
the value of shear stress required to produce where at is the tensile strength (a negative value)
failure under tension is much smaller than that of the material. This curve gives a parabolic Mohr
required under compression, which is in agreement envelope, which means that {3 is large at low
with the observation that rocks are much stronger hydrostatic pressures and small at high hydrostatic
under compression. Moreover, although most pressures, rather than constant as in the Coulomb
rocks have a finite tensile strength, their compres- criterion, and corresponds quite closely to many
sive strength is effectively infinite if the shear stress experimentally derived failure curves (d. Figure
is below the required shear strength. It may also 9.2CD).
be observed from the shape of the Mohr envelope These criteria are based on the two-dimensional
in the tensional field that tensile shear fractures Mohr diagram assuming that a 2 = a3' It is likely
make smaller angles with a 1 ({3 is large), and that that where a] > a 2 > a 3' the value of a 2 will
where the shear stress is zero, the value of a corres- have some effect on the criterion and therefore
ponds to the tensile strength of the material. equation (9.5) can be modified to give a three-
The rock composition has a marked effect on dimensional failure criterion of the form
the general shape of the failure envelope. Figures
(9.6)
9.2C and D show two failure envelopes derived
respectively from the experimental deformation of where P is the hydrostatic pressure (stress), equal
marble and diabase (dolerite). Note that the shear to Hal + a 2 + a 3)' and r oct is the 'octahedral' or
strength of the diabase increases more rapidly with three-dimensional shear stress, such that:
increase in compressive stress than is the case for
r~ct =H( a] - a J2 +(a 2- ( 3)2+( a, - a ])2] (9.7)
the marble.
This is referred to as the Griffith-Murrell
failure criterion.
The Griffith-Murrell ('open crack') failure criter-
FAILURE CRITERIA
ion is a close approximation to the behaviour of
The shear stress r acting along the fracture plane rocks failing under low hydrostatic pressures, but
to promote failure is opposed by the compressive under high pressures where cracks would be closed
stress a acting across the fracture plane which tends by higher normal stresses, the Coulomb criterion
to close the crack and prevent failure (Figure 5.3). is thought to be more accurate. For a fuller treat-
The simplest relationship between shear stress r ment of this subject, the reader is referred to Jaeger
and normal stress a at failure is given by and Cook (1976).
r = C + J1a (9.4)
where c and J1 are constants. This relationship is
EFFECT OF PORE-FLUID PRESSURE
called the Coulomb failure criterion and gives
a linear Mohr envelope with a slope of J1. As we saw in section 7.7, the effect of pore-fluid
However, very few materials behave in this way. pressure is to reduce the effective hydrostatic pres-
A more realistic interpretation is given by the sure to a value P, = P - Pr, where P, is the pore-
Griffith failure criterion, which is based on the fluid pressure. For saturated rocks, where P,
suggestion that failure results from the propagation approaches P, the value of the shear stress at failure
and linking of minute defects ('Griffith cracks') in is greatly reduced. The effect on failure can be
94 Faulting and stress

a3 - - - +--
z

x- -
A

a, - - ---h,..--

z
B

a' _ _- r-+- a,

x
Figure 9.3 Fault orientation in relation to principal stress and strain axes. A. Normal fault sets. B. Thrust fault
sets. C. Strike-slip fault sets. (See text for further explanation.) Stereograms, plan view. Strain diagrams,
l.Y1I0'2·
Fault orientation in relation to stress and strain axes 95

shown by a simple change in the Coulomb criter-

ion (equation (9.4)) to
,,
,
"C = C + p(a - Pr) (9.8) ,,
-,
z
,,
which gives a reduction of PP r in the value of the /'
shear stress required to produce failure. The effect
can be demonstrated on the Mohr diagram as a x
leftwards shift of the Mohr circle by an amount P,
(Figure 9.2E). If P, is large enough, the circle will
intersect the Mohr envelope and failure will occur,
although the size of the shear stress may be much
3
too low to produce failure in dry rock.
High pore-fluid pressures are particularly impor-
tant in the movement of thrust sheets. To move
large thrust sheets in dry conditions requires
impossibly large forces to overcome the friction 2
along the base of the sheet. If the thrust plane is
lubricated by water, however, the required shear Figure 9.4 Shortening and extension of a block by
stress is reduced to a reasonable level. If we complementary shear displacements on normal faults.
consider the problem of a thrust sheet sliding This diagram explains the relationship between fault
orientations and strain axes as shown in Figure 9.3.
under gravity, the critical inclination of the plane
of sliding should be about 30° in dry rocks,
whereas much smaller inclinations are common- expect very close agreement between theoretical
place in nature. W.W. Rubey and MK Hubbert and natural relationships, but nevertheless the theo-
have studied the effect of pore-fluid pressure in retical model offers a very useful basis for under-
reducing the critical slope necessary for gravity standing natural fault systems.
sliding. They have shown that, for example, the Since we can assume that shear stresses along
critical inclination may be reduced to only 5° if the surface of the Earth are zero, it follows that one
the pore-fluid pressure is 85% of the hydrostatic of the principal stress axes will be approximately
pressure. Pore-fluid pressures as high as this, and vertical and the other two approximately horizon-
even higher, have been measured in deep bore- tal. This leads to a simple threefold classification of
holes. fault sets based on the three possible orientations of
the stress axes (Figure 9.3).

9.2 FAULT ORIENTATION IN RELATION

TO STRESS AND STRAIN AXES NORMAL FAULT SETS (Figure 9.3A)

We have seen that both theory and experimental Here a 1 is vertical and corresponds to gravitational
results predict a simple relationship between the load. The two sets of normal faults intersect parallel
orientation of the principal stress axes and the shear to a 2 and dip more steeply than 45°. Actual values
fracture planes where a 1 bisects the acute angle of ~ (the angle between the fault plane and ( 1 )
between two sets of shear fractures (see Figure 9.1). are in the range 25°-30°. The sense of simple shear
This relationship can be used to investigate natural movement on these faults implies a contraction of
fault systems and in favourable cases to derive from the block parallel to a 1 and extension parallel to a 3
them the orientation of the causal stress field. Since (Figure 9.4). Thus the X strain axis is parallel to
the theory applies to the initiation of fractures in a3' the Z-axis is parallel to a 1 and Y is unchanged
completely homogeneous material, we would not (plane strain).
96 Faulting and stress
THRUST FAULT SETS (Figure 9.3B) conjugate set, and there is a range of orientations,
any individual fault may make an angle with all
Here a 1 is horizontal and a, is vertical. Con-
three principal stress axes. In this case the direction
sequently two sets of thrust faults intersect along
0 of displacement on the fault plane depends on both
the horizontal a 2 axis and dip less steeply than 45 •
the orientations and the relative sizes of the three
Actual values of (J. for thrusts are in the range
0-25 0 principal stresses and cannot be simply interpreted
20 • The sense of shear on the thrusts implies
(see section 5.5 and Figure 5.9).
horizontal contraction parallel to a 1 and vertical
Where the sense of displacement is known on a
extension. It should be noted that the symmetrical
number of planes of various orientations, it is often
arrangement of thrusts as illustrated in Figure 9.38
possible to find the approximate positions of the
is rare in nature; thrust sets are typically strongly
principal stress axes. This is most easily done on a
asymmetric, with one direction dominant. Since the
stereogram by plotting the positions of lines across
least stress must be vertical, thrusts will form more
which a change in sense of displacement occurs.
easily at relatively high levels in the crust, where
These lines will contain the principal stress axes
the lithostatic pressure is low.
(Figure 9.5).

STRIKE-SLIP FAULT SETS (Figure 9.3C)

Here a 1 is again horizontal but, as a j is also hori-
zontal, two sets of strike-slip faults intersect along a
vertical a 2' each dipping vertically. Actual values
0
of (J. for strike-slip faults are around 30 • The sense
of shear on these faults implies horizontal con-
traction parallel to a I and horizontal extension
parallel to a j ' As in thrust fault sets. one sense of A B
movement is usually dominant. Figure 9.5 Finding approximate orientations of the
principal stress axes from the sense of displacement on
variably oriented faults. The principal stress planes
FAULTING IN A NON -HOMOGENEOUS BODY shown on the stereogram divide faults with sinistral
displacement from faults with dextral displacement (A)
In a natural situation, where a stress field is applied and faults with reverse displacement from faults with
to a rock body containing different rock types normal displacement (B). (After Davidson. L. and Park.
and planar discontinuities of different orientations, R.G. (1978) Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
these simple rules break down. The effect of a plane of London. 135, 282-9. figure 6.)
of weakness (a previous fault, for example) oriented
at the 'wrong' angle to a 1 may be to cause faulting
preferentially on that plane rather than to initiate a
STRESS TRAJECTORIES AND FAULT
new fracture plane at the 'correct' angle. Both thrust
ORIENTATION
and extensional fault systems (see sections 2.6 and
2.7) show examples of varying fault inclination (e.g. The simple relationship between the orientation of
from thrust to reverse fault) controlled by move- the stress axes and the horizontal, as shown in
ment rather than by initial stress state. Figure 9.3, may hold true generally near the
Where conjugate fault sets are found, the orien- surface. but at depth a variety of factors give rise
tation of the prindpal stress axes may be deter- to variations in orientation of the stress axes which
mined by assuming that they intersect along a 2 are reflected in tum in variations in the orientation
and that a 1 bisects the acute angle, even if there is of faults. In favourable circumstances it may be
a certain amount of variation in the orientation of possible to use such a variation to draw stress
the faults. Where, however, there is no obvious trajectories (section 5.7) showing the variation in
Faulting and earthquakes 97

thrust sheets, which is in turn governed by the

presence of easy slip horizons and by other local
geometrical considerations. Major strike-slip fault
systems are often linked kinematically to plate-
boundary movement vectors. In both thrust and
extensional fault systems, the original fault planes
become deformed by subsequent movements and
--------
their present orientation no longer provides a re-
liable guide to the initial stress state.
Figure 9.6 Stress trajectories (coloured lines) and
normal fault orientations (dashed lines) resulting from
an elastic upwarp in two dimensions. Theoretical 9.3 FAULTING AND EARTHQUAKES
model. (After Sanford A.R. (1959) Bulletin of the Geo-
logical Society of America, 76, 19.) FAULT INITIATION AND PROPAGATION
When a brittle rock is compressed, certain strain
stress orientation which can then be related to theo- effects take place before fracturing. These changes
retical models. Figure 9.6 shows an example of a are important in earthquake prediction The initial
set of theoretical stress trajectories obtained for an strain is elastic, but when the shear stress reaches a
elastic upwarp, together with the set of curved value of about half the shear strength, the rock
normal faults that would be predicted from such a begins to show some permanent strain due to the
stress distribution. opening and propagation of small cracks in the
A variation in the angle at which a fault is zone of greatest strain within which the fault move-
initiated may be predicted, even under a uniform ment eventually occurs. The intensity of this micro-
stress orientation, due to the effect of the down- fracturing increases as the shear strength is
ward increase in hydrostatic pressure. This changes approached. The opening of the cracks causes an
the fault angle !Y. as shown by the change in the
slope of the Mohr failure envelope (Figure 9.2B),
particularly where the horizontal stress changes from
surface
tensional to compressional with depth (Figure 9.7).
Note that this effect need not result in curved (listric)
faults. A fault initiated at depth at an angle of 30°
from the vertical may propagate to the surface with-
out significant change in inclination. It is thought 11/([3compressional
that most large faults probably initiate at depths of
10-15 km, in the strongest part of the oust. 3
:x = 30 ' 35 '

DISPLACEMENT VERSUS STRESS IN FAULT

ORIENTATION Figure 9.7 Change of fault inclination with depth of
initiation due to increase in hydrostatic pressure, as
Once a fault or set of faults has been initiated, the predicted by the Mohr diagram (d. Figure 9.2). The
subsequent development of the fault or faults is hade of the fault (a) changes from 00 at point 1 (pure
0

governed by the displacement geometry of the de- extension with no shear stress) to around 30 at point
3 within the compressional field. Note that faults
forming system, rather than by the initiating stress
initiated at a particular angle at depth may, in practice,
field. propagate to the surface maintaining the same in-
Thus the evolution of thrust fault systems, for clination, i.e. this diagram does not necessarily predict
example, is controlled by the movement of large listric faults (see text for further explanation).
98 Faulting and stress
increase in volume or dilation in the rock which is strained zone

~
associated with an increase in the fluid content, as
ground water migrates into the cracks. The rise in I

pore-fluid pressure has a significant effect in weak-

.. :." ".".
ening the rock, as noted earlier (section 9.1).
..... :
The rate of propagation of the microfrachrres is
the critical fador in determining the strain rate, and
hence the time taken for fracturing (and the result-
ing earthquake) to occur. The influence of pore-fluid
pressure on the strain rate led to experiments at active seismic fault
the Rangely Oil Field in Western Colorado, where Figure 9.8 Lateral replacement of seismic slip by
the level of earthquake activity was artificially aseismic strain (see text for explanation).
increased by pumping water into a fault zone. It
has been proposed that large and potentially
destructive earthquakes could be prevented by FAULT DISPLACEMENT
generating smaller ones by this method, and thus
releasing the stress more safely. When a fault plane has become established, further
strain effects are partly in the form of very fast
movements (slip) along the fault plane, and partly
RECOGNITION OF IMPENDING EARTHQUAKES
of slow movements comparable to the pre-fractur-
There are several features associated with the above ing strains.
changes that can be used to predict earthquakes. The former cause earthquakes (i.e. they are seis-
The dilation of the rock is accompanied by a mic), with displacement rates of the order of metres
decrease in P-wave earthquake velocities and also per second, whereas the latter are not associated
by an uplift of the ground around the area of the with earthquakes (i.e, they are aseismic) and take
fault. Another change that has been noticed is an place at velocities of the order of centimetres per
increase in the amount of radon (an inert gas) in the year - similarto the movements involved in folding,
atmosphere, presumably because of its release etc. Only a limited section of a large fault will take
during the microfracturing process. The increase in part in a particular episode of seismic slip, and the
pore-fluid pressure causes an increase in electrical slip displacement dies out gradually at both ends
resistivity, which can be easily measured. All these into regions of aseismicmovement (Figure 9.8).
changes are reversed in the period of rapid de- Any given section of a long-lived fault plane will
formation leading up to the earthquake. Lastly, all exhibit short periods of fast seismic slip separated
large earthquakes appear to be preceded by a by long periods when that part of the fracture is
number of small shocks that increase in frequency inactive - i.e. the fault 'sticks'. This behaviour is
immediately before the main earthquake. known as stick-slip and is typical of the region

-- ------- ~ peak strength

stick t
stress
Sp
(ultimate strength)
(failure stress)

~
difference
s-:
Sr - - - - ~ residual strength

slip
l L - - - - - - - - - - - - . 7 time or strain

Figure 9.9 Stress-strain (or stress-time) graph illustrating stick-slip behaviour on an active fault.
Faulting and earthquakes 99

of the stress drop is typically 1-10 MPa. It is this

periodic build-up and release of stress that causes
the pattern of repeated earthquakes on existing
large faults.

N A
S3
dilatation r \ ,. S2
compression
I B'
B

Figure 9.10 Stress trajectories around the end of an auxiharv plane N

active fault. A. The initial set of a 1 trajectories together

with the new stresses a I' and a 3' arising from the addi- compress'
tional compressive and extensional effects arising from > tensional ional ~
~~ ~
----..I
the fault movement (see also Figure 9.11B). B. The :;; -+4-
6 0
addition of the two sets of stresses produces a new set .-- ;:;
ffi ~~ ~~ ~
of stress trajectories, i.e. a combined stress field. (After comp tens
Chinnery, M.A. (1966) Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences, 3, 163-74.) active fault section

B c
between 5 km and 10 km in depth, where the
majority of fault-generated earthquake foci occur. Figure 9.11 Focal mechanisms of an earthquake:
The stress-strain graph for fault movement first-motion study. A. A small sphere has been drawn
shows a characteristic sawtooth pattern (Figure 9.9). around the focus of an earthquake, F, resulting from
After reaching a peak value of stress ap' which movement along an active segment of fault bb'. The
dextral fault movement results in compression and dila-
corresponds to the failure strength of the rock. the
tion in opposite quadrants (see also B). The P waves
stress drops instantaneously to a minimum value originating in the compressive quadrants will show
a; which is the stress required to overcome the compressive first motions on arrival at the surface at
sliding friction on the fault surface. The stress then recording stations 52 and 5., and those originating in
increases again to a value ar" which is the stress the dilational quadrants will show dilational first motion
required to overcome the static friction on the fault on arrival at 51 and 5J . Given enough stations, the
surface. Successive oscillations then take place orientation of the planes dividing the quadrants can be
determined (C), For simplicity, in this example the fault
involving the alternation of essentially elastic strain
movement is horizontal and the fault plane vertical,
(stick) and very rapid sliding (slip). The difference but oblique fault movements can be reconstructed
between a, and ar' depends on the roughness of using the same method. The effect of any oblique fault
the fault surface, and on the extent of welding by displacement can be shown by tilting the sphere to
vein material since the last slip episode. The value the required orientation. (After Bolt, 1978, p. 67.)
100 Faulting and stress
Above 5 km, stable sliding takes place because The method is illustrated in Figure 9.11. If an
the compressive stress across the fault plane is low. earthquake originates by a shear displacement along
Below 10 km, because of the increase in confining a section of fault plane, the plane perpendicular to
pressure, there is a transition to a more ductile form the displacement vector of the fault and midway
of deformation (see section 10.6). along the displaced sector (the auxiliary plane)
will divide regions of compression from regions of
tension. These regions will be in opposite quadrants
SECONDARY STRESS-FIELDS since the movement is in opposite directions on
each side of the fault (Figure 9.11A B). The pattern
The process of faulting, by locally releasing stress
of compression and dilation is preserved in the
in the strained zone, and by the lateral movement
seismic waves that are radiated from the earthquake
of blocks of rock along the fault, causes a modifica-
source and the phase of the initial seismic wave
tion of the stress field around the active region
received at the recording station reflects its origin.
which may in tum influence further fault move-
Thus if there are a sufficient number of seismograph
ments. Secondary stress fields are particularly
stations in different directions from the earthquake,
important around the end of a line of active slip.
the orientation of the planes dividing the compres-
Figure 9.10 shows an example of how a new set of
sional and tensional quadrants can be determined
stress trajectories may be derived by superimposing
(Figure 9.1OC). One of these planes is the fault
new compressional and tensional stresses 0'1" 0'3'
plane and the other is the auxiliary plane. It is not
parallel to the fault on an oblique set of pre-faulting
possible from the first-motion study alone to deter-
stress axes 0'1' Complicated systems of branching
mine which of these planes is the fault, but if one
or splay faults at the end of a major fault
is more likely, given our knowledge of the local
(Figure 2.9) may be explained in this way.
geology, then the direction and sense of movement
can be obtained as shown, the displacement vector
being perpendicular to the line of intersection of
EARTHQUAKE FAULT-PLANE SOLUTIONS
the planes.
The orientation of fault planes and the displacement
direction along them may be determined under
favourable circumstances by a seismological method FURTHER READING
called focal-plane or fault-plane solution. This
method is particularly useful in determining the Bolt, B.A. (1978) Earthquakes: a Primer, Freeman, San
Francisco.
origin of earthquakes relating to concealed faults,
jaeger, j.e. and Cook. N.G.W. (1976) Fundamentals of
especially in the oceans, and has proved to be very Rock Mechanics, Chapman & Hall, New York.
important in the development of plate tectonic Price, N], and Cosgrove, j.W. (1990) Analysis of
theory by enabling the relative motions of litho- Geological Structures, chapter 5, Cambridge Univer-
spheric plates to be determined. sity Press, Cambridge.
STRAIN IN FOLDS AND SHEAR ZONES 10

10.1 FOLDING MECHANISMS AND FOLD fied by Simple shear acting parallel to the limbs of
GEOMETRY the fold, producing a strain distribution in which the
long axes of the strain ellipses are divergent from
Several different mechanisms of fold formation
the centre or core of the fold (Figure 10.IC).
have been discussed in section 3.8. The application
of the concept of strain to the analysis of folds
enables us to investigate the fold mechanism in
OBLIQUE SHEAR OR FLOW
greater depth. Figure 10.1 shows examples of five
different mechanisms, which can be distinguished If planes of simple shear are oblique or transverse
by the strain distribution in their respective fold to a layer and the amount and direction of shear
geometries. displacement varies along the length of the layer, a
fold will be formed by passive rotation of the layer
(Figure 10.10). This process has been termed
BUCKLING 'heterogeneous simple shear' and is important in
In a fold produced by buckling of a single layer shear zones (see section 10.6). The strain distribu-
under lateral compression, the layer maintains its tion is similar to that of flexural shear. This mechan-
thickness throughout so that a parallel or concentric ism produces an ideal similar fold (see section 3.4)
fold (see section 3.4) is produced. The strain within and can be illustrated using a card-deck by drawing
the layer is dictated by extension around the outer parallel lines on the edges of the deck and displa-
arc and compression in the inner arc, separated by a cing the deck to make a fold shape (Figure 10.IE).
neutral surface of no strain near the centre of the The mechanism may also operate to modify the
layer (Figure 10.IA). The geometry of natural buckle shape of an existing fold.
folds is typically much more complex, however,
and is discussed in more detail in section 10.2.
KINKING

FLEXURAL SLIP
This process forms folds of the kink band or chev-
ron type which typically have straight limbs and
This process involves a shear displacement or slip sharp hinges (section 3.4). The geometry is con-
between successive layers deformed by buckling trolled by the rotation of sets of layers which
(Figure 1O.1B). This type of folding characterizes remain planar between the kink planes, whereas
the deformation of relatively strong layers sepa- rapid changes of orientation take place along the
rated by planes or thin zones of weakness. In ideal kink planes (Figure 10.IF). The limbs of the fold
flexural slip, the limbs would be unstrained and deform by flexural slip, and the process depends on
the strain would be concentrated at the hinge. the flow of highly ductile material separating the
stronger active layers. Kinking ideallyproduces folds
of overall similar profile, although individual layers
FLEXURAL SHEAR
exhibit different geometries (e.g. compare the white
In this process, a fold produced by buckling is modi- and black layers in the kink fold of Figure 10.16B).
102 Strain in folds and shear zones
neutral surface order to find out how closely they match one of
the ideal types.
1. Ideal buckling forms parallel folds; there is
plane strain with the Y strain axis parallel to the
fold axis and a combination of extensional and
shortening strains in the hinge area. An initially
A B straight lineation lying in the plane of the layer
becomes curved during folding and the angle made
with the fold axis remains unchanged only on the
neutral surface (Figure 10.2A). On surfaces above
and below the neutral surface, the lineation distribu-
tion changes, depending on the amount of strain
2. Ideal flexural shear also produces parallel
folds and plane strain, with Y parallel to the fold
c axis. The strain distribution defines a simple diver-
gent fan of the XY planes. Since there is no
kink planes distortion within the folded surface, the angle
made by a lineation within that surface with the
fold axis is constant throughout the fold (Figure

Figure 10.1 Fold mechanisms. A. Buckling showing

the strain distribution within the folded layer. The
neutral surface of no strain separates the extensional
strain at the outer arc of the hinge from the compres-
A orig inal orientation of lineation
sional strain at the inner arc. B. Flexural slip - succes-
sive layers are displaced upwards towards the antiform
crest with respect to the layer below. Individual layers
are relatively unstrained. C. Flexural shear - the limbs
of the buckle fold are modified by oppositely directed
simple shear acting parallel to the layers. The hinge
area is unstrained. D. Oblique shear - the fold is the
result of changes in the amount or direction of simple
shear displacement. E. Card-deck model of an oblique-
shear fold. F. Kinking - the fold is produced by the
rotation of a set of layers on either side of a kink plane
orig inal
(axial surface). The layers deform partly by flexural slip orientation
(see text). shear direction
B

DIFFERENCES IN GEOMETRY Figure 10.2 Simple models of lineation reorientation

during folding. A. Buckle folding of an initially straight
Each of the ideal mechanisms described above
lineation where there is no strain in the plane of the
produces a characteristically different fold geome- layer (e.g, at the neutral surface, or in flexural shear
try. These differences lead to a few Simple geome- folding). B. Folding of an initially straight lineation
trical tests which can be applied to natural folds in during oblique shear folding.
Folding mechanisms and fold geometry 103

the fold axis (Figure 10.3). An initially straight lin-

eahon is distorted in a systematic way such that it
shear plane
is rotated towards the shear direction . After folding,
it therefore lies in a plane defined by the original
orientation and the shear direction, i.e. it fonns a
great circle distribution on the stereogram (Figure
10.28).
shear direction
4. Ideal chevron folds (see section 3.4) have
straight limbs and sharp angular hinges with fold
angles of 60°. The competent layers maintain their
x thickness, whereas the intervening incompetent
material exhibits extreme thickness variation and
Figure 10.3 Oblique shear fold showing shear plane large strains. This leads to folds with alternating
and shear direction. Note that the fold axis is oblique class IC and class 3 geometry (Figure 3.12), which
to Y. enables the folds to maintain an overall similar
form.
1O.lA) and the trace makes a small circle on a
stereogram.
MODIFICATIONS DUE TO HOMOGENEOUS
3. Ideal oblique shear produces similar folds in
STRAIN
which the thickness of the folded layer measured
parallel to the shear plane is constant, but the The geometry of a fold is considerably modified if
orthogonal thickness varies systematically, thinning a homogeneous strain is imposed on a layer before,
on the limbs. Again the process produces plane during or after the folding. Figure IO.4A shows the
strain, but the shear direction need not be perpendi- strain distribution produced by layer shortening
cular to the fold axis. Y is perpendicular to the prior to folding, and Figure 10.48 the strain distribu-
shear direction and mayor may not be parallel to tion due to the superimposition of a homogeneous

I 0 0 0 0 0

/
-\ $ $ ~ $ $ I~
layer shortening ~
folding

<SIT0
folding - ~

A
homogeneous flatten ing

Figure 10.4 Strain pattern produced by (A) folding a layer shortened before folding, and (8) superimposing a
homogeneous strain on a pre-existing fold.
104 Strain in folds and shear zones

ductile matrix

log wavelength

A B

8=IIIJTIJ] 11,

~jJ2

lower viscosity
~,
/
//
higher viscosity
E

Figure 10.5 Influence of layer thickness and viscosity contrast on the wavelength of buckle folds. A, B. There
is a linear relationship between log layer thickness and log buckle wavelength for widely separated layers of
constant viscosity in a ductile matrix of much lower viscosity. C. Buckle folds of different wavelength may be
superimposed if the layers are close enough to interfere. D. Buckle folding produced by a number of layers of
different viscosity JJ.I-JJ.S and different thickness in a ductile matrix of much lower viscosity JJ.o' A, C and Dare
examples of disharmonic folding (see section 3.6). (After Ramberg, H. (1964) Tectonophysics, 1, 307-41.) E. Buckle
folding of an interface between two thick layers of contrasting viscosity. The cusps point towards the material
of higher viscosity (d. mullion structure, see section 4.2 and Figure 4.8B).

flattening strain on a fold. These strains have to be least initially) a fold of approximately sinusoidal
added to the strains produced by the folding process shape, or with relatively smooth changes of curva-
to give the total finite strain pattern. ture, by compression acting parallel to the length
of a layer. Folds formed in this way have a class I
shape (Figure 3.12), often closely approximating
10.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF BUCKLE
class 18 (parallel folds). Both experimental and theo-
FOLDS
retical studies have indicated that buckle folds will
The term buckling has traditionally been applied only form in relatively strong layers in a more
(see Ramsay 1967) to the process that produces (at ductile matrix and that there is a limiting value of
the viS<'05ily r.oo bctw..., the layer and the rmln x • om.iller w~lh IS .oown in Figure 105C
below whid> bud.]ing <annot be inihaled. Many Where budJing has off«ted lay.... of differenl v....
strum.,.l goologisls now oppty the Imn buckle cosily os welt . mo.... compIia led .... angement
folds' 10 ony set of. folds g..."..ted by oo;t;v., ""ull, (figure 105D), wIueh """"'" be >impty
c~ of. • I.y.... or mulhllyt'1", indudir>g folds inlerp<rlt'd, Buckling of layer> of difl<Tffit lhickntss
of. kink or chevron type. or properties i. one of. the cornrr<>ne>t CIUOe> of
disharmonic fokling (fi!lU'" 106; "'" .I"" ~
3(')."d Figure l .IS).
CONTROLS ON FOLD WAVHENGTH
BUCKUNG OF A~ INTlRFACE
Many nahl.r S<'l. of buck!<' folds exlubit • domi·
"""t wwelength tllll: orems 10 be chM.cteristic of Budde foldng may oIso .oHm the ptanar inl..nl('e
• partiallar laY'-"" ond i, different from 1l1li: of ot....... between moleriol, of conh-osting viscosity. When
I.Y'-""' in lhe ........ rock, Two kry focto" oppel! litis ocan lhe fotds have • charlClerishc form -
10 control the w.vdmglh: the lay.... lhiclnrso.ond tl1OlI<' dosing in 0 .... direction (e.g the ."hforms)
the v""osity robo betw=. lhe layer .ond matrix ~ • brood l"CI'..ded shape and lhose closing in
n.. rel.tion.Iup between layer thicJu-"", and w. ve. the ~te direction (eg the ,ynI"orm.) ~ •
ler¢h CIl'l be <'ISiIy dtmoMlnted by otudying narrow 'lr cu"",le """'" (figure IO.SE) The cusps
natur.r folds of layft-, of lhe ........ cornpos;hon and alw.Y' point lowards lhe molerial with. lhe higher
v"'Ying lhid<n<-sIl in • dOOile matrix of constant vi""ooty. This is. corrmon c...... of ""']lion sI:nJc.
composihon (fig..... IOSA II). The I. yers hove to lure (.... S<'rlion 4,2 and figure UK),
be oufficiently far apart for their w.v...form; nol to
inIE'rfur-e. IIVhefe they .... cIooe togO'lher, we find
LAYER PARALLELSHORTl:"I1'OG I~ BUCKlE
INt. lIrg.... w.velmgth may be ....~ on
FOLDS

C""l'"""S lhe lengths of fokled I.yers of dlfferent

w.veler@:ths givt"S ... . method of. esIimIting the
arnourt of .horteninK INt has laken pllCt' in lhe
I.yers prior 10 budJing . Figure 10,7A show. In
""""l'le of Ihr... layers where lhe pr........ t lengths
(&I.... urioldirog) diff.... sigr4ficantly, !..lyer 1,
because 01 its greoter t~ has not folded. n..
mlrwoom omoonl of I.y.... parallel *'ortening tllal
1Ia, taken place is given by the differ~ in the
lmglh of I.y...... I MId 3, Th.... by compa-mg tho
layers with the g.....test MId leosi Wliokled length.s
in a S<'l d fokl~ an est"""l. of lh. layer parollel
.mrtmmg I1\IY be mode. This i. wry """'-d in
itli.'f"elulII the sh-Iin distribution wt hin the folded
layers (fig," 10.4,0.). Layer 2 will have ""peri-
meed homogEnrou. wOlin before foldtng, wh........
Iay..-r 3 may be aImosl unstrlintd b<'fore folding.
Layer I rrught . ppear undeforrn<d if I.... ",.Ie of
Figur. 10.6 DishIrmonK: folding, .hown by d,ff<'fer1l
fold w. V<'l mgth, In I.yon of diffffe"t thickr-oo=, in sh-1In within the I.y.... is 'l!nom:I, It has been
m.ly lominIt<d ...-.d>1on< w~h ~ye,od mudsto... suggested thal the omounl of lay.... shortening is
MI<> i"tMer~ ~ closety 'f'M'od loyon with rd.lled 10 tho vi>cosily conh-ISI, in that the pro-
the ....... w. vtlenlli"- N<w Horbour bods. A.wesey portion of Loyer ~ to Iokl ,I,ortening
106 Strain in folds and shear zones

2 LI·_·:..-,-'----'-- .'. '·:1

,
3 Illlllllllll!!IIII!III!!II!111111111111
I ,
I~:
I ,
I

minimum layer shortening in 1

r---

~
'-- ......

