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Creep Rheology of Antigorite: Experiments at Subduction Zone Conditions
  • Eric Burdette,
  • Greg Hirth
Eric Burdette
Brown University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Greg Hirth
Brown University
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Abstract

Novel fluid medium pressure cells were used to deform antigorite under constant stress creep conditions at low temperature, low strain rate (10^-9 - 10^-4 1/s), and high pressure (1 GPa) in a Griggs-type apparatus. Antigorite cores were deformed at constant temperatures between 75°C and 550°C, applying 8-12 stress-strain steps per temperature. The microstructures of deformed samples highlight the importance of basal shear and kinks to antigorite plasticity. Rheological data were fit with a low temperature plasticity law, consistent with a deformation mechanism involving large lattice resistance. When applied at geologic stresses and strain rates, the extrapolated viscosity agrees well with predictions based on subduction zone thermal models.
Jul 2022Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth volume 127 issue 7. 10.1029/2022JB024260