Structural Geology (Geol 2041)

Lecturer:
Elias A. MSc (Engineering geologist)

Wollo university
Geology Department

Wollo, Ethiopia, March, 2020

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 Structural geology in applied
 Structural geology by it self is a physical pure geology ,but it has
plenty of application in applied geology.

 Structural geology has a significant role in :

petroleum geology (HYDROCARBON RESOURCE )

mineral exploration
mining geology
engineering geology
hydrogeology (ground water resource )
geo hazard
earth surface process
deep earth process
geophysics
planetary science and
other geoscience discipline ………… 2
We can categorize this course
into three main parts
Part I Fundamentals

Chapter 1: Introduction to structural

geology
Chapter 2: dynamic analysis of structures
/Force and Stress/
Chapter 3: kinematic analysis of structures
/Deformation and Strain/ /Rheology/ 3
Chapter 5: Joints and Shear Fractures
Chapter 6: Faults and Faulting system
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 PART III
About Ductile Structures

 Chapter 7. Mechanisms of Deformation

/deformation at atomic and molecular scale /
 Chapter 8: Folds and Folding
 chapter 9&10 : foliation and lineation
in rocks
 Chapter 11 : shear zone and
progressive deformation
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Chapter one
Introduction to
structural
geology
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 What is Structural Geology?
 Structural geology encompasses the study of all aspects of
 the deformation structures such as their geometry, field
 relations, geographic distribution, genesis and related aspects.
 Or we can define as;
 Structural geology is the study of factors such as origin,
occurrence, classification, type and effects of various secondary
structures like folds, faults, joints, rock cleavage and are different
from those primary structures such as bedding and vesicular
structure, which develop in rocks at the time of their formation.

 DEFORMATION refers to the structural

changes that take place in the rocks
original- location/position (translation),
orientation (rotation), shape (distortion)
and size (dilation).
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Structural Geology
• The branch of geology that deals with:
– Form, arrangement and internal architecture of
rocks

– Description, representation, and analysis of

structures from the small to moderate scale

– Reconstruction of the motions of rocks

• Structural geology provides information about the
conditions during regional deformation using
structures

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Scale
• Structural geologists look at structures at a variety of scales, ranging from
features that affect only a few atoms within mineral grains, to structures that
cross whole continents.
• It’s convenient to recognize three different scales of observation.
1) Microscopic structures are those that require optical assistance to make
them visible.
2) Mesoscopic, or outcrop-scale structures are visible in one view at the
Earth’s surface without optical assistance.
3) Macroscopic, or map-scale structures are too big to see in one view.
• They must be mapped to make them visible, or imaged from an aircraft or a
satellite.

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Goal /Objectives/ of structural geology

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 1. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS (=GEOMETRY)
What is the deformation? What is the structure?
In answering this question it requires:

RECOGNIZING and DESCRIBING the geometrical aspects of the structure

(primary structures, secondary structures, and contact)
Recognition or description of structures may be based on
- Aerial photo and remote sensing data interpretation
- Direct observation in the field
- Micro-fabric study in thin-section
- Drilling into the subsurface
- Geophysical monitoring and probing of the subsurface
-Laboratory study of experimentally deformed rocks etc.

MEASURING and RECORDING the orientation of structural elements (physical

and geometric elements),
e.g. angles between lines and between planes. This may include careful
recording of data in notebook, making sketches, taking pictures etc.
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 2. KINEMATIC ANALYSIS (= ROCK MECHANICS)
• How does deformation took place?
• How do rocks behave during deformation?

• It involves:
 EXAMINING and UNDERSTANDING the deformation behavior
of rock (e.g. brittle, ductile, elastic, viscous behavior etc.)
 and the type of deformational movements and changes
(including distortion, dilation, translation, rotation of the
deforming body)

 EVALUATING and DETERMINING the structural change in

terms of extension, stretch, angular shear, shear strain
(=STRAIN ANALYSIS) etc.

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Dilation Translation
(change in volume) (change in
position)

distortion
(strain)
Rotation (change in
(change in orientation) shape)

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 3. DYNAMIC ANALYSIS (= ROCK MECHANICS)
What is the cause of deformation?
Under what physical conditions did the structure form?

This involves:
• EXPLAINING and ANALYSING the type of stress field
responsible for deformation (e.g. the values of principal stress
axes, normal and shear stresses etc.)

