CHAPTER

Techniques of Structural
Geology and Tectonics

U ,

Investigations in structural geology require familiarity

with basic techniques of observation and of reporting
and displaying three-dimensional formation. Thus we
use standardized methods for measuring the orientations of planes and lines in space. Techniques for distinguishing the relative ages of strata in a sequence of
layered-sediments are crucial to interpreting their significance. Various graphical displays have proved most
useful for plotting and interpreting orientational o r
three-dimensional data. Such displays include geologic
maps and cross sections that present data in a geographic
framework, as well as histograms and spherical projections that portray only orientational data without
regard to geographic location. Geophysical data such
as seismic reflection profiles and gravity measurements
are essential to the interpretation of many large-scale
structures, and a structural geologist must understand
how these data are obtained and interpreted in order
to take their limitations into account. Most discussions
of structural geology and tectonics assume the reader
is familiar with all these techniques.
Proper interpretation of geologic structures depends critically on the ability to visualize spatial relationships among various features. This ability to think
in three dimensions does not necessarily come easily,
but one can learn it with practice. Learning to "think
in 3-D" is a major goal of laboratory courses in structural geology.

The Orientation of Structures

Many of the structures observed in outcrops are approximately planar o r linear features. Planar features
include bedding, fractures, fault planes, dikes, unconformities, and planar preferred orientations of micas.
Linear features include grooves and streaks on a surface,
intersections of two planar features, and linear preferred
orientations of mineral grains. We can represent features
that are not planar, such as folded surfaces and folded
linear features, by measuring a series of tangent planes
o r lines around the structure.
Thus the attitude of a plane o r a line-that is, its
orientation in space-is fundamental to the description
of structures. We specify the attitudes both of .planes
and of lines with two angles measured, respectively,
from geographic north and from a horizontal plane.
T h e attitude of a plane is specified by its strike and its
dip, or by the trend of the dip line and the dip angle.
The attitude of a linear feature is given by its trend and
its plunge.
The strike is the horizontal angle, measured relative
to geographic north, of the horizontal line in a given
planar structure (Figure 2.1A). This horizontal line is
the strike line, and it is defined by the intersection of a
horizontal plane with the planar structure. It has a
unique orientation for any given orientation of plane

Vertical plane
normal to strike

A.

Strike and dip symbol

D I P line

Figur-e 2.1 The stl-ikc a l ~ ddl11 of a planar strucrur-c. A. The str~keof a pInn;lr srruiturc I S tlic
azirnurli o l a lhoriz.o~it.llIlne In the
and is defined b y t h e intcrsect~o~~
o l a I~orizorir~ll
plane
~viththe pi,l~i.~r
5truciurc. 7'lic dlp angle is rncas~rrrdhet\x~ccnhor~zoiitalar~drile p l a n a r stl-uctul-e
111 a vcrt~calplant 11ormal to the str-lke line. T h e dip dlrcction In this dtagraiil 1s to thc NF..l j .
-1-hc str~kcshowr1 hcrc I S nlcasurccl on a c j l ~ a c i r ~ l ncornpnss
t
as NSOW or o n a 360" compass a s
e~thcr325' or 14.5". Tlic attlt~iileI S ~ndicatcdon a map h y a T-shaped symbol wltli t l ~ csrcnl
pa~-allclto thc dip directioli. The d ~ pangle is wrlttcn besidc this symbol.

except a liori7.ontal one. T h e dip is tlic slope of a plane

defined by the dip angle and the dip direction. T h e dip
angle, also refcrred to s~rnplyas the dip, is t l ~ eanglc
herwccn a horizontal plane and the planar structure,
~ncasurcdin a vertical
that is perpend~culnrto the
srr-~keI ~ n c(Figure 2.1A). I t is the largest possible anglc
bctwccn the horizo~ltalplane and the inclined plane.
For a given strike, 3 particular value of the dlp angle
identifies two planes which slope in opposite directions.
T o distinguish between tl~ern,we specify the approxiniate dip direction .by giving the quadrant ( N F , SE, S W ,
NW) o r the principal compass direction (N, E,, S, \V)
of the down-dip direction.
T h e dip line is perpendicular to the strike line and
is the direction of steepest descent o n thc planar struct ~ ~ r In
c . some cases, particularly in British usnge, the
attitude of a plane is specified by t h r trend and plunge
(defined below) of rhc dip line. T h e plunge of the dip
11ne is the same as tlie dip of the plane.
For the a t t i t ~ l d ro f a linear structure, the trend is
the s t r ~ k eof the vertical plane in which the linear structure I~cs;i t is unique except for an exactly vcrtical linear
structure (Figure 2 . 2 A ) . T h e plunge is the angle between
the horizontal plane and rhc linear struct~lr-c,measured
in the vertical plane ( F ~ g u r e2 . 2 A ) . T h e direction o f
p l t r ~ ~ g elike
, the d ~ pdlrection, can be specified by the

quadrant or by the
compass dlrection of the
down-plunge direction. Al~ernatively,it can be specified
implicitly by using the convention that the trenci always
l)e lneasured In t h e dowll-plunge direction.
We generally use one of c\vo conventions to record
a strike o r a trend. We can specify the angle as a bearing
(the angle measured between 0" and 90" east o r west of
north or, in some cases, south) o r as an azimuth (the
angle between 0" and 360, increasing clockwise from
n o r t h ) . Measurelncnts differing by 150" have the same
oricritation. T h u s a northeast strike o r trend could be
relmrted as bearings N45E o r S4SW and as azimuths
045' o r 22SG,each pair differing by 180". Using the same
conventio~is,we could give a northwest strike o r trend
as bearings N 4 S W o r S4SE and as azimuths 13.5" o r
315". It is good practice always to write the azimuth as
3 three-digit number, using preceding zeros where necessary, to distinguish it from dip o r plunge angles which
are always between 0" and 90".
A variety o f conventions are in common use for
writing the attitudes o f planes and lines. Wc generally
write the strike and dip in tlie order strike, dip, dip
direction, regardless o f whether be~iringor azimuth is
used. Strike bearings are always reported rclative to
r~ortli;no distinction is made between azimuths differing
hy 1SO'. T h u s N35W;.55NF,, 325;5SNE, and 145;55NE

Horizontal plane

111lc. I \ ITIC,ISIII-CC~,
wc plot thc attitude wirli all a r r o w
p o t ~ i [ ~ In
t ~ the
g down-clil, d~rccrion( F ~ g u r eL l N ) . T h e
attitude of a line is indicated hy an arrow pointing in
the d o \ v n - p I ~ ~ ~dircctlon
ige
(Figurc 2.213; the arrow S ~ I T I I)ols usecl to indicate the attitude of a line and of the
dip line of n plane should be different). In all cases, the
value of thc dip o r plunge, as appropriate, is writtell
beside the symbol s o that the attitude c,ln be seen a t a
glance.

Vertical plane containing

linear structure

y \
qOd

Trend and plunge

symbol

Trend line

j30

Figure 2.2 The trend and plunge of a linear structure. A. The

trend is thc angle between north and the strike of the vertical
p l ~ n cthat contains the I~nearstructure. The plunge is the
arlglc between horizontal and the linear structrlre. measured
In the vert~calplane that contains the structure. B. Ttic trend
shown here is given as N20W o n a quadrant compass or as
either 340" or 160" on a 360" compass. If by convention the
trend is rccorded in the dowri-I~lungedirection, thcn it can be
given only hy S20E or 160". On a map, linear features are
plotted as a n arrow parallel to the trend and pointing in the
dowii-plunge direction. The plunge anglc is written beside this
.?Trow.
all specify the same attitude of plane (Flgurc 2.18). T h e
dip direction is always in a quadrant adjacent t o chat
of the strike.
T h e most convenient convention for the attitudes
o f lines is to measure the trend i l l the down-plunge
directioti, in which case that direction need not he stated
explicitly. We first write the plunge and thcn the trend
(the reverse order is also used) so that the measurernetits
40;S50W and 40;230 both refer to the same attitude
(Figure 2.2U).
We plot the attitude of a plane o n a map by drafting
a line parallcl LO strike with a short bar indicating the
down-dip direction. If the trend and plunge of the dip

Geologic Maps
Ckologic maps a r e the basis of all s t ~ ~ d i cofs structure
a n d tectonics. T h e y are t ~ v o - d i ~ n e l ~ s i orcpresentand
tions of an area of the I:.artli's surface oti \vhich are
],lotted a variety of data of geologic interest. These data
are based on observations from Inany outcrops and on
the judicious inference of relationships that arc not directly ol~servahle.T h e data plotted may include thc
distribuc~onof the different rock types, the location and
nature of the contacts between the rock typcs, and t h e
location and a t t i t ~ ~ dofe structural features.
Contacts zre lines o n the r o p o g r a p h ~ csurface of
rhe Earth where the boundary surface between t w o different rock types intersects the topograpliy. Contacts
cJn be stratigraphic, where one unit lies depositionally
upon another; tcctonic, where the units are faulted
against one another; o r intrusive, where one unit invades
another. On a geologic map, different types of cotltacts
and the reliability of the conLact location are indicated
13) different styles of lines. .l-iie shape of the contact o n
the map depends both on the geometry of the contact
,
it is planar or folded and
surface (for e x ; ~ m p l ewhether
w h a t its attitude is) and o n the topography that the
contact surface intersects. An experienced observer can
determine the geometry of structures in a n area, as well
as the quality of information available, simply by careful
inspection of a good geologic map.
All geologic maps are smallcr than the area they
repsesent. Exactly h o w much smallcr is represented by
the scale of the map, which is the ratio of the distance
o n the map to t h e equivalent distance on the ground.
A scale of 1:25,000 (one t o twenty-five thousand), for
example, indicates that 1 unit of distance on the m a p
(such as a centimeter o r a n inch) represents a horizontal
distance of 25,000 of the same unit o n the ground.
Because the scale is a ratio, it applies to any desired
nit of measurement. T h e scales of most maps used in
structural and tcctonic w o r k range between 1 : 1000 and
1 : 100,000, though other scales are also used. In particular, maps of large reglons such as s t ~ t e s ,provinces,
countrlcs, and continents are published at scales between 1: 500,000 and 1 : 20,000,000.