2 3

Figure 10.7 Layer-parallel shortening in folds of different wavelength. A. Unfolding of layers 1, 2 and 3 shows
three different apparent original lengths due to different amounts of layer-parallel shortening before folding. The
minimum shortening in layer 1 is shown (i.e, assuming that there has been no layer-parallel shortening in layer 3).
B. Diagrams 1-3 show the effects of different viscosity contrast on the extent of layer-parallel shortening relative
to fold shortening for 63.2% total shortening. Viscosity ratios: (1) 42.1, (2) 17.5, (3) 5.2. (Experimental results
from Dieterich, J.H. (1970) Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 7, 467-76.)

increases with decrease in the viscosity ratio maximum shortening is achieved where the fold is
(Figure 10.78). With a low viscosity ratio, of concentric (Figure 10.8), in which case, given a
course, no folding will occur and the layer will layer thickness t, the initial length of the fold is 1lt
deform solely by layer shortening.
Because of the effect of shortening on layer
thickness, the relationship between dominant wave-
length and layer thickness described earlier requires
modification. As deformation proceeds, there will
be a tendency for folds with larger thickness/wave-
length ratios to be favoured.

SHORTENING STRAIN IN PARALLEL FOLDS Figure 10.8 Maximum shortening in a concentric

fold. The shortening is given by e = (nt - 2t)/2t =
The strain produced by parallel folding can be (n - 2)/2, where nt is the original length and 2t the
simply calculated by comparing the unfolded and new length of a folded layer. (After Ramsay, 1967,
folded lengths of a folded layer (section 8.6). The figure 7.48.)
Characteristics of buckle folds 107

flattened fold 1.0 riiiiiiiiii~;;::=r=:----lm-;-::-1

Z jX =
0.9 _

08
08

! \ 0.6
original layer -s
'<,

X -"
-- 04

Z
02 I--------I-----------i------',~~

A B

o 30 ' 60 '
angle of dipo:

Figure 10.9 Superimposition of homogeneous flattening on a parallel fold. A. Homogeneous strain X, Z is

superimposed on the parallel fold to produce a flattened parallel fold. B. Curves of t' against (X for the determina-
tion of the amount of flattening Z'/X' in buckle folds. (After Ramsay, 1967, figure 7.79.)

and the new length 2t. Thus the shortening e is limbs of an isoclinal fold become parallel and
given by: r:J. = 90°,

e = (nt - 2t)/2t t' = Z/X (10.2)

= (n - 2)/2 = 0.36(36%) (10.1) That is, the strain ratio is given by the ratio
between the thickness on the limbs and the thick-
Further shortening strain can only take place by ness at the hinge. For a rapid estimation of the
modifying the fold shape. This modification takes amount of flattening in a non-isoclinal fold, it is
the form of a flattening of the fold perpendicular sufficient to measure t/to for two or three values of
to the axial surface and an equivalent extension r:J. and plot them on the graph of Figure 10.9B.
parallel to the axial surface, and produces a fold
with class 1C geometry known as a 'flattened
STRAIN WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE FOLDED
parallel fold'. The way in which a flattening strain
LAYER
is imposed on a buckle fold may be quite
complex in detail, but in many cases the shape of The strain distribution within a buckled layer
the folded layer approximates closely to the result depends on the actual mechanism involved
obtained if a homogeneous strain were simply (Figure 10.1). Buckling that produces a neutral
added to the ideal parallel fold (Figure 10.9A). The surface (Figure 10.lA) shows a type of strain distri-
addition of a homogeneous flattening strain with a bution termed tangential longitudinal strain,
strain ratio Z/X can be demonstrated on the t'jr:J. where the strain axes are parallel to the layer
plot as a family of curves of t'jr:J. for various values boundaries. For certain types of fold profile there is
of Z/X (Figure 10.9B), i.e. various degrees of flat- a concentration of strain in the hinge zones, but
tening. The curves gradually approach the class 2 the limbs may be relatively unstrained. Where there
similar fold curve as the strain increases. When the has been some flexural shear (Figure 10.1C) the
108 Strain in folds and shear zones
strain ellipses (and any associated planar fabric) have ment of adjacent competent layers, it will defonn
a divergent fan arrangement. Many natural sets of by flexural shear, which will produce a divergent
folds involve alternating layers of contrasting vis- fan of strain axes. However, away from the influence
cosity, such as sandstone bands in shale (Figure of active buckling layers, it will tend to defonn more
10.10). Where these defonn by compression parallel by homogeneous flattening, producing parallel strain
to the layering, the more competent sandstone axes.
layers buckle to give, at least initially, a convergent These differences in strain pattern are very
fan arrangement of strain axes, owing to the pre- easy to detect where the rock contains a penetra-
dominance of tangential strain. The more ductile tive planar fabric, e.g. a slaty cleavage, that is
shale, however, deforms rather differently. Where a parallel to the XY plane. The layers a-e in Figure
narrow band of shale is constrained by the move- 10.10A illustrate the variation in attitude of a slaty
cleavage under these conditions. Such alternation
fold class of convergent and divergent cleavage fans is an
layer example of cleavage refraction, which is a
change in the attitude of the cleavage on passing
a from one bed into another of different compos-
ition. Within a competent layer, the cleavage
b
planes may be curved. This is usually associated
c with a change in physical properties and is partic-
ularly common in graded beds, where the degree
of convergence decreases upwards with decrease
in grain size.
d The strain pattern near the interface between
two layers of contrasting behaviour may be quite
complex. A 'contact strain' effect may be produced
e by the displacements and rotations of an individual
competent layer, which control the geometry of
the adjoining less competent layers. This effect may
A
be clearly seen by local distortions of the cleavage
pattern (Figure 10.10B).
The pattern of alternating convergent and diver-
gent cleavage fans is duplicated by the isogon
geometry. Layers a, c and e of Figure to.10A ex-
hibit classIe geometry, and layer b and the outer
parts of layer d, class 3 geometry.
It is interesting to note that alternations of this
kind may result in an overall class 2 geometry -
that is, the dip isogons drawn from the top to the
base of a set of layers (e.g. from the top of layer a
to the base of layer c) would be approximately
parallel, enabling the folding to continue indefinitely
B downwards.
In this way the individual buckled layers, with
Figure 10.10 A. Cleavage refraction. Alternating
their rather complex strain geometry, when viewed
convergent and divergent slaty cleavage fans produced
by the folding of alternate competent and incompetent on a larger scale, may become part of a much more
layers (see text). B. Local distortions of cleavage pattern homogeneous looking system where the total
produced by 'contact strain' (see text). shortening strains measured at various levels
ro
Oblique shear or flow folding

simple shea ""'0

109

unstrained layer
simple shear strain
total strain

homogeneous flattening strain homogeneous strain

final strain

Figure 10.11 Superimposition of variable simple shear strain and homogeneous flattening strain in a similar
fold.

through the folded rock are approximately the ROLE OF HOMOGENEOUS STRAIN
same.
The imposition of a unifomn homogeneous flatten-
ing strain on similar folds does not change the simi-
lar geometry, provided that one of the principal
10.3 OBLIQUE SHEAR OR FLOW FOLDING strain planes of the homogeneous deformation is
Folds may be fomned by the passive rotation of a parallel to the shear plane. The respective contribu-
layer under simple shear directed obliquely to the tions of the two types of strain are illustrated in
layer. This process is often called flow folding, Figure 10.11. The Simple shear strain only affects
because of the analogy with the folding of marker the fold limbs and produces a divergent fan of XZ
layers in a flowing liquid. If the shear direction is planes. The addition of a suitably oriented homoge-
constant through the fold, an ideal similar shape neous component increases the strain on the limbs,
(class 2) is produced. In order to form a fold, the decreases the divergence, and produces a strain in
amount of shear displacement must vary along the the hinge zone equivalent to the homogeneous
layer, otherwise the layer would remain straight. strain ellipse. Homogeneous flattening of non-simi-
Moreover, the layers must behave passively for lar folds will tend to make them more like the ideal
ideal class 2 geometry; if there is any component of similar model and at high strains such folds may
buckling (i.e. if the layers bend under lateral stress), be indistinguishable from true similar folds.
the geometry will correspond to class Ie closely
approaching class 2 perhaps, but never reaching it.
ORIGIN OF SIMILAR FOLDS
Folds of similar type only fomn in rocks that
are in a very ductile state during deformation, typic- Many folds possessing similar geometry are prob-
ally under medium- to high-grade metamorphism, ably the result of extreme flattening of buckle folds.
although rocks of very low viscosity (such as salt Where similar folds are fomned by variable oblique
and gypsum) behave in this way even at low shear, we have to consider a mechanism for this
temperature. Another essential condition is that variation. One likely cause of variation in simple
the viscosity contrast between adjacent layers shear is the influence of a fold shape generated by
should be low - below the limit for the initiation a buckling or bending mechanism. If we imagine a
of buckling. thick ductile layer bounded by two stronger, more
110 Strain in folds and shear zones
competent layers, the buckling of the competent two fold sets; in particular between the attitudes of
layers will transmit their shape through the ductile the two fold axes and axial planes, and on the shear
layer as a variable simple shear. Although the strainor flow direction of the second folds. Figure 3.188
in the ductile layer near its margins may be influ- (section 3.7) shows three common types of inter-
enced by contact strain induced by the buckling ference pattern produced on a flat surface by super-
mechanism, a more uniform pattern would be imposition of fold sets - dome and basin, crescent
expected in the central part of the layer. and mushroom, and double zigzag. These three
An overall similar fold shape can be produced types can be regarded as 'end-members' in a con-
in a folded multilayer exhibiting alternating class tinuous series of interference shapes. We may add a
1C and class 3 shapes in such a way as to retain fourth type which produces no interference because
the same amount of shortening throughout the the axial planes and axes of the two fold sets are
multilayer. This process is probably quite important parallel.
in generating similar folds. Ideal chevron folds have We can demonstrate how interference structures
this geometry (Figure 10.16). are formed by examining three cases (Figure
10.13). In each of these cases the second folds are
upright with a vertical flow or shear direction. In
SUPERIMPOSITION OF OBLIQUE SHEAR (FLOW) the first case (Figure 10.13A) both the axial planes
FOLDS and axes of the F2 folds are near perpendicular to
It is geometrically much easier to deform an those of Fl. and the flow direction of F2 lies within
already folded surface by oblique shear than by or near the axial plane of Fl. which is also upright.
buckling, since the shape of the passive layers is This type of relationship produces a dome and
irrelevant and exercises no control over the second basin pattern.
fold shape. The principle of superimposition of flow In the second case (Figure 10.138) the Fl folds
folds can be demonstrated by drawing a first fold are recumbent and the axial planes and axes of F2
shape on a card deck and then deforming the card again make a large angle with those of F1. How-
deck by varying the amount of simple shear (Figure ever, the flow direction of F2 also makes a large
10.12). angle with the Fl axial planes. This relationship
Complex interference patterns may be generated produces a crescent-shaped interference pattern,
by superimposing a set of flow folds on a In the third case (Figure 10.13C) the Fl axial
previously folded surface. The geometrical pattern planes are gently inclined and thus again make a
depends on the spatial relationships between the large angle with the F2 axial planes. However, the
fold axes of both sets of folds are subparallel. The
F2 flow direction is oblique to the Fl axial planes.
This relationship produces a double zigzag pattern.
As an example of how a mapped interference
structure may be interpreted, let us return to the
Loch Monar structure illustrated in Figure 3.18C. A
three-dimensional model of this structure (Figure
F1 1-+--~----'t--+-- 1 10.14) shows that the plunge of the second folds is
controlled by the attitude of the first fold limbs as
well as by the F2 axial planes. Thus the F2 folds
first folding plunge vertically on the southern limb of the F1
synform. subhorizontally across the hinge zone,
superimposition of second
and have a moderate plunge to the south west on
Figure 10.12 Superimposition of oblique shear folds the northern limb. If we imagine the F2 folds to be
(flow folds) on a previously folded surface demon- unfolded, the shape of the F1 fold is revealed as
strated by a card deck model. an east-west trending synform with a moderately
Kinking and formation of chevron folds 111

1 F1 folds

2 F2 folds

3 interference

Figure 10.13 Interference patterns generated by the superimposition of upright flow folds on previous folds
of varying attitude (see text for details). (After Ramsay, 1967, figures 10.3, 10.8 and 10.15.)

south dipping northern limb, a vertical southern this way it is possible to produce folds with
limb and a low plunge to the west. strongly curved axes that ultimately develop very
elongate dome and basin shapes. Such folds, termed
sheath folds, are characteristic of strongly
FORMATION OF SHEATH FOLDS deformed ductile shear zones (see section 10.6).

At high levels of strain, very complex fold shapes

may be produced by variable simple shear or flow
10.4 KINKING AND FORMAnON OF
superimposed on ordinary buckle folds. During
CHEVRON FOLDS
progressive simple shear, the fold axes may behave
passively and rotate towards the shear direction The characteristic features of kink bands and
until at high strain (y '" 15) they will become chevron folds (see section 3.4) are straight limbs
subparallel to the shear direction (Figure 10.15). In and sharp angular hinges. Kink bands (Figure
112 Strain in folds and shear zones
F2 axial plane of rotation of the short limb is expressed by the
angle (X. The kink plane makes an angle /31 with the
short limb and /32 with the long limb. If /31 > /32
and the layer thickness remains constant, dilation
must take place between the layers within the kink
band. In nature this results in extensional fissures
which are often filled with quartz or calcite. Usually,
however, the kink layers rotate until /31 = /32 when
no fissure space exists and further movement would
result in a contraction across the layers.
Kink bands usually occur in conjugate pairs
or sets, but to achieve maximum shortening by
Figure 10.14 Geometry of an interference structure
in the Moine complex at Loch Monar, northwestern kinking, the whole length of the layers must
Scotland. (See text for details.) (After Ramsay, 1967, be involved in the folding. Experiments on the
figure 10.25.) compression of phyllite have shown that, under
continued compression, individual kinks grow by
lateral expansion until neighbouring oppositely
directed pairs merge completely to form chevron
folds. This process is illustrated in Figure 10.160.
The development of chevron folds from kink bands
will only take place when /31 = /32' i.e. when the
axial surface of the kink band (or kink plane) bisects
the fold angle, and if (X = /31 = /32 = 60°. 'Ideal'
Figure 10.15 Development of a sheath fold by the chevron folds which are produced from kink bands
progressive simple shear of an initial non-cylindrical with this geometry will thus have a fold angle of
fold. (After Ramsay, J.G., 1980, figure 16.) 60° (Figure 10.16C).
Not all chevron folds may have formed in this
way, however. Many natural fold sets show con-
10.16A) are asymmetric structures where the tinuous variation between curved buckle folds and
deformation is essentially confined to the material folds with chevron type geometry (Figure 10.17)
within the kink band. whereas chevron folds are and it is possible to straighten the limbs and in-
more symmetrical and continuous (Figure crease the angularity of the hinges in buckle folds
10.16B, C). The formation of both kink bands and by progressive flattening (Figure 10.4B). It is there-
chevron folds appears to involve a combination fore possible that many, if not all, natural chevron
of flexural slip between the competent layers, folds may form in this way rather than by the
which maintain their thickness, and ductile flow in amalgamation of kink bands.
the intervening incompetent material. This leads
to folds with alternating class IB and class 3
SHORTENING AND INTERNAL STRAIN IN KINK
geometry, which enables the folds to maintain an
FOLDING
overall similar form,
The basic geometry of a kink band, as shown Ideally the kinking process involves no internal
in Figure 10.16A can be explained in terms of a strain in the layers on the limbs of the kinks and
rotation of the short limb of the asymmetrical fold the strain is concentrated in the zone where the
couple so that the kink band behaves as a zone of layer is bent around the hinge (Figure 10.18). The
simple shear. The rotation can take place with very proportion of strained to unstrained layer is clearly
little internal strain in the layers, provided that greater when the layers are thicker in relation to
inter-layer slip can take place as shown The amount the length of the limbs (compare Figures 10.18A
Conditions controlling the fold mechanism 113

B
.r..
--
60· 60·
-------

D 3
4

Figure 10.16 Geometry of kink bands and chevron folds. A. Kink band - the inclination of the short (rotated)
limb is IX and the kink plane makes an angle PI with the short limb and Pz with the long limb. If PI > Pz' dilation
occurs between the layers of the short limb. B. Chevron fold - this is a symmetrical structure where the limb incli-
nations IX are equal. If the layers maintain a constant thickness, gaps occur at the hinges. C. An ideal chevron fold
possesses limb inclinations of 60° and therefore also an inter-limb angle of 60°. D. Progressive growth of conju-
gate kink bands ultimately forming symmetric chevron folds. (1) 12.5%, (2) 25%, (3) 40%, (4) 50% shortening.
(From experiments on deformation of phyllite by M.S. Paterson and L.E. Weiss. A, Band D after Ramsay, 1967,
figures 7.111, 7.120 and 7.124.)

and B). Thus the ratio between layer thickness t preferentially in thin-layered rocks. We find that in
and limb length I is critical in determining the practice this til ratio is generally less than O. I
proportion of strained to unstrained material in the and is associated with shortening strains of
folds, e.g. the ratio of internal strain to total short- 50-65%. Thus chevron folding is a more efficient
ening is much greater in Figure 10.18A than in method of shortening layers than buckling, since
10.18B. ideal buckles involve a maximum shortening of
The amount of shortening that can be achieved only 36% (Figure 10.8).
by chevron folding depends on the angle (J., but Further shortening, as in buckle folds, will be
cannot be increased beyond a limiting value be- accommodated by a modification of the chevron
cause of the 'locking' effect brought about by the geometry by flattening of the limbs and extension
progressive increase in internal strain. Actual 'lock- of the hinges and can be approximated by the addi-
ing' values of (J. vary with the til ratio and the tion of a homogeneous strain (d. Figure 10.9).
nature of the material. The relationship between
the til ratio, amount of shortening and (J. are
10.5 CONDITIONS CONTROLLING THE
shown in Figure IO.18C. This diagram shows that
FOLD MECHANISM
a fold with a low til ratio can accommodate a
given strain with a smaller limb dip (or fold angle) There is no satisfactory theory at present that enables
than one with a high til ratio. We should expect us to predict which fold mechanism will affect a
therefore that chevron folds would form given layered rock material under compression
11 4 Sfra;" ,,,{old. aM shea' "" " ..

fig"" 1D.17 (l"v''''' folds in D<vonioIl phytlim. llooc.. I." Comw.all Not. that id..aI cNvron foklo .nould
cwv«l In pl.c.s (... 1• • 1).
ho.. str.;gld limbs, wl...,_ In... ...

H<lWt'Vft, th<re .... eman gmcr.hzations whidl .....ble the loyori!lg 10 dw-@. shape, These ""'y
we "",y "'" .. 0 gu>d<. f nl i IS d..... that a low_ indJde Ik xur.al slt>, tlexur.al .he.. or obliquo shew:
viscody "",1r..1 b.Iw"", ~ la"..". inhibits and if the lay"" •• """pressed ~ or krJ,; .
both budding and kirhIg \>Jt liIVOUJ5 fh w. Se<o<-.l. ing ""'y a1", be rwolve<L
o high-viscody rortrasl betwa-n adjacent layer> is finatly, w. musl r<n ~mb<r lhat lhe scal. of
~ for both bud<lirs ond kinking, bok bud· """""alion is very "'l""lant In deriding bolh
jo,g of an indivi<Lal ~ or ~ oI lal"'" will be n- ~ and rne<hanisrrL n.., 0 layer which
hbrI<'d d tt.. .....-...1 COIrf'<I<'nt la"..". are t<X> might be regarded ... budde fold or 0 flow fold
doo., Thus we w ould expect kinking to tak place on a large scate mght well m olve e!e",ellts 01
... a rdatiwly thid sequern of. Ihn closely ,;pa=l dilferml rnedIanisms ""o.mall.. scale,
competent la"..". and bodhng where tt.. colrf'<lml
\ay<n are ~ by thid..- ~ 01 ""'"' <Wile 10,6 SH EA R ZONES
matmal. Flexural "" and IlexuraI .hear are ~
isms that may ~ togetM- WIth either budding Il<itt" faulhng is g......uy conhncd to tt.. upper.
or ~ ITOIt H) -IS Ian of. lhe aust, &low thi.. owing to
Passi..., bending is the ~ afuibuled 10 the <hang. in physical P'opertits 01 the rocb
'ao;ommodalion ' folds ..sodat«l wi h I!nlIt and brought about by lhe ro-e..so ... ttrrlJ'<fllhn and
extensional fault <yd..". (FiS"<" 2- 11 and 2,13), ronfining pressure, britt., behavimr grdJaUy gIVe.
Sum folds are pro<iJced .....malIy by the oction of way to ductile flow. If We examre the structure
gravity .. a layn acconmodat.. 10 a change ... d high.grade mel&norphic terrains, repr<senling
,hape- callStd by the sliding of. 0 sheet 0""'- a uplifted deoep mlltal "",terial. w.IT.d n............
surfac. 01 changng indn.liorL The loyering will examples of shear ..,.,.., which ~ are of
lhen typically aM be suloject to romf"""'iOn or ductile disp/=-menI analogous to faull, but with·
...t..-..ion. Tho bending f"'X"SS ".,arty ~ out diocr<te fractlft planes, The e..u.t"""" of. such
some addihonal rnecharosm OT ~'"'" to structures at depth has 1«1 10 lhe ",alizalion that
Shear zones 115

B
A

90 · '>:
0.4 0.2 0 .1 0 .01

,.. 60 '
c:0
.~
<:
U various t/I ratios
c 30 '
.0
E

0 0.5 1.0
(1 +e) shortening
C
Figure 10.18 Internal strain in kinked layers of thickness t as a function of limb length I and limb inclination
a. A. A high til ratio produces a large strained zone. B. A low til ratio produces a proportionally much smaller
+
strained zone. C. Plot of shortening (1 e) against limb inclination for various values of til (see text). (After
Ramsay, 1967, figure 7.112.)

steep major faults or fault zones at the surface must poorly defined, since the strain near the margin is
be replaced by ductile shear zones at deeper levels in usually low (Figure 10.22). An ideal shear zone
such a way that the total displacement of the blocks represents plane strain and there is no displacement
on either side is maintained (Figure 10.19). Major in the plane at right angles to the shear direction.
strike-slip fault zones, for example, particularly those The displacement plane therefore contains the X and
that constitute plate boundaries, are presumed to Z principal strain axes and the Y strain axis remains
continue at depth as strike-slip shear zones (see unchanged. The shear plane contains the shear direc-
section 3.9). Studies of deeply eroded Precambrian tion, and is parallel to the shear zone margins and
shield regions demonstrate the importance of major perpendicular to the displacement plane.
strike-slip shear zones at deep crustal levels.

SHEAR ZONE DISPLACEMENT

GEOMETRY OF SHEAR ZONES There is a simple geometrical relationship between
displacement, width and shear strain in ideal shear
Ideally, shear zones are contained between two
zones, and this is illustrated in Figure 10.20B. If we
parallel planar margins and are produced by simple
take a section parallel to the displacement plane,
shear stresses acting parallel to these margins
(Figure 10.20). In practice, the margin may be very d = x tan t/J = xy (10.3)
116 Strain in folds and shear zones
(See Ramsay, 1980, for a detailed analysis of shear
A zone geometry.)
Normally the shear strain varies continuously
across a shear zone, commencing with low values
near the margins and reaching a maximum in the
centre (Figure 10.21B). The variation in the angle 0'
and the strain ratio X/Z with Y may be con-
veniently expressed graphically (Figure 10.21C).
Where the displacement cannot be directly
measured for a shear zone with varying shear
strain. it can be calculated using the relationship
x1

d=
l0 ydr

by plotting y against r and measuring the area

(10.6)

under the curve (Figure 10.210).

displacement vector
shear plane

Figure 10.19 Relationship between brittle faults and

ductile shear zones: A, in compression. B. in extension.
(From Ramsay. 1987, figure 26.30, with permission.)
displacement
A plane
where d is the displacement, r the width. t/J the
deflection of a right angle and y the shear strain
(equation (6.3)). In the general case of any line
making an angle with the shear plane, if the new
l/J
-r
x
angle is a',

