cataclasis
/ˌkatəˈkleɪsɪs
/noun [mass noun] Geology
The fracture and breaking up of rock by natural processes.For example, cataclasis is a fracture-related process that changes a fault from a simple pair of moving surfaces to a zone containing deformed, poorly sorted, fractured, fine-grained material by converting country rock to fault rock....
- Field-based and microstructural studies of the Zuccale fault reveal that an initial phase of pervasive cataclasis increased fault zone permeability, promoting influx of CO2-rich hydrous fluids.
- Close to the tectonic contact with the Mesozoic-Cenozoic cover there is a wide zone of cataclasis.
Derivatives
cataclastic
- Large cobble - sized clasts of sandstone, up to 250 mm diameter, in the conglomerates contain fractures with void infilling by matrix, indicating cataclastic deformation before lithification.
- Brittle deformation is preserved as the occurrence of fractures within quartz grains that have been healed by authigenic quartz and by cataclastic flow of fragmented feldspar grains.
- Localized cataclastic deformation is common in both areas of outcrop, with millimetre-scale shatter seams containing comminuted material and rounded strained grains of quartz and feldspar.
Origin
1950s: from cata- 'completely' + Greek klasis 'breaking'.