'I'echniqves of Structural Geology a r ~ dTccton~cs

13

/IS 1 1 1 ~S c . l \ ( ' O f '1 1 1 l : l ~ ) <-hJl1g('5,~ 1 1 ~S l'7 C O f t l l ~

fcntul-csa n d tlie a m o u n t of tictail r l i . i t call lie rel)~.csciitcd
o n the rnap also change. I f a nlnp i \ ot ;I very sm.ill
reglon (an area a few mctcls i l l diincnsion 1.01-example),
then correspondingly small f c a t l ~ r e and
s great tictail can
be I x ) ~ - t r a y e dI F the III:III represents a large rcglon (.in
area liun~lrcdsof k~lometel-sin dinlension for exnmple),
tile11 only large features and little detail can he sliown.
Unfortunately, the word .<(-ale is used in t ~ v odilfcrcnt a n d opposite ways, wliich can lead to conf~lsion.
With regard t o geologic features, the term refers to the
di~nensioric of tlic featurr. T I i ~ l ssmall-scale features
have a characteristic dimension rouglily in the range of
centimeters to perhaps hundreds of riietcrs. L.arge-scale
fcatures have a characteristic d i ~ n c n s i o nof roughly
hundreds of meters to thousands of kilometers. With
rcg;xrd to maps, tlowevcr, scale refers to the distance
o n a niap divided I,y tlie eiluivalent distance on the
g r o ~ ~ n i I'hus
l.
small-scalc maps (such as I :100,000)
cover larger areas tlinn large-scale m a l ~(such as
1 : 1000).C o n f u s ~ o narises because large-scale features
are Imrtrayed on s~nall-scalemaps, and vice vcrsa.
Geologic Iiiapping is usually done on an accurcitc
topographic base map. M o s t countries publish topographic maps at a scale bctween 1 : 25,000and 1 : 50,000.
I f an area is very small, howcver, more d e t a ~ l c dbase
maps must generally be prepared by using surveying o r
photographic techniques.
Because the Earth's surface is vcry nearly spherical,
any planar m a p of the surface is a distortion of true
shape. For small areas, even u p to standard 1:24,000
o r 1 :25,000quadrangles (approximately 17 kni in a
north-south d ~ r e c t i o n and in ~nidlatitudcs 11 kln to
1.5 k ~ rast
n to west), t h ~ distortion
s
is minor and ~ ~ s u a l l y
I S 1gnor6d. For larger regions, however, d ~ s t o r t ~ o n
bes
come significant. M a n y different types of projections of
the spherical surface onto a plane are used. E,ach represents a cornpromise between minimizing the distortion
of the shape of the region and minimizing the distortion
of its area.
Small-scale regional maps are useful in structure
and t e c t o ~ ~ i cins order to portray large-scale structural
features. Such maps are constructed by combining the
large-scale maps o n which the geology was originally
mapped into a single map, usually a t a smaller scale.
T h u s it is c o m m o n t o see features originally mapped at
a scale of 1 :24,000,
for example, compiled o n a m a p at
1 : 250,000,1 : 1,000,000,
o r even 1 : 10,000,000covering
an entire continent. As thc m a p scale decreases, the
amount of detail must also decrease. Such compilations
thcrcforc require that many choices be made a b o u t what
information t o represent and what to omit, and tlie
resulting map is highly interpretive. Often the information available from adjacent m a p sheets is not entirely consistent, and the coiiipiler must contend with

\ ~ o l ~ l c ~such
t l s 3s dliicrcnt lc\cls of dc~tailor) diffcrcrit
111;11)<. d 1 s ; ~ g r c e 1 i 1 ~C1I I 1
I t11ic
~ ~ i n t u r eof map units, .3rirl
thc inconsistent location o f contacts. In cases wlierc such
t l i ~ c r c p ~ l r ~ c;!rlnot
c i e ~ be resolved, discontinuities may
nly'car on the smaller-scale regional inap.
Other differences among geologic o r tectonic maps
of a particular arca niay be due to the p a r t ~ c u l a purpose
r
for which each m a p is made. A m a p of soil arid surfiiial
cleposits w o i ~ l dlook vcry different f r o m a map of the
1)cdrock in rlie same area. M a p s may also be compiled
to ciiipIiasi7c \.arious aspects of geology. A geologic
inap cmp!iasizcs the distribution of litholog~esanti their
nscs, whereas a tectonic map of the same arca cornbines
units of siiliilar tectonic significance.

Cross Sections: Por-trayal of

Structures in Three Dimensions
A geoloS~c[nap provides the basis for detailed ~ r n d r r st<lndrngof rlie structural geometry of an area. The map,
llo\vc\~cr,1s orily a two-dimensional representatlon of
t1i1-cc-dirne~isionalstructures. Cross sections, on the
other hand, show the variation of structure w ~ t hdepth,
usually as it woald appear on a vert~calplane that cuts
across the area o f a geologic map. Fundamentally, cross
sections are interpretations of structurc at depth extrapolated from data available at the surface, but tliey
m,iy also he constr:l~ned by data on the regional strat ~ g r a p h yo r lithology, by direct observation from drill
holes or mines, and by geopliysical data (see Section
2.6).Without such independerlt constraints, cross sectlo~i.;are highly interpretive, becausr they arc based o n
the a s s u ~ n p t i o nthat tlie structure a t depth is a simple
p r o j e c t ~ o no l [lie structure observed a t the surlace and
the attitudes and geometry d o not change along the line
of projcctic,n. T h e validity of that assurnption varies a
great deal, depending o n the characteristics of tile local
geology.
Cross sections ideally arc oriented normal to the
dominant strikc of planar structures it1 an area. In this
orientation, the dip o f those structures is accurately
represented on the section. In some cases, however, if
tlie structure is complicated with a varicty of attitudes,
n o one orierlration o f cross section adequately represents
all the structures, and the apparent dip of any plane
~ v t i o s estrike is n o t perpendicular to the cross-section
Iiiic is less than the true dip of that structure.
111order to s h o w an undistorted view of structures
a t depth, we must take the vertical scale ratio equal t o
thc horizontal scale ratio. In some cases, however, the
fcatures of interest are best shown by using vertical
exaggeration, for which the vertical scale ratio is larger
than the horizontal scale ratio. T h e relatively srnall
changes In topography and in.stratigraphic thickness

t h a t ionlniorilv o c i i l r u\.cr 1.31-ccdistances c a n

slio\s.n
clr;irly only w i t h verricai exaggercltion. A.; a result, vertic;llly cxaggcrated cross sectioris a r c s t a n d a r d in rnarinc
geology a n d s t r a t i g r a p h y .
T h e h a h i t ~ 1 3m
1 e of vertical exnggcration t o p o r t r a y
certain f e a t t ~ r c s ,h o w e v e r , gives a false impression of
the n a t u r e c)f t h o s e f c a t ~ ~ r c sFigure
.
2.3, for e x a ~ n p l e ,
s h o w s cross sections of a h~illciuctionzoiie a n d a n a d jacent volcanic island ai-c. l'he t r u e s c ; ~ l esection is
shobvn in Figure 2.3A. N o t c t h a t t h e t o l ~ o g r a p h i cvaria t i o n is a l m o s t iml>ossihlct o see! A 1 3 r o l ~ u l yvertically
exaggerated scction is sllo\vn in Figurc 2.311. T h e vertical
exaggeration necessary t o e m p h a s i z e the t o p o g r a p l i y
a l s o exaggerates the surface slopes s o t h a t their a p pc:arance is n o t a t all reprcscntative of a c t u a l slopes.
. f h e effect of vertical e x a g g e r a t i o n is just a s dral-natic
o n t h e d i p of p l a n a r features ( c o m p a r e the angle ot t h e
s u h d u c t i n g lithosplicric slal, i r Figurc
~
2.3A \vith t h a t in
Figure 2.313). Published inforrnal cross sections o f t e n
give a n even m o r e c o ~ i f u s i n gvicw by c o n i l ~ i n i n gverticall), cxaggcrated t o p o g r n p f ~ ywilh n o vertical c x a g g c r a t i o ~ lIxlox. t h e surface, a s s h o w n in Figurc 2.3C.
Vertical e x a g g c r ~ t i o nm a k e s d i p p i n g s t r u c t u r e s J I J p c a r much s t e e p e r t h a n they a r e . T h e effect is mucli
stronger- o n s h a l l o w l y dipping plancs t h a n o n steeply
d i p p ~ ~ oi gn e s , a n d a t high values of the vertical e x a g g e r a t i o n , the d i s t i n c t i o ~betwccn
~
s h a l l o w a n d stecp t r u c
d i p s effectl\,cly c i ~ s a p p e a r s .
A n o t h e r effect of vertical e x a g g e r a t i o n is t o c a u s e
heds of the s a m e t h i c k n r s s b u t different d i p t o a p p e a r
t o differ in thickness. In Figure 2.3B t h e sut)ductcd lithospticric s l a b a p p e a r s t o be thiriner w h e r e it is dil3pi11g
t h a n \4.1iere it is h o r i z o n t a l , a n effect caused s i ~ l i p l yby
e ~ a g g c r ~ i ~ of
i o nt h e vcrtical d i m e n s i o n .
~h;s vcrtical exaggeration c a u s e s d i s t o r t i o n s of the
g e o m e t r y of f e a t u r e s t h a t seriously a l t e r t h e w a y they
l o o k . Because m u c h of s t r u c t u r a l geology involves visualizing t h e t r u e s h a p e of features in three d i m e n s i o n s ,
t h e use of vcrtical e x a g g e r a t i o n w i t h s t r u c t u r a l c r o s s
sections s h o u l d be a v o i d e d w h e n e v e r possible.
I n a r e a s of c o k p l e x s t r u c t u r e w h e r e a single c r o s s
section c a n n o t b e c o n s t r u c t e d t o reveal the t r u e a n g u l a r
-

Volcanic
arc
I

Continental
crust

Oceanic
crust

Trench
I

A,

Figure 2.3 (Rlght) The effect of vertical exaggeration on cross

sections. A. True-scale cross section of a subduction zone in
which tlie horizontal and vertical scales are equal
(1 rrlm = 10 krn). Notc that topographic variations are almost
irnpcrceptible. R. A cross scction of the same subduction zone
as in part A, here shown at a vertical exaggeration of 5 X .
T h a t is, the vcrtical scale is 5 times the horizontal scale. Note
the exaggeration of the dip of the subducted slab. C. Schematic
cross section that con~bitiesvertical exaggeration for the topography with no vertical exaggcration for structures below
the surface. This mixing of vertical scales precludes the cons t r ~ ~ c t ~ofo na n accuratc cross section.

B.

c.

Techniques o f Str~~ctural
Geology a n d Tectonics

1.5

I-cl,ir~orishipsof all thc struittlrcs, n l l ~ l t i ~ lcross

lc
scctions
a t ci~ftrrclitorientations m a y be 11scd.T \ v o constructions
a r e regularly en~ployed-block d r a g r a ~ n sa n d fence d ~ a g r n ~ ~ iBlock
s.
diagrams s h o w a perapcctive d i a g r a m of
a block of crust with a p p r o p r i a t e gcornctric reprcsenration of t h e structure o n t h e t o p , ~ v h i c h is the m a p
view, a n d a view of t h e s ~ d e s which
,
includes t w o cross
sections generally a t high angles t o each o t h e r . W e have
already used a n u m b e r of block dt:lgrarns t o illustrate
structural features (sce Figures 2.1A ar~cl 2.2A). Alt h o u g h these views of the structure o n three different
surfaces e n a b l e ( I S t o vislralizc t h e three-dimensional
geometry, sections themselves a r e n o t accurate representations of tlic angular relationships because o f the
necessary distortion of perspective. Fence d i a g r a m s represent three-dirncnsionnl structures by s h o w i n g a perspective view of intcrsccting cross sections. T h e y are
difficult t o d r a w a n d require a great deal of inforrnatic~n;
t h u s they a r e relatively rare in t h e published structural
geologic literature.

