University of Tripoli
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Petroleum Engineering .
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
Lecturer: Mr. Faraj Hadia El – Bousaify
OBJECTIVES:
The aims of this course are:
• Introduces the basic mechanical principles in structural geology, like
stress, strain, elastic and plastic deformation in materials and rocks.
• Enables the student to recognize and describe the different geological
structures (joints, faults, folds, foliation…etc.).
• Study the mechanism of the formation of different structures.
• Helps the student to determine time-structural event relationships.
• Review the skills of using the geological compass and the
stereographic methods in structural geology.
• Study geological structures in the lab and in the field through field
trips to the surrounding areas.
In this course we will cover three parts of the textbook:
• PART A: Fundamentals
– Chapter 1: Introduction
– Chapter 2: Primary and Nontectonic
Structures
– Chapter 3: Force and Stress
– Chapter 4: Deformation and Strain
– PART C: Ductile Structures
– Chapter 5: Ductile Deformation Processes and Microstructures
– Chapter 6: Folds and Folding
– PART C: Brittle Structures
– Chapter 7: Brittle Deformation Processes
– Chapter 8: Joints and Veins
– Chapter 9: Faults and Faulting
EARTH STRUCTURE:
An Introduction to Structural Geology and Tectonics
2nd edition
Authors: Ben A. Van der Pluijm & Stephen Marshak
Publisher: Norton, 2004
Other References:
• Park, R., (1997): Foundations of structural Geology. Chapman and Hall,
London.
• Hobbs, B., Means, W. and Williams, P., (1989): An outline of structural
geology, 3rd ed., John Wiley, New York.
• Ramsay, J. and Huber, M., (1987): The techniques of modern structural
geology. Academic Press, London.
EXAMS:
First exam: 15 %
Second exam: 15 %
Med Term Exam of Lab: 10%
Final Exam of Lab: 20%
Final exam: 40 %
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
Structural geology: is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of
rock units with respect to their deformational histories.
The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements
of rock to uncover information about the history of deformation (strain)
in the rocks, and ultimately, to understand the Stress field that resulted in
the observed strain and geometries.
Examples of geologic structures are folds, faults , joints, veins,
cleavage, foliation and lineations.
What Is Structural Geology?
Structural geology is closely related to another branch of geology called tectonics
that includes the study of lithosphere and deeper mantle rocks also.
WHAT IS THE JOB OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGISTS :
(1) Measure Rock Geometries.
(2) Reconstruct Their Deformational Histories.
(3) Calculate The Stress Field That Resulted In That Deformation.
Some guideline for the
interpretation of deformed area
• Law of original horizontality (bed deposited
horizontally).
• Law of superposition (strata follow one another
in chronological).
• Stratigraphical continuity for the same
lithological sequence.
• Sharp discontinuities in lithological pattern are
faults, unconformities or intrusive contacts.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Classification based on geologic significance
Primary and nontectonic structures: A primary structure is defined by Wilkerson
(2019) as, "any structure that develops prior to or during the formation of the rock."
Primary structures are non-tectonic, meaning they form during sedimentary
deposition, or in the case of metamorphic rock, during crystallization.
Secondary structures:
As defined by Wilkerson (2019), a secondary structure is, "any structure formed in
response to an applied stress that results from plate movement." Therefore, these
structures are tectonic, as they develop after lithification of sedimentary and igneous
rock, and after crystallization of metamorphic rock. Examples of secondary structures
include faults, folds, lineations, cleavage, and shear zones.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Sedimentary Structures)
• Earth materials can deform without being involved in tectonic processes
• Stresses can be imposed upon them by, for example, overburden loading,
sedimentary processes. . Structures thus formed are called nontectonic structures
Sedimentary processes commonly produce a variety of structures called Primary
Sedimentary Structures
Bedding. The most common
characteristic and most diagnostic
feature of sedimentary rocks is
bedding.
Bedding planes form in primary
sedimentary environments.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Sedimentary Structures)
• Graded beds contain particle sizes
ranging from large at the base to
small at the top (normal graded
bedding), or the small size at the base
and the large one at the top (reverse
graded bedding)
Cross bedding, or cross stratification, is
the least ambiguous current-related
structure with distinct differences between
the top and bottom of the bed.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Sedimentary Structures)
• Mud Cracks Fine sediment deposited
in water and later exposed to the
atmosphere forms extensional
shrinkage cracks called mud or
desiccation cracks
Ripple Marks, form where a current moves
sediment or where the bottom sediment
surface is otherwise disturbed by water
moving above a threshold velocity.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Sedimentary Structures)
• Rain imprints form where rain falls on
fine sediment, and preservation in the
sedimentary record depends on rapid,
nondestructive covering of the
imprints by another layer of sediment
Tracks and trails left by organisms may be
preserved and, under certain conditions,
may be used to determine facing direction
of beds
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Sedimentary Structures)
• Sole Marks, Scour Marks, Flute Casts
Marks formed as an object moves Sole Marks
across a bottom surface or as currents
scour a bedding surface are sole and
scour marks.
Load casts form after deposition and
dewatering of sediment as a result of
gravitational instability at the boundary
between a layer of water-saturated sand
and underlying mud.
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Igneous Structures)
Primary Igneous Structures
Igneous plutons, pyroclastic flows, and lava flows commonly form in shapes ranging from
approximately equidimensional to tabular (one dimension greatly exceeds the other two, as in
a dike or sill).
Common intrusive structures: Dikes and Sills
A dyke is a vertical or sub-vertical tabular intrusion of igneous rock that cuts across
preexisting structures . A sill is a horizontal intrusion of igneous rock that forms
between preexisting rock beds
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Igneous Structures)
Primary Igneous Structures
Common extrusive structures:
Lava flow
A lava flow is the result of magmatic
discharge onto the surface. These
structures are useful in determining the
top and bottom of a flow, especially for a
single flow event
Pillow lava structures can also be useful in
determining the facing of a deposit, as the
"tips" of the lava point down
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure (Primary Igneous Structures)
Primary Igneous Structures
Common extrusive structures:
Lava flow
A lava flow is the result of magmatic
discharge onto the surface. These
structures are useful in determining the
top and bottom of a flow, especially for a
single flow event
Pillow lava structures can also be useful in
determining the facing of a deposit, as the
"tips" of the lava point down
Classification of Geological Structures
• Nontectonic Structure
• Bed contacts
• Depositional Contacts
• The boundary separating one rock body from another is known as a depositional
contact. Bedding contacts can either be conformable ( ) التطبق المتوافقor
unconformable ()التطبق االمتوافق. Conformable contacts are those in which two
beds of a continuous depositional sequence touch. Unconformable contacts are
those that represent a time gap (or a depositional hiatus) between two layers of
rock
Conformable beds contacts
Horizontal boundaries of rock units without erosion or non deposition
Unconformable contacts
surfaces of erosion and/or non-deposition that indicate a gap in the stratigraphic record
• Angular unconformity
difference of strike or dip or both,
between older strata below and
younger strata above
• Disconformity
contact between parallel strata
whose ages are significantly
separated
• Non-conformity
contact between younger sedimentary strata deposited upon an eroded surface of older
crystalline (igneous or metamorphic) rocks