y = tan (90° - a') - tan (90° - a)

~~~~---+-------l J
=cota'-cota (10.4)
B

Figure 10.20 Main elements of ideal shear zone

STRAIN WITHIN SHEAR ZONES geometry. A. The shear zone is a zone of deformation
between two undefonned blocks that have been
The mean shear strain within a shear zone can be displaced relative to each other. Note the shear direc-
simply calculated from equation (10.3), and equals tion (displacement vector) lying within the shear plane.
the displacement d divided by the width r. This which is parallel to the margins of the shear zone. B.
Profile view in the displacement plane. The displace-
strain can be represented by a strain ellipse which
ment d is given by tan '" =.ry. where r is the width,
makes an angle ()' with the shear plane (Figure '" the angular shear strain and y the shear strain. If a
10.21A) such that line makes an initial angle rx. with the shear plane and
an angle rx.' after shearing, y = cot rx. - cot rx.'. (After
tan 20' = 2/y (10.5) Ramsay, 1980.)
Shear zones 117

lQJ
A B

2
200 50

40 c
150
IY .~
~ ~ 30 l/l
Z Z 1
100 iii
Ql
(J' s:
20 ~
;-
50
10

0 5 10 15
shear strain, i' distance x, cm
c o
Figure 10.21 Shear strain within shear zones. A. Relationship between shear strain and strain axes (see text).
B. Continuous variation in shear strain across a shear zone shown by a change in the orientation of the X strain
axis and in the strain ratio X/Z. The angle 0' made by X with the shear direction is 45° at the margin of the shear
zone and decreases to a minimum in the centre. C. Plot showing the variation of the angle 0' and the strain ratio
X/Z with increase in the shear strain, y. D. Plot of y against x (distance across the shear zone) for the shear zone
of B. The shear displacement d is equal to the area under the curve. (A-D after Ramsay, 1980.)

FABRICS WITHIN SHEAR ZONES mum. Clearly this fabric offers two methods of
measuring the variation in shear strain: either plot-
The variation of strain within shear zones is best
ting the variation of f}' or plotting the variation in
studied by examining the fabrics developed in pre-
the strain ratio X/ Z of the deformed grain aggre-
viously undeformed rocks, and many excellent
gates (Figure 10.21C).
examples may be found in deep-seated, coarse-
grained, igneous rocks. Figure IO.22A shows a small
shear zone in a gabbroic rock. where the strain is
expressed by the deformation of originally equidi-
BRITTLE-DUCTILE SHEAR ZONES
mensional felsic and mafic grain aggregates into
elliptical shapes, which become more elongate Many shear zones exhibit a mixture of brittle and
towards the centre of the shear zone. The long ductile structures. This may be due to their devel-
axes of these grain aggregates define a shape fabric opment in a region of the crust, at intermediate
or foliation that commences at the margins of the depths, where both brittle and ductile conditions
shear zone, making an angle of 45° with the shear obtain, depending on the rheology of the material
direction. Towards the centre of the shear zone this traversed by the shear zone and on the strain rate.
fabric becomes more intense, and the angle that it Another reason for the coexistence of brittle and
makes with the shear direction decreases to a mini- ductile structures is the evolution of the shear zone
118 Slrai.. j .. fo ld. and ,hear ",me.
Fig....., I O.n A. Sig.
moidaI ~""""' 01 f.bne
in a duclil< <hr. zone ..
lrwisian metagabbro. north
Uisl. north_ rrn Scotland,
Nom lhal the f.t>.... rom-
m<n<n at an""3'" ofaJ" to
tho: on... liltion 0/ the <hr•
•""" and brnd, into ne.
pa<aIlrlnm with lh< .re..
diredion in th< «nIrill part
01 the....., ....... .. h<~ it
i,
moo! intenorly drveloprd.
{From Ramsoy. 1980. fig....
K J B Dilahonal quart,_
f;lJ.d v<in ~""' .. in sand-
.ron.. north Cornwall Thr
... ~ wi", mar\;. a
<b.n--al otw., ........ horhluo
~""ntl y roIat.d th<
vms into . sil!rnoodal. hap<
(From R.......y. 1980.1ig~
lB )

with lime from <b.iiIe to brittle os tht ..... ;. ~ • sigmoidal p"tt rm, whidl ;. """ • g ood
gradually el<hImtd. so that earlier.formod 5tructures indicator of It.... sen"" of movemmt [fig\l"e
W111un It.... zone are <b.tiIr and lal....formod .m.c- 10.228),
tur....... britt'", Brittle---ductile ....... """"" are dwacterized by
Imtlle--dlchle shear ZOJl<'O often contain ~ lI-e corrbr,.-, Iion r:i fold> and fault., and .. parti<ular
arrays which can be used to dotermioc If.e of by tfoe assotialion of faul .. r:i differenl typr. Figure
"""" on I..... zone (f~ 10.228), since lI-e .xl.... 10.23 >hows II.: orienWions r:i ronnaI fault., re-
>ion dirMion (Z WI Fig>« I02 1A) is indicaled by v","" faults and conjugale set< of strik--olip WI>,
tht dilalion of lhe veins, EarIier-formN veins may OS well as fa"'" wiilin an ideahzed otrh-shp ....at
be folOOJ by Ia~ mowrncnI on Ilr w ar zone to zone, The orientation of these ...t>sIdiary structures
Further reading 119

... orientation (sense of obliquity) of synthetic minor

shear zones or shear planes (0, or extensional
crenulation cleavages, in relation to the finite-strain
NORMAL
planar fabric (5) - an arrangement that is termed
FAUL 15 s-c structure. All these structures are common in
mylonites and often give the only method of deter-
mining the sense of shear on major ductile shear
zones.

TRANSTENSION AND TRANSPRESSION

Figure 10.23 Arrangement of folds and faults in an
ideal dextral strike-slip brittle-ductile shear zone. If a shear zone is thought of as a deformable sheet,
the deformation may take the form of a combin-
ation of pure shear and simple shear, the pure shear
within such a zone conveys important infonnation component arising from net extension or com-
as to the sense of strike-slip motion. pression across the zone, and the Simple shear
component from the strike-slip displacement of the
boundaries of the zone. The addition of an exten-
SHEAR-SENSE INDICATORS sional component across the zone produces
transtension and a compressional component
Sense of shear (e.g. sinistral or dextral) can be produces transpression. Transtension results in
deduced in ductile or semi-ductile shear zones using clockwise rotation of the extension axis (in
several different criteria (Figure 10.24). These in- dextral shear) and transpression in anticlockwise
clude: (1) the vergence of asymmetric shear folds; rotation. The reverse holds for sinistral shear.
(2) the directions of non-rotational (a-structure)
and rotational (c:5-structure) augen tails; (3) the
TERMINATION OF SHEAR ZONES
Like faults, shear zones do not continue indefinitely.
A shear zone may end at another shear zone, in
which case the displacement is transferred to the
other shear zone e.g. Figure 2.BG shows how this
A B can take place with faults. For example, major
strike-slip zones may detach on subhorizontal
detachment zones within or at the base of the crust.
Alternatively, a shear zone may gradually die out
into a wide zone of ductile deformation.

FURTHER READING
Carreras, J., Cobbold, P.R., Ramsay, J.G. and White,
S.H. (OOs) (1980) Shear zones in rocks. Journal of
Structural Geology, 2, 1-287.
D Cobbold, P.R. and Quinquis, H. (1980) Development
of sheath folds in shear regimes. Journal of Structural
Figure 10.24 Shear-sense indicators (see text). Geology, 2, 119-26.
120 Strain in folds and shear zones
Price, N.J. and Cosgrove, J.w. (1990). AMalysis Ramsay, J.G. (1980) Shear zone geometry: a review.
of Geological Structures, Cambridge University Journal of Structural Geology, 2, 83-99.
Press, Cambridge. [Good coverage of buckle Ramsay, J.G. and Huber, M.1. (1987) The Techniques
folding.] of Modern Structural Geology, Vol. 2: Folds and
Ramsay, J.G. (1967) FoldiMg and Fracturing of Rocks, Fractures, Academic Press, New York. [Contains a
McGraw-HilL New York. useful short list of further references.]
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF IGNEOUS 11
INTRUSIONS

A detailed discussion and classification of igneous the same way by the alignment of elongate
bodies is outside the scope of this book, but we crystals, but is less common Sometimes flow
should concern ourselves with certain aspects of banding is formed in very viscous magmas such
igneous bodies that are directly relevant to struc- as rhyolite. This banding may locally be involved
tural geology. This relevance may arise in four in intricate folding rather similar to the folds formed
main ways. in solid rock under highly ductile conditions. An-
other type of banding or lamination is produced by
1. An igneous body may contain structures (parti-
gravitational settling within a magma chamber.
cularly foliation and lineation) that are caused by
Many large igneous bodies, particularly granites,
deformation. either during or after intrusion
exhibit a foliation that is parallel to their margins
2. The shape and orientation of many igneous
and decreases in intensity towards the interior of
bodies is a direct result of the pre-existing struc-
the body. Studies of the shapes of xenoliths, for
ture of the country rock into which they have
example, show that this decrease in intensity is
been emplaced.
related to a regular pattern of deformation attribu-
3. The forces within the Earth's crust that give rise
ted to the 'ballooning' effect of later pulses of
to deformation in solid rocks also control the
magma on earlier, partly or wholly consolidated
way that magma is emplaced and, to some
material. However, other examples of this phenom-
extent, determine the geometry of the resulting
enon have been attributed to deformation in the
igneous bodies.
solid state brought about by upward diapiric flow
4. Large igneous bodies may cause significant
under gravitational pressure (see section 12.4).
deformation of the country rock during em-
The most reliable method of distinguishing
placement.
primary igneous structures from deformational
structures is to look for evidence of undeformed
crystals and igneous textures. An igneous rock
11.1 STRUCTURES FOUND WITHIN
deformed in the solid state, on the other hand, will
IGNEOUS BODIES
usually show a penetrative fabric where individual
It is often difficult in practice to distinguish between crystals have been deformed.
structures formed as a result of the movement of
magma during emplacement (igneous structures)
11.2 STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICAnON OF
and those structures formed after emplacement as a
.INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS BODIES
result of deformation of the solid rock. The
commonest type of igneous structure is flow Intrusions are usually divided somewhat arbitrarily
foliation, which is caused by the alignment, into major and minor. Major intrusions, termed
during the flow of the magma. of tabular minerals plutons, are large bodies of various shapes and
that had formed before the final consolidation of sizes comprising many cubic kilometres of igneous
the magma. A flow lineation may be formed in rock. Minor intrusions are normally sheet-like or
122 Structural geology of igneous intrusions
ILIA), whereas sills are largely concordant and
typically subhorizontal or gently-dipping (Figure
II.IB). Dykes often occur as a set of related
bodies termed a dyke swann which may have
a subparallel, or sometimes radial, arrangement.
Cone-sheets are a special type of dyke swarm
where the dykes are arranged in a set of conical
A dyke B sill
surfaces inclined towards a central point (Figure
II.7B, C).
Sheet-like minor intrusions are normally em-
»: MINOR INTRUSIONS placed along fractures. The pattern of these frac-
»:
tures and how they relate to local and regional
stress fields are of great interest to the structural
geologist and are discussed below.
C plug

OTHER SMALL-SCALE BODIES

Plugs (Figure IUC) are pipe-like bodies of about
100--1000 m across that commonly fill the vent or
D lacco lit h E lo po lit h neck of a volcano. Many eroded volcanoes are rep-

i'----'~~
resented at depth by such bodies. The name vein
is given to a small body (centimetres to metres in
width) that may be either sheet-like or quite irregu-
lar in form. Veins of igneous rock are often
F stock or boss
G diapir apophyses or branches leading from a larger body,
although in certain metamorphic regions, granitic
vein complexes are known that have no obvious
source and therefore have been attributed to mobil-
MAJOR INTRUSIONS ization or fractional melting of country rock.

H ring dyke
MAJOR INTRUSIONS
Figure 11.1 Classification of igneous bodies based Large intrusive bodies, termed plutons, may be
on form and structural relationships. either broadly concordant or broadly discordant.
The concordant bodies, which may exhibit con-
pipe-like in form, and at least one dimension is of siderable discordance locally, include laccoliths
the order of metres to tens of metres rather than and lopoliths. Laccoliths make room for them-
kilometres. selves by arching up the strata above the intrusion,
to form a lensoid shape (Figure IUD). Lopoliths
are less common. They are accommodated by a
sagging or downbending of the strata beneath to
SHEET-LIKE BODIES
form a saucer-shaped intrusion (Figure II.IE). The
The commonest types of minor intrusion are type example of the latter is the Bushveld complex
dykes and sills. These are essentially parallel- of South Africa, one of the largest igneous bodies
sided, sheet-like bodies, which differ only in that in the world, with an outcrop area of more than
dykes are largely discordant with the country rock 67 000 km'.
structure and normally steeply-dipping (Figure Discordant plutons may be quite irregular in
Methods of emplacement of igneous intrusions 123

fonn but very often they are roughly circular or is termed a central igneous complex. There
elliptical in plan with steeply-dipping walls. The are several weU-known examples of such complexes
latter type are known as stocks or bosses (Figure in the Tertiary igneous province of northwestern
11.1F). The arched top of such bodies forms a Scotland, including those of Ardnamurchan. Mull
dome. It is frequently difficult to establish the and Skye.
geometry of such large bodies at depth and in the The largest major intrusions are known as batho-
past many bodies were assumed to continue down- liths. Such bodies are usually elongate and may be
wards indefinitely, until gravity surveys or more many hundreds of kilometres long. Where they are
detailed mapping established their sheet-like or weU known, they have been shown to be composed
laccolithic form, of a number of individual plutons of various forms,
Many igneous bodies were once thought to Batholiths are typically granitic in composition,
have risen through the crust like very large blobs although they may includea wide range of other rock
of liquid with an inverted tear-drop or pear shape. types as weU.
Such bodies are termed diapirs. The shape of a
diapir sweUs upwards and outwards from a rela-
tively narrow neck' (Figure I 1.1G). However, it is 11.3 METHODS OF EMPLACEMENT OF
now thought more likely that diapirs are formed IGNEOUS INTRUSIONS
by a ballooning mechanism and were fed through
There are four principal methods whereby magmas
relatively narrow channels. The mechanism of
are emplaced within the crust to fonn igneous
emplacement of plutons is discussed in more detail
intrusions.
below.
A special class of pluton consists of one or 1. Forceful emplacement (Figure 11.2A), in
more bodies with a ring-shaped cross-section and which the intrusion makes space for itself by
steeply dipping walls. These bodies are called ring forcing the country rocks aside by deforming
dykes (Figure 11.IH) and are often associated with them. This is 'active' emplacement, where the
stocks, radial dyke swarms and cone-sheets in what pressure of the magma plays a significant part in

~
,)(

~
" " ~" t
, ,)(' , , x
x ,<-, '
x x
B dilation
forceful emplacement

- - -x - - ;J
-lfOOIDIJr:
)( x

C stoping D melting and assimilation

Figure 11.2 Mechanisms of igneous intrusion.

124 Structural geology of igneous intrusions
of country rock which then sink downwards to
~ i ntrusion plane
create space.
4. Melting and assimilation (Figure IUD), a
process in which the magma makes space for
itself by melting and incorporating the country
rock.
Melting does not appear to be an important
mechanism on its own, although it probably plays
A a significant secondary role in many deep-seated
inhusions. Stoping, as a method of permitted in-
trusion. is an important mechanism in certain high-

~O,"'
level plutons, but in many other cases it probably
plays only a minor part in the emplacement
process. Neither melting nor stoping is of very
a,o;{l~ great interest to the structural geologist since their
role in deformation is negligible.
intrusion plane Both dilation and forceful emplacement. on the
other hand. have important structural implications.
Dilation is the main method of intrusion of sheet-
B
like bodies and is controlled by the existing stress
field. Forceful emplacement is important in large
plutonic bodies which produce their own stress
field.

11.4 DILATIONAL EMPLACEMENT OF

DYKES AND SILLS

DYKE EMPLACEMENT
Figure 11.3 Emplacement of dykes and sills. A. Dyke
The stress conditions governing dyke inhusion are
emplacement - intrusion plane ideally perpendicular
to 0'3' B. Sill emplacement - implies a near-vertical shown in Figure 11.3A. The dyke may be con-
orientation of 0'3' C. A dyke may feed a sill at a level sidered to propagate itself upwards by a wedging
determined by the change from 0' 1 or 0'1 vertical to 0'3 effect, where the magma pressure (which is hydro-
vertical (see text). static) acts perpendicular to the inhusion plane of
the dyke. In a homogeneous body, the intrusion
creating the necessary space for the inhusion. plane will correspond to the plane of (11(12' normal
The other three methods involve 'passive' or to (13' and emplacement will take place on con-
permitted inhusion. dition that:
2. Dilational emplacement (Figure I1.2B), in
(11.1)
which the country rock moves aside, often
under a tensional stress, to allow the magma to where p is the magma pressure and (1t the tensile
fill the space that has been created by the move- strength of the wall-rock.
ment. The country rocks are not significantly Thus from the orientation of a regional dyke
deformed by this process. swarm, if we assume the country rock to be
3. Stoping (Figure 11.0. a mechanism in which structurally homogeneous, we may deduce the
the magma moves upwards by removing blocks orientation of (13 ' If structural heterogeneities exist
Dilational emplacement of dykes and sills 125

in the country rock, however, the relationship is

not so simple. If a previous fracture plane exists
in the rock, emplacement of magma will take
place along it, provided only that the magma
pressure exceeds the compressive stress across the
plane. However, in practice, only fracture planes
making a relatively large angle with a 3 are likely
to be chosen.

SILL FORMATION

Sills represent a special case of sheet emplacement

where the intrusion plane is normally subhorizontal bridge
(Figure 11.3B). For emplacement to take place, the c
magma pressure must exceed the load pressure
caused by the overlying strata. This is more likely
to occur at high levels in the crust. We might
expect, therefore, that a dyke may become a sill at
a level determined by a minimum value of the
vertical stress (which increases with depth). If the bridge xenolith
ratio of the two horizontal principal stresses re- d
mains the same, the decrease in the vertical stress
will cause the stress axes to swap over, and a dyke
may then change intrusion direction to become a
sill (Figure 11.3C).

CONTROL BY PRE-EXISTING STRUCTURE

A good example of the use of faults as well as

bedding in the emplacement of a sill is provided by Figure 11.5 Dyke enlargement by joining of ad-
the Stirling Castle sill (Figure 11.4). Here the beds jacent overlapping dilational cracks. The bridge of wall
rock between two adjacent overlapping cracks (a) is
bent (b) and eventually broken (c) by magma pressure
in the expanding cracks, leaving pointed bayonet struc-
tures as evidence of the process at the margins of the
dyke. Ultimately, these too may be broken off, leaving
only steps (d). (After Cadman, A, Tarney, J. and Park.
,, ~-- M , KG. (1990) Intrusion and crystallisation features in
/

500m
/
Proterozoic dyke swarms, in Mafic Dykes and Em-
placement Mechanisms (eds Parker, AJ., Rickwood,
Figure 11.4 The influence of pre-existing faults on P.c. and Tucker, D.H.), Balkema, Rotterdam)
the emplacement of the Stirling Castle sill in the
Midland Valley of Scotland. The sill appears to have
used both bedding and faults to maintain an approxi-
and the faults dip in opposite directions and the sill
mately constant level. TH, Top Hosie Lst., M, Murray-
shall Lst., LK. Lower Knott coal. (After McGregor,
is able to keep to approximately the same favour-
M.D. and McGregor, AG. (1948) British Regional able level by following the bedding dip down for a
Geology: the Midland Valley of Scotland, HMSO, certain distance but periodically returning to a
London, figure 15.) higher level along a fault.
126 Structural geology of igneous intrusions
DYKE ENLARGEMENT BY JOINING OF oblique fractures
DILATIONAL CRACKS
Dykes and sills are emplaced at the higher, brittle
levels of the O11St by the filling of dilational cracks
(fension gashes'), which are short extensional joints, ~ (J 3
often forming a set. Expansion of these dilated
cracks to fonn a dyke takes place by the joining of
adjacent overlapping segments as a result of the intrusion plane
A
magma pressure in the expanding cracks bending B
and eventually breaking through the 'bridges' of
country rock separating them (Figure 11.5). The
resulting dyke margins often show evidence of this
process in the fonn of bayonet structures and
steps.

EN-ECHELON EMPLACEMENT
A rather different kind of structural control is
responsible for en-echelon emplacement, where
a set of intrusions occupies parallel planes which
are consistently offset (Figure 11.6A). This arrange-
ment may have several different causes. The source
of the magma may have been an intrusion in a Figure 11.6 Explanation of en-echelon dykes by the
plane oblique to the individual intrusions but paral- filling of oblique fractures. A. Plan view of en-echelon
lel to the zone defined by the set of intrusions dykes. B. How the en-echelon dykes may be related to
(Figure 11.6B). This could be explained either by a a single intrusion plane at depth. C. Formation of en-
echelon dykes under Simple shear. D. Formation of
change in the stress field between two successive
oblique branches under Simpleshear (see text).
levels in the 011St, or, more likely, by the avail-
ability of a set of fracture planes at the higher level
oriented obliquely to the intrusion plane at the Ardnamurchan, Mull and Skye, in northwestern
lower level. Another common reason for en-echelon Scotland. It is believed that the pattern and orien-
arrangement is intrusion under Simple shear stress; tation of these intrusions are related to the local
thus, for example, a dextral shear stress would tend stress field generated by a pluton situated at depth
to open a set of oblique extensional fissures, as below the centre of the complex (Figure 11.7). The
shown in Figure 11.6C. In some cases evidence of magma pressure of the pluton exerts a compressive
a simple shear component during emplacement is stress perpendicular to the margins of the body,
preserved in the fonn of a set of branching veins resulting in curved sets of stress trajectories.
projecting obliquely in opposite directions on each A possible arrangement of stress trajectories is
side of the dyke (Figure 11.60). shown in Figure 11.7A, assuming a simple dome-
shaped pluton with circular cross-section The
arrangement has an umbrella shape with (J I corres-
11.5 EMPLACEMENT OF CONE-SHEETS
ponding to the radially arranged spokes, perpen-
AND RADIAL DYKES
dicular to the surface of the pluton The ribs of the
Sets of sheet-like intrusions are commonly associated umbrella are a set of parabolic curves which may
spatially with high-level plutons in central igneous correspond to either (J2 or (J3' The third set of trajec-
complexes such as the well documented examples of tories forms a set of horizontal concentric circles
" "

., ,

uoc.of ......
<o....n'ng.,
."" ' .
•
c

,
" "

o ( ..on) ,
f igu", 11.1 u...,tmmmt of <0........... .,.; ,.dial dykn nplud by strns f.dds g<nrnttd by. pluton .1
depth. A SI..... lr"i«\OO.. R.......ot<>:l by • domt..... ptd pluton. Only <1 , is uni""ly dttnmintd, B. C. Oritnl.!ion
oI,tr.-. /or I'" R...... abon of o:ont ,h<ets (8. pi... C. _ 0) D. Orienlolion of .Ir..... for tho R........ 1ioft
cl radial dykn (pion vrw) E Oritnlohon of sh.... fr~ 8"""'. «! by Iht ~ 'Y'mt1
128 Structural geology of igneous intrusions
parallel to the rim of the umbrella This arrangement
can explain both the cone-sheets and the radial
dykes that are associated with igneous complexes.
If the circular trajectories correspond to (J J' then
a set: of vertical radial dykes may form (Figure
11.70), whereas if the parabolic trajectories corres-
pond to (JJ' then a set: of cone-sheets may form
(Figure 11.7B). It is possible that swapping of the
(J 2 and (J J axes may result from an increase in

pressure brought about by the intrusions them-

selves. This may be the explanation for the alter-
nations of cone-sheets and radial dyke intrusions
found in some central complexes.
It has been suggested that sets of conical shear
fractures generated by this type of stress field A
(Figure 11.7E) might be used as intrusion planes for
both cone-sheets and ring dykes. The former would / - -? - - - - ~" ,
follow inward-dipping shear surfaces and the latter / -,
\\~
I
/
outward-dipping surfaces. Such an explanation + + + + +
I
+
would relate all three types of minor intrusion + + + ~I • •
+ I ~
found in central igneous complexes to the same + + +
: ~I'
+ + +
basic mechanism + +

5km
B
11.6 MODE OF EMPLACEMENT OF LARGE
INTRUSIONS Figure 11.9 The Arran granite stock: an example of
forceful emplacement. The dotted ornament indicates
From a structural point of view, the most interest- Upper Devonian and younger strata. Form lines (con-
ing problem associated with the large intrusions is tinuous) and faults (broken lines) indicate the arrange-
how they became emplaced within the crust and. in ment of folds and faults around the margin of the
particular, how the space they occupy was created pluton. (After Read, H.H. and Watson. J. (1962) Intro-
duction to Geology, Macmillan. London, figure 232.)
- the so-called 'space problem'. This problem
becomes acute when we consider the size of a

batholith. Has the country rock moved aside to

accommodate this vast volume of rock; or has it
become, in part at least, digested or assimilated by
the magma; or has the country rock been somehow
transformed ('granitized') to produce the igneous
body? Each of these possibilities was argued for
forcefully by its proponents during the 'granite
controversy' of the 19505. We need not concern
ourselves with the detailed arguments as to the
origin of granites, but there are important structural
considerations which bear on the method of em-
placement.
Figure 11.8 Emplacement of a ring dyke by the In the case of plutons emplaced as permitted
subsidence of a centralcylindrical block. intrusions, the structural relationships suggest a
Further reading 129

passive accommodation of the intrusive magma to sive pulses of magma to eventually assume a domed
the space left by the country rock as it moves shape. This process is often referred to as balloon-
aside, or subsides below an intrusion. Certain large ing and may account for the deformation seen in
ring-shaped intrusions have been regarded as the marginal parts of certain large plutons, where
permitted, created by the subsidence of a central earlier-formed solid or nearly solid portions of the
cylindrical block (Figure 11.8). Other plutons magma chamber are compressed by the pressure
appear to have been emplaced by the foundering exerted by the later magma batches. This type of
of blocks of country rock detached from the roof mechanism combines active and passive processes,
of the intrusion in a form of large-scale stoping (see in that the feeder dykes may result from dilation in a
Figure 11.1C). regional extensional or transtensional stress field
Plutons emplaced as forceful intrusions, in con- whereas the resulting pluton may enlarge itself by
trast, make space for themselves by actively push- essentially forceful means. The association of plutons
ing aside the surrounding country rock. Evidence with major shear zones in many parts of the world
of this is provided by folding and fracturing of the has led to suggestions that magma is channelled
strata surrounding the intrusion. A good example through the crust using these as pathways.
of a forceful pluton is the Arran granite stock in It has also been suggested that diapiric em-
southwestern Scotland (Figure 11.9). An arcuate placement of igneous bodies may take place in the
fold follows the northern margin of this body, solid state under the influence of gravitational
and there are also a number of arcuate faults parallel instability, and this possibility is discussed in the
to the margin. Both the fold and the faults appear following chapter.
to be formed by the forceful emplacement of the
granite. Most plutons show some evidence of
forceful intrusion. FURTHER READING
It seems likely that many major granite bodies Anderson, EM. (1951) The Dynamics of Faulting and
(whatever the origin of the magma) are sheet-like Dyke Formation with Applications to Britain, Oliver
or laccolithic intrusions formed as a result of the and Boyd, Edinburgh.
magma spreading outwards at a particular level of Duff, D. (1993) Holmes' Principles of Physical Geology,
the crust, and do not necessarily extend to great 4th edn, Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 162-87.
depth. If this is the case, the space problem be- Price, N.]. and Cosgrove, JW. (1990) Analysis of
comes much less severe than if we were to en- Geological Structures, chapter 3, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, Cambridge.
visage large steep-sided batholiths extending to the Suppe, J. (1985) Principles of Structural Geology,
base of the crust. It has been suggested that sheet- Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. [Con-
like bodies fed by relatively narrow dykes may, tains a useful chapter on intrusive and extrusive
over a period of time, become inflated by succes- structures, with a short list of selected references.]
GRAVITY-CONTROLLED STRUCTURES 12

The force of gravity affects all natural deformation produced by a topographic slope is greatly accen-
processes and is an important component of all tuated if the beds dip towards the slope (Figure
natural stress fields. The role of gravitational load 12.18). Competent layers resting on weak material
pressure in controlling deformation has already may then slip towards the valley under gravity,
been discussed. However, in this chapter we deal particularly if their slip plane is weakened or lubri-
with structures that are primarily the result of the cated by percolating ground water.
action of gravitational force rather than an applied
external stress.
12.2 EFFECTS OF GRAVITY ON THRUST
SHEETS AND NAPPES
12.1 THE EFFECT OF TOPOGRAPHIC Thrust sheets or nappes of the order of tens of kilo-
RELIEF metres in extent are important features of orogenic
belts (see, for example, section 15.4). Most sheets
Differential erosion commonly leads to gravita-
are compressional in origin, but some have been
tional instability by exposing the ends of a set of
attributed to gravitational sliding along low-angle
beds along valley sides (Figure 12.1). The effects
normal faults. Because of subsequent changes in the
range from comparatively minor bending of the
attitude of the fault planes, it is not always possible
strata close to the ground surface, associated with
to be certain whether a particular fault plane is a
soil creep, to gravitational collapse structures
thrust or a plane of gravity sliding.
many hundreds of metres in length. The instability
In the past there has been considerable contro-
versy over the origin of the great thrust sheets
(termed nappes) of the French and Swiss Alps,
one school holding that the nappes were formed
by gravitational gliding from an uplifted crystalline
mass in the interior, and another claiming that the
nappes are basically compressional in origin and
formed by upwards and outwards flow of material
A squeezed from a highly compressed central root
zone. Some Alpine geologists believe that an initial
compression produces an uplift, which is followed
by gravitational gliding down the slopes of the
uplift.
A true gravity-gliding nappe or sheet should
B exhibit an extensional zone at the upper or proxi-
Figure 12.1 Structures fonned as a result of gravi-
mal end of the sheet (i.e. nearest the uplift) and a
tational instability associated with a topographic slope. compressional zone at the lower or distal end (i.e,
A. Bending of strata associated with soil creep. B. Slip furthest from the uplift). Low-angle normal faults
of a competent layer over a weaker layer. on which the sheets rest are termed detachment
., fn::wn 1ft.,
horn 04>-.~ "'&tihii
IN q...." Atll"dtU M-'. ...no.- Ihr
Maool ""'"'- lhr
......... ... ~ l.Wao h
'""'P'
.......
_
... . . ., <l
UIu_
0I1ht
IN .......
U un- IN l<if>o>Iti."
lof'<'llr......
Iht ,...
poot..w.. It.
lNIIIif pool..dola faA _ _
.n. doted
.............
......... lIw Jttibdr
ll'Ilftll, !he
dam -....I !ding
"ai_
"cd. ._."" ....
~ <I
~
oIlhr

r.n.r t!wo a...

ddad ,•ih• d-fy

tt-llwot !ding
~.
~
o..ty ...
~ ' k"
. .... tolfl-
~
....

__ ...
..... lot tho
tho Id
W .IIndIft I:Fis- 11.W
. . . - lfor- 11..W How- Haw-
~. •I ..
...... • ... g'- d! !Nt
'CWl9 tho ~
tNt thr Nf'P" ll-.y t-
"W)' '-'r
...
cw. ..*d . ' .• ...,,..
<a,," .... ..................
oInod\ns an:! t ~ -
...tw,,mty
." a, ~ bKomr ...-*d
rattiv*d lty IPMr ~
by pmy
con ...........
........ oW , I , wa
UfltIm drvatiBn ... .a.r.ed
ad •• ed .. 1ht
!he_ ~
<I !he
.. ii,i. higlI a;g....
tho Lbut ie' higl+ ~ IUBl 1l.l8j.

.~>I
CRAVlTY ~ NDUCID SPlt.EADlNC IN LARGE
QUISTAt MASSES

•, Nty . . - of mol ..... ~ • IllJ'OIVlf'hi< lugh

.....II P""""" grlVil~ pomt>oI """'lfY; I lhr
....-..I • ~ • moy 'I'ft"d litfr~ ito
own wnghl Thill PO". it .... 'on-n .
h<JII to Ihr flow of lIlicirr n but moy bo 4'f*<l
..... ""'"' ..M<My to I6IY ...- of ~r
• , ........ ......,.",.. .... . tlw Irithhd .....,., ..
• ...... Thr w-*...... ""• .s~ oR.d •

t~i~~~~~'~:-~
S--~-J 3 =of=~~~= ......... lhrt- ofthr ....... to"- ~

-
,,c .. e.-.. ~ IV). • ocan. b ~ lhr
Iond .... .......- .... . . -

=•• oeocee CCU-""

"'caN""""'"
n. ... .,...¥
Thr .... bnn ~ ...
f"ilqJio hal I..... "" .I Iqo:
Wgoo
• 00-.10
oeM to "
tNt en.
"8'''"' b<Io.