Stratigraphic Sequence Indicators

rnclit,lr.y o r i g ~ l ~ ) ~ l ~ r oucn k~ os n, f o r m i t i e s ,a n t i a n 1x1cicpuidcrlr knowledge o f tlic ~ t r a r i ~ r a p l i sequence.

ic

b f a n y strllctures f o r m e d d u r i n g o r shortly after sedi~ n c n t a t i o n are useful in determining relative stratigraphic age. T h e most c o m m o n of these structures a r e
h o t t o m markings, graded bedding, cross bedding, a n d
scour-and-fi!l o r ct1anncl structures.
I h t t o m m a r k i n g s a r e features formed mainly in
associntion \vitli turbidity currents a n d prescr\~cd o n
t h e underside of niany s a n d s t o n e beds in inrerlayerc~l
sandstone-shale sequences. T h e y represent casts of the
srnall-scale surface t o p o g r a p h y imposed o n n ~ u c lhy a n
overlying sand layer, o r u p o n which tlie sa11d layer w a s
deposited. B o t t o m markings include flute casts a n d l o ~ c i
casts. Flute casts f o r m f r o m t h e deposition of s a n d in
spoon-shaped dcprcssions scoured o u t of the underlying
m u d hy liigli-velocity currents. Subsequent lithificat~on
ot tlic sand pl-csct-vcs a cct5t o f t h e clepression o n tile
i , o ~ t o nof~ the saridstone layer (Figur-e 2.5A, U ) . Flurc
casts tend t o h e in,~rkedIyasymmetric in longitudinal
CI-osssectloll; they indicate the direction in which tlie

C r u c ~ a tl o tlie interpretation of a ~ r r a t ~ g r a p hsequcncc

~c
of defc,rmed rocks is d e t e r m i n a t i o ~ of
i the relatrvc agcs
of t h e different layers-that
is, the "stratigraphic LIP"
o r "younging" direction in the sequence. Consider, for
example, t h e schematic cross srcrlons In Figure 2.4,
which illustrate a srrics of layered rocks folded in t w o
different g c o ~ n e r r i e s .W i t h o u t knowledge of tlie stratig r a p h ~ cu p d ~ r e c t i o n s ,the simplest i n r c r p r c t ; i t ~ o nwe
could m a k e of the 11111itede x p o s u r e in Figure 2.413 would
be t h a t s h o w n in 1;igui-e 2.4A, w l i ~ c his incorrect.
Features t h a t are useful in t h e determination of
relative a g e include s o m e p r i m a r y structures in sedi-

Current d~rect~on
____)

Sand

Figure 2.4 Cross sections showing "stratigr:~phic up" directions. A. A fold wirh beds right side LIP,as indicated by tllc
arrow. The srrucrure is simple, as shown schem3tically to the
right. 11. A fold with upside-down beds, as indicated hy the
arrow. The structure niust bc more complex, as shown to
right.

B.
Figure 2.5 Flute casts. A. Flute casts on the bottom of a
sarldsronc I>cd in a turbidite. B. Cross section of flute casts.
shown right sidc up

cur-rerlt w a \ movirlg at the tinic the scours were cut

(Figurc 2.513).
Load casts arc satidstone casts of depressions in
underlying riiud that for111as the denser sand sinks into
tlie soft, water-saturated r i i ~ ~ dThey
.
appear as b ~ ~ l g e s
o n the bottoms of sandstone layers a n d , in some cases,
can actually hecome isolsted balls of sand in a mud
matrix. If the niud forms sharp peaks pointing ~~~~~~~d
into the sand, arid tlie sand fornls rounded riiasses prod , struiturcs arc described
truding down into the t i l ~ ~ the
as flame structurcs which result from the down-slope
shearing of the sediments. T h e dir-cctionality of these
feat~lresserves as an indicator of the relative age of the
sediment layers.
Graded b e d d i ~ i gin sediments o r sediriieiitary rocks
is charactcrixd by the gradual change in grain size and
mineralogy within a single bed, usually frorn coarse and
clay-poor at the bottom to fine a n d clay-rich a t the top
(see Figure 2.6). Grading occurs in a suspension of u n sorted sediment because the coarsest fraction settles o u t
faster than the finest fraction. T h u s the oldest part of
the layer is the coarsest, and the youngest is the firiest.
I n sorue cases, Iiowever, mciart~orphisr~i
can act~lnlly
reverse the direction of grading. Because tlie finesr fr-.iction has a higher surface area a n d is therefore ~rlorc
cherllically reactive, that part of the layer- may grow
coarser crystals during the rnetarnorpliism than the originally coarser part o i the Inycr.
Cross bedding consists of thin beds that occur at
angles of as much as 20" to 30" t o the principal bedding
planes. These beds result from deposition of material

Figurc 2.7 Sketch illustrating a cross section of channel or

scour-a~id-fillstructure. The depression was eroded in the
lower unit (siitsronc) and first conglorneratc, and then sa~ld
deposited o n top.

in ripples o r dunes. Chnracteristically, the cross beds

are concave upward, a n d they are tangent to the lower
major bedding surface. Where subsequent erosion has
rernoved tlie top of the bed, the crossbeds arc truncated
against the upper major bedding surface. In this case,
they arc useful as indicators o f the stratigraphic uo
direction.
Channcl structures, o r scour-and-fill structLtres, are
deposits that fill in strearil or current channels cut by
erosion into u n d e r l y i r ~sedi~nent.
~
Most channel deposits
are conglomerates, but f rler-grained sedin~entsare also
found. These structurcs can be identified by the characteristic rruncation of layers of the underlying sediment
against the side of the channel (Figure 2.7). Identifying
which layer has been eroded, and which subsequently
deposited, makes it possible t o determine the stratigraphic up direction.

Pri??zur)~
Sfructu?-csin 1g1zeotc.sRocks
i

i";p,:

Bourna (1962)
Divisions

Figure 2.6 Idcal graded structure of a turb~direhccl, showing

grading, ripples, and upper mud-rich layer (pelite).

Structures that indicate the stratigraphic up direction in

igneous rocks are more a b u ~ i d a n tin extrusive than in
intrusive rocks, but they are not s o comnlon as in sedimentary rocks. Telltale features in extrusive rocks include floiv-top breccia, pillow lava structures, and filled
cavities.
Flow-top breccia develops at the upper surface of
basalt flows, thereby making it possible to identify the
original top of the layer (Figure 2.8). It forrils b y t h c
breakup of a solidified layer during renewed movement
of the underlying lava. In some cases, the breccia formed
o n top call roll under the flow as it advances. T h u s
caution is advisable in the use of this indicator.
Many volcanic rocks contain vesicles-cavities
formed by solidification around gas bubbles (Figure2.8).
Vcsicles rnay be filled by minerals precipated from solution, in which case they are called arnygdules (the
Greek word rrrnygdalon rileans "almond"). In rare instances, sedi~nento r late magma may be deposited it1
the vesicles. Because the cavities fill from the bottom
up: partially filled amygdules
a n indicator of

Techniques of Structural Geology and Tecto~lics 17

Ves~cular

F r a g m e n t a l : flow-top b r e c c i a

I:ig~ire 2.8 Diagrarn of top and 1)ottorn of suhaerial lava flow. Vesicular lnva ma): bc found : ~ t
rlie cop or a t rlie horrorti of a flow. Flow-top breccia forms on top 13): solidificarlor~and subscclufnr
l)r-(-aku1>of rhc top dilrirlg flow.

the stratigi.,~jiliic L I direction,

~
as d o composite amygdules if the filling scquerlce is known.
Pillo\v lavas form during extrusion of lavas under
Lvnrer. Lava oftell issues from a cc~ntralvent nt thc top
of a rnc,l~~ici
and flo~vsdownward onto the horizontal
Iloor. I)ecausc the hot lava I S quenched by the water, ~t
flows liy forming rirbelike fingers that have a chilled
cxtcriol- cvllich i~isulatcsthe lava ~vithin.T h e bottom of
the top is convrx u p w a r d In cross section rnnny tubes
hnvc n tiistinctive l~illow-shapedu p ~ e rsur'.facc and a
d o w n ~ \ ~ a r 17oiliting
-d
ciisp o n the lower sl~rfacc( F i g ~ ~ r e
2.3), ri.~crebyindii;ltiiig the original 1117 direction.

I;igurr 2.9 Pillow Iavas in cross sectlon. SmnrtviIIe cornpiex,

Sierra Nevada, Califor~iia.

Striiit~iresthat re\scal the o r i g i i ~ ~L I lP d ~ r c c t are

~o~~
1~111cli
less corlmon in
rocks tlinrl in volcanic
r o c l i or- sediments. 111 ral-c case?, however, plutonic
rocks form 1)y crystal scrtlirig a t rlic hortom of a maglnrl
clia~nbcr,a n d srdirnentary srl-ucturcs Inay develop that
~ infer the stratigraph~cu p direction. Size
can he L I S C to
grading of grniiis of a single mincral in a layer can br
used a s a stratigraphic up indicator (Figure 2.10A). T h e
cxistencc of gradations hecween two layers of different
mineralogy, o r phase Inyering, is more common than
sizc grading (F~gur-e
2.1 011). It ~ ~ r o t > a hdoes
l y not result
Irom crystal settling, however, s o cannot be used as an
indicator o l the stratigraphic LIP direction. Scour-andfill struct~iresare present in some layered igneous rocks.
As in sedimentary rocks, they indicate the presence of
currents during deposition of chc rocks and are a reliable
indicator of the stratigraphic up direction.
In SOITIC areas, magtnas with a significant proportion o f suspended crystals have intruded o r extruded as
sills o r flows. As the molten material came to rest, the
crystals settled, forming crystal accumulations toward
the button1 of the sill o r flow.

Unconformities provide a val~lablemeans of determirling relative age in a stratigraphic section. Ilnconformitirs may he disco~lformities,which are time gaps within
layers (Figure 2.11A); angular
a s e i l ~ ~ u ' i cofe
~~nconfor-mirics,
which are el-osional surfaces that cut
across older beds a t an angle and ai-e overlain by parailel
beds (1'1g~1re
2.1 1B); o r 11011co11for1nities.
which are con-

IYigurc 2.10 S i x a n d phase grading in I)lutotiic igtico~tsrocks. A . Size grading i l l olivinc-clino1 3 ~ 1 - o x c n c u i n i u l ~Ir)c~,t k d s l a n d~iltramaficcoinplcx.Pocket knifc for scalc. li. I'l-iotograpll s l i o w i ~ l g
rcl>c,ltcd graded pllnsc layering in g a h b r o , Vouriiios o p h ~ o l i t cc o m p l e x , northern Grcccc. Thib
g r a d a t i o ~ i ~al li ~ c r a t i o nof pyroxcnc-rictl ( d a r k ) a n d plagioclasc-rich (light) layers m a y nor hc tile
result of graviiy serrling.

