Abstract. Using multiple scales of observation in studying the fractures of the
bedrock increases the reliability and representativeness of the respective
studies. This is because the discontinuities, i.e. the fractures, in the
bedrock lack any characteristic length and instead occur within a large
range of scales of approximately 10 orders of magnitude. Consequently,
fracture models need to be constructed based on representative multi-scale
datasets. In this paper, we combine a detailed bedrock fracture study from an
extensive bedrock outcrop area with lineament interpretation using light
detection and ranging (lidar) and geophysical data. Our study offers
lineament data in an intermediary length range (100–500 m) missing from
discrete fracture network modelling conducted at Olkiluoto, a nuclear
spent-fuel facility in Finland. Our analysis provides insights into
multi-scale length distributions of lineaments and fractures and into the
effect of glaciations on lineament and fracture data.
A common power-law model was fit to the lineament and fracture lengths
with an exponent of −1.13. However, the fractures and lineaments
might follow distinct power laws or other statistical distributions
rather than a common one. When categorising data by orientation, we can
highlight differences in length distributions possibly related to
glaciations. Our analysis further includes the topological,
scale-independent fracture network characteristics. For example, we
noticed a trend of decreasing apparent connectivity of fracture networks as
the scale of observation increases.