Melt distribution in mantle rocks deformed in shear

Mark E Zimmerman, Shuqing Zhang, David L Kohlstedt, Shun Ichiro Karato

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

136 Scopus citations

Abstract

Shear experiments on olivine-basalt aggregates provide compelling evidence that the dynamic distribution of melt is controlled by the magnitude and orientation of the differential stress. Our results suggest that deformed, partially molten upper mantle rocks will have highly anisotropic physical properties including seismic wave velocities and melt permeability. In addition, our results provide a basis for interpreting geophysical observations, such as shear-wave splitting and for modeling melt migration processes beneath mid-ocean ridges, specifically focused flow of melt toward the ridge axis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1505-1508
Number of pages4
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume26
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999

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