7.

Joints & Veins

7.1. Joints
Basic Definitions

Joints are a very common

rock structure.
They are fractures with no
offset.
Result from tectonic
stresses on rock mass.
Occur in parallel groups.

Basic definitions...contd
Joints are reasonably continuous and through-going planar fractures, commonly on
the scale of centimeters to tens or hundreds of meters in length, along which there
has been imperceptible "pull-apart" movement more or less perpendicular to the
fracture surface.
Joints are products of brittle failure, and they form when the tensile strength of
stressed rock is exceeded.
Joints are found in all outcrops of rock, and thus they are among the most
abundant of geologic structures.
The lengths and spacings of joints are related to the size and/or thickness, as well
as the stiffness, of the rock body in which the joints occur.
Weak, thin units are marked by very closely spaced joint surfaces; stiff, thick units
are marked by relatively widely spaced joints.
Distances between joints are commonly on the same order of magnitude as the
thickness of the rock layer in which the joints are found.

Basic definitions.Contd

Usually planar
Usually form sets
Two or more sets are a system
Variable size
Spacing more or less consistent
Curved, irregular joints not part of a set are
nonsystematic joints

TYPES and CHARACTERISTICS OF JOINTS

Systematic joints: have a subparallel
orientation and regular spacing.
Joint set: joints that share a similar
orientation in same area.
Joint system: two or more joints sets
in the same area
Nonsystematic joints: joints that do
not share a common orientation and
those highly curved and irregular
fracture surfaces. They occur in most
area but are not easily related to a
recognizable stress.
Some times both systematic and nonsystematic joints
formed in the same area at the same time but
nonsystematic joints usually terminate at
systematic joints which indicates that
nonsystematic joints formed later.

NONTECONIC JOINTS
Sheeting joints:
Those joints form subparallel to
the surface topography.
These joints may be more
observed in igneous rocks.
Pacing within these fractures
increases downward. These
fractures thought that they
form by unloading overlong
time when erosion removes
large quantities of the
overburden rocks.
Columnar joints and Mud
Cracks:
Columnar joints form in flows,
dikes, sills and volcanic necks
in response to cooling and
shrinking of the magma.

Figure. Joint intersection patterns:(A) Y-intersections of joints in a lava flow.

(Reprinted with permission from Science, vol. 239,
Aydin, A., and DeGraff, J. M., Evolution of polygonal
fracture patterns in lava flows. Copyright 1988
American Association for the Advancement of
Science.)
(B) X-intersections of joints in siltstone exposed at
Kimmeridge Bay, United Kingdom. (Photograph by
Terry Engelder.)
(C) T-intersection of joints in quartzite in the Salt
River Canyon region, Arizona. (Photograph by G. H.
Davis.)

Examples of joint arrays

conjugate joint set in tilted Tertiary sandstones of

the Brule Formation in the Slim Buttes area of
South Dakota. The interpretation is that the
conjugate joint set happened before tilting of the
strata.

Characteristics of Joints
Plumose structure: is the structures formed
on the joint surface during its propagation
and provides information about the joint
propagation direction.
Hackle marks: indicate zones where the joint
propagate rapidly.
Arrest line: forms perpendicular to the
direction of propagation and is parallel to
the advancing edge of fractures.

Characteristics of Joints
Bedding and foliation planes in coarsegrained rocks constitute barriers to join
propagation. Bedding in uniformly finegrained rocks, such as shales and
volcanicalstic rocks, appears to be less of
barriers.
In sandstone bed propagation of joints
through the bed is slightly offset from the
layers above or below.
Variation in bed thickness also affects
propagation direction.
In horizontal layering joints will not
propagate from sandstone into shale if the
least principle horizontal stress in shale is
greater than that in sandstone.
Fractures will be terminated at the contact
between the two rocks.

Joints Classified According to their Environment

and Mechanism of Formations (Engelder, 1985)

Tectonic fracture
Hydraulic fracture
Unloading fracture
Loading fracture
All of these types are based on the assumption
that failure mechanism is tensile.

 Tectonic fractures:
Form at depth in response to abnormal fluid pressure and involve
hydrofracturing. They form mainly by tectonic stress and the
horizontal compaction of sediment at depth less than 3 km, where
the escape of fluid is hindered by low permeability and abnormally
high pore pressure is created.

