Extensional veins induced by self-similar dissolution at stylolites: Analytical modeling

Stylolites are surfaces of localized dissolution observed in rocks. Many stylolites share a common morphological feature: the amount of dissolved rock in the center of the seam is proportional to the stylolite's length. Field observations demonstrate that stylolites can locally influence formation of veins. The developed analytical model of the indirect solution of Eshelby's transformation problem calculates the stress field within and around the stylolite. The results suggest that growth of a stylolite with an elliptic dissolution pattern generates a local non-uniform stress field in the host rock, which is in turn accommodated by brittle Mode I fracturing in the stylolite midsection, further resulting in veins formation. Parametric analysis and qualitative comparison with "anticrack" model describing stress field within and around stylolite are conducted.