4. The work plan

We will bridge scales and solve for the effect of heterogeneity and anisotropy of the mechanical behavior of rocks on the onset of strain localization at regional and global scales in Earth through a 4-fold work plan.

For a brief introduction see the talk given at the CIG workshop on Strain Localization in July 27th, 2020.

WP1

We will design stochastic parameterizations of the mechanical heterogeneity based on our knowledge of the physico-chemical processes controlling deformation at the crystal and rock scale, which we will incorporate in geodynamical models.

WP2

We will constrain the stochastic parameterizations using experiments with in-situ follow up of the evolution of the microstructure and strain field and mesoscale models.

WP3

We will enhance by orders of magnitude the speed of calculation of the evolution of mechanical anisotropy during deformation using supervised machine-learning.

WP4

We will quantify the relative contributions and feedbacks between the main physico-chemical processes producing strain localization by comparing the predictions of stochastic models parameterized to simulate these processes to observations in natural shear zones.