A. Disconformitv

B. Angular unconformity

C.Nonconforinity

D. Folded angular unconformity

Figure 2.11 Types of unconformirics. Parts A-(: arc ~ ~ n d z f o r m e d .

'I'cchr~iquesof Structural Geology ;trid lcctonics

19

~ 1 c -l t~~c t ~ v cscc~c i i ~ i i c i i th,, ~rocks

~
a ~ i dr ~ ~ i c l c r lIy! ; Ii~ C~C~I L~I S
rnet:~rllc)rpliic rocks (Figure 2.1 IC). Figure 2.1 11)
s h o w s Iiow a n a n g u l a r unconfol-miry riiiglit a p p e a r wlien
folded into largc fold. N o t e t h e lack of p a r a l l e l i s ~ ~ofi
the beds helo\v a n d atlove t h e unconforniity.
S o m e u n c o n i o r ~ n i t i e sclispl:ly fossil soil horizons.
I f o n e I , present, it provitles a rne,ins of csral)lishing the
relative stratigral>hic age. Such a hosi7o11 also makes it
cnsy to distinguish hct\vccn a scili~iient.lryunconformity
aiiil a tectonic c o n t a c t si~cli a s a fault; these c.111 be
d ~ t i i c ~ itl ot tell a p a r t , cspccially if t h c rocks h a v r hecn
deformed. F.ven in s o m e metamorl>lioscd rocks, fossil
soils a r e s o m e t i m e s preserved a s a thin b a n d of aluminurn-rich m e t a m o r p h i c rocks sandwiched between a
~netaseclimentarysequence a n d a n older m e t a m o r p h i c
01-

M a ~ i yorogenic zones include belts of rocks chrlracter~zeclby dcformccl, but little rnetarnorphosed, fossiliferoils sedinlents. I n these rocks, it is possible t o determine
tlic srr.~tigrapliicsequence by means of hiostratigrapliic
; ~ ~ i ; l l ~ofs itlie
s srdirnents themselves. In highly deforlncd
aiid/oi- metamorl>hoscd areas, it may he necessary t o
iiiler stl-atigral~liicrclntionships f r o m tlie stratigraphy
i i i less d e f o r m e d o r m e t a m o r p h o s e d areas.
In soinc cases the rocks arc unfossilifcrous, the
stl-atigrapl~yis u n k n o w n , a n d the rocks d o n o t possess
any structures t h a t iridicate the relative age. In such
situatioiis, I-adiomctricage deterniinations niay yield the
olrly ;igc inforl-uation availal)le. Seciimentary processes
c i o [lot Jcser r a d ~ o m e t r i cclocks, s o s e d i m e ~ i t sc a n n o t be
d a t e d directly this May. M e t a i n o r p h i c o r igneous events
call be d a t e d , a n d tlie age of f o r m a t i o n o l s t r u c t r ~ r a lo r
tectonic f e a t ~ ~ r ec sa n be estahlishcd if radio~iletrically
dated igneous o r m e t a m o r p h i c events bracket t h e tectonic event in time.

0ricnt.ltro1i histogram5 ( ~ n(,reek, l l l s t o s rneans

"m'lst" o r "wch," a n d R l ~ l l ? ?Incan? "line") are plots of
o n e p a r t o l the orientation d a t a , such a s strike a z i m u t h ,
against the frequency o f orientations t h a t a r e f o u ~ ~ d
\vitliin particular orientation intervals. T h e frcqucricy
niay he plottcd as a percent of all o b s c r ~ a t i o n so r a s
t h e n ~ ~ r n l ) eofr 01,servatioris within each interval. ?-tic
plots c ~ ~ n r a c t e r i s t i c a l lcorisist
y
of a series of rectangles,
\vIicr-c t h c \rldrh o f t h e rectangle reprcsents the oriencnriorl iiircrvnl a n d its height represents the frequency.
Rose d i a g r a m s a r c essciitially histograms for which
t h e o r i c ~ i t n t i o na x i s is transformed i n t o a circle t o give
a trlie i ~ ~ l g l ~plot.
l : ~ r T h c i ~ l t e r v a l sof angle are plotted
a s pie-shaped segments o f a circle in their true orientation, a n d t h e length of the radius is proportional t o
tile frcclucncy o f t h a t orientation. T h e use of t h e t r u e
angle conveys a n intuitive sense of t h e orientation distribution. R o s e ciiagrarns a r c used f o r displaying s u c h
fcatures as the directiotl o f sediment transport a n d tlie
str-ike of vcr-tical joints (scc, for example, Figurc 2.12).
150th Ilistograms a n d rose diagrams can present
(>lily oiic aspect o f t h e attitude of p l a n a r o r linear fen-

All joints
N
'

Graphical Presentation of
Orientation Data
O f t e n it is desirable t o present orientation d a t a in s u c h
a w a y t h a t t h e distribution of orientations is emphasized
independently o f t h e geographic location of tlie d a t a .
F o r exaniple, it m a y b e ~ ~ s e f tro~ kl n o w w h e t h e r there
is a p a t t e r n of prelcrrcd orientation of beds, joints, o r
linear features in a n a r e a , regardless of h o w t h e orieritations vary a c r o s s a map. T h e types of diagrdins
most frequently used t o present such information a r c
histograms, rosc d i a g r a m s , a n d spherical projections.

20

INTRODUCTION

Ss

Sinistral faults

Figure 2.12 Rose diagram of the faults and joints in an area.

Aziinurli intervals are 5". T h e length of the radius from center
in any given segment is proportional to the pcrcentagc of
feat~ii-cswith a n orientation in that sector. The length of the
longest radius represents 40 pcrccnt of the measurements. T h c
dlngrClrnhas a twofold axis of symmetry; that is, a 180' rotarloti of the diagram is identical to the original diagram.

Dipping plane

o r as an equal-angle projection; the other is a Larnbert

projection o r an equal-area projcction. T h e y differ only
i n thc \vay the hemispherc is prvjected o n t o a plane
:allcd thc imagc plane.
For both types of projections, the image plane f o r
the projection 1s tangetlt t o the hcrnisphcre at 7' (Figure
2.14) and parallcl t o the plane containing the edge of
rhc hemisphere. T h e equal-nrlgle projection (Figure
2.14A) is constructed by using the highest point o n the
spllere opposite t h e image plane, the zenith point Z , as
the projection point. .I-he projection of a point o n the
lienlisphere is defined hy constructing a line from the
zenith point % through t h e point o n the hemisphere (1'
o r Q ) to the image plane (I" o r Q'). T h u s ally orientation
of line has a u n i q ~ i eprojection o n the imagc plane. A
great circle o n the hemisphere is projccted by drawing

Plotting
sphere

Figure 2.13 Plotting orientation data on a plotting sphere.

Plan.~rand linear features arc considered to pass tlirougli rlie
ccnter- of t h e sphere and to intersect its s ~ ~ r f a i Thus
c.
the
attitude of a planr is defined by the great c~rclcthat is the
intersection of the Plane with the plotting sphere. A horirontal
plane and a dipping plane arc shown. The attitude of a line
is defiricd b y two points (P and P') that are the intersections
of the line with thc plotting sphcrc.

tures, such as the strike o r bearing, respectively. In cases

where the d i p of t h e planar features is always essentially
vertical or the plunge of linear features is always essentially-horizontal, o r some o t h e r constant angle, this
limitation is of n o consequence. If the dip o r plunge o f
the feature is a n i n l p o r t a ~ i tvariable in defining its attitude, however, t h e best m e t h o d of plotting orientation
clata is the spherical projection.
When orientation d a t a a r e plotted o n a spherical
projection, all p l a y s and lines a r e considercd t o pass
through the center of the plotting sphere, a n d their
attitudes are then defined by their intersections with the
surface of the sphere. For planes, the intersection is a
great circle; for lines, the intersection is a point (Figure
2.13). Using the full sphere is actually redundant; a
hemisphere is all t h a t is needed. Applications for structural geology a n d tectonics generally use the hemisphere
below the horizontal plane (the lower hemisphere),
whereas applications in milleralogy usually employ t h e
upper hemisphere. In both cases, the hemisphere is projected o n t o a flat plane t o permit t h e convenlcnr graphical presentation of d a t a .
T h e r e a r e a variety of rllethods of projecting a
sphere o n t o a plane, although t w o projections are most
often encountered in structural geology and tectonics.
T h e first may be referred t o as a stereogrnphic projection

,
_
...
,
agc p s n c

Figure 2.14 Projection of the lowcr half of the plotting sphere

onto the image plane. A. The principle of stereographic, or
equal-angle, projection. The zcnith point Z is the projection
point. Points P and Q on the plotting hemisphere are projected
to points P' and Q' on the irnagc plane by a line passing from
Z thro~ighP and Q, respectively, to. the image plane. A great
circle is dcscribed on the image plane by projcctingeach point
of the grear circle on the plotting hemisphere to the image
plane. El. The principle of Lambert, or equal-area, projection.
'I'hegoint P is projected to the irnage plane by constructing a
cord of the spherr from T (the tangent point of the image
lane) to P and rotating that cord in a vertical plane about T
down to C ' in the image plane. Thc end of the rotated cord P'
is the projected point. The great circle is projected by rotating
each point o f the gredt circle on rhe plotting hemisphere down
to the image plane in a sirnilar manner.

Techniques o i Structural Geology and Tectonics

21

lincs troni thc 7criitIl po111tt h ~ o ~all

~ point\
~ l i ;1101ig111.l1
great circle. 'The locus o f rntcrsectio~~s
o f rllosc 1111: \
with the image plane delincs thc projection, which agarn
is unique for any given orientation of plane.
-The advantage of this 0 . p ~of projection is t h ~ r
angles between lines o n tlic Iien~ispherearc not distorted
by rile projection. Morcovcr, circlcs on the hemisphere
rcmain circles or1 the proicction, although the center ol
t l ~ ccirclc o n the hemisphere does not project to thc
ceiiter- of tlic circle on the image plane. All great c i r c l e
arc illso arcs of circles o n the irnage pIa11c. ,Arcas that
arc ecl~l31on the hemisphere, however, arc in gener.11
not equal o n the image plane.
A n equal-area projection is constr~icted by usirlg
the point of tangency 7' between the hernisphcrc and
the image plane as a ceriter of rotatiori (Figure 3.14Rj.
T h e projectioli of a point on the hemisphere is determined by constructing a chord C frorii T to the point
l ' o n the hernisphere arid rotating this chord in a vertical
plane abo11t T d o ~ v r ito C' in the image plane. T h e encl
of thc c l ~ o r dI" in rhc image plane defines tlie projection
of the point. l'r-elections of great circles are constl-uctcd,
in pr~nciple,by rotatrllg all points on the great crrcle
fro111 the hcrnisphcre d o w n t o the image plane in a
similar manner. This projection has the advantage that
any t w o d~fferentbut equal areas on the licniisplicrc are
also equal o n the image plane. I t is tliereforc ~ ~ s ctod
present data when the statistical concentration of points
is important t o the interpretation, because those conceritl-ations are not distorted h y the projection. T h e
shapes of arcas o n the hernisphere are not preserved by
the projcctio~i,however, s o a n g ~ i l a rrelrltionships are
distorted, alrliougli they can still be determined if the
angles are i ~ ~ e a s u r ealong
d
a great circle.

