rStru"mral Geology. Vol. 7. ~os 3/..1, pp . ..

137 to 457, 1985 111'I1~~1"1/1l5 $(J},IKI + IUKI

::::::~ Gr~J Briain 1;: 191<5 Pcrgamon Pre" ltd.

Brittle microtectonics: principies and practice

P. L.

I
HANCOCK

Department of Geology. Universily of Bristol, Queen's Building, e niversity Walk. Bristol BSS 1TR. l]. K.
(Received 8 Februarv 1984: accepted in revisedform li August 1984)

Abstract-Brittle microtectonics as defined here is the application of mesofracture analysis to the soluton of
tectonic problems. For the determination of regionally significant stress or slrain lrajeclories lhe ideal suile of
struclures comprises klOemalic ndicators such as mesofaults. shear zones. arrays of en chelon cracks. kink
bands. stylolites and fibrous veins. However. in many leclonic seltings joints are lhe only widespread slructures
capable of being analysed. The principal crileria for cJassifying joints into extension. hybrid and shear classes are

,
fracturesystem archilecture and symmetry. surface morphology. dihedral angles and lhin-seclion characteristcs.
The architecture oi orlhogonal eXlension joints is commonly T-shaped. the younger joinr abutting the older one.
Neighbouring conjugate hybrid or shear joints generally define X. y or V shapes but sorne X panems are arrefacls
of unrelated cross-culling fractures. Conjugale joinls enclosing dihedral angles of less than '+5 are common: they
are inrerpreted as hybrid failure surfaces inilialed in lhe shear-extension fracture lransition.
t The orienrations of many joint seIs in platforrns are related to far-field stresses generated during plale morion
and the subsidence. uplift and inversion of basins. Even within a single joint set there is commonly field evidence

_! 10 show that it developed during a multiphase failure sequence. Sorne joints are younger lhan iolds but where a

,I
I
system was established before the close of folding lhe surfaces commonly become he stes of slip. dlation or
pressure solution. and are thus transformed into structures no longer classed as joints.

f
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
BRrTILE microtectonics is regarded for the purposes of
Ihis account as the application of the technques of
mesofracture analysis to the solution of tectonic prob-
Icms. Although brittle and semi-brittle meso fractures
Jre also of intrinsic interest from the perspective of rock
mechanics this aspect is not emphasized here. Field
e:tamples are selected largely from terrans of weakly
deformed sedimentary rocks within which meso fractures
may be the only widespread structures. Furthermore,
mesofractures are more reliable indicators of regionally
significant stresslstrain trajectories in weakly deformed
rocks than in thrust-fold belts, grabens and transcurrent
rault zones where there may have be en substantial vert-
~ calor horizontal rotations and complex strain histories.
The use of the term mesoscale follows that of Turner &
Weiss (1963) who employed it to embrace structures that
range in size from less than a centimetre to a few metres,
and that are observable in a single continuous exposure.
The structures considered in this paper include
mesofaults, shear zones, arrays of en chelon cracks,
kink bands, fissures, veins and pressure-solution seams,
all usefuI brittle or semi-brittle kinematic indicators.
The importance of these phenomena in microtectonic
investigations has been emphasized already by workers
such as Arthaud (1969), BIes & Feuga (1981), Chouk
rOune (1969, 1976), Eyal & Reches (1983), Jaroszewski
(1972) and Letouzey & Trmolieres (1980). The benefits'
to be gained from analysing joints, the commonest of
brittle structures, are highlighted here. In forelands and
hinterlands they enable past and contemporary stress
trajectories to be established (e.g. Engelder & Geiser
1980, Engelder 1982a,b, Hancock & Kadhi 1978, Han
cock el al. 1984). Although jonts and many other meso
J
i .. fractures are small-scale structures ther regular arrange-
ment within large areas (> 1000 km~) of weakly de
formed rocks allows us to be confident that they are
linked to tectonic processes. Indeed. EyaI & Reches
(1983) have c1aimed that kinematically dagnostic meso
structures can yield more reliable stress directions than
macrostructures.
METHODOLOGY
Principies ofinferring stress/strain trajectories
Numerous experiments (reviews in Brace 1964, Price
1966, Hobbs et al. 1976, Jaeger & Cook 1976, Paterson
1978) have shown that when a brittle isotropic rock is
loaded to failure in a conventional 'triaxial' compression
test the resulting fractures are symmetrically orientated
with respect to the three effective principal stresses ( 0';
> 0'2 > 0'); compressive stress positive); effective stress
(0") being total stress (o') minus fluid pressure (p). The
dass of fracture that develops is related to the value of u)
and the stress difference (0';-0'3) compared with the
tensile strength (T) of the rock. Three dasses are rerog
nized (Fig. 1, Table 1), each with its own range of
dihedral (29) angles about O', assuming a generalized
composite failure envelope and a 30 angle of internal
friction (cp). From a generalized failure envelope (e.g.
F). 1) and from curves publshed by Price (1977, fig. 11)
it is possible to estimate values of the effective normal
stress (o'~), (0';.:.0-3), 0'3 andp in terms of T. The orienta
tions of the principal stresses can be determined knowing
that at the time of failure an extension fracture is
initiated perpendicular to 0'3 and in the principal stress
plane containng O' and 0'2, and that conjugate hybrid or
shear fractures endose an acute bisector parallel to 0';.
GiVen a cp value of 30, a 29 angle of 45 withn the hybrid

--
~'l4_J 437

 438
(J'
2 failure
-
. a;
(al
, between principal stress/strain axes and structum
\
\ developed in uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial strain fields.
-2T -T T 2T 3T 4T 5T 6T 7T
Normal slttSl (a ')
Fig. L (a) Block dagram showing relationships between effectve
principal stresses (u; > u; > uj) and an extension fracture (E) and
conjugate shear fractures (S) developed in a mechanically solroptc
brittle rock. Stipple indicates the quadrants within which hybrid
fractures form. (b) Camposite failure envelape and Mohr circles
constructed for 211 = O. 45 and 60". T. tensile strength; ch, angle of
internal friclion.
fracture c1ass divides it into two subclasses. When frac
tures enclose a 28 angle of less than 45 both 0") and O"~ are
negative, whereas when 28 is 45-60" the value of O"n is
positive, although 0") remains negative (Fig. 1). Dennis
(1972, pp. 288,291-295) calIed structures in the former
subclass oblique extension fractures. AIthough a q, angle
of 300 has be en assumed for the purposes of the aboye
expositon it is welI known that it varies with lithology,
generally being greater in more competent lithologes.
As a consequence of strain, faults that develop in ductil e
rocks commonly encIose an obtuse angle about the
compression direction (Ramsay 1980a, fig. 20). Rocks
cut by pre-existing planes of mechanical anisotropy may
fail by sliding on these planes, provided they are suitably
orientated (Donath 1961, 1964), and, as McKenzie &
Jackson (1983) have stated, there is no reason to believe
that the relationship between the orientation of a stress
field and a reactivated fault will be simple.
The smple relationship between conjugate brittle
shears and principal stress axes has been much used by
geologists since the publication of Anderson's (1942)
book, The Dynamics o[Fau/ting. Inherent in the Ander
sonian view of shear failure is that the tnfluence of 0"2 is
neutral and that the resulting deformation involves plan e
strain. Recently, Reches (1978, 1983), Aydin & Reches
P. L. HANCOCK
Table 1. Classes of briltle fracture
Class
Extension fracture
H ybrid she ar fracture
Failure mode.
Etheridge (1983)
Tensile failure
Extensional shear
(u 1-0-;)
<4T
4T-8T
----
Dihedr:ll
angle(:t
-----.:
rr
1-1:(/'
Shear fracture Compressional >8T >tg
shear failure
(1982) and Reches & Dieterich (1983) have discUSScd
the geometry and kinematics of faults developed in
three-dimensional (i.e. triaxial) strain field. concludin
that three or four sets in orthorhombic symmetry
form provided that the rock already contains suitabl\'
\lr:
orientated pre-existing discontinuities. It is possible t~
combine Reches' ideas with those ofNelson (1981), who
has ponted out that a single set of stylolitic solution
seams result in uniaxial compaction. Conjugate faults
or spatially associated extension fractures and stylolite\
can then be perceived as giving rise t biaxial (j.e. planel
strain (in stress conditions commonly known as triaxial
in laboratory tests). Figure 2 iIlustrates relationshiP'S
\
\
I
Note that the orientation of the stylolitic lineation
(columns) on a solution seam is parallel to (JI or the 1
6T
(bl
strain axis (e.g. Buchner 1981). Techniques ofdetermin
ing stresslstrain axes from lineations on faults boundine
blocks displaced in a stress field unrelated to that which
initiated the faults have been formulated by workers in
the French schools of microtectonics, notablv Arthaud
(1969) and Angelier (1984). Their elegant me"thods are.
however, of limited value unless a large population of
lineated faults is present.
Data collection and ana/ysis
There is a voluminous Iiterature on the statistical
aspects of sampling and analysing orientation data tbat
for reasons of space cannot be reviewed here. The
following suggestions are based on the author's experi
ence and have proved to be practicable and costJtime
effective in many situations. Microtectonic orientatan
data should be colIected from small sampling sites
(stations) that are structuralIy homogeneous domains.
Collecting data from a locality within which there is, say,
a change in layer dip or fold plunge, or which contains a
major fault may mask the influence of these controls and
lead to 'fuzziness' in the pattero. In general, tightly
c1ustered point diagrams result from sampling small
volumes of rock less than 5000 m3 If a continuous
exposure contans obvious variations in mesofracture
pattero ir is prudent to site several stations within it.
Limitations of exposure generalIy prevent station loca
tions being established on the basis of a grid. In addition
to recording orientation data it is equally important ro
record details about fracture style, morphology. dimen
sions, separation, architecture and the influence of
lithology; topics elaborated in later sections of this
paper. In order to ensure that observations are made
 -1
Dhed.... '
Brittle microtectonics 439

