Joint development in perturbed stress fields near faults
1992; Elsevier BV; Volume: 14; Issue: 8-9 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0191-8141(92)90025-r
ISSN1873-1201
AutoresKeith Rawnsley, T. Rives, Jason P. Petti, S. R. Hencher, A.C. Lumsden,
Tópico(s)Geological formations and processes
ResumoField evidence is presented for complex spatial and temporal perturbations of an otherwise systematic joint pattern around faults from well exposed faulted rock platforms. Joints propagating in perturbed stress fields will curve to follow the directions of the stress field trajectories. A progressive change in joint direction is observed from unperturbed regions away from faults, to strongly perturbed zones adjacent to faults. This indicates that the joint pattern can reflect perturbations of the regional stress field around faults. In the examples, the stress field perturbations are probably due to points of high friction on the fault plane which concentrate stress and distort the stress field in the surrounding rock. The corresponding joints converge at these points and are sub-parallel to the fault along the remainder of the fault plane. The possibility that a fault plane acts as a free surface contained within an elastic body is considered. In this situation the fault plane induces a rotation of the principal stress axes to become either perpendicular or parallel to the fault. The free surface model seems to explain the metre-scale curvature of joints in the vicinity of existing joints, but at the kilometre scale of a large fault plane the model becomes unrealistic unless the fault is open at the Earth's surface. Two examples are investigated from the Lias of Great Britain; at Nash Point and Robin Hood's Bay. Both comprise sub-horizontal strata of relatively homogeneous lithology and bed thickness, which provide striking examples of joints developed near faults.
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