Experimental analysis of ductile-slip rheology in shallow structural level faults

The authors select different grain size samples from granitic body in Weishan, central Hunan, to conduct mylonitization experiments under high temperature (HT) and high pressure (HP), by which the temperature and pressure conditions of mylonitization and microstructures of deformation have been obtained. Through the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of experimental mylonite, we calculate its dislocation density (D), differential rheological stress (Pd) and speed rate of strain (Rs): 3.20x10⁹/cm², 139.32 MPa and 6.39x10^-10/s respectively. The results are in the same magnitude-order with those of natural mylonite from fault zones. By comparison and analysis of chemical compositions and microstructures of different structural environments, the authors establish approximate rheological parameters related to shallow structural level and also suggest the multiple rheological properties and total trend from deep structural level to shallow structural level.     

Study on the rheology of subducting slabs

We calculate thermal and phase structures of subducting slabs for different subducting velocities by a modified coupling code of the kinetic phase-transformation equations and the heat-diffusion equation with latent-heat release. Whereafter, we estimate their rheology structures based on the thermal and phase structures from the mineral physical point of view. At shallow depth, the upper layer has a high effective viscosity greater than 10³⁴Pa · s; while the lower layer has a relatively low effective viscosity, which is greater than 10²⁶Pa · s nevertheless. The effective viscosities below the kinetic phase boundary of olivine to wadsleyite decrease obviously, and reach a minimum of 10²²Pa · s. Small areas with higher effective viscosities exist above the depth of about 700 km in subducting slabs, which are produced by lower temperatures that are related with endothermic phase transformation of spinel to perovskite and magnesiowustite. The 1% and 99% isograds of spinel proportion delineate tortuous belts with low effective viscosities, which would affect the geodynamic behavior of subducting slabs.     

基于应力偏量的横波纯应力逆时偏移成像方法

基于弹性波解耦延拓方程的波场分离方法不仅可以得到解耦的纵、横波质点振动速度场,还可以获得纵、横波应力场.针对横波纯应力场在利用单一分量成像时不具有明确物理意义的问题,本文将应力偏张量引入到横波应力场中,基于应力偏量第二不变量构建得到横波应力不变量并将其用于应力场的逆时偏移成像中,获得了可完整表征横波应力场的成像结果.模型试算表明,本文构建的横波应力不变量可以有效利用横波应力张量中的波场信息,并得到准确的弹性逆时偏移成像结果.     

碧溪岭超高压石榴橄榄岩的流变学研究

从组构、位错、滑移系及古应力计算等方面综合研究了大别山超高压石榴榄榄岩的流变学特征（１）对橄榄岩中单斜辉石和斜方辉石的且构分析表明,碧溪岭地区超基岩经历了塑性变形,形成了ＬＰＯ组构：碧溪岭超基性岩的变形特征既淡类似于蛇绿岩,也不完全等同于幔源包体,它有十分独特遥变形的图象。（２）利用费氏台可观测到的滑移系有如下两种：「００１」（１００）为中高温滑移系,「０１０」（１００）为低温滑移系,低温滑移系和     

The mechanical behaviour of synthetic, poorly consolidated granular rock under uniaxial compression

In order to isolate the effect of grain size and cementation on the mechanical behaviour of poorly consolidated granular rock, we prepared synthetic rock samples in which these two parameters were varied independently. Various proportions of sand, Portland cement and water were mixed and cast in a mold. The mixture was left pressure-free during curing, thus ensuring that the final material was poorly consolidated. We used two natural well-sorted sands with grain sizes of 0.22 and 0.8 mm. The samples were mechanically tested in a uniaxial press. Static Young's modulus was measured during the tests by performing small stress excursions at discrete intervals along the stress–strain curves. All the samples exhibited nonlinear elasticity, i.e., Young's modulus increased with stress. As expected, we found that the uniaxial compressive strength increased with increasing cement content. Furthermore, we observed a transition from grain size sensitivity of strength at cement content less than 20–30% to grain size independence above this value. The measured values of Young's modulus are well explained by models based on rigid inclusions embedded in a soft matrix, at high cement content, and on cemented grain-to-grain contacts, at low cement content. Both models predict grain size independence in well-sorted cemented sands. The observed grain size sensitivity at low cement content is probably due to microstructural differences between fine- and coarse-grained materials caused by small differences in grain sorting quality.     

