Please note that this session was withdrawn and is no longer available in the respective programme. This withdrawal might have been the result of a merge with another session.
TS1.6 | Assessing high-temperature deformation mechanisms of minerals from ice and firn: linking laboratory experiments, field investigations and numerical modelling
EDI
Assessing high-temperature deformation mechanisms of minerals from ice and firn: linking laboratory experiments, field investigations and numerical modelling
Convener: Sheng FanECSECS | Co-conveners: Travis HagerECSECS, Thomas BreithauptECSECS, Lisa CrawECSECS
Many rock-forming minerals that control large-scale geophysical processes (e.g., olivine, quartz) naturally deform at elevated temperatures close to their melting points. Deformation of single-phase geological minerals above ~0.7 Tm (melting temperature in Kelvin) is challenging in conventional experiments, which fundamentally limits our understanding of high-temperature deformation mechanisms in minerals. Terrestrial ice and firn similarly deform at temperatures close to 0.9 Tm in natural systems. Moreover, deformation experiments at temperatures close to the ice melting point (> 0.70 Tm) are comparatively easy. Consequently, ice and firn provide a crucial analogue for understanding the grain-scale deformation processes of rock-forming minerals at temperatures close to their melting points that are otherwise inaccessible. Further, quantifying the deformation mechanisms of ice and firn is essential for constructing and improving physical models that predict changes in the deformation rate of polar ice flow in response to global heating. Deformation experiments are usually conducted at strain rates and stress that are much higher than natural conditions. Numerical modelling provides a powerful tool to test the extrapolation of physical models derived from laboratory experiments to field observations. This session welcomes works focusing on understanding the physical processes and mechanisms that operate during ice and firn deformation across multiple scales, from the perspective of laboratory experiments, numerical modelling and field investigations.