-angle --

O"
l-fJO"

-
>60 0

(b)
iscussed
)ed in a (J, Y((=O)

Jcludng
!try will
suitablv
;sible t~
il), who
solution
te faults
tylolites
:. plane) CYCLOGRAPHIC TRACES POLES
triaxial ellensionol ve,". tissure (JI:> a z :> a 3
onshi/""""" ar Jo,nl pr ncipal slress o'es
-ucturt~

n fields. ~ stylolite or other pressure x> Y>Z

neation ~" solullon surfoce principol slra;n ales
Ir the Z
termin _( \ _ foull with slip direction E notural or true
)Unding vo,ven by arraws slroin
tt which
rkers in
\.rthaud Fig. 2. Schemate block diagrams and stereograms illustrating (a & b) uniaxial.lc & d) biaxial and (e) triaxial stran resulting
from the development of brittle mesostructures, (e) is afler Reches (1983. fig. lb).
)ds are,
!tion of
systematically and are susceptible to statistical analysis it about directions of shortening, dilation or shear are
may be worthwhile devising a meso fracture logging discussed_ Categories of structure are not necessarily
formo mutually exclusive and sorne, which are not the products
The nitial aim during analysis is to understand what of brittle behaviour, are included because of their c10se
ltistical happened in a small volume of rock and then to integrate association with brittle mesofractures.
Ha that conclusions from it with those from adjacent volumes
'e. The until subdomains can be recognized and a synthesis
expe~ -- attempted. Each station should be analysed separately
Mesofaults

1st/time using stereographic techniques so that the symmetry of As Ramsay (1980a) has noted there is a transition
ntation the pattern with respect to possible controls such as layer from brittle to ductle shear zones (Fig. 3). In this
Ig sites dip, fold plunge or azimuth can be established. account the name fault is employed if aplane of frictional
)mains_ Simplified data from each station can be plotted on sliding is present (Figs. 3a & b) whereas if the strain
is, say, synoptic maps or diagrams; especialIy effective in the gradent varies smoothly across the structure it is called
ltains a final stages of analysis are trend-line maps showing the a shear zone (Figs. 3c & d). A shear zone may sub
olsand orientations of the inferred maximum and mnimum sequently faH as a fault. The arbitrary separaton of
tightly horizontal stress axes, in addition to fracture traces. mesofaults from macrofaults is taken at a displacement
~ small Horizontal stress trajectories correspond directly to <TI of about 5 m and a fault plane area of about 1000 m2 The
inuous and <T3 only in wrench (<T2 vertical) regimes. For example.
racture the maximum horizontal stress in terrains dominated by
thin ir. normal faults will be <T2 in terms ofthe three-dimensonal
n loca stress field.
jdition
tant to
jimen KINEMATIC INDICATORS (o) lb) (e) Id)
t
nce of
of ths
: mac'
, In ths section, field aspects of mesofractures and
allied structures that provide unambiguous information
Fig. 3. Modes of faulling. (a) Bnttle faull. (b) Semi-brittle faull. (e)
Brittle-duetile shear zone. (d) Duetile shear zone. After Ramsay
(1980a. fig. 1).
 440
Fig. 4. (a) Conjugate contraclon faults. (b) Conjugate cxtension
faults.
tions of mesofaults are identicaJ to those of macrofaults.
The kinematic terms, normal, reverse and strike-slip are
the most appropriate to use where faults are orientated
symmetricaJly about the horizontal, but where dip-slip
faults are symmetricalIy inelined about sedimentary
layers it may be preferable to e1assify them as contraction
or extension faults (Norris 1958) (Fig. 4). Employing
Norris' e1assification (e.g. Bevan in press a) maysimplify
formerly eumbersome groupings of fault sets based on
angles to the horizontal. Contraetion faults at angles as
small as 15 to layering commonly aet as 'ramps' connect
ing bedding-parallel 'flats' within small-seale thrust
imbricates.
Although many mesofaults in macrofault zones
belong to the same class as the host macrofault this
relationship is not universal, especially where there has
been a complex strain history in the hangingwall of a
thrust or low-angle normal fault, or where the macro
fault is curviplanar and the mesofaults are aecommoda
tion struetures (Mattauer 1973, Yielding et al. 1981,
Gibbs 1983, 1984, Philip & Meghraoui 1983) (Figs. 5a &
b). Furthermore, after about 25 of rotation in the
hangingwall of a listrie normal fault, sorne former anti
thetie normal faults become reverse (Jackson et al.
1982), although its extensional eharaeter relative to
layering should remain e1ear (Figs. 5e & d). Although
there are geological and geophysieal observations or
inferenees in favour of sorne normal maerofaults being
listrie (e.g. Bally el al. 1980, Wernieke & Burchfiel1982,
Jaekson & McKenzie 1983) there are fewer reports of
listrie mesofaults. Field eriteria suggestive of a normal
fault being listrie nelude: (a) a curved profile; (b) back
rotation of the hangingwall (an effeet whieh can also be
a result of the domino-lke rotation of bloeks bounded
by planar faults [Wernieke & Burchfiel 1982]) and (e)
geometricalIy neeessary accommodation struetures,
such as antithetic faults and rollover anticlines (Figs.
5 e-g). Planar high-angle normal faults eharaeterize
terrains that have experieneed minor inhomogeneous
extension (Wernieke & Burehfiel 1982). hese faults
may be accompanied by inward-facing monoelinal
flexures and associated extension faults, espeeiaIly
where they frame grabens (Al Kadhi & Hancoek 1980)
(Fig.6).
P. L. HANCOCK
rQIJo~e( ontichne
(e)
(9)
Fig. 5. Aspects of curviplanar faults. (a) Normal faults in the hanging
wall of a convex-upwards thrust. (b) Reverse faults in the han\!ingwalI
of a eonvex-upwards normal fault. (e) and (d) Baek roralian of an
antthetic fault (2) into a reverse attitude in the hangingwall aJove a
listrie normal fault. Note that relative to layering, fault (1) remains an
extension fault. Fault sequenee is numbered (1)-(3). (e) Features
associated with a /istrie normal growth fault. (f) Listnc normal
mesofaults in Triassic sediments. Watcher. Somerset, England. (g)
Intraformational normal mesofault displaeing Neogene scdiments.
Havza basin, Turkey. Beeause the bedding in the hangingwall has been
baek rotated the fault is probably \istrie, beeoming gentler in inclina
ton below the level ofthe exposure. (a) and (b) after Matlauer (1973.
lig. 6.55), (e) and (d) based on Jaekson er al. (1982, lig. ~). (el after
Reading (1978, lig. 6.55). (f) drawn from a photograph. (gl after
. Haneock & Barka (1981, lig. 4d).
It is important to record whether a fault is syn- or
post-depositional; that is whether it was active during
sediment accumulation (i.e. a growth fault) or after it_
Evidence in favour of a syndepositional orign ineludes:
(a) preservation of a greater thiekness of sediment on
the downthrow side, provided there has been no erosion
of the upthrow side (e.g. Gill 1979) (Fig. 5e); (b) the
presence of a rollover antieline and/or antithetc faults if
the principal fault is listrie; (e) soft -sediment effects
associated with the fault (e.g. GiII 1979. Pickering 1983)
and (d) burrows eutting slump faults (Farrell 1984). A
fault active during the deposition of a formation but not
during sediment aeeumulation might show: (a) trunca
to n of the fault plane by an intraformatonal ero?ion
surfaee and (b) erosion of the baek-rotated hangingwall
if the fault is !istrie (Fig. 5g). Restriction of a fault ro a
layer is not by itself indicative of syndepositional or
ntraformational development beeause the distributio n
 Brittle microtectonics 441

:::nlrtt'lehC normal, onUfnene exrension

foult NW
foua

!fSe / .'
ifhefic . t .
tenSlon rOuU

-2 0cm

Fig. 7. Aeeommodation phenomena along curviplanar faults display

Fig. 6. Structures characterstlc of planar high-angle normal fault
Iones such as those bounding grabens in temuns that have been
inhomogeneously e)(tended by a small percentage. After Al Kadhi &
Hancock (1980. fig. 6).
of many mesofaults is related to the different mechanical
responses ol' contrasting rock types.
Subparallel to the slip vector the traces of sorne
mesofaults display a double-bend related to either
lithologically controlled refraeton or the presence of
two offset extension fractures that have become con
nected during evolution of the fault zone (Segall &
: hangng. Pollard 1983a) (Figs. 7a & b). Where there has been
ngingwall
:ion of an extension across the bend a pull-apart vein wll be
ti aboye a developed, and if the fill is fibrous the axes of the fibres
emainsan may indicate the extension direction. Compression
Features
e normal aeross a double bend can give rise to an oblique stylolite
lland. (g) lineation (Elliott 1976. Marshak et al. 1982). The accom
~dments. modation effects associated with a contractional
I has been
n inclina mesofault that is asymptotic with both the base and top
er (1973, of a bed are illustrated in Fig. 7(c). Adjacent to sorne
(e) after gentle double bends there are no mesoscopic accom
(g) after
rnodation effects, especially if the fauIted rocks are fine
grained (Fig. 7d).
Sorne normal macrofaults are accompanied by meso
syn- or faults orientated approximately normal to bedding
during suggesting they were initated as extension fractures.
lfter it. Angelier & Coletta (1983) have proposed that slip on
eludes: such extension fractures commences when there has
lent on been about 25-30 of rotation of fault blocks and elonga
!rosion tion reaches 50-150%.
(b) the Faulting in a porous rock, such as a weakly cemented
'aults if sandstone, Jeads to dilatency followed by a volume
effects decrease in the fault zone (see Aydin & Johnson 1983 for
~ 1983) discussion). Catadastic zones or veins in porous
84). A sandstones have received a variety of names including
)ut not deformation band (Aydin & Johnson 1983), microfault
runca (Jamison & Stearns 1982) and granulaton seam (Pittman
rosion 1981). Individual granulation seams are generalIy a few
ngwall rnillimetres in thickness, but commonly anastomose in
lit to a zones up to a few centimetres wide across whioh displace
nal or rnent is measurable in centimetres. Aydin & Johnson
butio"" (1983) suggest that striated slip surfaces bounding granu-
mg a double bend. (a) Normal faul! refracted throullh a Jurassie
limes tone interbedded with shales. Where there has been oblique
extenson in the limeSlOne a ea/cite-filled 'puU-apart' ven has formed.
WatcheL Somerset. England. (b) Calcite-filled pullapart' vein
exposed in plan on bedding plane in c1eaved Palaeol!ene limes!ones
about 60 km west of Sinap. Turkey. (e) Contraetlonal mesofault wnh
breceias developed in !he ex!ensional zones caused bv slidinl! alono a
double flat-ramp topagraphy within a Jurassic s~ndston'. Ki~
meridge. Darset. England. (d) Lazy dauble bend alone an extensionaJ
mesofauJt displacing Triassic sediments. Note tha! the;e are no visible
mesoscopic aecommodation structures, probably as a consequence of
the ductility of the finegrained rocks. AII the sketehes were drawn
from photographs.
lation seams mark a change from continuous ro dis
continuous deformation. Bevan (in press b) has noted
that granulation seams in Cenozoic sands in southern
England evolved within contractional fault zones but not
extensional fault zones.
The faulting of indurated rocks results in an initial
volume increase (fault breccia) but with continued dis
placement there is progressive cataclasis and the
development of fault gouge of the type described by
Engelder (1974). Care should be taken before deciding
that al! clay-like seams along fault zones are gouge: in
sorne settings the 'clay' has been hydraulically injected
from below. or even precipitated from hydrothermal
fiuids.
Sorne brittle mesofaults are accompanied by an array
of pinnate (feather) joints that intersect the host fault
normal to the slip vector and which subtend an acute
angle with it that closes in the direction of displacement
of the block containing the joints (Fig. 8a). Commonly,
the joints are restri~ted to one side of the fault. Their
distribution in the walls of the small contractional fault
iJIustrated in Fig. 8(b) is interpreted as indicating that
they preferentially developed in the extensional quad
rants relative to a locking or sticking point on the fault
(Fig. Se). Repeated displacements from different lock
ing points on a fault would lead to interfering arrays and
the presence of pnnate joints on both sides of the fault
along part ofits length. As Fig. 8(b) also shows, there are
two additonal arrays of pinnate joints related to incre
ments of slip on bedding planes. Engelder (197-1.) has
demonstrated that microfractures cutting quartz grains
in sandstones adjacent to a cataclastic fault gouge are
orientated parallel to /1', and oblique to the fault zone.
Pinnate joints might be mesoscopic analogues of such
 442
..
- rr~f.
- foufl
l~ (a)
plnnole
jomt
N teristie of srrike-slip faulr zones evolving during simple shear. R ~
Fig. 8. (a) Pinnate joinls related to a hypothetical sinstral strike-slip
fault. (b) Cleaved Devonan mudstones cut by a contracton fault at the
northem end of which pinnate jonts are restrieted to the hangngwall
and at the southern end of whieh they are in the footwall. Milford
Haven. southwest Wales. Drawn from a photomosaie. (e) Possible
relatonship between the dstribution of pinnate joints and extensonal
quadrants about a loeking-point on a fault.
microcracks, which are al so known to form in association
with faults in experimentally deformed rocks (Friedman
& Logan 1970). Wedge veins (Segall & Pollard 1983a)
contained in the extensional quadrants on opposing
sides of strike-slip faults in granite also possess the same
geometry as many pinnate joints.
The upper crustal levels of many broad transcurrent
fault zones are characterized by a variety ofsecond-order
en chelon structures (e.g. Tchalenko & Ambraseys
1970, Harding 1974, Hancock & Barka 1981, Gamond
1983). Bartlett et al. (1981) reviewed earlier authors'
genetic classifications and integrated them with their
own experimental results. A compilaton diagram of
possible en chelon structures in a ri~t-lateral fault
zone developed during simple shear is iIIustrated in Fig.
9. The type of structure that develops depends upon the
ductility of the rocks in the zone, whether they are
layered, the orientation of any layering, the relative
2 e
P. L. HANCOCK
e
/'
p
/
- x
Fg. 9. Compilaton diagram llustrating en chelon strucurescha!'X.
R,. Riedel and conjugate Riedel shears: P. X and Y. po. ,y. ~
Yshears: e. extension joint. fissure or vein: n. normal faul!: 1. thnnr
st, stylolte: f, fold; S" cleavage or other foliaron. Loosdv bas.:d ,"';
Harding (1974) and Sanie!! el al. (1981. fig. 3) ..
magnitudes of the vertical and horizontal stresSeS, and
the total displacement durng any increment of move
ment. A fault parallel to the zone generally indica[t.~
that there has been substantial slip. Sorne second-order
directons are themselves composite, for example [he
'Riedel-within-Redel' structures described b\'
Tchalenko (1970). Where there has been horjzonl~
shortening across a zone in addition to shear along it. [he
secondary compressional structures (folds and thrus[s)
nitiate at smaller angles to the zone than when shear is
simple, whereas extensional structures (normaUau/1S
and vens) form at greater angles (Sanderson & Marchin
1984, fig. 5). Shortening across the zone. in addition [O
transcurrent shear, reverses these relationships.
Sorne mesofaults are lineated and sorne lineations are
accompanied by asymmetric steps roughly perpendicu
lar to them (Fig. 10). The risers of the steps are generally
incongruous if they accompany frictional-wear striations
(Gay 1970) or oblique-stylolite eolumns, but are congru
ous where related to accretionary growth fibres. One
lineation can be superimposed coincidentally or
obliquely on another of the same or different type: and ir
there is a 1800 change in slip sense accretionary fibres can
grow in former solution hollows (i.e. combining the
features shown in Fgs. lOb & e). On a few faults the
erosive tectonic tool responsible for frictional-wear stria
lions remans in the pit at the distal end of the groove
(Tjia 1972, Barka & Hancock 1984) (Fig. lOa). EngeJder
(1976) suggested that groove lengths of wear track.$
(striations) are equal to or less than the slip distance
during a displacement event. Polished and lineated.
c10sely spaced fractures are characteristic of soroe
deformed ('scaly') mudstnes and have been reported
from sediments in the Middle America trench slope by
Lundberg & Moore (1981).
Where a Iineation was generated during slip in a streSS
field of identical orientation to that responsible for
 1

~ Brittle microtectonics

those in type 2 arrays are extension fractures. Other

443

iI - workers (e.g. Ramsay & Graham 1970, Ramsay &

Huber 1983) have claimed that planar veins in type 1
arrays at 450 to zone margins (135 0 measured in the

~:

direction of shear) are extension fractures initiated nor

mal to the maximum incremental extension within a
zone of simple shear. Hancock (1972. 1973) has argued
on the basis of the range of angles between veins and
arrays, and the evidence for displacement along sorne
INCONGRUOUS STEPS
veins. that they can occupy Riedel shears, hybrid frac
tures or extension fractures (Figs. llc & d). Ramsay &
Huber (1983, fig. 3.21) have explained the variaton in
angle between extensional veins and zone boundaries by
relating them to positive or negative dilation across the
zone, the angle being smaller where there has been
positive dilation. If a rock mass contains suitablv orien
tated pre-existing fractures they are likely to dilate in
.res eharac. preference to the formation of new cracks (e.g. Ramsay
ear. R and 1967). 29 values between conjugate arrays range from
p,. X- and
!; t. thrust: CONGRUOUS STEPS greater than 900 in ductile rocks to as small as 150 in
y based 00 brittle rocks (also see Ramsay 1982. fig. 18). Continued
r
shear along a zone leads to it growing in width and the
veins becoming sigmoidally distorted (Durney & Ram
ses, and say 1973). Because the distorted veins illustrated in Fig.
lf move. 11(e) are limited to the central segment of the zone they
ndicates may locate its nucleation point. The hinge lines of
ld-order 'folded' veins are orientated normal to the slip vector
nple the provided the sense of shear has not changed since vein
:d by initiation. Sorne shear zones decay into faults or even
,rizontal solution hollow
joints (Simpson 1983), and likewise sorne mesofaults
19 it, the INCONGRUOUS STEPS degrade into shear zones (Fig. llf).
thrusts)
shear is Fig. 10. Types of lineatuns and sleps on fault surfaees. (a) Frictional
wear. (b) Aeeretionary growth oC eryslal libres. (e) Oblique pressure Kink bands
lUaults solutivn.
1archni Although many kinks (Gay & Weiss 1974) are ductile
lition to fracture initiation it is possble to infer the approximate structures formed in metamorphic rocks or unconsoli
attitudes ofaxes knowing that aplane containing the dated sediments (e.g. Van Loon et al. 1984) sorne deflect
ions are lineaton and the normal to the fault defines the 0') (T3 brittle structures such as closely spaced joints. and are
endicu pIane, and that (T2 was perpendicular to the Iineation in themselves parallel to associated brittle structures. Most
!nerally the fault plane. (TI and (T3 orientations can be estimated if 'brittle' kinks are negative (i.e. there is shortening in the
riatio,r the displacement sense is known and a realistic 4> value is plane of the pre-existing anisotropy) but positive kinks,
;ongru assumed. Stress axes should be inferred from a large comparable to shear bands (White et al. 1980), occur in
!s.One population of lineations if slip occurred in a stress field sorne sedimentary rocks.
tI/y or unrelated to that which initiated the faults (see e.g.
:: andif Arthaud 1969, Angeler 1984). Stylolites and allied so/ution seams
Irescan
ng the Shear Iones. Despite not being brittle deformation phenomena
1Its the many widely spaced stylolitic and planar pressure-solu
Ir stria Mesoscopic shear zones in sedimentary rocks charac tion seams occur in close conjunction with brittIe struc
groove teristicaUy contain en chelon veins facing aganst the tures. They have been called anticracks by Fletcher &
)gelder sense of shear or a cleavage and grain-shape fabric facing Pollard (1981) who have emphasized their association
tracks with it, or both (Fig. 11a) (e.g. Knipe & White 1979, with veins and small faults. From either the attitude of
istance Ramsay 1980a, Ramsay 1982, Ramsay & Huber 1983, the stylolitc Iineaton as defined by the axes of interlock
leated, Rickard & Rixon 1983). GeneralIy, shear zones are ing columns and sockets, or the apparent offset of two
sorne better developed in sandstones and Iimestones, rather oblique markers the direction of shortening can be
ported than mudstones, probably because in many mudstones determined (Fig. 12a). Sorne workers (e.g. Buchner
Jpe by shortening is achieved by the formation of a cleavage. 1981) have employed the orientation of the Iineation
Beach (1975) distinguished between two ~pes of en (the styloli te sensu stricto of sorne workers) to determine
I stress cheIon vein arrays (Fg. llb), and proposed that veins 0') axes at the time of stylolitization. The offset of a
de fo.r-
in type 1 arrays are initiated as shear fractures whiIe structure oblique to a seam across which there has been
- 444

