Riedel 1
Riedel 1
Riedel 1
www.elsevier.com/locate/jsg
Abstract
Riedel shear structures are common fault patterns identified within shear zones and related to the embryonic stages of fault formation. This
study focuses on the geometry of outcrop-scale natural shear zones consisting of different generations of Riedel structures, exposed in the
Jurassic Navajo sandstone, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Geometric analysis of different structures shows that the spacing of synthetic Rdeformation bands increases with the spacing of antithetic R0 -deformation bands. Systematic correlation is found between the R-band
spacing and the angles formed between R- and R0 -bands. Examination of young Riedel structures shows their tendency to localize along
narrow, elongated domains sub-parallel to the shear direction and create denser Riedel networks. We suggest that the evolution of Riedel
structures is dominated by two mechanisms: (1) discrete faulting in the form of conjugate deformation bands, generally complying with the
Mohr Coulomb criteria, and (2) granular flow, which rotates mainly the R0 -deformation bands. Both mechanisms are intensified with
progressive strain, decreasing the deformation-band spacing and increasing the R- to R0 -angles. The tendency of young Riedel structures to
organize in dense elongated networks is related to strain localization during the shear-zone evolution. We suggest a kinematic explanation for
the evolution of Riedel-structure networks, which relates the network geometry to the progressive accumulation and localization of shear
strain.
q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Deformation bands; Riedel structures; Strain localization; Shear zones
1. Introduction
Riedel structures are networks of shear bands, commonly
developed in zones of simple shear during the early stages of
faulting. The basic geometry of the Riedel structure consists
of conjugate shear bands arranged in en-echelon arrays and
denoted by R and R0 (Fig. 1). The R- and R0 -bands create an
angle of about f/2 and 90 2 f/2 to the general shear-zone
direction, respectively, and intersect in an acute angle of
b 90 2 f, where f is the angle of internal friction
(Riedel, 1929; Tchalenko, 1968). The R-bands are synthetic
to the sense of slip across the shear-zone, forming rightstepping en-echelon arrays along sinistral shear-zones and
left-stepping arrays along dextral shear-zones. The R0 -bands
are antithetic, and usually connect overlapping R-bands.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 972-2-5314211; fax: 972-2-5380688.
E-mail address: k_yoram@mail.gsi.gov.il (Y. Katz).
0191-8141/$ - see front matter q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2003.08.003
492
Fig. 1. Basic Riedel shear structures forming sinistral and dextral conjugate
shear-zones. R and R0 are synthetic and antithetic shear bands, b is the angle
between R and R0 and f is the angle of internal friction. s1R denotes the
remote maximum compressive principal stress. Inset: definition of s (Rband spacing) and s0 (R0 -band spacing).
Fig. 2. Location map of Capitol Reef National Park and the study area.
Highways and their numbers are indicated.
2. Geological setting
The study area is located along the Waterpocket
monocline in Capitol Reef National Park, where Riedel
shear structures are well exposed within outcrops of the
Jurassic Navajo sandstone. Data was collected at the
northern bank of Capitol Wash, which crosses the monocline from west to east, 6 km south of the Fremont River
(Fig. 2). The NW N-trending monocline is believed to have
initiated at , 75 Ma and to have ceased activity prior to the
Eocene (Baker, 1935; Kelley, 1955; Dumitru et al., 1994).
The Navajo Formation consists of porous, quartz-rich
sandstone and exhibits whitish, cross-bedded massive
outcrops (Kiersch, 1950; Marzolf, 1983, 1990; Antonellini
and Aydin, 1994). It is underlain by shales and sandstones of
the Jurassic Glen Canyon Group and overlain by shales and
sandstones of the Jurassic San Rafael Group.
Being readily deformable, the Navajo Formation exhibits
various internal deformation features (e.g. Shipton and
Cowie, 2001; Davatzes et al., 2003). Davis (1999) and Davis
et al. (1999) carried out a structural analysis of deformation
band shear-zones in south-central Utah, including the northcentral and southern parts of the Waterpocket monocline. In
the Sheets Gulch area, located approximately 16 km south
of the present study area, strike-slip shear-zones consisting
of Riedel structures were reported to occur in two conjugate
sets, a dextral set striking NE, and a sinistral set striking
ESE, both showing high dip angles of , 758. Davis et al.
