Test 1 Flashcards
Primary Structures
Develop during formation of the rock body
example of primary structures
cross bedding, ripples, mud cracks
Secondary Structures
Form as a result of deformation after rocks formed
What are joints?
Tensile fractures with little displacement
How do joints form?
Joints arise from brittle fracture of a rock or layer due to tensile stress.
trend?
the orientation of a linear feature
plunge?
the angle from horizontal of a linear feature
rake?
the angle to a linear featured measured from the strike line of a plane
vein?
fractures filled with minerals that crystallized/precipitated from fluids flowing through rock
fault?
shear fractures that have accommodated notable displacement
folds?
systematically curved layers
Cleavage?
closely spaced surfaces that give
a ‘woody’ appearance
foliation?
Layering produced by ductile deformation
lineations
elongate linear features
shear zones
deformation distributed over a thickness of
rock (meters to kilometers)
most common joint arrays/sets
orthogonal (90 degree angles)
plumose structure?
similar to a feather, shows joint propagation direction
hackle lines?
accentuate plumose structure, like individual fibers of feather
arrest lines?
look like ovals in plumose structure
griffith crack theory
pre-existing microcracks in a rock act as stress “concentrators”, largest properly oriented Griffith Cracks
(i.e., perpendicular to tensile direction)
propagate to form a through-going crack
what can produce cracks?
thermal contraction, outer arc extension, removal of overburden (unloading), exfoliation joints (pluton)
why are joints in uppermost crust (few km)?
Stresses become more compressive with depth to the
point where rocks can’t “pull-apart”
rock strength, depth and temp relationship
strength increases with depth until temps raise to the point where strength begins to decrease.
shear fracture?
Fractures with a component of “sliding” motion
due to compression, most common