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Summary Structural Geology

Structurele Geologie (Technische Universiteit Delft)

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Summary Structural Geology

Plate tectonics
Variations in magnetism on the seafloor (positive & negative magnetic alteration) proof that
the seafloor is spreading
Old oceanic crust subdues under oceanic or continental crusts, causing deep earth quakes,
volcanic islands or mountain formations

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Divergent margin structures:

• Normal faults
• Volcanism
• Uplift & subsidence
• Sedimentation

Convergent margin structures:

• Subduction
• Earthquakes
• Volcanism
• Metamorphism
• Folding
• Reverse & thrust faults (hanging wall moves up footwall)
• Strike slip faults

Transform margin structures:

• Earthquakes
• Folds
• Basin formation
• All kinds of faults

Driving force is expected to be the convection (magma movement) in the lower and outer
mantle, with the purpose of cooling the earth

Deformation
3 forms of deformation:
• Translation, moves every particle in the rock in the same direction and distance
o Displacement distance
o Displacement direction (strekking)
o Displacement (90 degrees with displacement direction)
• Rotation
o Rotation axis
o Direction of the rotation ((anti-)clockwise, looking down the axis)
o Angle of rotation (in degrees)
• Strain, causing volume and shape change

Total deformation can be a combination of different types of deformation

We look at the homogeneous strain, it is almost impossible to do a

meaningful analysis of a heterogeneous strain Homogeen

Strain is described with 2 values:

• Change in line length
• Change of angle (positive in clockwise direction)

Strain in 3 dimensions:
• Uniaxial strain: length change along 1 axis (compaction or
extension)
• Plane strain: no length change along the Y axis
Heterogeen

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• 3 Dimensional strain: length change along all 3 axes

For 3D strain the principal strain axes are used, with X being the largest and Z the smallest
axis, these axes do not undergo any change of angle

Z
Pure Simple
Z
shear
shear
X
X

• Pure shear, length change in 2 directions, no angle change, irrotational strain

• Simple shear, angle change, rotational shear (Z and X changes direction but stay
perpendicular)
• Sub simple shear, combination of pure and simple shear, length change in 2 directions
and angle change, rotational shear

Pure shear Subsimple shear Simple Shear

Rocks in the subsurface are always exposed to stress, at least the weight of overlying rock
columns (lithostatic stress)
Water is not compressible so it can provide water pressure against the rock pressure
(hydrostatic stress)

• Normal stress is perpendicular to the surface (σn)

• Shear stress is parallel with the surface (σs1 & σs2)

Stress ellipsoids can be divided in 2 components:

• Hydrostatic stress: ball shape, causes change of volume
• Deviatoric stress: ellipsoid, causes change of shape

In situ test
Ways to test stress in rocks:
• Overcoring
• Flat Jack
• Analyse hydraulic fractures and earthquake movements

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• Brittle deformation: fracturing occurs when subjected to stress beyond the yield point
• Ductile deformation: looks like plastic deformation on seismic or mesoscopic scale,
but is actually brittle on microscale, this is due to multiple small brittle faults.
• Plastic deformation: permanent change in shape or size beyond the elastic limit
without fractures

The crust layers can give different brittle – ductile transitions:

A borehole has natural fractures and drilling-induced fractures. When the borehole wall is
‘unwrapped’, these drilling-induced fractures can be analysed.
• Simple straight fractures indicate stresses parallel to the borehole axis
• Multiple diagonally fractures indicate stresses perpendicular to the borehole axis

Parallel stresses Perpendicular stresses

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Shear stress cannot exist along the borehole wall; the stress is equally divided around the
borehole.

Faults form and grow by either gradual sliding: ‘a-seismic’ faults. Or by thousands of
earthquake cycles: ‘seismic’ faults.

There are different kinds of deformation processes. All however are caused by stress:
• Fracturing: occurs at brittle environments (low temperature), so usually occurs at low
depths
• Diffusional mass transfer: occurs at high temperatures
• Crystal plasticity: also occurs at high temperatures

Brittle deformation mechanics (fracturing):

• Granular flow: occurs at shallow deformation of porous rocks and sediments
• Cataclastic flow: occurs during deformation of deeper non-porous and sedimentary
rocks, grains are also crushed.

There are 2 types of defects in crystal grids. Due to these defects the crystal is deformed when
stress is applied.
• Point defects (Diffusional mass transfer)
• Line defects (Crystal plasticity)

Point defects cause diffusion when stress is applied

on the crystal:
• Volume diffusion: atom vacancies move
through grain
• Grain-boundary diffusion: atom vacancies
move along grain boundary

Diffusion

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Line defects, or dislocations, break when stress is applied on the crystal. There are different
kinds of dislocations:

• Edge dislocation: an extra line of

atoms disrupts the atom grid
• Screw dislocation: twisting of
the atom grid

Top: edge dislocation, bottom: screw dislocation

After the dislocation has slipped (broken), the crystal is healed by recrystallization. The line
defects are gone and thus these kind of movements do not reduce the strength of the crystals

Pressure solution, or dissolution, can also occur if water is present. The crystal is dissolved,
diffuses towards σ3 and is deposited there.

Diffusion and dislocation occur at high temperatures. Pressure solution however can occur at
very low temperatures (chemically controlled).
However all forms are stress controlled.

Faults & Fractures

Shear fracture: a fracture along which
movement parallel to the fracture has been
taken place
Extension/tensile fracture (joint): little to no
movement has taken place

Shear fractures are formed by connecting and

forming new extension fractures at their tips

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Due to high stress in the tip zone, hackles

are formed. And from those hackles,
plumose (featherlike) structures are formed:

Origin of tensile fractures:

• Cooling
• Regional stress
• Uplift
• Fault related
• Fold related

Cooling joints form hexagon shaped

structures because of the way heat diffuses
during cooling. This is commonly seen in
basalts.

