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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

ConstructaFoldCrossSectionUsingtheArc (Busk)Method
StevenDutch,NaturalandAppliedSciences,UniversityofWisconsinGreenBay FirsttimeVisitors:PleasevisitSiteMapandDisclaimer.Use"Back"toreturnhere.

HowtheArc(Busk)MethodWorks
Thismethodapproximatesfoldsasaseriesofcirculararcs.ThismethodwaspublishedbyH.G.Buskin1929, soitissometimescalledtheBuskMethod.

1.Giventhetwodipsshown,how doweapproximatethefoldas circulararcs?Wecannotassumethe measurementsareonthesamebed theyalmostcertainlyarenot. 2.Theproblemistofindconcentric circlestangenttothetwodip measurements. 3.Radiiofcirclesarealways perpendiculartothetangentwhere theradiushitsthecircle. 4.Therefore,weconstruct perpendicularstoeachdip,andthe intersectionofthetwo perpendicularsisthecenterofthe desiredarcs.

Wefindthecentersofcurvaturebetweenadjacentdipmeasurementsandconstructthearcsforeach.Thearcs areboundedbytheperpendicularsforeachpairofdipmeasurements.

ACommonProblem

1.It'squitecommoninthismethod forperpendicularstodip measurementstointersectfaroffthe diagram. 2.Locatethebisectoroftheangle betweentheperpendiculars.One wayistoconstructlinesparallelto

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wayistoconstructlinesparallelto eachsidethesamedistancein,so thatthelinesintersect.Thenbisect thatangle. 3.Fromeachdipdatum,drawaline perpendiculartothebisectorand extendittotheoppositeside.This locatestheotherendofthearc. 4.Constructthedipsonopposite sidesofthesector.Dipsalongany onesideofthesectorareallequal andparallel.

5.Ifyouextendthedipsintothe bisector,thearcsmustliewithinthe yellowtriangles. 6.Sketchthearcs.Theywill approximatelybisectthecenterline ofeachtriangle.Agoodvisual approximationissufficient. 7.Thecompletedarcs. 8.Datafromadjacentsectorscanbe carriedacross(tickmarksinred)by measuringdistancesrelativetothe alreadyplottedarcs.

Theearthwillnotfalloutoforbitifthearcsinasectorlikethatshownaboveareapproximate.Whatmatters mostistheendpointsofthearc,becausetheydeterminerelativestratigraphicpositionfromonesidetothe other.Withinthesector,betweenthedipdatumpoints,thereisnodata,andthearcisonlyanapproximationto thetrue(andunknown)exactshapeofthefold. Ifthedipsareexactlyequal,thentheperpendicularswillbeparallel,andthecenterwillbeatinfinity.No problemthe"arcs"becomestraightlines.

Example

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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

Intheexampleatleft,dipdataare shown.Wewanttoconstructa crosssectionthatsatisfiesthedata. Thestratigraphicunitsarecolored herebutwillnotbecoloredformost oftheremainingdiagrams.Itisoften betternottoconsiderstratigraphy untilafterthecrosssectionisdrawn.

Wefirstfindthecenterfor concentriccirclestangenttodips1 and2. Allthecirclestangenttodip1have theircentersonalineperpendicular todip1.Allthecirclestangenttodip 2havetheircentersonaline perpendiculartodip2 Therefore,theintersectionC12isthe centerofconcentriccirclestangent bothtodip1andtodip2.

UsingC12asacenter,drawarcs tangenttodips1and2asshown. Drawthearcsonlybetweenthetwo perpendiculars.

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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

NowlocatecenterC23,thecenterof concentriccirclestangenttodips2 and3.Youalreadyhavealine perpendiculartodip2,soyouonly needtodrawalineperpendicularto dip3. Notethat,asoftenhappens,the centerisoffthediagram. Drawthearcstangenttodips2and 3.Again,drawthemonlybetween thetwoperpendiculars.

