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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–11Cite as

Fracture

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Definition

Any surface along which material cohesion is lost. The term is commonly used for discontinuities of any kind, both tectonic and non-tectonic. The term fracture is also selectively applied to the smallest of tectonic displacement types, e.g., smaller than a fissure or a graben on Venus, or smaller than a ridge or a band on Europa, or as a synonym of joint (Singhal and Gupta 2010), where very little or no visible displacement is observed (International Society for Rock Mechanics 1977). Those fractures that show a distinct separation and that are associated with volcanic processes are often called fissures.

Synonyms

Break; Crack; Discontinuity (International Society for Rock Mechanics 1977)

Related Terms

Fissure

Description

It is a descriptive term for a planar or curviplanar feature that separates a material body into two or more parts.

Morphometry

Fractures can be characterized in several different ways, for example, by their number of sets, orientation (strike and dip),...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planetary Science Research Group, Eövös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

  2. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, 77058, Houston, TX, USA

    Paul K. Byrne

  3. Earth and Space Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Jarmo Korteniemi

Authors
  1. Henrik Hargitai
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  2. Paul K. Byrne
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  3. Jarmo Korteniemi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henrik Hargitai .

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Hargitai, H., Byrne, P.K., Korteniemi, J. (2014). Fracture. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_158-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_158-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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