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ConstructaFoldCrossSectionUsingtheArcMethod

ConstructaFoldCrossSectionUsingtheArc(Busk)
Method
StevenDutch,NaturalandAppliedSciences,UniversityofWisconsinGreenBay
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HowtheArc(Busk)MethodWorks
Thismethodapproximatesfoldsasaseriesofcirculararcs.ThismethodwaspublishedbyH.G.Buskin
1929,soitissometimescalledtheBuskMethod.

1.Giventhetwodipsshown,how
doweapproximatethefoldas
circulararcs?Wecannotassume
themeasurementsareonthesame
bedtheyalmostcertainlyarenot.
2.Theproblemistofindconcentric
circlestangenttothetwodip
measurements.
3.Radiiofcirclesarealways
perpendiculartothetangentwhere
theradiushitsthecircle.
4.Therefore,weconstruct
perpendicularstoeachdip,andthe
intersectionofthetwo
perpendicularsisthecenterofthe
desiredarcs.

Wefindthecentersofcurvaturebetweenadjacentdipmeasurementsandconstructthearcsforeach.The
arcsareboundedbytheperpendicularsforeachpairofdipmeasurements.

ACommonProblem

1.It'squitecommoninthismethod
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forperpendicularstodip
measurementstointersectfaroff
thediagram.
2.Locatethebisectoroftheangle
betweentheperpendiculars.One
wayistoconstructlinesparallelto
eachsidethesamedistancein,so
thatthelinesintersect.Thenbisect
thatangle.
3.Fromeachdipdatum,drawaline
perpendiculartothebisectorand
extendittotheoppositeside.This
locatestheotherendofthearc.
4.Constructthedipsonopposite
sidesofthesector.Dipsalongany
onesideofthesectorareallequal
andparallel.

5.Ifyouextendthedipsintothe
bisector,thearcsmustliewithin
theyellowtriangles.
6.Sketchthearcs.Theywill
approximatelybisectthecenter
lineofeachtriangle.Agoodvisual
approximationissufficient.
7.Thecompletedarcs.
8.Datafromadjacentsectorscan
becarriedacross(tickmarksinred)
bymeasuringdistancesrelativeto
thealreadyplottedarcs.

Theearthwillnotfalloutoforbitifthearcsinasectorlikethatshownaboveareapproximate.What
mattersmostistheendpointsofthearc,becausetheydeterminerelativestratigraphicpositionfromone
sidetotheother.Withinthesector,betweenthedipdatumpoints,thereisnodata,andthearcisonlyan
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approximationtothetrue(andunknown)exactshapeofthefold.
Ifthedipsareexactlyequal,thentheperpendicularswillbeparallel,andthecenterwillbeatinfinity.No
problemthe"arcs"becomestraightlines.

Example

Intheexampleatleft,dipdataare
shown.Wewanttoconstructa
crosssectionthatsatisfiesthedata.
Thestratigraphicunitsarecolored
herebutwillnotbecoloredfor
mostoftheremainingdiagrams.It
isoftenbetternottoconsider
stratigraphyuntilafterthecross
sectionisdrawn.

Wefirstfindthecenterfor
concentriccirclestangenttodips1
and2.
Allthecirclestangenttodip1have
theircentersonaline
perpendiculartodip1.Allthe
circlestangenttodip2havetheir
centersonalineperpendicularto
dip2
Therefore,theintersectionC12is
thecenterofconcentriccircles
tangentbothtodip1andtodip2.

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UsingC12asacenter,drawarcs
tangenttodips1and2asshown.
Drawthearcsonlybetweenthe
twoperpendiculars.

NowlocatecenterC23,thecenter
ofconcentriccirclestangenttodips
2and3.Youalreadyhavealine
perpendiculartodip2,soyouonly
needtodrawalineperpendicular
todip3.
Notethat,asoftenhappens,the
centerisoffthediagram.
Drawthearcstangenttodips2and
3.Again,drawthemonlybetween
thetwoperpendiculars.

