TEM study of a special grain boundary in a synthetic K-feldspar bicrystal: Manebach Twin

 A monoclinic KAlSi₃O₈ feldspar Manebach twin boundary was synthesized by diffusion bonding and examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The sharp (001) twin boundary is straight and free of strain. The boundary width is smaller than d₀₀₁. There is no rigid body shift observed at the twin boundary, and the feldspar structure is arranged symmetrically across (001). The twin boundary structure consists of bridged tetrahedral crankshafts, which are characteristic of the feldspar lattice. The grain boundary structure is in good agreement with the geometrical model of Taylor et al. (1934). The grain boundary composition of K_1/2H_1/2AlSi₃O₈ differs from their model. Received: 13 February 2002 / Accepted: 24 December 2002 Acknowledgements We thank M. Rühle, S. Hutt, J. Mayer, A. Strecker and U. Salzberger at MPI, Stuttgart, for their support and valuable advice in preparing TEM sections of bicrystals.     

Experimental impact cratering: A summary of the major results of the MEMIN research unit

This paper reviews major findings of the Multidisciplinary Experimental and Modeling Impact Crater Research Network (MEMIN). MEMIN is a consortium, funded from 2009 till 2017 by the German Research Foundation, and is aimed at investigating impact cratering processes by experimental and modeling approaches. The vision of this network has been to comprehensively quantify impact processes by conducting a strictly controlled experimental campaign at the laboratory scale, together with a multidisciplinary analytical approach. Central to MEMIN has been the use of powerful two-stage light-gas accelerators capable of producing impact craters in the decimeter size range in solid rocks that allowed detailed spatial analyses of petrophysical, structural, and geochemical changes in target rocks and ejecta. In addition, explosive setups, membrane-driven diamond anvil cells, as well as laser irradiation and split Hopkinson pressure bar technologies have been used to study the response of minerals and rocks to shock and dynamic loading as well as high-temperature conditions. We used Seeberger sandstone, Taunus quartzite, Carrara marble, and Weibern tuff as major target rock types. In concert with the experiments we conducted mesoscale numerical simulations of shock wave propagation in heterogeneous rocks resolving the complex response of grains and pores to compressive, shear, and tensile loading and macroscale modeling of crater formation and fracturing. Major results comprise (1) projectile–target interaction, (2) various aspects of shock metamorphism with special focus on low shock pressures and effects of target porosity and water saturation, (3) crater morphologies and cratering efficiencies in various nonporous and porous lithologies, (4) in situ target damage, (5) ejecta dynamics, and (6) geophysical survey of experimental craters.     

A joint inversion algorithm to process geoelectric and sutface wave seismic data. Part I: basic ideas1

For the exploration of near-surface structures, seismic and geoelectric methods are often applied. Usually, these two types of method give, independently of each other, a sufficiently exact model of the geological structure. However, sometimes the inversion of the seismic or geoelectric data fails. These failures can be avoided by combining various methods in one joint inversion which feads to much better parameter estimations of the model than the independent inversions. A suitable seismic method for exploring near-surface structures is the use of dispersive surface waves: the dispersive characteristics of Rayleigh and Love surface waves depend strongly on the structural and petrophysical (seismic velocities) features of the near-surface Underground. Geoelectric exploration of the structure Underground may be carried out with the well-known methods of DC resistivity sounding, such as the Schlumberger, the radial-dipole and the two-electrode arrays. The joint inversion algorithm is tested by means of synthetic data. It is demonstrated that the geoelectric joint inversion of Schlumberger, radial-dipole and two-electrode sounding data yields more reliable results than the single inversion of a single set of these data. The same holds for the seismic joint inversion of Love and Rayleigh group slowness data. The best inversion result is achieved by performing a joint inversion of both geoelectric and surface-wave data. The effect of noise on the accuracy of the solution for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian (sparsely distributed large) errors is analysed. After a comparison between least-square (LSQ) and least absolute deviation (LAD) inversion results, the LAD joint inversion is found to be an accurate and robust method.     

Deformation mechanism maps for feldspar rocks

Deformation mechanism maps for feldspar rocks were constructed based on recently published constitutive laws for dislocation and grain boundary diffusion creep of wet and dry plagioclase aggregates. The maps display constant temperature contours in stress-grain size space for strain rates ranging from 10⁻¹⁶ to 10⁻¹² s⁻¹.Two fields of dominance of grain boundary diffusion-controlled creep and dislocation creep are separated by a strongly grain size-sensitive transition zone. For wet rocks, diffusion-controlled creep dominates below a grain size of about 0.1–1 mm, depending on temperature, stress, strain rate and feldspar composition. Plagioclase aggregates containing up to 0.3 wt.% water as often found in natural feldspars are more than 2 orders of magnitude weaker than dry rocks. The strength of water-bearing feldspar rocks is moderately dependent on composition and water fugacity.For a grain size range of about 10–50 μm commonly observed in natural ultramylonites, the deformation maps predict that diffusion-controlled creep is dominant at greenschist to granulite facies conditions. Low viscosity estimates of 10¹⁸–10¹⁹ Pa·s from modeling postseismic stress relaxation and channel flow of the continental lower crust can only be reconciled with laboratory experiments assuming dislocation creep at high temperatures >900 °C or, at lower temperatures, diffusion creep of fine-grained rocks possibly localized in abundant high strain shear zones. For similar thermodynamic conditions and grain size, lower crustal rocks are predicted to be less than order of magnitude weaker than upper mantle rocks.     

