Journal
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
Volume 33, Issue 10, Pages 1477-1490Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2011.08.001
Keywords
Compaction bands; Deformation bands; Strain localization; Navajo Sandstone; Permeability; Porosity
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Funding
- NASA
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Observations from quartz-rich eolian Navajo Sandstone in the Buckskin Gulch site in southernmost Utah show that pure compaction bands only occur in sandstones where current porosity >0.29 +/- 3, permeability > 10 +/- 7 darcy, and grain size > 0.4 mm - properties restricted to the lower and most coarse-grained and well-sorted parts of grain flow units within the dune units. Hence a direct correlation between stratigraphy and band occurrence has been established that can be used to predict deformation band occurrences in similar sandstone reservoirs. We show that the pure compaction bands formed perpendicular to a subhorizontal al, bisecting conjugate sets of shear-enhanced compaction bands. The latter bands locally developed into shear-dominated bands that transect entire dune units, suggesting that an increase in the amount of simple shear promotes band propagation into less porous and permeable lithologies. Stress considerations indicate that, as a continuous and overlapping sequence of events, pure compaction bands in quartz-rich Navajo Sandstone initiated at 10-20 MPa (similar to 1 km depth), followed by shear-enhanced compaction bands that locally developed into more stratigraphically extensive shear-dominated bands. The rare combination of special lithologic and stress conditions may explain why pure compaction bands are rarely observed in naturally deformed sandstones. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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