Earthquake-induced transformation of the lower crust.

The structural and metamorphic evolution of the lower crust has direct effects on the lithospheric response to plate tectonic processes involved in orogeny, including subsidence of sedimentary basins, stability of deep mountain roots and extension of high-topography regions. Recent research shows that before orogeny most of the lower crust is dry, impermeable and mechanically strong 1 . During an orogenic event, the evolution of the lower crust is controlled by infiltration of fluids along localized shear or fracture zones. In the Bergen Arcs of Western Norway, shear zones initiate as faults generated by lower-crustal earthquakes. Seismic slip in the dry lower crust requires stresses at a level that can only be sustained over short timescales or local weakening mechanisms. However, normal earthquake activity in the seismogenic zone produces stress pulses that drive aftershocks in the lower crust 2 . Here we show that the volume of lower crust affected by such aftershocks is substantial and that fluid-driven associated metamorphic and structural transformations of the lower crust follow these earthquakes. This provides a 'top-down' effect on crustal geodynamics and connects processes operating at very different timescales.

Gas Migration Episodes Observed During Peridotite Alteration in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman.

Serpentinization and carbonation of mantle rocks (peridotite alteration) are fundamentally important processes for a spectrum of geoscience topics, including arc volcanism, earthquake processes, chemosynthetic biological communities, and carbon sequestration. Data from a hydrophone array deployed in the Multi-Borehole Observatory (MBO) of the Oman Drilling Project demonstrates that free gas generated by peridotite alteration and/or microbial activity migrates through the formation in discrete bursts of activity. We detected several, minutes-long, swarms of gas discharge into Hole BA1B of the MBO over the course of a 9 month observation interval. The episodic nature of the migration events indicates that free gas accumulates in the permeable flow network, is pressurized, and discharges rapidly into the borehole when a critical pressure, likely associated with a capillary barrier at a flow constriction, is reached. Our observations reveal a dynamic mode of fluid migration during serpentinization, and highlight the important role that free gas can play in modulating pore pressure, fluid flow, and alteration kinetics during peridotite weathering.

Pristine microstructures in pseudotachylytes formed in dry lower crust, Lofoten, Norway.

Feldspar-rich pseudotachylytes from the island of Moskenesøya, Lofoten, formed in dry granulites under lower crustal conditions during the Caledonian orogeny. The central parts of the pseudotachylytes, where the cooling rates were slowest, are characterized by microlites and spherulites of plagioclase and K-feldspar. K-feldspar surrounding plagioclase is consistent with crystallization from a melt during cooling instead of devitrification as the origin of the spherulites. Very thin (a few micrometres wide) injection veins, which experienced very rapid quenching, contain amorphous or cryptocrystalline material. The preservation of this material and of the fine-grained microstructures shows that, under fluid-absent conditions, recrystallization and reactions are slow and the original microstructures of the pseudotachylytes can be preserved. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Understanding earthquakes using the geological record'.

Continental crust beneath southeast Iceland.

The magmatic activity (0-16 Ma) in Iceland is linked to a deep mantle plume that has been active for the past 62 My. Icelandic and northeast Atlantic basalts contain variable proportions of two enriched components, interpreted as recycled oceanic crust supplied by the plume, and subcontinental lithospheric mantle derived from the nearby continental margins. A restricted area in southeast Iceland--and especially the Öræfajökull volcano--is characterized by a unique enriched-mantle component (EM2-like) with elevated (87)Sr/(86)Sr and (207)Pb/(204)Pb. Here, we demonstrate through modeling of Sr-Nd-Pb abundances and isotope ratios that the primitive Öræfajökull melts could have assimilated 2-6% of underlying continental crust before differentiating to more evolved melts. From inversion of gravity anomaly data (crustal thickness), analysis of regional magnetic data, and plate reconstructions, we propose that continental crust beneath southeast Iceland is part of ∼350-km-long and 70-km-wide extension of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent (JMM). The extended JMM was marginal to East Greenland but detached in the Early Eocene (between 52 and 47 Mya); by the Oligocene (27 Mya), all parts of the JMM permanently became part of the Eurasian plate following a westward ridge jump in the direction of the Iceland plume.

