Clastic rock / claystone / mudrock simulation at the microscale: different modeled forms of geological detritus for weathering simulation

Abstract

An actual problem of the natural weathering modeling is separation of chemical weathering and physical erosion in the framework of complex dynamics of the atmosphere and the Earth surface, despite the fact of a close coupling between the chemical weathering and physical erosion in natural landscapes. It's intuitively obvious that the multifactor nature of the weathering pattern generation is the cause of the impossibility of experimental reproduction of the complexity of the global weathering using singular factor experiments. Different factors (cryo-, glacio-, hydro-, photo-, chemo-, etc.) can be simulated using specified weatherometers, but the large size of the samples and the long timescale of their weathering usually provide very poor reproducibility of the natural weathering patterns in such experiments. Thus, it is necessary to provide the lowest spatial level of the model (using similarity criteria and dimensional analysis) and the lowest timescale of the full erosion and weathering process of the samples. We propose the integration of ESEM (environmental scanning electron microscopy) and CLEM (correlated light and electron microscopy) with the high power light sources for synchronous observation and weathering-like processing of the model geological or synthetic weatherable and erodible materials. Also we propose the cryogenic (and thermo-cryo cycled) electron microscopy variations for modeling of glatiological phenomena of weathering and erosion – for example, for modeling of periglacial weathering and headwall erosion in glaciers and modeling of selective or combined glacial erosion and weathering in the coastal mountains. The effect of hydrochemical factors can be modeled using CLESEM with stopped-flow and continuous flow subchambers, including our mesofluidic modifications of such instruments