Fault zones are far more complex than the lines we draw on geological maps. Their internal structures, mineralogical compositions, and deformation histories offer important clues to deformation mechanisms and even how earthquakes might occur. But how can we connect what we observe in the field with the microscopic processes and mechanical behaviour of faults at …[Read More]
Earth’s surface is covered by many kinds of granular materials, including sediments and soils. Below ground, grains are also widespread in unconsolidated deposits and fault zones; even polycrystalline rocks deep inside the Earth are made up of mineral grains. These materials deform under their own weight and external forces, but what forces act inside them? …[Read More]
Have you ever heard of “analogue modelling”? In solid Earth science, directly observing the Earth’s interior is challenging, and the analogue modelling approach often overcomes this limitation by using alternative systems analogous to natural phenomena. By identifying fundamental mechanisms in these tractable systems, we can apply physical scaling laws to understand processes deep within the …[Read More]
In this blog post, I have interviewed Dr. Isabel Ashman, who is part of the GeoSafe consortium at the University of Liverpool, looking into safe and long-term containment of radioactive waste in geological formations. Dr. Ashman, along with other project partners at the University of Liverpool, aim to better understand how small to large-scale (sub-mm …[Read More]
Ágnes Király is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) at the University of Oslo, Norway. Ági has a background in geophysics, incorporating natural observations with numerical and analog models to study subduction zone processes. Ági has simulated subduction systems mostly in the Central Mediterranean. Working this spring will …[Read More]
Anne Pluymakers is an assistant professor at TU Delft, whose hobbies include experimental rock mechanics and fluid-rock interaction. She focuses on the effects of fluids on mechanical behaviour of rocks at representative in-situ temperature and pressure conditions, with a strong focus on hydrochemical fluid-rock interaction. Investigating the microstructure of the rock and how it is …[Read More]
For this edition of Minds over Methods, we have invited Nick Roberts, a research scientist at the British Geological Survey, working within the Geochronology and Tracers Facility (GTF) running a LA-ICP-MS laboratory. Nick has a background in ‘hard-rock’ geology, incorporating geochemistry, geochronology, and magmatic and metamorphic petrology across a wide range of tectonic settings, and …[Read More]
The next “Minds over Methods” blogpost is a group effort of Liene Spruženiece (left) – postdoctoral researcher at RWTH Aachen and her colleagues Joyce Schmatz, Simon Virgo and Janos L. Urai. The Virtual Microscope is a collaborative project between RWTH Aachen University and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (Schmatz et al., 2010; Virgo et …[Read More]
Mineral reactions in the lab André Niemeijer, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands In this blogpost we will go on a tour of the High Pressure and Temperature (HPT) Laboratory at Utrecht University and learn about some of the interesting science done there. André’s main interest is fault friction and all …[Read More]
In this Minds over Methods we don’t have one, but two scientists talking about their research! Michael Kettermann and Christopher Weismüller, both from Aachen University, explain us about the multidisciplinary approach they use to understand more about massively dilatant faults. How do they form and what do they look like at depth? Massively dilatant faults …[Read More]