Geophysical Tcchniques
Although mapping rocks that are exposed at the sr~rtace
provides good inforrnat~onabout the three-dimensional
structure near the surface, it cannot reveal the structure
of areas covered by alluvium, deep soils, vegetation, o r
water such as lakes, se'ls, and oceans. N o r can surface
mapping provide information a b o u t structure a t great
depth. Information a b o u t the shapes of major faults at
depth, the presence of magma chambers at depth, the
location of the crust-mantle boundary, o r the thickness
and nature of the lithosphere and the l o n e r mantle can
come only from the interpretation of geophysical measurernents, and especially from seismic, gravity, and
magnetic measurements. W e review briefly the application of these aspects of geophysics to large-scale structure and tectonics because they have becorile essential,
and because a s t r u c t l ~ r ageologist
l
must a t least be aware

22

INTRODUCTION

01. tlir t c c l ~ ~ i ~ ~q~~r i~ctcl isc ~ rI I I ~ I I I . ~ ~ I O I .I SA, ~ L , L ~ ~co5,I,II~

cr.lge of tlicsc topics, ho~veves,n~oitldrrqillrc ar least
a .;cpar,lte book, and \vc encourage studcrits to tnkc
appropriate courses in gcopIiys~cs.

Seismic waves are oscillations o f elastic deformation

thnt propagate away froin a source. Waves froni large
sources SLICII :IS major earthquakes and nuclear explobions c a n be detected all around tlie world. Small e s plosions are ofren used as sources t o investigate struct~ire
a t a Inore local scale. Body waves, which can travel
anywhere tlirough a solid body, are of t w o kinds: compressional (1') waves, for ~ ' l i i c l ithe p a r t ~ c l emotion is
parallel to the direction of propagation, and shear (S)
waves, for which the particle [notion is normal to the
direction of propagation, ('The designations "P" and
"S" refer to primary and secondary waves, so named
because of the normal sequence of arrival of the waves
as revealed on a seismogram.) 1) waves travel faster than
S \vLlves.-['hey are therefore the first waves to arrive a t
a detector from a sourcc and thus are the easier t o
recognrzc and measure. For t h ~ sreason, and because
explosions generate mostly P waves, they are the waves
~ x c d o ~ n i n a n t lused
y
t o investigare the structure of the
F.arth. .The propagation of seismic waves [nay be dcscribed by the seismic rays, which are lines everywhere
perpendicular to the seismic wave fronts. Three types
of seismic s t ~ ~ d iare
e s p ~ r t i c u l a r l yi n ~ p o r t a n in
t structure
and tectonics: seismic refraction, seisrnic reflection, and
first-motion studies.
s
the structure
Seismic refraction s t ~ i d ~ cinvestrgate
oi the Earth hy means o f those s e ~ s m i crays that are
trar~srnitted through boundaries at which seismic velocity changes. T h e change in seismic velocity refracts,
o r bends, the rays (see Box 2.1) so that in the Earth,
where seismic velocity generally increases with depth,
the ray paths tend t o be concave upward. The travel
time of rays from the source to different receivers is
plotted against the distances of the receivers from the
source. Such plots make it possible to determine the ray
velocity in the deepest layer through which the ray travels. By measuring travel times for rays that penetrate
to greater and greater depths, the investigator can determine the velocity structure of the Earth.
T h e velocities o f P and S waves depend o n the
density and the elastic constants of the rock. Thus knowing how seismic P a n d S velocities vary with depth
provides information about the distribution of the density and clrlstic properties in the Earth, and locating
where changes in seismrc velocity occur reveals where
the rock type changes.
Although seismic refraction studies give a good
"rcconnaissancc" view of the structure of a large area,

Seismic Refraction
The tirnc I-eq~iircd
for scisrnic rays to travel directly
from a source to different detection stations distributed around t h e source is affcctcd by the par-ticular
paths thc seismic rays take, and these in turn at-c
determined by the structure and the seismic vclocity
o f the material along each path. If a scisr-nicray travels
o b l i q u c l ~across
~
a boundary from a low- to highseismic-velocity material, it is refracted away from
thc nor-ma1 t o )he bounda1-y (Figure 2.1.1). If the ray
travels h o r n high- t o low-velocity material, it is refracted toward the normal to the boundary.
Travel-time m e a w r c m e n t s can be interpreted t o
reveal t h e variation of scisrnic \kravc velocity with
depth. The principle is illustrated in Figure 2.1.2,
which shows t h e location of a seismic source and a n
array of detectors. S o m e of the ray paths shown stay
within t h e crust; others travel in part through the
upper mantle. A time--distance plot indicates the arrival tiriles of those difrercnt rays at the detectors.
Because t11e seismic velocity in the mantle is higher
than that in the cr-ust, niantlc rays rcach dista~ltdctcctor-s bcfure crustal r;lys. For the layered structure
shown, thc d i f f c r e ~ ~ cine arrival times at the different
detector-s rellccts thc speed of the rays through the
deepest laycr along the ray path. Thus the slopes of
the two lines on the time-distance plot are the inverse
of the velocities in the crust and mantle, respectively.
If a laycr that has a lower seismic veiocity occurs
at depth between rocks that have higher seismic vclocitics, rays a r c bcnt towar-d the nor-md to the boundary upon entering the laycr and away h-on1the normal

A,

Travel time of
crustal P waves,

Normal to
boundary
sin i

V,

sinr%

Se~smicray

Figurc 2.1.1 Refraction of seismic rays. Refraction is

a w a y trom the normal to thc boundary if the ray travels
frorn a low ro a high-seismic-\,clocity niater~al(here Vt
ro Vz or V, to V,). Refract~onis toward the riornial to
rhe houndar) i f the ray travels from a higll- to a lowse~srnic-velocitym.~terial(V2 to V.3).

upon leaving (Figure 2.1.1). Seismic rays, thcrcforc,

can never reach their maximum depth in that layer,
and the seismic velocity of that layer-and therefore
its very existence-cannot
be detected on a timedistance plot

Figure 2.1.2 Illustration of the principle of scisrnic refraction in a two-layer structure. The diagram
shows ray paths for P waves through the structure. The travel-time plot indicates the arrival
tlmcs of the rays at the different detectors.

'Techniques of Structural

Grology dnd

Tectonics

23

b'igurc 2.15 S e ~ s m ~reflcctioti

c
profiles. Illdividual sclsrnlc records are thc wavy vert~call~ncs
plotted a~dcI,): sidc along tlle tl~stariccaxis. 7'hc vcrt~cala x l s IS the two-way travel t1111c.I'caks
In each record .ire sliadcd black to show up reflcctors t h a t cnn be trnccd frorri otlc record to t h e
next. C;ood hor~zontalreflcctors are p:lrticularly evidcr~tbclow nhout 1.7 s in the left half of thc
A. IJr3mlgrated seismic profile. B. (Facitzg page) M~gratcdseismic profile.

the t e c h l l ~ q t ~has
e several d ~ s a d v a n t a ~ eTs .h e presence
of low-veloc~tylayers cannot be detected (Box 2.1). Deep
structures o r d ~ n a r ~ lcan
y be detected otily a t d ~ s t a n c e s
from the source that are greater than the depth. T h e
properties of the Earth are averaged over large distances,
so details of structure are lost. And no~ihorizontalo r
discont~nuouslayers and cornplex structure are difficult
o r ~mpossiblet o resolve.
In seismic reflection studies, reflections of P waves
off i n r c r ~ ~boundaries
al
arc used t o investigate the structui-e of the Earth. Seismic signals are recorded by as
m:iuy as sevcral hundred to several tliousarld geophoncs
at a time. T h e result~ngdata are analyzed by computer
(Boxes 2.2 and 2.3), and the seisniograms are plotted
sidc by side oti the d ~ s t a n c eaxis (Figure 2.15A). .i'llr

24

INTRODUC'I'ION

indtvidual peaks o n the seismogram, o r events, record

the two-way travel time for each reflection, which is
the time required for a wave to travel from a surface
point to a reflector and back to the same surface point.
Peaks in each record are shaded black so that strong
signals in adjacent seismograms at the same two-way
travcl tlme show up as lines that indicate a continuous
reflector.
Sopl~isticated c o n i p ~ ~ t e r i z cdigital
d
processing of
the scisrnlc records, including the very important processes of s t a c k ~ l and
i ~ migration, allow complex structures to be resolveti (Figure 2.15B) a n d therefore yield
ail incon~pnrablcinlage of the suhsurfacc structure. T h e
stacking of seismic records is a method of enhancing
the signal-to-noise r , ~ r i oby adding together reflections

Locatioi~of observations

A. Seismic section

I~riielocation of features

Sr~acelocation of features

C.Geologic section

6.Migrated seismic section

Figure 2.16 Diagranls illustrating the effects of migration. A. A n ~rnrnigratedseismic section with
n i ~ ~ l t i intersecting
~le
curved reflections. 0.The sarne section as in part A alter migration. The
ambiguities and artifacts of the un~nigratcdsection are all rcmoved. C. The corresponding gcologic
srction. The depth scale is different frorn the two-way travel-time scale because seismic velocity
varies with depth.

pattern of colnpression o r rarefaction first motions that

radiate o u t from a sudden slip event on a fault is charactcristic of the orientation of the fault a n d the sense
of slip (Box 2.4). First-motion studies, therefore, are
used to determine the orientation of, a n d sense of slip
o n , faults a t depth. Regional patterns of first motions
reveal large-scale tectonic [notions of tlie plates. Figure
2.17 s h o w s the radiation patterns that are characturistic
of the three basic types of faulting: normal, thrust, and
strike-slip.

