Description: It has been debated for decades whether rigid inclusions, such as porphyroclasts and porphyroblasts, do or do not rotate in a softer matrix during deformation. Experiments and numerical simulations with viscous matrix rheologies show ongoing rotation of circular inclusions, whereas using Mohr-Coulomb plasticity results in nonrotation. Because the rocks in which inclusions are found normally undergo deformation by dislocation creep, we applied a full-field crystal plasticity approach to investigate the rotation behavior of rigid circular inclusions. We show that the inclusion's rotation strongly depends on the anisotropy of the matrix minerals. Strongly anisotropic minerals will develop shear bands that reduce the rotation of inclusions. Inhibition of rotation can only occur after a significant amount of strain. Our results may help to explain why geologic rigid objects often show evidence for rotation, but not necessarily in accordance with the viscous theory that is usually applied to these systems.

Description: Understanding the flow of ice on the microstructural scale is essential for improving our knowledge of large-scale ice dynamics, and thus our ability to predict future changes of ice sheets. Polar ice behaves anisotropically during flow, which can lead to strain localisation. In order to study how dynamic recrystallisation affects to strain localisation in deep levels of polar ice sheets, we present a series of numerical simulations of ice polycrystals deformed under simple-shear conditions. The models explicitly simulate the evolution of microstructures using a full-field approach, based on the coupling of a viscoplastic deformation code (VPFFT) with dynamic recrystallisation codes. The simulations provide new insights into the distribution of stress, strain rate and lattice orientation fields with progressive strain, up to a shear strain of three. Our simulations show how the recrystallisation processes have a strong influence on the resulting microstructure (grain size and shape), while the development of lattice preferred orientations (LPO) appears to be less affected. Activation of non-basal slip systems is enhanced by recrystallisation and induces a strain hardening behaviour up to the onset of strain localisation and strain weakening behaviour. Simulations demonstrate that the strong intrinsic anisotropy of ice crystals is transferred to the polycrystalline scale and results in the development of strain localisation bands than can be masked by grain boundary migration. Therefore, the finite-strain history is non-directly reflected by the final microstructure. Masked strain localisation can be recognised in ice cores, such as the EDML, from the presence of stepped boundaries, microshear and grains with zig-zag geometries.

Description: The flow of glaciers and polar ice sheets is controlled by the highly anisotropic rheology of ice crystals that have hexagonal symmetry (ice lh). To improve our knowledge of ice sheet dynamics, it is necessary to understand how dynamic recrystallization (DRX) controls ice microstructures and rheology at different boundary conditions that range from pure shear flattening at the top to simple shear near the base of the sheets. We present a series of two-dimensional numerical simulations that couple ice deformation with DRX of various intensities, paying special attention to the effect of boundary conditions. The simulations show how similar orientations of c-axis maxima with respect to the finite deformation direction develop regardless of the amount of DRX and applied boundary conditions. In pure shear this direction is parallel to the maximum compressional stress, while it rotates towards the shear direction in simple shear. This leads to strain hardening and increased activity of non-basal slip systems in pure shear and to strain softening in simple shear. Therefore, it is expected that ice is effectively weaker in the lower parts of the ice sheets than in the upper parts. Strain-rate localization occurs in all simulations, especially in simple shear cases. Recrystallization suppresses localization, which necessitates the activation of hard, non-basal slip systems.This article is part of the themed issue {\textquoteleft}Microdynamics of ice{\textquoteright}.

Description: Localisation of ductile deformation in rocks is commonly found at all scales from crustal shear zones down to grain scale shear bands. Of the various mechanisms for localisation, mechanical anisotropy has received relatively little attention, especially in numerical modelling. Mechanical anisotropy can be due to dislocation creep of minerals (e.g. ice or mica) and/or layering in rocks (e.g. bedding, cleavage). We simulated simple-shear deformation of a locally anisotropic, single-phase power-law rheology material up to shear strain of five. Localisation of shear rate in narrow shear bands occurs, depending on the magnitude of anisotropy and the stress exponent. At high anisotropy values, strain-rate frequency distributions become approximately log-normal with heavy, exponential tails. Localisation due to anisotropy is scale-independent and thus provides a single mechanism for a self-organised hierarchy of shear bands and zones from mm-to km-scales. The numerical simulations are compared with the natural example of the Northern Shear Belt at Cap de Creus, NE Spain.

Description: Creep due to ice flow is generally thought to be the main cause for the formation of crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) in polycrystalline anisotropic ice. However, linking the development of CPOs to the ice flow history requires a proper understanding of the ice aggregate's microstructural response to flow transitions. In this contribution the influence of ice deformation history on the CPO development is investigated by means of full-field numerical simulations at the microscale. We simulate the CPO evolution of polycrystalline ice under combinations of two consecutive deformation events up to high strain, using the code VPFFT (visco-plastic fast Fourier transform algorithm) within ELLE. A volume of ice is first deformed under coaxial boundary conditions, which results in a CPO. The sample is then subjected to different boundary conditions (coaxial or non-coaxial) in order to observe how the deformation regime switch impacts the CPO. The model results indicate that the second flow event tends to destroy the first, inherited fabric with a range of transitional fabrics. However, the transition is slow when crystallographic axes are critically oriented with respect to the second imposed regime. Therefore, interpretations of past deformation events from observed CPOs must be carried out with caution, particularly in areas with complex deformation histories.