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Although joints can occur singly, they most frequently appear as joint sets and systems. A joint set is a family of parallel, evenly spaced joints that can be identified through mapping and analysis of their orientations, spacing, and physical properties. A joint system consists of two or more intersecting joint sets. [1] [2] [3]
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 present-day rock geometries to uncover information about the history of deformation ( strain ) in the rocks, and ultimately, to understand the stress ...
Columnar jointing in Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland Columnar jointing in the Alcantara Gorge, Sicily. Columnar jointing is a geological structure where sets of intersecting closely spaced fractures, referred to as joints, result in the formation of a regular array of polygonal prisms (basalt prisms), or columns.
A discontinuity may exist as a single feature (e.g. fault, isolated joint or fracture) and in some circumstances, a discontinuity is treated as a single discontinuity although it belongs to a discontinuity set, in particular if the spacing is very wide compared to the size of the engineering application or to the size of the geotechnical unit.
Classic geological compass (Brunton), sideview Classic geological compass (Brunton), topview. There are a number of different specialized magnetic compasses used by geologists to measure orientation of geological structures, as they map in the field, to analyze and document the geometry of bedding planes, joints, and/or metamorphic foliations and lineations.
Cleavage, in structural geology and petrology, describes a type of planar rock feature that develops as a result of deformation and metamorphism. [1] The degree of deformation and metamorphism along with rock type determines the kind of cleavage feature that develops.
In geology, stress is defined as a force applied to a material. There are 4 types of stresses that rocks are subject to. First of which is when rock is pushed down by the weight of all the rocks above it, preventing it from moving. This is called confining stress and is predominant deep beneath the Earth's surface. The second type is compression.
In joint systems where relatively long joints cut across the outcrop, the throughgoing joints act as master joints and the short joints that occur in between are cross joints. Poisson effect is the creation of vertical contraction fractures that are a result of the relief of overburden over a formation.