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PRF2022—Progressive Failure of Brittle Rocks

Flat Rock, North Carolina, USA | Highland Lake Inn and Resort
20–24 June 2022

CONVENERS of time and space scales, and for identifying key controls on its
Dr. Matthew Brain, Dept. of Geography, Durham University, morphology, mechanisms, rates, and processes. However, the fac-
matthew.brain@durham.ac.uk tors (e.g., climate, material properties, stresses, and water avail-
Prof. Martha-Cary (Missy) Eppes, Dept. of Geography & Earth ability and chemistry) that drive or limit fracture growth itself—
Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, meppes@ as well its manifestation and impacts over time—remain poorly
uncc.edu characterized across a broad array of disciplines.
Dr. Kerry Leith, GNS Science, New Zealand, kerryleith@gmail.com We hope this Penrose Conference, which we are calling
Dr. Alex Rinehart, Earth and Environmental Science, New PRF2022, can illustrate a pathway forward for filling the many
Mexico Tech, Alex.Rinehart@nmt.edu knowledge gaps related to rock fracture overall, but particularly
with respect to progressive rock failure (PRF). There is a burgeon-
Endorsed by GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology ing appreciation that crack growth in the natural and built environ-
Division; GSA Environmental and Engineering Geology Division; ment is non-linear, most commonly progressing as slow, climate-
GSA Soil and Soil Processes Division; GSA Planetary Geology dependent, subcritical deformation (i.e., PRF; Eppes and Keanini,
Division. Additional funding provided by the National Science 2017), which at times accelerates toward rapid and hazardous
Foundation award #2134366. critical failure without obvious forewarning. Yet, the potentially
central role that PRF may play in all fracture-related systems has
OVERVIEW been largely unrecognized or misconceived across both surface-
What: A five-day conference with diverse keynote speakers, process and engineering applications. Geomorphologists studying
talks, posters, discussions, mentoring, and a one-day field trip. natural rock fracture have largely overlooked the knowledge and
Why: To foster a more robust and multidisciplinary understanding concepts to be derived from rock physics and engineering research
of the interdependencies of rock fracture and surface processes, on PRF, and engineers and rock physicists have remained largely
hazards, infrastructure decay, weathering, and climate change. unaware of the potential applications and validations that might be
Who: Geomorphologists, rock physicists, stone heritage preser- possible via the study of PRF in natural landscapes. PRF2022 seeks
vationists, geotechnical engineers, critical zone scientists, and to bring together these communities for lively discussions and data
planetary geologists. analysis centered around testing and considering the assertion that
Where: Self-contained in a picturesque mountain retreat located virtually all natural rock fracture is dominated by—or at least
in the Blue Ridge Mountains of west-central North Carolina, predicated on—PRF.
USA. Comfortable indoor and outdoor seating areas, walking
trails, canoes, and swimming facilities will be available. CONFERENCE GOALS
This conference aims to transcend traditional disciplinary
MOTIVATION divides in the study of rock fracture—and its impacts—in both
The progressive growth of fractures in rock directly impacts natural and applied research. We hope PRF2022 will enable
virtually all natural earth-surface systems and components of the attendees to understand and catalogue the applicability of PRF to
built environment that involve rock. As rocks fracture in response fracture problems within their own disciplines by addressing the
to environmental, tectonic, and topographic forces and factors, that following types of questions:
crack growth itself changes rock strength, porosity, and permeabil- • If mechanical weathering, critical zone fracture, infrastructure
ity. In turn, these changes impact natural processes and society. For decay, and hazards are at least partially occurring via PRF, what
example, the stability of slopes, excavations, tunnels, and boreholes are the implications? How can we quantify the extent to which
are all intimately linked to these changes, as is the management of PRF is, or is not, a dominant process in natural landscapes and
aging infrastructure, the conservation of our archaeological heri- built-stone infrastructure?
tage, and the assessment of hazard risks related to phenomena like • If environment controls both stress and crack-tip PRF processes,
landslides and rockfalls. Crack growth also impacts the overall evo- what are the ramifications for the study of how past and ongoing
lution of the critical zone, governing rates and modes of earth-surface climate change impacts rock fracture and any processes impacted
processes ranging from CO cycling to regolith production and hill- by rock fracture processes?
2
slope sediment supply to bedrock channel incision. • What is the impact of varying surface chemistry, moisture, and
Thus, there is substantial societal and scientific motivation temperature conditions on the presence, rates, and morphological
for understanding rock fracture, the role it plays across a range manifestation of PRF and thus the processes that it influences?

38 GSA Today | September 2021