Thin Viscous Sheet Models for Diffuse Oceanic Plate boundaries.

弥散海洋板块边界的薄粘性片模型。

• 批准号: 1131638
• 负责人: Richard Gordon
• 金额: $ 20.35万
• 依托单位: William Marsh Rice University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1131638&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Thin; Viscous; Sheet; Models; Diffuse

In the 1960s, plate tectonics, a model of the Earth based on the notion that the surface of our planet is paved with a mosaic of rigid plates that move large distances of geologic time, revolutionized the geological sciences and explained the distribution of dangerous earthquakes and hazardous volcanoes. The societal relevance of plate tectonics is hard to overestimate. Yet even then, there were hints that there are regions affected by diffuse deformation, where the rigid plate model does not entirely apply. Just how and why diffuse deformation occurs is not well understood, and a thorough analysis is long overdue. The project will address that problem, in a systematic way, for the first time by quantifying the rheology and dynamics of diffuse plate boundaries using thin viscous sheet models. The chief broader impact of this work lies in its implications for our understanding the working of our planet at the most fundamental level. The work also has more specific implications for improving hazards due to earthquakes and volcanoes.

20世纪60年代，板块构造学给地质科学带来了革命性的变化，并解释了危险地震和危险火山的分布。板块构造学是一种基于这样一个概念的地球模型，即地球表面是由坚硬的板块组成的马赛克，这些板块在地质时间上移动了很长一段距离。板块构造的社会意义怎么估计都不为过。然而，即使在那时，也有迹象表明，有一些区域受到漫反射变形的影响，在这些区域，刚性板模型并不完全适用。弥漫变形是如何发生的，为什么会发生，目前还不清楚，早就应该进行彻底的分析了。该项目将首次以系统的方式解决这个问题，方法是使用粘性薄板模型量化扩散板边界的流变学和动力学。这项工作的主要更广泛的影响在于它对我们理解我们的星球在最根本层面上的工作的影响。这项工作还对改善地震和火山造成的危害有更具体的影响。