Earth Processes and Rock Properties

Seals in Hydrothermal Systems

Tiziana Vanorio
Faculty

The strain energy stored by a geological seal of a hydrothermal system of a caldera depends on the exerted stress and the strain induced in the surrounding rocks. This strain, in turn, depends on the physical and mechanical properties of the rock. We are studying how the micro- or nano-structure influence stiffness, strength and mode of failure.

Cementation: Crustal Healing and Sealing

Cementation is an important element of lithification. Although cement constitutes the least mineral phase in a rock, cementitious phases can be compared to the hinges joining the elements of a scaffolding structure. Despite hinges are fewer than the number of the connecting elements, they determine the overall load-carrying capacity the structure.  We are studying how cementation processes, interfacial bonding of mineral phases, and arrangement control the rock’s mechanical response.

Geophysical Signatures of Fluid Injection

Jaehong Chung Graduate Student

Jacob Long Graduate Student

Geophysical methods provide the means for remotely probing the Earth’s subsurface. Changes are only indirectly inferred and never directly  measured from a rock physics perspective. There is the need to observe, detect and analyze the acoustic signatures of fluids accumulating in and moving through the subsurface. We are building a laboratory analog of a sealed hydrothermal system with the goal of building knowledge that helps the diagnostic of processes occurring in hydrothermal systems within calderas.