_ _ _..a...
_
P. L.

,Ieavage
HANCOCK

'~~""'//1f~Jft$/~//
'""" "" " ~" V~~ //I/;II//~//
.. (i i) (11 il
(O)

beOd.nq cleavoqe lineatlon

... - bed(l.nq

cleavage

konk banas followlnq -eXfenston

R.edel shears fovlt

-
2 00e", (f)

Fig. ! l. Shear lone structures. (a) Structures of brinle-<luctile lones (il en chelon veins. (ii) en chelon vens and a
secondary foliation. (iii) seeondary foliation. (b) Type 1 and type:2 vein arrays aecording to Ihe classification ofB<!ach (1975.
fig. 1). (e) Possible interpretations of undeformed en ehelon veins subtending different angles with the margns of a simpk
shear zone. that s one aeross which there has been neither posilive nor negative dlation: field el) Riedel shears. field (:)
hybrd fractures. field (3) extension fractures. (d) Par! of an array of en chelon quartz vens exposed on the upper surface
of a bed of Devonian sandstone. Freshwater W<!st. southwest Wales. Note that the sense of displacement along the
second-order veins can be inferred from growth fibres and he array of third-order veins. (e) Shear lone in cleaved Devonan
mudstones. SI. Ishmaels. southwest Wales. Note that he vens are more deformed in the central segmen of !he array. (f)
Extension fault decaying into an array of en chelon Riedel shears in a cleaved Devonian mudstone. Freshwater West.
sou!hwes! Wales. (d) to (O were drawn from photographs.

perpendicular shortening is always 'normal' relative to Veins

the seam (Figs. 12a & c), and if the older structure was a
formerly continuous vein an array of en chelon. but not
overlapping, segments results. From the geometry of the
ven segments (Hancock & Atiya 1979) or the maximum
height of stylolitic columns (Fletcher & Pollard 1981) the
width of dissolved material can be estimated. CoevaI
stylolites and extensional veins normal to each other
have been called styloboudins by Mullenax & Gray
(1984). Commonly, there is evidence for sorne stylolites
being older than associated veins and vice versa, indicat
ing that the development of even a single set of veins or
stylolites is a multiphase process.
Jaroszewski (1972) and Mattauer (1973) have empha
sized that there is a continuum of structures from stylo
lites that bear columns normal to a seam, through those
on which the columns are oblique to the seam (slikolites)
to those within which the lineaton is subparalIel to the
seam (Figs. lOe and 12b).
Slow deformation by pressure solution ih clast-sup
ported conglomerates leads to pitting (Ramsay 1967).
Pitted pebbles are ruptured if the matrix strain rate
exceeds a criticallevel (MeE wen 1981). The geometry of
the failure surfaces offsetting cIast margins is controlled
by the orientations and magnitudes of the bulk principal
stresses and by the shapes of the pits and pebbles.
Many syntaxial or antitaxial growth fibres in veins
record the history of principal strain increments (Dumey
& Ramsay 1973, Ramsay 1980b, 1981, Ramsay& Huber
1983), although as Cox & Etheridge (1983) have noted
this depends on nucIeation and growth mechanisms.
Undeformed fibres in extensional veins are perpendicu
lar to the vein margin whereas those in hybrid fractures
or shear veins are oblique to the vein margin (Fig. 12d).
Where fibres subtend small angles with a vein this leads
to a fibre sheet containing a fibre Iineation (slickencrysts)
within the treads of congruous accretion steps, the risers
of which are the breaks across the fibres (Fig. 10b). TIte
sense of dilation across a non-fibrous vein can be deter
mined provided that it cuts two older planar structures
oblique to each other and normal to the vein (Fig. 12d).
According to Dumey & Ramsay (1973) and Ramsay &
Huber (1983) a change in the direction of dilation leads
to curved fibres. Sorne antitaxial fibres contain waJI
parallel incIusion bands indicating that they formed in
response to a crack-seal. mechanism (Ramsay 1980b).
Brecciation of the wall rocks adjacent to a fracture zone
is caused by hydraulic bursting when there is an abrupt
fluid pressure drop within the main fracture zone (PhiI
lips 1972).
 Brittle microtectonics 445

ing fluidized or brecciated sedimentary materal that has

been hydraulically injected. gene rally from below.
Winslow (1983) has described important examples of
10 cm-1 m wde dykes that were intruded into former
cross-joints that dilated n the leading edges of Andean
thrust sheets which were being shortened during their
emplacement. On a smaller scale the thin 1 mm)
dewatering veins described by Carson et al. (1982) from
(o)
J apanese trench slope sediments also belong to this class
. ~"..
beca use they are interpreted as having been hydrauli

'~(~:i~
cally injected during tectonic dewatering. Healed exten
~:~~,. ~-,- .!/~- , .,
sion fractures (Carson el al. 1982) are also 1-2 mm dark
a co~~~~;~~n pres~~~~oS:!UhOn claystone seams but they contain aligned phylIosilicates
,.- ,
~

I and are interpreted as having been opened during de

normol IOctn
slylcHte waterng. but closed during subsequent burial. Narrow
j obliqut stylclfe (e) clastc dykes are also injected nto overlyng sediments
stylolitlc tneCflon (,lekolitel (b)
subooroilel Jo seom during seismic actvity or as a consequence of dewatering
from a basal fault (e.g. FarreII1984).

(2) Neplunian dykes. Neptunian dykes result when

sediment filling is from above. either contemporane
ously with sediment accumulation or lateL Intraforma
tional neptunian dykes contain sediment derved from
the enclosing formaton and they may permit amounts of
I
extension during basin filling to be estimated. When an
1 already ndurated rock is stretched. fissures wiH open
and be filled either contemporaneously or JateL The
f geometry of their walls is commonly controlled by that
Fig. 12. (a) Different amounts and senses of offset of two markers
I across four parallel stylolites on which shortening drectons are
oblique to each other. (b) Transition from a normal styloiite through a
of pre-exsting fractures. Sorne neptunan dykes of this
type are related to deep-seated stretching, others (e.g.
( sickolte lO a surface bearing a subparallel stylolitic lineation. After
Bies & Feuga (1981, lig. 2.4). (c) Array of vein segments related to
the filled 'gulls' of Plestocene age in England) are

I normal pressure solution across surfaces obiique to a formerly continuo

ous vein. Carboniferous Limestone, Hook Head, Ireland. (d) Differ
related to more superficial movements.

I ent amounts and senses of offset of two markers across four parallel
vens on whch dilation directons are oblique to each other.
JOINTS

~ins
ney
I Fissures Where kinematic indcators are rare or absent t is
necessary to analyse systematic (Hodgson 1961a) joint
ber
ted
J A crack with a void space is here called a fissure.
According to Jackson & McKenzie (1983) fissures are
systems to derive stress trajectories. The name joint (in
use snce at least the 18th century) is employed here as a
ns. unlikely to penetrate to more than 500 m depth. Fissures serviceable field term to describe a barren, closed frac
cu generated during increments of seismic displacement ture on which there is no measurable slip or dilation at
res are ephemeral structures, Iikely to be sealed or sub the scale of observaton. If any mineral fill, including
d). sequently filled by vein material or sediment. crystal growth fibres, is visble in the field the structure is
lds better called a ven. Likewise. any detectable slip. even
ts) Sediment-filled mesofractures if only a few millimetres, places the fracture in the fault
ers category, many fault planes also being shear veins.
'he Whereas many of the above types of mesostructure Fractures bearing frictional-wear striations or a stylolitic
~r . .
have been the focus of attention of structural geologists, lineato n are classed with faults and solution seams,
'es sedment-filled fractures have attracted interest only respectively.
1). recently and hence there is as yet no consensus about Although the organizaton of a jont system commonJy
& ther c1assification and interpretation. In addition to mirrors sorne aspects of the bulk strain hstory of a
ds structures related to purely sedimentary processes this region the development of the fractures achieves mini
11 neglected category ncludes a variety of fractures that mal strain. For example, Segall & Pollard (l983b) calcu
in
).
from their internal geometry, symmetry and regular
organization are interpreted as being of tectollic origino
lated from sorne unusually well-exposed joints in a
Sierra Nevada granodiorite that jonting caused only
le
Jt
1
L Provisonally, two main c1asses can be recognized.

