Workshop on Advancing Experimental Rock Deformation Research: Scientific and Technical Needs

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

This is a workshop to bring together the Users of Experimental Rock Deformation data with the Practitioners of Experimental Rock Deformation. Users are those who make direct use of laboratory data in models, calculations, or in the interpretation of geological or geophysical observations. Practitioners are those actively engaged in laboratory-based experimental research on the mechanical properties of Earth materials; some Practitioners are also Users. The purpose of the workshop is to assess the scientific and technical needs of these groups and to begin a process of responding to those needs. There are important research objectives in geomechanics that can be identified, from both a scientific and societal perspective, and there are recognized needs for technological and community resources in order to meet the scientific needs. The workshop will focus on geomechanics of the relatively shallow portion of the Earth. This will include the mechanics of the upper mantle and lower-to-mid crust, the seismogenic zone, accretionary wedges, energy- and waste-related subsurface systems, and the role of thermalhydro-chemical processes in all these environments. The workshop will support attendance by early career scientists and students. The results will be broadly disseminated and will produce a strategic, community-building document for rock deformation.