Geology (Unit 3)

>>This is not an exhaustive document; you may still require consulting your books and class notes Before you begin: Consult the syllabus Read Important (and repeated) questions from previous years Rock Deformation (Cause of Folding and Faulting)

The same factors responsible for metamorphism (chiefly pressure and temperature) are also responsible for rock deformation; however, the actual processes of deformation are complex which necessitates additional discussion here. If you take a volume of strata and place it deep inside the Earth, those rocks will experience pressure related to the mass of the overlying rocks. Geologists refer to this as the confining pressure. Confining pressure is generally isostatic (i.e., it is more or less uniform in all directions) and in general, the deeper you go, the higher it becomes. Since the strata are equally squeezed from all sides, the result is a net decrease in volume, but there is no change in shape of the rock volume (Figure 1). Not all pressure in the interior of the Earth is isostatic. Along a convergent plate boundary, for example, the pressure is directed between the two colliding plates. Pressure that is nonisostatic or directed is regarded as stress. There are three main types of stress that can affect rocks. Compressive stress (or compression) occurs when rocks are squeezed together such as along convergent plate boundaries and subduction zones (Figure 1b). Tensional shear (or tension) occurs when rocks are pulled apart (Figure 1c). This is the major force operating along divergent plate boundaries such as Deformation behavior is ultimately dependent on confining pressure. The deeper you go, the more likely that rock will behave ductily. In fact, at any one place on the surface of the Earth, faulting (brittle deformation) can occur near the surface while folding (ductile deformation) occurs at depth (see figure below). The third type of stress, shear, occurs when rocks slide past one another (Figure 1d).

Types of Rock Deformation When rocks experience stress (compression, tension or shear), they respond to it by deforming. The rocks tend to give a little bit, especially at the beginning of the deformation. If the pressure is eased during this period of elasticity, the rocks return to their original volume and shape. If however, the stress builds up past the elastic limit of the strata, deformation becomes permanent. Rocks will permanently deform in one of two ways, depending upon their properties and the confining pressure they experience. Strata will break if the rocks behave in a brittle fashion and/or the confining pressure is low. Brittle deformation is particularly common in rocks that contain hard and non-giving minerals like quartz (e.g., quartz arenite sandstone) or calcite (e.g., limestone), that are shallowly buried (low confining pressure). It results in fractures, joints and faults, features that you will have the pleasure (Ha!) of dealing with when we get to faults. If strata are ductile (like modeling clay), and/or the confining pressure is high, the deformation is more likely to result in bending or folding. Rocks containing pliable minerals like gypsum (evaporites) or clays (shales), or rocks that are deeply buried (>10 km depth) become folded when subjected to stress. There are numerous types and shapes of folds, but most can be classified into three basic types. Types of Fold From previous topic you know that permanent ductile deformation results in folds. There are three basic types of Folds anticlines synclines monoclines
>>To learn (anticlines close up (think Anticline) and synclines open up (think sVncline) and Monoclines have just have one limb.)

Folds can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Symmetrical is when the fold limbs have an equal, but opposite angle of dip. Asymmetrical folds are those where one limb dips at a different amount than the other. Many folds are overturned; both limbs dip in the same direction. Lastly, intensely folded rocks might even be tilted right back to horizontal these are recumbent folds.

Two other fold are domes and basins. These geological features are perhaps best described as doubly folded folds. Domes consist of strata that have been folded upwards where as basins consist of strata that is inclined downwards (down-warped). Domes can be very large, in fact whole mountain ranges may consist of a single dome structure (e.g., the Ozark Mountains). Basins are formed through a much different mechanism more related to sedimentation than to simple rock deformation. Down-warping is produced by subsidence which may or may not be tectonic in origin. The main point is that down-warping produces a depression which gradually becomes filled in with sediment. The Law of Superposition applies here. The oldest strata occurs at the bottom of the basin.

Fold Anatomy Figure below shows a schematic diagram of an anticline with key components labeled. First, observe that the anticline is symmetrical; both limbs dip the same amount, but in opposite directions. In a way, you can consider fold limbs to be two sets of inclined strata which dip in different. Each limb can be described using a single strike and dip symbol (Figure 6). Note, since the fold is symmetrical, the dips are equal. Had the fold been asymmetrical, the dips would have been different (Figure 7). Overturned folds would have dips that trend in the same direction (Figure 7). Another thing to note is that the strike for both limbs in all of these examples are parallel. This is characteristic of all folds that have a horizontal disposition (such as the example in Figure 6). As you will see shortly, plunging folds do not share this characteristic. To properly label a fold, some additional information is required. Both limbs of the fold are connected together. At one point in each layer, the bedding is actually horizontal (points labeled with 'o's in Figure 6). This position is known as the point of maximum curvature as it marks the point where the dip of the strata changes direction. If you connect each point in each layer, you can define an axial plane which divides the fold into two components. For the symmetrical anticline in Figure 6, the axial plane is orientated in a vertical fashion. An asymmetrical or overturned fold may have an inclined axial plane (Figure 7) and axial planes may even be horizontal if the fold is recumbent.