• INTERPRETING and RECONSTRUCTING the physical and

boundary conditions prevailed during deformation
 (e.g. P-T conditions, pore-fluid conditions, relation to PLATE
TECTONICS etc.)

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Structural Analysis as a summery
Structural analysis generally involves three tasks:
1. Descriptive Analysis: physical and geometrical description
of rock structures (e.g. folds (ductile), faults (britle) etc.)

2. Kinematic Analysis: evaluation of the displacement and

change in shape, orientation and size that rocks undergo as
a result of deformation (strain)

3. Dynamic Analysis: reconstruct forces and stresses which

resulting rock deformation and failure (stress)

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 Fundamental Structures
• Geological Contacts
• Primary Structures
• Secondary structures
• Fractures (Joints, Shear Fractures)
• Vein - Precipitated minerals from fluid flowing through
fractures
• Fault
• Fold

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 Fundamental Structures, con’t
• Foliation - Preferred orientation of
planar rock bodies and/or minerals

• Lineation - Preferred orientation of

linear minerals and rocks

• Shear Zone
• Zones of deformed rock that have
accommodated movement

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 Primary Sedimentary Structures
• Bedding: The primary surface in a sedimentary rock, separating
beds with different composition, texture, color, cement (make
sure you recognize beds based on these criteria!)
• Different beds represent different source, sedimentary
processes, and environments of deposition
• Emphasized in outcrop by parting and differential weathering
and erosion
• A plane of separation, along which the rock has a tendency to
split or fracture parallel to bedding (don’t confuse with
fracture!)
• Commonly due to the weak bonds between different beds, or
preferred orientation of clays
• Commonly, there is a bedding-parallel fracture which forms
due to unloading or rocks
• Closely-spaced parting is called fissility (e.g., in shale). 18
Bedding of sandstone and conglomerate
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Bedding is Important in Structural Analysis
• Bedding is used as a paleo-horizontal, or nearly horizontal
reference frame (recall the principle of original horizontality)

• Bedding as a primary structure (S0, or original surface) is the first

object that becomes deformed. The subsequent deformation
surfaces created (S1, S2, S3) are compared relative to the S0

• Structures, textures, fossils, etc, in beds provide clues as to the:

– Depositional environment
– Stratigraphic facing (younging direction) to identify right-side-
up or overturned beds
– Current direction
• Beds help us to better map stratigraphic contacts, and identify
large structures such as folds, faults, and unconformities.

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 Graded Beds
• Graded beds: Progressive fining of clast grain size, from
the base to the top of a bed; form as a consequence of
deposition by turbidity currents (e.g., in turbidite)

• Can indicate which way is up provided the bed is not

inversely graded
• Provide information for stratigraphic facing and possibly
current direction, e.g., if cross-beds are present

• Must know what kind of depositional environment

deposited the bed – example:
– debris flows - deposit inverse graded beds,
– storm deposits (tempestites) & turbidites are typically graded
beds 21
Graded Bedding

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 Cross Beds provide information for facing and possibly
current direction
• Cross beds: Are surfaces within a thicker, master bed that are
oblique to the bedding in the master bed
• Defined by subtle parting or concentration of grains
• Form when grains move from the windward or upstream side of
a dune ripple, toward the leeward or downstream side
• Topset: thin, usually concave upward, laminations parallel to
the upper master bedding.
• Foreset: inclined, curved, laminations or beds deposited
parallel to the slip face. These merge with the topset and
bottomset beds. Foresets define the cross beds.
• Current direction is perpendicular to the strike of the foreset
• Bottomset: thin laminations parallel to the bottom master
bedding

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Cross Bedding

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 Ripple Marks
• Ridges and valleys on the surface of a bed, formed due to current
flow. Cross stratification with wave amplitude < 6 °

(1) Oscillation or Symmetric Ripple Marks

– Oscillation wave produced ripples (current moving in two
opposite directions)
• Crests are pointed and troughs are curved
– Symmetrical concave up small scale (amplitude < 6 °)
cross stratification.
• Good facing indicator
(2) Current or Asymmetric Ripple Marks
– Asymmetric cross stratification produced by current moving in
one direction; i.e., uniformly flowing current
• Good current direction indicator
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Ripple Marks

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 Mud Cracks
• Polygon shape in map view.
• Result from desiccation into an array of polygons
separated by mud cracks.

• Thin (typically sand filled) fractures that taper down

in cross section because each polygon curls upwards
along its margin.

• Good facing indicator (individual cracks taper

downward.

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Mud Cracks

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 Contacts

• Contact: Boundary between two geologic units of

any kind.

