Indian 

Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Department of Earth Sciences

ES654A: ADVANCED STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Lecture 7. Strain Measurement
Santanu Misra
Department of Earth Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
smisra@iitk.ac.in        http://home.iitk.ac.in/~smisra/

Aims of this lecture

Concept of Strain Measurement and Analysis

Geological markers of known geometry – 1D, 2D and 3D

Strain measurement from linear markers

Strain measurement from spherical objects

Fry Method (Center‐to‐Center method)

Plot in Flinn Diagram

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 Concept of Strain Measurement and Analysis
Strain can be retrieved from rocks through a range of different methods. Much attention has been 
paid to one‐, two‐ and three‐dimensional strain analyses in deformed rocks.

Strain analysis gives us an opportunity to explore the state of strain in a rock and also to map out 
strain variations in a sample, an outcrop or a region.

The shape and orientation of the strain ellipse / ellipsoid may also contain information about how
the deformation occurred.

The orientation of the strain ellipsoid is also important, particularly in relation to rock structures.
In a shear zone setting, it may tell us if the deformation was simple shear or not.
Strain in folded layers helps us to understand fold‐forming mechanism(s).
Strain markers in sedimentary rocks allow for reconstruction of original sedimentary thickness.

Geological Strain Markers
A good strain marker (strain gauge) is what with known original shape, geometry and with angular
relationship.

Common shapes used in strain analysis include the sphere, circle, ellipse, bilaterally symmetric
forms, and forms without bilateral symmetry.

Structural Geologists use a variety of strain markers, e.g. fossils, conglomerates, breccias, oolites,
clastic grains, grain aggregates, reduction spots, amygdales, lapilli, boudins, burrows, dessication
cracks, etc. In addition, buckle folded layers and rotated planar markers have also been used to
determine the bulk strain in rocks.

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 Geological Strain Markers
Initially linear objects (trace of beddings, belemnites) and their angular relationship.

Image source: web/collection

Geological Strain Markers
Initially spherical/cylindrical objects (ooids, reduction spots, cylindrical burrows, sedimentary structures).

Phys.org www.virtualmicroscope.org BGS

Photo: Paul Carter Australian Museum

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 Geological Strain Markers
Initially elliptical objects (pebbles, conglomerates).

Image source: web/collection

Geological Strain Markers
Objects with known shape and angular relationships (fossils).

Image source: web/collection

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 Strain from linear objects

The Belemnite fossil got boudinaged along its long axis due to
extension. A simple linear 1D strain analysis would quantify the
magnitude of strain in the region
Initial Length (Lo) = (1.25+1.07+….+0.53) cm = 6.37 cm
Final Length (L1) = 10.07 cm
Elongation () = ‐(Lo  ‐ L1)/Lo = ‐(6.37‐10.07)/6.37 = 0.58

Strain from linear objects
A little complex situation

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 Strain from linear objects

Photo: Santanu Misra

The amphibolite layer (black) got boudinaged and gently folded. The strain analysis here is not very
straight forward.

Note the amphibolite layer’s thickness is also not uniform, therefore, the measurement would be
erroneous.

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Strain from linear objects

Photo: Santanu Misra

The amphibolite layer (black) got boudinaged and tightly folded (or, tightly folded and boudinaged or simultaneously
folded and boudinaged). The strain analysis here is very complicated, or may be not a good place to do the job.

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 Strain from Angular relationships

 = tan (43o) = 0.93
90o

 = tan (28o) = 0.53
Photographs from the web

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Strain from Angular relationships

 = tan (32o) = 0.62

Photograph: Santanu Misra

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 Strain from spherical objects
A Primary Method

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Long Axis (X, cm)
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X=1.98Z
Y = 1.98X
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Only one section is exposed

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Objects were initially spherical
0
Strain Magnitude – NO, as no information 0 5 10 15 20 25
on the initial size Short Axis (Z, cm)
Strain Ratio ‐ YES

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Strain from spherical objects
The Fry Method (Fry, 1979a; Hanna & Fry, 1979)

Before deformation, the centers of the spherical objects had an isotropic and uniform distribution,
i.e., the distances between the neighbouring centres were statistically uniform. It can be used even
if there is a ductility contrast between the spherical objects and their host matrix.

When a set of points with statistically uniform distribution is deformed, the average distance
between the neighbouring points in any direction increases or decreases in the same ratio as the
length of a marker line in that direction.

The maximum increase takes place in the direction of the long axis of the strain ellipse. The average
distance between the points decreases the most in a direction parallel to the short axis of the
strain ellipse.

The axial ratio of the strain ellipse and its orientation is determined by graphical method.

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 Strain from spherical objects
The Fry Method (Fri, 1979a; Hanna & Fry, 1979)

 = 0.16  = 0.33
X  = 0.0

 = 0.5

 = 0.66

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Strain from spherical objects
The Fry Method ‐ Technique

Place a sheet of tracing paper either directly on the surface of the slab of
rock or on a photograph of the surface and mark out the centres of the
strain markers. Draw a border/parallel lines. This is your base.

Do not worry about what is the exact center of any given grain/object, as
this inaccuracy comes out in the statistical wash.

Take another tracing paper and draw border/parallel lines. Mark a center
point in the middle of another overlay sheet (what will be your Fry plot),
and superimpose it on one of the centers, and then mark all the other
centers on that sheet.

Translate, do not rotate, this Fry plot to another grain/object center and
repeat the process above.

Keep doing this until all the grain/particle centers on the base sheet have
been covered.

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 3D Strain analysis
If the deformed rock with strain markers is exposed in three different surfaces (approximately orthogonal
to each other), it is possible to perform 3D strain analysis of the region by plotting the data in Flinn
diagram.

~XZ ~XY ~YZ

Photographs: Santanu Misra

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Strain Analysis – review comments
Strain markers in deformed rocks reveal how much the rock has been strained, and
information about the nature of the deformation (e.g. flattening versus
constriction, and the direction of strain axes) can be obtained.

There are a number of techniques used by geologists for strain analysis. We have
discussed only a few which are common. The other techniques include, The
Wellman Method, Breddin Graph and Rf/ Method.

The theory and technique behind all methods of strain analysis have certain
boundary conditions.

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 Next Lecture

We have now a good knowledge on Strain and

Strain analysis in the context of deformation
of rocks.

How do the rocks deform? What are the

different forces? How to identify, understand
and classify them? The answer is hidden in
the study of “Stress” and “Stress Tensor”. The
next lecture will cover these topics.

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