In a Nutshell (only the topics are sufficient from exam point of view) Definition of Fold (from book) Parts of Fold (from book with diagrams from above) Classification (read from here then refer book) Causes of folding (again from book) Engineering Considerations (very important)

Faults
Brittle deformation in rocks is characterized by fractures, joints and faults. Fractures and joints can be of any size, orientation or pattern. A fault can be defined as any brittle deformationinduced fracture where there has been movement of the blocks on either side of the plane defining the fault (the fault plane). The fault plane is the actual surface where the strata has been broken (Figure 1). The fault line is the line made by the intersection of the fault plane and the surface of the Earth (Figure 1). The fault blocks are the strata on either side of the fault plane and the fault scarp is the cliff formed on the "uplifted" fault block where the fault plane rises above the surface of the Earth (Figure 1).

Earthquakes occur due to the build-up of stress past the point of natural resistance (friction) of rock strata. The stress can be compression, tension or shear. All will produce earthquakes, but as you will see shortly, each of these forces produces different types of faults. Stress tends to build up slowly, but steadily in rocks. Sometimes there will be precursor evidence of an impending earthquake (soil creep, surface tilting, increase in emission of subterranean gases). More often than not however, the ground just starts shaking. The point on the fault plane where the slippage occurs is the point where all seismic waves are emitted. This is called the earthquake focus (Figure 1). The seismic waves travel exceptionally fast (4 to 7 km/second) in all directions from the focal point including straight up. The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus is the point where the seismic waves are the strongest and the shaking is the greatest. This is called the epicenter (Figure 1). The intensity of an earthquake is directly proportional to the amount of stress released and inversely proportional to the depth of the focus. Stress and Faults Each type of stress (tension, compression or shear) produces a specific type of fault. Tension and compression tend to produce faults where movement is in the direction of the dip component of the fault plane. This type of fault is called a dip slip fault.

Perspective diagrams of a normal fault produced following release of tensile stress. The pre-faulting situation is illustrated in (A). After slippage, one fault block moves downward relative to the other resulting in a stretching of the strata (B). The relative position of the hanging wall and footwall is also indicated on the diagram. Erosion tends to remove strata from the topographically higher fault block (C). Notice the "V" produced where the stream crosses the fault plane. A geological map showing all necessary symbols is illustrated in (D). U and D refer to relative up and down motion of the fault blocks.

There are two broad types of dip slip fault that are distinguished on the basis of the direction of slip. Tension will produce movement where one block slips downward compared to the other. This is called a normal dip slip fault or normal fault for short). It is important to realize that the absolute motion of the two blocks may not be determinable on the basis of a single perspective diagram. Only the relative motion can be determined. Tension tends to stretch rocks, so the net result of normal faulting is extension. Compression will produce movement along a fault plane where one fault block moves upward compared to the other (Figure 3). This movement is the opposite or reverse to that seen in normal faults which are the reason why they are called reverse dip slip faults (reverse faults).

Perspective diagrams of a reverse fault produced following release of compressive stress. Descriptions for individual diagrams are the same as in previous Figure.Note the differences in terms of sense of motion, erosion of strata and geological mapping symbols.

Shear stress produces faults where movement occurs in the strike direction of the fault plane. These faults are called strike slip faults and as with dip slip faults, there are two varieties depending upon the direction of slippage. Strike slip motion is a bit trickier to describe than dip slip motion. What you have to do is picture yourself standing on one fault block and looking toward the fault line. If objects on the opposite side of the fault appear to have been translated to the left, that fault would be considered a left lateral strike slip fault. If objects appear to have shifted to the right (as in Figure 4), the fault is considered to be a right lateral strike slip fault.

right-lateral strike slip fault produced following release of shear stress.

The last type of fault is actually a variety of reverse faults. In mountain belts formed through compression (which is most of them), reverse faults with variable dip can form. They may start off at depth with a steep dip (>60) and then shallow dramatically as they approach the surface of the Earth (<5; Figure 6). They are sometimes called low angle reverse faults, but they are more typically referred to as thrust faults.