showing 5 related works from this author
Stylolite interfaces and surrounding matrix material: Nature and role of heterogeneities in roughness and microstructural development
2010
Rough pressure solution interfaces, like stylolites, are one of the most evident features of localized slow deformation in rocks of the upper crust. There is a general consensus that the development of these rough structures is a result of localized, stress enhanced, dissolution of material along a fluid filled interface, but little is known on the initiation of this roughness. The aim of this article is to reveal the role of heterogeneities initially present in the host-rock on roughness initiation. This should give insights on whether stylolite roughness is generated by a stress-induced instability or by the presence of disorder in the material (i.e. quenched noise). We use a microstructu…
The influence of rock heterogeneity on the scaling properties of simulated and natural stylolites
2009
International audience; Stylolites are among the most prominent deformation patterns in sedimentary rocks that document localized pressure solution. Recent studies revealed that stylolite roughness is characterized by two distinct scaling regimes. The main goal of the present study is to decipher whether this complex scaling behavior of stylolites is caused by the composition of the host-rock, i.e. heterogeneities in the material, or is governed by inherent processes on respective scales, namely the transition from a surface energy to an elastic energy dominated regime, as theoretically predicted. For this purpose we have developed a discrete numerical technique, based on a lattice spring m…
Stress sensitivity of stylolite morphology
2009
International audience; Stylolites are rough surfaces that form by localized stress-induced dissolution. Using a set of limestone rock samples collected at different depths from a vertical section in Cirque de Navacelles (France), we study the influence of the lithostatic stress on the stylolites morphology on the basis of a recent morphogenesis model. We measured the roughness of a series of bedding-parallel stylolites and show that their morphology exhibits a scaling invariance with two self-affine scaling regimes separated by a crossover-length (L) at the millimeter scale consistent with previous studies. The importance of the present contribution is to estimate the stylolite formation s…
Anisotropic scaling of tectonic stylolites: A fossilized signature of the stress field?
2010
International audience; [1] Vertical stylolites are pressure solution features, which are considered to be caused by horizontal tectonic loading, with the largest principal compressive stress being (sub-) parallel to the Earth's surface. In the present study we analyze the roughness of such tectonic stylolites from two tectonic settings in southern Germany and northeastern Spain, aiming to investigate their scaling properties with respect to the stress during formation. High-resolution laser profilometry was carried out on opened stylolite surfaces of nine samples. These data sets were then analyzed using one-and two-dimensional Fourier power spectral approaches. We found that tectonic styl…
Modelling of stylolite geometries and stress scaling
2012
International audience; In this contribution we present numerical simulations of stylolite growth to decipher the effects of initial rock heterogeneity and stress on their morphology. We show that stylolite growth in a rock with a uniform grain size produces different patterns than stylolite growth in a rock with a bimodal grain size distribution. Strong pinning of large heterogeneities produce stylolite structures that are dominated by pronounced teeth, whereas a uniform grain size leads to spikes and a roughness that shows variable wavelengths. We compare the simulated stylolites with natural examples and show that the model can reproduce the real structures. In addition we show that stro…