We combined the split cylinder technique with microfabrication technology to observe strain heterogeneities that were produced during high‐pressure transient creep of Carrara marble. Samples were patterned with a custom‐designed grid of markers spaced 10 µm apart and containing an embedded coordinate system. The microscale strain measurement (MSSM) technique described here allowed us to analyze the local strain distribution with unprecedented detail over large regions. The description of the strain field is a function of the area over which strain is being computed. The scale at which the strain field can be considered homogeneous can provide insight into the deformation processes taking place. At 400–500°C, when twinning production is prolific, we observe highly strained bands that span several grains. One possible cause for the multigrain bands is the need to relieve strain incompatibilities that result when twins impinge on neighboring grains. At 600–700°C, the strain fields are still quite heterogeneous, and local strain varies substantially within grains and near grain boundaries, but the multigrain slip bands are not present. Deformation is concentrated in much smaller areas within grains and along some grain boundaries. The disappearance of the multigrain slip bands occurs when the deformation conditions allow additional slip systems to be activated. At 600°C, when the total strain is varied from 0.11 to 0.36, the spatial scale of the heterogeneity does not vary, but there are increases in the standard deviation of the distribution of local strains normalized by the total strain; thus, we conclude that the microstructure does not achieve a steady state in this strain interval.

We performed a series of extrusion experiments on partially molten samples of forsterite plus 10 vol% of an anorthite‐rich melt to investigate melt segregation in a pipe‐extrusion geometry and test the predictions of two‐phase flow theory with viscous anisotropy. The employed flow geometry has not been experimentally investigated for partially molten rocks; however, numerical solutions for a similar, pipe‐Poiseuille geometry are available. Samples were extruded from a 6‐mm diameter reservoir into a 2‐mm diameter channel under a fixed normal stress at 1350°C and 0.1 MPa. The melt distribution in the channel was subsequently mapped with optical and backscattered electron microscopy and analyzed via quantitative image analysis. Melt segregated from the center toward the outer radius of the channel. The melt fraction at the wall increased with increasing extrusion duration and with increasing shear stress. The melt fraction profiles are parabolic with the melt fraction at the wall reaching 0.17–0.66, values 2 to 16 times higher than at the channel center. Segregation of melt toward the wall of the channel is consistent with base‐state melt segregation as predicted by two‐phase flow theory with viscous anisotropy. However, melt‐rich sheets inclined at a low angle to the wall, which are anticipated from two‐phase flow theory, were not observed, indicating that the compaction length is larger than the channel diameter. The results of our experiments are a test of two‐phase flow theory that includes viscous anisotropy, an essential theoretical frame work needed for modeling large‐scale melt migration and segregation in the upper mantle.

Thank you for your helpful review and comments. We have addressed each point and changed the manuscript accordingly. We rewrote the part describing the need for a regular grid and added a paragraph concerning the resolution of the technique. We attach here a pdf with your review and comments and the answer to each of them. Please also note the supplement to this comment: http://www.solid-earth-discuss.net/se