Fracture spacing depends on strain and layer

thickness. At maximum the fracture spacing is
about equal to the layer thickness, the layer is
then fracture saturated:

Fractured reservoirs are recognisable by:

• High mud losses
• Poor core recovery
• High production
• High permeability
• Unexpected water breakthrough
• Good inter-well communication

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These fractured reservoirs often have very high production rates, but are also very hard to
manage.
Fractures can give a different OGC in the matrix than in the fractures because of pressure
differential.

Deformation bands form during fragmentation processes in porous

rocks. There are different types of deformation bands:
• Disaggregation band: caused by grain rolling, breaking of
grain bonding cements
• Phyllosilicate band: occurs when high amounts of minerals
are present, these minerals mix and align at the deformation
band
• Catataclastic band: grains are broken at the deformation band
• Solution and cementation band: grains are dissolved and
compactly cemented
Deformation bands may lead to reduction of permeability
(perpendicular) but may also form conduits for fluid flow

A fault is a narrow zone with visible displacement along the zone.

There are 3 main fault types:
• Normal
• Strike slip
• Reverse

Main displacement along fault core, minor displacement along

damage and drag zones (around the fault).
Fault cores are mostly boundaries to fluid flow, damage zones
are mostly conduits for fluid flow.
Damage zones consist of small faults, fractures, veins and folds.
Damage zone width can vary greatly along the fault.

The fault tip and deformation bands (ahead of the fault tip) are
invisible on seismic data.

Many faults do not consist of a single fault but are discontinuous.

As they grow they may link up with each other, or relay ramps
are formed.

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Compression
We find compressional tectonics along active plate boundaries.
σ1 is horizontal, σ3 is vertical.

Active compressional boundaries:

• Alpine – Himalayan belt
• Andes (Chile)
• Alaskan – Japanese belt
• Indonesia, the Philippines
Old compressional boundaries:
• Scotland
• Ural (Russia)

Where the oceanic crust subdues

under the continental crust an
accretionary wedge is formed. The
oceanic crust eventually melts
causing magma which rises to the
surface. This causes volcanic arcs
with highly explosive volcanoes.

At the collision of continental crusts, no crust is subdued, with the exception of high speed
collision (Himalaya’s). The collision of continental crusts causes intense deformation and
orogenesis (mountain forming).

Brittle continental collision causes faults, ductile continental collision causes folds. These are
generally found together: fold and thrust belts.

Different kinds of folds:

• Monocline: flexure in layers
• Synform: tip down, young rocks in core
• Antiform: tip up, old rocks in core

Notation of folds:
• Hinge line: maximum curvature
• Inflection line: change of fold direction
• Fold limb: area between hinges
• Fold axis: straight line through hinges
• Axial surface: plane through fold axis

Cylindrical fold has a straight hinge

line (right). Non-cylindrical fold has
a curved hinge line (left).

Orientation of a fold is described by

the orientation of the:
• Limbs
• Fold axis
• Axial plane

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Some types of folds:

• Parallel folds: no change of layer
thickness, thus no internal
deformation
• Similar folds: layer thickness does
not change parallel to the fold axis,
internal deformation
• Chevron: sharp hinges, composed
of many thin layers

Harmonic folds are folds in which every

layer has the same wave length. In
disharmonic folds, the layers have
different wave lengths.

In flexural slip folds, the layers slip over each other.

Folds can be gentle, open, tight or isoclinal, depending on their fold angle.
Thin layers fold first, this can cause disharmonic folds.

Due to the high stresses involved in folding, foliation or cleavage

may occur. This means that the minerals within the rock will rotate or recrystallize in the
preferred orientation.

Anticlines are ideal traps for hydrocarbon accumulations.

Rock masses are usually not thrusted

all at once, but deformed by a
number of thrusts. These are called
piggy backs

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A duplex is a system of
faulted rocks, separated
by thrust faults in
between:

Areas with different modes of

deformation are separated by tear
faults:

Blind thrusts do not reach the surface:

A balanced geological interpretation means that

it is not only geologically reasonable in its
present state (folded, faulted, fractured), but that
it is also geologically reasonable in its pre-
deformational state.
Restoring a section or map means you work
back in time to undeform (or redeform) the layers to its pre-deformational state.

Example of a restored map

section, you can see that the
interpretation is incorrect
because they do not connect once
restored.

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Extension
Extension is usually accommodated by normal faults
Different types of extension fault systems:
• Domino style: a series of normal faults after each other with the same dip direction

• Horst graben system: layers remain horizontal, horst is the high area, graben the low
area

Domino style faults occur when there is a weak layer present for detachment, if there is no
weak layer present then a horst graben system forms.

At a metamorphic core complex, metamorphic (deep)

rock is exposed at the surface due to extensional
faulting. Due to the thinning of the upper crust, the
Moho is elevated; this pushed the deep metamorphic
rock upwards whilst the upper crust disappears due to
erosion:

Extensional deformation can be brittle or ductile:

Normal faults can have different

causes:
• Divergent plate boundaries
• Gravity driven
• Local accommodation
structures

Places where divergent plate

boundaries occur:

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Strike slip
A strike slip occurs when 2 plates ‘slip’ along each other horizontally along a fault.

In compressional or extensional areas, stike slip

faults usually occur as transfer/tear faults:

At a strike slip, both σ1 and σ3 are horizontal.

2 types of strike slips:
• Sinistral (plate on the other side moves
left)
• Dextral (plate on the other side moves
right

A strike slip can be present in the whole crust

(pure shear) or just in a layer (simple shear).

If a strike slip fault is only present in the

subsurface, it causes faults in the overlaying
layer, these are called Riedel faults.

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