Relating experimental and geological rheology

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the question of how to relate laboratory measurements of the rheology of rocks to the rheological assumptions that need to be made in geodynamic modelling. First, there is a brief resumé of the principal types of rheological behaviour that have been studied in the laboratory, both pressure-dependent, strain rate-independent and pressure-independent, strain-rate-dependent. Then, the generalization of the results from the relatively simple stress states of the experiments to general stress states is discussed, followed by consideration of the extrapolation of the experimental results to geological strains and strain rates. Finally, the problems associated with spatial scale are considered, leading to the question of how to model the rheological behaviour of large-scale rock masses, using the rheological measurements of laboratory specimens and taking into account the heterogeneity of geological-scale rock masses.