Analysis of Gravity Alzornalies

Gravity measurements are perhaps the second most important geophysical technique (after s e i s ~ n i ctechniques)
used in structural geology a n d tectonics. A gravity
anomaly (from the,Greek w o r d anomalia, which means
"irregularity o r unevenness") is t h e difference betweer1
a nleasured value of t h e acceleration of gravity, t o which
certain corrections a r e applied, a n d t h e reference value
for the particular location. T h e reference value is determined from a n internationally accepted formula that
gives the gravitational field for a n elliptically symmetric
Earth. ~ e c a u s gravity
e
anomalies arise f r o m differences
in the density of rocks, the goal in s t r u c t i ~ r a lgeology
is t o relate rhese differences in density t o structural
features. If n o density contrasts exist, then the structure
can have n o effect o n the gravitational field, a n d gravi t y anomalies c a n n o t aid in the interpretation of thar
structure.
T h e structure a t depth i: interpreted by nlatching
tlie gravity anomaly profile observed along a linear triiv-

erse with the anomaly profile calculated from a n assumed ~ n o d c lof the structure. T h c model is adjusted
until the model anomaly profile s h o w s a satisfactory fit
t o the observed a ~ l o m a l yprofile. Although the model
can never be unique, it is usually co~lstrainedby surface
mapping and possibly by seismic d a t a .
I n order t o calculate an anomaly, we must correct
d
t o the same reference used for t h e
the m e a s ~ ~ r evalue
standard field. All measurements are therefore corrected
t o sea level as a c o m m o n reference level. This altitude
correcrion, thc free-air correction, results in a n increase
i11 most larid-based values but leaves surface observa-

Normal
fault

Thrust
fault

Strike-slip
fault

Figure 2.17 Equal-area projections showing the radiation pattern of coinpression first motions ( C ) arld rarefaction first
motions (R) for the three main types of faults. Thc fault on
whicl~the earthquake occurs is assurncd to be at the cerlter
of the plotring sphere. All orientations that plot within a given
sector are the orientations of rays when thep leave the source
that have the indicated first motion. Planes separating the
sectors are nodal planes, one of which niust be the fault plane.
Material on each side of the fault moves toward the compression sccrors, defining the sense of shear on the fault.

Stacking of Seisl-raic Records

I:igurc 2 . 2 . 1 illusrratcs the principle in\olvcd in tlie
corliilioll clcpth-point stacking of xcisnlic rccol-(is. 11
c.splosioiis a1.c dctoriated at shot poirlt S1, S 2 , S 3 ,
i r l l i i S4,rcilcctiorls rr-om thc snnic poinl /'on a 11or.iz o ~ ~ t sa~l ~ h s u r f a c1,oundar.v
c
\rill he ~.eccivcdat gcop l i o ~ ~ c(;,s , G2,(;:. ;lncI G4, rcsji)ccti\.cly.Thc sanic
is ti 11c foi- all ~ 1 1 1 ~hol-izontal
1
reflectors bclo\v 111c
j~oilit11. 'I'llc coi-I-csponcling
shot points and gc-oplioncs
(.C, aritl Gi)a1.e i~quidistantfrom the point 11 abo\,c P.
I1 tlic ti-avcl tirnes are corrected for the dilkrencc in
length o l the ray paths, tlie I-ecords can be added
togetlicr, or stacked. Tlie time-col-rected sigrlals from
t!ic reflcctio~~s
at P reinforce one another, and the
signals from I - a ~ ~ d onoisc
r n tend to cancel out, thereby
i~lcreasingthc sigrlal-to-noise ratio. The result is a n
cnlianccti seismogram showing the reflections as they
\voulcl appear if the shot point anci rrceiver wo.c h o t l ~
at p.

T'igure 2.2.1 Tlic j > r ~ l i c ~of~ Istacking

c
of sc~sniicrecords.
l<x~~iosioi~s
arc set oli ar shot poin~sS1, .C7, S j , and S4.
Tlie r.lys rcflecrcd froln rhc same point 1' on ;I ~rcflccror
; ~ dcptli
t
arc rccc~ved,fol- each of tile cxplosio~is,at gcoplioiics G I , G 2 , G j , and C4. rcspccti\,cly . Adjusting the
a r r ~ v a ltimes of tlicse reflectlor~sfor tile d~ffcrcnrlengths
of ray p.lth allows the f o ~ ~rccords
rto bc added together,
which cllliances the sigr~alfrom the reflection at P nnd
canccls out random nolsc. -Phc cffcct is a n Increasc in thc
s i g l l a ! - t ~ ) - ~ iratio.
o~~e

tions at sea unchanged. I f t h ~ s1s the only correction

applied, the calculated anomaly is c ~ l l e d a frcc-air
anomaly.
T h e Bouguer correction is also frequently applied.
It is assumed that between sea level and the altitude of
the measurement is a uiiiforrn layer of continental crustal rock that represents an excess of niass piled o n the
surface. This assumed excess gravitational attraction is
therefore sutltracted from land-based measurements. At
sea, it is assumed that all dcpths of water represent a
deficiency of mass, because water is less dense tliai~rock.
T h e assumed deficiency in gravitational attraction is
therefore added t o sea-based measurements. T h e Bouguer anomaly results from application of both the freeair and Llo~~gues
corrections.
T h e gravitatiorial effects of local topography, however, differ measur,lbly from those of a uniform layer.
T h u s a refinement of the simple Bouguer anomaly callcci
the complete Bouguer anomaly requires n terrain correction to account for the local effcccs.

lir practice, data a1 e gatliei-ed fi.c~nia large liiicai.

ai-]-a>o f sliot points and gcopIlon~%\.
F,ac!i gcoplionc
I-ccor-CIS
marly reflCctiorls fr.i~nicliflc~.cnttiepths, and
the stacking is doiic by con-iputcrto proclucc cnlir~ncctl
szisrnograms a t each poilit in tlie profile. Figure 2 . 1 5 A
I \ a n cs:umplcs of a staci\ctl seisnlic profile, which
\lio\i,h
abunclant hor.izontal rcflccto~-s ; ~ t shiillow
~l~-[lLlls.

Shot points

st

S,

Geophones

S,

S4

:.

..

G,

G4

.I
I:

. , !

. .

G,

GI

..

T h u s , the Bouguer anomaly compares the mass of

existing rocks at depth to the mass of standard coiitinental crust whose elevation is a t sea level. Bouguer
~lnomaliesare geilerally strongly negative over areas of
high topography, indicating that there is a deficiency of
mass below sea level compared t o standard continental
crust. They are strongly positive over ocean basins, indicating that there is an excess of mass below the ocenn
botroin compared to standard contine~italcrust.
T h e area under a gravity anomaly profile provides
a unique measure of the total excess o r deficiency of
mass a t depth, and the shape of the profile constrains
the possiblc distribution of the anomalous niass. T h e
interpretarion of mass distribution is not unique, hob\'ever, brcausc a given anomaly profile can be p r o d ~ ~ c e d
by a wide range of density differences and distributions.
Flgrire 2.1 SA, for example, shows three symmetric bodles of the same density, each of which produces the same
symmetric gravity anomaly. Figure 2.18U, C illustrates
I1ow the faulting of different density distributions affects

Tcchrlrques of

Structural Geology and Tectonics

27

Altliough horizonla1 or v c l ~st~allo\vlytlippirig 1.cI1c.c.1o1.sarc conilrlon in untlcforrrieil v t i i r n c ~ ~ t a ri ) y; ~ \ i i i \

(sli;lllo\v parts of Figure 2. 15), IIILICII of tlic s1r.uctul.c
OF ii~:~,r.est
in s t r - u c t ~ ~ rarid
a l tcctor11(.ili\cstigation\ is
a grc;it deal moi.c c~ornp1i.u(dcc,1>c.r.parts of Figi~r-c
2. 15). For cxarnplc, I x ~ i \\< ; i l l s i g ~ ~ i i i c aarid
n t \*~u.i;il?le
dips and d i s c o r ~ t i r i u o b~ c~t\I (possiblv tr.ilncatcc1 l ~ ya
fault) ;ire c o m m o n . S11c.11str-uc,tirri. gi1.c 1-ixc to di\tortions a ~ l dai-tifacts i r ~seis~nicprofiles (F1grii.~.2 . IS),
which must be coi-rcctcd by migratiorl.
LVc shall describc thc PI-in~.iplrof niig~-:~tion
by
~rsinga n example for which thc. seismic velocity of
the material is corista~lt,anti the source and clctectorarc at the s a m e point p (Figuw 2.3.1A). A pal.ticulai.
rcflcction that apparently plots a t I1bclo\v tlic dctcctor could corn? h-oin a boundary that is tangcnt to
:in point o n a circular arc of constant t\vo-way travel
tiinc having I-adius pP around p Cor cxarnplc, from
I". On t\Vo adj;tcent rcflcction scibmogi arns (Figure
2.3. I R ) , a rcflcclion z~ppai.cntlyplots a1
beneath
and at Pz bcnc;~th112. [ t ~ v o u i dtllcrcfo~-cappear
that the rc[lcctor had the dip of thc linc P IP2. 111fact,
howcvcr, the reflector musf bc thc corumon tangcnt
to lht' t\vo constant-travcl-tiri~c:u-cs of I - ~ C ~ ~ LpI ISPI
about pl and p2P2 abo~11p2. Tlir ~rcflcctions must
thcrcForc colnc from points I"[ ancl 1';. T ~ L an
~ sun-

cor I-c~ctcci
pi-or~lcsho\vs cl.l-onc%oi!\1oc;itions arid clips
for. dil~piiig~.cflcctor.\,a n d the. I-clicctionpoints PI a ~ ~ d
IJ2 rnirst Ilc 111igr-ntcd;tlu~igthcir r.e\pccti\.c cori\tnntti-;t\.cl-tirncL I I . to
~ . ~the correct locations at
ar1c1
1'3. TI?' 11igllc1.tile truc dip, t h e gr~3;atcrtlie d i s t o r ~ i o r ~ .
i'c,~-tii.al
t.ctlcctor a plot o n un~iiigr;itetlscisinic profilcs
:I\ :in alignmelit of rcflcctio~is
lla~.iriga 45" dip.
1s the scisrnic sollr-ce and the clctcctor arc not at
thc s;unle poir~t,tlic arc of consta~lttwo-way travel
t ~ m cbccorncs a n cllipsc, and it is fui-thcr- distorted if
the vclocity is [rot constant. These a - c co~nplicatioris
that ninst he accourlted for in any analysis or a real
scisniic. i.ccor-cl, although the pr-inciple rcmains the
sanlc.
Another problem occurs if a reflector is discontinuous. The end of the reflector acts a s a defracrion
point wliich tnkcs cnergy from any anglc o f inciderrcc
and I-adiatcs it i r ~all directions as though the point
\\,ci-c.a ncw sour-c:c (point D in Figul-c 2.3.2). 'l'hc
sig~wtls1.ccordcd by the nearby detector-s-for c s ; ~ r i ~ l ~atl c171,
, p2, ancl p3-t1icxn plot along a pal-abolic
a r c on ;in uncosrcctcd scisrnic prolilc (the dotted line
in Figul-c 2.3.2; scc also Figures 2 . 1 5 A , 2.16A), bccause the t\vo-way tl.avc1 times for the signal incrcasc
as t l ~ cdistance or the detector From tllc encl of the
r.cflcctor illel-cases. The location for dl possiblc dif-

Apparent position
of reflecting polnt
Figure 2.3.1 Tile migration of seismic signals corrects the sc~srnicrecords to give the true location
and dip of rrflectorr. In t h ~ sexample, seismic velocity is considered constant, and the shot point
and receiver are hotti located at the same polnt. A. A reflection rece~vcd at appears on the
seismrc record a t a two-way travel time that plots at P. In fact, the signal could come from any
rcflcctor, such as P', that is tangent to the seinicircular arc of radius pP around p. That arc is
the locus of constanr rwo-way travel tlme. B. Reflections deiccted at p , and p2 plot vertically
below each point at 1'; and P z , respectively, giving the reflector- tlic apparcnt dip and location of
the linc l',Pz. Thc t ~ u lr o ~ ~ ~ tand
i o nd ~ of
p thc reflector, ho~vrver,must be given by the lint: P l r P z ' ,
which 15 thc corlltnoll tangent to the constant two-way travel-time arcs about pl and p z , respectively. Notc that PI' is the a c t ~ ~ n
location
l
of rhr reflector below p 2 .