Hydraulic fractures:
Form as tectonic fractures by the pore pressure created due to the
confined pressed fluid during burial and vertical compaction of
sediment at depth greater than 5 km. Filled veins in low metamorphic
rocks are one of the best of examples of hydraulic fractures.

 Unloading fractures:
Form near surface as erosion removes overburden
and thermalelastic contraction occurs. They form
when more than half of the original overburden
has been removed. The present stress and tectonic
activity may serve to orient these joints. Vertical
unloading fractures occur during cooling and
elastic contraction of rock mass and may occur at
depths of 200 to 500 m.

Release fractures:

Similar to unloading fractures but they form by

release of stress. Orientation of release joints is
controlled by the rock fabric. Released joints form
late in the history of an area and are oriented
perpendicular to the original tectonic compression
that formed the dominant fabric in the rock.
Release joints may also develop parallel to the fold
axes when erosion begins and rock mass that was
under burial depth and lithification begins to cool
and contract, these joints start to propagate
parallel to an existing tectonic fabric.
Sheared fractures may be straight or curved but
usually can't be traced for long distance.

Origin and Significance of Joints

Factors Affecting the Formation of Joints

Rock type
Fluid pressure
Strain rate
Stress difference at a particular time

Joints can be caused by a number of processes that create tensional effective

stress in rock:
Uplift and erosion
Residual stress
Tectonic deformation
Natural hydraulic fracturing

Mode of formation
From the point of view of fracture mechanics, crack tips have been related to
three modes of displacement, namely extensional or Mode I displacement,
and shear fractures of Modes II and III.
Mode I fracture (joints): it is the extensional fractures and formed by
opening with no displacement parallel to the fracture surface. In extensional
fractures the fracture plane is oriented parallel to 1 and 2 and
perpendicular to 3.

Mode II and Mode III are shear fractures. These are faults like fractures one
of them is strike -slip and the other is dip-slip. Same fracture can exhibit both
mode II and mode III in different parts of the region.

Significance of Joints
Significance
- tectonics
- engineering
- economic geology
- hazards

Chemical weathering tends to be concentrated along joints

Many important mineral deposits are emplaced along joint systems
Highly jointed rocks often represent a risk to construction projects

STRUCTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF JOINTS

They are some of the simpler structures found in rocks, but can still get
complicated fast. Why are they important?
provide a mass wasting surface failure plane; joint analysis typically done
for slope stability, dam stability, tunnel stability.
produce a strength anisotropy: later reactivation?
provide fracture porosity/permeability - hydrologic modeling,
mineralization.
important geomorphic control, contributing to drainage (e.g. trellis),
lineaments.
influence hydrocarbon migration.
they provide an easy to interpret paleostress system (with caution), but
difficult to date (igneous rocks provide an exception to difficulty in dating
because of late juices that can fill the joints to produce veins).
pervasive phenomena, and one structure that occurs here in Nebraska.

Bedding surface of massive Arkansas novaculite cut by numerous joints, Hot Springs.
Garland County, Arkansas. 1914. Plate 7 in U.S. Geological Survey. Folio 215. 1922."
How many joint sets can you see here?

Fault Related Joints

Joints are also formed adjacent
to brittle faults, and movement
along faults usually produces a
series of systematic fractures.

Most joints form by extensional fracturing of rock

in the upper few kilometers of the Earth's crust.
The limiting depth formation of extension fractures
should be the ductile-brittle transition.

Fold Related Joints

Joints within Plutons

Fractures form in pluton in response to cooling

and later tectonic stress. Many of these
joints are filled with hydrothermal minerals
as late stage products. Different types of
joints are present with pluton (i.e.
longitudinal, and cross joints)

Straight Path

Figure. Ways in which individual

joints die out. (A) joint trace hooks
and stops. (B) joint traces hook and
stop. (C) joint trace hooks radically to
form a T-intersection with adjacent
joint. (D) joint trace breaks up into en
echelon segments.

