The PI conduct simple shear deformation experiments using a gas-medium deformation apparatus to investigate the mechanisms of structural evolution and the resultant anisotropy in physical properties (seismic wave velocities, creep strength and melt permeability) in deformed polycrystalline aggregates of olivine and olivine plus basaltic melt. Simple shear deformation is critical, because some key informations such as the controlling factors of anisotropic microstructures can only be distinguished in a rotational deformation mode such as simple shear. The results of these studies have important applications in (i) interpretation of anisotropic structures in ultramafic rocks and hence the rheology of the upper mantle, (ii) interpretation of seismic anisotropy in terms of modes of mantle convection, (iii) modelling shear localization in the upper mantle, (iv) modelling melt migration beneath mid-ocean ridges.