I~.:rcti:)lipoinis that could g c n c r a ! ~tlic si;:n:tl r-cc.ol.clcd

at a given rc:cci\ier, however, rnltst lie along ;in 2u.c. of
coilstant t\r,o-\vay tl.a\.c*lt i n ~ eallout that rcci~ivci.(t11c
tl;tslied arcs i l l Figure 2.3.2). I ' h c true locatioi~of t11c
c!iffr;li,tion poiiit is the common intcrscction uf the
arc\ c o n s t ~ ~ u c t e1.01i i several dctectol-s. Thus rnigl-sting
cach signal along its arc to the colilrnon poii~titicntifics the true locatior~of t h e diffrac:tion point 11.
111practice, the process of migration consists of
taking cach individual event on a reflection seismogram, migrating it along its arc of constant two-way
travel tinic, a n d adding that event to arly othcl- seismogram intersected by that arc at the point of intersection. The res~dtingseisnlic profile is then a series
of'seisniogra~ns, each of which corisists of the original

~-i.('<irti
; ~ l t c ~ . ct,~,
d thc addition of all the evci~tsthat
rlligi.:~ti.to that record. \Vith this procccl~i-e,rcilecting
boundaries appear- as collerent traces o f c v e ~ i t across
s
t i ~ cscc:tioii in tlicir correct location, and difl'racted
signal.; sum together at tlic location of the dill~.action
poirit. The otlicr :tdc!itions tu the ditrcrent scisn~ogranis tvncl to car~ccleach other out and d o not prod ~ i c ccohercnt pattel-11son the seismic pi-oiile.
Determining tlie constant two-\yay tral'el-time
arc, of course, requires determining tlie velocity structure. The arrlount of computation required t o migrate
every cvent in a profile to every seismogram intel-sectcd by its consta~it-travel-time
a r c is prodigious; in
practice, it can be handlcd only by a computer.

Figure 2.3.2 The end of a discontinuous reflector ( D ) acts as a diffraction point and radiates
seisiiiic energy in all direct~oiisfor any angle of incidence. Thc further the receiver is from D,
the later the diffracted ray arrives. T h ~ t sthe cliffracted energy arrives at receivers p , , p2, and p3,
f o r example, a t rimes that fall along a parabolic arc a t PI, Pz,and IJ3, respectively. The three
~ ~ i ~ s t : ~ n t - t r ~ v earcs
I - t i constructed
i~~e
about the three receivers with radii p l P I , pzPz, and p3P3,
rcspect~vcly,ruust intersect at the location of the diffraction point. T h u s we niust migrate each
event along its coilstant-tra\fel-timearc to the common point at D in order co reconstruct its true
locatioii.

Techniques of Srruct~~ral
Geology a n d

l'ecronics

29

+-- (;r;lvlty
i310f 'C?

Thrust
--

fa;:!t

- - - - - = .

A.
Figure 2.18 Illustrntiou of tlic .lrilhig~~ity
and the non~~niqucncss~nherent in tllc 1

a n d normal tlisplaccrncnt of a dense base-

Thrust
Incnr ovcria~nby Icss densc strata. The
nsyrnrnctry of thc: a t i o m a l y rcflccrc r l ~ a rof
thc 11ndc1-ly~ng
\~I.LICIII~C,,
tile d~stinction among thc thr-cc d~lfcrcrirsrructurcs
I \ ,~lniosrnegl~~il,lc,.
C . T l ~ ccffcct 011 gravi t y . ~ ~ i o ~ i i . lofl ~\.c~ticnl,
cs
thrust, and norm a l dirplacerncrit of a cicnsc laycr within
Normal
less dcllsc layers. Thc rhrcc structures pro- BeGravity effectof a faulted dense
dtccc ma rkadly diffcrcnr gravity .~~iornalies. basement

thc gravity anomaly profile. If a low-dcnsity laycr overlies n tliick higher-density laycr and t l ~ cstructure is
f.1~1lted( F ~ g u r c2.1813), the gravlty a n o ~ n a l yprofilc is
nsvmnletrlc, but the diHerentgcornetries of faulting havc
only :I rlilllor cffcct o n the ;lnomaly shape. I f tlie dcnscrn i n t c r ~ ~IlSl in a relatively thin laycr ( F i g ~ ~2.18C:),
re
thc
gravity arlomaly ~ r o f i l eis again asymmetric, t l i o ~ ~the
~ll
shapc is diffcrcnt from that in Figure 2.15l3,and the
cffcct of different fault geometry is significant. T h u s
a l t l i o ~ ~ gthe
l i anomaly shape imposes constraints on the
possible strucrurc, to be reliable, gravity 111odels should
he based o n a d d ~ t i o n a lstructural and geopliyslcal 111forrnat~on.

Geomagnetic Studics
A magnetic field is a vector quantity that has both tnagnitude and direction. For the Earth's magnetic fielcl, the
niagnitude can be specified b y thc magnitudes of the
horizoi~taland vertical components of the field. T h e
orientation is specified by the declination and inclination, \vhlch are essentially the trend and plunge of the
field line, though the inclination also i~icludesthe polarity, which defines whcther the magnetic vector points
up o r down. Studies of the Earth's magnetic ficld include
the s t ~ ~ of
d ymagnetic anomalies and of pnleornagtietrsm.

Thrust

Normal

C.Gravity effect of a faulted dense layer

Magnetic anolnalies arc mcasurcments of thc variation of the Earth's magnetic ficld relative to sorne los,lliy tlefilled r e f c r e ~ ~ c cThere
.
I S n o international
sr;lndn~-d
rcfcrencc field from which anomalies are meas111-cil,hciause the Earth's niagnetic field I S not constant
evcn on a human tlme scalc.
and cli:lnges s~g~lificantly
Regional maps of magnetic anomalies arc made hy
sing both aerial and surface measurements. T h e principal use of continental magnetic a ~ ~ o m a maps
ly
is to
infer the presence o f rock types and structures that are
covered by other rocks, sediments, o r water. In some
cases, the prescnce of particular rock types at depth can
be inferrcd on the basis o f characteristic patterns on a
magnetic anomaly map. For example, rhc extension of
rocks of the Canadian shield beneath thrust faults of
the Canadi'ln Rocky Mountains can be inferred from
tlie extension of the shield magnetic pattern bcneath the
thrust front.
Marine ~nagncticsurveys have resulted in the wellk n o w n maps of the symmetric patterns of riiagnetic
anomalies w h ~ c hhavc been s o fundamental to the de\,clopment of plate tectonic theory. When correlated
~vitlitlic ~ n a g n e t i creversal time scale, these maps can
he interpreted to give a map o f the age of ocean basins.
Magnetic anornalics also can be used in a manncr
s i n ~ i l u rto gravity anonlalies t o infer structurc at depth,

:is 11ioll1.l.;I1;lsed 011 gravity .iliorualics, a n d Tor sinj11;irrr:lsi)lih.

I3y n \:,lriety o t p ~ - o c e s e tsh a t i n c l r ~ d c!,stallizntiori,
s
coi,ling, sciiirncntation, nliil c h e n ~ i c n l reaction i l l the
F , n ~ [ h ' sli~agricticfielcl, rocks c a n b c c o m c rnagnerizcd in
:I direction parallel t o the anihient fizld a n d can preserve
that n ~ a g n e t i s meven rf the rocks a r c rotated t o n e w
orientations. Studies of paleonlagnetism ilivolvc measuring tlie orientation of t h e magnetic field preserved in
rocks and c o m p a r i n g it to the orientation of the presentd a y field. If tho original horizont;ll plane In t h e s a r i ~ p l e
is k ~ ~ o w nthcse
,
meas~lrc-nlentsc a n be interpreted t o
r~idicatctlle declination and inclination of the T:arrl~'s
6cld a t tlic cirnc of magnetization. Gently dipping, u n 'iltcr-ed sediments and \:oIcar~icrocks provide t h e m o s t
reliable paleornagnctic rncasrlrcmcnts, b u t rllorc d e for-meil o r rnetarnorphosed rocks a n d plutonic rocks are
s o ~ n c t i m c suscful. Iiocks t h a t h a v e becn tilted since m a g netization arc
assumed t o have tilted a b o u t a
horizontal axis, s o they a r c restored t o the original
l ~ o r i z o n t a lb y r o t a t i o n a b o u t a n axis parallel t o t h e strike
of the b r d d i r ~ g .
?'lie earth's magnetic field is approxirnntely s y m ~ u c t r i c bout the axis of I-otation, a n d the inclination
o f thc field lines varres s ) ~ s t e ~ n a t i c a l with
ly
l a t i t ~ r d cf r o m
v e r ~ i i a l l yd o w ~ ai t the north pole t h r o ~ ~horizontal
~li
at
the e q u a t o r t o vertically u p a t the s o u t h pole. Because
this relationship is assumed t o have been c o n s t a n t
tliroughout geologic time, the paleo-declination determined for the s a m p l e in its original horizontal a t t i t ~ t d e
indicates the a m o u n t of rotation a rock has u n d e r g o n e
a b o ~ a~ vertical
t
axis, a n d t h e paleo-inclination relative
t o the original hol-izontal ~ n d i c a t e st h e latitude a t which
t h e sample was -magnetized. Such measurements c a n
therefore definc t h e changes in latitude and t h e r o t a t i o n s
a b o u t a vertical a x i s resulting f r o m t h e large-scale tectonic rnotioris t h a t rocks have experienced s i ~ i c em a g netization. T h e y c a n provide n o information, however,
o n the changes in longitude associated w i t h these
motions.
Plotting t h e a p p a r e n t paleornagnetic pole position
for different time periods froni a particular region p r o vides a n apprositliate indication of t h e m o v e m e n t of
t h a t area with respect to the Earth's geographic pole.
T11ese results a r e ~ ~ s u apresented
ll~
in the f o r m of a p pal-cnt pol'ir w a n d e r m a p s , such as tlie rnap of paleopole
p o s i t i o l ~ s for N o r t h America a n d E u r o p e d u r i n g the