(1999) suggested that the conjugate sets accommodated
strain during the Laramide regional shortening perpendicular to the Waterpocket monocline hinge, and Roznovsky and
Aydin (2001) proposed that major Riedel-structure networks concentrate in areas where the monocline changes its
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Fig. 3. (a) Conjugate sets of E-trending sinistral and NE-trending dextral shear-zones. The rectangle marks the location of the detailed map in (b).
(b) R-deformation bands arranged in en-echelon, right-stepping manner within an E-trending sinistral shear-zone. Overlapping R-bands are connected by NEtrending dextral R0 arrays and form nested Riedel structures of different sizes.
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3. Field observations
Documentation of the Riedel networks in Capitol Wash
was carried out using electronic distance measurement
(EDM) for medium scales, digital hand photography for
small scales and compass and tape for direct measurements
of orientations, spacing and displacements. The E-trending
(0908 ^ 108) zones exhibit horizontal striae with sinistral
offsets, and consist of synthetic, right-stepping en-echelon
R-deformation bands (Fig. 3a). The NE-trending
(0458 ^ 108) zones exhibit horizontal striae with dextral
offsets, and consist of synthetic, left-stepping en-echelon Rdeformation bands. Commonly, the R-deformation bands in
the E- and NE-trending zones are connected by antithetic
R0 -deformation bands, both of which form Riedel networks
in conjugate sets (Fig. 3b).
Fig. 5. Relationship between the R0 -band spacing (s0 ) and the bounding Rband spacing (s) within Riedel structures of different sizes, showing a
general increase of s0 with s. As the bands are not strictly parallel, spacing
was measured in more than one parallelogram within most of the structures.
The rectangles represent the average values for a given structure and the
bars demonstrate two standard deviations.
Fig. 6. Relationship between the R-band spacing (s) and the R to R0 angle
(b). Spacing and angles were measured in more than one parallelogram
within most of the structures. The rectangles represent the average values
and the bars demonstrate two standard deviations. Noticeably, most Riedel
structures of R spacing greater than ,80 mm tend to form b values of
358 , b , 608, whereas structures of smaller R spacing exhibit a variety of
angles that may reach 1208. Curves 1 and 2 were calculated by the proposed
kinematic model and predict the minimum and maximum b values
expected for a given s, respectively (see details in Section 4).
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Fig. 7. (a) Riedel shear structures within E-trending sinistral shear-zone. Representative major deformation bands demonstrate the increase of b with decrease
of s. R0 band (thick line) intersects adjacent sinistral R-bands (thin lines), creating b angles of 60, 75 and 858 (b1, b2 and b3, respectively) as s values are 52, 38
and 24 mm (s1, s2 and s3, respectively). (b) Riedel shear structures within NE-trending dextral shear-zone. The orientation of the sinistral R0 band (thick line) is
changed, resulting in b values varying from ,458 near the tip of the band (b1) to ,908 in the interior region (b2). Several other long, sigmoidal-like shaped R0 bands extend beyond the domains bounded by the R-bands, and are clearly offset by the R-bands. These R0 -bands were recognized by Ahlgren (2001) to be the
first structural elements created during early stages of the shear zone evolution.
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Fig. 7 (continued )
2. A plot of R-band spacing (s) versus the angle between Rand R0 -bands (b), showing a systematic relationship
between s and b (Fig. 6). Generally, Riedel structures
exhibiting values of s . 80 mm form angles of
358 , b , 608. Structures of s # 80 mm form a larger
range of angles, 358 , b , 1008, and in rare cases the angle
may reach 1208. The systematic relationship between s and
b and the significance of their lower and upper bound values
are demonstrated for an E-trending shear-zone (Fig. 7a). In
this case, an R0 -band is displaced by sinistral R-bands and
divided into three segments. As R-band spacing s decreases,
the angle b between the segment and the bounding R-bands
increases such that b3 . b2 . b1. Fig. 7b shows a
NE-trending shear-zone, where dextral R-bands displace
and divide an R0 -band into several segments. The angle b
varies from ,458 near the bands tips (b1) to ,908 in the
interior region of the shear-zone (b2), where the R-bands are
closely spaced, corresponding to smaller values of s. This
variation results in segmented R0 -bands with a general
trace geometry that resembles a sigmoidal-like shape.
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tanb0
1 2 tanb0
d
s
s
sinb0 sinb
Fig. 8. Young Riedel shear structure (thin lines) overprinting an old Riedel
shear structure (thick lines) within a sinistral shear-zone. The deformation
bands of the young structure create a denser framework and smaller b
angles (demonstrated by b1) compared with the spacing and b angles
(demonstrated by b2) of the old structure.
5. Discussion
Differences in the Riedel structure geometry may occur
due to dissimilarities in rock properties, such as packing,
sorting, clay content and other factors governing the angle
of internal friction (Underhill and Woodcock, 1987). Moore
and Byerlee (1992) correlated geometrical variations to
different sliding behavior of the shear-zones, where small b
angles are associated with a stable slip and large b angles
with stick slip. They further proposed, based on laboratory
data, that larger b angles were favored by an increase in
temperature and effective pore pressure. The effect of porefluid pressure on b values was also discussed by Gamond
(1983), Dresen (1991), Byerlee (1992) and Ahlgren (2001).
In the present study, field observations demonstrate
different b angles within adjacent and nested Riedel
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Fig. 9. Network of Riedel structures within a sinistral shear-zone. Widely-spaced, evenly distributed deformation bands forming a primary Riedel structure (thick
lines) are displaced by succeeding secondary, shorter R and R0 -bands, which tend to localize into dense networks. Noticeably, the primary R0 -bands form an angle of
,408 with the R-bands within domains of sparse deformation (b1). This angle is typically between 60 and 908 within the dense network domains (b2).
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2. In addition to faulting, increased granular flow excessively rotates the R0 -deformation bands and reorients
them according to the geometrical relationship presented
in Eqs. (1) and (2) (Fig. 12b and c). Hence, Riedel
structures consisting of closely spaced and highly rotated
deformation bands represent domains in which incremental strain was localized within the shear-zone.
Comparison between Riedel structures of different
geometries shows that dense, nested structures are restricted
to narrow, elongated domains oriented sub-parallel to the
general shear direction (Fig. 12c), whereas widely spaced
Riedel structures are broadly distributed across the shearzone. Field relationships further show that the dense
structures are usually younger than the widely spaced
structures. We therefore conclude that the variations in the
density and orientation of the Riedel structural elements
reflect different stages in the shear-zone evolution, as a
function of the magnitude and localization of the shear
strain.
6. Summary
Fig. 12. Stages in the evolution of complex Riedel shear structures. (a)
Primary basic Riedel structure consisting of sparse, broadly distributed
deformation bands is created during the first stages of shear-zone evolution.
(b) With progressive strain, new closely-spaced deformation bands displace
old deformation bands. (c) Dense networks of deformation bands, restricted
to narrow elongated domains orienting sub-parallel to shear direction, are
created at later stages of the shear-zone evolution. Due to intensive rotation
within these domains the primary R0 -bands change into a sigmoidal-like
shape.
Riedel structures are fundamental features within shearzone architectures, and are related to early stages of the
shear-zone evolution. Their development within the Navajo
sandstone in the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, is
dominated by two mechanismsdiscrete faulting with
conjugate geometry corresponding to the Coulomb Mohr
criteria, and granular flow sub-parallel to the prominent Rdeformation band direction. Different Riedel geometries
reflect different degrees of shear strain; as strain accumulates, discrete faulting intensifies and the spacing between
the deformation bands decreases. Granular flow across
domains bounded by R-bands facilitates rotation and
thereby increases the angle b between intersecting R- and
R0 -shear bands. Upon further strain localization, new Riedel
structures are formed, offsetting and overprinting the older
structures. The new structures consist of denser networks of
deformation bands than those of the old Riedel structures,
and are restricted to narrower and more elongated domains,
sub-parallel to the general shear direction. Within these
domains substantial rotation occurs, changing the primary
R0 -bands into a sigmoidal-like shape. This study relates the
geometry of Riedel networks to accumulation and localization of shear strain, enabling better understanding of the
embryonic stages of fault formation and evolution of shearzone architectures.
Acknowledgements
We benefited from fruitful discussions with Vladimir
Lyakhovsky and Avraham Starinsky. We wish to thank Eric
Flodin for helpful advice concerning the fieldwork. Dave
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