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GEOL100
3-25-09
Structural Geology
In this lecture we start out with a lesson in mechanical engineering, then apply that knowledge to the

study of the mechanical properties of the Earth.

Stress and Strain
Stress: A force acting on a surface. Generally, the stress is measured as force per unit area ofthe
surface. E.G. the stress applied to the inside of a car tire might be 60 pounds per square inch. Strictly
speaking, stress and pressure are the same thing, but in common usage, "stress" is applied to a wider
variety.

Kinds of stress:
o Uniform: The force
acts equally in all
dUections.Alsocalled
confining stress or
confining pressure.
This is the kind of
s1ress that a submarine
would experience
during a dive.
Tension
Compression
Shear
o Difl'erential: Stress
Uniform
that acts with different (=Confining pressure)
magnitudes in
different dUections. E.G. The weight of your body applies a differential stress to the soles
of your feet. Engineers
speak of three ..... u ..,,..
Tension: A force
acting
perpendicular to
and away from a
surface. E.G.
when you pull on
a refrigerator
magnet in order to
open the
refrigerator door,
a tenslle stress is
being applied to
the magnet and
door.
Compression: A force acting petpendicular to and towards a surface. E.G. when
you step on the bathroom scale, your body applies a compressive stress to the scale
platform.

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Shear: A force
acting parallel to a
surface. E.G.
when one pushes
on the top ofa
deck ofcards to
pull them into a
line, the deck is
being sheared.

Strain:

The change in a solid's shape caused by the application of a stress. Dependlng on the solid, a
given stress might cause a gm~t or small strain.

Kinds of deformation- Renew: We discussed this briefly wi1h regard to earthquakes.

o Elaatie deformation: Generally, when a solid is strained, it will retum to its original
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shape when the stress is

removed. 1bis is
because its chemical
bonds, although
stretched, have not
broken, as in the
illustration above.
Beyond that point,
however, the change in
shape becomes
permanent.

o Ductile deformation:

(A.k.a. ''plastic"
deformation) A solid
that is strained past its
zone of elastic
deformation retains its
new shape. This is
becauseuhasbeen
strained to where
chemical bonds have
begun to break. In the
Earth, we see ductile
deformation manifested
as folds.

o Brittle deformation:

Break enough chemical bonds, and the entire object breaks. In the

Earth, we see breaks manifested as faults. The actual breakage event, of course, is

manifested as an earthquake.

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Measurements of Stiffness:
Young's modulus is the ratio
of stress to strain. It is a
measure of stiffness. (It's
usually measured using tensile
stress.) A stiffer solid like steel
has a high Young's modulus,
whereas a less stiff one like
lead has a lower Young's
modulus.
Measurements of strength:
o Yield strength: The
amount of stress required
to cause a solid to deform
ductilely.
o Tensile strength: The
amount of stress required
to cause a solid to break.

lntrociJctioo to Physical Geology Syllabus

Elastic
deformation

Ductile
deformation

Tell'ISIIe streng~h--t+---------t----::~-----t:
Yield s1rength - ++-- - - - - - -__,.
I
Breaksbrittle
deformation

Slope ""Young's Modulus

Strain

NOTE! Stiffness and strength are two different things. A steel bar and a biscuit are both stiff but
they aren't both strong. Nylon and steel are both strong but they aren't both stiff. Materials that are
both stiff and weak are said to be brittle.
More on Young's modulus.

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Stnu:lanl Geolo&J: The lltudy or llle88 ad &!rain in 10Cb 8lld 1he rock 8tructu!es Cbat Jesuit B:om
them.

Buic clacriptive termhtology: StruA:tuml geologia are peowupicd wi1h 1he orientation of thing~ in
!IJIII"C To cbcribc the orientaticma ofline& aud planes, dm:e tmoa are used.

Line bears 30 deg. NW

and plunges 25 deg.

Plane strikes 30 deg. NW

and dips 45 deg. East

horlzmdal, tlul int&:-.1ion of any plane wi1h the hmizonlal forms a line. That linll'a
bearing is ill strib.
Dip: The smallest aoglc between 1he plme and horizontal.

Fnctanl: F~a are limply crach.1he tracea ofbritlle dcformatiDD ofrocb.

910

.-.... . .

~-....!-

Jollltl: Frac:tw:l:t alallg which no relative ~..mem has oceum:d. Joints utaally O<:CUr becauae
oftcmicm. We see them when:
lit I'Dgeoua meb cool aDd con1n1c:t to Conn oo!wnw jointinll'
lit R.oc:b lhatfunnnl at great depth an: dt!!munrw by the removal of overlying mc:b.
(Indeed, exploding rocb ~n a c:ommon hazard in dHp min111ba1b, whml the rock of1h11
min111aft wall is suddenly dewnqn &sed 011 01111 aide by the BCavation athe mine.)
Flllllfll: Fnlc:tun!s along which movement bas oc:cumd.

o l.l'lllllt black 118.111n: A fault

aepamtes adjacart rock into two
blocks. UDleu the :&vlt is cu.cdy
vertical. we clistingDiah two kinds af
blocks. To make tlds euy, imagine
lhatyou an: aclualb' mdjng on 1he
tiult plane, u minerllaometimet do:
Rl!lllna: 111111 blodt: The
blDdl: above your head
FootwalliJJock The block on
which you arc mnding.

lit

Hanging wall
block

Footwall
block

Killdl or fults:
Diatinguiahed based 011 the
orllllltation ofthe fimlt
plane md the senae a
movement.
SMkMIIp fagltl:

Faults in whieh
neither bloek is

Normal

downthrown but the

8eii8C ofmoti011 is
puwllel1he die tilult

plane's 8lrib.
TDU8fonn
boundlrie~~~ ofplate8
are fllUJ!!IpJCIII a

slrib-elip faulta.

