Geologic

Structure
โครงสร้ างทางธรณี วิทยา
By
Naruemol Saoanunt,
Ph.D.

#
Department of Mining
and Materials
Engineering
Faculty of
Engineering, Prince
of Songkla
University
What is the Structural Geology?
• Structural Geology is study of
change in rock structure
(Deformation) due internal/external
forces such as stress and strain.
• These forces applied due to tectonic
activities of earth.
• Structural geology is at core of
geotechnical site assessment for
slope stability, bridges, dams,
tunnels, nuclear reactors, waste
disposals etc.
• At mine camp scale, structural
geology guide mining process.
Naruemol S. 2
 Outcrop is an exposure of rock at
Attitude

·
surface; or area of a rock lying
directly beneath a soil cover.

·
Dip is angle in degrees below horizontal.
Direction of dip is down dip.

Strike is direction of
horizontal line on a
dipping surface. These
refer to bedding or any
geological structures.
Rock dip is used to avoid
confusion with ground
slope.
I

Naruemol S. 3
How to measure azimuth of dip and
angle of dip?
#

=
=
*
Barton Compass
#
เ เ
Stratum Compass with clinometer
=
Naruemol S. 4
ริ
MECHANISM OF DEFORMATION OF
ROCKS
• A rock body is deformed when it is subjected to
external forces. The factors responsible for
deformation of rocks include pressure,
temperature, rock composition, presence or
absence of fluids, and type of stress and its
rate of application. The most important among
these factors are the type of stress, rate of
stress, and temperature.
1. Effect of Stress and Strain >>>> Brittle
and Ductile Rocks
2. Elastic and Plastic Deformation
Naruemol S. 5
Effect of Stress and Strain—Brittle and
Ductile Rocks
• Stress is force applied on the surface of a body
• Strain is resultant effect that causes a change
in shape, size, or volume of that body.
• Stresses are classified into 3 types—compressive,
shear, and tensile.

Compressive T e n s i l e

Shear

Naruemol S. 6
Effect of Stress and Strain—Brittle and
Ductile Rocks (Cont.)

(after Attewell and Farmer 1976)

Naruemol S. 7
Elastic and Plastic Deformation
• Deformation of a rock is related to its elastic
properties. A rock subjected to stress gets
deformed, but on removal of the stress, it may
return to its original form partially or wholly.
This property of a rock is known as its
elasticity.
• If it cannot restore to its original shape even
after the removal of stress, the state of
deformation of the rock is known as plastic
deformation.

Naruemol S. 8
FOLDS
• The strata forming earth’s crust, when subjected
to both horizontal and vertical forces, are bent
or buckled. The structure thus developed is called
flexure or fold.

Naruemol S. 9
Elements of Folds

Naruemol S. 10
Different parts of a fold

an Anticline a Syncline

Naruemol S. 11
Major Fold Types

Folds are upward anticlines or downward synclines .

They may be gentle , moderate or strong .
Folds may be rounded or angular .

Naruemol S. 12
 Symmetrical Fold

Asymmetrical Fold

Overturned Fold
Naruemol S. Recumbent Fold 13
Dome and Basin fold
• Succession of rocks Older rocks generally lie below younger rocks and are
only exposed by erosion. Reference to old and young rocks by age avoids any
confusion with high and low outcrops that refer only to their topographical
positions.

• Inlier is an outcrop of old rocks surrounded by the outcrops of younger

rocks; its presence on a map indicates either an eroded anticline or a
valley.

• Outlier is an outcrop of young rocks surrounded by old, due to either an

eroded syncline or a hill.

Naruemol S. 14
Dome and Basin fold

Upheaval Dome in
Canyonlands National Chinle Formation western side of
Park, Utah,USA Upheaval Dome
Naruemol S. 15
Fault
• A fault is a fracture in
rock where there has
been movement and
displacement. When
talking about
earthquakes being along
fault lines, a fault
lies at the major
boundaries between
Earth's tectonic plates,
in the crust, and the
earthquakes result from
the plates' movements.

16
Naruemol S.
Naruemol S. 17
Stress force types of fault

Naruemol S. 18
Types of Fault

Naruemol S. 19
Features of Fault
• Fault breccia: coarse
angular broken rock debris
in zone (0.1–100 m wide)
along a fault; commonly a
zone of enhanced groundwater
flow.

• Fault gouge: finely ground

rock paste within a thin
zone along a fault plane.

• Fault drag: disturbance and

folding of rock near a
fault.

Naruemol S. 20
Features of Fault
• Slickensides: scratches and polishing on fault planes, and on bedding plane
faults within tight folds.

