Kelka Ulrich, Veveakis Manolis, Koehn Daniel, Beaudoin Nicolas
School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
School of Petroleum Engineering, University of New South Wales, CSIRO Energy and Minerals Sector, Sydney, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 27;7(1):14260. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14541-3.
Nature has a range of distinct mechanisms that cause initially heterogeneous systems to break their symmetry and form patterns. One of these patterns is zebra dolomite that is frequently hosting economically important base metal mineralization. A consistent generic model for the genesis of these periodically banded rocks is still lacking. In this contribution, we present for the first time a fully consistent mathematical model for the genesis of the pattern by coupling the reactive fluid-solid system with hydromechanics. We show that visual banding develops at a given stress and host-rock permeability indicating that the wavelength and occurrence of the pattern may be predictable for natural settings. This finding offers the exciting possibility of estimating conditions of formation of known deposits as well as forecasting potential exploration targets.
自然界有一系列独特的机制，可使最初的非均匀系统打破对称性并形成图案。其中一种图案是斑马状白云岩，它常常蕴藏着具有经济重要性的贱金属矿化。目前仍缺乏一个关于这些周期性条带岩石成因的统一通用模型。在本论文中，我们首次通过将反应性流固系统与流体力学相耦合，提出了一个关于该图案成因的完全一致的数学模型。我们表明，在给定应力和围岩渗透率条件下会形成视觉上的条带，这表明该图案的波长和出现情况在自然环境中可能是可预测的。这一发现为估算已知矿床的形成条件以及预测潜在勘探目标提供了令人兴奋的可能性。
