[1] We demonstrate that deformation of partially molten ductile rocks can produce melt segregation by two-phase flow. In simple shear experiments on several melt-rock systems at high temperature and pressure, melt segregates into distinct melt-rich layers oriented 20°to the shear plane. Melt segregates in samples in which pressure gradients can develop at length scales less than the sample thickness. A simple scaling argument combined with a comparison of length scale data suggests that such pressure gradients can develop in the samples with compaction lengths less than or on the order of the sample thickness. In nature, stress-driven melt segregation may produce both high-permeability pathways that contribute to rapid extraction of melt and localization of deformation that increases the anisotropy in viscosity of partially molten regions of the upper mantle and lower crust.
The formation mechanism of terrestrial planetary cores is still poorly understood, and has been the subject of numerous experimental studies. Several mechanisms have been proposed by which metal--mainly iron with some nickel--could have been extracted from a silicate mantle to form the core. Most recent models involve gravitational sinking of molten metal or metal sulphide through a partially or fully molten mantle that is often referred to as a 'magma ocean'. Alternative models invoke percolation of molten metal along an interconnected network (that is, porous flow) through a solid silicate matrix. But experimental studies performed at high pressures have shown that, under hydrostatic conditions, these melts do not form an interconnected network, leading to the widespread assumption that formation of metallic cores requires a magma ocean. In contrast, here we present experiments which demonstrate that shear deformation to large strains can interconnect a significant fraction of initially isolated pockets of metal and metal sulphide melts in a solid matrix of polycrystalline olivine. Therefore, in a dynamic (non-hydrostatic) environment, percolation remains a viable mechanism for the segregation and migration of core-forming melts in a solid silicate mantle.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.