Roughness of stylolites: implications of 3D high resolution topography measurements

Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Dec 3;93(23):238501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.238501. Epub 2004 Dec 1.

Abstract

Stylolites are natural pressure-dissolution surfaces in sedimentary rocks. We present 3D high resolution measurements at laboratory scales of their complex roughness. The topography is shown to be described by a self-affine scaling invariance. At large scales, the Hurst exponent is zeta(1) approximately 0.5 and very different from that at small scales where zeta(2) approximately 1.2. A crossover length scale at around L(c)=1 mm is well characterized. Measurements are consistent with a Langevin equation that describes the growth of a stylolitic interface as a competition between stabilizing long range elastic interactions at large scales or local surface tension effects at small scales and a destabilizing quenched material disorder.

MeSH terms

  • Calcium Carbonate
  • Geology / methods*
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Physics / methods*

Substances

  • Calcium Carbonate