Project Overview
On a smaller scale the damage results in changes in rock properties such as reduction in strength, increased permeability, etc.. Much of the flow of fluids is influenced by damage, hence its importance in exploitation of subsurface water and hydrocarbon resources, and in the development of hydrothermal mineral deposits.
Left: Professor Sanderson explaining the damage features associated with a fault in the Jurassic rocks of North Somerset. These rocks are one of the main sources of oil and gas in the UK and also one of the sequences targeted for the exploration of “shale gas” by the controversial “fracking” technique.
Left: Details of a fault in the Jurassic rocks of North Somerset showing a narrow, but well developed, fault core and a more extensive zone of bending of strata and fracturing forming the damage zone.
Related research groups
Infrastructure GroupPublications
Key Publications
- Kim, Y-S., Peacock, D. D. P., & Sanderson, D. J. (2004). Fault damage zones. Journal of Structural Geology, 26(3), 503-517. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2003.08.002
- Kim, Y-S., Peacock, D. C. P., & Sanderson, D. J. (2003). Mesoscale strike-slip faults and damage zones at Marsalforn, Gozo Island, Malta. Journal of Structural Geology, 25(5), 793-812. DOI: 10.1016/S0191-8141(02)00200-6
- Kim, Y-S., & Sanderson, D. J. (2009). Earthquake and fault propagation, displacement and damage zones. In S. J. Landowne, & G. M. Hammler (Eds.), Structural Geology: New Research Hauppauge, USA: Nova Science.
- Putz-Perrier, M. W., & Sanderson, D. J. (2010). Distribution of faults and extensional strain in fractured carbonates of the North Malta Graben. AAPG Bulletin, 94(4), 435-456. DOI: 10.1306/08260909063