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Abstract. Geological carbon sequestration provides permanentCO2 storage to mitigate the current high concentration of CO2 inthe atmosphere. CO2 mineralization in basalts has been proven to be oneof the most secure storage options. For successful implementation and futureimprovements of this technology, the time-dependent deformation behavior ofreservoir rocks in the presence of reactive fluids needs to be studied indetail. We conducted load-stepping creep experiments on basalts from theCarbFix site (Iceland) under several pore fluid conditions (dry,H2O saturated and H2O + CO2 saturated) at temperature,T≈80 ∘C and effective pressure, Peff=50 MPa,during which we collected mechanical, acoustic and pore fluid chemistrydata. We observed transient creep at stresses as low as 11 % of thefailure strength. Acoustic emissions (AEs) correlated strongly with strainaccumulation, indicating that the creep deformation was a brittle process inagreement with microstructural observations. The rate and magnitude of AEswere higher in fluid-saturated experiments than in dry conditions. We inferthat the predominant mechanism governing creep deformation is time- andstress-dependent subcritical dilatant cracking. Our results suggest thatthe presence of aqueous fluids exerts first-order control on creepdeformation of basaltic rocks, while the composition of the fluids playsonly a secondary role under the studied conditions. 

Abstract Fault zones accommodate relative motion between tectonic blocks and control earthquake nucleation. Nanocrystalline fault rocks are ubiquitous in “principal slip zones” indicating that these materials are determining fault stability. However, the rheology of nanocrystalline fault rocks remains poorly constrained. Here, we show that such fault rocks are an order of magnitude weaker than their microcrystalline counterparts when deformed at identical experimental conditions. Weakening of the fault rocks is hence intrinsic, it occurs once nanocrystalline layers form. However, it is difficult to produce “rate weakening” behavior due to the low measured stress exponent,n, of 1.3 ± 0.4 and the low activation energy,Q, of 16,000 ± 14,000 J/mol implying that the material will be strongly “rate strengthening” with a weak temperature sensitivity. Failure of the fault zone nevertheless occurs once these weak layers coalesce in a kinematically favored network. This type of instability is distinct from the frictional instability used to describe crustal earthquakes. 

Abstract Seismic anisotropy constitutes a useful tool for imaging the structure along the plate interface in subduction zones, but the seismic properties of mafic blueschists, a common rock type in subduction zones, remain poorly constrained. We applied the technique of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) based petrofabric analysis to calculate the seismic anisotropies of 14 naturally deformed mafic blueschists at dry, ambient conditions. The ductilely deformed blueschists were collected from terranes with inferred peak P‐T conditions applicable to subducting slabs at or near the plate interface in active subduction zones. Epidote blueschists display the greatestPwave anisotropy range (AVp ∼7%–20%), while lawsonite blueschist AVp ranges from ∼2% to 10%.Swave anisotropies generate shear wave splitting delay times up to ∼0.1 s over a thickness of 5 km. AVp magnitude increases with glaucophane abundance (from areal EBSD measurements), decreases with increasing epidote or lawsonite abundance, and is enhanced by glaucophane crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) strength. Two‐phase rock recipe models provide further evidence of the primary role of glaucophane, epidote, and lawsonite in generating blueschist seismic anisotropy. The symmetry ofPwave velocity patterns reflects the deformation‐induced CPO type in glaucophane—an effect previously observed for hornblende on amphibolitePwave anisotropy. The distinctive seismic properties that distinguish blueschist from other subduction zone rock types and the strong correlation between anisotropy magnitude/symmetry and glaucophane CPO suggest that seismic anisotropy may be a useful tool in mapping the extent and deformation of blueschists along the interface, and the blueschist‐eclogite transition in active subduction zones. 

Abstract Before large volumes of crystal poor rhyolites are mobilized as melt, they are extracted through the reduction of pore space within their corresponding crystal matrix (compaction). Petrological and mechanical models suggest that a significant fraction of this process occurs at intermediate melt fractions (ca. 0.3–0.6). The timescales associated with such extraction processes have important ramifications for volcanic hazards. However, it remains unclear how melt is redistributed at the grain‐scale and whether using continuum scale models for compaction is suitable to estimate extraction timescales at these melt fractions. To explore these issues, we develop and apply a two‐phase continuum model of compaction to two suites of analog phase separation experiments—one conducted at low and the other at high temperatures, T, and pressures, P. We characterize the ability of the crystal matrix to resist porosity change using parameterizations of granular phenomena and find that repacking explains both data sets well. A transition between compaction by repacking to melt‐enhanced grain boundary diffusion‐controlled creep near the maximum packing fraction of the mush may explain the difference in compaction rates inferred from high T + P experiments and measured in previous deformation experiments. When upscaling results to magmatic systems at intermediate melt fractions, repacking may provide an efficient mechanism to redistribute melt. Finally, outside nearly instantaneous force chain disruption events occasionally recorded in the low T + P experiments, melt loss is continuous, and two‐phase dynamics can be solved at the continuum scale with an effective matrix viscosity. 

Abstract The rheology of crustal mushes is a crucial parameter controlling melt segregation and magma flow. However, the relations between mush dynamics and crystal size and shape distribution remain poorly understood because of the complexity of melt‐crystal and crystal‐crystal interactions. We performed analog experiments to characterize the mechanisms that control pore space reduction associated with repacking. Three suspensions of monodisperse particles with different geometries and aspect ratios (1:1, 2:1, 4:1) in a viscous fluid were tested. Our results show that particle aspect ratios strongly control the melt extraction processes. We identify two competing mechanisms that enable melt extraction at grain scale. The first mechanism leads to continuous deformation and melt extraction and is associated with “diffuse” frictional dissipation between neighboring particles. The second is stochastic, localized, and nearly instantaneous and is associated with the development and destruction of force chains percolating through the granular assembly. 

Abstract We performed a series of extrusion experiments on partially molten samples of forsterite plus 10 vol% of an anorthite‐rich melt to investigate melt segregation in a pipe‐extrusion geometry and test the predictions of two‐phase flow theory with viscous anisotropy. The employed flow geometry has not been experimentally investigated for partially molten rocks; however, numerical solutions for a similar, pipe‐Poiseuille geometry are available. Samples were extruded from a 6‐mm diameter reservoir into a 2‐mm diameter channel under a fixed normal stress at 1350°C and 0.1 MPa. The melt distribution in the channel was subsequently mapped with optical and backscattered electron microscopy and analyzed via quantitative image analysis. Melt segregated from the center toward the outer radius of the channel. The melt fraction at the wall increased with increasing extrusion duration and with increasing shear stress. The melt fraction profiles are parabolic with the melt fraction at the wall reaching 0.17–0.66, values 2 to 16 times higher than at the channel center. Segregation of melt toward the wall of the channel is consistent with base‐state melt segregation as predicted by two‐phase flow theory with viscous anisotropy. However, melt‐rich sheets inclined at a low angle to the wall, which are anticipated from two‐phase flow theory, were not observed, indicating that the compaction length is larger than the channel diameter. The results of our experiments are a test of two‐phase flow theory that includes viscous anisotropy, an essential theoretical frame work needed for modeling large‐scale melt migration and segregation in the upper mantle.