UMd
UMd
Geology
Geophysics
Zhu's
CV |
Our primary
research interest is to understand
fluid transport processes in the Earth’s crust and mantle,
and their geological
implications. A better understanding of permeability-porosity
relationship provides critical constraints in studying the effect of
pore
fluid, including water, CO2,
and melt, on the mechanical and geochemical
properties
of various tectonic regions.
Using
experimental, microstructural and theoretical approaches, we study the
relationship between permeability and pore structure in a wide range of
geomaterials, including sedimentary rocks with applications to
convergent
margins, where tsunami generating earthquakes occur; partially molten
rocks
beneath mid-ocean ridges, where oceanic plates diverge and new crust is made; and deep sea hydrothermal
vent deposits where unusual
chemosynthetic microbial communities thrives.
We are currently looking for both
undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in
rock physics. Research topics are suitable for students
with a strong background in geophysics, or students in physics, math,
and
engineering who are interested in geology. This research experience
will also also lead to skills and knowledge that
are of great interests to energy resource related industry. For more
details,
please contact
Dr.
Wenlu Zhu.
In the
University of
Maryland's Laboratory for Rock Physics, we conduct
deformation tests to investigate how brittle faulting and ductile flow
affect transport properties, such as permeability and
porosity.
 
Graduate student Thomas Tamarkin installs a triaxial deformation
apparatus (left). Microstructure
analysis of rocks deformed in the lab provides critical
links to apply experimental results to natural processes. We use laser
confocal scanning microscopy to illuminate Herzian fracture, grain
crushing, and pore collapse in a deformed sandstone sample in 3D
(right).
 
Melt generation and migration in
the mantle----Partial melt is generated at individual mineral grain
boundaries
on the millimeter scale,
migrates through porous solid
mantle, likely in an interconnected network of dissolution channels at
scales of tens of meters, builds mid ocean ridges on scales of
hundreds of kilometers (left). A 3D visualization of melt distribution
in a partially molten rock (20% melt, golden color) using X-ray
synchrotron microtomography.
Graduate
student Jill Gribbin conducts permeability measurements on deep-sea
hydrothermal vent deposits using a portable permeameter (above).
Permeability-porosity relationships depend upon mineral grain
distribution and pore geometry within different portions of the
deposits (right).
Current Topics of Research:
Understanding the evolution of pore structure and permeability of sedimentary rocks under hydrothermal conditions. We focus on 1) evolution of permeability during compaction localization associated with faulting in porous sandstones; 2) how crystal plasticity, microcracking, and compaction in carbonates affect transport properties.
Understanding the fluid and fault interaction through laboratory characterization of elastic and
transport properties of porous sedimentary rocks, including drillcores
from Nankai accretionary prism
(NantroSEIZE drilling Program), San Andreas
Fault
(SAFOD drilling program), Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan
(TCDP).
Understanding melt migration and transportation under mid-ocean ridges using X-ray
synchrotron microtomography to quantify
the 3-D melt distribution in partially molten
polycrystalline aggregates and natural rocks.
Understanding
effects of fluid circulation on growth of deep-sea vent structures
through laboratory characterization of permeability-porosity
relationships and
micro-structural analyses on a full range of vent structure types, with
samples
recovered from many different active seafloor vent sites. |
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