Materials Science for Structural Geology

• Main Author: Paterson, Mervyn S. (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint: Springer, 2013.
• Series: Springer Geochemistry/Mineralogy,
• Subjects: Geography.; Geology.; Mineralogy.; Thermodynamics.; Earth Sciences.
• Online Access: https://ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5545-1

 This book sets out the basic materials science needed for understanding the plastic deformation of rocks and minerals.� Although at atmospheric pressure or at relatively low environmental pressures, these materials tend to be brittle, that is, to fracture with little prior plastic deformation when non-hydrostatically stressed, they can undergo substantial permanent strain when stressed under environmental conditions of high confining pressure and high temperature, such as occur geologically in the Earth s crust and upper mantle.� Thus the plastic deformation of rocks and minerals is of fundamental interest in structural geology and geodynamics.� In mountain-building processes and during convective stirring in the Earth s mantle, rocks can undergo very large amounts of plastic flow, accompanied by substantial changes in microstructure.� These changes in microstructure remain in the rocks as evidence of the past deformation history.� There are a number of types of physical processes whereby rock and minerals can undergo deformation under geological conditions.� The physics of these processes is set out in this book.