Communication dynamics in finite capacity social networks.

In communication networks, structure and dynamics are tightly coupled. The structure controls the flow of information and is itself shaped by the dynamical process of information exchanged between nodes. In order to reconcile structure and dynamics, a generic model, based on the local interaction between nodes, is considered for the communication in large social networks. In agreement with data from a large human organization, we show that the flow is non-Markovian and controlled by the temporal limitations of individuals. We confirm the versatility of our model by predicting simultaneously the degree-dependent node activity, the balance between information input and output of nodes, and the degree distribution. Finally, we quantify the limitations to network analysis when it is based on data sampled over a finite period of time.

Scaling properties of European research units.

A quantitative characterization of the scale-dependent features of research units may provide important insight into how such units are organized and how they grow. The relative importance of top-down versus bottom-up controls on their growth may be revealed by their scaling properties. Here we show that the number of support staff in Scandinavian research units, ranging in size from 20 to 7,800 staff members, is related to the number of academic staff by a power law. The scaling exponent of approximately 1.30 is broadly consistent with a simple hierarchical model of the university organization. Similar scaling behavior between small and large research units with a wide range of ambitions and strategies argues against top-down control of the growth. Top-down effects, and externally imposed effects from changing political environments, can be observed as fluctuations around the main trend. The observed scaling law implies that cost-benefit arguments for merging research institutions into larger and larger units may have limited validity unless the productivity per academic staff and/or the quality of the products are considerably higher in larger institutions. Despite the hierarchical structure of most large-scale research units in Europe, the network structures represented by the academic component of such units are strongly antihierarchical and suboptimal for efficient communication within individual units.

Ca2+ Ions Decrease Adhesion between Two (104) Calcite Surfaces as Probed by Atomic Force Microscopy.

Solution composition-sensitive disjoining pressure acting between the mineral surfaces in fluid-filled granular rocks and materials controls their cohesion, facilitates the transport of dissolved species, and may sustain volume-expanding reactions leading to fracturing or pore sealing. Although calcite is one of the most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust, there is still no complete understanding of how the most common inorganic ions affect the disjoining pressure (and thus the attractive or repulsive forces) operating between calcite surfaces. In this atomic force microscopy study, we measured adhesion acting between two cleaved (104) calcite surfaces in solutions containing low and high concentrations of Ca2+ ions. We detected only low adhesion between calcite surfaces, which was weakly modulated by the varying Ca2+ concentration. Our results show that the more hydrated calcium ions decrease the adhesion between calcite surfaces with respect to monovalent Na+ at a given ionic strength, and thus Ca2+ can sustain relatively thick water films between contacting calcite grains even at high overburden pressures. These findings suggest a possible loss of cohesion and continued progress of reaction-induced fracturing for weakly charged minerals in the presence of strongly hydrated ionic species.

Release of methane from a volcanic basin as a mechanism for initial Eocene global warming.

A 200,000-yr interval of extreme global warming marked the start of the Eocene epoch about 55 million years ago. Negative carbon- and oxygen-isotope excursions in marine and terrestrial sediments show that this event was linked to a massive and rapid (approximately 10,000 yr) input of isotopically depleted carbon. It has been suggested previously that extensive melting of gas hydrates buried in marine sediments may represent the carbon source and has caused the global climate change. Large-scale hydrate melting, however, requires a hitherto unknown triggering mechanism. Here we present evidence for the presence of thousands of hydrothermal vent complexes identified on seismic reflection profiles from the Vøring and Møre basins in the Norwegian Sea. We propose that intrusion of voluminous mantle-derived melts in carbon-rich sedimentary strata in the northeast Atlantic may have caused an explosive release of methane--transported to the ocean or atmosphere through the vent complexes--close to the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary. Similar volcanic and metamorphic processes may explain climate events associated with other large igneous provinces such as the Siberian Traps (approximately 250 million years ago) and the Karoo Igneous Province (approximately 183 million years ago).

Dynamic earthquake rupture in the lower crust.

