Metamorphism | EPFL Graph Search

Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of chemically active fluids, but the rock remains mostly solid during the transformation. Metamorphism is distinct from weathering or diagenesis, which are changes that take place at or just beneath Earth's surface. Various forms of metamorphism exist, including regional, contact, hydrothermal, shock, and dynamic metamorphism. These differ in the characteristic temperatures, pressures, and rate at which they take place and in the extent to which reactive fluids are involved. Metamorphism occurring at increasing pressure and temperature conditions is known as prograde metamorphism, while decreasing temperature and pressure characterize retrograde metamorphism. Metamorphic petrology is the study of metamorphism. Metamorphic petrologists rely heavily

Quasi-static and dynamic fracture behaviour of rock materials: phenomena and mechanisms

Qianbing Zhang, Jian Zhao

An experimental investigation is conducted to study the quasi-static and dynamic fracture behaviour of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. The notched semi-circular bending method has been employed to determine fracture parameters over a wide range of loading rates using both a servo-hydraulic machine and a split Hopkinson pressure bar. The time to fracture, crack speed and velocity of the flying fragment are measured by strain gauges, crack propagation gauge and high-speed photography on the macroscopic level. Dynamic crack initiation toughness is determined from the dynamic stress intensity factor at the time to fracture, and dynamic crack growth toughness is derived by the dynamic fracture energy at a specific crack speed. Systematic fractographic studies on fracture surface are carried out to examine the micromechanisms of fracture. This study reveals clearly that: (1) the crack initiation and growth toughness increase with increasing loading rate and crack speed; (2) the kinetic energy of the flying fragments increases with increasing striking speed; (3) the dynamic fracture energy increases rapidly with the increase of crack speed, and a semi-empirical rate-dependent model is proposed; and (4) the characteristics of fracture surface imply that the failure mechanisms depend on loading rate and rock microstructure.

Springer Verlag2014

Thermal diffusivity of seasonal snow determined from temperature profiles

Chad Higgins, Wolf Hendrik Huwald, Holly Jayne Oldroyd, Marc Parlange

Thermal diffusivity of snow is an important thermodynamic property associated with key hydrological phenomena such as snow melt and heat and water vapor exchange with the atmosphere. Direct determination of snow thermal diffusivity requires coupled point measurements of thermal conductivity and density, which continually change due to snow metamorphism. Traditional methods for determining these two quantities are generally limited by temporal resolution. In this study we present a method to determine the thermal diffusivity of snow with high temporal resolution using snow temperature profile measurements. High resolution (between 2.5 and 10 cm at 1 min) temperature measurements from the seasonal snow pack at the Plaine-Morte glacier in Switzerland are used as initial conditions and Neumann (heat flux) boundary conditions to numerically solve the one-dimensional heat equation and iteratively optimize for thermal diffusivity. The implementation of Neumann boundary conditions and a ttest, ensuring statistical significance between solutions of varied thermal diffusivity, are important to help constrain thermal diffusivity such that spurious high and low values as seen with Dirichlet (temperature) boundary conditions are reduced. The results show that time resolved thermal diffusivity can be determined from temperature measurements of seasonal snow and support density-based empirical parameterizations for thermal conductivity.

Elsevier2013

Oxygen diffusion in garnet: Experimental calibration and implications for timescales of metamorphic processes and retention of primary O isotopic signatures

Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Anders Meibom

Knowledge of oxygen diffusion in garnet is crucial for a correct interpretation of oxygen isotope signatures in natural samples. A series of experiments was undertaken to determine the diffusivity of oxygen in garnet, which remains poorly constrained. The first suite included high-pressure (HP), nominally dry experiments performed in piston-cylinder apparatus at: (1) T = 1050-1600 degrees C and P = 1.5 GPa and (2) T = 1500 degrees C and P = 2.5 GPa using yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG; Y3Al5O12) cubes. Second, HP H2O-saturated experiments were conducted at T = 900 degrees C and P = 1.0-1.5 GPa, wherein YAG crystals were packed into a YAG + Corundum powder, along with O-18-enriched H2O. Third, 1 atm experiments with YAG cubes were performed in a gas-mixing furnace at T = 1500-1600 degrees C under Ar flux. Finally, an experiment at T = 900 degrees C and P = 1.0 GPa was done using a pyrope cube embedded into pyrope powder and O-18-enriched H2O. Experiments using grossular were not successful. Profiles of O-18/(O-18+O-16) in the experimental charges were analyzed with three different secondary ion mass spectrometers (SIMS): sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP II and SI), CAMECA IMS-1280, and NanoSIMS. Considering only the measured length of O-18 diffusion profiles, similar results were obtained for YAG and pyrope annealed at 900 degrees C, suggesting limited effects of chemical composition on oxygen diffusivity. However, in both garnet types, several profiles deviate from the error function geometry, suggesting that the behavior of O in garnet cannot be fully described as simple concentration-independent diffusion, certainly in YAG and likely in natural pyrope as well. The experimental results are better described by invoking O diffusion via two distinct pathways with an inter-site reaction allowing O to move between these pathways. Modeling this process yields two diffusion coefficients (D values) for O, one of which is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the other. Taken together, Arrhenius relationships are: logDm(2)s(-1) = -7.2(+/- 1.3)+(-321(+/- 32)kJ mol(-1))/2.303RT) for the slow pathway, and logDm(2)s(-1) = -5.4(+/- 0.7)+(-312(+/- 20)kJ mol(-1)/2.303RT) for the fast pathway. We interpret the two pathways as representing diffusion following vacancy and interstitial mechanisms, respectively. Regardless, our new data suggest that the slow mechanism is prevalent in garnet with natural compositions, and thus is likely to control the retentivity of oxygen isotopic signatures in natural samples. The diffusivity of oxygen is similar to Fe-Mn diffusivity in garnet at 1000-1100 degrees C and Ca diffusivity at 850 degrees C. However, the activation energy for 0 diffusion is larger, leading to lower diffusivities at P-T conditions characterizing crustal metamorphism. Therefore, original O isotopic signatures can be retained in garnets showing major element zoning partially re-equilibrated by diffusion, with the uncertainty caveat of extrapolating the experimental data to lower temperature conditions.

MINERALOGICAL SOC AMER2022

Oxygen diffusion in garnet: Experimental calibration and implications for timescales of metamorphic processes and retention of primary O isotopic signatures

Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Anders Meibom

MINERALOGICAL SOC AMER2022