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Structural Geology
Definition and concept
Primary Structures
Ranjan Kumar Dahal, PhD
www.ranjan.net.np
Course: Introduction
Introduction. Concept, approach, and
scope of structural geology. Primary and
secondary structures. Primary
sedimentary structures and their
significance in structural geology.
Structure of igneous rocks.
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Structural geology
As a branch of geology, it deals with ‘the study of
structures found in rocks’.
Structural geology is an arrangement of rocks and plays an
important role in geo-engineering in the selection of
suitable sites for all types of projects such as dams,
tunnels, multistoried buildings, etc.
Structural geology is concerned with deformation of the
Earth's crust
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Sedimentary Structures
Contacts - boundaries between rock
units
Primary structures - develop during
formation of rock.
In sedimentary rocks, may provide
information on stratigraphic sequence:
relativepositions of older and younger
rocks facing)
transport direction during deposition
examples: bedding, cross-beds, ripple marks,
graded beds, sole marks, mud cracks 10
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Sedimentary structures
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Sedimentary structures
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Sedimentary structures
Cross stratification
Cross lamination (small-scale cross stratification) is
produced by ripples
Cross bedding (large-scale cross stratification) is
produced by dunes
Cross-stratified deposits can only be preserved when a
bedform is not entirely eroded by the subsequent bedform
(i.e., sediment input > sediment output)
Straight-crested bedforms lead to planar cross
stratification; sinuous or linguoid bedforms produce
trough cross stratification
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Sedimentary structures
Cross stratification
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Sedimentary structures
Planar stratification
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Sedimentary structures
Cross stratification produced by wave ripples can be
distinguished from current ripples by their symmetry and
by laminae dipping in two directions
Hummocky cross stratification (HCS) forms during
storm events with combined wave and current activity in
shallow seas (below the fair-weather wave base), and is
the result of aggradation of mounds and swales
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Primary structures
Primary structures are original features
of sedimentary or igneous rocks
resulting from deposition or
emplacement
It gives ultimate goal to understand the
total history of a deformed rock and not
just its deformational history
It also help to understand that the
processes of deposition and
deformation are not necessarily
isolated in time 39
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Bedding
The basic structure in all environments is the sedimentary bed
(stratum), which is a distinct layer of sediment or rock that may
differ in a variety of ways from overlying and underlying layers.
Genetically, the base of a bed represents an abrupt change in
depositional conditions or sediment supply; the bed
represents more or less uniform conditions; and the top
represents another abrupt change.
The changes may include a period of erosion or a pause in
deposition
When erosion surfaces between beds of closely similar
materials are so faint that the composite unit looks like a single
bed, the beds are said to be amalgamated.
Beds are studied and described according to
(1) how they differ from adjoining beds (by grain size, fabric,
composition, or primary color);
(2) their shape
(3) their thickness (actual thickness is most useful);
(4) their lateral extent, noting the degree to which it can be determined;
(5) their internal structures; and
(6) the nature of their contacts with adjacent beds.
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Antidunes
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Direction of
younging
Types of Ripples
Direction of
younging
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Ripple marks
• Symmetric ripples indicate
bi-modal current
•Concave = up
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Ripple Marks
Ridges and valleys on the surface of a bed, formed due to
current flow. Cross stratification with wave amplitude < 6“
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Cross Ripples 54
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Current Ripples
Ripple marks are small waves of sand that
develop on the surface of a sediment layer by the
action of moving water.
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Wave Ripples
Other ripple marks have a symmetrical
form.
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Ripple marks
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When viewed from the side wave ripples are symmetrical with
cross-laminae dipping in both directions either side of the
crests.
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e. Mudcracks
Mudcracks (also called desiccation or shrinkage cracks)
form in fine-grain Sediment as shrinkage occurs during
drying.
In plan view they are described as orthogonal or non-
orthogonal, depending on the angle of Intersection.
Orthogonal cracks are usually normal to one another, and
thus bound four-sided polygons.
Complete orthogonal mudcracks are the commonest type,
occurring In a great variety of marine and non-marine
deposits
Top
Bottom
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Mud cracks
Desiccation of
muddy sediments
• Mud cracks
5 cm 66
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Polygons are
generally curved
concave upward,
although flat or
concave-down
examples are known.
Erosion of thick
polygons produces Top
mud clasts. Thin mud
layers become
strongly curved upon Bottom
drying, to produce
mud curls
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f. Raindrop imprints
Shallow pits, with slightly raised rims, are attributed
to raindrops or hailstones falling on damp mud.
Stranded bubbles produce a similar structure, but
they are less regularly distributed on the sediment
surface and do not overlap
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Raindrops
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g. Organic structures
• Habitation burrows
Bioturbation • Feeding burrows
• Movement
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Footprints
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Flame structures
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Pillow lava
“V “ notch 75
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Stromatolites
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1. On surface structres:
a. Undulatory bedforms produced by
unidirectional water currents
b. Plane beds produced by unidirectional
water currents
c. Undulatory bedforms produced by wave
action
d. Undulatory bedforms produced by wind
e. Mudcracks
f. Raindrop imprints
g. Organic structures
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Secondary Structures
Joints: fractures with very little
or no displacement
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“Microstructures”
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What is it?
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faults joints
Marker bed
drag folds
joints
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Linear structures
Trend: direction of a vertical plane that
contains the linear feature in the direction of
plunge.
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Important terminology/concepts
- Structural geology- what is it and why is it important?
- Primary structures vs. Secondary structures
- Joints
- Veins
- Faults
- Folds
- Cleavage
- Foliation
- Shear zones
- Lineations
- Structural analysis
- Planar features: strike and dip
- Linear features: trend and plunge
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Next class
Kinematic Analysis
Homework:
1. Differentiate Primary and Secondary
Structures. Classify primary structures and
describe its uses.
2. Write notes on Structures in Igneous rock.
1st Lecture
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