%0 Journal article
%A Comeau, Matthew J.
%A Becken, Michael
%A Connolly, James A. D.
%A Grayver, Alexander V.
%A Kuvshinov, Alexey V.
%T Compaction-Driven Fluid Localization as an Explanation for Lower Crustal Electrical Conductors in an Intracontinental Setting
%R 10.1029/2020GL088455
%R 10.23689/fidgeo-5076
%J Geophysical Research Letters
%V 47
%N 19

%X We present electrical resistivity models, derived from magnetotelluric data, of the crust beneath the Bulnay region, Mongolia. They reveal that the lower crust contains a pattern of discrete zones (width of ~25 km) of low resistivity (<30 Ωm). Such features may be an effect of unaccounted-for electrical anisotropy. However, when anisotropy is considered in the modeling, the features remain. We investigate an alternative explanation, based on a conceptual model of fluid localization and stagnation by thermally activated compaction, and demonstrate it is compatible with the observed low-resistivity zones. The model explains the location, shape, and size of the zones, with plausible values of the activation energy for lower crustal creep (270–360 kJ/mol), and a viscous compaction length on the order of 10 km. The results imply tectonic deformation and compaction processes, rather than lithological-structural heterogeneity, control the regional lower crustal fluid flow.
%U http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9422
%~  FID GEO-LEO e-docs