Laboratory measurements of the viscous anisotropy of olivine aggregates.

A marked anisotropy in viscosity develops in Earth's mantle as deformation strongly aligns the crystallographic axes of the individual grains that comprise the rocks. On the basis of geodynamic simulations, processes significantly affected by viscous anisotropy include post-glacial rebound, foundering of lithosphere and melt production above subduction zones. However, an estimate of the magnitude of viscous anisotropy based on the results of deformation experiments on single crystals differs by three orders of magnitude from that obtained by grain-scale numerical models of deforming aggregates with strong crystallographic alignment. Complicating matters, recent experiments indicate that deformation of the uppermost mantle is dominated by dislocation-accommodated grain-boundary sliding, a mechanism not activated in experiments on single crystals and not included in numerical models. Here, using direct measurements of the viscous anisotropy of highly deformed polycrystalline olivine, we demonstrate a significant directional dependence of viscosity. Specifically, shear viscosities measured in high-strain torsion experiments are 15 times smaller than normal viscosities measured in subsequent tension tests performed parallel to the torsion axis. This anisotropy is approximately an order of magnitude larger than that predicted by grain-scale simulations. These results indicate that dislocation-accommodated grain-boundary sliding produces an appreciable anisotropy in rock viscosity. We propose that crystallographic alignment imparts viscous anisotropy because the rate of deformation is limited by the movement of dislocations through the interiors of the crystallographically aligned grains. The maximum degree of anisotropy is reached at geologically low shear strain (of about ten) such that deforming regions of the upper mantle will exhibit significant viscous anisotropy.

Melt segregation and strain partitioning: implications for seismic anisotropy and mantle flow.

One of the principal means of understanding upper mantle dynamics involves inferring mantle flow directions from seismic anisotropy under the assumption that the seismic fast direction (olivine a axis) parallels the regional flow direction. We demonstrate that (i) the presence of melt weakens the alignment of a axes and (ii) when melt segregates and forms networks of weak shear zones, strain partitions between weak and strong zones, resulting in an alignment of a axes 90 degrees from the shear direction in three-dimensional deformation. This orientation of a axes provides a new means of interpreting mantle flow from seismic anisotropy in partially molten deforming regions of Earth.

New technique for decorating dislocations in olivine.

Oxidation of iron-rich olivine induced in the laboratory causes preferential precipitation on lattice dislocations. This simple dislocation decoration technique greatly reduces the cost and time involved in surveying the dislocation structures of deformed olivine crystals and opens the way to a more thorough understanding of the deformation of this important geologic material.