Structural geologists and metamorphic and igneous petrologists have long known that chemical reactions and mechanical deformation strongly influence each other. Sometimes the interactions are straightforward. For example, a metamorphic reaction may change the mineral assemblage, causing a concomitant change in the mechanical properties. In other cases the interaction may occur indirectly through a change in an environmental variable, as when a prograde reaction releases a volatile fluid and lowers the effective pressure on the rock mass. In still other cases, the interaction may be direct, but not straightforward. Such direct interactions involve processes in which the mechanical and chemical driving forces combine to determine the process rates. For this subset of cases, the coupling may be quite subtle and involve only portions of the mechanical or chemical driving forces. Important examples of direct coupling include static fatigue cracking in the presence of a corrosive fluid, pressure solution processes in the mid to upper levels of the crust, weakening of minerals by changes in the fugacity of water and other chemical components, and the effect of partial melts on rock strength.
Our understanding of the exact physics and chemistry of these interactions has suffered because the topics fall at the join of several disciplinary fields: petrology, structural geology, mechanics of materials, solid state chemistry, physical chemistry and materials science. Often workers studying these interactions are divided even further by classifications according to the methods: laboratory, field, and theoretical. The goal of this conference is to promote a multi-disciplinary assessment of our understanding of the coupling between chemical and mechanical forces in minerals and rocks. Progress in technical apparatus, theoretical understanding, and field observations have created an opportunity for a fresh approach to the difficult, but extremely important problem of the coupling of chemical and mechanical forces. Join us at Colby-Sawyer College this summer in what promises to be a stimulating and productive conference at the frontiers of research.
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There will be nine formal morning and evening sessions spread over 5 days, three talks will be given in each morning session, and two in the evening; afternoons are free for discussion and informal activities. The free period in the afternoon provides access for newcomers to the world's experts in the discipline and facilitates establishment of new collaborations between researchers in different disciplines. Two evening sessions will be devoted to posters contributed by the conferees. Poster sessions allow the most current research to be discussed in informal and highly interactive discussions. The conference commences with dinner and an evening session on Sunday, August 10, and ends with the evening session on Thursday, August 15. All attendees will have the opportunity to present posters, so we encourage participation by graduate students and post-doctoral researchers as well as established scientists.
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is located in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire and sits on 80 acres of land, within walking distance of the main shopping area of New London. Opportunities for hiking, biking, swimming, golf and tennis are near the campus. There are B & Bs, motels, campgrounds, and many interesting restaurants that cater to Gordon conferees. The Hogan Fitness Center located on campus has a pool, weight room, indoor track and gym and the GRC has a beach on Little Sunapee Lake reserved for conferees and their guests
The conference is easily reached by flying to Boston's Logan Airport. A chartered bus will be available from Logan Airport to the site on Sunday, and from the site back to Logan on Friday To get to New London from the South by car (MA, CT, RI), take I-93 North to I-89 North, just South of Concord, NH. On I-89, use exit 11, turn right at the end of the exit and drive one mile to the blinking light. Take a left onto Main Street and you will see the college on your right (about one mile). From North or western New England/NY, take I-91 to I-89 South and get off at exit 11 and follow above directions.
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There are three ways to apply: by conventional mail; by e-mail; or
using the WorldWide Web. For conventional application, details may be
obtained direct from the Gordon Conference Office: Gordon Research Conferences,
University of Rhode Island, P.O. Box 984, West Kingston, RI 02892-0984,
USA. Phone: (401) 783-4011/3372; FAX 783-7644.
To obtain an e-mail form click on application forms (Email), fill out
the form, and email to grc@grcmail.grc.uri.edu
Applications are due 6 weeks before the commencement of the conference, but remember that there is a limit on the number of conferees. Some conferences are oversubscribed. By applying early, you will help in enabling us to plan for the conference.
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The inaugural Gordon conference on rock deformation, chaired by T. E. Tullis, and H. W. Green, II was a broadly based survey of many aspects of brittle and ductile rock mechanics, with experimental, field and theoretical contributions. The conference assessed our understanding of the strength of rock during natural tectonic loading and assessed the agreement and differences between estimates of rock strength obtained from field structural observations, geophysical data, and laboratory measurements.
Program,
First Gordon Conference on Rock Deformation
We plan to make extensive use of e-mail and the World Wide Web to publicize
the conference. To subscribe to receive e-mail notices for the conference
send e-mail to Harry Green, hgreen@ucrac1.ucr.edu (see below). Schedules
with confirmed speakers will be posted on this web site and updated frequently.
Be sure to tell colleagues, post-docs, graduate students, and advisors
about this conference. The first Rock Deformation meeting was a great success
and we feel certain that the second will continue in the same tradition.