Plastic deformation of minerals and rock / Пластические деформации минералов и горных пород

This volume highlights some of the frontiers in the study of plastic deformation of minerals and rocks. The research into the plastic properties of minerals and rocks had a major peak in late 1960s to early 1970s, largely stimulated by research in the laboratory of D.T. Griggs and his students and associates. Tt is the same time when the theoiy of plate tectonics was established and provided a first quantitative theoretical framework for understanding geological processes. The theory of plate tectonics stimulated the study of deformation properties of Earth materials, both in the brittle and the ductile regimes. Many of the foundations of plastic deformation of minerals and rocks were established during this period. Also, new experimental techniques were developed, including deformation apparatus for high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, electron micros-copy study of defects in minerals, and the X-ray technique of deformation fabric analysis. The field benefited greatly from materials science concepts of deformation that were introduced, including the models of point defects and their interaction with dislocations. A summary of progress is given by the volume "Flow and Fracture of Rocks: The Griggs Volume," published in 1972 by the American Geophysical Union. 
Since then, the scope of Earth sciences has greatly expanded. Geodynamics became concerned with the Earth's deep interior where seismologists discovered heterogeneities and anisotropy at all scales that were previously thought to be typical of the crust and the upper mantle. Investigations of the solar system documented new mineral phases and rocks far beyond the Earth. Both domains have received a lot of attention from mineralogists (e.g., summarized in MSA's Reviews in Mineralogy, Volume 36, "Planetary Materials," and Volume 37, "Ultra-High Pressure Mineralogy"). Most attention was directed towards crystal chemistry and phase relations, yet an understanding of the deformation behavior is essential for interpreting the dynamic geological processes from geological and geophysical observations. This was largely the reason for a rebirth of the study of rock plasticity, leading to new approaches that include experiments at extreme conditions and modeling of deformation behavior based on physical principles. A wide spectrum of communities emerged that need to use information about mineral plasticity, including mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, seismology, geodynamics and engineering. This was the motivation to organize a workshop, in December 2002 in Emeryville, California, to bridge the very diverse disciplines and facilitate communication. The volume that was written for this workshop should help one to become familiar with a notoriously difficult subject, and the various contributions represent some of the important progress that has been achieved.  <...>