Science, Vol.265, No.5176, 1204-1206, 1994
Newtonian Dislocation Creep in Quartzites - Implications for the Rheology of the Lower Crust
Mechanical and microstructural evidence indicates that a natural and a synthetic quartzite deformed by Newtonian dislocation (Harper-Dorn) creep at temperatures higher than 1073 K and stresses lower than 300 megapascals. The observation of this creep in these materials suggests that the lower crust may flow like a Newtonian viscous fluid by a dislocation mechanism at stresses much smaller than those previously postulated.