(1) Intrusive sedimentary dykes. This c1ass comprises

about 0.01 % elongation. Segall & Pollard (1983a) also
showed that extension joints controlled the nucleation
of younger strike-slip faults trending obliquely to the
tabular zones up to tens of centimetres in width contain joints.
 446 P. L. HANcocK

Extension joint? Shear joint? Hybrid joint?

Because joints are kinematically enigrnatic structures

their interpretation has generated controversy. For
example, Scheidegger (1982, 1983) regards many joints.
-Imm

especially those belonging to orthogonal vertical sets, as

shears even when. as in the Appalachian Plateau (Engel
der & Geiser 1980) and Alberta (Babcock 1973. 1974).
the same sets have been interpreted as comprising exten ( (ii) Oji)o)
sion fractures. Investigators working in other settings L.----__- . J / lb)
such as the Canadian Rocky Mountain foothills (e.g. /~ear zone
Muecke & Charlesworth 1966) and central Araba (Han
cock & Kadhi 1978, 1982) have attributed sorne sets to
extensional failure, sorne to shear failure and others,
enelosing small dihedral angles. to failure in the shear
extension fracture transition (i.e. hybrid fractures). The
possibility of interpreting pairs of sets enclosing a small dHotaflOt'lol veln (d)
dihedral angle as belonging to the shear-extension frac
ture transition had been highlighted earlier by Muehl
berger (1961), although the exarnples he cited from the
Allegheny Plateau have now been reinterpreted by
Engelder & Geiser (1980) and Engelder (1982a, 1985) as
two extension fracture sets of different ages. Hence
despite their characterless features it is important to
attempt to assess. mainly in the fteld, whether a joint set
comprises extension, hybrid or shear fractures. The
following ten criteria can provide c1ues but it is
emphasized that no single one is likely to be diagnostico

(1) Microscopic characterislics. A thin-section across

zone 01 broided
a crack e1assifted as a joint in the fteld might reveal (g) sheef fractures
whether on a microscale there is evidence of shear or
dilational offset (Hobbs el al. 1976, p. 293, Engelder
1982b). Irregular crack walls may be bilateraIlysymmet
rical and thus indicative of dilation alone or they may
KIT H

match only if a component of shear, not detectable on a

mesoscale, is allowed for (Fig. 13a). Furthermore, VYXA

microscale growth ftbres or offsets of primary com

ponents such as grain boundaries or fossil fragments may
be visible. Evidence for later shear displacement along
an older extension fracture is not uncommon on either
the micro- or the mesoscale (e.g. Segall & Pollard
1983a).
(2) Surface markings. Two principal types of surface
marks on joints are recognized: (a) hackle marks. inelud
ing plume and herringbone structures (Fig. 13b) and (b)
rib marks, also caBed arrest lines by Bahat & Engelder
(1984). Plume structure has attracted most attention,
and although there is agreement that it can be used to
locate the point of initiation and direction and history of
propagation of a fracture there is sorne disagreement
about whether it indicates failure during extension or
shear. Roberts (1961) and Syme-Gash (1971) favoured
plume formation during shear while Bahat (1979),
Engelder (1982b) and Bahat & Engelder 1)984) claim
that plumes indicate extensional failure. The balance of
arguments favours plume formation on extension frac
tures but it is noteworthy that fringe joints (Hodgson
1961b) at the outer margins of plumes are arranged en
Fig. 13. Criteria for distinguishing between extension. hybrid and
shear joints. (a) Mieroseopie eharaeteristies: matehing of crack mar
gins. libres in mieroveinlets, offset of a primary eompoent: ti} dilalion
without shear. (H) dilation and shear, (iii) shear with subordina te
dilation. (b) Plume marks and fringe joints (after Hodgson 1961b. fi~.
1). (e) Parallelism with a kinematie indieator, e.g. shear or hybnd
joints and shear zones containing en chelon veins. (d) ContinuilY with
a kinematic indicator; e.g. shear joint and a shear zone eonlaining an
oblique foliaton; extension joint and a dilational vein; extensionjoint
and en ehelon cracks in an array. (e) Symmelry with respeel 10
kinematic indicator, e.g. extension joints with reference to a normal
fauit and bed-parallel stylolites. (f) Symmetry oC joint sets wilh respect
lo the fold containing them. (g) Lithologieally controlled joinl refrac
tion across layer interfaces. (h) Systematic eurvature of a joint plane.
(i) 0'1 normal to layering (based on relationships observcd ncar Mer
rimbula. New Soulh Wales), (ii) u.
normal to layering. (i) Joint tra~e
architectural styles charaelerized by reference 10 shapcs of letters 10
the Latin alphabet. (j) 28 ranges for (i) extension joints. (ii) hybl'!d
joinls. (iii) shear joints when 4> = 30. EJ, extension joint: HJ. hybnd
joint; SI, shear joint.
 1 -147
Brittle microtectonics
chelon and obliquely to the main joint face. That is.
their organization is comparable with that of sorne
second-order cracks within fault or shear zones. Bahat &
t fringe jOi",
Engelder (1984) have shown that different generations
of extension joints in different lithologies bear plumes of
contrasting morphology. Cross-joints (e-fractures)
within a fringe are generally irregular surfaces abutting
the fringe joints: in cleaved rocks their orientations are
commonly controlled by a micro-fabrico
lb)
(3) Parallelism with a nearby kinematie indicator. It is
tempting to interpret a joint parallel to a kinematic
indicator as belonging to the same failure c1ass, but
because the joint might be of a different age it is difficult
ro be certain about this. The conjugate joints illustrated
in Fig. 13( c) are parallel to nearby conjugate shear zones
(containing en chelon veins) and thus they could be
~I
interpreted as shear or hybrid-shear fractures. Joints
parallel to extensional veins are more readily interpreted
as extension fractures.
~
: (ti
(4) Concinuity and parallelism with a kinemacic indi
cator. Reports of faults passing uninterruptedly into
joints are rare, but Simpson (1983, fig. 7) has illustrated
shear zones containing a secondary foliation degrading
into joints (e.g. Fig. 13d). Dilational veins passing into
extension joints are. however, abundant (e.g. Fig. 13d).
A common form of continuity indicative of the likeli
hood of a joint being an extension fracture s its passage
into a suite of en chelon cracks parallel to the joint but
i) Ihl contained within an array oblique to it (Fig. 13d). The
array is interpreted as following a hybrid or shear direc
tion. Care should be taken ro establish whether en
chelon cracks are independent structural elements or
whether they are part of a fringe assemblage bordering a
main joint (Fig. 13b).
(5) Symmetry with respect to brittle and allied kinematic
(iii)
(jI indicators. The symmetry of a joint set with respect to
related kinematic indicators may be suggestive of its
failure class. For example, in Fig. 13(e) the horizontal
beds are cut by a steep normal fauIt and contain a
lrid and
layer-parallel stylolite in addition to a vertical set of
lck mar joints strking parallel to the fault. The joints possess the
dilation orientaton predictable for ex te nsio n fractures accom
)rdinate
panying a normal fauIt and horizontal stylolites.
61b. lig.
. hybrid
ritywith (6) Symmetry with respect to folds. A pair of sets
ning an
comprising approximately coeval fractures symmetri
on joint I calIy related to the fold containing them is most readily
.peet lO
normal interpreted as consisting of conjugate shear or hybrid
respect joints, whereas joints normal to a fold hinge are probably
refrae
extension fractures (Hg. 13f).
I
plane.
Ir Mer-
lt trace
tters in
(7) Joint refraction at an interface between contrasting
'd lithologies. Provided (J"2 was not perpendicul~r to [ayer
hybn
hybrid ing during failure, joints can be refracted at bedding
~.
planes as a consequence of neighbouring beds of con
trasting lithology being characterized by different <p
angles (Fig. 13g).
(8) Curviplanar joints. Sorne joints within a single
lithology display a systematic curvature that can be
explained by interpreting the different sectors as repre
senting different parts of a continuum of falure classes
from extension ro shear fracture. The joints iIIustrated in
the two parts of Fig. 13(h) are consistent with their
development in stress fields orientated symmetricalIy
with reference to layering so that in part (i) the (J': axis
was normal to bedding while in part Oi) it was layer
parallel. Possible reasons why failure mode might
change from shear to extension fracture via the hybrid
class are that the original value of (J'-fJ3 varied through
out a layer. or that with time it decreased in the direclion
of crack propagation. As Fig. 13(h. part i) shows a single
curviplanar joint surface can pass into a zone of braided
fractures. a morphology that Engelder (1974) regards as
diagnostic of shear failure.
(9) Fraclure-system architecture. The architeclural
style of a joint system. as defined here. describes rhe
spatial relationships of neighbouring surfaces and in
plan or profile is readily visualized from the partern of
their traces. which can be characterized by reference to
the shapes of capital letters in the Latin alphabet (Fig.
13i). Extension joints initated in a nearly hydrostatc
stress field display a mud-crack geometry (Engelder
1982b) and thus a K-shaped pattern of traces results.
younger jonts abutting older ones. commonly at right
angles mmediately adjacent to the butt. Unidirectional
extension jointing gives rise to an I-shaped partern.
whereas two episodes of orthogonal systematic ex ten
sion jointing yield a T-shaped pattern (position 1 in Fig.
14, Fig. 15a). again the younger trace abutting the older.
If the later phase of orthogonal extension jointing
involved the formation of non-systematic cross-fractures
they will be short and hence an H-shaped partern results
(position 2 in Fig. 14). Conjugate joints generally make
V-, Y- or X-shaped patterns (positions 3a-3b. . and 5.
respectively in Fig. 14. Figs. 15 b & c and 16 a-d, The
trace of a joint defining the 'arm' of a Y-shaped partern
may not abut the 'trunk'. but die out within 1-2 cm of ir
(position 4 in Fig. 14), perhaps as a result of the node
being a heterogeneity that acted as a nucleus from which
fracture propagation started. Care should be exercised
when interpreting X-patterns that the 'X' is not an
artefact of crossing but unrelated jonts (position 6 in
Fig. 14). Non-systematic but relatively regular cross
joints superimposed on older conjugate joints give an
A-shaped pattern (position 7 in Fig. 14. Fig. 15e). Note
that both conjugate shear and conjugate hybrid joints
define V-, X- and Y-patterns and that the distinction
between shear and hybrid joints is based on 20angle. V-,
Y- and X-shaped patterns also arise when members of an
extensional set intersect or abut shear or hybrid joints in
a genetically related system (position 8 in Fig. 14 l. Other
critera, such as symmetry or parallelism with nearby
kinematic indicators, are then required ro differentiate
between the interpretations. It must also be emphasized
that individual examples ofT-, H-, V-, Y- and X-shaped
patterns can be misleading but where they are repeated
 448 P. L. HANCOCK

