Using Numerical Models of Poroelastic Fluid Flow to Constrain the Permeability Structure of Young Oceanic Crust

在大洋中脊的全球网络中产生了新的海底，海水在新形成的地壳中循环，造成热液蚀变。世界上大多数？塞浦路斯的铜矿就是这样形成的;事实上，从塞浦路斯岛的热液矿床中开采的铜推动了西方文明的进步。因此，了解洋中脊的热液循环具有根本的科学重要性。流体流动主要受渗透率控制，而渗透率是一种难以测量的性质。然而，人们已经观察到，由于潮汐影响海底的流体压力，潮汐会引发小地震。可以合理地认为，潮汐与这些地震发生之间的关系取决于渗透性。该项目是一个创新的尝试，从东太平洋隆起的潮汐和地震数据推断新海底的渗透性。资助这项工作将提高我们对地球运行的理解，并支持有前途的年轻研究人员。

New seafloor is created at a global network of mid-ocean ridges, where seawater circulating through the newly-formed crust causes hydrothermal alteration. Most of the world?s copper deposits formed in this way; indeed copper mined from hydrothermal deposits on the island of Cyprus fueled the advancement of western civilization. Hence, understanding hydrothermal circulation at mid-ocean ridges has fundamental scientific importance. Fluid flow is controlled principally by permeability, a property that is difficult to measure. However, it has been observed that, because they affect fluid pressures in the sea floor, tides trigger small earthquakes. It can be reasonably argued that the relationship between tides and the occurrence of these earthquakes depends on the permeability. This project is an innovative attempt to infer the permeability of new seafloor from tides and earthquake data from the East Pacific Rise. Funding this effort will improve our understanding of the working of the Earth, and support a promising young investigator.