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Distribution and mechanism of gently dipping fractures subjected to river incision: A case study from Nujiang River, China

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Abstract

Gently dipping fractures subjected to river incision are widely distributed on rock slopes. In this paper, a rock slope on the Nujiang River (China) is investigated to study the role of gently dipping fractures in the rock slopes evolution. Detailed field surveys indicate that gentle fractures are concentrated in four main zones. Moreover, the kinematics of the fracture system suggest that the genesis of these fractures can be synthesized into a progressive evolution model. This model indicates that the joints begin with the formation of an array of en echelon cracks that are subjected to continued crack elongation and shearing before ultimately approaching one another and interacting to form a complex joint system. Geomechanical analysis is performed to reveal the mechanisms of this genesis, and three main fracture patterns are identified based on the slope stress and are classified with respect to the slope evolution. Based on the detail field investigations and the evolutionary history of the river valley, we propose that intermittent incision by the river was the main factor contributing to the concentrated distribution of gently dipping joints.

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Acknowledgments

This study is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41521002; 41130745; 41272330), and State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection Independent Research Project (Grant No. SKLGP2016Z015), and also supported by the Funding of Science and Technology Office of Sichuan Province (Grant Nos. 2015JQ0020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Lei Zhu, Run-qiu Huang, Ming Yan & Guo-qing Chen

  2. College of architecture and urban planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611830, China

    Wei Wei

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  1. Lei Zhu
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Correspondence to Lei Zhu.

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Zhu, L., Huang, Rq., Yan, M. et al. Distribution and mechanism of gently dipping fractures subjected to river incision: A case study from Nujiang River, China. J. Mt. Sci. 15, 211–224 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4131-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4131-z

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