joints endose angles of 60 or greater (Fig. Dj. part iii).

For different (j) angles difierent 28 ranges wiU apply. In
the author's experience conjugate hybrid joints enclos
ing '28 angles of 35-+5~ are common (e.g. Figs. 15c and
16c), and comparable moderate 28 angles also charac.
terize sorne conjugare mesofaults and shear zones.
Despite the practical difficulties of detecting them SOrne
conjugate joint sets enclose 28 angles of :wo or less (e.g.
Figs. 15b and 16a). 1t should also be stressed that
extension joints are equally, if not more. common than
hybrid joints. For example, ofthe 1100 joint orientations
measured in the horizontal rocks of the Qaradan sea.
ment of the central Arabian graben and trough syste~
(Hancock & Al Kadhi 1982),41% oi the surfaces were
~.~-----------IOm------------_. classified as extension fractures while 16% were class.
fig. l~. Ten sets of joints cutlng horizontal beds at an imagnary ified as belonging to two conjugate systems of hybrid
exposure. The relationships depcted are loosely based on geometres joints. The remaining joints comprise either conjueate
observed in central Arabia. for interpretaron see tex!. shears (28%) or fractures that were difficult to cla;sifv
with certainty. Shear joints are especially common i~
throughout a station they are more likely to be of systems consisting of fractures at moderare angles to
significance. Pattern recognition is difficult where aver bedding (e.g. Fig. 16b).
age joint separation is unusually great or the area of an An implication of general significance following frorn
exposure is small compared with average joint separa the observation that many vertical or steeply inclined
rion. joints are extension or hybrid fractures is that durine
Adjacent beds in a multilayer sequence of contrasting jointing in brittle sedimentary rocks the value of (T3 i~
Iithologies may display contrasting architectural styles. commonly negarive, possibly as a consequence of high
For example, K-patterns in beds that did not act as stress fluid pressures. and that (O"-O"3) is small (Fig. L Table
guides may alternate with regular patterns in more rigid 1). Etheridge (1983) carne to a similar conclusion for
units. lf the joints in sorne lithologies are different in age failure conditions during the development of syn
and origin to those in others there may be differences in metamorphic veins.
architecture related to certain sets not being represented
in alllithologies. Joints limited to certain lithologies will Allocating joints ro sets in the field
be of confined height and give rise to an effect which
Engelder (1985) ca lis joint containment. The occIusion Except where joint separaton is so great that it is
of individual joint planes and sets from the upper layer in difficult to see several surfaces at once, the allocation of
a two-Iayer model is iIIustrated in Fig. 14 which shows a surface to a set should be accomplished in the field on
sets striking E-W or encIosing an E-W acute bisector the basis of visble angular relationships between neigh
Iimited to the lower bed while sets striking N-S or bouring joint planes. Because more than ten sets can be
enclosing a N-S acute bisector cut both layers. The present at a station and because 28 between conjugate
WNW-striking joint that tracks from point 9 to point 10 sets can be as small as 10 it is unrealistic to attempt to
in Fig. 14 is a vivid example of a joint occIuded from the discriminate between sets solely on the bass of orienta
upper layer, while by contrast the joint planes enclosing tion statistics. This is especially so where the data are
a V-shape at position 3a leak down across the interface. collected frbm a large volume of rock or the dispersion
A scenario explaining the assemblage of joints illus about the mean orientation of a set is equal to. sayo half
trated in Fig. 14 is given in the section on multiphase the 29 value between two sets. Consider for example the
jointing. ten sets iIIustrated in Fig. 14. By noting the angular
relationships between surfaces in the neighbourhoods of
. (10) Dihedral (28) angles between conjugare joints. As subareas A-E (Fig. 14), where several sets are exposed
I explained earlier, the alleged range of29 values between either in plan or profile, an observer would be unlikely to
conjugate joints is from 90 or greater to a few degrees. confuse the vertical joints belonging to the conjugate
A range of natural 29 values is to be anticipated knowing system enclosing the N-S acute bisector with those
that <1> varies with lithology and that there is a transiton enclosing the E-W bisector. On a point diagram the four
from single extension fractures to paired shear fractures sets would probably yield only two maxma as a conse
(see Fig. 1). For a <1> angle of 30 the following classifica quence of the dispersion of ndividual orientations about
tion of joints based on 29 angles can be aPl'lied. Exten the mean orientation of each set.
sion joints occur as single sets enclosing a notional 28 Discriminaton between sets can also be achieved. in
angle of 0 (Fig. 13j, part i); conjugate hybrid joints sorne instances, by considering their morphology or an
enclose small dihedral angles, say; for practical purposes aspect of their architecture such as abnormally high
it is possible to recognize them where 29 values are in the frequency. For example, near subarea D in Fig. 14
range 10-50 (Fig. 13j. part ii); and conjugate shear cIosely spaced planes in a joint-swarm corridor locally
 Brittle microtectonics

I
I
I
I
I

it is
o
I
fdnO: I
I
~ieh-w ~
I
~n be
~gate I
pt ro
~nta-
~ are
~sion
half

fthe

~ular
:lsof
iJsed
Iy to
gate
lOse
four
nse
)out
t
Fig. 15. Tesselated bedding-plane pavement in Jurassc limestones crossed by T- and H-shaped traces of vertical extension
l,in joints developed during a multiphasc sequence of jointing. 80 km wesl of Riyadh. Saudi Araba. Scale rule is 25 cm. (b)
r an Small dihedral angle conjugate jonl definng a V-shaped panero of traces on a bedding plane in Jurassic limestones. One
joint zone comprises an array oC en chelon cracks at a v.:ry small angle 10 the array. 150 km south of Riyadh. Saudi Arabia.
igh Pen is 13 cm long. (e) X-shapcd patlero of vertical conjugate hybrid joints exposed as traces on a bedding plane in Cretaceous
14 lmestones 175 km NNW oC Ryadh. Saudi Araba. Non-systematic cross-jonts conncct the systematic joints 10 form
aJly A-shaped patteros. HOlmmer s about 30 cm long.

-149
 Brittle microtectonics 451

characterize the steeply inclined N-S striking sets. The Cook & lohnson 1970}. loints in a platform that is
general significance of joint-swarm corridors is uncer subsequently ncorporated in a deformation belt mayo if
tain: sorne are c10sely associated with faults (Pohn 1981) they are suitably orientated. become the si tes of later
while others are unrelated to known surface structures. slip. dilaton or pressure soluton (e.g. Marshak t![ al.
Combined fault and joint swarms have been mapped in 1982. Winslow 19R3) and thus cease to be joints as
the Sydney Basin by Shepherd el al. (1981). defined here. \'Vhere former extension joints are trans
formed into shear planes or solution surfaces their initial
Multiphase jointing character will be difficult to establish.
The timing of jonting with reference to related fault
Even where there are no more than two orthogonal ing is uncerrain. many authors c1aming that jointing
sets of joints there is commonly clear field evidence from generally precedes faulting (e.g. Shepherd & Hunting
butting relationships that each set evolved during a ton 1981, Segall & Pollard 1983a). Although many fault
multiphase failure sequence (Fig. 15a). Thus it i5 rarely and joint sets share the same strike it is less common for
possible to state that a certain set contain5 joints that are joint planes 10 be parallel in both strike and dip to
universally younger than those in another (e.g. Hancock normal or thrust faults. an observation also indicative of
& Kadhi 1978. Engelder & Geiser 1980). although it a likely age gap between jointing and faultng. Faults can
may be possible to establish amongst sets the order in be boundaries between joint domains characterized by
which the oldest joints in each set developed. Consider contrasting patteros and frequencies (Shepherd &
from the perspective of fracture sequence the 10 imagi Huntington 1981).
nary joint sets illustrated in Fig. 14. On the basis of Although some joints are pre-folding structures others
butting relationships exposed in plan on the top of the are younger than the folds containing them (Hancack
lower bed ir can be concluded that NNW- and NNE 1964. Rixon e[ al. 1983). and a single fold can cantain
striking vertical joints and N-S striking steep joints are both early- and late-formed joints. The principal field
younger than WNW- and ENE-srriking vertical joints criteria for recognizing joints that were initated after
and E-W striking steep joints. N-S vertical joints gener folding is that they cut associated c1eavage surfaces and
ally abut E-W joints. but near the subarea marked by a that bedding planes are not offset where they are inter
'C' (Fig. 14) an E-W joint abuts a N-S one. itself sected by the joints. If sorne joints in a set pre-date the
I abutting an E-W joint. In the upper bed all but one of last episode of fold amplification many of them will
f
the E-W striking joints is butted or cut by joints in the become active in shear (Fig. 16d) or the loei for veining
other sets. Thus with the exceprion of both the N-S and or pressure solution. Price (1966) has explained the high
r E-W vertical joints. that appear to have been initiated degree of symmetry between posHec1Onic joint sets and
I throughout the failure sequence (the E-W ones mainly folds by proposing that the orientations of the s10red
earlier), the remainder of the sets are related to an early stresses responsble for jointing weakly mirror those of
I phase of N-S stretching and a late phase of E-W stretch the earlier tec10nic phase. Engelder (1985) suggests that
extension joints are formed in response to a varety of
I ing.
A general inference followng from the widespread processes that start early in the history of a hasin and
~I Occurrence in many platforms of multiphase, but single continue through uplift and unroofing.
generaton sets of orthogonal joints (e.g. Fig. ISa) is that
in the past there have been many extensional failure
sequences related to bulk strains involving approxi MICROTECTONIC SEQUENCE
mately synchronous horizontal elongation in two direc
tions (eL the multifault sets of Reches 1983) (Fig. 2). As Letouzey & Trmolieres (1980) have argued. meso
The imaginary sets shown in Fig. 14 are symmetrical fracture assemblages can be dated by relating directions
about N-S and E-W axes in both beds, but such a high of shortening inferred from structures within a sequence
I degree of symmetry in adjacent beds or a region, to its stratigraphy. The critical aspect is not whether a
I although common, is not universal because with time the particular structural type or direction is represented
principal stress plane can rotate (Engelder 1985). The within a bed but rather whether there is a change in the
I evolution of a complete joint pattern involves the pro number and directions of inferred shortening axes
I gressive infilling of increasingly smaller blocks and in among horizons. Although dating depends on complete
some settings the attitudes of older joints control those stratigraphic sequences they are rarely available and it is
I of younger ones. generally simpler to establish a sequence of events. The
principal criteria for determning microtectonic
Timing 01jointing with respect to tectonism sequence are abutting and overprinting relationships

