0000000000498424
AUTHOR
Evangelos Moulas
Dynamic pressure variations in the lower crust caused by localized fluid-induced weakening
When continents collide, the Earth’s crust experiences structural and metamorphic transformations that control the geodynamic evolution of the orogen. Metamorphism of dry, lower crust requires fluid supply and produce mechanically weaker rocks. Metamorphism is often localized in shear-zones, which provide the available fluid pathways. Several field-based studies show that shear zone development is preceded by brittle faults, frequently portraying evidence for seismic slip rates and introduction of externally derived fluids. However, despite the extensive documentation of lower crustal metamorphism and associated deformation features, a unifying model coupling deformation to fluid …
On backflow associated with oceanic and continental subduction
SUMMARY A popular idea is that accretion of sediment at a subduction zone commonly leads to the formation of a subduction channel, which is envisioned as a narrow zone located above a subducting plate and filled with vigorously circulating accreted sediment and exotic blocks. The circulation can be viewed as a forced convection, with downward flow in the lower part of the channel due to entrainment by the subducting plate, and a ‘backflow’ in the upper part of the channel. The backflow is often cited as an explanation for the exhumation of high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphic rocks from depths of 30 to 50 km. Previous analyses of this problem have mainly focused on the restricted case …
Calculating pressure with elastic geobarometry: A comparison of different elastic solutions with application to a calc-silicate gneiss from the Rhodope Metamorphic Province
Abstract Raman elastic geobarometry has increasingly been used complementary to metamorphic phase equilibria to estimate the conditions of recrystallization in metamorphic rocks. The procedure of applying Raman elastic barometry to host-inclusion mineral systems requires several steps that involve various assumptions. One of the most essential assumptions is that the mineral host-inclusion system behaves in an elastic and reversible manner. We discuss the discrepant results obtained by different authors employing different analytical solutions for elasticity and explore the assumptions lying behind each method. Furthermore, we evaluate numerically linear and non-linear elastic solutions and…
2D Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Modeling of (De)hydration Reactions in Deforming Heterogeneous Rock: The Periclase-Brucite Model Reaction
Deformation at tectonic plate boundaries involves coupling between rock deformation, fluid flow, and metamorphic reactions, but quantifying this coupling is still elusive. We present a new two-dimensional hydro-mechanical-chemical numerical model and investigate the coupling between heterogeneous rock deformation and metamorphic (de)hydration reactions. We consider linear viscous compressible and power-law viscous shear deformation. Fluid flow follows Darcy's law with a Kozeny-Carman type permeability. We consider a closed isothermal system and the reversible (de)hydration reaction: periclase and water yields brucite. Fluid pressure within a circular or elliptical inclusion is initially bel…
Widening of Hydrous Shear Zones During Incipient Eclogitization of Metastable Dry and Rigid Lower Crust—Holsnøy, Western Norway
The partially eclogitized crustal rocks on Holsnøy in the Bergen Arcs, Norway, indicate that eclogitization is caused by the interplay of brittle and ductile deformation promoted by fluid infiltration and fluid‐rock interaction. Eclogitization generated an interconnected network of millimeter‐to‐kilometer‐wide hydrous eclogite‐facies shear zones, which presumably caused transient weakening of the mechanically strong lower crust. To decipher the development of those networks, we combine detailed lithological and structural mapping of two key outcrops with numerical modeling. Both outcrops are largely composed of preserved granulite with minor eclogite‐facies shear zones, thus representing th…
Dynamic Pressure Variations in the Lower Crust Caused by Localized Fluid-Induced Weakening (LaMEM input files)
This folder contains the source code of LaMEM as was used for the simulations in E. Moulas, B. Kaus, B. Jamtveit (2022) Dynamic Pressure Variations in the Lower Crust Caused by Localized Fluid-Induced Weakening. Communications Earth & Environment Thanks for your interest in reproducing this!