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The strength of lithospheric plates is a central component of plate tectonics, governed by brittle processes in the shallow portion of the plate and ductile behavior in the deeper portion. We review experimental constraints on ductile deformation of olivine, the main mineral in the upper mantle and thus the lithosphere. Olivine deforms by four major mechanisms: low-temperature plasticity, dislocation creep, dislocation-accommodated grain-boundary sliding (GBS), and diffusion-accommodated grain-boundary sliding (diffusion creep). Deformation in most of the lithosphere is dominated by GBS, except in shear zones—in which diffusion creep dominates—and in the brittle-ductile transition—in which low-temperature plasticity may dominate. We find that observations from naturally deformed rocks are consistent with extrapolation of the experimentally constrained olivine flow laws to geological conditions but that geophysical observations predict a weaker lithosphere. The causes of this discrepancy are unresolved but likely reside in the uncertainty surrounding processes in the brittle-ductile transition, at which the lithosphere is strongest. ▪ Ductile deformation of the lithospheric mantle is constrained by experimental data for olivine. ▪ Olivine deforms by four major mechanisms: low-temperature plasticity, dislocation creep, dislocation-accommodated grain-boundary sliding, and diffusion creep. ▪ Observations of naturally deformed rocks are consistent with extrapolation of olivine flow laws from experimental conditions. ▪ Experiments predict stronger lithosphere than geophysical observations, likely due to gaps in constraints on deformation in the brittle-ductile transition.
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Constitutive Behavior of Olivine Gouge Across the Brittle‐Ductile Transition
Abstract The bottom of the lithosphere is characterized by a thermally controlled transition from brittle to ductile deformation. While the mechanical behavior of rocks firmly within the brittle and ductile regimes is relatively well understood, how the transition operates remains elusive. Here, we study the mechanical properties of pure olivine gouge from 100 to 500°C under 100 MPa pore‐fluid pressure in a triaxial deformation apparatus as a proxy for the mechanical properties of the upper mantle across the brittle‐ductile transition. We describe the mechanical data with a rate‐, state‐, and temperature‐dependent constitutive law with multiple thermally activated deformation mechanisms. The stress power exponents decrease from 70 ± 10 in the brittle regime to 17 ± 3 and 4 ± 2 in the semi‐brittle and ductile regimes, respectively. The mechanical model consistently explains the mechanical behavior of olivine gouge across the brittle‐ductile transition, capturing the gradual evolution from cataclasis to crystal plasticity.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1848192
- PAR ID:
- 10479562
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 50
- Issue:
- 24
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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