Abstract
IT has been suggested1–6that in many cases the average strength of the continental crust is quite low (tens of megapascals), so that the crust has little effect on the large-scale deformation of the lithosphere. But laboratory friction studies7,8, combined with simple faulting theory9,10 (as well as extrapolation ofin situ stress measurements from the upper 3 km of the crust11), imply that if pore pressure is approximately hydrostatic at mid-crustal depth, crustal strength is appreciable (hundreds of megapascals) and would markedly constrain the nature of lithospheric deformation12–15. Here we report estimates of the magnitude of in situstresses to 6 km depth in the KTB borehole in southern Germany. Our results indicate a high-strength upper crust, in which the state of stress is in equilibrium with its frictional strength. We suggest that plate-driving forces in the continental lithosphere in this part of western Europe are transmitted principally through the upper crust, and that this may also be the case in other continental areas of moderate to elevated heat flow.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
England, P. C. & McKenzie, D. P. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 70, 295–321 (1982).
McKenzie, D. P. & Jackson, J. A. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 65, 182–202 (1983).
Houseman, G. A. & England, P. C. J. geophys. Res. 91, 3651–3663 (1986).
Jackson J. A. & McKenzie, D. P. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 93, 45–73 (1988).
Sonder, L. & England, P. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 77, 81–90 (1986).
Molnar, P. in Fault Mechanics and Transport Properties of Rock (eds Evans, B. & Wong, T.-F.) (Academic, London, 1992).
Byerlee, J. D. Pure appl. Geophys. 116, 615–629 (1978).
Kirby, S. J. geophys. Res. 85, 6353–6363 (1980).
Sibson, R. H. Nature 249, 542–544 (1974).
Brace, W. F. & Kohlstedt, D. L. J. geophys. Res. 85, 6248–6252 (1980).
Zoback, M. D. & Healy, J. H. J. geophys. Res. 97, 5039–5057 (1992).
Goetze, C. & Evans, B. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 59, 463–478 (1979).
McNutt, M. J. geophys. Res. 89, 11180–11194 (1984).
Kuznir, N. J. & Park, R. G. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 79, 513–538 (1984).
Cloetingh, S. & Wortel, R. Tectonophysics 132, 49–67 (1986).
Baumgärtner, J., Rummel, F. & Zoback, M. D. in KTB Report No. 90-6a (Kontinentales Tiefbohrprogramm, Bundesrepublicdeutschland, Hannover, 1990).
Mastin, L. G., Heinemann, B., Krammer, A., Fuchs, K. & Zoback, M. D. Scient. Drilling 2, 1–12 (1991).
Müller, B., et al. J. geophys. Res. 97, 11783–11804 (1992).
Zoback, M. L. J. geophys. Res. 97, 11703–11728 (1992).
Haimson, B. & Fairhurst, C. In Situ Stress Determination at Great Depth by Means of Hydraulic Fracturing (Soc. Min. Engrs of Am. Inst. Mech. Engrs, New York, 1970).
Hickman, S. H. & Zoback, M. D. in Hydraulic Fracturing Stress Measurements (eds Zoback, M. D. & Haimson, B. C.) 44–54 (Nat. Acad., Washington DC, 1983).
Zoback, M. L. & Zoback, M. D. in Geophysical Framework of the Continental United States (ed. Pakiser, L. A. M. W.) (Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, 1989).
Brudy, M. & Zoback, M. D. Int. J. Rock Mech. Mining Sci. (in the press).
Kirsch, G. Z. Ver. Dt. Ing. 42, 797–807 (1898).
Vernik, L. & Zoback, M. D. J. geophys. Res. 97, 5109–5119 (1992).
Vernik, L., Lockner, D. & Zoback, M. D. Scient. Drilling 3, 153–160 (1992).
Moos, D. & Zoback, M. D. J. geophys. Res. 95, 9305–9325 (1990).
Vernik, L., Zoback, M. D. & Brudy, M. Scient. Drilling 3, 161–169 (1992).
Grünthal, G. & Stromeyer, D. Gerlands Beiträge zur Geophysik 95, 443–452 (1986).
Smithson, S. B. & Decker, E. R. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 22, 215–225 (1974).
Morgan, P. & Gosnold, W. D. in Geophysical Framework of the Continental United States (Geol. Soc. Am. Memoir No. 72) (eds Pakiser, L. C. & Mooney, W. D.) 493–522 (Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, 1989).
Carter, N. L. & Tsenn, M. C. Tectonophysics 136, 27–63 (1987).
Blanpied, M. L., Lockner, D. A. & Byerlee, J. D. Geophys. res. Lett. 18, 609–612 (1991).
Zoback, M. L. et al. Nature 341, 291–298 (1989).
Dahlen, F. A. J. geophys. Res. 86, 7801–7807 (1981).
Fleitout, L. & Froidevaux, C. Tectonics 2, 315–324 (1983).
Zoback, M. D. & Zoback, M. L. in Neotectonics of North America (eds Slemmons, D. B., Engdahl, E. R., Zoback, M. D. & Balckwell, D. D.) (Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, 1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zoback, M., Apel, R., Baumgärtner, J. et al. Upper-crustal strength inferred from stress measurements to 6 km depth in the KTB borehole. Nature 365, 633–635 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/365633a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/365633a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
On the technique for estimating the maximum horizontal principal stress based on the borehole failure observations
Acta Geotechnica (2023)
-
Interaction between in situ stress states and tectonic faults: A comment
International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials (2023)
-
Contemporary stress field in and around a gold mine area adjacent to the Bohai Sea, China, and its seismological implications
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment (2022)
-
Pressure build-up and stress variations within the Earth’s crust in the light of analogue models
Scientific Reports (2019)
-
New Insights Into The Current Stress Field Around the Yishu Fault Zone, Eastern China
Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (2019)