Geological Structures
Structural Geology
• Is study of change in rock structure
(Deformation) due internal/external
forces such as stress and strain.
• These forces applied due to tectonic
activities of earth.
Structural Analysis
Structural analysis generally involves three tasks:
1. Descriptive Analysis: physical and
geometrical description of rock structures (e.g.
folds, faults etc)
2. Kinematic Analysis: evaluation of the
displacement and change in shape, orientation
and size that rocks undergo as a result of
deformation (strain)
3. Dynamic Analysis: reconstruct forces and
stresses which resulting rock deformation and
failure (stress).
Deformation of Rocks
• Within the Earth rocks are continually being
subjected to force that tend to bend them, twist
them, or fracture them. When rocks bend, twist
or fracture make the rocks deform (change
shape or size).
• Deformation common at plate margins.
• Deformation concepts:
q Force
q Stress
q Strain
Stress
• The forces that cause deformation of rock are
referred to as stresses (Force/unit area).
• Differential Stress – Unequal in different
directions.
• A uniform stress is a stress wherein the forces
act equally from all directions.
• 3 major types of differential stress
qCompressional stress
qTensional stress
q Shear stress
Strain
• Changes in the shape or size of a rock body
caused by stress.
• Strain occurs when stresses exceed rock
strength.
• Strained rocks deform by folding or fracturing.
Tectonic Forces And Rock Behavier
Rocks
behavior
during
tectonic
force
is
easily
understand
by
stress–
strain
curves
and
its
d e p e n d s
u p o n
t h e
temperature
of
the
rock,
direc:on
of
force,
:ming
and
the
speed
of
the
forces
applied
on
it.
Mapping Geologic Structures
• Strike and dip refer to the orientation or
attitude of a geological feature.
• The strike line of a bed, fault, or other planar
feature, is a line representing the intersection
of that feature with a horizontal plane.
• The dip gives the steepest angle of descent of a
tilted bed or feature relative to a horizontal
plane, and is given by the number (0°-90°) as
well as a letter (N,S,E,W) with rough direction
in which the bed is dipping.
Mapping Geologic Structures
• The dip direction is the azimuth of the
direction the dip as projected to the horizontal
(like the trend of a linear feature in trend and
plunge measurements), which is 90° off the
strike angle.
GEOLOGICAL FEATURE
• Tectonic collision deforms crustal rocks
producing geologic structures:
q Folds
q Faults
q Joints and Fractures
FOLD
•
Rocks
are
bent
by
crustal
deforma:on
into
a
series
of
wave-‐like
undula:ons
called
folds.
•
Most
folds
result
from
compression
stresses
w h i c h
s h o r t e n
a n d
thicken
the
crust.
Type of Fold on the Basis
of Intensity of Deformation
FAULT
Faults are breaks in rock units were
movement has occurred. There are
three major types of faults.
• Normal – Hanging wall (top surface)
moves down relative to the footwall
(bottom surface), caused by tension
(extension).
Normal Fault
Reverse
–
Hanging
wall
moves
up
rela:ve
to
the
footwall,
caused
by
compression
(shortening).
Reverse
faults
have
dips
greater
than
45°
and
thrust
faults
have
dips
less
then
45°.
Strike-‐Slip
–
Movement
a l o n g
t h e
f a u l t
i s
horizontal,
parallel
to
the
strike
of
the
fault
plane.
If,
standing
on
one
side
of
the
fault,
the
block
on
the
other
side
is
displaced
to
the
right,
the
fault
is
termed
right-‐lateral.
If
the
block
on
the
other
side
is
displaced
to
the
leG,
the
fault
is
termed
leG
lateral.
JOINTS
• They are fractures with no offset.
• Joints normally have a regular spacing related
to either the mechanical properties of the
individual rock or the thickness of the layer
involved.
• Joints generally occur as sets, with each set
consisting of joints sub-parallel to each other.
• Joints form in solid, hard rock that is stretched
such that its brittle strength is exceeded (the
point at which it breaks).
JOINTS
• When this happens the rock fractures in a
plane parallel to the maximum principal stress
and perpendicular to the minimum principal
stress (the direction in which the rock is being
stretched). This leads to the development of a
single sub-parallel joint set. Continued
deformation may lead to development of one
or more additional joint sets.
TYPE OF JOINTS
• Joints can be classified into three groups depending
on their geometrical relationship with the country
rock:
q Strike joints – Joints which run parallel to the
direction of strike of country rocks are called "strike
joints“.
q Dip joints – Joints which run parallel to the direction
of dip of country rocks are called "dip joints“.
q Oblique joints – Joints which run oblique to the dip
and strike directions of the country rocks are called
"oblique joints".
Application of Structure
Geology
• Engineering Issues
Environmental
Issues
qBridges q
Earthquake
hazard
qDams q
L oca:on
o f
l andfill
s ites
q
Contamina:on
cleanup
qPower Plants q
Distribu:on
of
qHighway Cuts groundwater
qLarge Buildings qMineral
explora:on
qAirports
Use of Structural Geology
in Modern Development
• The study of structural geology has been of prime
importance in Economic Geology, Petroleum
Geology and Mining Geology.
• Folded and faulted rock strata commonly form traps
for the accumulation and concentration of fluids
(Petroleum and natural gas). Faulted and structurally
complex areas are notable as permeable zones for
hydrothermal fluids and the resulting concentration
areas for base and precious metal ore deposits.
Deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and other
metals, are commonly located in structurally complex
areas.
Use of Structural Geology
in Modern Development
• Structural geology is a critical part of
Engineering Geology, which is concerned with
the physical and mechanical properties of
natural rocks. Structural fabrics and defects
such as faults, folds, foliations and joints are
internal weaknesses of rocks which may affect
the stability of human engineered structures
such as dams, road cuts, open pits mines and
tunnels for various purpose.
Use of Structural Geology
in Modern Development
• Geotechnical risk, including earthquakes can
only be investigated by inspecting a
combination of structural geology and
geomorphology. In addition areas of Karst
landscapes which are underlain by
underground caverns and potential sinkholes or
collapse features are of importance for these
scientists. In addition, areas of steep slopes are
potential collapse or landslide hazards.
Use of Structural Geology
in Modern Development
• Environmental Geologist and hydrogeologist
need to understand structural geology because
structures are sites of ground water flow and
penetration, which may affect, for instance,
seepage of toxic substances from waste dumps,
or seepage of salty water into aquifers.
Use of Structural Geology
in Modern Development
• Plate Tectonics is a theory developed during
the 1960s which describes the movement of
continents by way of the separation and
collision of crustal plates. It is in a sense
structural geology on a planet scale, and is
used throughout structural geology as a
framework to analyze and understand global,
regional, and local scale features.
