Probing the Effects of Topography on Bedrock Fracture in the Shallow Subsurface
Abstract
The mechanical properties of rock are known to influence the erodibility of bedrock and the development of landforms, but the possibility that landforms in turn influence rock properties has received less attention. One way landform topography may influence bedrock is by perturbing the ambient stress field. A handful of studies have investigated this possibility theoretically and concluded that the resulting topographic stresses maybe sufficiently large to fracture rock. This led to suggestions that there may be feedbacks between the evolution of landforms and the erodibility of the underlying rock. However, most of these studies were theoretical analyses of idealized landforms, and there had been few efforts to test their predictions by comparing modeled topographic stresses beneath real landscapes with rock fracture patterns observed in the field. The overall objective of this project was to test whether topographic stresses demonstrably influence rock fracture patterns in the shallow subsurface.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 30, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1070399
Entities
People
- Jay T Perron
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology