Some thoughts on challenges and opportunities in structural geology and tectonics

Abstract

构造地质学是地质学的核心基础学科，其发展方向是目前构造地质学家面临的挑战之一。本文从构造作用的本质出发，试图对构造地质学的发展方向进行思考。构造作用本质上是岩石和矿物对应力作用的响应，包括物理响应和化学响应，进而用数学方法进行表达：（1）物理响应主要表现为变形，包括脆性变形和韧性变形。岩石的力学性能决定了其变形特征。岩石圈力学性能在时间和空间上的不均一性一直是研究岩石圈变形行为的巨大挑战。需要结合野外观测、岩石力学和流变学研究，并借助多尺度模拟方法来建立不同时间尺度和空间尺度下岩石的变形行为和变形准则。（2）化学响应主要指构造应力作用下岩石和矿物发生化学变化的过程，即应力化学作用。变形变质作用、剪切带成矿作用、剪切带石墨化、应力生气和生烃等方面都可能存在应力化学过程，但其详细过程和反应机理还需要进一步探究。（3）运用数值模拟、量子计算对以上这些构造过程进行数学表达，也是构造地质学未来发展值得关注的方向。总之，构造地质学未来的发展方向应是与物理学、化学乃至数学等基础学科的深度融合。;Structural geology/tectonics is a fundamental discipline in geoscience. Over the past few decades, theoretical advances and technological innovations have brought new frontiers of exploration in structural geology. This paper discusses future research opportunities in structural geology and tectonics. The primary goal of structural geology is to understand how rocks or mineral aggregates respond to the applied stress field, including the physical and chemical actions happened in this process, and mathematical methods developed to describe them, which can be further demonstrated as follows: (1) The physical process is primarily rock deformation, including brittle and ductile deformations. The mechanical properties of rocks (rock rheology) vary across various spatial and temporal scales, and rheology controls the rock deformation pattern. To combination of observations derived from field and experiments, rock mechanics and rheology studies, and a multi-scale simulation approach enables us to understand multi-scale deformations of rocks and lithosphere rheology. (2) The chemical process refers to chemical reactions modulated by stress (stress chemistry). Stress chemistry may play an important role in the many chemical processes, such as the metamorphism in deforming rocks, shear zone-related gold mineralization, shear-induced graphitization, and gas and hydrocarbon generation under shear stress. However, the exact mechanisms of these processes remain unclear and need further investigation. (3) Proper mechanical descriptions of the individual or coupled physical and chemical processes by using numerical simulation and perhaps quantum computing are also an important tendency for the development of structural geology in the future. In general, structural geology/tectonics is remarkably interdisciplinary. Geologists need to use a broad spectrum of tools and approaches assimilated from the fields of physics, chemistry and mathematics to understand the processes operating in solid-Earth in future research.