Definition
Rheology (from the Greek words ῥɛĩ (rhei), “to flow,” and λόγος (logos), “teaching”) is the science of the flow and the deformation of matter in response to an applied stress.
Overview
Planetary interiors and surfaces are composed of solid and liquid silicate rocks, metals, and ices, which deform and flow under an applied non-hydrostatic stress σ (in [Pa]). If the applied stress is small, the material behaves elastically. This means that the material returns to its initial state after the stress is removed. Real planetary materials exhibit a plastic, nonreversible rheological component, in addition to their elastic behavior. In this case, the material does not fully return to its initial state after the stress is removed.
Plastic rheologies are characterized by a maximum stress, called yielding stress, above which perfect elasticity is lost. For nonelastic rheologies the relative deformation, called strain ɛ (dimensionless) and caused by a constant stress σ0, is time...
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References and Further Reading
Jaeger JC, Cook NGW, Zimmermann RW (2007) Fundamentals of rock mechanics, 4th edn. Blackwell, Oxford
Karato S (2008) Deformation of Earth materials, an introduction to the rheology of solid Earth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Karato S (2011) Rheological structure of the mantle of a super-earth: some insights from mineral physics. Icarus 212:14–23
Karato S, Wu P (1993) Rheology of the upper mantle: a synthesis. Science 260:771–778
Ranalli G (1995) Rheology of the Earth. Chapman and Hall, London
Regenauer-Lieb K, Yuen DA, Branlund J (2001) The initiation of subduction: criticality by addition of water. Science 294:568–580
Stamenković V et al (2011) Thermal and transport properties of mantle rock at high pressure: applications to super-Earths. Icarus 216:572–596
Stamenković V et al (2012) The influence of pressure-dependent viscosity on the thermal evolution of super-Earths. Astrophys J 748:22 pp
Watts AB (2001) Isostasy and flexure of the lithosphere. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
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Stamenković, V., Sohl, F. (2015). Rheology, Planetary Interior. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1370
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1370
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