Mechanics of pressure solution seam growth and evolution

Zhou, Xiao Yi; Aydin, Atilla

doi:10.1029/2010jb007614

Cited by 32 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The hierarchical nature of stylolite formation, combined with the impact of grain-scale heterogeneities (Ebner et al, 2010) and the inhomogeneous stress distribution surrounding geometric asperities (Zhou and Aydin, 2010), results in (1) a complex internal structure (inset on May 23, 2015 geology.gsapubs.org Downloaded from in Fig. 3B), and (2) an inconsistent stylolite thickness.…”

Section: Optical Microscopic µCt and Chemical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Stylolites in limestones: Barriers to fluid flow?

Heap

Baud

Reuschlé

et al. 2014

Geology

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International audienceStylolites--products of intergranular pressure-solution--are laterally extensive, planar features. They are a common strain localization feature in sedimentary rocks. Their potential impact on regional fluid flow has interested geoscientists for almost a century. Prevalent views are that they act as permeability barriers, although laboratory studies are extremely rare. Here we report on a systematic laboratory study of the influence of stylolites on permeability in limestone. Our data demonstrate that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the studied stylolites do not act as barriers to fluid flow. In detail, when a stylolite occurs perpendicular to the direction of flow, the permeability simply follows the same power law permeability-porosity trend as the stylolite-free material. We show, using a combination of high-resolution (4 µm) X-ray computed tomography, optical microscopy, and chemical analyses, that the stylolites of this study are not only perforated layers constructed from numerous discontinuous pressure solution seams, but comprise minerals of similar or lower density to the host rock. The stylolites are not continuous high-density layers. Our data affirm that stylolites may not impact regional fluid flow as much as previously anticipated

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Section: Optical Microscopic µCt and Chemical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Stylolites in limestones: Barriers to fluid flow?

Heap

Baud

Reuschlé

et al. 2014

Geology

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“…In general, in stylolites, the stress concentrates at the tips and the largest stress is perpendicular to the stylolites. Recent models [ Koehn et al , 2007; Ebner et al , 2009b; Zhou and Aydin , 2010] suggest that a higher stress concentration at the top of the tooth should be responsible of localized high rates of dissolution. Benedicto and Schultz [2010] investigated the topography of stylolites (along‐strike trace length, maximum and average amplitudes) from the damaged zone of the Gubbio normal fault zone in central Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the growth of stylolites in sedimentary rocks

Rolland¹,

Toussaint²,

Baud³

et al. 2012

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] Stylolites are ubiquitous pressure solution seams found in sedimentary rocks. Their morphology is shown to follow two self-affine regimes. Analyzing the scaling properties of their height over their average direction shows that (1) at small scale, they are self-affine surfaces with a Hurst exponent around 1, and (2) at large scale, they follow another self-affine scaling with Hurst exponent around 0.5. In the present paper, we show theoretically the influence of the main principal stress and the local geometry of the stylolitic interface on the dissolution reaction rate. We compute how it is affected by the deviation between the principal stress axis and the local interface between the rock and the soft material in the stylolite. The free energy entering in the dissolution reaction kinetics is expressed from the surface energy term and via integration from the stress perturbations due to these local misalignments. The resulting model shows the interface evolution at different stress conditions. In the stylolitic case, i.e., when the main principal stress is normal to the interface, two different stabilizing terms dominate at small and large scales which are linked respectively to the surface energy and to the elastic interactions. Integrating the presence of small-scale heterogeneities related to the rock properties of the grains in the model leads to the formulation of a Langevin equation predicting the dynamic evolution of the surface. This equation leads to saturated surfaces obeying the two observed scaling laws. Analytical and numerical analysis of this surface evolution model shows that the crossover length separating both scaling regimes depends directly on the applied far-field stress magnitude. This method gives the basis for the development of a paleostress magnitude marker. We apply the computation of this marker, i.e., the morphological analysis, on a stylolite found in the Dogger limestone layer located in the neighborhood of the ANDRA Underground Research Laboratory at Bure (eastern France). The results are consistent with the two scaling regimes expected, and the practical determination of the major principal paleostress, from the estimation of a crossover length, is illustrated on this example.

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“…19. These pockets may represent early stages of incremental growth of compaction bands and could later act as stress concentrators or asperities (Katsman et al, 2005;Sternlof et al, 2005, Fortin et al, 2006Zhou and Aydin, 2010;Cheung et al, 2012).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Numerical modeling reveals that the stress is higher at the tip of the bands with respect to their flanks (Katsman et al, 2006a;Zhou and Aydin, 2010;Meng and Pollard, 2014).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Our observations confirm that a single compaction band does not have a perfectly tabular geometry with smooth planar boundaries and constant thickness but rather a band with enhanced thickness in the central part and with diffuse and irregular boundaries. The documentation of irregular compaction band boundaries in this study may prove to be critical considering the role of asperities as stress risers at the flanks of the volume reduction bands (Zhou and Aydin, 2010).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The dynamics and interaction of compaction bands in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada (USA): Implications for their growth, evolution, and geostatistical property

et al. 2015

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Geometry, geostatistics and microstructures of two sets of high-angle compaction bands within AztecSandstone are investigated for the purpose of characterizing their dimensions, distributions, and growth dynamics. Both sets generally terminate at the dune boundaries. The first set of compaction bands is longer than the second set, which is thought to be controlled by the depositional architecture. The macroscopic thickness of single compaction bands varies from zero at their tips to maximum values, 3 to 10 mm commonly within the central parts. The compaction bands often cluster into zones, the thickness of which increases by addition of a new band sub-parallel to the previously formed bands. The average thickness of a given zone does not change significantly except for a limited number of places along their lengths and a high thickness/distance gradient at their ends. The high thickness anomalies in the thickness distribution plots along the zones correspond to local complexities such as eye structures, steps, and intersections of converging or diverging bands and may reach to about 35 cm. Microstructural analysis of single compaction bands highlights the presence of two typical portions, a thin portion and a thick portion. The thin portion of the band contains pockets of tightly packed grains surrounded by large pores in the band. The thick portion is characterized by an almost homogeneously distributed compaction throughout the band. The thin A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 portions are found close to the tips, whereas the thick portions occur primarily in the central parts of the bands. Two other characteristics of both single bands and zones of bands in high resolutionimages are that their thicknesses appear to be smaller and that their lateral boundaries are unexpectedly rough with respect to their appearance in outcrops and hand samples, the latter of which may play an important role in their lateral growth.

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Mechanics of pressure solution seam growth and evolution

Cited by 32 publications

References 37 publications

Stylolites in limestones: Barriers to fluid flow?

Stylolites in limestones: Barriers to fluid flow?

Modeling the growth of stylolites in sedimentary rocks

The dynamics and interaction of compaction bands in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada (USA): Implications for their growth, evolution, and geostatistical property

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