The Stress Field in the Upper Crust as Determined from In Situ Measurements

This paper provides a synopsis of the state of stress in the upper parts of the earth's crust based uponin situ rock stress determinations. Despite the large scatter of the data, two dominant trends can be detected in the variations of average horizontal stress with depth in various geological environments. Basement rocks in ancient shields and deformed rocks in fold belts usually show horizontal stresses larger than the theoretical overburden pressure. Sedimentary cover rocks and fissured massive rocks show horizontal stresses smaller than the overburden pressure. The ratio of the maximum to the minimum horizontal stress exhibits a clear stress anisotropy in most cases. Directions of maximum horizontal compression are fairly consistent in areas where sufficient measurements are available (North America and Fennoscandia), although in many instances they do not conform to any simple predicted stress pattern. Many factors complicate the interpretation ofin situ stress determinations. There is no simple relationship between the stress trajectories and the free surface. Topographic features and erosional processes may cause horizontal stress concentrations. Remanent stresses of great age can be superimposed on current tectonic stresses, while sometimes current stresses no longer coincide with the stress systems that caused observable faulting and folding. Observation of remanent stresses in ancient rocks shows that rocks in the upper crust have finite strength even under geological time intervals. From the viewpoint of global tectonics,in situ stress determinations ought to be used with great caution, and in conjunction with focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes. Although the state of stress is everywhere compressive, the fact that undeformed sedimentary cover rocks often show no excess horizontal stress would seem to indicate that no active global horizontal compression is required. Horizontal stresses larger than the overburden pressure in regions of intense palaeodeformation may be due to remanent stress effects and to the influence of the local structure. It is premature to advance any general statement on tectogenesis on the basis ofin situ stress determinations. More measurements, and a quantitative evaluation of the factors affecting them, are required before further progress can be made.