Jan Kees Blom

Applied Structural Geology

MP 2920
Logistics
7 sessions on thursdays
start 10.45
break 11.30-11.45
end 12.30
exam: 3 hours, open questions
book: Structural geology by Haakon Fossen
Can be obtained via MV
practical: Geologische Constructies (3
rd
period)
presentations can be found on the blackboard:
http://blackboard.icto.tudelft.nl/
Questions / remarks:
Jan Kees Blom: 015 - 278 3628 & j.c.blom@tudelft.nl
Structural Geology
Study of deformation in the earths crust

Deformation is change in , volume and
of a piece of rock.

Shape and orientation of structures contains
information about forces and material properties

fault, fracture, cleavage, fold, lineation verschuiving,
barst, splijting, plooi, lineatie

Brittle versus ductile
3 basic structural fault styles
position
Structural geology & tectonics
Both have similar meaning, but
Structural geology focuses on structures (folds, faults,
etc)
Tectonics focuses on large scale processes (plate
tectonics).
Use structural geology to tackle tectonic problems
Other processes:
Glaciotectonics
Salt tectonics
Gravitational tectonics

Plate tectonics
Outer shell of earth consists of lithospheric plates that
can move
Most deformation occurs at plate boundaries
Relatively simple model gets more complicated due to
heterogeneous lithosphere
Structural Geology
Studies structures in rocks and processes leading to
those structures
Data are collected through fieldwork, from seismics
and through remote sensing.
Analyses:
Geometric
Kinematic
Dynamic
Tectonic
Modeling
Focus on thin outer shell .......
Stress and strain
Fundamental terms in structural geology
Strain is distortion of original rocks
Stress relates to the forces that have caused the strain
Strain is what you can see, stress is usually inferred
Relation between the two can be established in lab
experiments
Strain
A measure of change in shape and size
Varies with rock type and strain application
Heterogeneous vs homogeneous
Structures form when strain is heterogeneous
Stress
Stress () is force per unit
Same force over bigger surface produces less stress
Rocks in crust always suffer stress
State of stress in crust is decribed by three orthogonal
principal stress axes (
1
(largest),
2
&
3
(smallest))
Difference between largest and smallest (differential
stress) is important for the formation of structures
Differences are caused by tectonic processes
Important: stresses in crust are generally compressive,
also in an extensive tectonic setting
Rheology: brittle versus ductile
How do rocks react to stress?
Brittle when it is cold, ductile when warm for a
chocolate bar
Temperature is important for rocks as well
Type of rock equally important
Plastic deformation when rock is ductile down to
micro-scale
Brittle-ductile transition
Upper crust is mainly brittle because it is cool
Lower crust is mainly ductile (plastic) because it is hot
In between is the brittle plastic-transition
Primary structures
Primary structures are formed as sediments are being
deposited or as ingenous rocks crystallize
They are not considered structures in structural
geology
Secondary (tectonic) structures
Result from deformation processes
Often deform primary structures
Brittle: faults, fractures
Ductile: folds, shear zones
General types: fractures, faults, folds, boudins,
foliations, lineations
Fault, France Folds, Namibia
Fractures
Planar discontinuities in rocks
Extensional fractures: only breaking
Shear fractures: small displacement
Most rocks show fractures due to uplift and
decompression
fractured
sandstone,
Utah
fractured
limestone,
France
Basic fault styles
Folds
Folds develop mainly when layers are shortened
Can occur on all scales
Folds 2
Basic terminology
Boudins
Once continuous layers that have been broken in
pieces during extension
Foliation
Preferred orientation of minerals within rocks
May be due to rotation of grains present or to new
grains growing perpendicular to main stress direction
May lead to cleavage in rock

Lineations
Linear structures that form during deformation
Often near faults, or in metamorphic rocks
Very useful on fault surfaces
Tectonic regime
Anderson proposed three tectonic regimes, related to
the directions of the differential stresses:
Extension
Contraction or compression
Strike slip
These cover the entire crust or lithosphere
Extension
Normal faults
Uplift
Basaltic volcanism
Rift formation
Seafloor spreading
Contraction
Reverse/thrust faults
Folding
Subduction
Andesitic volcanism
Island arc
Accretionary prism
Mountain building
Orogeny
Strike slip
Strike slip faults
Large displacements
Local extension or
contraction

Related sciences
Material science
Engineering & Fracture Mechanics
Engineering geology
Geodesy
Geophysics (gravity, seismology, acoustics)
Geochemistry
Petrology (including ores)
Petroleum Engineering
Applications
Academic
Deformation geometry and history
Displacements versus P, T, t
Deformation mechanisms
Folding phases etc.
Applications
Commercial: requires quantitative prediction
Engineering geology
Mining industry
Petroleum geology

Aims
Understanding terminology & basic processes
Capable of some quantitative analyses
Critical literature reading
Solving applied problems
Hands-on
Find your way in papers / textbooks
Programme
17 nov Intro, plate tectonics
24 nov Stress & strain
1 dec In situ-stress
8 dec Faults & joints, fluid flow
15 dec Contractional tectonics, folds,
x-section balancing
22 dec Extensional tectonics
12 jan Strike-slip tectonics, inversion,
salt tectonics