0I0SC'1ic: boh whm! it No I.....
<NIUI ~ r.knd
thr ....... ~ by
~
bnn "'SS"'od
by """lIft'O<
cwogtric
Fl, " " U .J C roW)' ~ ""8"' lot tl.., TirW ...,,... Ion
tGl4" I 'on pn><lo.- lVovblic:Nl onol.t.1ltr
producos grlVilll10Nl nub1iy
"'f'I"'t- A. ~ foIDwod Ity "oW)< oIioins- B. ttn.t. wtidl c..
wJoOdI con ......
,.,.... in IolHAogtIic 'coILIpJr' ..
IotNlt<>gftli< 'coIIopot" IN
oi Ihr
... foIIo-d by but" ... , rit\I...... roa-..d by
~ . . . (A oN 1\ o/l",. Cral-o. 19&1. ~
14 oN U J

,..M
f...1t-. ~ """
Throo !Alb
a. Thcx cui up to Iht
up 10 .me..
tho ...a... •II Ihr
It..
'WC" ....J
'W"" ond d tho lhettohftt 10
to ....... the .hod
. . lhr ohftt 10lID
btcomr cId.d>td.
.......... en-.
dnd>od GnIwn U9lllJ " .*,pdld
(1* 1) 'hoi i1"" f" <ttcI
Iht r.... A4- <l

.........-
Ihr ~ <llhr
T....., "'fP"I ~~
d tlw !.w....,. d Fnn<e
FJ.q ..
IroClIW CRa-
_
......d
IIw
al 'a P"*r
grariy .
'Bob' <J.
lhr 1lo!s'
~ . . II'Cdol
t..oI de
tho b.oI
d tho drtod"EJ' dip_.,
~ 1U).1ioft
11.1). !toft
!alb . . _~
I...., !aAI
Fit.... II UU
,..... e.-,.
~ + .... """"'" "" •
t ....... "" ....
Salt tectonics 133
overthickened orogen to produce extensional which may conveniently be desaibed in order of
spreading on a crustal scale. The elevated tempera- increasing maturity (Figure 12.5). A salt anticline
tures brought about by the crustal thickening, and is an elongate upwelling of salt with a concordant
the associated magmatism, are thought to cause the overburden; a variant of this structure is the salt
necessary increase in ductility. pillow, which is a subdrcular upwelling. Another
variant is the salt roller, which is a low-amplitude
asymmetric structure where one (steeper) side is
12.3 SALT TECTONICS
bounded by a normal fault. A salt dome is a dome-
The principle of gravitational instability also ex- shaped upwelling with an envelope of deformed
plains the mobility of salt, which commonly forms overburden. Where the mass of ductile salt has
domes and other structures which 'intrude' the discordantly pierced the overburden, the dome
surrounding rock. These salt structures arise from becomes a diapir, which in tum can assume various
the gravitational instability of a layer of low
density (such as salt, or some other evaporite mate-
rial) overlain by rock of higher density. If the salt
layer and the strata above are perfectly regular and
uniform there is no tendency for the salt to move.
However, any irregularity in the system caused, for
example, by a thickening of the salt layer, by fold-
ing or faulting in the beds above, or by local
folds and thrusts
erosion, will lead to lateral pressure in the salt layer
induced by the gravitational load. This pressure
would lead ultimately, if able to continue to com-
pletion, to the flow of all the salt to the surface,
4
where it would form a layer in a new gravitation-
ally stable position.
In practice, of course, the above process is only
partly completed. Structures caused by the move-
ment of salt away from the source layer show a 3
wide variety of forms, reflecting different stages in
extension normal faults
the upward migration of the salt, commencing with
simple broad domes and proceeding to plug-like and
mushroom-shaped forms (Figures 12.4 and 12.5).
Important advances in the understanding of salt
tectonics were made in the 1980s as a result of
seismic surveying during hydrocarbon exploration -! i-
in the Gulf of Mexico, and led to the recognition ~
salt layer
of vast allochthonous salt sheets covering many
hundreds of kilometres. These thin sheets, formerly Figure 12.4 Evolution of a salt diapir arising from
thought to be irregular salt domes, are underlain the initial gravitational instability of a salt layer overlain
by the overburden of the salt source layer and are by denser strata. As the diapir evolves, successive
thus important potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. layers are deposited on the surface, each in turn becom-
ing deformed as the diapir migrates upwards. Note
the early extensional structures associated with the
TYPES OF SALT STRUCTURE doming and later compressional structures associated
with the 'neck' of the diapir, (After Trusheim F. 1960,
Salt bodies formed by movement of the salt away Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum
from its source layer form a hierarchy of types Geologists, 44,1519-41.)
134 Gravity-controlled structures

Soil-tongue canopy Salt-stock canopy

Detached
Salt-wall
canopy Reactivated soil

. , ..•. .........,.~~

Salt
"Thin salt

Figure 12.5 Types of salt structure. (AfterJackson and Talbot, 1994, figure 8.2.)

shapes. A cylindrical diapir is termed a salt stock body, often accompanied by reverse faulting. In
or salt plug; where the top of the diapir begins to certain cases tight compressional folding may occur
spread out, a bulb is formed, rising from a stem. in more ductile layers of the country rock. The
Elongate diapiric structures are termed salt walls. strata above the diapir are affeded by extensional
Outwards spreading of a series of diapirs causes the tectonics, resulting in arching and thinning of the
bulbs or walls to coalesce to form a continuous sheet layers and in normal faulting. Intricate patterns of
called a canopy. Sheet-like bodies of salt emplaced normal faults are commonly found above salt
at a higher stratigraphic level than the source layer domes.
may themselves assume various forms, such as salt The margins of the diapir are typically marked
tongues, which are elongated bodies up to tens of by shear zones, which are both internal and ex-
kilometres in length, and may become completely ternal with resped to the salt body. Thus the essen-
detached from their roots. An exposed diapir will tially cylindrical body of a salt stock is surrounded
form extrusive sheets which flow over the surface in by a ring-shaped shear zone, usually ductile within
the form of salt glaciers. the salt but varying from brittle to ductile exter-
nally, depending on the rheology of the over-
burden (Figure 12.6). Within the salt body, the
STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED WITHSALT
strain pattern is dictated by the direction and extent
DIAPIRISM
of flow. In a salt stock like that shown in Figure
All salt diapirs show marked upwards bending of 12.6, the narrow 'neck' will exhibit very tight fold-
the surrounding layers against the walls of the ing with a strongly developed vertical linear
Mantled gneiss domes and granite diapirism 135

Curtain folds

Bed in source layer Recumbent

sheath fold

Figure 12.6 Cutaway diagram illustrating the development of internal structures in a salt diapir. (After Jackson
and Talbot, 1994, figure 8.5.)

elongation. Irregular flow of the salt from the half-graben and are thus perpendicular to the exten-
source layer towards the growing diapir produces sion direction With increasing extension, the salt
recumbent sheath folds which then rotate to form pierces the half-graben, forming a series of salt
steeply plunging curtain folds. walls. Further movement of the salt may com-
pletely break through the overburden, creating a
series of rafts which are then capable of lateral
REGIONAL EXTENSION IN SALT TECTONICS translation for many tens of kilometres, sliding
down-slope on a detachment surface 'lubricated' by
Large-scale extensional structure promoted or aided a thin layer of salt.
by salt tectonics is common in continental slope
regions such as the Gulf of Mexico. The salt
provides a weak detachment layer in addition to
12.4 MANTLED GNEISS DOMES AND
initiating movement by breaking through the over-
GRANITE DIAPIRISM
burden. In such cases the extensional structures are
entirely the result of gravitational spreading or The crystalline regions in the cores of many
gliding and are characterized by listric normal faults orogenic belts, and in granitic or gneissose Precam-
which detach on the salt layer. In regions of active brian shields, commonly exhibit dome-shaped areas
crustal extension, such as the northwest German of granitic material surrounded by a 'mantle' of
basin (Figure 12.7 A), however, the base of the salt metasedimentary or metavolcanic rocks. Structures
source layer is offset by normal faults which then of this type were first described from Finland and
initiate diapirism. were given the name mantled gneiss domes. In
Extension, whether it be of gravitational or many cases the basal mantle rock is a conglomerate,
regional origin, is typically non-uniform, and causes which indicates that the dome structure is a de-
local tectonic thinning, which in turn creates differ- formed unconformity between cover and basement.
ential loading of the salt source layer (Figure The material of the dome itself is often a complex
12.7B, C). This effect may create a set of parallel salt mixture of rock types which, although predomi-
rollers, which form at the base of the footwalls of nantly granitic in composition, may include bands
136 Gravity-controlled structures
Figure 12.7 Evolution of salt structures under exten-
sion. A. Distribution of salt bodies in the northwest
North German basin. (After Trusheim (1960) Bulletin of the
Sea American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 44,
1519-41.) B. Pre-, syn- and post-kinematic deposition
of overburden above an extending salt layer. C. Pro-
gressive extension causing evolution from roller to
rising, then sagging diapir; note the formation of rafts
after piercement. (B and C after Jackson and Talbot,
1994, figures 8.8A and 8.14, respectively.)

(j)
.0
,tW
(

50 krn ,

Prekinematic •. .
.....-----.-
-

••••
Extension Fault weld ./

B
Increasing extension ~~>

Increasing structural maturity ~---~

Rise --- --~~~~~~- Fall - - - >

o 1 mi
o r-~L~~-_" i

.j
t--;/- _
1 ~~____

· , km
<:> / \
1 rru Salt substratum Salt rollers Salt diapir rises through Salt diapir
faulted overburden widens and sags
c
or small bodies of many other rock types. Some in the solid state, driven by the gravitational
domes consist entirely of granite, which might instability of a lower-density granitic layer over-
suggest they are intrusive bodies. However, this is lain by a denser layer of, for example, basic
a likely explanation only for domes with discordant volcanics. The mechanism has been tested experi-
margins and fails to account for the mantling effect mentally using a centrifuge, and very similar struc-
in many domes. tures have been produced (Figure 12.8). Other
It is believed by some geologists that most geologists have suggested that many domes may be
gneiss domes originated in the same way as the result of interference between two fold sets
the salt domes described in the previous (Figure 3.18), the domes being produced at the
section, i.e. by diapiric flow of granitic material culminations of crossing anticlines. Superimposed
~ .......Id t..-.d to procla ~ .... 01 ....-..bI.,
8«"' •• h y not oq.adir............ ~ and
wt' ohcUd n:ptd thrr. to b. ~ 01 such

....
lap .u.s"wdwllhr Ioy....d ~

e-ftJ rnowrtI <Ji tho _ potlftJII in . -

7--iJd I
"' p _ •• p .... ....... tnr. . e-_
llUl rn ozlz:J ~ ....icr <Ji ~ irdatM
J • ~ ~ F.,..~. in Ihr Ilnba.-

f ll.... SIr... F " - ...,I g,.,..,............ onr

n .'
.....hond\;po tic !ld>duriI-Shomv. gr«n>Ionr 1..11 01
in
2m bohwo. (Alt.. J.t...... v.., <lor Ilrft ond VinYl<
1991)

st-w. 8........... bolt and ~ grrioO:I

ball ditl. in ~ ~ 12.9l. ~ IrwlguI.
-.. ......... Ii>< ~ ~ domot mft'I ;0
~ by ~ triqr;u1.< ldiohon piIIftn wth
Vft1riI co..ohicb...... slrwIo, «l<lIr~ wth tho
1Iott-.g and aHoonmntaiI iI"Id_"
.. .. . ito. -..J. tic ..... gIN 01 Ihr dorrco ..
"'" r<gJOf6 <Ji Ihr ri<r-domol syrdrn. " .
typo 01 piIIftn ;0 c..."...... 4 with Ihr a_ otul
piIIftn ~ by dYpric <mpiaam<nt buI •
not cu.f4ibl< wth . .. lOIdo"....-.gn.
It • ~ ,1.01: "'" _ <Ji Ihr
Bn::b.slwmv. .... "fl"Xb ~ _ modfl
in wt.d> do:formation is c.....d by Ihr 1f" 1Ob;i.
....ron 01 • buoy.-t gnnihc \oyer ..m.ri~ Ihr
mot-.iimmto and motavolan;cs of Ihr gr<m-
slone boll; t.... gr... hc loy.. .. ...........J t... ho...
f i l ~r. I J .• Mod<! 0/ ..-lied grc;.. dam< ,,""-"-
l...... ..... giNll y I'lIrudl'd as • """-'t·Iilr. or IKe.....
pocd.c<d in • cm lft"S. <l<p«no<nl. DoIrc> of "'t<l,- ~thc body_ It should },. noted that !IOmt' of tl-..
.... .. ~ in f"'IIy ........ b<rd<n "" do. oJq:onl oIong th< struo:n.a1 ffthn'f m brt<d ~ by Ihr
bound.y 01 • ~ a dtno<. 00IrC< lay<.. ~tho an .,...ay wd },. oxpI-...J by Ihr
~ ci modd 'H rnm. TIc s.-r p/'oDk>gr" ~ ......c..r..m dnmhod in _ l i b,
""""' • adrway> nh Ii>< pooIty ~ and tic m-...... ~ <i ~ and
............. Tho
..- -u.. <Ih<t ci ,.. y in
_ ouIlftoj 1M ~
II>t
hoIxw_" ..
io .til .....a.
Ihr ~ <Ji sr-br bodon
• ;0 Ihr .,...mn <Ji .. t,.11.., Ihr
..,.... ..... ci a dr<- ~ .
fbw ............ lor Ihr biI<n

....
I:udm. 1frum brh<rg. H. 0 '1011 IIoJIrt,., ttl Ilw (IfM'*
~. """'''''' of ,It< Uoo•......, ttl u"..... u pba .. tho dod _ ..... II whoIy p.tly
....... J7...tUI
138 Gravity-controlled structures
FURTHER READING [elsrna, H.A., Van der Beek, P.A. and Vinyu, M.L.
(1993) Tectonic evolution of the Bindura-Shamva
Graham. R.H. (1981). Gravity sliding in the Maritime greenstone belt (northern Zimbabwe): progressive
Alps, in Thrust and Nappe Tectonics (OOs K.R. deformation around diapiric batholiths. Journal of
McClay and N.J. Price), Geological Society of London Structural Geology, 15, 163-76.
Special Publication, 9, pp. 335-52. Ramberg, H. (1967) Gravity, Deformation and the
Jackson, M.P.A. and Talbot c.J. (1994). Advances in Earth's Crust, Academic Press, London. [De-
salt tectonics, in Continental Deformation (00. P.L. scribes experimental evidence for gravitational
Hancock), Pergamon, Oxford, pp. 159-79. structures.]
PART TWO

GEOTECTONICS
MAJOR EARTH STRUCTURE 13

In the last four chapters of this book we discuss 13.1 MAJOR TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF
the significance of geological structures in the THE EARTH
context of large-scale Earth processes. This branch
of structural geology is often described as geo- '. If we can imagine the Earth viewed from space
tectonics. The development over the past three with the water of the oceans removed. the major
decades of plate tectonic theory gives us a way features of the structure of the crust would be read-
of integrating rock deformation into a model ily apparent (Figure 13.1). A first-order division of
that attempts to explain the evolution of the the crust can be made into continents and
crust as a whole. As a background to the plate oceans, and superimposed on these large features
tectonic hypothesis, which is dealt with in are rather linear elevations consisting of the moun-
Chapter 14, we discuss major Earth structure tain ranges on the continents and the great
and the distribution of tectonic activity. Chapter system of ocean ridges. Of a smaller order of
15 relates deformation to the plate tectonic magnitude are the deep ocean trenches. We shall
model. and, finally, Chapter 16 describes exam- now examine the nature and pattern of these
ples of this relationship in the geological past large-scale structures, and their relationship to the
back to the Precambrian. tectonically active zones of the crust.

continent

r-:-:-l platform
L.-J
main
~ mountain
ranges

ocean

o basin

ridge

trench

Figure 13.1 The major topographic features of the Earth's surface as they would appear with the ocean waters
removed. (After Wyllie, 1976, figure 3.7.)
142 Major Earth structure

- 10
J::. Highest
tum implies that sectors with a higher surface eleva-
OJ
a; mountain tion must contain a greater proportion of lower-
I
5 Ocean ridge and 5 density material to keep the total sector weight the
con tine ntal slope
same. The base of the crust, at the Mohorovicic
Sea level 0
0 discontinuity (Moho), marks a very Significant
km
change in composition and density (Figure 13.3).
5 The mean density of crustal rocks is around
J::.
2.8 g/em' , whereas the peridotitic rocks of the
<::l- 10 10 uppermost mantle have a mean density of around
OJ
0
3.4 g/ em'. The continents are situated on oust with
0 20 40 60 80 100
Area expressed as % of total world area an average thickness of 33 km and a mean com-
position dose to that of granite, whereas the ocean
Figure 13.2 Distribution of the topographic level on basins are situated on crust with an average thick-
the Earth's surface expressed as a proportion of total ness of only 7 km and formed mainly of rocks with
surface area (see text). (After Wyllie, 1976, figure 3.11.) a gabbroic or basaltic composition (Figure 13.3).
The ability of rocks to flow at depth means that
material within the mantle can be transferred so as
CONTINENTS AND OCEANS
to maintain isostatic equilibrium and allow each part
The distribution of the topographic level of the of the crust to sink or rise to the appropriate level.
Earth's surface is shown in Figure 13.2. It is dear The difference of over 4 km in mean elevation
that there are two dominant levels corresponding between continents and oceans is therefore ex-
to the continents (average height about I km) and plained by the buoyancy of the thick continental
the ocean basins (average depth about 4 krn) re- crust.
spectively, and that the proportion of the total area
occupied by the extremes of height and depth
(mountain ranges and ocean trenches) is very small. MOUNTAIN RANGES
Elevations greater than 3 km make up only 1.6%,
and depressions deeper than 5 km only 1%, of the The elevated and depressed features of the conti-
total area. nents and oceans are generally linear and more or
The continents cover 29% of the Earth's surface less continuous over long distances.
and are distributed in a rather uneven way with The high mountain ranges of the Earth form
65% of the total land area in the northern hemi- two main belts, one situated on the western side of
sphere. The distribution of land and sea has varied North and South America, and the other (the
considerably through geological time, and there has 'Alpine-Himalayan belt') approximately at right
been a continuous change both of the relative angles to it, forming a sinuous belt from the Medi-
positions of the continents and of the shoreline terranean through central Asia, and curving south-
position If we add the continental shelf and slope
to the area of the continents, the total continental
surface area is 40%, compared with 60% for the average continent average ocean
km

~
ocean basins, which more exactly reflects the rela- upper 26
tive proportions of continental to oceanic crust. 2.7 crust / 29
20 lower 3.4
The existence of such a large difference in level 2.9 /Moho
is explained primarily by the difference in thickness 40 mantle
3.4
between continental and oceanic oust. The fact that
the Earth is in a state of general gravitational Figure 13.3 Average cross-sections through con-
balance (isostasy) means that every sector of the tinental and oceanic crust showing thicknesses and
Earth has approximately the same weight. This in mean densities.
Present-day tectonic activity 143

wards through Burma to Indonesia (Figure 13.1). described. This activity is of three types: (1) seismic
Another type of mountain belt forms the series of movements (i.e, causing earthquakes), involving
island arcs which are found around the northern displacements of the crust with high strain rates;
and western margins of the Pacific Ocean and in (2) aseismic crustal movements, with low strain
the northeastern Indian Ocean. The topographic rates; and (3) vulcanicity.
relief of these chains is comparable to that of the
continental ranges, but because they are partly
SEISMICITY
submerged they appear less significant. These
elevated features show extreme variation in dimen- The distribution of seismicity is shown in Figure
sions, but, as a very rough approximation, we can 13.4. The vast majority of earthquakes, including all
regard their width as generally in the range 300- the severe ones, are concentrated in narrow belts
800 km, and their ratio of vertical to horizontal which correspond with the linear topographic
dimensions as in the range 1:100-1:200. anomalies of Figure 13.1. More than 800/0 of the
total earthquake energy is concentrated in the
circum-Pacific belt alone. Thus the young mountain
OCEAN RIDGES
ranges, ocean ridges and ocean trenches, which
The great network of ocean ridges which figure represent extreme disturbances of the Earth's relief,
so prominently on the Earth's surface (Figure 13.1) are also the sites of severe tectonic activity. If we
represents topographic relief of a rather greater look at the distribution in terms of the depth of
order of magnitude volumetrically than the contin- focus (point of origin) of the earthquakes, we find
ental mountain ranges. They occupy about one- that the ocean ridges exhibit only shallow earth-
third of the surface area of the oceans and rise to quakes, with focal depths down to 65 km, and that
between 2 km and 3 km from the ocean floor. Their these are concentrated along a central rift zone or
width varies but is typically in the range 500- along faults which offset that zone. The deep earth-
1000 km, and the ratio of their vertical to horizontal quakes, with focal depths of over 300 km, are con-
dimensions is thus around 1:500. These huge struc- centrated along the deep ocean trenches, especially
tures are isostatically compensated, the excess topo- around the Pacific.
graphic relief being balanced by hotter, less dense A typical cross-section of a tectonically active
mantle material beneath. segment of the northern or western Pacific shows
that the earthquake foci lie on a plane outcropping
in a trench and dipping below an adjacent island
OCEAN TRENCHES
arc or continental margin. This inclined zone of
The deep ocean trenches form a discontinuous earthquake activity is called a Benioff zone
system of arcuate features which either lie near the (Figure 13.5) and is a critical piece of evidence
continental margins (as in the case of the South in favour of the process of subduction (see
American trench) or border island arcs (as in the section 14.3).
north and west Pacific). They differ in dimensions Fault plane solutions (see section 9.3) generally
from both the other types of linear feature, being indicate a compressive component acting across the
generally around 100-150 km in width and 2-3 km Benioff zones, whereas ocean ridge earthquakes
deep. The deepest trenches are over 11 km below show tensional solutions. The great oceanic faults
sea level. They are thus very narrow, deep features which offset the axes of the ridges (Figure 14.15)
with a depth/width ratio of around 1:50. are generally strike-slip.

13.2 PRESENT-DA Y TECTONIC ACTIVITY ASEISMIC MOVEMENTS

The pattern of current tectonic activity is very Slow movements of the crust of the order of
closely related to the topographic pattern just miUimetres per year are detectable by precise
144 Major Earth structure

Figure 13.4 Main belts of recent earthquake activity. Solid colour, shallow earthquakes only (> 65 km).
vertical ruling, mainly shallow to intennediate earthquakes (65-300 km): stipple, shallow to deep earthquakes
(> 300 km). (Based on Chadwick. P. (1962) in Continental Drift (ed. SK Runcom), Academic Press, New York.
figure 4, and Toksoz, MN. (1975) Scientific American, November.)

measurements of height over a period of years. responsible for the creation of geological structures
These rates of movement are comparable with, or such as folds and basins, the uplift of mountain
even faster than, the rates determined from the ranges and the lateral movement of the continents.
geological evidence of uplift and sedimentation. All
parts of the crust are subject to these aseismic
movements, many of which are vertical, and are
VULCANICITY

The distribution of present-day vulcanicity (Figure

volcanic arc 13.6) bears a striking resemblance to the distribu-
continent tion of earthquakes (Figure 13.4). Clearly there is a

,1111
very close relationship between vulcanicity and
M~hO '1] 1

- .
zones of tectonic instability. About 75% of the

11, ~
:. -(
asthenosphere
J LJ J_LL LLI-
lithosPhere
- 200

-400
currently or historically active volcanoes are situ-
ated in the circum-Pacific belt, particularly along the
volcanic island arcs. Many volcanoes are associated
Benioff zone with the ocean ridge network but some are found
-600 along faults or lineaments within the ocean basins.
The Alpine-Himalayan belt exhibits a rather sparse
Figure 13.5 Section across the Japanese island arc
distribution of volcanoes, with the exception of
showing the concentration of seismic activity along the
Benioff zone. Earthquake foci are shown as coloured
the Mediterranean and Indonesian regions, where
dots. (After Uyeda, S. (1971 The New View of the there is adjoining oceanic crust with sections of
Earth: Moving Continents and Oceans, Freeman, San trench. The greatest concentration of vulcanicity
Francisco, figure 5.18.) within the continents is found in the African rift
Further reading 145

Figure 13.6 World distribution of active volcanoes. Currently active volcanic areas are shown in solid colour.
The seismic zones of figure 13.5 are shown for comparison.

system, which is a continental extension of the formed sediments, abundant and varied igneous
Indian Ocean ridge network. rocks, and uplifted segments of deep crustal
material. The tectonic processes that take place in
these belts result from compression and give rise
13.3 STABLE AND UNSTABLE TECTONIC
to the formation of mountain belts. This is a result
ZONES
of crustal thickening, partly compressional and
The clear subdivision of the Earth into tectonically partly volcanic in origin which leads inevitably to
stable and tectonically active or unstable zones is uplift due to isostatic forces. Another type of mobile
one that characterizes most of the geological zone is characterized by extension and includes rifts
record. We have no direct information on the such as the African rift system (Figures 13.4, 13.6)
nature of the oceans before about 200 Ma ago, but and certain basins. Extensional rift systems are also
the continental areas for any particular period, typically associated with vulcanicity.
extending back to about the mid-Precambrian The continental crust of the present-day cratons
(c.2500 Ma ago) show a marked contrast between is composed of the wom-down remnants of
stable regions, termed cratons, and unstable zones, previous orogenic belts of different ages. The pro-
termed mobile belts. portion of orogenic belts to cratons appears to
The cratons consist of undeformed flat-lying increase generally as we go further back in time,
sedimentary cover on an older crystalline basement until in the earliest Precambrian no evidence of
and exhibit only minor vulcanicity. Tectonic effects cratons can be found, and there may have been a
are confined to very slow vertical tectonic move- general state of mobility.
ments of the order of rnillimetres per year or less,
resulting in broad sedimentary basins separated by
FURTHER READING
uplifts (see section 15.6). Orogenic belts are a
type of mobile belt characterized by highly de- See list at the end of Chapter 14.
PLATE TECTONICS 14

14.1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT The acceptance by most geologists of the idea

of continental drift: led to attempts to discover a
In 1915 Alfred Wegener popularized the idea of mechanism, and in particular to attempts to under-
continental drift: in his book The Origin of Conti- stand the role of the oceanic areas in this process.
nents and Oceans. The relative movement of con- The hypothesis of sea-floor spreading, put forward
tinents provided a convenient explanation for in 1962 by HH Hess and RS. Dietz, linked con-
many otherwise puzzling geological phenomena - tinental and oceanic areas in the same general
the geometric fit of the opposing coastlines of the process, likened to a conveyor belt, in which slabs
Atlantic, peculiarities in faunal distribution and of crust were transported laterally carrying the
palaeoclimatological reconstructions, and awkward continents with them. The ocean ridges were en-
geological coincidences - that immediately made visaged as the sites of creation of new oceanic
sense when continents were joined together in material and the trenches as the sites of destruction
their presumed original positions to form a super- (Figures 13.5 and 14.7).
continent, named Pangaea. Thus the two hypotheses of continental drift:
Many geologists found difficulty in accepting and sea-floor spreading became combined to form
the proposed movements in the absence of a satis- the nucleus of the new hypothesis of plate tec-
factory mechanism, but most of the doubters were tonics, which has evolved into a general theory to
convinced by the results of palaeomagnetic work in explain crustal movements and evolution The
the period 1950--60. Palaeomagnetic reconstruc- critical evidence that led to the acceptance of the
tions for the Triassic period showed that the sea-floor spreading idea arose from the application
continents, when reassembled in the positions of magnetic stratigraphy to the ocean floor, from
advocated by the believers in continental drift:, which the direction and amount of movement of
showed a common Triassic magnetic pole (Figure the ocean floor could be established.
14.1A). The positions of the Triassic poles for the Measurement of the magnetic field over the
various continents at present are widely scattered. oceans had shown that the ocean floor exhibited
An even more convincing test of the reassembly a striped magnetic pattern with abrupt changes in
is provided by the apparent polar wander magnetic intensity from one stripe to the next
curves. These tracks of successive positions of the (Figure 14.2A). These stripes, which are mostly
magnetic north pole are shown for the continents around 20-30 km in width, are parallel to the
of Europe and North America from the Cambrian ocean ridges and, like them, are displaced by the
to the present in Figure 14.1B. The tracks are quite oceanic fracture zones. A breakthrough came in
separate in the present positions of the continents. 1963 with the proposal that these abrupt changes
However, when the continents are reassembled the in magnetization could be correlated with rever-
tracks for the Carboniferous to Jurassic period, sals of polarity in the Earth's magnetic field. Since
when these continents were thought to be joined these reversals could be dated by comparison
together, are superimposed though they diverge with continental rock sequences (Figure 14.2B),
for the period after the Jurassic, when opening of the magnetic stripe pattern effectively became a
the North Atlantic commenced. magnetic stratigraphy of the ocean floor, from
148 Plate tectonics

90 'W

S-CI S- D
Cu ~ Cu
p '~ p
K JJ',T'I
"<--- T,U

d
. ~
"
D~~D~~_:)
.\\
K

90'E B

Figure 14.1 Critical palaeomagnetic evidence for continental drift. A. North and south polar projections of the
continents reassembled in their pre-drift positions, showing the positions of the Triassic magnetic pole for the
various continents (coloured dots). B. The left-hand diagram shows the apparent polar wander curves for Europe
and North America in their present relative positions. The right-hand diagram shows the superimposition of the
curves between Silurian and Upper Triassic times with the continents in their pre-drift positions. C, Cambrian; S,
Silurian; D, Devonian Cl Lower Carboniferous; Cu, Upper Carboniferous; P, Permian; Tr, Triassic; TrL Lower
Triassic; Tru, Upper Triassic; J, Jurassic; K. Cretaceous. (After McElhinny, N.W. (1973) Palaeomagnetism and Plate
Tectonics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.)

14.2 THE CONCEPT OF LITHOSPHERIC

which it is possible to establish the age of a large
PLATES
proportion of the oceanic oust (Figure 14.8) and
thus to prove that the ocean spreading hypothesis The idea of plates arose from the observation that
was correct. large areas of the oust have suffered very little
The concept of lithospheric plates 149

2.75 million years 2.25 million years

Normal Reversed
Magnetic field polarity, Magnetic field polarity,
intensity Epoch 3 intensity Epoch 2

Positive ",,-_ _ E
co>-
Average Negative o
c
«

Sea level Sea level

b b'

Present time Normal polarity, Epoch 1

Magnetic field
intensity

c-,
co
"----~
Average c
«

Sea level

(c)

Figure 14.2 Magnetic stratigraphy of the ocean floors, A. The magnetic 'tape recorder'. Diagrammatic represen-
tation of the process whereby sea-floor spreading and magnetic polarity reversals produce a series of differently
magnetized stripes parallel to the ocean ridge crest. (a) at 2.75 Ma (b) at 2.25 Ma (c) at present. (After Wyllie,
1976, figure 10.5, with permission.)
150 Plate tectonics
o accurate 'jigsaw fit' of the opposing coastlines of
America and Africa (Figure 14.3), after 200Ma and
4000 Ian of drift, testifies to this lack of distortion.
In the oceans also we find regular linear magnetic
stripes and faults which have maintained their shape
c
>- after tens of millions of years. This evidence rein-
.2 2 forces the conclusions reached by studying the
E ---b
distribution of tectonic movements (see section
ai
E 13.3) that there are large stable areas (d. the con-
.;::
3 -- a tinental cratons) that suffer little internal deforma-
tion and exhibit only slow vertical movements,
while moving laterally as a coherent unit at rates
B 4 10--100 times faster.
Figure 14.2 (contd.) B. Time-scale for the past 4 Ma.
(After Wyllie, 1976, figure 10.5, with permission.)

distortion although they have travelled laterally SEISMICITY AND PiATE BOUNDARIES
several thousand kilometres, if we accept the
The obvious link between seismicity and present-
evidence for continental drift. The detailed and
day tectonic activity suggests that the seismic
zones must represent the boundaries of these stable
blocks of crust and that each block or plate can be
delimited by a continuous belt of seismic activity.
Taking the argument one step further, since the
seismic activity represents fault movements with
high strain rates, each plate must be in a state of
relative motion with respect to each of its neigh-
bours.
If we now examine the nature of these plate
boundaries and their sense of movement, we can
recognize three types (Figure 14.4).

transform fault ridge trench

\ plate B I plate C

- --
Figure 14.3 Geometric fit of the opposing con- lithosphere
tinental margins of the Atlantic. Solid colour represents
areas of misfit. Matched at 1000m below sea level. Figure 14.4 Block diagram illustrating the plate
(After Bullard, E.C., Everett, J.E. and Smith, A.G. (1965) tectonic model. (After [sacks, B., Oliver, J. and Sykes,
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of L.R. (1968) Journal of Geophysical Research, 73,
London, A. 258, 41-51.) 5855-99.)
The concept of lithospheric plates 151

to determine than its horizontal extent. Alfred

Wegener's original idea of pieces of continental