Wecannowexchangeinformation
withsector12.Extendthearc
fromdip1intosector23,using
C23asacenter(lowerredarc).
Extendthearcfromdip3into
sector12,usingC12asacenter
(upperredarc).
Ingeneral,aswecompletethe
crosssection,wewillextenddata
fromonesectortothenextlike
this.

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WecannowconstructcenterC34
bydrawingaperpendiculartodip
4.Wealreadyhavethe
perpendiculartodip3.
Weextendthearcsfromsector23
intosector34asshown.
Notethatthearcthatstartsatdip
2passesveryclosetodip4.We
don'tneedanarcthroughevery
dip,eventhoughwemayusethat
diptoconstructacenterof
curvature.Sowewon'tbother
drawinganarcfordip4.

ConstructcenterC45bydrawinga
perpendiculartodip5.Wealready
havetheperpendiculartodip4.
Extendthearcsfromsector34into
sector45asshown.
Notethatthearcthatstartsatdip
1passesveryclosetodip5.Again,
weneednotbotherdrawinganarc
fordip4.

NotethatcenterC45liesveryneardipmeasurement4.Thisispurelycoincidentalandhasnosignificance.
Sector45presentsaproblem.Thearcfromdip2passesjustaboutthroughC45,andthearcfromdip3
passesontheoppositesideofC45thandoesthearcfromdip1.Whenconcentricfoldshavetight
curvature,somethinghastogiveinthemiddle.Ifanarcpassesonthewrongsideofthecenterof
curvature,donotdrawit.

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ConstructcenterC56bydrawinga
perpendiculartodip6.Wealready
havetheperpendiculartodip5.
Notethattheintersectionisnow
beneaththesurface.Thisisno
problem.Itmeansthefoldisnow
concavedownward(ananticline)

Constructthearctangenttodip6
asshown.Sincethispointis
stratigraphicallylowerthanallthe
otherdatumpoints,wecontinue
thearcbackthroughalltheother
sectorsaswell(showninred).

Constructarcstoconnectwithall
thepreviouslyconstructedarcsas
showninred.

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Sectors67,78,99and910arehandledthesameway,sotheremainingillustrationssimplyshowthe
resultsforeachsector.

Sector67completed

Sector78completed.

Sector89completed.Sincepoint9
fallsbetweentwoalreadydrawn
arcs,thereisnorealneedto
constructanotherarcforit,atleast
fornow.
NotethatcentersC67,C78andC89
areallclosetogether.Thissimply
meansthefoldhasfairlyuniform
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curvatureoverthatinterval.

Sector910completed.Sincepoint
10fallsveryclosetoanalready
drawnarc,thereisnorealneedto
constructanotherarcforit.

TyingtheDiagramtoReality
Itisvirtuallycertainwhenyoudrawacrosssectionusingstrictlygeometricmethodsthatthecontactswill
notmatchexactlywiththeirpredictedpositions.Therearemanyreasonswhynot:
Theunitswillnotbeuniforminthickness
Therearesmallconstructionerrors
Dipsarenotuniformfromplacetoplace
Dipmeasurementshavesmallerrors
Foldsdonothaveidealgeometricalshapes.

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Herewehaveindicatedthe
stratigraphy.Itisvirtuallycertain
whenyoudrawacrosssection
usingstrictlygeometricmethods
thatthecontactswillnotmatch
exactlywiththeirpredicted
positions.
Whatweneedtodonowisredraw
thefoldssothecrosssection
matchesboththedipsandthe
stratigraphy.

Herealltheconstructionhasbeen
removedandthearcsaresubdued.
Mostofthetimeyoucanmodify
thefoldshapesbyhandtomatch
thestratigraphywithouttoomuch
trouble.Modifiedcontactsarein
black.

Donotgetdistractedbyyourdipsymbolsorstratigraphiccolors.Theonlyrequirementisthatthe
stratigraphyanddipsmatchonthesurface.Bepreparedtomodifythecolorsanddepartfromthedips
belowthesurfaceifit'scalledfor.Comparethetwodiagramsabovetoseethatthiswasactuallydone.
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Created18October2000,LastUpdate20October2000
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