~I
I and the offset of one structure by another. Because
Because the horizontal rocks of platform~, including within small volumes (10's of m3 ) of rock there can be 10
their youngest formations (e.g. Babcock 1973, Hancock or more sets of brittIe mesostructures. it follows that the
et al. 1984), are often cut by joints ofuniform orientation development of early formed discontinuities does not
throughout the sequence it is clear that joint initiation necessarily inhibit the initiation of new failure surfaces,
can precede folding and that the time gap between sometimes at small angles to older ones. By contrast,
sedimentation and jointing can be relatively short (e.g. many macrofaults display evidence of repeated reshear
 452 P. L. HANCOCK

ing in a stress field orientated obliquely to that in which

the fracture was initiated (McKenzie & Jackson 1983).

CASE STUDlES

ThruSl-fold bells

The geometrical relationships between meso fractures

and folds have attracted the interest of numerous

workers, notable contributions being those of Stearns

(1964), Muecke & Charlesworth (1966), N. 1. Price

(1966). R. A. Price (1967). Groshong (1975). Nickelsen

(1979) and Marshak el al. (1982). Mesofracture sets in

many multilayer sequences are symmetrically arranged

with respect to the orientation of the layer containing

them and the plunge of an adjacent fold hinge lineo Small

folds and rocks containing a well-developed axial-plane

c1eavage are commonly cut by mesofractures symmetri

cal about axial planes and axes (Price 1966). Winsor

(1979) has shown that sedimentary anisotropy controls

the arrangement of joints in sorne folds and likewise a

c1eavage fabric can also control the orientation of sorne

late-formed joints (Engelder 1985).

Where a system is symmetrical with respect to folds

the orientations of sets will change from locality to

locality according to variations in plunge, layer dip or

axial-plan e attitude (also see Dunne in press). Thus in

order to describe fracture geometry it is useful to employ

a notation not dependent on absolute orientation. A

commonly used method refers the geometry of a set or

system to an orthogonal fabric cross, the axes of which

are labelled a, b and e without kinematic or dynarnic

implications (Turner & Weiss 1963). Planes perpendicu

lar to one axis but containing the other two are said to be

in ab, ae or be after the axes they contain, whereas

surfaces oblique to two axes but containing one are in

Okl, hO/ and hkO, and those oblique to all three axes are

in hk/; h, k and / referring to notional intercepts on the a,

b and e axes, respectively and O indicating parallelism to

an axis (e.g. Price 1967). In the examples illustrated in

Fig. 17 the fractures at each point throughout the fold

are symmetrically arranged about the dip of layers and

the hinge line, and hence bedding is defined as the ab

fabric plane with b parallel to the hinge. As Fig. 17 shows

there may be shear, dilation or shortening on surfaces in

ab, whereas across those in be or ae evidence of shear is

less common. Many Ok/, hO/ and hkO surfaces belong to Fig. 17. Block diagrams iIIustrating mesofracture sets and systems
conjugate systems of shear or hybrid fractures. The symmetrically arranged with respect to sedimentary layering and fold
hinge lines. (a) Definition of the fabric axial cross. (b) Shear surfaces
development of mesofracture sets and systems symmet in abo (c) Extension fractures in abo (d) Stylolites in abo (el Extension
rically orientated about sedimentary layering and hinge fractures in be. (f) Stylolites in be. (g) Extension fractures in ae. (hl
e
l'
lines leads to shortening or elongation parallel or nonnal Stylolites in ae. (i) Conjugate Okl fractures enclosing an acute angl
about b. (j) Conjugate Ok! fractures enclosing an acute angle about e.
to those directions. Sorne late-stage contraction and (k) Conjugate hO! fractures enclosing an acute angle about a..(1)
extension faults are asymrnetrical about layering Conjugate hO! fractures enclosing an acute angle about C. (ml ConJu
although they intersect each other parallel to nearby gate hkO fractures enclosing an acute angle about a. (n) Conjugate hkO
fractures enclosing an acute angle about b.
hinge lines. Hancock & Atiya (1979) n~ported that in the
Mount Lebanon anticlinorium the acute bisector The value of investigating rnesofractures in thrust-fold
between contraction faults is refracted away from bed belts is that they can supply additional evidence about
ding and towards the horizontal, while the acute bisector the bulk strains experienced during deformation. Meso
between extension faults is refracted towards the verti fractures restricted to certain parts of a fold may be
cal. related to local responses, for example elongation or
 Brittle microtectonics 453

Table 2. Common mesofrac!ures and alled structures in large Table 3. Common mesofractures in the Guarga synclinonum. external
amplitude folds within the thrustfold zone of he Va risca n externides southwestern Pyrenees
in southwest Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Geometrv Styles
Geometry Styles
besel pervasive extension jonts
beset disjunctive solut!on deavage conjugate sets in IrkOenclosingan hybrid joints. rare msofaults
cset extension joints. velns acute angle about b
conjugate sets in hOl endosing an mesofaults, shear zones. kinks. conugate sets in /Ol endosing an mesofaults. hybrid ano shear
acule angle about a hybrid and shear joints acule angle about e joints
conj ugate seIs in hOI enclosing an mesofaults. shear zones. kinks. acsets extensionjoints
acute angle about e hybrid and shear joinlS .~-----------------------------------------
conjugate sets in hkOendosing an shear zones, shear veins, hybrid
acute angle about a joints common and a few of these are mesofaults displacing
conj ugate sets in Okl endosing an mesofaults. shear veins. hybrid
acute angle about c joinlS
older. but rare. systematic ac joints (Fig. 16c). The frst
three sets or systems listed in Table 3 are the most
abundant and their collective dominance indicates a
shortening above or below a neutral surface. or in a bulk strain regime involving layer-parallel elongation
leading or trailing limbo As layers pass over frontal. normal to hinge lines (Fig. 17), an interpretation consis
oblique and/or lateral thrust-ramps they experience tent with the observaton that the folds are growth folds
complex strains and hence mesofractures related to (Puigdefabregas 1975). Older, and now more steeply
passage over one ramp may be superimposed on those indined. layers will have been most stretched.
related to movement over another of different orienta
ton. Platforms
Two regions investigated by the author are used to
iIlustrate how contrasting meso fracture assemblages Microtectonic investigatior:s of platforms are especial
assocated with folds retlect different bulk strain his Iy important because such terrans commonly lack
tories and hence deformation in different environments. kinematically significant large-scale structures, and their
In both settings the sets and systems are symmetrical mesofracture suites are more likely to be related to far
with reference to the attitude of the layers containing field stresses than those of thrust-fold belts, transcurrent
them and the plunge of an adjacent fold hinge line (Fig. fault zones or graben fields. As Engelder (1982a) and
17). Holst (1982) have shown. sorne extension joint sets in the
northeastern U.S.A. strike parallel to the present-day
(1) Variscan southwest Wales. In this contractional tec direction of CTI and hence elsewhere the analysis of equi
tonic setting the structures cut Palaeozoic rocks in the valent sets could provide a cheap method of assessing
outermost thrust-fold zone of the Northwest European directional variations in the contemporary stress feld.
Variscides (Hancock et al. 1982. 1983). Table 2 sum Notable examples of brittle microtectonic studies in
marizes the mesofracture sets present in sorne large platforms are those of Hodgson (1961a). Norris (1967).
amplitude folds. Reference to Fig. 17 shows that with the Babcock (1973. 1974). Roberts (1974), Choukroune
exception of the sets in hOI at an acute angle to e, the (1976), Reches (1976). Engelder & Geiser (1980),
assemblage is one which indicates there was layer-paral Letouzey & Trmolieres (1980), Holst & Foote (1981).
lel shortening normal to fold hinge tines andJor axial elon Shepherd & Huntington (1981) and Eyal & Reches
gation. Thus the bulk strains inferred from the maj ority of (1983). In this account, mesofractures in the central and
mesofractures also point to deformation having occurred eastern parts of the Arabian platform are described to
in an essentially contractional environment. Extension demonstrate how they reflect the influence of both iotra
faults and aJlied structures in hOI are interpreted as local plate and plate boundary processes. Where fully
products of stretched fold limbs. Some meso fractures in developed the complete mesofracture pattero, compris
smalIer amplitude folds are symmetrical about axial . ing 95% joints. consists of ten sets (Hancock & Kadhi
planes, and systems on opposed fold limbs are not 1978, 1982) but of these five are dominant (Fig. 18) and
tems everywhere identical (Hancock el al. 1983). occur throughout most of central Arabia (Fig. 19). They
j fold can be classified into one set of extension fractures and
'faces (2) Alpine external southwestern Pyrenees. The two systems of conjugate surfaces, the majority of which
nsiDn
;. (h) Guarga synclinorium is a composite downfold contain are hybrid fractures (Fig. 18). From the dominant sets at
angle ing 4000 m of late Eocene-Oligocene molasse within the any given station an identical direction of CT3 can be infer
m! c. Jaca basin of the southwestern Spanish Pyrenees (Puig red. As Fig. 19 shows it is possible to recognize three over
l. (1)
mju defabregas 1975). During thrusting the basin was lapping joint domains. (1) In the domain of the central
!hkO deformed into nearly upright folds during the Oligocene Arabian arch either the joints strike normal to the local
to earliest Miocene. Table 3 catalogues the commonest trend ofbeds or the acute bisector between con jugate ver
fold meso fractures. The overwhelming proportioll are perva tical sets is normal to that trend. Thus the inferred exten
)Out
eSO
~I sive be extension joints (Fig. 16d) which within synclines sion direction swings parallel to the curve of outcrops in
decrease in abundance as Iimbs decrease in dip towards the arch. (2) In the domain of the central Arabian graben
, be t hinge zones. Of the remaining strucrures, conjugate hkO system the strike of the joints or the horizontal direction
1 or

