In
structural geology
Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informatio ...
and
diagenesis
Diagenesis () is the process that describes physical and chemical changes in sediments first caused by water-rock interactions, microbial activity, and compaction after their deposition. Increased pressure and temperature only start to play a ...
, pressure solution or pressure dissolution is a
deformation mechanism
A deformation mechanism, in geology, is a process occurring at a microscopic scale that is responsible for changes in a material's internal structure, shape and volume. The process involves planar discontinuity and/or displacement of atoms from th ...
that involves the
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
of minerals at
grain-to-grain contacts into an
aqueous
An aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is mostly shown in chemical equations by appending (aq) to the relevant chemical formula. For example, a solution of table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), in water would be rep ...
pore
Pore may refer to:
Biology Animal biology and microbiology
* Sweat pore, an anatomical structure of the skin of humans (and other mammals) used for secretion of sweat
* Hair follicle, an anatomical structure of the skin of humans (and other m ...
fluid in areas of relatively high
stress
Stress may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition
* Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
and either deposition in regions of relatively low stress within the same rock or their complete removal from the rock within the fluid. It is an example of
diffusive
Molecular diffusion, often simply called diffusion, is the thermal motion of all (liquid or gas) particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size (mass) of ...
mass transfer
Mass transfer is the net movement of mass from one location (usually meaning stream, phase, fraction or component) to another. Mass transfer occurs in many processes, such as absorption, evaporation, drying, precipitation, membrane filtration, ...
.
The detailed
kinetics
Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes
** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies
* Chemical ki ...
of the process was reviewed by Rutter (1976), and since then such kinetics has been used in
many applications in earth sciences.
Occurrence
Evidence for pressure solution has been described from sedimentary rocks that have only been affected by
compaction. The most common example of this is
bedding plane
In geology, a bed is a layer of sediment, sedimentary rock, or pyroclastic material "bounded above and below by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces".Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds., 2005. ''Glossary of Geology'' ...
parallel
stylolites developed in
carbonates
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...
.
In a tectonic manner, deformed rocks also show evidence of pressure solution including stylolites at a high angle to bedding. The process is also thought to be an important part of the development of
cleavage.
Theoretical models
A theoretical model was formulated by Rutter, and a recent mathematical analysis was carried out, leading
to the so-called Fowler–Yang equations,
which can explain the transition behaviour of pressure solution.
See also
*
Fick's laws of diffusion
Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were derived by Adolf Fick in 1855. They can be used to solve for the diffusion coefficient, . Fick's first law can be used to derive his second law which in turn is identical to the diffusion equ ...
*
Fold (geology)
In structural geology, a fold is a stack of originally planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, that are bent or curved during permanent deformation. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur ...
*
Rock microstructure
Rock microstructure includes the texture and small-scale structures of a rock. The words ''texture'' and ''microstructure'' are interchangeable, with the latter preferred in modern geological literature. However, ''texture'' is still acceptable b ...
*
Stylolite
*
Terzaghi's principle
Terzaghi's Principle states that when stress is applied to a porous material, it is opposed by the fluid pressure filling the pores in the material.
Karl von Terzaghi's introduced the idea in a series of papers in the 1920s based on his examinatio ...
References
Limestone
Petrology concepts
Sedimentary rocks
Structural geology
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