crust moving across a plastic ocean was abandoned
many years ago when it was realized that oceanic
rocks could not behave in a sufficiently ductile
manner near the surface. The possibility that the
plates consist of pieces of crust sliding over the
mantle must also be discarded. The oceanic crust is
only about 7 km thick and could not remain undis-
Figure 14.5 The six major lithospheric plates. Ridges, torted or transmit horizontal stresses. Moreover,
double lines; trenches, single lines, transform faults, there is no evidence of a major change in physical
broken lines. (After Le Pichon, X. (1968) Journal of properties that would suggest the existence of a
Geophysical Research, 73, 3661-97.)
zone of subhorizontal displacement at the base of
the crust.
1. Divergent boundaries, where adjoining plates The evidence from earthquake waves suggests
are moving apart (ocean ridges). that the physical properties of the crust and upper-
2. Convergent boundaries, where adjoining most mantle change gradually down to around
plates are moving together (ocean trenches and 100-ISO km in depth, where there is a more abrupt
young mountain belts). change in the seismic velocity profile. The rate of
3. Strike-slip boundaries, where adjoining increase in seismic velocity drops through a zone
plates are moving laterally past each other with about 100 km deep before rising again at greater
a horizontal strike-slip sense of displacement depths. This layer of abnormally low seismic velo-
along steep faults. cities is called the low-velocity zone (LVZ) and
The sense of displacement can be deduced from is thought to signify a decrease in density and in
first-motion studies of individual earthquakes and in viscosity. We can therefore regard this zone as a
general confirms the relative movements inferred more ductile layer where lateral flow of material
from other evidence such as palaeomagnetism and could take place, or as a zone of ductile shear
magnetic stratigraphy. between plate movements above and the main part
Following these principles, we can use the of the mantle beneath.
network of boundaries to divide the Earth's present Isostasy theory demands a weak layer where
surface into six major plates (Figure 14.5) the lateral flow can take place, and this layer is called
Eurasian. American. African. Indo-Australian. An- the asthenosphere. It has become convenient to
tarctic and Pacific plates. There are also a number identify the asthenosphere with the LVZ. The
of smaller plates, associated especially with destruc- stronger layer above the asthenosphere is termed
tive boundaries around the margins of the Pacific the lithosphere (Figure 14.6). The lithosphere
Ocean. Note that plate boundaries mayor may not thus includes the crust and the uppermost part of
correspond to continental margins. Continental
margins that lie within plates, such as the Atlantic
margins of Africa and America. are termed passive
margins. Those that do correspond to plate bound- crust ---=::;:::;::-:::::-~....-r-';:::;:
--.;;- - - -
-----
lithosphere
aries (e.g. the western margin of the American mantle .LJ.J--.L....L--L..LL.L.L..L.J.--L..L.L-U....LL - - - - -
asthenosphere
continents) are termed active margins.
mesosphere

LITHOSPHERE AND ASTHENOSPHERE Figure 14.6 Lithosphere and asthenosphere. The litho-
sphere includes the crust and the uppermost part of
The vertical extent of a plate is much more difficult the upper mantle.
152 Plate tectonics

oceanic crust conti nental crust

lithosphere ~~~~ 35

----------- 100
asthenosphere ~--

A
new oceanic crust

B new oceanic lithosphere

Figure 14.7 Nature of constructive plate boundaries. A. Initiation of a constructive boundary as a con-
tinental swell as a result of the uprise of hot asthenosphere. B. Formation of new oceanic lithosphere
along an ocean ridge between the two diverging plates. (After Dietz, R.5. and Holden, l.C, (1970) Scien-
tific American, October.)

the upper mantle down to a variable depth of example the oceanic lithosphere, this will be hottest
80-120 km in the oceans and around 150 km or near the site of formation at the ocean ridge crest
possibly deeper in the continents. Since the base of and will cool gradually with time and distance
the lithosphere depends on a relatively gradual from the ridge as it travels laterally away from it.
change in viscosity, which is strongly temperature- This is reflected in the thickness of the litho-
dependent, the base is not only gradational but sphere, which ranges from less than 50 km at the
varies both spatially and temporally in response to ridge crest to 120 km near the ocean margins
changes in temperature gradient. If we take as an (Figure 14.7).
Nature of plate boundaries 153

14.3 NATURE OF PLATE BOUNDARIES zone, which suggests that the oceanic plate dips
down below the adjoining plate (Figures 13.5 and
CONSTRUCTIVE BOUNDARIFS
14.9). This process is considered to be responsible
Divergent plate boundaries along ocean ridges for the convergent motion, and is known as
where adjoining plates are moving apart are called subduction. Since subduction involves the de-
constructive boundaries, because new material struction of plates, by returning old lithospheric
is being added to them. The process is illustrated in material to the mantle, subduction zones are termed
Figure 14.7. Some of the new material is provided destructive plate boundaries.
by upper mantle melts formed in the hot, low Geological evidence for the subduction process
density region below the ridge. Part of this molten is provided by examining the magnetic stratigraphy
material is injected into the crust as basalt dykes of the ocean floor adjacent to a destructive
or gabbro intrusions, and part is extruded on the
ocean floor as basalt pillow lavas. At the same time,
60· 30· O·
the mantle part of the lithosphere grows by the
addition of ultrabasic intrusions and by ductile flow
of material from the asthenosphere. The focus of
activity at any given time is the central seismically
active rift zone marked by dyke intrusions, exten-
sional faulting and vulcanicity. This zone is only
about 100 km wide, and the remainder of the ridge
consists of warm lithosphere which gradually
subsides to the level of the ocean basins as it cools
and moves away from the central rift.
The continental rift zones represent incipient
constructive boundaries. The African rift zone, the A
Red Sea rift and the Gulf of Aden rift meet in a 180· 150· 120·
triple junction in the Afar region of Ethiopia (Figure
15.1) which serves as a useful analogy for the
60·
way in which the major continents separated
during the Triassic to Jurassic period. This example
will be discussed in more detail in section 15.2.
The characteristic features of the oceanic construc-
tive boundaries are also found in the continental
rifts but the nature of the vulcanicity is much more
varied. 30·

DFSTRUCTIVE BOUNDARIES
There are two types of convergent boundary at B
the present time. The first follows the deep ocean
trenches and the second follows the belt of young Figure 14.8 Comparison of ocean-floor magnetic
mountain ranges of the Alpine-Himalayan chain stratigraphy at constructive and destructive boundaries.
A. Magnetic age pattern of the central Atlantic. Note
(Figure 14.5). The evidence for the nature of the
concordance with continental margins. B. Magnetic age
convergent movement along the trenches comes pattern of the northeast Pacific. Note discordance with
partly from earthquake first-motion study, which the continental margin. Age in Ma. (After Larson, R.L.
shows generally compressional solutions across the and Pitman, W.e. (1972) Bulletin of the Geological
trench and partly from the shape of the Benioff Societyof America, 83,3645-61.)
154 Plate tectonics
(Figures 13.1 and 13.6). Most subduction zones at
the present time, however, are situated at island
arcs within the oceans (Figures 14.9 and 14.15), so
a section of oceanic crust intervenes between the
subduction zone and the nearest continent.
A typical island arc (Figure 14.9) consists of a
partially submerged volcanic mountain range
50-100 km wide (the magmatic arc) with a trench
Figure 14.9 Diagrammatic profile across an island
on its convex side between 50 and 250 km from
arc/subduction zone, showing the main features. (From the island arc. Between the arc and the trench is the
Windley, B.F. (I977) The Evolving Continents, Wiley, arc-trench gap or forearc, which is a zone of
Chichester, figure 16.4.) sedimentary accumulation. A wedge of clastic mate-
rial derived from the volcanic arc merges ocean-
wards with a zone termed the accretionary
boundary and comparing it with the pattern at a prism, where highly deformed arc-derived clastic
constructive boundary (Figure 14.8). The magnetic material is intercalated with slices of oceanic material
stripes in the Atlantic (Figure 14.8A) are concordant scraped off the descending slab. The arc-trench zone
with the coastlines; the oldest stripes adjoin the is not in isostatic balance. There is a mass deficiency
continents and reflect the time of separation. In the along the trench and a smaller mass excess asso-
northern Pacific (Figure 14.8B), in contrast, the dated with the volcanic arc. This gravitational
stripes are discordant with the Aleutian trench, and instability must be related to the subduction process,
stripes of various ages occur along this plate and the mass imbalance is thought to be supported
boundary, demonstrating that their continuations by the lateral compressive stress associated with the
have been subduded below the trench. convergent plates.
Certain subduction zones border continents, on Certain island arcs are formed from pieces of
the west side of South America for example. In this continental crust that have perhaps become sepa-
case there is a linear volcanic belt situated on the rated from a nearby continent. Others are built up
continent about 300 km from the Peru---Chile trench by the addition of new volcanic material to oceanic

A 8

:;:C6NTINE~ :+,~/ACIFIC OCEAN

t
GRAVITATIONAL"
~ I I
FORCE ~ TRENCH
I MOVEMENT
I
SLAB ROLL-BACK

.
Figure 14.10 Possible mechanisms of formation of a marginal back-arc basin. A. Secondary spreading due to
heating of the upper mantleabove a subducting slab. (After Uyeda, S. (1978) The New View of the Earth: Moving
Continents and Oceans, Freeman, San Francisco, figure 5.22.) B. The trench (or slab) roll-back model. See text.
Nature of plate boundaries 155

trench deep-sea continental well documented by palaeomagnetic data and

shelf ocean-floor stratigraphy. This record shows that
the two continents gradually approached each
other through the late Mesozoic and early Tertiary
period as the intervening oceanic lithosphere was
subducted beneath the southern margin of Asia. A
plate margin of this type is transient in nature since
continental oust, because of its low density, is not
capable of subduction. Thus convergence of two
pieces of continental lithosphere can only take place
to a limited extent after the two continents come
in contact with each other.
The line of collision is termed a suture and is
important in recording older plate movements in
the geological record of the continents (see Chapter
16). Along the Himalayan part of the suture there
is geological evidence of the subduction zone that
was responsible for destroying the large area of
oceanic plate formerly separating Asia and India.
The processes leading from a subduction zone to a
collision zone are summarized in Figure 14.11.
In the case of the India-Asia collision zone,
the convergent plate movements have resulted in
Figure 14.11 Sequence of stages in the transfonna- a very wide belt of complex structures on the
tion of a subduction zone to a continental collision Asian side of the suture (see section 15.4 and
zone by the approach of two continents and the elimi- Figure 15.7).
nation of the intervening ocean. (After Dewey, ].F.
and Bird, ]M. (1970) Mountain belts and the new
global tectonics. Journal of Geophysical Research, 75, CONSERVATIVE BOUNDARIES
2625-47, figure 13.)
Many sections of the boundaries of all the plates
consist of steep faults with a lateral (strike-slip)
oust. The areas of oceanic oust between the island sense of displacement. Because plate material is
arc and the nearest continent form what are known neither created nor destroyed along these sections
as back-arc basins. These structures have been but is conserved, they are termed conservative
attributed to secondary ocean-floor spreading be- boundaries. Faults or fracture zones are very
hind the island arc. Figure 14.10 illustrates two prominent features of the oceans, and the ocean
suggested mechanisms for producing the secondary ridge crests are repeatedly offset by them (Figure
spreading - the mantle diapir model and the trench 14.15). These oceanic faults played a key role in
(or slab) rollback model. the evolution of the plate concept. It was noted
The other type of convergent plate boundary by J. Tuzo Wilson, in an influential paper in 1965,
is often referred to as a continental collision that parallel sets of such faults should be parallel
zone. In the case of the Alpine-Himalayan belt, to the spreading direction of the ocean ridges, and
the plate boundary represents the collision of the that divergent motion away from a ridge axis
Eurasian continent to the north with the African would be 'transformed' to a transcurrent motion
and Indian continents to the south (Figure 14.5). along such a fault (Figure 14.12A), then perhaps
The collision can be deduced from the record of transformed again to convergent motion at a
relative movements of these continents, which is trench (Figure 14.128). He therefore called these
156 Plate tectonics

ridge ridge trench Many transform faults appear to originate at

-1r Pla~_{_
"'::-plate B
abrupt changes in orientation of the severed con-
tinental margin (Figure 15.2), particularly where
B the margin is nearly parallel to the spreading
ridge
direction.
Figure 14.12 Nature of a transform fault (see text). One of the best-known examples of a transform
fault is the San Andreas fault of California (Figure
14.13). This fault forms the plate boundary between
faults transform faults, recognizing their funda-
the Pacific plate on its west side and the American
mental difference from strike-slip faults on land.
plate on its east, transfonning the divergent motion
A transform fault is part of a plate boundary,
across the East Pacific ridge to the south to trans-
and must be parallel to the direction of relative
current motion over a distance of 2800 Ian until the
motion of the plates on either side. It is therefore
boundary again becomes a spreading ridge west
controlled by the relative velocity of the two
of Oregon The direction of this fault thus tells us
plates, whereas a strike-slip fault, at least initially, is
the direction of relative motion of the Pacific and
a response to stress (Figure 9.3Q. However, in
American plates.
the case of major continental strike-slip faults,
which are controlled by the relative movement of
large crustal blocks, the distinction is less clear.
14.4 GEOMETRY OF PLATE MOTION
Once it is accepted that plates behave as 'rigid'
shells, their relative motion across the surface of the
globe obeys the simple rules of motion on a sphere.

= ridge plate B p
--L>..- trench

American plate
40 '

new matenal
added to
plateB

30 ' new material

added to
plate A
area of plate B destroyed

Figure 14.14 Relative movement between two plates

expressed as an angular rotation about a pole. The
movement of plate B relative to plate A takes place
parallel to the smaIl circles about the pole of rotation
along bounding transform faults. New material added to
both plates at the ridge is balanced by material
Figure 14.13 The San Andreas transform fault (see destroyed by subduction below plate A. (Based on
text). (Based on Hallam, 1973, figure 24.) Dewey, J.F. (1972) Scientific American, May.)
Geometry of plate motion 157

Any relative movement between two plates on situated in the North Atlantic (Figure 14.15). This
the surface of a sphere can be described as an an- movement gives apparent velocities that increase
gular rotation about an axis that will intersect the southwards away from the pole of rotation. It is
surface of the Earth at two points called the poles important to realize that, although the angular velo-
of rotation for that movement. Figure 14.14 illus- city is constant, the tangential velocity at the
trates this principle. The displacement of plate B surface varies from a minimum at the pole to a
relative to plate A is an angular rotation about the maximum along the great circle at 90° from the
pole P. The direction of movement is parallel to a pole (Figure 14.14). By using transform faults and
set of small circles on the globe about the axis PP. spreading rates, the poles and relative angular velo-
If the displacement takes place by the opening of cities of several plate pairs were established. The
an ocean between two bounding transform faults, relative velocities of the remaining plate pairs were
these faults will also be small circles about the pole then found using the 'triple junction' method
of rotation, as they must be parallel to the direction (Figure 14.16).
of relative motion. The speed of relative motion Thus, working from plate boundaries with known
may be described in terms of an angular velocity, relative motions, a complete picture can be built
which is the speed of rotation about the axis. up of all plate velocities. Actual tangential or linear
The transform fault method was first used to plate velocities are in the range 2-12 cm/yr and
investigate the motion of the Pacific plate relative are illustrated in Figure 14.15 together with the
to the American plate. The pole for this motion is poles of rotation for six major plate pairs. It must

Figure 14.15 The major plates, showing poles of rotation for six plate pairs and approximate linear velocity
vectors relative to the Antarctic plate. L America-Africa; 2, America-Pacific; 3, Antarctica-Pacific; 4, America-
Eurasia; 5, Africa-India; 6, Antarctica-Africa. (After Vine, F.}. and Hess, H.H. (1970) in The Sea, vol. 4, Wiley,
New York)
158 Plate tectonics
be remembered that linear velocities as shown
~
on a map will vary in amount and direction
plate C
depending on their position in relation to the
pole of rotation.
,
.»====7
Changes in relative plate motion can be recog-
.J.,
nized from discordances in the ocean stripe and
plate A
A transform pattern that indicate a change in the posi-
tion of the pole of rotation. A good example is
"'s plate C
seen in the Indian Ocean (Figure 14.17), where the
northward movement of India relative to the
~ '\ Antarctic plate to the south changed abruptly about
\
\
33 Ma ago to a northeasterly movement, causing
plate B a new ridge axis to be formed at an angle of 45°
plate A
to the old direction.

ridge
............... trench
transform fault
B

Figure 14.16 Determination of the relative velocities

of three plates meeting at a triple junction. When three
plates meet in a triple junction, and the velocities
of two of them are known, the velocity of the third
can be calculated by drawing a vector triangle. In
the example shown in A, three plates A. B and C,
separated by three spreading ridges, meet at a triple
point. The relative velocity of B with respect to A,
VB/At is given by the spreading rate on the AlB ridge
and the direction of the offsetting transform faults
along that ridge. It can be represented by the vector
OP, whose length is proportional to the velocity VB/A.
Similarly, the relative velocity of C with respect to B,
VC/ B' can be represented by the vector PQ. If we
suppose that the velocity of A relative to C, VA / C' is
unknown, it can be calculated by completing the vector
triangle by joining QO. Let us assume for simplicity
that plate A is stationary. The velocity of plate B is
then given by VB/ A or OP and the velocity of plate C Figure 14.17 The western Indian Ocean region
by VC/ A or OQ. B shows the method applied to a showing the discordance in magnetic anomaly patterns
triple junction between a ridge, a trench and a trans- and transform direction at anomaly 5 (33 Ma ago)
form fault. The spreading rate at the ridge can be used caused by a change in spreading direction. Newer
to determine VB/A" The direction of relative motion ocean floor (post-anomaly 5) stippled. Older anomalies
between B and C is given by the transform fault. The (23, 25, 30) and transform faults give former relative
direction of convergence across the trench may also be velocity vectors. (Based on Laughton A.S., McKenzie,
known from transform faults offsetting the trench. By D.P. and Sclater, J.G. (1973) in Implications of Contin-
completing the vector triangle, the rate of convergence ental Drift to the Earth Sciences (eds D.H. Tarling and
between A and C, VA / C can also be found. S.K. Runcom), Academic Press, New York. figure 1.)
Further reading 159

density bulge, which exerts a lateral gravitational

war~ ~er,
1(- ~~~ser
lessdense ~ ~
pressure on the plates on either side. This is the
ridge-push mechanism and operates in the same
way as the gravitational spreadirtg of orogens
A ridge push B slab pull discussed in section 12.2. Secondly, the gravita-
tional effect of cooler, denser material in and
around the sinking slab creates a lateral force
towards the trench on the subducting slab. This is
the slab-pull mechanism.
C mantledrag Another suggested mechanism is mantle drag,
in which lateral convective flow within the mantle
Figure 14.18 Driving mechanism for plate motion effectively pulls the plates along. Although all
(see text). three mechanisms play some part in driving plate
motion, calculations of the likely magnitudes of the
14.5 DRIVING MECHANISM FOR PLATE forces involved suggest that ridge-push and slab-
MOTION pull are dominant and that mantle drag is much less
important.
Despite the explosion of research into plate
tectonics that has taken place over the past three
decades, there is still no general agreement on the
fundamental mechanism that drives plate motion. FURTHER READING
As long ago as 1928, Arthur Holmes suggested Cox, A. and Hart, R.B. (1986) Plate Tectonics: How it
convection currents in the solid mantle as a Works, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Palo Alto,
mechanism to explain crustal tectonics and con- California. [Thorough and readable treatment of
tinental drift, and it is now generally believed that three-dimensional geometry and kinematics, with
some kind of convective flow pattern in the mantle examples.]
provides the driving force for plate motion. Hallam, A. (1973) A Revolution in the Earth Sciences,
Clarendon Press, Oxford. [A very readable account
However, there is still considerable debate about of the historical development of plate tectonic
the nature and pattern of convective circulation, theory.]
and whether it involves the whole or only part of Wilson, IT. (ed .) Continents Adrift and Continents
the mantle. Aground (1972), Readings from Scientific American,
The ultimate source of energy for tectonic Freeman, San Francisco. [Contains reprints of impor-
processes is heat. The variation in distribution of tant articles relating to the development of plate
tectonics.]
the flow of heat leaving the Earth is converted into
Wyllie, P.I. (1976) The Way the Earth Works: An
density imbalances which in tum provide gravita- Introduction to the New Global Geology and its
tional energy. This can work in two main ways Revolutionary Development, Wiley, New York. [An
(Figure 14.18). First. the rise of hotter mantle mate- excellentand very readableaccount of plate tectonics
rial below an ocean ridge produces a large low- at an introductory level.]
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND PLATE 15
TECTONICS

In Chapters 13 and 14 we discussed how the shape may represent incipient constructive boundaries.
of the Earth's surface and the present pattern of Such boundaries are characterized by divergent
tectonic activity can be explained in terms of plate plate movements and consequently are marked by
tectonic theory. In this chapter, we examine the zones of extensional faulting and commonly by
relationship between geological structure and plate vulcanicity.
movements in order to understand how geological A well-known example of an incipient construe-
structures may be explained by the plate tectonic tive boundary is the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea rift,
model. which meets the great African rift system in a triple
junction in the Afar region of Ethiopia (Figure
15.1). The geological history of this area shows
15.1 RECOGNITION OF INACTIVE PLATE
that a domal uplift around 1 km high and 1000 km
BOUNDARIES
The recognition of presently active plate boun-
daries depends on seismic activity. In interpreting
the geological record, we must use other criteria
for the recognition of plate boundaries. To a great
extent, the record over the past 200 Ma since the
break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea (Figure
14.1), can be reconstructed by extrapolation back-
wards in time, using particularly the oceanic record.
However, before that period there is no oceanic
record. since all older oceanic crust will have been
destroyed, and we must rely exclusively on the
interpretation of continental geology. By examining
the way in which structures are related to present-
day plate boundaries and plate movements, we can
seek to interpret older structures by analogy.

Great African Rift

15.2 STRUCTURE OF CONSTRUCTIVE
BOUNDARIES
Figure 15.1 Structure of the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden-
The continental record of structures associated with
African Rift system. (Based on Cass, I.G. (1970) The
Mesozoic to present-day constructive boundaries evolution of volcanism in the junction area of the Red
is well documented. Evidence is available from the Sea, Gulf of Aden and Ethiopian rifts. Philosophical
severed margins of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans Transactions of the Royal Society of London, A, 267,
and from continental rift systems, several of which 369-81, figure 1.)
162 Geological structure and plate tectonics
ridge the following tectonic features associated with past
constructive boundaries: (1) a series of domal up-
lifts; (2) extensional faulting both parallel to the
~ coastline and defining 'failed-ann' graben; (3) ex-
tensive vulcanicity, including extensional dyke
swarms,

STRUCTURES ASSOClATED WITH

A ocean B CONTINENTAL RIFTS
Figure 15.2 Model for the formation of an ocean Good examples of the types of extensional struc-
by continental rifting. (After Dewey, J.F. and Burke, K. tures found in divergent tectonic regimes have
(1974) Hot spots and continental break-up: implications
been described from the Gulf of Suez, which forms
for collisional orogeny. Geology, 2, 57-60, figure 1.)
the northwest segment of the Gulf of Aden rift.
Here a set of parallel normal faults trends NW-SE
wide formed during Mesozoic times and was even-
tually broken by a three-pronged rift associated
with deep-seated alkaline vulcanidty. Extensional
normal faulting and crustal thinning produced the
three rift valley systems, and was accompanied by
rather higher-level basaltic volcanics. The final stage a
t'
of separation is only seen in the Red Sea and Gulf
of Aden rifts, where thin strips of oceanic crust
have fonned. The Gulf of Aden has been slowly
opening over the past 20 Ma along a continuation
of the Carlsberg ridge spreading axis in the north-
western Indian Ocean (Figure 14.17).
This triple rift system has been taken as a model
for the process of continental break-up leading to

,~
the formation of an ocean (Figure 15.2). It has been
suggested that the break-up of Pangaea took place
by the linking together of a series of jagged rift- F2
fractures of this type situated over mantle 'hot
spots' marked by domal uplifts and volcanism. The
third arms of the triple junctions have been called
failed arms, since they never develop into oceans,
but nevertheless they exhibit characteristic assod- d
ations of structures, sediments and vulcanicity that
enable them to be identified in the geological
record. Figure 15.3 Structure of the Gulf of Suez rift. Block
An important feature of some of the rifted diagrams a-d show the interpreted evolution of a
margins of Pangaea is the presence of coast-parallel system of tilted fault blocks accommodating to gradu-
ally increased extension from Miocene (a) to Present
dyke swarms associated with extensive outpourings (d). Fl-3 indicate successive generations of faults;
of tholeiitic basalts, as can be seen for example in t, early extensional fractures. (After Angelier, J. (1985)
eastern Greenland and in the Deccan area of India. Extension and rifting: the Ziet region, Gulf of Suez.
In summary, therefore, we might expect to find Journal of Structural Geology, 7, 605-12, figure 5.)
Structure of constructive boundaries 163

parallel to the rift: axis. The flanks of the rift: consist

of fault blocks tilted at 5-35° away from the rift:
axis. These are bounded by large normal faults
o
o
marking the margins of the main graben (Figure co

15.3). There is no evidence here of pre-rift: doming

on the plateaus bordering the rift:. The inferred
sequence of fault movements is illustrated in Figure
15.3. The initial fractures appear to have developed
perpendicular to the bedding by pure extension,
and they have been rotated during subsequent
block tilting, when normal dip-slip movements took
place. The rotated extensional fractures were then ....er
w
in a favourable orientation for secondary normal Vl
w
a
faulting to take place on them (Figure IS.3b). Frac- er
w
tures rotated to low dip angles were cut by young- ~
Vl
er normal faults and became inactive. The amount
of extension estimated from the observed faulting
0
is 20-30 , but this probably underestimates the real
extension which may be much greater in the o
o
concealed part of the rift:. o

Similar extensional fault systems characterize the

passive margins of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
which represent constructive plate boundaries during
Jurassic to Cretaceous times. Since these passive
o
o
margin sedimentary sequences host important hydro- <D

carbon reservoirs, their structure has been exten-

w
sively investigated, mainly by seismic methods . <.::>

~
w
Vl
:::> o
STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED WITH BACK-ARC oI o
co

EXTENSION

Divergent tectonic regimes are also associated with

the upper plates of certain subduction zones. The
Basin and Range Province of the western USA is
w
the type example of such a regime, situated on <.::>
z
""
er
z
o
iii
:::>
Figure 15.4 Structural interpretation of COCORP u,
z
deep seismic reflection lines across the eastern part of o
<.>
the Basin and Range Province. Solid toothed lines,
thrust faults; ticked lines, normal faults; open-toothed
lines, low-angle normal faults; solid-toothed ticked
lines, thrusts reactivated as normal faults. (After
Allmendinger, RW., Sharp, J.W., Von Tish, D., Serpa,
L., Kauffman, S. and Oliver, J. (1983) Cenozoic and
Mesozoic structure of the eastern Basin and Range
province, Utah, from COCORP seismic-reflection data. <5
z
Geology, 11, 532-6, figure 3.)
a:
»
164 Geological structure and plate tectonics
continental oust above a subduction zone which associated with the recent extension. The reduction
lay along the west coast of North America during in the amount of extension in the later Tertiary
the Mesozoic and early Tertiary (Figure 15.88(1)). period has been attributed to the cessation of
The province is about 1000 km wide at its maximum subduction on the southern part of the zone and its
and consists of a series of linear ranges (horsts) sepa- replacement by the San Andreas transform fault
rated by basins (graben); both horsts and graben (Figure 15.88).
are about 10--20 km in width. The present-day struc-
ture is controlled by normal faulting in response to
15.3 STRUCTURE OF SUBDUCTION ZONES
WNW-ESE extension. which is confirmed by earth-
quake fault-plane solutions. Most active faults are Seismic reflection surveys have shown that modem
steep and extension appears to be accomplished by ocean trenches typically have a V-shaped form with
a tilted fault-block mechanism. The amount of recent the steeper side towards the direction of dip of
extension has been estimated at 17-20%. the subduction zone. Although the original floor of
Much larger extensions took place on now- the trench is 2-3 km deep, there may be up to
inactive parts of the province during the Miocene. 2 km of sediment fill. These sediments are, at least
COCORP seismic reflection data from the eastern initially, flat and undeformed along the trench
part of the province reveal a series of low-angle bottom but show complex folding and thrusting
reflectors, one of which can be traced to the surface on the inner trench wall, where the Benioff zone
as the Sevier Desert detachment (Figure 15.4). This comes to the surface,
structure is one of several low-angle mylonite belts The main processes and structures associated
bounding metamorphic core complexes (see section with the region between the trench and the volca-
2.7 and Figure 2.13) and indicates extensions of nic arc of a subduction zone are shown schemati-
the order of 30--60 km, much larger than those cally in Figure 15.5. This region is divided into a

.. 0

OFFSCRAPING / :::-_---=--=;,:-:-:-:
/"".' '.
1"'1' .

10 ~
...>-
...
~
:;l;
~--
o
#> .• -
-
.-
- =-c. • ~--. ... - -'
20 -
~~ @.... :;:.::.:::.~
.... .. . : , -;'
"

Figure 15.5 Structure and processes in an idealized accretionary prism. a, frontal accretion by imbricate thrust-
ing; b, decollement plane above subducting slab; c, d, underplating; e, later throughgoing fault; f, back-rotated
steepened section; g, gravity sliding; h, diapir of disrupted water-charged sediment; i, brittle-ductile transition;
j, basement defining edge of arc. (From Moore, l.C, Cowan, OS and Karig, O.E. (1985) Structural styles and
deformation fabrics of accretionary complexes: Penrose Conference report. Geology, 13, 77-9, figure 1.)
Structure of subduction zones 165

frontal deformed section the accretionary prism, continent as the Quetta-Chaman fault system
and an undefonned forearc basin. The leading (Figure 15.7A). The subduction zone ends in the
edge of the accretionary prism is dominated by a west at the Straits of Hormuz, where the Arabian
process of accretion by offscraping of material from and Eurasian continents are in contact. A sequence
the ocean floor of the lower, subducting plate. This of sediments 6-7 Ian thick covers oceanic crust in
material forms a synthetic imbricate thrust complex. the Gulf of Oman, which is thought to be between
Further down the detachment plane above the 70 and 120 Ma old.
