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Curvature and fracturing based on global positioning system data collected at Sheep Mountain anticline, Wyoming

¹ Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
² Laboratoire de Tectonique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
³ Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA

We investigate the curvature-fracture relationship at Sheep Mountain anticline, Wyoming, by coupling fracture mapping with structural mapping using high-precision global positioning system data. Carrier-phase post-processing techniques of spatial data collected across patches of bedding surfaces result in a high-resolution data set. Differential geometry tools form the basis for curvature analysis, allowing for a quantitative understanding of the shapes of these surfaces. Comparison of principal curvature magnitudes with fracture measurements indicates that greater curvature correlates with greater spherical variance of fracture set orientations. Fracture intensities, however, correlate only loosely with curvature, because fracturing mechanisms other than curvature of bedding must be taken into account.

Keywords: fractures • folds • GPS • intensity • variance analysis