This project (DeMo-Planet) will use an innovative approach to numerically model the emplacement of magma in fractured rocks using a two-dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM). This model will be parametrised by using geological observations. Host rock samples will be collected around solidified and exposed magma intrusions in South-West Poland. The mechanical characteristics of these intact rock samples will be measured in the laboratory. Fracture networks in the host rocks will be mapped digitally using state-of-the-art photogrammetry techniques used in field geology. These mechanical characteristics and fracture networks will then be implemented in the 2D DEM model. In this realistic host medium, the emplacement of magma will then be systematically simulated. The model results will be compared to the topography and fracture networks mapped on the Moon by using satellite images, to better understand how important non-elastic behaviour of the crust of the Moon was during magma emplacement. In summary, the proposed multidisciplinary approach will allow to produce new complex models of how shallow magma emplacement deforms planetary crust. This way, this project will improve the interpretation of surface features on terrestrial planetary bodies caused by magma, as well as improve models of magma intrusion used to reduce volcanic hazards on Earth.

Project presentation (seminar 21/10/2021) link