Bjarne S. G. Almqvist

Synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy for rock physics investigations

ABSTRACTSynchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy is a nondestructive method providing ultra-high-resolution 3D digital images of rock microstructures. We describe this method and, to demonstrate its wide applicability, we present 3D images of very different rock types: Berea sandstone, Fontainebleau sandstone, dolomite, calcitic dolomite, and three-phase magmatic glasses. For some samples, full and partial saturation scenarios are considered using oil, water, and air. The rock images precisely reveal the 3D rock microstructure, the pore space morphology, and the interfaces between fluids saturating the same pore. We provide the raw image data sets as online supplementary material, along with laboratory data describing the rock properties. By making these data sets available to other research groups, we aim to stimulate work based on digital rock images of high quality and high resolution. We also discuss and suggest possible applications and research directions that can be pursued on the basis o...

Melt migration in basalt columns driven by crystallization-induced pressure gradients

The structure of columnar-jointed lava flows and intrusions has fascinated people for centuries and numerous hypotheses on the mechanisms of formation of columnar jointing have been proposed. In cross-section, weakly developed semicircular internal structures are a near ubiquitous feature of basalt columns. Here we propose a melt-migration model, driven by crystallization and a coeval specific volume decrease inside cooling and solidifying columns, which can explain the observed macroscopic features in columnar-jointed basalts. We study basalts from Hrepphólar (Iceland), combining macroscopic observations, detailed petrography, thermodynamic and rheological modelling of crystallization sequences, and Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) of late crystallizing phases (that is, titanomagnetite). These are all consistent with our proposed model, which also suggests that melt-migration features are more likely to develop in certain evolved basaltic lava flows (with early saturation of titanomagnetite), and that the redistribution of melt within individual columns can modify cooling processes.

Unraveling magnetic fabrics

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility has been proven to be an excellent indicator for mineral fabrics and therefore deformation in a rock or sediment. Low-field anisotropy is relatively rapid to measure so that a sufficient number of samples can be measured to obtain a good statistical representation of the magnetic fabric. The physical properties of individual minerals that contribute to the observed magnetic fabric include bulk susceptibility and intrinsic anisotropy of the mineral phase, its volume concentration, and its degree of alignment. Several techniques have been developed to separate magnetic subfabrics arising from magnetization types, i.e., ferrimagnetism, antiferromagnetism, paramagnetism, and diamagnetism. Susceptibility anisotropy can be measured in low or high fields and at different temperatures in order to isolate a particular subfabric. Measuring the anisotropy of a remanent magnetization can also isolate ferrimagnetic fabrics. A series of case studies are presented that exemplify the value of isolating magnetic subfabrics in a geological context. It is particularly useful in rocks that carry a paramagnetic and diamagnetic subfabric of similar magnitude, such that they negate one another. Further examples are provided for purely paramagnetic subfabrics and cases where a ferrimagnetic subfabric is also identified.

Seismic properties and anisotropy of the continental crust: Predictions based on mineral texture and rock microstructure

Progress in seismic methodology and ambitious large-scale seismic projects are enabling high-resolution imaging of the continental crust. The ability to constrain interpretations of crustal seismic data is based on laboratory measurements on rock samples and calculations of seismic properties. Seismic velocity calculations and their directional dependence are based on the rock microfabric, which consists of mineral aggregate properties including crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO), grain shape and distribution, grain boundary distribution, and misorientation within grains. Single-mineral elastic constants and density are crucial for predicting seismic velocities, preferably at conditions that span the crust. However, high-temperature and high-pressure elastic constant data are not as common as those determined at standard temperature and pressure (STP; atmospheric conditions). Continental crust has a very diverse mineral composition; however, a select number of minerals appear to dominate seismic properties because of their high-volume fraction contribution. Calculations of microfabric-based seismic properties and anisotropy are performed with averaging methods that in their simplest form takes into account the CPO and modal mineral composition, and corresponding single crystal elastic constants. More complex methods can take into account other microstructural characteristics, including the grain shape and distribution of mineral grains and cracks and pores. Dynamic or active wave propagation schemes have recently been developed, which offer a complementary method to existing static averaging methods generally based on the use of the Christoffel equation. A challenge for the geophysics and rock physics communities is the separation of intrinsic factors affecting seismic anisotropy, due to properties of crystals within a rock and apparent sources due to extrinsic factors like cracks, fractures, and alteration. This is of particular importance when trying to deduce crustal composition and the state of deformation from seismic parameters.