subducting slab is a region where underplating The active volcanic arc consists of a chain of
(subcretion') can take place, forming thrust duplexes. Cenozoic volcanoes situated 4D0-600 Ian north of
These effects result in thickening and raising of the the coast. There is no topographic trench, and the
accretionary complex, the more distal parts of accretionary complex is unusually broad, about
which may exhibit steeply dipping, tightly folded 300 Ian in width, more than half of which lies
strata which have been rotated backwards into a onshore. Seismic reflection profiles across the off-
steep attitude by the continued emplacement of shore part of the complex show a linear pattern of
wedges of new material at the proximal end of the ridges with intervening troughs. Folding appears
prism. Thickening and consequent instability causes to have taken place initially at the southernmost or
gravitational sliding and slumping down the slope frontal part of the prism, which seems to have
of the prism. migrated southwards at a rate of 10 kmlMa. These
The structures of accretionary complexes can be frontal folds are then incorporated into the accre-
studied more conveniently in zones of older trench tionary complex by uplift along a basal thrust. Little
sediments that have been uplifted above sea level subsequent deformation appears to have occurred
between the present subduction zone and the in this sector of the complex. However, 70 Ian to
volcanic arc. One such example is the Makran the north of the present front, a further uplift occurs
complex, discussed below. Other examples of which eventually rises above sea level 100 Ian
uplifted Mesozoic-Tertiary trench assemblages in- north of the front to form the onshore Makran
clude the Franciscan assemblage of the Californian complex. Here a thick faulted flysch sequence is
coast ranges, parts of the thrust complex of the exposed, extending about 200 Ian inland to the
Banda Arc of Indonesia, and various sections of the north.
Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. However, most The onshore structure, summarized in Figure
of these examples are complicated by subsequent 15.6B, affects a concordant sequence of marine
tectonic activity, particularly as a result of the col- sediments commencing with Oligocene to mid-
lision of continental plates. An example of a Miocene abyssal plain deposits, followed by upper
Palaeozoic accretionary complex in the Caledonian Miocene slope deposits, and by a late Miocene to
orogenic belt of the British Isles is described in Pliocene shallow-water shelf sequence, indicating
section 16.1. rapid shoaling of the sedimentary prism in the mid-
Miocene. There is apparently no field evidence for
the progressive growth of structures during deposi-
THE MAKRAN COMPLEX
tion, although the growth of gentle folds might
The accretionary prism of the Makran lies along be undetectable owing to the effects of the later
the continental margin of Iran and Pakistan on the deformation.
north side of the Gulf of Oman (Figure 15.6). The The main deformation, which caused 25-30%
complex is formed by the northward subduction of shortening, occurred after the early Pliocene (4 Ma
the oceanic part of the Arabian plate beneath the ago) at a time when the accretionary front prob-
Eurasian plate. The subduction zone is terminated ably lay 70-100 Ian south of the present shore line,
on its eastern side by the Owen-Murray transform and has resulted in a series of E-W to ENE-WSW,
fault that separates the Arabian and Indian plates asymmetric, south-verging folds and associated
(Figure 14.17) and continues northwards on the reverse faults (Figure 15.5C).
3<TN - TAtAR S~:~dstones
- PARKINI elope
mudstones
BRANGU);l,• • ~p~•
•;'-' PANJGUR abyssal ,...... , , _ , ,
~'""< plain turb idites

- - - - - - -,.-:;;

-
25'15 ' N
+
GULf Of OMAN
15' B

N
c s
500m

B9 B9 Pk
~ I 1km I

Early Pliocene
o
Structure of continental collision zones 167

The uplift of the onshore Makran and the with an opposing passive continental margin. This
accompanying deformation are thought to have is the Simplest possible situation. The Alpine and
been accomplished by underplating at depth (Figure Himalayan chains show evidence of several sub-
15.50). It has been suggested that this process duction zones and island arcs that have now
may have operated by the formation of a progres- coalesced.
sively widening duplex at a ramp in the basal
thrust, Such a structure could have caused tilting of
THE CENTRAL ASIA REGION
the upper part of the sequence, leading to shoaling
and possibly to syn-sedimentary deformation, The complexity of the tectonic pattern in Central
before the major folding and faulting. Asia resulting from the collision between India and
Asia is illustrated in Figure 15.7. We shall now
discuss some of the reasons for this complexity.
The southern boundary of the Eurasian plate is
15.4 STRUCTURE OF CONTINENTAL
marked by the Indus suture (now a steep fault),
COLLISION ZONES
which lies on the north side of the Himalayas. At
The collision of two continental plates produces a its western end, the suture is terminated by the
zone of very complex structure as illustrated by large Quetta-Chaman transform fault zone. This
much of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. The fault zone connects to the south with the Makran
reason for the complexity lies partly in the fad that subduction zone described above (Figure 14.15 and
the structures of two formerly separate continental 15.6). At the eastern end of the suture, the plate
margins have been brought together, often in a boundary runs southwards again along a large
very intimate fashion. Figure 14.11 demonstrates dextral strike-slip fault which continues through
schematically the effeds of telescoping an active Burma to conned with the Indonesian subduction
continental margin exhibiting subduction tectonics zone. This fault also continues into the Indian
Ocean as the now largely inactive Ninety-East
ridge transform fault. The Indian plate, therefore,
Figure 15.6 Structure of the Makran subduction may be regarded as a two-pronged wedge that has
zone. A. Location of the Makran subduction zone in driven northwards into the Eurasian plate between
the Gulf of Oman. The subduction zone marks the two large transform faults.
boundary of the Arabian and Eurasian plates (inset) and
The initial collision appears to have taken place
is truncated on its eastern side by a major transform
fault zone. Stars mark volcanic centres along the active during the Eocene, when the leading edge of the
volcanic arc. The trench is obscured by a thick Indian continent first made contact with Eurasian
accretionary prism which is partly offshore and partly continental oust. Prior to this event, the intervening
onshore. (After White, R.5. (1982) Deformation of the oceanic lithosphere, part of the Tethys Ocean', was
Makran accretionary prism in the Gulf of Oman being subducted below the Eurasian plate. Deformed
(northwest Indian Ocean), in Leggett, J.K., Trench- remnants of Tethyan sequences are preserved im-
forearc Geology, Special Publication of the Geological
mediately south of the suture (Figure 15.7C).
Society of London, 10, 357-72, figure 1.) B. Simplified
structural map of the onshore Makran accretionary It has been estimated that the northward move-
prism showing major folds and reverse faults. Note ment of India continued for at least a further
lateral facies change between the Talar and Parkini 1500 km after the initial collision. Part of this move-
formations. C. Section across the southern limb of the ment must have been accommodated by crustal
Kulanch syncline (see B) showing N-younging shortening within the Eurasian plate, the effects of
sequences bounded by reverse faults. Pg, Panjgur; which are to be seen in the broad zone of deforma-
Bg, Branguli; Pk, Parkini formations. D. Interpretative
tion that extends up to 3000 km north of the
section across B showing suggested structure during
the Pliocene. Note that the uplift of the northern limb suture. Structures attributed to this deformation
of the syncline is attributed to a duplex structure. (B-D include compressional fold and thrust belts, strike-
after Platt et al.,1985, figures 2-4.) slip faults and extensional rift systems. Some of the
168 Geological structure and plate tectonics

convergent motion may also have been taken up The compressional structures are confined to
by the closure of a small ocean basin or basins narrow belts separated by wide areas of compara-
between the Tibetan block and the main Eurasian tively undeformed crust. It is estimated that
plate. between 750 Ion and 1000 Ion of shortening has

Eurasian plate

Chilas complex
N
-.? s
Northern suture zone Jaglot syncline
Jijal complex
I Main. mantle thrust (M.M.T.)
~ ! ~

h,,:;:~~w '1IJf~I~\\\~)~
- ~/ ~ \\1\1
Present line of section

Metasediments, metavolcanics 50 km
and gneissic tonalites. Late
B diorite - tonalite intrusives not shown. Vs = hs
Structure of continental collision zones 169

SSE

Moho

a ./
........ ----------- LVZ
------------- --

Northern
suture

Asian
crust

Lower crust remains

.. Moho

LVZ

-
beneath Kohistan
.------ - - - - - -
b r- - - ---

Pamirs Tibet
100 km

~,~?
c
,,.
,
~ Deep
.~~

c /' - --... <,

,~
"
-.........----~---
earthquakes
.....
.............::::-- ....-
--- LVZ'
-------~

Figure 15.7 Principal tectonic features of Central Asia thought to relate to collision with the Indian continent.
A. Map showing principal compressional fold belts (wavy lines), thrusts (tooth-edged lines), extensional graben or
rifts (lines with tick on downthrow side) and strike-slip faults (lines with arrows indicating sinistral or dextral
motion). Coloured arrows indicate compressional or extensional fault plane solutions from recent earthquakes.
(After Molnar and Tapponnier, 1975, figure 4.) B. Section across the Kohistan region in the Pakistan Himalayas,
from the Indus suture to the frontal Himalayan thrust. (After Coward, M.P., Jan, M.Q., Rex, D., Tarney, L
Thirlwall, M. and Windley, B.F. (1982) Journal of the Geological Society of London, 139, 299-308, figure 7.)
C. Interpretative profiles showing how the structure of B can be explained by underthrusting of the Indian
plate below itself along the main mantle thrust (MMn, (After Coward and Butler, 1985, figure 3.)

been achieved in these compressional belts and that to have been shortened in a north-south direction
the remaining convergence must have been taken and elongated in an east-west direction. Northeast
up by lateral movements along the major shike-slip of the main region of deformation, northwest-
faults and by subduction of oceanic crust. In the southeast extension is indicated by the Baikal rift
west, northward movement of the western prong and Shansi graben systems.
of India would tend to drive large blocks of crust The most spectacular compressional effects of
westwards along several northwest-southeast the collision are exhibited in the thrust and fold belt
dextral faults. In this way the Eurasian plate appears of the Himalayas, south of the Indus suture
170 Geological structure and plate tectonics
(Figure 15.7B). Here a significant component of tinental transform fault zone in California known as
the crustal shortening, estimated at between 300 the San Andreas fault (Figure 15.8; see also Figure
and 700 Ian. has taken place by the overlapping of 14.13). Here tectonic effects associated with the
thick crustal slices containing Precambrian basement fault zone spanning a period of about 30 Ma have
belonging to the Indian plate. The oust in this area been studied in considerable detail.
is estimated to be double its normal thickness, and A simplified sequence of steps illustrating the
Figure 15.7C shows in simplified form how this plate tectonic history of the region is shown in
doubling of the crust could have been achieved. by Figure 15.8B. Before about 30 Ma ago, the western
underthrusting the main Indian crustal slab along a border of the American plate was represented by
low-angle thrust plane (the Main Mantle thrust) a trench associated with the subduction of the
outcropping about 130 km south of the suture. northeast-moving Farallon plate (stage 1). The San
Above (north of) the Main Mantle thrust, deep Andreas transform fault seems to have commenced
crustal rocks belonging to the Kohistan complex when a section of the northwest-moving Pacific
have been upthrust and rotated into a steep attitude plate met the American plate (stage 2). The sense
(Figure 15.7B). Because of their deep-seated origin. of movement on the American plate boundary then
the structures of this complex are characterized by changed from convergent to strike-slip along a par-
intense ductile folding rather than thrusting. The ticular section of the boundary between two trans-
Kohistan complex is interpreted as an island arc and form faults on the Farallon plate. Subduction
the Main Mantle thrust as a second suture sepa- continued to the north and south. As time pro-
rating it from the Indian plate. Both sutures gressed, the length of the San Andreas fault grew as
represent subduction zones that originally dipped more of the ridge was subducted.
northwards beneath Asia. The effect on the geology of western California
Three stages in the post-collisional contraction was complex (Figure 15.8A). A block of early,
process are shown in cartoon form in Figure 15.7C. highly deformed trench sediments belonging to the
After the intervening oceanic lithosphere had been original American plate boundary has now been
subducted, the Asian and Indian continents made carried northwards to become the Coast Ranges.
contact, sandwiching the Kohistan arc between Several other large blocks have also been displaced
them (profile a). Further convergence between the dextrally as part of a complex set of movements
two plates took place by underthrusting Indian on a wide fault zone associated with the San
lithosphere beneath the Asian plate, accompanied at Andreas fault.
shallow levels by southward overthrusting, propa- An interesting feature is the bend in the main
gating from the Main Mantle thrust forwards into fault near Santa Barbara. The geometry demands
the cover of the Indian plate. This shallow over- that dextral strike-slip motion will cause compres-
thrusting produced an imbricate thrust stack which sion across the region of the bend. and this
detaches on the Himalayan boundary thrust. This is accounts for the overl:hrusting found in this area.
the frontal thrust, which outcrops 300 km south of The bend is thought to be due to the effect on the
the suture (see profile b). This imbricate thrust American plate boundary of the intersection of the
complex is an example of a 'thin-skinned' foreland southern transform fault, which would at one time
thrust belt. At depth, steep backthrusts may have have been continuous with the major Garlock sinis-
been developed (see profile c) as underthrusting tral fault on land. When this transform fault reached
proceeded. the American plate boundary (stage 3 of Figure
15.8B) the direction of relative motion would have
become convergent for a period until the next
15.5 STRUCTURE OF CONSERVATIVE
section of ridge collided with the continent. At this
BOUNDARIES: THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT
point, transform motion along the plate boundary
The best documented example of a conservative would have been resumed. leading to the present
plate boundary on land is the large active con- situation (stage 4). During this movement the ridge
Structure of conservative boundaries: the San Andreas fault 171

Los Angeles.

American plate

ridge
l l>
<o'l>iP c?Los Angeles
,,'I> <=>0
~'I>~
Pacific Ocean
"C>

San Diego •
\ t
Murray transform

Pacific plate
A

Farallon plate

20 km
L--....l
.......... anticl ine
, / ' fau lt
': .~.' late
:.: :; Cainozoic p
-. ' basins • Los Angeles

p \ ll~\ Los Angeles

i \
\ "-l
San Andreas
transform fault
c
Figure 15.8 Strike-slip fault tectonics illustrated by the San
Andreas fault zone in Southern California. A. Fault distribution in
Southern California with major strike-slip faults in colour. (After
Anderson, D.L. (1972) The San Andreas fault. in Continents 3
p

f,\
Adrift and Continents Aground, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco.)
B. Evolution of plate movements in the area of the San Andreas
fault. assuming the American plate to be stationary. 1, 53 Ma

[~
ago; 2, 30 Ma ago; 3, 10 Ma ago; 4, present. See text. (After
Atwater, T. (1970) Bulletin of the Geological Society of America,
81, 3513-36.) C. Detail of strike-slip fault tectonics in the Los \ . Los Angeles
Angeles sector of the San Andreas fault zone showing major
faults, anticlinal fold trends, and sedimentary basins - see text. \ ~~
(After Howell, D.G., Crouch, J.K., Greene, OS, McCulloch,
DDS. and Vedder, J.G. (1980) in Sedimentation in Oblique-Slip
p
""fiy
Mobile Zones, (eds P.F. Ballance and H.G. Reading), Special
Publication of the International Association of Sedimentologisis, 4
4, 43-62, figure 10.) B
172 Geological structure and plate tectonics
system itself was moving northwards relative to a buoyancy of the continental material. Although the
fixed point (e.g. Los Angeles) on the American term displaced terrane may be applied to any exotic
plate. piece of crust, it has more usually been applied to
The transform fault is a zone about 100 Ian wide examples showing a component of strike-slip
between two relatively undeformed blocks. The motion (see section 16.1).
total strike-slip displacement of the plates on either
side has been distributed through this zone, partly
15.6 STRUCTURE OF INTRAPLATE
as movements on a number of smaller faults
REGIONS
roughly parallel to the main fault, and partly in the
form of secondary compressional and extensional Although geological structures are concentrated
structures caused by the redistribution of stresses along plate boundaries, and plate theory precludes
arising out of these fault movements. significant lateral distortion within plates, deforma-
Part of the fault zone is shown in Figure lS.Be. tion does occur in intraplate regions, albeit at
In this area a number of roughly parallel dextral generally much slower rates than apply to plate
strike-slip faults branch from the sinistral Santa boundary regimes. Zones of compressional or ex-
Monica fault. Many of these faults terminate or tensional structures exist at considerable distances
overlap with similar faults. The blocks between the from the nearest plate boundary. Compressional
faults contain extensional 'pull-apart' sedimentary belts are much less common than extensional belts,
basins and also compressional folds. Note that the and may usually be explained as far-field effects of
fold axes are oblique to the direction of strike-slip continental collision. A good example of such a belt
displacement, as predicted by the simple shear is the Tien Shan compressional fold/thrust belt of
model (see section 10.6 and Figure 10.23). The Central Asia, which is situated several hundred kilo-
sense of obliquity is evidence for dextral motion. metres north of the Indus suture across the rela-
This case history illustrates the complexities of tively undeformed Tarim basin (Figure 15.7).
structure that may be associated with transform During periods of plate-wide extension, such as
faults. In contrast to divergent and convergent affected Pangaea in the Triassic before break-up,
tectonic regimes, where large areas are character- extensional rifts were widespread. Some developed
ized uniformly by either compressional or exten- into the newly created Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
sional structures, strike-slip regimes exhibit both but in others active extension ceased and the struc-
compressional and extensional structures as well as tures continued as basins.
strike-slip faults. In contrast to these typically linear features,
depressed or elevated areas representing large-scale
warps or flexures with wavelengths of the order
OBLIQUE CONVERGENCE AND DISPLACED
of hundreds of kilometres upwards are characteristic
TERRANES
of the stable cratons, where they are usually
The concept of displaced terranes arose from referred to as basins and uplifts respectively (see
observations in the North American Cordilleran section 13.3).
orogenic belt, where many large pieces of con- Many basins have an equidimensional shape
tinental crust (terranes) were shown to have been with no pronounced elongation or alignment;
derived from much more southerly latitudes and others are more linear or are quite irregular. The
were therefore considered to have been transported intervening uplifts contribute the sedimentary fill to
to their present position by obliquely convergent these basins over the period of their existence.
plate motion and sutured to the North American Most basins evolve gradually by the successive
continent. A piece of continental crust situated on a addition of sedimentary formations, many of which
subducting oceanic plate is likely to cause a change may thicken towards the centre of the basin and
from subduction to strike-slip motion along the thin towards its margins, the cumulative effect being
suture after collision has occurred because of the to enhance the basin shape of the floor. Compared
Further reading 173

t Lake M ichigan Lake Huron

by the large size and lack of orientation of the
structures. The principle of gravitational equilibrium
(isostasy) requires any large mass deficiency in the
crust. such as a basin, to be compensated by a mass
of greater density beneath, so as to make the
weight of that column through the Earth balance
that of the adjoining columns. This compensation
could be achieved by a thinner crust, so that the
denser upper mantle material is doser to the surface
- analogous to but on a lesser scale than the ocean
basins. Some large basins are thought to originate
by extensional thinning, whereas others may be the
result of density variations within the upper mantle.
Uplifts may be fonned by the reverse process.
When any disturbance of gravitational equilibrium
takes place, such as by extensional thinning of the
crust, gravitational forces ad to restore that equilib-
rium by flow of material at depth and compen-
sating uplift or depression at the Earth's surface.

FURTHER READING
Figure 15.9 Map showing the shape of the Michigan Anderson, D.L. (1972) The San Andreas fault. in Conti-
basin, northern USA. Contours are drawn on the nents Adrift and Continents Aground, Readings from
position of the Coldwater fonnation at depth, at Scientific American (ed. J.T. Wilson), Freeman, San
intervals of 500 feet. (Based on De Sitter, L.U. (1964 ) Francisco, pp. 88-102.
Structural Geology, McGraw-Hili, New York, figure Coward, M,P. and Butler, R.WH (1985) Thrust
299.) tectonics and the deep structure of the Pakistan
Himalaya. Geology, 13, 417-20.
Molnar. P. and Tapponnier, P. (1975) Cenozoic
to compressional fold structures, the dips are very
tectonics of Asia: effects of a continental collision.
low - of the order of 1° or less. Figure 15.9 shows Science, 189,419-26.
the shape of the Michigan basin in the northern Park, R.G. (1988) Geological Structures and M oving
USA by means of a set of structure contours drawn Plates, Blackie, Glasgow and London. [An account
at successively deeper levels of the Coldwater of how geological structures may be explained by
Formation. These show that the basin has an plate tectonics, looking particularly at the structures
approximately circular plan, about 380 km across of divergent. convergent and strike-slip plate
boundaries.]
and over 750 m deep.
Platt. J.P., Leggett. J.K., Young, L Raza H. and Alam, S.
Most intraplate basins and uplifts are considered (1985) Large-scale sediment underplating in the
to be primarily gravitational in origin. Horizontal Makran accretionary prism, southwest Pakistan.
tectonic compression can be ruled out in most cases Geology, 13,507-11.
STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION IN 16
ANCIENT OROGENIC BELTS

The plate tectonic model has been successfully the Archaean Superior Province of North America.
applied to the geological history of the past 200 Ma. The structure of these regions has been described
A detailed knowledge of plate movements over and explained in terms of plate kinematic
this period has been built up from our knowledge processes.
of oceanic magnetic stratigraphy and continental
palaeomagnetism, and can be checked by conven-
16.1 THE CALEDONIAN OROGENIC BELT
tional stratigraphic methods. How far back into the
IN BRITAIN
geological past the plate tectonic model can be
extended, however, is a matter of debate, and one The problems of applying plate tectonics of pre-
of the important tasks of the structural geologist is Mesozoic orogenic belts are well illustrated by the
to attempt to relate patterns of deformation in old British sector of the Caledonian orogenic belt.
rocks to some scheme of crustal movements - if Despite (or perhaps because of) the fad that this is
not strictly to the plate tectonic model as we know one of the most comprehensively studied belts in
it, then to some alternative kinematic model that the world, there is no general agreement on a
can explain the geological evidence. tectonic interpretation and many different models
Because of certain differences in the preserved have been proposed.
record in the older crustal segments, particularly The British sedor of the Caledonian orogenic
those formed in the Archaean, some geologists belt is part of a long orogenic belt of Palaeozoic
have questioned whether plate tectonics can be age extending from the southern USA to northern-
applied to the oldest part of Earth history. It has most Norway. It is divided into three parts, the
been suggested also that the nature of the plate South-Central Appalachian sector, the Northern
tectonic mechanism may have changed with time. Appalachian-Newfoundland-British Isles sector
Others have maintained that the plate tectonic and the Scandinavian-East Greenland sedor. The
model in essentially its present form can be applied southern sector was active throughout the Palaeo-
to the oldest preserved Archaean history and that zoic and the main orogenic episode was caused by
only relatively minor quantitative changes have collision between Laurentia (North America plus
ocrurred since. Greenland) and Africa in the Permian. In the north-
The purpose of this final chapter is to illustrate ern two sectors (Figure 16.1), Lower Palaeozoic
how the various types and patterns of geological activity ended with the main phase of orogeny
structure are used to help to provide tectonic inter- during the Devonian. The Scandinavian-East Green-
pretations in the older geological record. We shall land belt resulted from collision between Laurentia
examine three quite different orogenic belts, spread and Baltica (the northern part of Europe), whereas
across nearly 3000 Ma of geological time: the the collisions in the British Isles, Newfoundland and
Caledonian orogenic belt in the British Isles, the the Northern Appalachians took place between
Early Proterozoic Eastern Churchill Province of Laurentiaand two or more microcontinents, thought
Canada and its extension into SW Greenland, and to have been previously detached from Africa
176 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
16.3). It is up to 11 Ian wide and extends from
Scandinavia Loch Eriboll, on the north coast of Scotland, to
Skye, a distance of 190 Ian. The zone is one of the
best known examples of a foreland thrust belt, and
consists of several separate nappes resting on basal
thrusts. These nappes die out laterally as the in-
dividual thrusts converge. The lowermost nappes
are duplexes (see section 2.6), containing highly
imbricated sequences of thin Cambro--Ordovician
quartzites and limestones. These nappes have been
thrust over the unfolded Cambro--Ordovician
cover of the foreland, where it rests on Precambrian
basement. The middle nappes contain Lewisian
North
America
(early Precambrian) crystalline cores and exhibit
large-scale recumbent folding. The uppermost

West Africa

B Atlantic Ocean break

f North-West
Foreland

~ Ophiolitic-oceanic sequences

o Passive margins

W Internal belts: arc terranes etc.

§ Rectilinear fault zones

~ Foredeeps

Figure 16.1 The Appalachian-Caledonian orogenic

belt.

In the British Isles (Figure 16.2), the suture mark- plate

ing the collision between Laurentia in the north
and the southern microcontinent of Cadomia runs
NE-SW across Ireland and through the Solway
Firth dividing Scotland from England. We shall take
as examples of the structural variation across this
belt in the British Isles three important regions of
Scotland: the Moine thrust zone at the northwest-
100 km
ern margin, the Grampian Highlands metamorphic
belt, and the Southern Uplands slate belt.
o Lower Palaeozoic slate belt 1
Caledonides
1-_-I Dalradian and Moine belt
THE MOINE THRUST ZONE

This zone marks the northwestern boundary of Figure 16.2 Map of the British Isles showing the
the Caledonian orogenic belt in Britain (Figure main tectonic zones of the Caledonian orogenic belt.
The Caledonian orogenic belt in Britain 177
Durness limestone MOin e thru st M
serpulite grit ~~~~~~~~~ ~M~oine complex
fucoid beds ~
quartzite - -,'--'-----'---'-'-'--'--'---'-'---'-",---,-..:......0..--:.....:...-,---,=::::",..",- M
Lew isian complex
L L L MT
Loch Eriboll

~
AT -'.- " " M
2 5T ~ ' ~M
L L L _
L
MT
fit t
1
'O~

_~~ ~ M MT ~~-z.v,..

" ~~~M
3 5T ' Kishorn '"
thrust /
L L
MT
(?'
e7
~00
x

~
AT MT L L
4
A
~~ ~ M
~~ " " " ' .: . .
== .~ L
-'-'_
._.. ..-==""=--
:.
L L
M
- - - -=
L
MT

5
M
M MT
B L L L L

Figure 16.3 Structure of the Moine thrust zone of northwestern Scotland. A. Location map. B. Diagrammatic
sections across the north end of the thrust belt at Loch Eriboll showing stages in the evolution of the thrust
zone. Stage 5 shows only part of the section. See text for explanation. MT, Moine thrust; OHT, Outer
Hebrides thrust; ST, sole thrust; UAT, Upper Arnaboll thrust; SBS, Sgurr Beag slide; GGF, Great Glen fault.
(After McClay and Coward, 1981, figure 7.)

nappe, which has a mylonitized base, is composed thrust would form the floor thrust, and the Moine
of the late Precambrian Moine complex. Lineations thrust the roof thrust, of a simple duplex structure
and strain markers on the thrusts indicate that the containing the imbricate zone. Continued move-
direction of movement on the thrusts has been ments then caused the southeastern portion of the
towards the WNW, perpendicular to the Caledo- early duplex containing the Lewisian basement to
nian front. The total displacement on the thrust climb up over the imbricated Cambro-Ordovician,
complex has been estimated at up to 100 km. forming overfolds as it did so to produce the
The evolution of the structure is summarized in middle nappes (e.g. the Arnaboll nappe - see stage
Figure 16.38. The thrusting is thought to have 4 of Figure 16.38). As the lower nappes moved
developed first in the east with the Moine thrust, westwards, they carried the upper nappes above
which cut upwards and westwards from the base- them in piggyback fashion.
ment into the Cambro--Ordovician cover. The sole The Moine thrust zone formed in Devonian
(or basal) thrust developed next, in part following times during the dosing stages of the Caledonian
the base of the Cambrian. Continued movements orogeny. It is younger than several other major
caused an imbricate zone to form within the cover thrusts and slides which formed during the early
by the development of steep reverse faults which Ordovician Grampian orogeny of the Scottish
climb up from the sole thrust. At this stage, the sole Highlands, and has been attributed to the main
178 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts

Kinlochleven Iitay boundary

30km

Northern

D2 structure

D
A

~ major slides
- - - fold axial planes
_ ._ - fault
-+ facing direction

IT] Pitlochry schist

~ Loch Tay limestone
t22 Ben Lui schist
o Ben Lawers schist
o Ben Eagach and Carn Mairg
o Islay
[IIJ Lower Dalradian
B

I
10km

Beinn Dorain mo ines

...-< slide
fo ld trace
. ~ 01

~ 02
~/i:" 0 3
~-* 0 4
.... - ' fau lt

c
The Caledonian orogenic belt in Britain 179

continental collision that occurred further south is thought to rest on stretched and thinned con-
along the line of the Solway suture (Figure 16.2). tinental crust of the southern passive margin of the
There is an obvious analogy here with the Central Laurentian continent. The major structure consists
Asia region discussed in section 15.4), in the sense of large recumbent folds, tens of kilometres in
that the most recent crustal shortening took place amplitude, that appear to pass downwards into
along the Moine thrust zone, which is situated upright folds with much smaller amplitudes in a
nearly 300 km northwest of the collision suture. central steep belt (Figure 16.4B). These major folds
are associated with slides of both thrust and lag
type (see section 2.2). The major folds are accomp-
THE GRAMPIAN HIGHLANDS anied by minor folds on all scales and by
penetrative fabrics. The deformation took place
The Scottish Highlands southeast of the Moine under metamorphic conditions at depth and the
thrust zone contains the central metamorphic zone structures are consequently ductile.
of the Caledonian orogenic belt, which exhibits the The main deformation, including possibly the
most complex structures. Many of the early investi- first two phases of major folding, took place during
gations into structures and structural sequences the Grampian orogeny in Lower Ordovician
took place there. The Grampian Highlands is that times. This primary structure has been ascribed in
part which lies south of the Great Glen fault and is one interpretation to severe compressive shortening
bounded in the southeast by the Highland Bound- at depth, causing an upwards and outwards flow
ary fault (Figures 16.2 and 16.4A). Both these faults of material squeezed from a 'root zone' (Figure
are considered to have acted as major sinistral 16.40). It is suggested that this intense com-
strike-slip faults during the Caledonian orogeny. pression may have resulted from the collision of an
The rocks of the Grampian Highlands consist of island arc, situated in the region now occupied by
metasediments of the Grampian Group, which pass the Midland Valley of Scotland (Figure 16.2), which
upwards into the late Precambrian to Cambrian moved towards the Highlands as a result of the
Dalradian Supergroup. The sedimentary assemblage subduction of a small intervening oceanic plate.
Later strike-slip movements along the Highland
Boundary fault have obscured the original relation-
Figure 16.4 Structure of the Grampian Highlands of ships. It is thought that the extensional thinning of
Scotland. A. Location map showing area of map C and
the continental crust beneath the thick pile of
