Strain distribution in superposed buckling folds and the problem of reorientation of early lineations

Abstract

Two series of experiments were carried out with soft model-materials in order to assess the relative importance of initial homogeneous strain, external rotation and late-stage strain in reorienting early lineations during superposed buckle-folding. In the first series cylindrical buckling folds were produced in embedded planar sheets containing a "lineation". In the second series noncylindrical folds were produced by compression of a set of cylindrical folds. The experiments indicate that the ratio of buckle shortening to layer-parallel strain is much smaller when the principal extension is parallel to the fold-axis than in the case when the principal extension is perpendicular to the fold-axis. In very competent rocks, the reorientation of old lineations is mainly by external rotation and by the associated concentric longitudinal strain. In moderately competent rocks, the orientation of early lineations always changes by initial homogeneous strain before buckling becomes significant. Because of the unlike amounts of initial strain in layers of different competences, orientations of unrolled lineations may not be parallel in disharmonically folded layers of unlike competences. Under certain conditions the early lineation may become virtually parallel to the later fold-axis. The experiments indicate that the effects of late-stage strain in buckle-folding are largely restricted to the incompetent layers of a multilayer. Hence, if orientation data of early lineations in both competent and incompetent rocks are lumped together, the pattern of orientation may become quite complex. Even for a single competent layer, the pattern of early lineations can locally become complex because of the complex nature of concentric longitudinal strain (and strain resulting from stretching of middle surface of the layer), development of conical folds, development of shear strain along hinge zones of deformed early folds and also because of the development of different orders of folds in both the first and the second deformations.