Internal flow structures in columnar jointed basalt from Hrepphólar, Iceland: II. Magnetic anisotropy and rock magnetic properties

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and rock magnetic properties were measured on specimens from a basalt plate that was cut from a vertical section of a basalt column from Hrepphólar, Iceland. Macroscopic structures are clearly distinguishable in the plate, including banding inferred to represent viscous fingering parallel to the vertical axis of the column. Rock magnetic experiments indicate that the dominant ferromagnetic (sensu lato) mineral is titanomagnetite, Fe3−xTixO4, with a Ti-composition of x = ~0.6. Magnetic properties are related to the position within the plate and reveal a dominant volume fraction of single domain titanomagnetite in the center of the basalt column, with multidomain titanomagnetite away from the center. The AMS determined by low-field measurements shows an inconclusive relationship with the visual structures, which arises from variation of the grain size (i.e., single domain versus multidomain) across the column. In contrast, the AMS measured with a high-field torsion magnetometer avoids the complication of magnetic domain state, as is demonstrated in this contribution, and additionally allows for the separation of ferrimagnetic from paramagnetic sub-fabrics. Both sub-fabrics display a clear relationship with the macroscopic structures and support the hypothesis that vertical flow of melt took place during development of the Hrepphólar columnar basalt. Maximum susceptibility axes of the ferrimagnetic sub-fabric are grouped near the vertical axis of the column. The paramagnetic sub-fabric varies systematically across the column in coincidence with internal structure. The shape of the magnetic susceptibility ellipsoid varies across the basalt column, showing an increasingly prolate fabric toward its center.

Application of differential effective medium, magnetic pore fabric analysis, and X-ray microtomography to calculate elastic properties of porous and anisotropic rock aggregates

Application of differential effective medium, magnetic pore fabric analysis, and X-ray microtomography to calculate elastic properties of porous and anisotropic rock aggregates

The Ronda peridotite (Spain): A natural template for seismic anisotropy in subduction wedges

The Ronda Peridotite (Spain): a natural template for seismic anisotropy in subduction wedges

Magma transport in sheet intrusions of the Alnö carbonatite complex, central Sweden.

Magma transport through the Earth’s crust occurs dominantly via sheet intrusions, such as dykes and cone-sheets, and is fundamental to crustal evolution, volcanic eruptions and geochemical element cycling. However, reliable methods to reconstruct flow direction in solidified sheet intrusions have proved elusive. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) in magmatic sheets is often interpreted as primary magma flow, but magnetic fabrics can be modified by post-emplacement processes, making interpretation of AMS data ambiguous. Here we present AMS data from cone-sheets in the Alnö carbonatite complex, central Sweden. We discuss six scenarios of syn- and post-emplacement processes that can modify AMS fabrics and offer a conceptual framework for systematic interpretation of magma movements in sheet intrusions. The AMS fabrics in the Alnö cone-sheets are dominantly oblate with magnetic foliations parallel to sheet orientations. These fabrics may result from primary lateral flow or from sheet closure at the terminal stage of magma transport. As the cone-sheets are discontinuous along their strike direction, sheet closure is the most probable process to explain the observed AMS fabrics. We argue that these fabrics may be common to cone-sheets and an integrated geology, petrology and AMS approach can be used to distinguish them from primary flow fabrics.

Determining the timing of formation of the Rawil Depression in the Helvetic Alps by palaeomagnetic and structural methods

Abstract Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, palaeomagnetism and structural methods are used in order to test the relative timing of antiform updoming and formation of the Rawil Depression in the Helvetic Alps. Samples were collected from all nappes currently exposed in the study region. The magnetic fabric is consistent with extension oblique and parallel to the regional fold trend and with palaeostress reconstructions from fault planes and veins. Palaeomagnetic analyses show a stable characteristic remanence (ChRM), with samples recording both normal and reverse polarity. A successful fold test performed across the antiformal dome structure suggests that the palaeomagnetic signal was acquired prior to doming. By comparison with thermochronometric data, the ChRM was acquired between 25 and 10 Ma and is pre- to synfolding. A secondary post-doming palaeomagnetic component (A), whose magnetization is likely to have occurred between 10 and 3.5 Ma, appears to be too steep with regards to the inclination of the Earths field, suggesting recent large-scale tilting has occurred in the region. These combined analyses indicate that widespread orogen-parallel extension occurred prior to the formation of the Rawil Depression, which is finally interpreted as the result of a stepover structure at the curvature between Central and Western Alps.

Image log analysis of in situ stress orientation, breakout growth, and natural geologic structures to 2.5 km depth in central Scandinavian Caledonides: Results from the COSC‐1 borehole

Stress-induced borehole deformation analysis in the Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonide deep scientific borehole establishes in situ stress orientation in a poorly characterized regi ...