Earthquakes in the continental crust commonly occur in the upper 15 to 20 km. Recent studies demonstrate that earthquakes also occur in the lower crust of collision zones and play a key role in metamorphic processes that modify its physical properties. However, details of the failure process and sequence of events that lead to seismic slip in the lower crust remain uncertain. Here, we present observations of a fault zone from the Bergen Arcs, western Norway, which constrain the deformation processes of lower crustal earthquakes. We show that seismic slip and associated melting are preceded by fracturing, asymmetric fragmentation, and comminution of the wall rock caused by a dynamically propagating rupture. The succession of deformation processes reported here emphasize brittle failure mechanisms in a portion of the crust that until recently was assumed to be characterized by ductile deformation.

High Pressure Metamorphism Caused by Fluid Induced Weakening of Deep Continental Crust.

Studies of mineral equilibria in metamorphic rocks have given valuable insights into the tectonic processes operating at convergent plate margins during an orogeny. Geodynamic models simulating orogenesis and crustal thickening have been constrained by temperature and pressure estimates inferred from the mineral assemblages of the various lithologies involved along with age constrains from increasingly precise geochronological techniques. During such studies it is assumed that the pressure experienced by a given rock is uniquely related to its depth of burial. This assumption has been challenged by recent studies of high pressure (HP) and ultrahigh pressure (UHP) rocks. Here, we describe an example of Caledonian HP metamorphism from the Bergen Arcs in western Norway, and show that the associated formation of Caledonian eclogites at the expense of Proterozoic granulites was related to local pressure perturbations rather than burial, and that the HP metamorphism resulted from fluid-induced weakening of an initially dry and highly stressed lower crust when thrust upon the hyperextended margin of the Baltic shield.

Fragmentation of wall rock garnets during deep crustal earthquakes.

Fractures and faults riddle the Earth's crust on all scales, and the deformation associated with them is presumed to have had significant effects on its petrological and structural evolution. However, despite the abundance of directly observable earthquake activity, unequivocal evidence for seismic slip rates along ancient faults is rare and usually related to frictional melting and the formation of pseudotachylites. We report novel microstructures from garnet crystals in the immediate vicinity of seismic slip planes that transected lower crustal granulites during intermediate-depth earthquakes in the Bergen Arcs area, western Norway, some 420 million years ago. Seismic loading caused massive dislocation formations and fragmentation of wall rock garnets. Microfracturing and the injection of sulfide melts occurred during an early stage of loading. Subsequent dilation caused pervasive transport of fluids into the garnets along a network of microfractures, dislocations, and subgrain and grain boundaries, leading to the growth of abundant mineral inclusions inside the fragmented garnets. Recrystallization by grain boundary migration closed most of the pores and fractures generated by the seismic event. This wall rock alteration represents the initial stages of an earthquake-triggered metamorphic transformation process that ultimately led to reworking of the lower crust on a regional scale.

Fluid-driven metamorphism of the continental crust governed by nanoscale fluid flow.

The transport of fluids through the Earth's crust controls the redistribution of elements to form mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, the release and sequestration of greenhouse gases, and facilitates metamorphic reactions that influence lithospheric rheology. In permeable systems with a well-connected porosity, fluid transport is largely driven by fluid pressure gradients. In less permeable rocks, deformation may induce permeability by creating interconnected heterogeneities, but without these perturbations, mass transport is limited along grain boundaries or relies on transformation processes that self-generate transient fluid pathways. The latter can facilitate large-scale fluid and mass transport in nominally impermeable rocks without large-scale fluid transport pathways. Here, we show that pervasive, fluid-driven metamorphism of crustal igneous rocks is directly coupled to the production of nanoscale porosity. Using multi-dimensional nano-imaging and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that in feldspar, the most abundant mineral family in the Earth's crust, electrokinetic transport through reaction-induced nanopores (10-100 nm) can potentially be significant. This suggests that metamorphic fluid flow and fluid-mediated mineral transformation reactions can be considerably influenced by nanofluidic transport phenomena.

Reynolds-number dependence of the longitudinal dispersion in turbulent pipe flow.