line of profile B. (After Johnstone, G.5. (1966) British
Regional Geology - The Grampian Highlands, HMSO, Dalradian sediments may explain the ease with
London, figure 3.) B. Structural block diagram across which this zone subsequently became compressed.
the Grampian Highlands to show the geometry of the An alternative and more recent interpretation
major structures. AS, Appin syncline (F1); BA, Bohespic (Figure 16.5A) explains the structure by major
antiform (F3); BLA, Beinn na Lap antiform (F2); DO, crustal-scale ductile overthrusting from the south
Drumochter dome (FlIF2); KA, Kinlochleven anticline related to the obduction of a large-scale ophiolite
(F1); SBS, Stob Bhan synform (F2); SMS, Slob Mhor
nappe (i.e. one consisting of oceanic crust) (Figure
synform (F2). (After Thomas, 1979, figure 5.) C. Map
showing complex interference structures between F1, 16.5B, stage c).
F2 and F4 between Beinn Dorain and Loch Tummel The major folds and slides are refolded by
(see A). (After Roberts, J.L. and Treagus, J.E. (1979) in generally upright NW-SE major folds with wave-
The Caledonides of the British Isles - Reviewed (eds lengths of several kilometres. There appear to be
A.L. Harris, C.H. Holland and RE. Leake), Special Publi- two or perhaps three generations of these folds,
cation of the Geological Society of London, 8, 199- with varying orientations, that produce marked
211, figure 1.) D. Simplified diagrams illustrating one
interference structures in the outcrop pattern. Each
interpretation of the primary deformation to explain: (a)
generation of nappes and slides dunng 01, and (b) of these sets of major folds is associated with
modification of 01 nappes by 02 major folds. (After well-developed foliations and minor folds. Further
Thomas, 1979, figure 6.) deformation produced several sets of minor
180 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts

Accretionary prism

Ballant~ae
complex S
N
-:-:-:+------
Midland Valley

SUFZ
HBFZ
A

a Fracture zone
.j

II ., ~
o
b

,ObductlDn:SUbductlon 10
c Flexural depression Arc

Flexural arching '01-02""-

~,,,!20
B - '".-~:~~:~~' 30

Figure 16.5 A. Interpretative profile through the Scottish Highlands showing the main Grampian structures as
NW-facing and the SE-facing folds (e.g. the Tay nappe) as backfolds (d. Figure 16.40). MT, Moine thrust; SBS,
Sgurr Beag slide: FWS, Fort WilUam slide; BAS, Ballachulish slide, IBS, Iltay boundary slide, GGF, Great Glen fault;
HBFZ, Highland boundary fault zone; SUFZ, Southern Uplands fault zone. B. Sequential cartoons illustrating an
evolutionary model for the Grampian orogeny: a-c, an ophiolite is overthrust on to oceanic lithosphere at a frac-
ture zone and thereafter progressively obducted on to the continental rise and shelf, producing the 01-2 deforma-
tions in the Grampian Highlands; d, shortening and thickening of the sedimentary pile leads eventually to a
reversal of subduction direction. (From Dewey and Shackleton, 1984, figures 2 and 3.)

structures, mainly crenulation cleavages and kink compressional effects of collision, either in the
bands. Altogether eight separate phases of de- Ordovician with the postulated volcanic arc terrane
formation have been recognized in the south- to the southeast (Figure 16.5B, stage d), or with
western Highlands, but many of these are only the Cadomian plate in the late Silurian to Devonian
of local significance. The complexity of the large- period (Figure 16.5B, stage e). Probably structures
scale structure may be illustrated by a map of representing both phases of movement are repre-
the Beinn Dorain-Schiehallion area, in the central sented.
part of the Grampian Highlands (Figure 16.4Q.
This map shows excellent examples of interference
THE SOUTHERN UPLANDS BELT
structures (see sections 3.7 and 10.3) attributed to
the superimposition of four generations of major The Southern Uplands belt consists of a 60 km-
folds. wide zone of folded and faulted Lower Ordovician
The later upright folds are ascribed to the to Upper Silurian sediments and minor volcanics
The Caledonian orogenic belt in Britain 181

(Figure 16.6A). The basal part of the sequence southeast-facing limbs, often partly thrust out. The
consists of oceanic basalts and cherts overlain by a deformation is most intense in the ductile Moffat
very thick pile of greywackes and shales. Meta- shale formation, which may have formed a detach-
morphism is low-grade (sub-greenschist fades), but ment or sliding horizon (d. section 2.6) for the
the mudstone lithologies are characterized by a underthrusting. The arrangement of the structures
slaty cleavage, which is well-developed in the south bears some similarity to the onshore Makran
but less strong in the north. The beds strike complex (see section 15.3 and Figure 15.6).
uniformly NE-SW, parallel to the trend of the belt, An interesting feature of the folding/cleavage
and are generally steeply dipping to the northwest. relationship is that in the southern part of the belt,
Folds are intermediate in scale, with wavelengths the cleavage strike is consistently clockwise of the
in the range 5-50 rn, and are typically asymmetric, fold axial planes (Figure 16.7). This arrangement is
verging towards the southeast (Figure 16.6B) (see a strong indication that the cleavage developed
section 3.6 for an explanation of vergence). under a transpressive regime, i.e. with a component
Major strike-parallel faults play an important role of strike-slip displacement. Folds forming in such a
in determining the outcrop distribution. The belt regime would be oblique to the direction of strike-
consists of at least ten separate fault blocks, each slip displacement (Figure 10.23) but with pro-
containing sequences that generally young towards gressive compression would rotate towards it. In a
the northwest, but the belt as a whole becomes sinistral regime, the later-formed cleavage would
progressively younger towards the southeast. thus strike clockwise of the fold axial planes, i.e. at
This arrangement has led to the interpretation a larger angle to the strike-slip direction. This
that the Southern Uplands represents a Lower evidence adds support to the interpretation made
Palaeozoic example of an accretionary prism or from the faults that the later deformation of the
subduction complex. The combination of strike- Southern Uplands was significantly affected by
parallel faults and asymmetric folds is thought to sinistral strike-slip movements. The sinistral strike-
correspond to a steepened synthetic thrust belt, slip component of the deformation is considered to
comprising a set of thrusts and related folds result- reflect oblique convergence of the Cadornian and
ing from the underthrusting of an oceanic slab at a Laurentian plates, which resulted in partitioning of
trench situated in the Solway Firth region in the deformation into compressional and strike-slip
Ordovician times (Figure 16.6B, C). components.
Some of the faults show evidence of both dip- Geophysical evidence shows that the deformed
slip and strike-slip displacement, and it is thought sedimentary sequence is underlain by continental
that although many, if not all, of the faults origin- basement and that a strong northwest-dipping
ated as thrusts, some were re-activated as sinistral reflector separates the two. This reflector comes to
strike-slip faults after rotation into a steep attitude. the surface along the line of the Solway suture,
Cert:ain fault blocks are thought to have undergone leading to the suggestion that the continental base-
considerable strike-slip displacement in relation to ment of the Southern Uplands consists of a wedge
adjoining blocks, and the belt as a whole is re- of the Cadornian continent which has underthrust
garded as a displaced terrane (see section 15.5) the accretionary complex following the subduction
in relation to both the Midland Valley to the north of the intervening oceanic lithosphere.
and the English Lake District (i.e. the northern part A major problem with the tectonic interpreta-
of the Cadornian plate) south of the suture. tion of the Southern Uplands is deciding which
The slices with their bounding faults are believed structures are attributable to the late Silurian collis-
to have been steepened by compression (Figure ion event and which to the earlier subduction
16.60), partly as a result of the continued sub- process. It has been suggested that by Silurian
duction and partly due to subsequent continental times the two continents had come into contact
collision. The folds within the slices are asym- and that Cadornia may have been underthrusting
metric, with long northwest-facing limbs and short the Southern Uplands for much of the Silurian.
182 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
There is stratigraphic evidence that the central this second event was collision with the Lake
part of the belt was emergent during the Silurian District arc situated some distance south of the
(Figure 16.6C), which may be a response to this leading edge of the Cadomian plate. It is this
event. Thus the late-Silurian 'collision' may not second event that was presumably responsible for
have been the initial continent-continent collision the development of the Moine thrust belt and
but some other event which caused a steepening for the later structures in the Grampian Highlands
of the synthetic thrust belt. One possibility is that referred to earlier.

-
--
--- --
---
.,...-::- ;::
--

IIIJ] post -Caledonian cover

~ late Caledonian granites
o
D
upper slope basin
accretionary prism
--
• Ballantrae ophiolites

(A)
NW Kirkmaiden Benbuie
>-- >-- >-- --< "WAtI/I.//J --< ~
I d\~i.f!?iSl)//Iz~//ff(flll(.-6l1Jl/tfi.L, I ! _ _ MfAB'!I(~d;dJ,

NW Steep (B) St Ninian's Port Castle Bay J~~;

--< plunge --< cave --<
~It«;:o/NlR:Q!a'I!I/!/!£tf/$::t;;;;(fk'l!/I1{///IJ!IIII!Jt.&;;, --< ,d$llJ/II

~ >- ~ --< --< SE

0i\\\,@\VUlII/LLL/NJ/Iiff//lJlfC!JdlllI/lf/

Legend

--< Younging direction of strata

., Axial surface of post-F. folds
B
The Early Proterozoic Eastern Churchill and Nagssugioqidian belts 183

emergent Moffat shale inliers

upper slope
basin
l,slope,
trench J lower trench Itrench
slope
',break /
Southern Upland: : Solway Firth
fault

NW 1 1 SE
present erosion
level

c
o

Figure 16.6 Structure of the Southern Uplands of Scotland - a possible example of Lower Palaeozoic subduct-
ion tectonics. A. Simplified geological map of the Southern Uplands showing the principal faults. (After Leggett
et al., 1979, figure 1.) B. NW-SE cross-sections showing the pattern, scale and geometry of folds along the west
side of Wigtown Bay, in the southern sector of the belt (see W on figure A). (After Stringer, P. and Treagus, J.E.
(1981) Asymmetric folding in the Hawick rocks of the Galloway area, Southern Uplands. Scottish Journal of
Geology, 17, 129-48, figure 3.) C. Diagrammatic profileacross the area to illustrate the underthrusting model. Each
slice has been detached along the Moffat shale horizon (dotted). (After Leggett et al., 1979, figure 6.) D. Diagram
showing how the orientation of asymmetric folds and thrusts may be changed by steepening due to compression.
Moffat shales, ruled. (After Eales, M.H. (1979) in The Caledonides of the British Isles - Reviewed (eds A.L. Harris,
C.H. Holland and B.E. Leake), Special Publication of the Geological Society of London, 8, 269-73, figure 2.)

Another problem concerns the palaeogeography 16.2 THE EARLY PROTEROZOIC EASTERN
of the Southern Uplands during the Ordovician. CHURCHILL AND NAGSSUGTOQIDIAN
The tectonic model described above assumes BELTS
northwestward subduction beneath an upper plate
situated in the region of the present Midland The problems of reconstruction and interpretation
Valley, which mainly contains younger rocks. The become more acute when we consider the Precam-
accretionary prism model assumes that an arc brian orogenic belts. When we examine these belts,
existed in this region, but no direct evidence of this we find certain differences that set them apart from
arc exists. The Grampian orogeny, which affected their more modem counterparts. While many belts
the region to the north occurred in the early Ordo- show evidence of subduction-related magmatism,
vician, while the earliest ocean-floor sediments of and ophiolite complexes marking collision sutures,
the Southern Uplands were being deposited. If the as shown by the Alps or the Himalayas, for
Grampian orogeny was caused by the obduction example, others reveal no evidence of plate col-
of oceanic plate from the south as suggested above lision by the removal of an intervening ocean, and
and by collision of an arc situated on that plate, matching of structures on either side of certain belts
then the ancestral Midland Valley containing the indicates that the cratons on either side may not
arc must have been separated from Laurentia at this have been displaced by more than a few hundred
time by oceanic crust. It has been suggested that kilometres.
it was this collision that resulted in the initiation of Some belts are interpreted as major shear zones
the subduction that gave rise to the Southern where displacement has been strike-slip with little
Uplands (Figure 16.5B). or no contraction across the belt. In the later
184 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts

NW SE

5m
Figure 16.7 Relationship between cleavage and folding in the southern part of the Southern Uplands. Note that
the cleavage strike is displaced clockwise from the fold axes. Arrows and figures refer to plunge of folds. (After
Walton, E.K. and Oliver, G.I.H. (1991) in Geology of Scotland (ed. G.Y. Craig), figure 7.6.)

Archaean and Early Proterozoic, major shear zones Archaean Superior Province of North America
are very common and it has been suggested that (Figure 16.8).
much of the continental lithosphere, although able
to transmit a uniform stress field, was in general
more 'deformable' than is the case today. THE EASTERN CHURCHILL PROVINCE
We shall consider three examples of Precambrian This 400 km-wide belt is part of a continuous Early
tectonics: the Early Proterozoic of the Eastern Proterozoic (c. 1800 Ma) orogenic zone surround-
Churchill Province of Canada and of the Nagssugto- ing the Archaean craton of the Superior Province
qidian mobile belt in West Greenland, and the (Figure 16.8). On its northeast side, it is bounded
by the North Atlantic craton, which consists of the
Archaean areas of eastern Labrador and southern
Greenland. The belt consists of three parts: a western
highly deformed sequence of volcanics and sedi-
ments of Early Proterozoic age (the New Quebec,
or Labrador, zone), a Central zone consisting of
reworked Archaean basement penetrated by
granites, and an eastern part known as the Torngat
belt which is dominated by a wide, steep ductile
shear zone (Figure 16.9).

Figure 16.9 A. Map of the Eastern Churchill Pro-

vince. B. Simplified structural sections across the New
Quebec orogen showing the westwards overthrusting.
Figure 16.8 Precambrian provinces of the Canadian (After Wardle, R,J., Ryan, B. and Nunn, GAG. (1990)
shield. The map shows the Archaean cratons (dotted) Labrador segment of the Trans-Hudson orogen: crustal
and Proterozoic mobile belts of the Canadian shield. development through convergence and collision, in
ECP, Eastern Churchill Province; SUP, Superior The Early Proterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen (eds I.F.
province; NAC, North Atlantic craton; NAG, Lewry and M.R. Stauffer), Geological Association of
Nagssugtoqidian belt. Canada Special Paper, 37, figure 2.)
The Early Proterozoic Eastern Churchill and Nagssugioqidian belts 185

EASTERN
DIVISION

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

a
I
200
I

KJlometres

~ Middle Proterozoic Rock!

Schefferville Howse Doublet Laporte Western

Zone Zone Terrane Terrane Gneiss
w Imbricate
Zane E
Zone

50 km
186 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
The New Quebec zone is about 100 km wide are accompanied by high-grade metamorphism
and contains a thick sequence of 2.1-1.8 Ga-old dated at 1.87 Ga and are attributed to oblique col-
metasediments and metavolcanics which have been lision between the North Atlantic craton and the
overthrust westwards on to the Superior craton Archaean block to the west. Later stages of the col-
(Figure 16.9). The deposits thicken towards the lision transformed the motion to sinistral transpres-
centre of the zone, where they reach about 10 km sion. steepening the previously formed structures
in thickness. The folding and associated thrusting, and causing the sinistral strike-slip movements on
dated at about 1.84 Ca are strongly asymmetric, the Abloviak shear zone.
directed towards the southwest. Later dextral Thus the plate tectonic interpretation of the
strike-slip shear zones occur locally. Eastern Churchill Province views the origin of the
The earliest deposits are continental clastic belt in terms of two separate collisions, separated
sediments resting on Archaean basement of the by about 30 Ma, with the Laurentian hinterland. the
Superior craton These are overlain by shelf North Atlantic craton approaching from the south-
quartzites, carbonates and iron formation. which east, and the Superior craton approaching from
are in tum succeeded by greywackes and sub- the southwest.
marine plateau basalts. This sequence is interpreted
to represent the passive margin of the Superior
continent. THE NAGSSUGTOQIDIAN BELT OF WEST
The Central zone is about 100 km wide and GREENLAND
consists of deformed and metamorphosed Archaean
rocks intruded by granitic plutons thought to repre- The Early Proterozoic Nagssugtoqidian belt of
sent an Early Proterozoic magmatic arc produced Greenland (Figures 16.8 and 16.10) is the north-
by eastwards subduction beneath Archaean con- wards continuation into West Greenland of the
tinental crust. The Central zone is therefore inter- Eastern Churchill Province and consists of a 300 km-
preted as the upper plate of a subduction zone and wide zone made up mainly of reworked Archaean
the New Quebec zone as a collisional orogenic gneisses but including some Early Protrozoic meta-
belt. sediments and volcanics (Figure 16.10A). The belt is
The Tomgat belt is between 7S and 200 km bounded to the south by the Archaean North
wide and separates the reworked Archaean rocks Atlantic craton and to the north by the Rinkian
to the west from the North Atlantic Archaean belt, also of Early Proterozoic age, with a small
craton to the east. This belt consists of a mixture Archaean block at the boundary between the two
of reworked Archaean rocks, Early Proterozoic belts.
granitic and dioritic plutons, mafic dykes and a
band of highly deformed and metamorphosed
metasediment, the Tasiuyak gneiss. The meta- Figure 16.10 Main structural features of the
sediments are thought to be derived from an Early Nagssugtoqidian mobile belt of West Greenland. A.
Map of the Nagssugtoqidian mobile belt in West
Proterozoic accretionary prism, and the T omgat
Greenland showing structural trends and main rock
belt is therefore interpreted as a collisional suture units. (After Escher et al., 1976, figure 71.) B. Map of
zone between the Archaean block of the Central the Nordre Stremfiord shear zone in the central part of
zone and the North Atlantic craton The western the Nagssugtoqidian belt (see A). Note how the sinis-
edge of the craton is intruded by a suite of Early tral shear zone is defined by the various lithological
Proterozoic calc-alkaline plutons thought to indicate units and structural trends becoming aligned in a
easterly subduction beneath the craton. NE-SW belt in a zone of intense deformation. Black.
amphibolites; ruled, metasediments; crosses, granitic
The earliest structures in the Tomgat belt are and charnockitic intrusions. The blank areas are granitic
west-vergent ductile thrusts, but these are to tonalitic gneisses. (After Olesen, N.0., Korslgard,
succeeded by later movements on the steep sinistral J.A. and Sorensen, K. (1979) Grenlands Geologiske
Abloviak shear zone. The earlier ductile movements Undersegelse, 89, 19-22, figure 1.)
The Early Proterozoic Eastern Churchill and Nagssugtoqidian belts 187

55°
0, 50
, lQO km

Nagssugtoq idian Q Archaean 169

~ 69°

-
granite thrust
/'
• quartz-diorite

supracrustal rocks
y /
~ strike-slip fault

~ gneisses

Nordre
Stremfjord

Hoisteinsborg

Itivdleq

B
188 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
The southern margin of the Nagssugtoqidian commence until later Precambrian times, and others
belt is a broad ductile shear zone (the Ikertoq shear that greater heat loss in the earlier Precambrian
zone) in which granulite-facies Archaean rocks like was accomplished by the presence of many small
those south of the margin have been transformed oceanic basins, with more rapid subduction pro-
into intensely deformed amphibolite-facies gneisses. ducing a higher rate of circulation of oceanic crust
An early phase of strike-slip displacement on the and smaller oceanic plates. It is often impossible to
shear zone was followed by a later phase of more subdivide the Archaean crust into mobile belts and
intense over-thrust displacement towards the south. cratons, since evidence of mobility is so wide-
This shear zone, which is about 50 km wide, grades spread. However, the Superior Province of Canada
northwards into a zone of rather less intense de- is a well-known and intensively studied piece of
formation which is in tum followed northwards by Archaean crust where the plate tectonic model has
another, narrower, shear zone at Nordre Strerrfjord, been applied, at least to the later part of the
The latter belt is steep, about 15 km wide and ex- Archaean record (2.7-2.6 Ga).
hibits sinistral transcurrent displacement. The Superior Province (Figure 16.11) is a frag-
Figure 16.10B shows clearly how the structures ment of a larger Archaean continent assembled in
and rock units north and south of the shear zone the late Archaean between 2.7 and 2.6 Ga. It is
bend into parallelism with the shear zone, with indi- composed of several subprovinces, all but one of
vidual rock bodies becoming greatly extended and which were formed in mid- to late-Archaean times
thinned in the process. This shear zone was formed (3.0-2.7 Ga). The exception is the Minnesota River
at granulite to amphibolite facies and is a classic Valley subprovince, in the southwest, which con-
example of a deep-seated ductile shear zone. tains 3.6 Ga-old rocks and is thought to represent
These belts of intense ductile deformation exhibit an older continent that may have accreted to the
very high strains. Most of the fold axes are sub- remainder of the Superior Province in late Archaean
parallel to a well-developed lineation that defines times. The subprovinces are of four types: volcano-
the X strain axis and is subparallel to the direction plutonic (granite-greenstone) terrains, high-grade
of Simple shear. Folds are typically similar in form, gneiss terrains, metasedimentary belts and plutonic
and boudinage of competent layers is common. terrains.
Original discordances have been virtually elimin-
ated and a marked parallelism of all previous struc-
VOLCANO-PLUTONIC TERRAINS
tures, whatever their orientation is characteristic.
These features are all typical of high degrees of These are composed mainly of volcanic and sedi-
homogeneous strain produced by Simple shear (see mentary sequences intruded by abundant granitic
sections 8.8 and 10.6). plutons and exemplify the granite-greenstone
The sense of movement on the marginal ductile type of Archaean terrain, where belts or irregular
shear zone is consistent with the northwestwards outcrops of volcanic and sedimentary rock
convergence between the North Atlantic craton (greenstone belts) alternate with large areas of
and the Laurentian hinterland described above in granite or granitic gneiss. The larger greenstone
the case of the Eastern Churchill Province. areas often form basins with volcanic and sedi-
mentary successions several tens of kilometres in
thickness. The largest of these terrains is the
16.3 THE ARCHAEAN SUPERIOR
Abitibi subprovince, which is a very rich mining
PROVINCE
area, having produced large quantities of gold.
There has been much debate among geologists as together with copper, zinc, silver and iron and
to how far back in time the plate tectonic model has been intensively studied. Geophysical evi-
can be extended and how it should be modified to dence shows that the granitic plutons are tabular
explain the earlier history of the Earth. Some geolo- sheets 3-5 km thick and that the typical granite-
gists believe that lithospheric subduction did not greenstone type of crust generally extends to less
The Archaean Superior Province 189

Legend
. - / Province boundary

~ Subprovince boundary

Archaean subprovince type

o Plutonic

I' I Volcano-plutonic

E----j Metasedimentary

~ High grade gneiss

Hudson
Bay
Trans-Hudson
Orogen

300 km

Figure 16.11 Map of the Superior Province showing the distribution of the main types of terrain (see text)
and the locations of the subprovinces. (After Carel 1990, figure 1.)

than 5 km depth, where it is replaced by the high- types: (1) typical continental shelf sequences domi-
grade gneiss type. nated by quartzites and carbonates; (2) mafic to
The supracrustal assemblages within the volcano- ultramafic lavas interpreted as submarine lava plain
plutonic terrains may be divided into the following sequences, and including minor banded ironstones,
190 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
cherts and mudstones; (3) bimodal mafic/felsic vol- earlier deformations took place under generally
canic sequences with abundant volcaniclastics inter- low-grade metamorphic conditions, typically green-
preted as is land arc assemblages; and (4) clastic schist facies.
sequences composed of greywackes and con- In some parts of the Superior Province, the
glomerates interpreted as representing clastic earliest deformation seen in the greenstone belts is
aprons around the volcanic island arcs. These variable in orientation and often follows the arcuate
terrains therefore represent environments that margins of the granites, suggesting that it may be
evolve from ocean-floor to island arc to continental related to the granite emplacement (Figure 16.12,
through time. The earlier calc-alkaline granitic see also section 12.4). Where the granite-greenstone
plutons of these terrains are considered to form the terrain is comparatively unaffected by later de-
cores of the volcanic island arcs resulting from the formation, the granites are approximately equi-
subduction of oceanic crust. Later plutons are dimensional in shape, and the early fold axes in the
ascribed to the remelting of thickened granitic greenstone areas have a variable trend, often
crust. curving around the granite contacts. There are
The structure of these terrains is dominated by thus altemative explanations of the earlier struc-
major domal antiforrns cored by granite and ture: (1) that it is essentially subduction-related. as
surrounded by narrow, tight, upright synforrns in the Southern Uplands example described above
containing the supracrustal rocks. At least two (section 16.1); (2) that it is related to the em-
phases of deformation are recognized: an earlier placement of the granitic plutons by either
phase producing major recumbent folds and thrusts gravity-driven diapiric emplacement or a balloon-
with a strong foliation, and a later phase forming ing mechanism.
the more obvious synforrns and antiforrns that The volcano-plutonic terrains range in age
dominate the outcrop pattem and typically follow from around 3.0 Ga in the north to 2.7 Ga in the
a strong regional ENE-WSW trend (Figure 16.11). south.
Later structures consist of conjugate regional shear
zone sets indicating north-south compression at a
HIGH-GRADE GNEISS TERRAINS
late stage in the development of the craton. The
These consist of upper amphibolite to granulite-
facies gneisses of both metasedimentary and meta-
igneous derivation, together with various plutonic
rocks. They are characterized by strong, polyphase,
ductile deformation. Terrains of this type occur in
the north (the Minto subprovince) and in the south-
west (the Minnesota River Valley subprovince).
These terrains are thought to represent uplifted
lower-erustal rocks, broadly similar to those of the
volcano-plutonic terrains but with a higher pro-
portion of plutonic material.

Figure 16.12 Granite--greenstone relationships in the METASEDIMENTARY BELTS

Kenora area. Note the shapes of the granitic plutons Belts of this type include the English River and
(dotted) and the variable trend of the fold axes
Quetico belts, which join eastwards to form the
(coloured lines), which 'wrap around' the pluton
margins. (After Goodwin (1972) in Variations in Opatica belt. They contain high-grade, mainly
Tectonic Styles in Canada (eds R.A. Price and R.].W. gneissose, metagreywackes and metasiltstones with
Douglas), Special Papers of the Geological Association minor mafic gneisses thought to be of volcanic
of Canada, 11, 528--623, figure 6.) origin. They are highly deformed and now dip
Further reading 191

Archaean. between 3.0 and 2.7 Ga (Figure 16.13).

Individual terranes consist of typical ocean-floor/
island arc sequences and contain calc-alkaline pluto-
nic suites similar to, but more sodic than, those of
subduction-related arcs in more modem times.
Earlier accreted crust, such as the Sachigo sub-
province in the north, were covered by platform
sequences and later hosted Andean-type magmatic
arcs. It is possible, but unproved, that the later,
uniform, province-wide structures may have been
formed in response to late-Archaean collision be-
tween the accreted arc complexes of the main part
of the Superior Province and a Minnesota River
Valley continent in the south.

Figure 16.13 Plate tectonic interpretation of the

Superior Province at ""2.7 Ga. Map indicating the posi-
FURTHER READING
tions of the various arc terranes separated by sub- Card, KD. (1990) A review of the Superior Province
duction zones. Note that younger Andean-type of the Canadian Shield, a product of Archaean
magmatic arcs are postulated on continental crust of accretion. Precambrian Research, 48, 99-156.
the earlier-formed Sachigo terrane. (After Percival. [A; Dewey, j.F. and Shackleton, RM. (1984) A model
Stern, R.A., Skulski, T., Card, KD., Mortensen, J.K. for the evolution of the Grampian tract in the
and Begin, N]. (1994) Minto block, Superior Province: early Caledonides and Appalachians. Nature, 312,
missing link in deciphering assembly of the craton at ll5-2l.
2.7 Ga. Geology, 22, 839-42.) Elliott. D. and Johnson, M.R.W. (1980) Structural
evolution in the northern part of the Moine thrust
belt. NW Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society
steeply northwards. These belts are interpreted as of Edinburgh, Earth Sciences, 71, 69-96.
accretionary prisms marking collisional suture zones Escher, A, Sorenson, K. and Zeck, H.P. (1976)
along which the terranes on either side have Nagssugtoqidian mobile belt in West Greenland, in
accreted. Geology of Greenland (eds A Escher and w.s. Watt),
Geological Survey of Greenland.
Leggett, J.K., McKerrow, W.S. and Eales, M.H. (1979)
PLUTONIC TERRAINS The Southern Uplands of Scotland: a Lower Palaeo-
zoic accretionary prism. Journal of the Geological
Terrains of this type are composed dominantly Society of London, 136, 755-70.
of tonalitic to granodioritic batholiths intruding McClay, K.R. and Coward M.P,' (1981) The Moine
gneissose basement of high-grade gneiss type, and thrust zone: an overview, in Thrust and Nappe
Tectonics (eds K.R. McClay and N]. Price), Special
indude the Berens and Bienville subprovinces. They
Publication of the Geological Society of London, 9,
are interpreted as magmatic arc terrains developed 241-60.
on previously formed continental crust. Roberts, J.L. and Treagus, J.E. (1977) Polyphase genera-
tion of nappe structures in the Dalradian rocks of
the southwest Highlands of Scotland. Scottish
PLATE TECTONIC INTERPRETATION Journal of Geology, 13, 237-54.
Thomas, P.R. (1979) New evidence for a Central High-
It has been suggested, on the basis of the distrib- land root zone, in The Caledonides of the British Isles
ution and ages of the terrains described above, that - Reviewed (eds AL. Harris, C.H. Holland and B.E.
the Superior Province is composed of at least five Leake), Special Publication of the Geological Society
magmatic arc terranes accreted together in the late of London, 8, 205-11.
192 Structural interpretation in ancient orogenic belts
Wardle, R.J., Ryan. B. and Nunn, GAG. (1990) Windley, B.F. (1993) Uniformitarianism today: plate
Labrador segment of the Trans-Hudson orogen: tectonics is the key to the past. Journal of the Geo-
crustal development through convergence and col- logical Society of London, 150, 7-19. [Discusses
lision,in The Early Proterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen orogeny and the possible application of plate
(eds J.F. Lewry and M.R. Stauffer), Geological tectonics throughout geological times from the
Association of CanadaSpecial Paper, 37, fig. 2. Archaean to the present.]
APPENDIX: STEREOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

Stereographic projection is a graphical method of graphic traces of a set of great circles with a N-S
portraying three-dimensional geometrical data in strike dipping at 10° intervals from 10° W, through
two dimensions, and of solving three-dimensional the vertical, to 10° E.
geometrical problems. In geology, the method is In practice, stereographic projection is carried
used mainly for solving problems involving the out by means of a protractor termed a stereo-
orientations of lines and planes in crystallography graphic net or Wulff net (Figure A2A) which
and structural geology. Such problems involve the gives the cyclographic traces of the complete set of
angular relationship between lines or planes rather
than their spatial relationships. Planes plot as lines
(usually curved) and lines as points on such a
A
projection.
The orientation of a plane (e.g. bedding, foliation roiection sphere

or crystal face) is represented by imagining the

plane passing through the centre of a sphere of _ -StereoQraphic
radius R, the projection sphere. The plane inter- projection of
dipping plane
sects the sphere in a circle with radius R called a
great circle. The two-dimensional projection of
the plane is produced on a horizontal plane through
the centre 0 of the projection sphere (Figure
AlA). In structural geology, the lower hemisphere
only is used for projection. whereas in crystall- North

ography, the upper hemisphere is used. In the

following account, the lower-hemisphere projection
is described. Upper-hemisphere projections will be
mirror-images across a vertical plane of symmetry.
For lower-hemisphere projection. each point on the
