Abstract
The effects of water on elastic energy dissipation in rock under upper crustal conditions are considered briefly in this paper. Experimental evidence indicates that in dry rock the energy dissipation process involves water adsorbed on the surfaces of very thin cracks. In one mechanism the adsorbed water is regarded as a viscoelastic film. Portions of this layer are forced to relax as crack thickness changes with the passing elastic wave. A second possible mechanism involves the relaxation of electrostatic repulsion stresses between oriented polar water molecules on opposing crack faces. When water is present as a bulk fluid, attenuation can be explained by the flow of a viscous fluid into and out of very thin cracks in response to dynamic stresses associated with a passing elastic wave.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4207-4212 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research |
| Volume | 89 |
| Issue number | B6 |
| State | Published - Jun 10 1984 |
| Event | Chem Eff on Water on the Deform and Strengths of Rocks - Duration: Jun 6 1982 → Jun 10 1982 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geophysics
- Forestry
- Oceanography
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology
- Water Science and Technology
- Soil Science
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Atmospheric Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science
- Palaeontology