In-situ stress and microcracking in granite cores with depth

► Microcrack volumes in 87 granite-cored samples were quantified. ► Digital image analysis was conducted to examine the characteristics of microcracks. ► The volume of stress-induced microcracks increased linearly with sampling depth. ► Transgranular microcracks could be an indicator of stress-induced core damage. ► Linear trend between in-situ stress and microcrack volumetric strain was established.