, r
r

fractures enclosing an acute angle about b are locally ofthe acute bisector iseverywhere parallel to the trendof
 454 P. L. HANCOCl<

--------.,,
,

y-rr;,
t ;

,,
: (a) el
:0,'02'
--Jpl ane

Fig. 18. Block diagrams illuslraling geometry o dominant joinl seIs in the central and eastem partsoflhe Arabtan platform.
The fronl of eaeh block is taken tO be parallel to the eontrolling direellon within eaeh of the three oint domams. (a) Single
sel of extension fractures. (b) Vertical sets of conjugate hybrid fractures. (e) Sleeply inclined seIS of conJugate hybrd
fractures. Afler Hancock & Kadhi (1978. lig, ~). See texl for detuils.

the nearest graben. Hence in the eastern part of the gra Although a cornprehensive aCCOUnl of how the joint
ben systern the inferred extension direction is N-S, dornains are related to the tectonic evo/ution of Arabia
whereas in the westero part of the systern it is gene rally is beyond the scope of this paper. the following surnrnary
NE-SW. (3) The third dornain is defined by uniforrnly frorn Hancock et al. (1984) outlines the principal concJu
orientated sets either striking NE-SW or enclosing an sions. Joints in the arch dornain developed due to strike
acute bisector about that direction, which is paraIlel to parallel stretching when the arch arnplified as a conse
Wadi Al Batin, a rnajor linearnent trend (Hancock et al. quence of the developrnent of a peripheral bulge trig
1984). The joints in the Batin dornain cut both the gered by ernplacernent of the OrnanlZagros ophiolite
Miocene-Pliocene sedirnents in the east of the region and nappes. Joints in the graben dornain are related to local
they are superirnposed on the older pattero within the directions of stretching generated during evolution of
Mesozoic-Palaeogene rocks in the southern sectorofthe the fault zone which s coincident wth the crest of the
arch dornain. Because there is no overlap betweenjoints arch along part of ts length. Joints in the Batin dornain
in the arch and graben systern dornains they are probably are interpreted as being an expression of the lateral
of the sarne age and coeval with the late Cretaceous extension of the Arabian foreland at about the sarne
Palaeogene rnegastructures to which they are geornetri time as there was cornplernentary NE-SW shortening in
cally related. the Zagros thrust-fold belt.

. ...... .' '. '.

..
' '.'

N '

'~"'w, 6 \ .::~::.,::;~:<~:;,;/ ;.~:~<':/:'

- \t::- ::.'...'
?''''-:''.~

. I
J

. .
I
, I

.. .. , I

I
I

Qm 0 (3 )/<4
J
Arabia" ..
. . I
,
I
J
8(2)
=:e (5)

,,
..s hield+

,r:
. .
.. ... ... ,w ~(6)~(7) (8)
'.1
l , . . I
I

. . .. ,,
I
./"'" (9 a) -r-(9b) :::: (9c) /lll
.i, I ,,
100 ,I x crOb)
::: (lOc)
" ,
... !
- (100)

," "
km
~
. . .. -!...
;. lo
(2) #(3)
"' (14)
\.
~
I
Loyla
. I

Fig. 19. Mean strkes of dominant joint sets and direclons of inferred extension in the central and eastern parts 01 the
Arabian platform. Legend: 1. Preeambrian; 2. Perman-Eocene sedimentary rocks (W-sub-Cenomanian unconformity); 3.
Neogene sedimentary rocks; 4. anticline; 5. graben: 6. monocline; 7. Wad As Sahba: 8. joint domain of the central Arabian
graben system: 9. strikes of fractures in the joint domain of the central Arabian arch: lO. strikes of fractures in Ihe joint
domain of the central Arabian graben system la. b and e for 9 and 10 refer to the dasses illustrated in a. b and e of Fig. 18J:
11. strike of fractures in the Batin joint domain: 1:!. extension axes in the domain of the areh: 13. generalized directions of
extensionaxes in thedomainofthe grabensystem: 1~. c:xtension axes in the Batindomain. After Hancoeketal. (1984. lig. ~).
 Brittle microtectonics
CONCLUSIONS
(1) The analysis of brittle and semi-brittle mesofrac
tures and allied structures can provide evidence about
past and contemporary directions of principal stresses.
(1) Brittle microtectonic investigations are most
rewarding in platforms where macrostructures are rare
and there have not been significant intraterrain rota
rions.
(3) The ideal (but rarely realized) suite of mesofrac
tures and allied structures comprses kinematic indi
cators such as mesofaults, shear zones. arrays of en
chelon cracks, kink bands, pressure-solution seams
: joint and gaping or filled fissures.
,rabia
(.) The abundance of joints in platforms makes their
Imary analysis essentiaL especially where kinematic indicators
mclu are absent.
trike (5) An assessment ofwhether a joint system comprises
onse- __
a set of extension fractures or conjugate sets of hybrid or
: trig shear fractures can be made by integrating information
iolite conceroing: (a) microscopic characterstics. (b) surface
local
markings. (c) paralJelism. continuity or symmetry with
Jn of
allied kinematic indicators, (d) lithological1y controlled
tf the fracture refraction. (e) curviplanar geometry. (f) frac
main
ture-system architecture and (g) dihedral angles be
lteral
tween conjugate sets. The architectural style of a joint
,ame
system is a way of describing the spatial relationships of
ngin
neighbouring surfaces. and is readily visualized in plan
or profile from the pattero of their traces which can be
characterized by reference to the shapes of capitalletters
in the Latn alphabet.
(6) In many tectonic settings. especially platforms, the
majority of joints are vertical or steeply inclined and
comprse sets of extension or hybrid fractures. indicating
that during failure the effective mnimum stress is gener
ally tensile and that stress differences are usually small.
(7) Jointing is a multiphase process involving the
~:
progressive 'filling in' of previously intact blocks. Within
a single joint set not all the surfaces are of the same age.
(8) Allocating individual joint planes to sets is an
exercise best undertaken in the field on the basis of
visible angular relationships.
(9) Joints can be initiated before, during and after
folding. Sorne joints initiated in horizontal rocks that
become incorporated in a fold belt and sorne of those
initiated during folding become slip planes, veins or
pressure-solution seams.
Acknowiedgements-I am most grateful to Oick Glen, Chris Powell,
Mike Rickard and other membersofthe S.G.T.S.G. ofthe Geological
Society of Australia who invited me to address the Bermagui confer
ence. John Creasey and Mike Rickard showed me many fine examples
of unusual joints in New South Wales. Some of the ideas expressed in
this paper were refined during preJiminary presentations at E.T.H. in
Zrich and the U niversity of Florence. John Creasey, Terry Engelder,
Mike Etheridge and Celal Sengor critically reviewed the manuscript.
Much stimulus. information and invaluable field experieme has come
from contact with former and present research students, in panicular
M. S. Atiya, A. A. Barka. T, G. Bevan, W. M. Ounne, T. Erkal, A.
Al Kadhi, N. A. Sha'ath, M, E. Tringham and J. P. Turner. General
encouragement or financial support have been forthcoming from Sir
I
Kingsley Ounham, Martin Bott. Oavid Dineley, the University of
Bristol and the Royal Society of London. The drafting of the figures
f and the typing of the text for this paper were done with great care and
~ se 7:l/4-K
455
patience by Jean Bees, Alma Gregory and Joyce Rowland. Finallv,
and most importantly.1 should like 10 thank ~eliille Prce of Universiv
College. London, for ha"mg been my 'fracture guru' for many years:
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