Chemical and physical responses to deformation in micaceous quartzites from the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps

Micaceous quartzites from a subvertical shear zone in the Tauern Window contain abundant quartz clasts derived from dismembered quartz‐tourmaline veins. Bulk plane strain deformation affected these rocks at amphibolite facies conditions. Shape changes suggest net shortening of the clasts by 11–64%, with a mean value of 35%. Quartz within the clasts accommodated this strain largely via dislocation creep processes. On the high‐stress flanks of the clasts, however, quartz was removed via solution mass transfer (pressure solution) processes; the resulting change in bulk composition allowed growth of porphyroblastic staurolite + chlorite ± kyanite on the clast flanks. Matrix SiO₂ contents decrease from c. 83 wt% away from the clasts to 49–58% in the selvages on the clast flanks. The chemical changes are consistent with c. 70% volume loss in the high‐stress zones. Calculated shortening values within the clast flanks are similar to the volume‐loss estimates, and are greatly in excess of the shortening values calculated from the clasts themselves. Flow laws for dislocation creep versus pressure solution imply large strain‐rate gradients and/or differential stress gradients between the matrix and the clast selvages. In a rock containing a large proportion of semirigid clasts, weakening within the clast flanks could dominate rock rheology. In our samples, however, weakening within the selvages was self limiting: (1) growth of strong staurolite porphyroblasts in the selvages protected remaining quartz from dissolution; and (2) overall flattening of the quartz clasts probably decreased the resolved shear stress on the flanks to values near those of the matrix, which would have reduced the driving force for solution‐transfer creep. Extreme chemical changes nonetheless occurred over short distances. The necessity of maintaining strain compatibility may lead to significant localized dissolution in rocks containing rheologic heterogeneities, and overall weakening of the rocks may result. Solution‐transfer creep may be a major process whereby weakening and strain localization occur during deep‐crustal metamorphism of polymineralic rocks.     

P-wave velocities of polymineralic rocks: comparison of theory and experiment and test of elastic mixture rules

We compare the P-wave velocities (Vp) of 696 dry samples measured at pressures up to 0.6–1.0 GPa with values calculated from the volume fraction and room pressure elastic constants of each constituent mineral using 16 averaging methods. The exceptional large number of samples covers almost all common lithologic types of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The calculated Vp data are in good agreement with laboratory values measured at about 300 MPa, even though elastic constants of only 22 common minerals are used in the computation. The mean Vp of a polymineralic rock is exclusively controlled by the volume fractions of its constituent minerals while grain shape and crystallographic preferred orientations, anisotropy and other perturbations have minimum effects. The mean Vp can be fairly well predicted as long as a relevant mixture rule is used and the volume fraction is accurately determined for each mineral. However, none of the mixture rules can simultaneously produce the best fit to measured P-wave velocities for all the lithologic types. One method may work well for one lithology but poor for other lithology. Even for a given lithology, an averaging method may yield good agreement at moderate pressure but poor agreement at high pressure. Applications of an inappropriate mixture rule will potentially cause the misinterpretation of the crust and mantle Vp data in terms of mineralogical compositions and structures.     

Decoupled elastic prestack depth migration

This paper presents a new decoupled form of the formula for common-shot or common-receiver amplitude-preserving elastic prestack depth migration (PreSDM), which can be used for estimating angle-dependent elastic reflection coefficients in laterally inhomogeneous anisotropic media. The multi-shot or multi-receiver extension of this formula is suitable for automated prestack amplitude-versus-angle (AVA) elastic inversion of ocean-bottom cable (OBC), walkaway VSP (WVSP) or standard towed-cable data at any subsurface location. The essence of the theory is a systematic application of the stationary-phase principle and high-frequency approximations to the basic elastic Green's theorem. This leads to nonheuristic explicit wave mode decoupling and scalarization of vector PreSDM. Used in combination, ray-trace and finite-difference (FD) eikonal solvers create a useful tool to calculate accurate Green's function travel time and amplitude maps. Examples of synthetic OBC data and applications to field WVSP data show that the new imaging technique can produce a clear multi-mode elastic image.