Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks
The mechanics of magma emplacement in the Earth's crust corresponds to the flow of a viscous fluid into a deforming solid. The Earth's crust through which magma is emplaced is visco-elasto-plastic, and field observations show that most intrusions are likely to be accommodated by combined b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00199/full |
| _version_ | 1811233601695514624 |
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| author | Håvard Svanes Bertelsen Benjamin D. Rogers Olivier Galland Guillaume Dumazer Alexandre Abbana Benanni |
| author_facet | Håvard Svanes Bertelsen Benjamin D. Rogers Olivier Galland Guillaume Dumazer Alexandre Abbana Benanni |
| author_sort | Håvard Svanes Bertelsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The mechanics of magma emplacement in the Earth's crust corresponds to the flow of a viscous fluid into a deforming solid. The Earth's crust through which magma is emplaced is visco-elasto-plastic, and field observations show that most intrusions are likely to be accommodated by combined brittle and ductile deformation of their host. However, mechanical models of magma emplacement account for either purely elastic, plastic or viscous end-member rheology of the host rock, therefore they cannot simulate the natural diversity of magma intrusion shapes and magma emplacement mechanisms. Thus they are of limited use to constrain under which conditions intrusions of contrasting shapes form. Here we present a series of 2D experiments where a viscous fluid (oil) was injected into a host matrix (laponite gel), the visco-elasto-plastic rheology of which is varied from dominantly viscous to dominantly elastic. The oil intrusion in the elastic gel is a thin conduit with a sharp tip, like magmatic dykes, whereas the oil intrusion in the viscous gel is rounded, like diapirs. In addition, the oil intrusion in gels of intermediate properties exhibits complex, hybrid shapes. The experiments were run in a polariscope, which highlighted birefringence patterns related to deformation structures within the gel. Our experiments show a strong correlation between intrusion shapes and host matrix deformation modes: (1) thin intrusions dominantly propagate by tensile failure and elastic deformation of the host, (2) rounded “diapiric” intrusions dominantly propagate by viscous flow of the host, and (3) irregular “hybrid” intrusions propagate by coeval brittle (tensile and shear) and ductile deformation of the host. Our novel experiments are the first able to produce the natural diversity of intrusion shapes and host deformation mechanisms. In addition, our results show that the use of a polariscope in gel experiments is essential to unravel the mechanics of magma emplacement within a host of realistic visco-elasto-plastic rheology. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T11:22:32Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-cbbba90094654a78ad096f7441dbb7af2022-12-22T03:35:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632018-11-01610.3389/feart.2018.00199411930Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic RocksHåvard Svanes Bertelsen0Benjamin D. Rogers1Olivier Galland2Guillaume Dumazer3Alexandre Abbana Benanni4Physics of Geological Processes, Department of Geosciences, The NJORD Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayPhysics of Geological Processes, Department of Geosciences, The NJORD Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayPhysics of Geological Processes, Department of Geosciences, The NJORD Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayPoreLab, Physics Department, The NJORD Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayEcole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, FranceThe mechanics of magma emplacement in the Earth's crust corresponds to the flow of a viscous fluid into a deforming solid. The Earth's crust through which magma is emplaced is visco-elasto-plastic, and field observations show that most intrusions are likely to be accommodated by combined brittle and ductile deformation of their host. However, mechanical models of magma emplacement account for either purely elastic, plastic or viscous end-member rheology of the host rock, therefore they cannot simulate the natural diversity of magma intrusion shapes and magma emplacement mechanisms. Thus they are of limited use to constrain under which conditions intrusions of contrasting shapes form. Here we present a series of 2D experiments where a viscous fluid (oil) was injected into a host matrix (laponite gel), the visco-elasto-plastic rheology of which is varied from dominantly viscous to dominantly elastic. The oil intrusion in the elastic gel is a thin conduit with a sharp tip, like magmatic dykes, whereas the oil intrusion in the viscous gel is rounded, like diapirs. In addition, the oil intrusion in gels of intermediate properties exhibits complex, hybrid shapes. The experiments were run in a polariscope, which highlighted birefringence patterns related to deformation structures within the gel. Our experiments show a strong correlation between intrusion shapes and host matrix deformation modes: (1) thin intrusions dominantly propagate by tensile failure and elastic deformation of the host, (2) rounded “diapiric” intrusions dominantly propagate by viscous flow of the host, and (3) irregular “hybrid” intrusions propagate by coeval brittle (tensile and shear) and ductile deformation of the host. Our novel experiments are the first able to produce the natural diversity of intrusion shapes and host deformation mechanisms. In addition, our results show that the use of a polariscope in gel experiments is essential to unravel the mechanics of magma emplacement within a host of realistic visco-elasto-plastic rheology.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00199/fullmagma emplacementlaponite gelvisco-elasto-plastic experiments2D laboratory modelspolariscopic imaging |
| spellingShingle | Håvard Svanes Bertelsen Benjamin D. Rogers Olivier Galland Guillaume Dumazer Alexandre Abbana Benanni Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks Frontiers in Earth Science magma emplacement laponite gel visco-elasto-plastic experiments 2D laboratory models polariscopic imaging |
| title | Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks |
| title_full | Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks |
| title_fullStr | Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks |
| title_short | Laboratory Modeling of Coeval Brittle and Ductile Deformation During Magma Emplacement Into Viscoelastic Rocks |
| title_sort | laboratory modeling of coeval brittle and ductile deformation during magma emplacement into viscoelastic rocks |
| topic | magma emplacement laponite gel visco-elasto-plastic experiments 2D laboratory models polariscopic imaging |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00199/full |
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