Thrust
Strike-slip

(left lateral}

DIIHIJp faabl:
NormeJ flnl!p: Faulta in which the banging wall il dowDthrown (ie. bas
moved dawn) wilh respect to the footwall.
Reyeru fagi!J: HiP angle filulta (i.e. their dip ia at h:aat 30 ch:g.) in which
1hll hanging wall has moved up with Rllpllllt to 1hll footw11ll.
Tbngt fapltJ: Low angle faults (i.e. their dip ia at less than 30 deg.) in
which tho banging wall haa moved up with mapec:t to tho footwall

In 1ba field. &ults almoat newr appear as in the nice cilear block dispms. Weatlu:rlns and erosion

imm"CCiately attack my topographic expmsion of faults, like in the image above. Onutbat happens,
muJts are inconspicuoua and rweel1heir p.'CIIICDU only inclir=tly. Some keys:

Fault plmes uually have a chanlcter.iBtic poliahed a1riated =ture celled lll.rknn!dn.

Sometimee. rocks
m:=cngbt

between mDW!g
fault blocb md

bmbninto
aogu1ar fragmeniB

callecl.fult
brm;la.

Faultins creates

.zones at
wc:ebns dlat are
attarkccl by 8pllt8
ofwee1bering ad
eneioD. 80 liDw

slleam beds.

''1Y'lll. wl
lao oftal malk

them.
The dead giwaway is when you
happen to notice
that a s!mhgn dud
gp&flt to ljpo sqt in
ruiiacapt
ptnrm
..
dposn't.

FoldJ: Folda md ~ slriU:tUrM are the rec<ml at ductile: clcformation of rocks.

Fold pomctry tmu: At its simplest, a fold is
where a plaar fecture (stratum, ft>liatitm plane,

etc.) is bellt dq en am.

o Limb: the halves of1be folded rock on
either aide at the bead.
o .bill plalle: The plane biaectillg die two
limhe, rqnesentiDg 1be sur.facc 8lollg
which 'bc:ndjng Wll& focused.
o Am: The intl:r8eetioD oflh Dial plane
wi1h the folded llllri'acc.
o Pluge: AIJ with my linear featun:, the
mgle between the axis aud 1be horizontiiL

Horizontai --....
Piunge_.-

Axial plane

Klach offoldJ:
o Antk!lne

A fold in
wbiehthe
limbs dip

away
from the

Anticline

Monocline

Syncline

uia..

.Anticlillee, viewed eod-<m. ~semble a capital A. Juat thiDk A for Alllicline. The oldest
rocks are at 1be am. The yovDgett are farlbest away.
~,eld.lllld..U.Jmocdl'ged1llto:lnnQQ.Hml

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o Syncline: A fold in which the limbs dip toward the axis. Synclines resemble a capital V

or U, viewed end-on. The youngest rocks are at the axis. The oldest are farthest away.
o MopMiipe: A local steepeDing in an otherwise maifoDDly dipping surface.
Topographic expres1lon of fold&:
Time 1: Compression folds rocks Into anticlines and synclines.
Rock on convex surfaces feel relative tension. Cracks fo rm.
Rocks on concave surfaces feel compression and are compacted.

nme 2: Weathering and erosion preferentially attacks

surface of anticlines. Compressed rocks of syncline
axes form ridges tha t stand up topographically.

Paradoxically, s1ru.ctural anticlines tend to be topograpbically low-lying whereas the axes of

synclines tend to stand up topographically. This is a result ofthe mechanical effects of folding
on the rocks being folded.
Within any given. layer, rock on convex surfaces feels tension relative to the rock on concave
surfaces, especially if it is an upper surface. Rock in concave surfaces is actually being
compressed relatively. Thus, rock on the upper surfaces of anticlines is being "pulled apart"
whereas rock in the upper ~es of synclines is being compressed. Weathering and erosion.
therefore, attack anticlines more vigorously, and the axes of synclines are expressed
topographically as ridges.
One last thing
about folds:
Nowhere is it
written that a rock
can't be folded
more than once.
The rock below
displays two
obvious
generations of
folding. (In fact,
there are two
others that are less
obvious.)

Domes and bums: Occasionally rocks in a region will be uplifted or will subside relative to
their SUITOUDdiugs. This yields;
o Domes (aka "uplifts"): Regions oflocal uplift in which all strata dip away from a central
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point such
as the 50
km. wide
Richat
Structure
pictured
above. The
oldest rocks
are in the
center and
the
youngest at
the
periphery.
o Basins:

Regions of
local
subsidence
in which all
strata dip
toward a
central
point. The
youngest
rocks are in
the center
and the
oldest at the
periphery.
As with
folds(and
for the
same
reasons),
structural
domes tend
to be
topographic
depressions
and vice versa.

Key concepts and vocabulary:

o
o
o
o

Stress
Strain

Uniform stress (a.k.a. confming stress or confining pressure)

Differential stress
Tension
Compression

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Introduction 1D Physical Geology Syllabus

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o

o
o
o

Shear
Deformation
Elastic deformation
Ductile deformation
Brittle deformation
Stiffness
Strength
Young's modulus
Lines and planes in space
Bearing (a.k.a. trend)
Plunge
Strike
Dip
Fractures
Joints
Faults
Hanging wall block
Footwall block
Fault varieties
Dip-slip faults
Normal fault
Reverse fault
Thrust fault
Strike-slip fault
Slickensides
Fault breccia
Offset of rock units
Fold terminology
Limb
Axis
Axial plane
Plunge
Anticline
Syncline
Relationship of syncline axes and topography after erosion
Domes
Basins

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