Open AccessFractal Analysis of Fracture Systems: Topical report, September 3, 1996
Author(s) -
Thomas H. Wilson
Publication year - 1997
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/620973
Subject(s) - lithology , geology , fractal dimension , ridge , outcrop , fracture (geology) , fractal analysis , fractal , bed , bedding , plane (geometry) , plateau (mathematics) , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , geometry , paleontology , mathematics , anisotropy , mathematical analysis , physics , quantum mechanics , horticulture , biology
A fractal analysis of outcrop fracture patterns was undertaken in the Valley and Ridge study area. Use of pavement style investigations such as those conducted by Barton and Hsieh (1989) was not a feasible form of analysis in either Appalachian study areas. Large exposures of bedding plane surfaces are limited, particularly at the Plateau site; hence, fracture studies were concentrated in the Middle and Elkhorn Mountain areas of the Valley and Ridge. The area is complexly deformed, which presented difficulty in the design of a controlled experiment. While bedding plane exposures were found, it was not possible to find comparable exposures of the same lithologic unit in the different structural areas represented at the site. In such instances, therefore, lithologic factors could not be separated from structural factors in the interpretation of variations in fractal dimension. Comparisons of fractal behavior in a common lithologic interval were possible to some extent using one-dimensional analysis of bed-normal fracture plane intersections. However, even in this case, the distribution of exposure was the limiting factor