• Veins: sheets of mineral infill deposited by hydrothermal water in

fractures or fissures in rock. They occur in joints or faults. Most veins
are of quartz or calcite – white streaks in rock faces. Larger veins
(mostly on faults) can contain valuable minerals – may have been mined out.

slickensides-on-a-fault-cutting-
granite
Naruemol S. 21
Landscape caused by Faults

Naruemol S. 22
San Andreas Fault

Naruemol S. 23
 Active Faults
in Thailand

Naruemol S. 24
(DMR, 2006)
 Seismic Hazard
Map of Thailand

Naruemol S. 25
Joints
• Joints are rock fractures with no movement along them. They are formed by
tectonic stressing and are developed in nearly all rocks.

Heavily jointed granite

Naruemol S. 26
Joint Pattern

Naruemol S. 27
Joints around a Fold

Naruemol S. 28
Joints from Cooling Contraction

Basalt columnsDevils Tower, Wyoming, United States

Naruemol S. 29
Joint infilling

Naruemol S. 30
Geological Maps and Sections
• Geological maps show outcrops (where the rocks meet the surface). Shapes of
outcrops depend on the shape of the surface and the shape of the rock
structure.

• Surface shape is known (from topographic contours): therefore rock

structure can be interpreted.

• An important rule: where more than one interpretation is possible, the

simplest is usually correct.

• Map interpretation is therefore logical and straightforward if approached

systematically. Maps remain the best way of depicting 3-D rock structure on
a piece of paper.

Naruemol S. 31
Relationships
between a
geological map
• geological cross-sections
and three-dimensional
structure.

• The north-south section

is drawn along the
strike, so does not
demonstrate the dipping
geological structure.

Naruemol S. 32
Geological Map Symbols
• Strike and dip symbols from a map key

Naruemol S. 33
Geological Map Symbols
• Fault and fold symbols in a map key

Naruemol S. 34
Geological
Map
Symbols

Naruemol S. 35
STAGES OF MAP INTERPRETATION
1. Identify faults and unconformities (structural breaks).

2. Identify dips by the V in Valley Rule.

3. Determine succession (unless already given).

4. Identify fold axes (from dips and outcrop bends).

5. Draw stratum contours (if detail is required).

6. Draw cross-section to show sub-surface structure.

Naruemol S. 36
OUTCROP PATTERNS
- Horizontal beds have outcrops that follow the contours because they are at
constant altitude (limestone on the Scar Hill map).

- Vertical beds have straight outcrops that ignore the contours (the dyke on
the Tan Vale map).

- Dipping beds have curved outcrops that cut across, and respond to, the
contours – because outcrops shift downdip as erosion lowers the surface
(sandstone on both maps).

- Dip direction is recognized by the V in Valley Rule: an outcrop of a

dipping rock bends round a V shape where it crosses a valley, and the V of
the outcrop points (like an arrowhead) in the direction of dip, regardless
of the direction of valley slope and drainage.

Naruemol S. 37
OUTCROP PATTERNS

- Succession is recognized by younger rocks coming to outcrop in direction of

dip. Conversely, if succession is known, the dip is in the direction of
younger outcrops – the easiest way to recognize dip on most maps.

- Width of outcrop is greater at lower dips – and on thicker beds.

Naruemol S. 38
RECOGNITION OF STRUCTURES
• Unconformity is recognized where one outcrop (of a younger bed) cuts across
the ends of outcrops of older beds.

• Faults usually marked and keyed on maps. They may cut out, offset or repeat
outcrops of beds. Fault dip is recognized by V in Valley Rule. Downthrow
side of a fault is the side with younger outcrop because the older rocks
have been downthrown to beneath surface level.

• Folds recognized by changes in dip direction, and by outliers and inliers

not due to topography. Most important, folds are recognized by bends in
outcrop: any outcrop bend must be due to either a fold or a topographic
ridge or valley. Each outcrop bend should be interpreted (as on the Scar
Hill map).

Naruemol S. 39
STRATUM CONTOURS
• These are lines drawn on a map joining points of equal height on a bed (or
stratum). They are like topographic contours, except that they show the
shape of buried geological structures.

• Each contour is labelled with its altitude and the bed boundary to which it
refers. They are drawn by joining points of known equal height on one
geological boundary – where its outcrop crosses a topographic contour.

• The surface information of the map is therefore used to construct the

stratum contours, which provide data on the underground geology. With
uniform dip, stratum contours are straight, parallel and equidistant.

Naruemol S. 40
DRAWING A CROSS-SECTION
A cross-section is drawn by projecting the data from a single line on the map
onto a profile of the same scale (or with vertical exaggeration if required).
The topography and each geological boundary are constructed individually from
the relevant contours, whose intersections on the section line are projected
to their correct altitudes on the profile.

Naruemol S. 41
Interpretation of the Scar Hill map
Bends in outcrop are used
to identify:
1. topographic features,
where dip is uniform;
2. direction of dip where
crossing a valley; or
3. fold axes if not due to
any topographic feature.

Naruemol S. 42
Stratum contours and
Drawing a cross-section

Naruemol S. 43
Naruemol S. 44