Mechanics of Sheeting Joints

Abstract:

Physical breakdown of rock across a broad scale spectrum involves fracturing. In many areas large fractures develop near the topographic surface, with sheeting joints being among the most impressive. Sheeting joints share many geometric, textural, and kinematic features with other joints (opening-mode fractures) but differ in that they are (a) discernibly curved, (b) open near the topographic surface, and (c) form subparallel to the topographic surface. Where sheeting joints are geologically young, the surface-parallel compressive stresses are typically several MPa or greater. Sheeting joints are best developed beneath domes, ridges, and saddles; they also are reported, albeit rarely, beneath valleys or bowls. A mechanism that accounts for all these associations has been sought for more than a century: neither erosion of overburden nor high lateral compressive stresses alone suffices. Sheeting joints are not accounted for by Mohr-Coulomb shear failure criteria. Principles of linear elastic fracture mechanics, together with the mechanical effect of a curved topographic surface, do provide a basis for understanding sheeting joint growth and the pattern sheeting joints form. Compressive stresses parallel to a singly or doubly convex topographic surface induce a tensile stress perpendicular to the surface at shallow depths; in some cases this alone could overcome the weight of overburden to open sheeting joints. If regional horizontal compressive stresses, augmented by thermal stresses, are an order of magnitude or so greater than a characteristic vertical stress that scales with topographic amplitude, then topographic stress perturbations can cause sheeting joints to open near the top of a ridge. This topographic effect can be augmented by pressure within sheeting joints arising from water, ice, or salt. Water pressure could be particularly important in helping drive sheeting joints downslope beneath valleys. Once sheeting joints have formed, the rock sheets between the joints can slide downslope; they can also buckle, resulting in a further breakdown of the rock. Understanding how sheeting joints evolve in three dimensions through time remains an outstanding challenge and would illuminate their affect on landscapes, slope stability, and fluid flow.