Wecannowexchangeinformation withsector12.Extendthearcfrom dip1intosector23,usingC23asa center(lowerredarc). Extendthearcfromdip3intosector 12,usingC12asacenter(upperred arc). Ingeneral,aswecompletethecross section,wewillextenddatafrom onesectortothenextlikethis.

WecannowconstructcenterC34by drawingaperpendiculartodip4. Wealreadyhavetheperpendicular todip3. Weextendthearcsfromsector23 intosector34asshown. Notethatthearcthatstartsatdip2 passesveryclosetodip4.Wedon't needanarcthrougheverydip,even thoughwemayusethatdipto constructacenterofcurvature.So wewon'tbotherdrawinganarcfor
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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

dip4.

ConstructcenterC45bydrawinga perpendiculartodip5.Wealready havetheperpendiculartodip4. Extendthearcsfromsector34into sector45asshown. Notethatthearcthatstartsatdip1 passesveryclosetodip5.Again,we neednotbotherdrawinganarcfor dip4.

NotethatcenterC45liesveryneardipmeasurement4.Thisispurelycoincidentalandhasnosignificance. Sector45presentsaproblem.Thearcfromdip2passesjustaboutthroughC45,andthearcfromdip3passes ontheoppositesideofC45thandoesthearcfromdip1.Whenconcentricfoldshavetightcurvature, somethinghastogiveinthemiddle.Ifanarcpassesonthewrongsideofthecenterofcurvature,donotdraw it.

ConstructcenterC56bydrawinga perpendiculartodip6.Wealready havetheperpendiculartodip5. Notethattheintersectionisnow beneaththesurface.Thisisno problem.Itmeansthefoldisnow concavedownward(ananticline)

Constructthearctangenttodip6as shown.Sincethispointis
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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

stratigraphicallylowerthanallthe otherdatumpoints,wecontinuethe arcbackthroughalltheothersectors aswell(showninred).

Constructarcstoconnectwithallthe previouslyconstructedarcsas showninred.

Sectors67,78,99and910arehandledthesameway,sotheremainingillustrationssimplyshowtheresults foreachsector.

Sector67completed

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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

Sector78completed.

Sector89completed.Sincepoint9 fallsbetweentwoalreadydrawn arcs,thereisnorealneedto constructanotherarcforit,atleast fornow. NotethatcentersC67,C78andC89 areallclosetogether.Thissimply meansthefoldhasfairlyuniform curvatureoverthatinterval.

Sector910completed.Sincepoint
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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

10fallsveryclosetoanalready drawnarc,thereisnorealneedto constructanotherarcforit.

TyingtheDiagramtoReality
Itisvirtuallycertainwhenyoudrawacrosssectionusingstrictlygeometricmethodsthatthecontactswillnot matchexactlywiththeirpredictedpositions.Therearemanyreasonswhynot: Theunitswillnotbeuniforminthickness Therearesmallconstructionerrors Dipsarenotuniformfromplacetoplace Dipmeasurementshavesmallerrors Foldsdonothaveidealgeometricalshapes.

Herewehaveindicatedthe stratigraphy.Itisvirtuallycertain whenyoudrawacrosssectionusing strictlygeometricmethodsthatthe contactswillnotmatchexactlywith theirpredictedpositions. Whatweneedtodonowisredraw thefoldssothecrosssection matchesboththedipsandthe stratigraphy.

Herealltheconstructionhasbeen
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Construct a Fold Cross-Section Using the Arc Method

removedandthearcsaresubdued. Mostofthetimeyoucanmodifythe foldshapesbyhandtomatchthe stratigraphywithouttoomuch trouble.Modifiedcontactsarein black.

Donotgetdistractedbyyourdipsymbolsorstratigraphiccolors.Theonlyrequirementisthatthestratigraphy anddipsmatchonthesurface.Bepreparedtomodifythecolorsanddepartfromthedipsbelowthesurfaceif it'scalledfor.Comparethetwodiagramsabovetoseethatthiswasactuallydone. ReturntoCourseSyllabus ReturntoTechniquesManualIndex ReturntoProfessorDutch'sHomePage Created18October2000,LastUpdate20October2000 NotanofficialUWGreenBaysite

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