Regular spacing of deformation bands in sandstone: Layer-thickness control or constitutive instability?

We examine whether bedding thickness or constitutive properties correlate with the spacing of equally spaced shear-enhanced compaction bands and compactional shear bands in Miocene sandstones of the Whakataki Formation, North Island, New Zealand. Quantitative spacing analysis reveals a positive correlation between bedding thickness and the spacing of strata-bound deformation bands, as is commonly observed for veins, joints, and normal faults....