Analog sandbox experiments are an important tool to understand brittle tectonic deformation. To date, most experiments are interpreted kinematically only. With the advent of reliable, small‐scale force sensors, however, their dynamic evolution becomes available for analysis, offering new insights into the transient evolution of tectonic systems. Both rock and granular materials show an evolution of strain hardening and weakening during loading in the brittle‐plastic regime, but so far, this similarity has only been appreciated qualitatively. As strain weakening is a vital parameter controlling fault reactivation and lifetime, it requires proper scaling. We therefore measured and analyzed two common granular analog model materials (quartz sand and glass microbeads) using ring‐shear tests at a range of normal loads typical for analog experiments. We find two different modes of strain weakening as a function of normal load: Strain weakening at normal loads <1 kPa is due to partial loss of extrapolated cohesion, while at normal loads >1 kPa it is controlled by reduction of internal friction, which is consistent with previous measurements in this range. We show that this introduces a scale dependence into the scaling and restricts the possible use of the tested materials to crustal‐scale models with a length scaling factor of
l(modelnature)≈2×10−6. For these we quantitatively compare the model materials' transient strength evolution to that known from natural rock and the Earth's crust.
Analog sandbox experiments are a widely used method to investigate tectonic processes that cannot be resolved from natural data alone, such as strain localization and the formation of fault zones. Despite this, it is still unclear to which extent the dynamics of strain localization and fault zone formation seen in sandbox experiments can be extrapolated to a natural prototype. Of paramount importance for dynamic similarity is the proper scaling of the work required to create the fault system, Wprop. Using analog sandbox experiments of strike‐slip deformation, we show Wprop to scale approximately with the square of the fault system length, l, which is consistent with the theory of fault growth in nature. Through quantitative measurements of both Wprop and strain distribution we are able to show that Wprop is mainly spent on diffuse deformation prior to localization, which we therefore regard as analogous to distributed deformation on small‐scale faults below seismic resolution in natural fault networks. Finally, we compare our data to estimates of the work consumed by natural fault zones to verify that analog sandbox experiments scale properly with respect to energy, that is, that they scale truly dynamically.
Magma transfer, i.e., dike propagation, is partly controlled by Young's modulus (elasticity) contrasts (ratio upper layer to lower layer modulus) in the host rock. Here we try to better constrain the elasticity contrasts controlling the propagation velocity of dikes and their arrest. We simulate dike propagation in layered elastic media with different elasticity contrasts. Salted gelatin and water represent host rock and magma, respectively. For common density ratios between magma and host rock (~1.1), velocity variations are observed and a critical threshold in the elasticity contrast between layers results in the Young's modulus ratio of 2.1 ± 0.6. Naturally occurring elasticity contrasts can be much higher than this experimental threshold, suggesting that dike arrest due to heterogeneous elastic host rock properties is more frequent than expected. Examples of recently deflected or stalled dikes inside volcanoes and the common presence of high‐velocity bodies below volcanoes suggest that better defining elasticity contrasts below volcanoes helps in forecasting eruptions.
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