Regional Jointing Pattern Within the Surficial Glacial Sediments and Bedrock of South-Central Ontario
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REGIONAL JOINTING PATTERNS WITHIN SOUTH-CENTRAL ONTARIO REGIONAL JOINTING PATTERNS WITHIN THE SURFICIAL GLACIAL SEDIMENTS AND BEDROCK OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ONTARIO By SHEILA ELLEN DANIEL, B.SC. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science McMaster University (c) Copyright by Sheila Ellen Daniel, March 1990 MASTER OF SCIENCE (1990} McMASTER UNIVERSITY (Geography) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Regional Jointing Pattern within the Surficial Glacial Sediments and Bedrock of south-central Ontario AUTHOR: Sheila Ellen Daniel, B.Sc., University of Western Ontario SUPERVISOR: Dr. C.H. Eyles NUMBER OF PAGES: ix, 149 ii ABSTRACT There is mounting pressure to find suitable disposal sites for both household and industrial waste in south-central Ontario as a solution to Metropolitan Toronto's growing 'garbage crisis'. New data indicate that the fine-grained glacial sediments of south central Ontario, previously considered to be 'tight' and impermeable, are in fact penetrated by an extensive joint system. This thesis provides basic information regarding the regional character, orientation and origin of joints within the surficial glacial sediments and bedrock of south-central Ontario. Three regional joint sets can be identified. Within the bedrock, the joint sets are oriented northeast/southwest, northwest/southeast and north/south. This trend is consistent with the regional jointing pattern within the overlying glacial sediments and suggests that the joints may have propagated from the bedrock into the glacial sediments. A comparison between the regional jointing pattern identified in bedrock and glacial materials and the orientation of stress release structures suggests that the regional pattern of jointing is controlled by the regional stress field which results from intraplate tectonic stresses. However, the orientation of joints at any individual site may also be controlled by 'local' factors such as face orientation, direction of glacial ice movement and lithology and by randomly oriented joints formed as the result of physical and chemical weathering, synaeresis, subglacial deformation and stress relief. The identification of regional jointing pattern within south-central Ontario allows the prediction of joint characteristics and orientations at potential landfill sites in the region, critical to the accurate evaluation of the permeability of the substrate materials. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express her thanks to several people who have aided in the completion of this thesis. In particular my thanks go to my advisor, Dr. Carolyn Eyles for her critical advice and financial support without which this thesis would not have been possible. Additional funding was provided by a research grant from the Geological Society of America. Special thanks are extended to my field assistant Genevieve Taeger, who maintained a cheery disposition during the tortuous hours of driving in search of the always elusive and rarely found, non-dessicated glacial exposure. Thanks are also extended to the numerous landowners who allowed me to have access to their land and to all of the quarry/pit superintendants who were interested in my research and permitted me access to the quarry/pit walls (and the many workers who made me feel welcome). I appreciate the help of the members of MAGNEC (Multi-Agency Group for Neotectonics in Eastern Canada) and in particular, Vern Singhroy and Frank Kenny at the Ontario Centre for Remote Sensing and Joe Wallach and the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada who released unpublished information to me and provided helpful advise. I would like to acknowledge the emotional support and encouragement of Andrew Allison who helped me to maintain my sanity with 'reality checks' and philosophical discussions on 'cracks in dirt'. I would especially like to thank my parents Dave and Dorothy Daniel for their constant support thoughout my entire academic career. This thesis would not have been possible without them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv TABLE OF CONTENTS . v LIST OF FIGURES . vii LIST OF TABLES . ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Introduction . 1 1 .2 Joints . 3 1.3 Previous Work . 4 1. 4 Selection of Sites . 7 1.5 Methodology . 9 1.6 Data Analysis . 16 1.7 Organization of Thesis . 19 CHAPTER 2: GENERAL GEOLOGY . 21 2.1 Introduction . 21 2.2 Bedrock Geology . 21 2.2.1 Palaeozoic Geologic History . 22 2.2.2 Palaeozoic Stratigraphy . 25 2.3 Pre-Quaternary Geology . 30 2.4 Quaternary Geology . 31 2.4.1 Wisconsinan History and Deposits . 33 2.4.2 Postglacial Lacustrine Deposits . 38 CHAPTER 3: SITE DESCRIPTIONS . 41 3.1 Introduction . 41 3.2 Site Descriptions . 41 3.2.1 Southern Zone . 41 3.2.2 Central Zone . 54 3.2.3 Northern Zone . 73 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS . 91 4.1 Introduction . 91 4.2 Statistical Results . 91 4.3 Results from Visual Inspection . 94 4.3.1 Regional Orientation Trends . 95 4.3.2 Other Regional Trends . 101 v 4.4 Published Joint Orientation Data . 101 CHAPTER 5: ORIGIN OF REGIONAL JOINTS . 105 5.1 Introduction . 105 5.2 Origin of Joints in Glacial Sediment . 105 5.3 Regional Stress Field . 11 o 5.3.1 Oriented Stress Related Structures . 111 5.3.2. Other Stress Related Features . 118 5.3.3 In situ Stress Measurements . 119 5.4 Comparison of the Jointing Pattern and Regional Stress Field . 121 CHAPTER 6: LOCAL CONTROLS ON JOINT ORIENTATION ........ 124 6.1 Introduction . 124 6.2 Bedrock . 124 6.2.1 Lithology . 124 6.2.2 Face Orientation . 127 6.2.3 Direction of Ice Movement . 129 6.2.4 Unexplained Anomalies . 130 6.3 Glacial Sediments . 131 6.3.1 Lithology . 131 6.3.2 Face Orientation . 132 6.3.3 Direction of Ice Flow ............................ 133 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS . 134 7.1 Introduction . 134 7.2 Summary and Conclusions . 134 7.3 Future Research . 136 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 138 vi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1-1: Location of study area (south-central Ontario) 2 FIGURE 1-2: Distribution of bedrock and glacial sites . 8 FIGURE 1-3: Photograph showing method of joint orientation measurement . 13 FIGURE 1-4: Photography showing method of joint dip measurement . 15 FIGURE 1-5: Example of a rose diagram . 18 FIGURE 2-1 : Bedrock Geology of southern Ontario . 21 FIGURE 2-2: Structural elements of the Great Lakes Region . 23 FIGURE 2-3: Variations in the palaeozoic stratigraphy along the Niagara Escarpment . 28 FIGURE 2-4: Surficial geology of south-central Ontario . 34 FIGURE 3-1: Index to study sites . 41 FIGURE 3-2: Photography showing streamline features at Vineland Quarries . 43 FIGURE 3-3: Sedimentologic log for Site 5/17 . 44 FIGURE 3-4: Rose diagrams for Sites 10, 11 and 12 . 47 FIGURE 3-5: Sedimentologic log for Site 13 50 FIGURE 3-6: Sedimentologic log for Site 14 53 FIGURE 3-7: Rose diagrams for Sites 15, 16 and 19 . 54 FIGURE 3-8: Rose diagrams for Sites 4, 18 and 21 . 57 FIGURE 3-9: Photograph showing the extent of jointing on the bedding plane . 58 FIGURE 3-10: Comparison of bedrock lithology and joint orientation at Site 6 . 59 Figure 3-11 : Comparison of joint orientation and bedrock lithology at Site 7 . 61 FIGURE 3-12: Sedimentologic log for Site 8 62 vii FIGURE 3-13: Photograph showing joints at Site 18 . 64 FIGURE 3-14: Photograph showing jointing within the Queenston Formation . 66 FIGURE 3-15: Rose diagrams for Sies 22, 27 and 28 . 67 FIGURE 3-16: Photograph showing the irregular upper surface at Site 28 . 68 FIGURE 3-17: Rose diagrams for Sites 29 and 33 . 70 FIGURE 3-18: Sedimentologic log for Site 30 . 71 FIGURE 3-18: Rose diagrams for Sites 34 and 35 . 73 FIGURE 3-19: Rose diagrams for Sites 1, 3 and 20 . 75 FIGURE 3-20: Sedimentologic log for Site 24 . 78 FIGURE 3-21: Rose diagrams for Sites 25, 26 and 31 . 80 FIGURE 3-22: Rose diagrams for Sites 32, 36 and 37 . 83 FIGURE 3-23: Photograph showing jointing within the Sunnybrook diamict . 84 FIGURE 3-24: Photograph showing well-defined joints within the Whitby shale . 86 FIGURE 3-25: Photograph showing joints within the Whitby shale . 87 FIGURE 3-26: Rose diagrams for Sites 38 and 39 88 FIGURE 3-27: Rose diagrams for Sites 40 and 41 90 FIGURE 4-1: Compilation of all of the summary rose diagrams for bedrock . 97 FIGURE 4-2: Compilation of all of the summary rose diagrams for glacial sediments . 98 FIGURE 4-3: Compilation of all published joint orientation data . ..