Twisted or Echelon Path

WHY JOINT STUDIES

Joints are studied and described because
They affect fluid flow (groundwater, petroleum) and erosion. Chemical
weathering tends to be concentrated along joints
Many important mineral deposits are emplaced along joint systems
Highly jointed rocks often represent a risk to construction projects
Fractures and layering are zones of weakness in rocks, especially if groundwater is
present. If they parallel slopes, saturated rock may break loose producing
catastrophic landslides.
The following are usually noted:
Systematic or non systematic; Number of joint systems
Orientations
Spacing and length of joints in each joint system
Cross cutting relationships and timing sequence of the joints
Joint surface features
Connectivity
Relationship to other tectonic structures

ASPECTS THAT ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED JOINTS ARE:

geometry - planar, curved, irregular.

orientation - strike and dip.
sets - a group of fractures with a common cause and time of formation.
defined by preferred orientations + traits (orientation alone is not enough).
statistical description from a population perspective (distribution type, measure of
central tendency, measure of dispersion).
often displayed using circular histograms (e.g. rose diagrams) and/or stereoplots.
width, length, aspect ratio. spacing distribution for a set: regular or periodic versus
clustered, fractal. density of (how to measure?). intersections per unit length along a
transect.
aggregate length per unit area.
aggregate area per unit volume.
spatial variation in density:
might expect that it increases as approach fault.
fractal distribution of density a possibility.
the ease of which bias can creep in.
associated surface features = fractology (e.g. plumose marks and hackle structures).

Data to be collected

Strike and dip. Or strike of linear features from aerial photos and Landsat images. Studies
of joint and fracture orientation from LANDSAT and other satellite imagery and
photographs have a variety of structural, geomorphic, and engineering applications

Width of the joint block and space

Identify the joints are open or filled

Establishing time relationships among joint systems

Data obtained from joints is plotted in rose diagram or equal area net. Equal area net for strike and dip and rose diagram
for strike only.

25

A few criteria of establishing time relationships:

1. If joints beneath an unconformity have been opened
up by weathering and filled by rocks above the
unconformity, the joints are older than the overlying
rocks.
2. Joints are older than dikes or veins that have utilized
them for emplacement.
3. Short joints that abut against longer joints are
probably the younger ones.
26

REFLECTION!

1. HOW MANY SETS OF JOINTS OBSERVE ON PICTURE?

2. ESTABLISH THE TIME RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE JOINT SETS

7.2. VEINS
Veins are mineralized fractures. Because fractures channel fluids,
minerals are commonly deposited forming veins. Terminology for
veins is similar to joints, especially if the veins originated from
joint fractures.

Veins: are filled joints

and shear fractures
and the filling range
from quartz and
feldspar (pegmatite
and aplite) to quartz,
calcite and dolomite.

Two common occurrences are:

en echelon veins (right) and

stockwork veins (below).

VEINS
Fractures filled with a minerals that precipitated from solution
Common precipitated minerals: quartz, calcite, zeolite, chlorite, ore minerals

Origin of Veins:
Vein Array- group of veins in a rock body.
Non-Systematic Vein Arrays- non-planar veins that
vary in width and orientation

Joints

Planar Systematic Vein Array- planar, parallel,

regularly spaced veins
En Echelon Vein Arrays- short, offset sub- parallel
veins lie between two parallel enveloping surfaces
inclined at an angle to enveloping surfaces.

Shear ruptures

Stockwork Veins-cluster of irregularly shaped veins of

-highly variable orientation
-occur in a pervasively fractured rock body.
Vein Filling:
Blocky (sparry)-equant vein filling crystals
-may display euhedral crystal faces

En Echelon Vein Arrays

Fibrous- characterized by fibrous (linear) mineral
growth.
- fibrous- high (>10:1) length: width ratio
-may develop by repeated cycle of crack and Blocky, euhedral crystal forms in a granitic vein
which cross-cuts syenite, Mosinee, Wisconsin
seal-mechanism whereby elevated fluid pore
pressures crack a vein, followed by sealing from
mineralized solution.
-may be useful for strain analysis

Syntaxial Veins-vein fill is usually same mineral composition as the wall rock.
-Cracking occurs in the center of the veins

Step 1: Cracking along center

Antitaxial Veins- -veins may be of different

mineral composition than host rock. Cracking
occurs between host rock & vein material
Step 1- Tensional cracking

Step 2: New crack along the center

Step 2- shear cracking

Shear fractures

en echelon tension gashes

-form ~45 degrees from plane of max. shear stress
-preexisting vein material rotates while new vein material grows

Determining the sense of shear

Vein filling during crack opening

Significance: Economic Geology

Alteration/Mineralization along fractures;
Veins preserve dilational separation

REFLECTION!
What is it?

What are these structures?

What is the sense-of-shear?
Describe how the veins grew.

en echelon tension gashes

right lateral or top-to-the-right
from center to tips during rotation