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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2007; v. 270; p. 73-82;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.270.01.05
© 2007 Geological Society of London

Geophysics

The scaling of fracture compliance

M. H. Worthington & R. Lubbe*

Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PR, UK (e-mail: michael.worthington{at}earth.ox.ac.uk)

The seismic visibility of fractures depends on the magnitude of their normal and shear compliance and how these quantities vary with the scale of the fracture and depth of burial. Reliable estimates of fracture compliance as a function of confining pressure, in the range 10-13–10-14 m Pa-1, have been obtained from laboratory measurements on core samples. The possibility of fractal scaling of fracture parameters has been proposed, in which case fracture compliance might be expected to increase with the scale of the fracture. Laboratory and field estimates of fracture compliance are presented covering a range of fracture sizes. Compliance is shown to increase with the scale of the fractures. Results obtained are broadly consistent with the magnitudes predicted from linear slip theory, in which the displacement discontinuity across a partially sealed interface is linearly related to the traction on the interface.