Joints, microfractures, and the formation of solution cleavage in limestone

Abstract

The geometry of solution cleavage surfaces in limestones indicates a close connection between cleavage formation and joint and microfracture surfaces. These relations suggest that networks of microfractures and joints act both as conduits for transport of dissolved phases and as surfaces on which the cleavage nucleates. Material transport is by Darcyian-type bulk flow and is thus not a rate-limiting process; this contrasts with metamorphic terranes, where the transport mechanism (diffusion) has been identified as a rate-limiting step. Cleavage surfaces of weak to moderate intensities or spacing may form parallel to nonprincipal planes of finite strain.