A joint inversion algorithm to process geoelectric and surface wave seismic data. Part II: applications

Seismic and geoelectric methods are often used in the exploration of near-surface structures. Generally, these two methods give, independently of one other, a sufficiently exact model of the geological structure. However, sometimes the inversion of the seismic or geoelectric data fails. These failures can be avoided by combining various methods in one joint inversion which leads to much better parameter estimations of the near-surface underground than the independent inversions. In the companion paper (Part I: basic ideas), it was demonstrated theoretically that a joint inversion, using dispersive Rayleigh and Love waves in combination with the well-known methods of DC resistivity sounding, such as Schlumberger, radial dipole-dipole and pole-pole arrays, provides a better parameter estimation. Two applications are shown: a five layer structure in Borsod County, Hungary, and a three-layer structure in Thüringen, Germany. Layer thicknesses, wave velocities and resistivities are determined. Of course, the field data sets obtained from the ‘real world’ are not as complete and as good as the synthetic data sets in the theoretical Part I. In both applications, relative model distances, in percentages, serve as quality control factors for the different inversions; the lower the relative distance, the better the inversion result. In the Borsod field case, Love wave group slowness data and Schlumberger, radial dipole-dipole and pole-pole (i.e two-electrode) data sets are processed. The independent inversion performed using the Love wave data leads to a relative model distance of 155%. An independent Schlumberger inversion results in 41%, a joint geoelectric inversion of all data sets in 15%, a joint inversion of Love wave data and all geoelectric data sets in 15% and the robust joint inversion of Love wave data and the three geoelectric data sets in 10%. In the Thüringen field case, only Rayleigh wave group slowness data and Schlumberger data were available. The independent inversion using Rayleigh wave data results in a relative model distance of 19%. The independent inversion performed using Schlumberger data leads to 34%, the joint and robust joint inversion of Rayleigh wave and Schlumberger data gave results of 18% and 20%, respectively.     

Combination of common-midpoint-refraction seismics with the generalized reciprocal method

A useful method for increasing the signal/noise ratio of refracted waves is Common-Midpoint (CMP)-refraction seismics. With this technique the shallow underground can be described in detail using all information (amplitude, frequency, phase characteristics) of the wavetrain following the first break (first-break phase). Thus, the layering can be determined and faults, weak zones, and clefts can be identified. This paper deals with the optimization of CMP-refraction seismics used in combination with the Generalized Reciprocal Method (GRM). Theoretical studies show a close relationship of both methods to the kinematics of wave propagation. Velocities and optimum offsets determined by the GRM can be used directly in the partial Radon transformation in CMP-refraction seismics. The integration of refracted waves leads to an increase in the signal/noise ratio but simultaneously the integration boundaries must be restricted to deal only with selective parts of the investigated refractor. The result of this process is an intercept-time section which can be converted directly to a depth section using standard refraction seismic techniques. Another possibility of depth conversion is the transformation of this intercept-time section to a `pseudo-zero-offset section', known from reflection seismics. Thus, zero-offset sections can be migrated using wave-equation techniques such as Kirchhoff migration.     

Reaction rim growth in the system MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 under uniaxial stress

We synthesize reaction rims between thermodynamically incompatible phases in the system MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ applying uniaxial load using a creep apparatus. Synthesis experiments are done in the MgO-SiO₂ and in the MgO-Al₂O₃ subsystems at temperatures ranging from 1150 to 1350 °C imposing vertical stresses of 1.2 to 29 MPa at ambient pressure and under a constant flow of dry argon. Single crystals of synthetic and natural quartz and forsterite, synthetic periclase and synthetic corundum polycrystals are used as starting materials. We produce enstatite rims at forsterite-quartz contacts, enstatite-forsterite double rims at periclase-quartz contacts and spinel rims at periclase-corundum contacts. We find that rim growth under the “dry” conditions of our experiments is sluggish compared to what has been found previously in nominally “dry” piston cylinder experiments. We further observe that the nature of starting material, synthetic or natural, has a major influence on rim growth rates, where natural samples are more reactive than synthetic ones. At a given temperature the effect of stress variation is larger than what is anticipated from the modification of the thermodynamic driving force for reaction due to the storage of elastic strain energy in the reactant phases. We speculate that this may be due to modification of the physical properties of the polycrystals that constitute the reaction rims or by deformation under the imposed load. In our experiments rim growth is very sluggish at forsterite-quartz interfaces. Rim growth is more rapid at periclase-quartz contacts. The spinel rims that are produced at periclase-corundum interfaces show parabolic growth indicating that reaction rim growth is essentially diffusion controlled. From the analysis of time series done in the MgO-Al₂O₃ subsystem we derive effective diffusivities for the Al₂O₃ and the MgO components in a spinel polycrystal as ${\rm D}_{MgO} = 1.4 \pm 0.2 \cdot 10^{-15}$  m²/s and ${\rm D}_{Al_2O_3} = 3.7 \pm 0.6 \cdot 10^{-16}$  m²/s for T?=?1350 °C and a vertical stress of 2.9 MPa.