1:igure 2.19 Apparent polar wander path (APE') for North

Arncrrca (circles) and lor Europe (squares). C = Cambrian,

S Siluria~i,I> = Devonian, CI and Cu = lower and uppcr
(3nrboniferous, P = Permian, Tr, Trl, anti Tru = T'riassic,
lower Triassli, and uppcr
. . Triassic, K = Cretaceous. A. Polar
\vander- p.irii5 for the continents In thclr present positions. B.
I'olar wander
for the continunts before thc opening of
the Arlnnric Ocean

Techniques of Str-uctuml Geology a n d Teitoniss

31

P;ir!;t-Afotion Kaeli;ntic~a~
I\,r!tci-~~
fro?:; a j.'aulking Event
'i I I L 111.st~111otio11
I . : I ~ ~ I ~ I ~~ I: o\ ~I ~ L ~ I II O ~I I I ~ :I IL1::!~
\I:i>
I ! ' , c ~ I I . \ : liiotio~i~ x c i i : ~ t i opat1e1.11
~~
01 C O I ~ I ~ I C ~ : ,
~ , \ , L , I I ~C , : I I ~ l ~ c
~ ~ c ( ~ o i ~fro ~
r - tl)y
e ( lt l ~ c: \ ~ o ~ ~ I ~ r ~ i c ~ i ~ \iI IoI I iI \ ~ ~~I IiI Cl I I : i ~ - r f : t ~ , t itol ~
i t~~\sCI~:IIIIL,\ 115
i ~ ! ~ , r ~ l1 i1 I1 ~\ .
~ r i o ~ l csI~o\vri
l
i l l k'igt~i.~~
2 . 4 . I . TIIC I I I I C I ~ I O I I I I C Y ! st:it~
I : ~ L I I : pI:\rlc :111(l tllc 1 1 , ~ 1 a I~ I L ~ I I: i r~ ~ ,c I i t i ~ i c l ~:\I<,\
c
tl~c
is s110\\ I I i l l F i g i 1 1 ~2 . 4 . I /I; i l 15 I ~ L , ~ I ~ I]\c \ ~ ~I I I ~ 5e11\'
~ ~
of ? I I ~O I I i > i t l l ~ , ~i I : ~ I I tLl i~: ~ l \vc,~~lc\
~ c I ~ c , I . : I111at
~(,
p : ~ l I c r - il~>, c ~ , a u \s~l i, j ~\votlIc! ~ L I \ L , to LIC to\va~-cItlic*
sci~l:i~.cs
L~I-:I\\11 O I I opposite sicI<,hoi ; i l l c z ~ s t - \ \ , ~(sI :t. ~ \v) l i l l ~t11,lt l c [ > l ~ < ~ 5 < ' ltilt.'
l ~ 5 f l l t ~ l l .~~O < ' ~ l ~ Of
~ O:Il l f ~ ~ ~ l ~ lcoiill?l.c\ion
.
L ~ L I : I C ~ ant
I
oil cithcr. sitic of cit/i~.r11ut1:1l
lila~ic..l'lic ;iclu:rl ! a t i l ~plane call ol'tcii tic i t l ~ ~ i i t i ~ i ~ i !
C;~.ndl~;~l
l i ~ ~ c I ; l u ltlcrol.niation
~ir~~
o f tlic ~.oc.k(1:igui-c
~g
consider-ation\ into account or I)?
2 . 4 . 1 I!) clcfc~~
111s tlic squ:c~-cs into pa~~nllclogl.an~s, Ily t i ~ h i ~gc~olc~gic
sr titi>~i~ig
tlic 111cationo f aftershocks that occur alor~g
slior-reni~lg tlic K\V-or-icntcd di~ncnsiorl\ of the
tlic fault plan<,.
\ C / L I ~ I . C S( S I I C as
~ I 111)anti L'I? aritl Icngthening the, NIIorientccl dimc,rlsions (such as BC and UI;). N-S and
'I'hc same pririciplc works in three ciin~cnsic~ns,
I<-W dinicnsions rernai~runchanged.
arid the noclal planes can be identifiecl from first-r~~oAn eart hcl~l'skeoccurs when cohesion on tlie f ~ t ~ r l t
lions by using a u'orldwide array of scisniornctcrs that
planc is lost, and srlddcl-I slip returns c;ich S ~ I I L ~ I - c in effect form a three-dimensiund array s t ~ r r o ~ l n d i n g
sepal-atcly to its undc.lormcd condition (Figur.c
2.4. I Q. During faulting, tllc outcl points A, B, E, and
F rcmain stationary, \vhilc the points on the rault, C
alld I), scpal.ZitC into iilc ~.cspcclivcpairs Chi and !IN,
f'igure 2.4.1 ( F ~ Z C /I)~aI~Kr )A t w o - d ~ ~ i ~ c ~ i s ril~dcl
~ o i i a lfor
a n d C,7 'sand Ds.
tlic mc~linilismoC fissr-niot~onr,rdincion pattcrils. A . G n Tn tllis process, t l ~ ct<W-u~.icnti:cl
iiimensions SLICI~ i c l omcci
~ 51.1tc reprcscrlted hy sqrlares o11ettlier sitlc of
clcnlv bccomc longel- (101-cs:\rnplc, D,\; rnovcs away
.i tittlll-c f n u l t . B. Deformcd state Ixfosc faulririg. N-S
Il-on~A , :uid C~smovcs a\hr:ly f~roinF3, crcatirlg a I-:{I-and I. -W d~rncns~ons
of tllc squar-cs arc unclianged, b ~ ~ t
cfaction Cor the lirst motion. The ME-oricntcd dimenNE-SW d~liicns~ons
(such as RC a n d LIE) arc lcngthcncd
sio~ls, I ~ O W C V C I ~ ,
sucldcilly Ijccolnc sllor.tc~- (lor.
.lntl NW-SL; d~rncnsio~ls
(such as AIC anii C:F) .ire cliorrc u ; ~ n ~ p lCN
c , nio\~csc"I)sc:'to 13 and DS 111o\'esc1ox1c:ncci. (: Failltcd state: sudden slip on the t n u l r gcllerJtcs
to E ) , crcating a cornpi-cssio~ntol- thr fir-st moliorl.
;in c;irtliquakc. N-S and E-W dlrncnsions nf the sciic~lres
Again the N-S aricl E-W clirncnsio~~s
l c n ~ a i nunarc till ~lncliangcd,but NE-SW dinicns~ons(sucli ns /jCN
cliangccl. T l i ~ l sc o ~ n j ) l - e s s i v
firs1
~ r~iotio11sradiate o ~ ~ t - and Il,\E) arc suddenly shortened, and NW-SL dlmcnwal-cl in the N E and SW qundl-nrrts, ancl rarcfaclion
sions (si~chas AD,,, and CsF) arc sucfdc~ilyIcngthencd.
lil-st ~ n o ~ i t ~I-adiatc
lls
ocitwal-cl in thc N W and SE quaciThus first mottons arc compressions for rays leaving the
ants. l'hc quadl-ants a r c sepal-atcd by nodal planes,
sout-cc In tlic quadrants marked C and are rarcfacr~ons
for trays Icavlng the source in the quadrar~tsrnnrkcii R .
\vliicli ;LIT tlic I'acllt planc and the p l a l ~ cnor-ma1 to it,
1-lie h u l t i i ! a ~ ~~ e1 1 ~the
1 plane normal to it ,ire nocinl
lor dimensions do not cfiangc i l l thcsc dil.cctions dul-111giaulting, ru-~clthe amplitude or the seismic ~ v i ~ ~ c~pl,incsalong wli~clirio change In dlrnension occilrs, : ~ ~ i c l
tlic amplitude of the first motion is therefore zero.
is tI1crcro1-czcro.

Additional Readings
Blntt, H , (;. V. Middleton, and I<. C . Murray. 1980. Origitl
ofsedrmentary rocks. New York: Freeman.
Cotiipror~,R. R. 1962. Field geology. N e w York: K'iley.
L~ndscth.R.O. 1982. Dig~talprocessing of gco~~liysicnl
drzt~z:
A Tevicun.Continuing Education Program, Society of Ex-

plorat~onGeophysicists, Tckn~caResource Development

Ltil., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Shzriti, r<. E. 1978. A first course in geo~)liysrct~l
exploriltion
~ Z J Izntcrpreta~ion.
~
Boston: International H i ~ n ~ a Ren
s o ~ ~ r c cDevelopment
s
Corporatioll.

I ! Ic~: i ~ - t l i q ~ ~ ;111
\ l , C'II:~JIL,I.
~,.
9 \ \ t ~s l l o \ ~t 1 1 ; t ~ [ / I ? 111:i
I I I I L I T ~:IIICI
~
tllc 1iii11init11~1
C C ) I I I ~ I - C < \ I \ ~btrcs\r\
,
lic I ; )

\.-

I - ~ ~ I - c ~ : I~iricl
c ~ ~ tlic
~ ) I Ic o r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ qc~s ~
s zi io~rlir : i rI.<,~ts,

-;>i,cti\.cl>.
Tllc stress c~l.icrlt:ttior~s
a1.c so~iiclinlc\; t i >
prcziiil;~tcd11y P and 'T' ;i.cc.\. ~ - c s ~ ~ c ~ c \\licl-e
t i \ c I ~ tlic
,
' f :?.xisl ~ i x c t tl!c
s ~loda~
l ~ l a r ~i l cl tile
, s ~-:i~el;ictioii
CJLI;\C~-

I : L I I ~L S ,~ {iic
~ 'I ~ : L A~ ~ > i>i>cc.is
l
t11c r;ociL\lpi,', ( ~ \1 1 1

I~IS.>

COITI~
~~b\iori:~l
I
q \ ~ a ( l i - : t ~(l:igt~~-c
~ts
2 . 4 . 1 ('),

13:;

i i I \ it

ol C U I I ~ ~ I ~ tliat
~ O I It11c I ~ I ~ I I ~ I I ~ L~ I. OI II I I pii'sxi\,e tr-c%ss,\\-hic.i~i b t l ~ cclel;i:ito~.ic tc~r\ilvsir <,sh
(\(,(, ('hapi(,i. ' J ) , I 111carccli i ~~11c.qi~;i(!l.;ilit01 i.oilip i c ~ s ~ i o n iil.st
a l a~.t.i\;ils.
[ ~ , ~ ) l i : t i\ O L I I - C C

Auxiliary
nodal plane

A.

Undeformed

6.Deformed

C. Faulted

Techniques of Structural Geology a n d .l'cctonics

33