Deformation-Induced Melting in the Margins of the West Antarctic Ice Streams

Flow of glacial ice in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet localizes in narrow bands of fast-flowing ice streams bordered by ridges of nearly stagnant ice, but our understanding of the physical processes that generate this morphology is incomplete. Here we study the thermal and mechanical properties of ice-stream margins, where flow transitions from rapid to stagnant over a few kilometers. Our goal is to explore under which conditions the intense shear deformation in the margin may lead to deformation-induced melting. We propose a 2-D model that represents a cross section through the ice stream margin perpendicular to the downstream flow direction. We limit temperature to the melting point to estimate melt rates based on latent heat. Using rheology parameters as constrained by laboratory data and observations, we conclude that a zone of temperate ice is likely to form in active shear margins.Earth and Planetary SciencesEngineering and Applied Science

Hydrothermally-induced melt lens cooling and segmentation along the axis of fast- and intermediate-spreading centers

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 38 (2011): L14307, doi:10.1029/2011GL047798.The heat output and thermal regime of fast and intermediate spreading centers are strongly controlled by boundary layer processes between the hydrothermal system and the underlying crustal magma chamber (AMC), which remain to be fully understood. Here, we model the interactions between a shallow two-dimensional cellular hydrothermal system at temperatures <700°C, and a deeper AMC at temperatures up to 1200°C. We show that hydrothermal cooling can freeze the AMC in years to decades, unless melt injections occur on commensurate timescales. Moreover, the differential cooling between upflow and downflow zones can segment the AMC into mush and melt regions that alternate on sub-kilometric length scales. These predictions are consistent with along-axis variations in AMC roof depth observed in ophiolites and oceanic settings. In this respect, fine-scale geophysical investigations of the structure of AMCs may help constrain hydrothermal recharge locations associated with active hydrothermal sites

TRAITEMENTS PSYCHIATRIQUES ET ODONTOLOGIE CHIRURGICALE

CLERMONT FD-BCIU-Santé (631132104) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Micromechanics-Based Permeability Evolution in Brittle Materials at High Strain Rates

International audienceWe develop a micromechanics-based permeability evolution model for brittle materials at high strain rates (≥ 100 s^{-1}). Extending for undrained deformation the mechanical constitutive description of brittle solids, whose constitutive response is governed by micro-cracks, we now relate the damage-induced strains to micro-crack aperture. We then use an existing permeability model to evaluate the permeability evolution. This model predicts both the percolative and connected regime of permeability evolution of Westerly Granite during triaxial loading at high strain rate. This model can simulate pore pressure history during earthquake coseismic dynamic ruptures under undrained conditions