In Taylor's theory, the longitudinal dispersion in turbulent pipe flows approaches, on long time scales, a diffusive behavior with a constant diffusivity K_{L}, which depends empirically on the Reynolds number Re. We show that the dependence on Re can be determined from the turbulent energy spectrum. By using the intimate connection between the friction factor and the longitudinal dispersion in wall-bounded turbulence, we predict different asymptotic scaling laws of K_{L}(Re) depending on the different turbulent cascades in two-dimensional turbulence. We also explore numerically the K_{L}(Re) dependence in turbulent channel flows with smooth and rough walls using a lattice Boltzmann method.

High-resolution measurements of pressure solution creep.

Two dilatometers with high precision and stability have been developed for measurement of indentation by pressure solution creep. The indentation of gold wires or glass cylinders into sodium chloride has been measured with down to 10 A accuracy and 6% precision. The indentation curves show a strong history dependence and the indentation rate decreases by three orders of magnitude over 400 h. The indentation mechanism is shown to be a pressure solution creep process in which material is dissolved at the indentor-sodium chloride contacts and transported to the free surface, where it precipitates in the proximity of the indentors. The indentation rates are not controlled by precipitation rates, the density of preexisting dislocations in the material, by change in the contact widths, or by ordinary plastic deformation. Small amplitude sinusoidal variations of temperature and normal stress are shown to have a large effect on the indentation rate. Moreover, sudden increase in normal stress from the indentor on the sodium chloride is shown to initiate an increased, time-dependent indentation rate. A model for pressure solution creep with time-dependent contact sizes explains the history dependence of the indentation data presented.

Hydrodynamic shadowing effect during precipitation of dendrites in channel flow.

A supersaturated fluid flowing over a reactive, rough surface leads to complex precipitation patterns. We study the growth and interaction between discrete precipitates along a reactive wall in a nonlaminar channel flow. We show that the competition between advective transport, diffusion, and mixing strongly influences the downstream precipitates morphology and the typical correlation length between different precipitates.

Evolution of a fracture network in an elastic medium with internal fluid generation and expulsion.

A simple and reproducible analog experiment was used to simulate fracture formation in a low-permeability elastic solid during internal fluid/gas production, with the objective of developing a better understanding of the mechanisms that control the dynamics of fracturing, fracture opening and closing, and fluid transport. In the experiment, nucleation, propagation, and coalescence of fractures within an elastic gelatin matrix, confined in a Hele-Shaw cell, occurred due to CO_{2} production via fermentation of sugar, and it was monitored by optical means. We first quantified how a fracture network develops, and then how intermittent fluid transport is controlled by the dynamics of opening and closing of fractures. The gas escape dynamics exhibited three characteristic behaviors: (1) Quasiperiodic release of gas with a characteristic frequency that depends on the gas production rate but not on the system size. (2) A 1/f power spectrum for the fluctuations in the total open fracture area over an intermediate range of frequencies (f), which we attribute to collective effects caused by interaction between fractures in the drainage network. (3) A 1/f^{2} power spectrum was observed at high frequencies, which can be explained by the characteristic behavior of single fractures.

Organizational structure and communication networks in a university environment.

The "six degrees of separation" between any two individuals on Earth has become emblematic of the "small world" theme, even though the information conveyed via a chain of human encounters decays very rapidly with increasing chain length, and diffusion of information via this process may be very inefficient in large human organizations. The information flow on a communication network in a large organization, the University of Oslo, has been studied by analyzing email records. The records allow for quantification of communication intensity across organizational levels and between organizational units (referred to as "modules"). We find that the number of email messages within modules scales with module size to the power of 1.29±.06 , and the frequency of communication between individuals decays exponentially with the number of links required upward in the organizational hierarchy before they are connected. Our data also indicates that the number of messages sent by administrative units is proportional to the number of individuals at lower levels in the administrative hierarchy, and the "divergence of information" within modules is associated with this linear relationship. The observed scaling is consistent with a hierarchical system in which individuals far apart in the organization interact little with each other and receive a disproportionate number of messages from higher levels in the administrative hierarchy.

Universal scaling in transient creep.

We present experimental evidence that pressure solution creep does not establish a steady-state interface microstructure as previously thought. Conversely, pressure solution controlled strain and the characteristic length scale of interface microstructures grow as the cubic root of time. Transient creep with the same scaling is known in metallurgy (Andrade creep). The apparent universal scaling of pressure solution transient creep is explained using an analogy with spinodal dewetting.