lower half of the great circle is connected to the
point T where the vertical line through 0 cuts the
top of the projection sphere, producing a set of
lines T A, TB, etc. that intersect the projection plane
in an arc known as the cyclographic trace of
the great circle. The cyclographic trace of the hori-
zontal plane (i.e. the projection plane) is called the
South
primitive circle. The cyclographic trace of a
vertical plane is a straight line through O. If the Figure A.I A. Geometry of stereographic projection.
primitive circle is given geographic coordinates, B. Stereographic projection of planes dipping due east
then the orientation of any specified plane may be or due west at the various indicated angles. (A and B
represented. Thus Figure AlB shows the cyclo- after Hobbs et al., 1986.)
194 Appendix, St,r,ographi, proj'ctio"

• The ~~ for plotting grometric data i5

• .. fotlows. A plea' of tracng poper is bid over
the otereogr.phic nd and fixed with a pin
tIYough the c<'I'IIr<- O. The primitiv<! ..roe is
~ and gi""" geogropl-ocal coordinates, The
plot produced on the tracing paper i' tenned a
st e....ogram. To plot the position of a plane wdh
,hike be.ving (cinuthl of 067", the pooihon of
067" i> morW o n the pr¥nih~ ~. by (DUn1·
ing cJod<wi.., from N. and the *'=gnrn rotated
ov.. the nd unti.I 061" ~ with the axis
XX ' of II>. net. If the plane has a dp of 56· to
lhe SE. the ~ gre"; me Itace i> f.,..,d
by c~ 56° inwards from the pern.etrr
(prirniti.... <:iocle) loword5 the ~ (figure A2B).
AJt<=>hv .ly. i the dp .m.uth i' given (56" to
1~71. lhe f"'oihon ro".,.,ponding 10 151" is
marked. and the net roloted unti.I the poinl ,;tu.
.tted 90" dodwise of X ron-esponds with 157".
- • The appropriate gre ot drde tra<r i, fourd ..
!><fan:. II 5houId be roted thai pl.meo diPJlin8 10
It.. ~ plot in lhe right >ide of It.. <tereogrorn
and ~v......
To plol lhe position of • Iino WIth • p~ of
• 45" on a beoring of Ill", SOY. a 5imiIar proceoiu-e
i5 followed , The bearing 11]' i, f.,..,-J .. bef"",
~ a M ' i5 musured in a v.rtX:al plane. one
of the two vertic.al planes (~ esented by .traighI
lineo on the net) rnuot be rotoled to con-.. pond
with !he posihon of 111' on the <t«eogr.sm. The
pklnse angle ;' rooJnted inward!. from the perimeter
fi gu.... A.l A Wodrt '" ~u1 .. <>d. 8. 51...__ to • poinl "lualed 45' along the Iino loward. the
graploc p.-o;.dion of a pl.nt wdh a <Ink of 061" cen~ (figure A2B),
dipping Iowords 1~1" . A I_on. L pileh<o od' NE ""llies between any Iwc Iir." may be foo.nl
in tlu. plm<.n.. pI"'S' of II>. tn.olion is 4~ o Ioworck
by p~ lhrir pro~ point> on a COl'.'.'"
111' . (Aft..- Hobbo tl a l., ] 93(\·1
greot drde trace, Angle. beIwem any Iwc planes
may be found by pIolting the poles (normah) to
gre.t circles .t 2' inlerv.ls .bou t a corrmon .,.;,; lhe two plan.. and obtaining the ~Ie betw- .
XX ', The nd.lso giv,," lhe cydogr~ t.., ,," of a the poles. The pol, to • plane is the line (point)
f..ruly of <ircuLo- (DIleO .bout the ......, m. XX', oitualed 90" from the centre of lhe greal c.d~
og.m .t 2' intrrv.l.. n- It...,., t=n.d .mall tr-. "",......-ed along the wrti<aIlta<e.
d rcl... ~ ....,d 10 gr..h.le .ngular distances Many geemetric-.al prob/em5 in 5lnIchr.al geology
along lhe great cirdes. Equol angkos on the ....face an be ..,Ived u:!ing von.:..... rombil'lill;""" of these
of the ~ project .. equal distances on the net, >imple procedures. For exofIl'Ie. the plunge of a fold
Thuo the Wulff net is often lermed II>. eq.W--ang1e """ may be obtmrd by pIotIing the intcrstdion
nd in <X>nlrost 10 the Sdvnidt, 01' equoI-are.. net of great circles representing two pIan.w fold Iint>s.
desaibed below or ~ling vari"", pooihons on the fold ,..face.
In the stati<tical ,....]~ of the dislrh..bon 01
,lnrtral elements, it ;. """" inl><'rtant 10 be able
to c<>rT"f'l"' the den>ily of lines (point.) in cMferml
........ of lho> projection sphrre than to <:ompare
ong ~ briween Iineo. For the former J'U'l'<>S".•
di/ment ~ 01 projection .. .-i in which eqoal
........ on the proioction sphere plot ... ~ual ......
on the 51crmgram.. The ntI usord for this fUPO'l'
is tenned ;on equ al-a ru net or Sch midt net
(Figuw A3A~ The method 01 pro;ection is ilIu>-
ITaW in f igure A3B. EqJal angJe. on the proiec.
hon sphere ..... oo t pro;ed<'d all <'qual ong'" on tho
,icreogram, ond the cydogr"f'hic lr.o<n of the
great <:ircIes are fourtlH>rd.o- '1'.dric C\rVe5. The
Schmidt net may .... used to plot p~ ....l tr....
aro:I m ,ur.. lhe1r afWllar ...... tionship in .... cdy
the way as the Wulff net and is oiItn
• employed by sltuctural geologists in rrftm>flC\" 10
the Lotter.
For details ci proeedUA."> in plotting .....l .....Iy..
ing density dislribuliOf>l ri .m.ctural OT fabric data
..... Turrwr and WeiM (I 96J) ..-.:I Phillif" (l97n

FURTH ER RUD U,C

HOOb!, B,E. M...... W,D. 0IId W, I;...... pr, (191101
li n a.11"., r1 51,.,,",.1 G. ology. lnd ..n Wil<y.
N<w y ",k
f ;SQU ",J 1\ x l"OT'KIt nri. 8 . no. pri"''I'le of th. P"~'P~ F.c. 19'n rio , u.. of 51""'l ,~pJ. i. f'roi"ho "
..,w /If. > protechon . 0 i. Ih. ~lre of In. proj«bon ,n 51,,,,-1,,,. 1Grology, f.dw..J AmoldLondon.
spn.r., of .lIdi", R. D B .. I triO' of. I'l- dipping T ........, F.e. ond W<K.s, LE-119(\..l) 5/•• " " ,., II"'!Y'~
al ongJ" 4>. X .. . point on I <qtW .... pro;.dion of of Md","o,,,'''' T" 'o,,"1,,. McCr.w-llill N...
II>;, plonr, PQ. (AIm- Hobbo , I.r. 19116,)
'"'
INDEX

Pages where terms are defined or Back-arc basin 154, 155 Cataclasite, cataclasis 12, 13, 77, 78, 79
explained are shown in bold. Back-arc extension 18, 163 Central igneous complex 123, 126,
Illustrations of the usage of structural Baikal rift system 168, 169 128
terms in the wider geotectonic context Balanced section 8, 17, 18, 87 Centre-to-centre method (strain
will be found in the higher page Ballooning (mechanism) 123, 129, measurement) 82
numbers, from p. 141 onwards. 137, 190 Chocolate-tablet structure (boudinage)
Baltica 175 51
Abitibi subprovince (Canada) 188, Banda arc 165 Circum-Pacific belt 143, 144
189, 191 Bar (unit of stress, pressure) 56 Cleavage 41, 42, 181, 184
Abloviak shear zone 186 Basin axial-plane 42
Accretionary prism 154, 164, 165, sedimentary 5, 7,22, 144, 171, 188 crenulation 41, 42, 43-4, 46, 48,
167, 181, 183, 186, 191 structural 34, 35, 172, 173 119, 180
Active (continental) margin 151 Basinand Range Province 18, 20, fracture 41, 43,
Afar, Ethiopia 153, 161 163 refraction 108
African plate 151, 157, 158 Batholith 123, 128, 129 slaty 41, 43, 47, 81, 108, 181
African rift system, zone 144, 145, Bayonet structure 125, 126 solution 41, 42, 44
153, 161 Bed, bedding, bedded, bedding plane spaced 43, 78
Aleutian trench 154 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 193 tetrahedron 41, 43
Alfred Wegener 147, 151 Beinn Dorain (Scottish Highlands) Coast Ranges (California) 170
Alpine orogenic belt, orogeny 23 180 Coldwater Formation 173
Alpine-Himalayan belt 142, 144, 153, Bending 36-7, 109, 114 Coldworking 79
155, 165, 167 Benioff zone 143, 144, 153, 164 Collision, see Continental collision
American plate 151, 156, 157, Berens subprovince (Canada) 189, Competent 38, 50, 110, 112, 114, 188
170--172 191 Compressibility 71
Angle of internal friction 91 Beta (factor) 64 Cone sheet 122, 126, 127, 128
Angular velocity (of a plate) 157 Bienville subprovince (Canada) 189, Continent (as structure) 141
Annealing 79 191 Continental
Antarctic plate 151, 157, 158 Bindura-Shamva greenstone belt, break-up 162
Anticline 27, 28, 34, 35, 136, 171 Zimbabwe 137 collision (zone) 155, 167-70, 172,
Antiform 27, 28, 33, 105, 190 Blastornylonite 13 180--2, 186, 191
Appalachian (belt) 175, 176 Boss 123 crust 151, 152, 154, 155, 171, 186,
Appalachian-Caledonian belt 176 Boudinage, boudin 50, 51, 68, 88, 191
Apparent dip 5 188 drift 147, 148, 150
Apparent polar wander (curve, track) Brachyanticline 34 lithosphere 155, 184
147 Brachysyncline 34 margin 143, 150, 154, 156, 167
Arabian plate 158, 165, 167 Bridge 125, 126 rift (zone) 153, 161, 162
Arc, see Volcanic arc Brittle 25, 37-39, 73, 76, 114, shelf 142, 155, 189
Arc-trench gap 154 116-18, 126, 134, 164 slope 142
Ardnamurchan 123, 126 Brittle failure 91 Cordilleran orogenic belt 172
Argentera massif 132 Buckling 36-7, 101, 102, 105, 109, Crack-seal (mechanism) 69
Amaboll nappe 177 110, 114 Craton 145, 150, 172, 188, 190
Arran granite 128, 129 Bushveld complex 122 Creep 75, 76, 77, 78
Aseismic (movement) 98, 143, 144 Coble 78
Asian plate 170 Cadomia 176 Nabarro--Herring 78
Asthenosphere 144, 151, 152 Cadomian plate 180, 181, 182 primary 75
Augen gneiss 46 Caledonian orogeny, orogenic belt secondary 76
Auxiliary plane (earthquake) 100 175, 176, 177, 179 solution 78
Carlsberg ridge 162 tertiary 76
198 Index
Cross-section 3, 7 aftershock 72 sole (extensional) 19. 20
Crush breccia 12, 13 first-motion study 153 splay 15, 100
Crystal plasticity (see Pressure see a/50 Fault-plane solution strike-slip 9, 10, 15, 21-2, 94, 96,
solution) focus 144 97, 115, 118, 143, 156, 169,
Cyclographic trace 193, 194 waves, see Seismic waves 181
Culmination (of folds) 34, 136 East Pacific ridge 156 synthetic 14, 20
Eastern Churchill Province (Canada) tear 9
Decollement (plane) 15, 164 175, 183, 184, 186, 188 throw 10
Delayed recovery (of strain) 72 Elasticity 71 thrust, see Thrust
Delta (b) structure 119 Elongation (strain) 64 transcurrent 9
Deformation (definition) 55 En-echelon (emplacement) 126 transfer 15, 19, 20
band 53,77 English River subprovince (Canada) transform 15, 20, 150, 151, 156,
lamellae 53, 77 189 157, 158, 167, 170, 172
map 78 Equal-area net 194, 195 wrench 9
progressive 68 Eurasian plate 151, 157, 165, 167, see a/50 Thrust
twinning 53, 77 168, 169 Fault-plane solution (earthquake) 100.
Depression (of folds) 34 Extension (strain) 63, 64, 68--71, 81, 143. 164, 169
Detachment (plane) 15, 19, 20, 165, 84, 88, 126, 163, 167, 169. Feather edge 7
181 172 Flexure 29
Dextral (shear sense) Flexural shear 101, 102, 108, 114
see a/50 Fault, dextral (strike-slip) Fabric 41, 51-3. st. 82, 86, 108. 118, Flexural slip 48, 57, 101. 102, 112,
Diapir, diapirism 121, 129, 133, 119. 121, 179 114
135-7.190 heterogeneous 52 Flinn diagram 67, 88
Diastem 3,4 homogeneous 52 Flow banding 121
Dietz, R.5. 147 shape 47,52, 77. 117 Flow fold folding 109, 110. 111, 114
Diffusive mass transfer 78 Failed arm (of rift system) 162 Flower structure 21, 22
Dilation (dilatation) (strain) 63, 66, 98, Failure criteria Fluid pressure 73
99, 112, 118, 123, 126 Coulomb 93, 95 Focal-plane solution. see Fault-plane
Dilational emplacement 124, 129 Griffith 93 solution
Dip Griffith-Murrell 93 Fold 25-39
of a fault 9 Farallon plate 170. 171 accordion 30
of a plane 5, 6, 7, 194 Fault 5, 9, 10-23, 119, 125 amplitude 26, 34
Dip isogon 31, 32 antithetic 14, 20 angle (interlimb) 28, 29, 30, 34,
Dip-slip displacement 181 block 22, 162, 163, 164 112, 113
Disconformity 3, 4 breccia 12 asymmetric 32, 33, 44. 112, 165.
Dislocation creep 77 detachment 131. 132 181. 183
Dislocation glide 77 dextral (strike-slip) 11, 96, 167, axial plane 26, 27. 86, 87, 110.
Displaced terrane 181 169, 172, 181 181
Displacement plane (of shear zone) dip-slip 9, 10, 11, 18, 20. 181 axial surface 26. 27, 30, 33, 34. 43,
115,116 duplex (extensional) 19, 20 44, 47. 102, 107, 112
Distortion (strain) 63, 66 extensional 18--20, 23, 37, 38, 87, axial trace 27, 35, 36
Dome 114, 153, 161. 162 axis 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 87. 88,
igneous 123, 137 flat (extensional) 19, 20. 132 102, 103. 110, 111, 184, 190,
structural 34,35, 136, 161, 162, 190 gouge 12,13 194
Downiap 4, 5 heave 10 belt 169, 172
Down-plunge projection 8 imbricate (zone) (extensional) 20 box 34
Ductility 25, 37-9, 41, 73, 74, 75, 77, lag 11 buckle 104. 111
82, 88, 100, 101, 104, 105, listric 19, 20, 97, 135 centre of curvature 30
108--10, 112, 114, 116-19, low-angle normal 11, 20, 131, 163 chevron 29, 30, 37, 38, 101-3,
121, 132-4, 151, 153, 164, normal 10, 11, 17, 18, 22, 23, 105, 110-14
170, 179, 184, 186, 188, 190 94-6, 118, 132-5, 162-4 classification 27-30
Duplex structure, see Thrust, duplex ramp (extensional) 19. 20. 132 close 28, 29
Dyke 23, 122, 124, 129, 153 reverse 10, 11, 22, 23, 96, 118, closure 25
radial 126, 12 7, 128 134, 165, 167 concentric 29, 30, 36, 101, 106
ring 123, 128 rider 20 conjugate (system) 33. 34
swarm 122, 124, 162 rock 11 crest 102
roof (extensional) 19, 20 curtain 135
Earthquake 77, 98, 100, 143, 144, 151, sinistral (strike-slip) 11, 96, 169, cylindrical 25
169 179, 181 cylindroidal 25, 34, 195
Index 199
disharmonic (system) 33, 104, extensional 162 Interference (structure) 34, 36,
105 Franciscan (assemblage) 165 110--12, 136, 177, 180
enveloping surface 33 crescent and mushroom 34, 36,
facing (direction) 27, 28 Garlock fault 170, 171 110
gentle 28, 29 Geotectonics 141 dome-and-basin 34, 36, 110, 111
harmonic (system) 33 Giant's Causeway 24 double zigzag 34, 36, 110
hinge line 25, 26, 33 Gneissosity, gneissose banding 43, 44, Inter-layer slip (in folding) 17, 18
hinge 25, 26, 30, 37, 47, 48, 89, 46,81 Intracrystalline plasticity 77, 78, 79
101, 103, 107, 109, 112 Graben 14, 15, 18, 163, 164, Intraplate region, structure 172-3
inflexion point 26, 30, 31 169 Intrusion plane 124, 128
intrafolial 47 Grain boundary sliding 77, 78 Inversion 22, 23
isoclinal 28, 29, 36,47, 89, 107 Grampian Highlands (Scotland) 176, negative 22
kink 105 179, 180, 182 positive 22
limb 25, 26, 37, 47, 89, 101-103, Grampian orogeny 177, 179, 183 Island arc 143, 153, 155, 167, 170,
107, 109-15, 194 Granite-greenstone terrain 137, 177, 190
mechanism 101-4, 113 188 lsogon, see Dip isogon
neutral 28 GravitaHonai gliding, sliding 17, 131, Isopachyte 3, 7
non-cylindroidal 34 132, 135, 165 Isostasy 142, 143, 145, 151, 154, 173
open 28, 29, 36 GravitaHonai spreading 159
orientation 26-7 Gravity (as force) 37, 114, 121, 129, Japanese island arc 144
parallel 29, 30, 31, 36, 37, 101, 131-8, 142, 159, 173 Joint 9, 23
102, 104, 107 Great circle (of stereogram) 193-5 columnar 24
parasitic 33 Great Glen fault 176, 178, 179 cooling 23, 24
plunge 27, 110, 111, 184 Greenstone belt 188 pressure-release 23
polyclinal (system) 34 Growth anisotropy 50 sheet 23
profile 30-2, 34, 37 Growth fibres 69 tensional 23, 126
recumbent 27, 28, 38, 110, 176, Griffith crack 93
179, 190 Gulf of Aden rift 153, 161, 162 Kilobar (unit of stress, pressure) 56
rootless intrafolial 47 Gulf of Mexico 133, 135 Kink band 29, 30, 34, 37, 77, 101,
shear 119 Gulf of Oman 165, 167 111, 112, 180
sheath 111, 112, 135 Gulf of Suez 162 Kink plane 37, 101, 102, 112
similar 29, 30, 31, 37, 101, 102, Kinking 37, 102, 111, 114, 115
109, 110, 112 Hade (of a fault) 9 Kohistan complex (Himalayas) 169,
superimposed 34, 36, 136 Half-graben 19, 20, 23, 135 170
symmetric 32, 44 Hangingwall (of fault) 9, 10, 16, 19,
tight 28, 29, 36, 47 20,37 Laccolith 122, 123, 129, 137
upright 30, 110, 179, 180 Hess, H.H. 147 Lady anticline (Saundersfoot,
vergence 33, 119, 181 Highland Boundary fault 178 Pembrokeshire) 38
wavelength 26, 33, 104--6, 172, Himalayan frontal (boundary) thrust Lake District (England) 176, 181
179, 181 168-70 Lake District (volcanic) arc 182
Foliation 5, 41-7, 87, 117, 121, 137, Himalayas 183 Layer-parallel shortening (in folding)
179, 190, 193 Hooke's Law 71 17,87, 103, 105, 106
bedding 41 Horst 14, 15, 164 Laurentia, Laurentian plate 175, 176,
flow 121 Hotworking 79 181
non-penetrative 41 Hydraulic fracture 43 Lineation 47-51, 102, 121, 177, 188
penetrative 41 Hydrocarbon reservoir 163 crenuiaHon 48, 50
shape-fabric 42 elongaHon 48, 50, 81
Footwall (of fault) 9, 10, 16, 19, Ikertoq shear zone 188 flow 121
135 Imbricate (stack, zone) (of thrust belt) intersection 48, 50
Force (definition) 55
Forceful emplacement 123, 129
176
see also Thrust, imbricate
mineral 48, 5
rodding 49
°
Forearc 154 Incompetent 50, 103, 112 stretching 84, 85, 137
basin 164, 165 Indian Ocean ridge 145 Listric fan 20
Foreland thrust belt 170, 176 Indian (Indo-Australian) plate 151, Lithosphere 100, 144, 151-5, 170
Form line 6, 7, 128 157, 158, 168, 170 oceanic 167, 170, 181
contour 7 Indonesian subduction zone 167 Loch EribolL Scotland 176, 177
Form surface 7 Indus suture 167, 168, 169, Loch Monar, Scotland 35, 36, 110,
Formation 3 172 112
Fracture 9, 23, 25, 163 Inlier 7 Lopolith 122
200 Index
Los Angeles 172 Non-confonnity 5 oceanic 179
Low-velocity zone (LVZ) 151 Non-sequence 4 Plate boundary 97, 150, 153, 156,
Nordre Stromhord shear zone 186, 157, 161
Magmatic are, see Volcanic arc 187 conservative 155, 170
Magnetic Normal drag 14 constructive 15, 152, 153, 154,
anomaly pattern. see Magnetic North Atlantic craton 184, 186, 188 161-3
shipes Northern Highlands (Scotland) 176 convergent 151
polarity reversals 147, 149 destructive 15, 153
pole 147 Obduction 179 divergent 151
stratigraphy 147, 148, 149, 151, Oblique shear (fold), see Flow strike-slip 151
153, 155, 175 Ocean (as structure) 141 Plate motion 156-9
stripes 154, 158 basin 144, 168, 173 Plate tectonic (model. theory) 100,
Main mantle thrust (Himalayas) 168, crust 142, 148, 154, 161, 190 141, 147-59, 188
169, 170 fracture zone 147, 155 Plunge 6, 194
Makran (complex) 165, 166, 167, 181 ridge 141-4, 147, 150-3, 155, Pluton 121, 122, 123, 126--8
Mantle (Earth's) 142, 151, 152, 153, 158, 159, 170 Pole
154 spreading, see Sea-floor spreading to a plane 194
Mantle diapir 155 trench 141-3,147,150,151,153, of rotation of plate 156, 157
Mantle drag (mechanism) 159 154, 158, 159, 164, 165, 167, Polygonization 79
Mantled gneiss dome 135, 137 171 Pressure
Marginal basin Offlap 4,5 confining 55, 74-6, 100, 114
see also Back-arc basin 154 Offscraping 164, 165 effective 75
Maritime Alps, France 132 Onlap 4,5 hydrostatic 7l, 73-4, 75, 76, 91,
Melting (as intrusion mechanism) 124 Opatica belt (Canada) 189, 190 93, 95, 97, 124
Mesosphere 151 Orogen 17, 22, 131, 132, 135, 145, lithostatic 75, 96
Metamorphic core complex 19, 164 159, 175-92 load 23, 74, 95, 125, 131
Metamorphic segregation 46 Orogen collapse 132 magma 124, 125, 126
Metamorphic differentiation 46 Orogenic belt, see Orogen pore-fluid 75, 77, 78, 92, 93, 95,
Michigan basin 173 Orogeny, see Orogen 98
Microlithon 43 Orthogonal thickness (of a fold) 30 solution 44, 78
Midland Valley (Scotland) 176, 179, Outlier 7 Primitive circle (of stereogram) 193,
181, 182, 183 Overfold 28, 29, 177 194
Mobile belt 145, 188 Overlap 5 Projection sphere (of stereogram) 193
Minnesota River Valley subprovince Overstep 3, 4 Protocatadasite 12
(USA) 188, 189, 190, 191 Overstep sequence (of thrust zone) Pseudotachylite 11, 12, 13
Minto subprovince (Canada) 189, 190 16 Pull-apart structure 51, 172
Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho) Overthrust 170, 179, 188 Pull-apart basin 22
142 Owen-Murray transform fault 165 Pure shear (strain) 65, 66, 68-70, 119
Mohr diagram, circle (for stress) 91,
92,93,95 Pacific plate 151, 156, 157, 170 Quetico belt (Canada) 189, 190
Mohr failure envelope 92, 93, 95, 97 Palaeomagnetic (reconstruction) 147, Quetta-Chaman fault system 165,
Moine thrust (belt, zone) 11, 176, 148, 151, 155, 175 168
177, 179, 182 Palaeomagnetism, see Palaeomagnetic
Monocline 32 (reconstruction) Raft (in salt tectonics) 135
Mountain belt, range (as structure) Palinspastic 8 Red Sea rift 153, 161, 162
141, 143, 144, 151, 153 Pangaea 147, 161, 162, 172 Regression 4, 5
Mull 123, 126 Paraconfonnity 3, 4 Reverse drag 14
Mullion (structure) 49, 50, 105 Pascal (unit of stress, pressure) 56 Ridge, see Ocean ridge
Mylonite 11, 12, 13, 18, 20, 78, 119, Passive (continental) margin 151, 179 Ridge push (mechanism) 159
164, 177 Pericline 34, 35 Rift 15, 18, 143, 153, 163, 167,
Permitted emplacement, intrusion 124, 169
Nagssugtoqidian belt 183, 184, 186, 128,129 Rinkian belt (Greenland) 186, 187
187 Peru-chile trench 154 Rollover 14, 20, 37
Nappe 131, 176, 177 Piggyback sequence (of thrust zone) Root zone (of Grampian Highlands)
Neutral surface (of fold) 101 17,20, 177 179
New Quebec zone 184, 186 Pinch-and-swell structure 51
Newton (unit of force) 56 Pitch 6 s-c structure 119
Newtonian (behaviour) 71 Plate Sachigo subprovince (Canada) 189,
Ninety-East ridge transform fault 167 lithospheric 148-59 191
Index 201
Salt Solway Firth 176, 181, 182 see a/50 Stress, shear
anticline 133 Solway suture 176, 179, 181 tensile 93, 124
bulb 134 South American trench 143 ultimate 73, 76, 98
canopy 134 Southern Uplands (belt) (Scotland) yield 73, 76, 77
diapir 133, 134, 136 176, 180, 181, 183, 190 Stress 55--61, 56, 63
dome 133, 136 Southern Uplands fault 182, 183 axes 57, 70, 94, 96, 124
glacier 134 Stable sliding 100 axial cross 57, 58
pillow 133 Stacking fault (in crystal) 52 components 57
plug 134 Step (of dyke margin) 126 deviatoric 59, 73, 78
roller 133, 135, 136 Stereogram 5, 87, 88, 94, 103, 193, differential (stress difference) 73,
stem 134 194, 195 76-9
stock 134 Stereographic failure 73, 74, 98
tongue 134 net 193, 194 field 60, 100, 122, 127, 129, 131
wall 134, 135 projection 193-5 hydrostatic 59, 78
San Andreas fault (wne)·21, 22, 156, Stick-slip (movement) 98 lithostatic 59
164,170-1 Stirling Castle sill 12 5 mean 59
Santa Barbara (California) 170, 171 Stock 123 normal 56-8, 92, 93
Santa Monica fault 172 Stoping 123, 124, 129 planes 57
Schiehallion (Scottish Highlands) 180 Strain 63-70, 63, 71-9, 81-90 principal 57, 58, 60, 70, 91, 94, 96,
Schistosity 43, 44, 46, 48, 81 axis 65, 70, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, 94, 125
Schmidt (equal-area) net 194, 195 95, 107, 117, 188 shear 56-9, 75, 91-3, 97
Scottish Highlands 38 coaxial 65, 66, 68 trajectory 60, 96, 97, 99, 100, 126,
Sea-floor spreading 147, 155 constrictional 67, 68, 88, 137 127
Seismic contact 110 yield 7l. 72, 73-5
P-waves 98, 99 elastic 71-5, 99 Stretch 64, 67, 81, 86, 89
reflection 163, 165 elastoviscous 71, 72 Strike (of a plane) 5, 6
slip 98 ellipse 64, 68, 69, 101, 108, 109, Strike line 6
waves 71, 74, 100, 151 116 Strike-slip displacement 17, 20, 119,
Seismicity 143, 150, 153, 161 ellipsoid 65, 68, 81, 87-9 155, 170-2, 183, 186, 188
see a/50 Earthquake finite 68-70, 81, 82, 84, 119 see a/50 Fault, strike-slip
Seismograph 100 flattening 67, 68, 89, 104, 107, 137 Strike-slip duplex 22
Sgurr Beag slide 38, 177, 180 hardening 77 Strike-slip (tectonic) regimes, zones 15,
Shansi graben system 168, 169 heterogeneous 63 Structure contour 6, 173
Shear 18, 43, 91, 92, 96, 101, 102, homogeneous 63, 64, 66, 67, 85, Stylolites 46, 78
109, 127, 151 87-9, 103, 107 Subcretion, see Underplating
see a/50 Stress; Strain infinitesimal 68, 69 Subcrop 7
Shear plane (of shear zone) 116 inhomogeneous 63, 64 Subduction (zone) 18, 143, 153-6,
Shear sense indicator 119 marker 81, 82, 84, 87, 177 159, 163, 165, 167, 169--72,
Shear zone 37, 38, 39, 88, 101, oblate 66-8, 88 179, 183, 188, 190, 191
114-19, 129, 134, 183, 184, permanent 7l. 72, 97 Sub-grain boundary 52
190 plane 66-8, 70, 86, 88, 95, 102, Superimposition (of folds), see
Shortening (strain) 64, 107 103, 115 Interference
Sigma (a) structure 119 plastic 71, 72, 75 Superior Province, craton (North
Sill 23, 122, 124, 125 principal 65, 70, 81, 82, 84, 86, 94 America) 175, 184, 186, 188,
Simple shear (strain, stress) 65, 66, prolate 66-8, 88 189, 190, 191
68-70,95, 101, 110-12, 115, rate 72, 75-9, 98, 117, 150 Superplasticity 78
119, 126, 172, 188 ratio 82-7, 116, 117 Suture 155, 172, 183, 186
Sinistral (shear sense) 119, 170, 172, shear 63, 64, 84--6, 116, 117 Syncline 27, 28, 34, 35, 137
186, 188 viscoelastic 72, 73, 76 Synform 27, 28, 34, 105, 190
see also Sinistral strike slip viscous 71, 72, 74-79 Synthetic (fault set) 181
Skye 123, 126 Straits of Hormuz 165
Slab-pull (mechanism) 159 Stratum contour 3, 6, 7 Tangential longitudinal strain (in
Slickenfibres 13, 14 Strength folding) 107
Slickenlines 13 brittle 91 Tarim basin 168, 172
Slickenside striations 13, 14, 48 compressive 93 Tension, tensile, see Extension
Slickensides 13, 48 failure 73, 99 Tension gash see Joint, tension
Slide 38, 39 instantaneous 73 Tethys Ocean 167
Small circle 156, 157, 194 residual 98 Terrane 180
Soil creep 131 shear 75, 97 see a/50 Displaced terrane
202 Index
Thrust 11, 15, 20, 33, 37, 38, 87, Tibetan block. plateau 168 Uplift 161, 162, 172, 173
94-7, 114, 132, 163, 165, Tien Shan (fold belt. range) 168
169, 186, 190 Tinee nappes 132 Vector triangle 158
back 16, 170 Toplap 4,5 Vein 122
belt 167, 172, 181 Tomgat belt 184, 186 Viscosity 72, 104-.Q, 108, 121, 151,
decollement (plane) 15 Transgression 4, 5 152
detachment (plane) 15, 17 Transpression 22, 119, 181, 186 effective 72
duplex 17, 22, 165, 167, 177 Transtension 22, 119, 129 Volcanic
flat 15, 16 Trench see Ocean trench arc 164, 165, 167, 180, 183, 190,
floor 16, 17, 177 Trench roll-back 154, 155 191
horse 17 Triple junction (of plates) 157, belt 154
imbricate (zone) 17, 164, 165, 170, 158 Vulcanicity 143, 153, 161, 162
177 True dip 5
pop-up 17 Wavelength, see Fold wavelength
ramp 15-18, 167 Ultracataclasite 12 Wilson, J. Tuzo 155
roof 16, 177 Ultramylonite 11, 12, 13 Wulff (stereographic) net 193-5
sole 17, 177 Unconformity 3, 4, 7, 135
staircase (path) 15 Underplating 164 Young's modulus 71
triangle zone 17 Undulose extinction 53, 77

Geology Students' Guide
100% (19)
Geology Students' Guide
485 pages
Structural Geology: A) Geological Maps B) Folds, Fault, & Joints
No ratings yet
Structural Geology: A) Geological Maps B) Folds, Fault, & Joints
42 pages
Introduction To Structural Geology
100% (3)
Introduction To Structural Geology
30 pages
Teaching Methodologies in Structural Geology and Tectonics
100% (3)
Teaching Methodologies in Structural Geology and Tectonics
256 pages
Philpotts, A.R. and Ague, J.J. Principles of Igneous and Metamrophic Petrology PDF
100% (5)
Philpotts, A.R. and Ague, J.J. Principles of Igneous and Metamrophic Petrology PDF
685 pages
Turcotte D.L., Schubert G.-geodynamics-CUP (2014) GEODYNAMICS
100% (11)
Turcotte D.L., Schubert G.-geodynamics-CUP (2014) GEODYNAMICS
657 pages
GlobalTectonics KearyAndVine PDF
100% (5)
GlobalTectonics KearyAndVine PDF
340 pages
Rock Fractures in Geological Processes (Gudmundsson A.) PDF
100% (2)
Rock Fractures in Geological Processes (Gudmundsson A.) PDF
593 pages
Continental Rifts Evolution Structure Tectonics Developments in Geotectonics
100% (5)
Continental Rifts Evolution Structure Tectonics Developments in Geotectonics
511 pages
3D Geoscience Modeling, Computer Techniques For Geological Characterization (Simon W. Houlding, 1994) - (Geo Pedia)
100% (2)
3D Geoscience Modeling, Computer Techniques For Geological Characterization (Simon W. Houlding, 1994) - (Geo Pedia)
275 pages
Igneous Rocks - A Classification and Glossary of Terms
100% (18)
Igneous Rocks - A Classification and Glossary of Terms
254 pages
Stratigraphy
100% (14)
Stratigraphy
192 pages
Frost B. R. and Frost C. D Essentials of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology PDF
100% (5)
Frost B. R. and Frost C. D Essentials of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology PDF
322 pages
Remote Sensing For Geology PDF
No ratings yet
Remote Sensing For Geology PDF
11 pages
Sedimentary Geology (3rd Ed) - Fred Schwab and Donald Prothero PDF
82% (11)
Sedimentary Geology (3rd Ed) - Fred Schwab and Donald Prothero PDF
604 pages
Pyroclastic Rocks (R.V. Fisher, H.U. Schmincke, 1984) (Springer) @geo Pedia PDF
100% (5)
Pyroclastic Rocks (R.V. Fisher, H.U. Schmincke, 1984) (Springer) @geo Pedia PDF
484 pages
5 Structural Geology March 2019
100% (2)
5 Structural Geology March 2019
117 pages
Petrology of The Metamorphic Rocks. Manson, 2011
100% (4)
Petrology of The Metamorphic Rocks. Manson, 2011
241 pages
Gravity and Magnetic Exploration - Principles, Practices, and Applications (PDFDrive)
100% (6)
Gravity and Magnetic Exploration - Principles, Practices, and Applications (PDFDrive)
525 pages
Tectonics and Structural Geology Indian Context 2019
75% (4)
Tectonics and Structural Geology Indian Context 2019
461 pages
Stuctural Geology Workshop
100% (1)
Stuctural Geology Workshop
18 pages
A Colour Atlas of Carbonate Sed - A. E. Adams PDF
100% (3)
A Colour Atlas of Carbonate Sed - A. E. Adams PDF
181 pages
2014 Book GeochemistryAtTheEarthSSurface
100% (6)
2014 Book GeochemistryAtTheEarthSSurface
327 pages
Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology Philpotts 1
100% (1)
Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology Philpotts 1
686 pages
Applied Structural Geology in Exploration and Mining
100% (6)
Applied Structural Geology in Exploration and Mining
156 pages
Turbidites & Submarine Fans Overview
100% (4)
Turbidites & Submarine Fans Overview
19 pages
Sedimentary Basins Evolution Facies and Sediment Budget PDF
100% (4)
Sedimentary Basins Evolution Facies and Sediment Budget PDF
795 pages
Principles of Metamorphic Petrology - Ron Vernon 2008 PDF
100% (5)
Principles of Metamorphic Petrology - Ron Vernon 2008 PDF
367 pages
An Introduction To Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology - Frost and Frost
100% (7)
An Introduction To Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology - Frost and Frost
197 pages
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
88% (8)
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
432 pages
Sedimentary Facies Analysis
100% (4)
Sedimentary Facies Analysis
385 pages
Dynamic Earth
100% (1)
Dynamic Earth
470 pages
Depositional Environment and Gross Lithologies Interpretation
100% (2)
Depositional Environment and Gross Lithologies Interpretation
120 pages
Field Description of Metamorphic Rocks
22% (9)
Field Description of Metamorphic Rocks
13 pages
Diagenesis Sedimentary Sequences MARSHAL 1988
100% (2)
Diagenesis Sedimentary Sequences MARSHAL 1988
360 pages
Charlier - B. Et Al. - Layered Intrusions (2015)
100% (4)
Charlier - B. Et Al. - Layered Intrusions (2015)
749 pages
Guide To Metamorphic Rocks in The Field
100% (8)
Guide To Metamorphic Rocks in The Field
320 pages
Structural Geology Course Guide
No ratings yet
Structural Geology Course Guide
46 pages
Structure Geology Lecture 1
No ratings yet
Structure Geology Lecture 1
52 pages
3D Session-1 2018
No ratings yet
3D Session-1 2018
40 pages
Primary Structures
No ratings yet
Primary Structures
56 pages
Structural Geology and Structural Analysis: More Information
No ratings yet
Structural Geology and Structural Analysis: More Information
10 pages
Geo Study Guide Detailed Version
No ratings yet
Geo Study Guide Detailed Version
5 pages
Structural Geology Essentials
No ratings yet
Structural Geology Essentials
10 pages
Structural Geology: Lecture # 10
No ratings yet
Structural Geology: Lecture # 10
37 pages
Structural Geology
No ratings yet
Structural Geology
31 pages
Gel213 Lecture Material
No ratings yet
Gel213 Lecture Material
11 pages
Structural Geology Theory
No ratings yet
Structural Geology Theory
109 pages
Geological Structure
No ratings yet
Geological Structure
94 pages
Structural Geology Notes - Revised
67% (3)
Structural Geology Notes - Revised
119 pages
Lecture 1
No ratings yet
Lecture 1
14 pages
Deformation
No ratings yet
Deformation
28 pages
Krystof Verner Applied Structural Geology and Tectonics
100% (1)
Krystof Verner Applied Structural Geology and Tectonics
129 pages
Geokniga Structural Geology
No ratings yet
Geokniga Structural Geology
511 pages
Structural Geology Introductory
No ratings yet
Structural Geology Introductory
23 pages
Structural Geology by Marland P. Billings
No ratings yet
Structural Geology by Marland P. Billings
511 pages
GY403 Lecture1 Introduction
No ratings yet
GY403 Lecture1 Introduction
21 pages
Chapter 3 - Geological Structures
No ratings yet
Chapter 3 - Geological Structures
27 pages
1976 Hobbs Means Williams An Outline of Structural Geology
100% (3)
1976 Hobbs Means Williams An Outline of Structural Geology
600 pages
Verbal Preparation Basic Test
No ratings yet
Verbal Preparation Basic Test
8 pages
GMAT Critical Reasoning Guide
No ratings yet
GMAT Critical Reasoning Guide
67 pages
111 36 PDF
No ratings yet
111 36 PDF
9 pages
Hoffman Kunze Linear Algebra Chapter 3 5 3 7 Solutions
No ratings yet
Hoffman Kunze Linear Algebra Chapter 3 5 3 7 Solutions
7 pages
English Project - Book Review
75% (4)
English Project - Book Review
4 pages
Social Media Presentation - Yelp - Kittia Dedtaryoon
No ratings yet
Social Media Presentation - Yelp - Kittia Dedtaryoon
11 pages
Untitled
No ratings yet
Untitled
3 pages
5G Network Fault Management Guide
No ratings yet
5G Network Fault Management Guide
27 pages
Binary vs. Interpolation Search
No ratings yet
Binary vs. Interpolation Search
23 pages
Oceanography for UPSC Aspirants
No ratings yet
Oceanography for UPSC Aspirants
104 pages
Grade 3 Science and English Test
No ratings yet
Grade 3 Science and English Test
16 pages
Personal Essay Rubric
No ratings yet
Personal Essay Rubric
1 page
Sap Fi Bootcamp Training Day3
100% (2)
Sap Fi Bootcamp Training Day3
163 pages
Metal Fracture Mechanisms
No ratings yet
Metal Fracture Mechanisms
10 pages
Class12 CS Project Hospital Management System Bhavan New (1) Button
No ratings yet
Class12 CS Project Hospital Management System Bhavan New (1) Button
24 pages
CET415 - M2 - Ktunotes - in
No ratings yet
CET415 - M2 - Ktunotes - in
78 pages
Classic Metallic Brochure 2010
No ratings yet
Classic Metallic Brochure 2010
24 pages
Dhananjoy Ghosh - Safety in Petroleum Industries
No ratings yet
Dhananjoy Ghosh - Safety in Petroleum Industries
271 pages
Cma December, 2019 Examination Foundation Level Subject: 003. Quantitative Techniques
No ratings yet
Cma December, 2019 Examination Foundation Level Subject: 003. Quantitative Techniques
4 pages
Insider Trading: India vs USA
100% (1)
Insider Trading: India vs USA
13 pages
Life Cycle Assessment
100% (1)
Life Cycle Assessment
12 pages
Android Debugging Errors
No ratings yet
Android Debugging Errors
32 pages
Introduction To Check Dams: Kabul, Afghanistan February 2011
No ratings yet
Introduction To Check Dams: Kabul, Afghanistan February 2011
50 pages
17MU5A0305 Project Report
No ratings yet
17MU5A0305 Project Report
107 pages
DLL Science WK1 Q4 2024
No ratings yet
DLL Science WK1 Q4 2024
5 pages
Pulsar Electronic Components Price List
No ratings yet
Pulsar Electronic Components Price List
9 pages
Cem: Coarsened Exact Matching in Stata: 9, Number 4, Pp. 524-546
No ratings yet
Cem: Coarsened Exact Matching in Stata: 9, Number 4, Pp. 524-546
23 pages
Orta Sevi̇yede İngi̇li̇zce Bi̇len Ana Di̇li̇ Türkçe Olan Öğrenci̇leri̇n Vücut
No ratings yet
Orta Sevi̇yede İngi̇li̇zce Bi̇len Ana Di̇li̇ Türkçe Olan Öğrenci̇leri̇n Vücut
163 pages
Lasam Revenue Strategy 2022-2024
No ratings yet
Lasam Revenue Strategy 2022-2024
2 pages
Equity Cases Semester 2
100% (10)
Equity Cases Semester 2
13 pages
English 10 1
No ratings yet
English 10 1
24 pages
Winter 23 22619
100% (1)
Winter 23 22619
18 pages
2021.08.29 News Chapter 5 Chain
No ratings yet
2021.08.29 News Chapter 5 Chain
53 pages
Applications of Derivatives
No ratings yet
Applications of Derivatives
16 pages
Phase Diagram & Heat Treatment
100% (1)
Phase Diagram & Heat Treatment
16 pages