1. Depositional contact: a sedimentary unit is

deposited on top of another.

2. Fault contact: two units are juxtaposed by a fault.

3. Intrusive contact: an igneous cuts across another

rock body.

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 Unconformities
• Conformable contact: The boundary between adjacent beds or
units does not represent substantial gap in time
– A succession of beds of nearly the same age that represent
nearly continuous deposition

 Buttress (onlap) unconformity – New beds lie on areas

with significant pre-depositional topography.
• The younger layers are truncated by the rugged unconformity
(difference with angular unconformity).
• Beds above and below the unconformity may or may not parallel the
unconformity.
• There is an angular discordance between the beds above and below
the unconformity

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 Types of Unconformity
• Angular unconformity - Beds below and above the
unconformity have different attitudes.
– Beds below are truncated by the unconformity.

• Unconformable contact (unconformity):

– Represents an interruption in sedimentation, such that there
is a substantial gap in time (called hiatus), few years to
billions of years, across the contact

– Contact represents erosion or non-deposition of strata

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 buttress (onlap) unconformity
Angular unconformity
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 Contd.
• Disconformities – Beds above and below the
unconformity are parallel, but there is a hiatus,
created by non-deposition or erosion.
– A disconformity is hard to recognize in the field
– Fossils, paleosols, or scour features help!

• Non-conformities – Strata deposited on older,

crystalline (igneous or metamorphic) basement
rocks

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 Volcanic Structures
• Flow Layering
– Layers of volcanic flows defined by color, texture and
weathering.

• Flow structures
– Pahoehoe; Ropy lava - Good flow direction indicator

• Pillow Structures
– Flat bottomed, curved top
– Good facing indicator

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 Volcanic Structures, cont’d
• Vesicles
– Voids formed by gas bubbles typically more
numerous at the top of the flow
– Good facing indicator

• Columnar Jointing
– Fractures formed in basaltic lava due cooling and
shrinkage
– Polygonal columns
– Product of slow cooling, top of flow does not have
as well defined columnar joints as base of flow.
Good facing indicator

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 Intrusive - Plutonic Structures
• Flow Foliation
– Aligned minerals in intrusive igneous rocks
occurs while rocks are still melted or partially
melted and flowing.

– Indicates flow direction

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 ☻Secondary Structures

 Secondary structures: are structures which

develop in rocks after their formation when they
are subject to external forces.
• they are structures produced by tectonic forces
and other stresses in the crust.
 They are Formed in rocks as a result of
deformation - the structures in this class
are more focused on!
 They are the primary interest in structural
geology.
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 Some of secondary structures are:
 Faults
 Joints
 Veins
 Folds
 Cleavage in rock
 Foliation& lineation's
 Shear zones…………

We will see all of this in

detail !
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Structural Geology
study of the “architecture of the crust”
….by examination of deformed rocks

DEFORMATION: changes in location, orientation, shape, volume

…results from stresses that exceed rock strength…

ductile (bends) brittle (breaks)

same material (fence) deforms in different ways
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Rocks, like the fence, will deform in different ways, depending upon
the properties of the rock and the nature of the applied stress

folds faults

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Structures as a Record of the
Geologic Past
• Geologic Maps and Field Methods
– Strike and Dip
– Measuring Folds
– Other Strain Markers
– Outcrop

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 Strike and Dip
• Strike refers to the direction in which a geological
structure is present. The strike direction may be
defined as the direction of the trace of the
intersection between the bedding plane

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Strike and Dip

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Strike and Dip

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Maps and X-
sections

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Stress versus strain: The two most important terms used
throughout this course are STRESS and STRAIN.

What structural geologists actually observe and directly measure

is strain. Stresses, on the other hand, are not directly measured,
but in principle they may be inferred or constrained from the
strain.

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Significance of Structural Geology
 Structural geology has academic, economic, societal and environmental
significances.
 From the academic point of view, structural geology is concerned with
deformational processes of rocks that explain how the lithosphere responds
to stresses.
 From the economic point of view, structural geology helps in locating minerals
of economic value including petroleum, natural gas and groundwater.
 From societal viewpoints, structural geology helps engineers to select
suitable sites and construction materials for dams, tunnels, bridges, roads
and other civic construction works.
 Structural geology has environmental commitments too as it helps selecting
environmentally congenial areas for human habitation, industries, agriculture and
other uses.
CH II. Dynamic analysis of structures.ppt 51