The Earth is a dynamic body with active plate tectonics, mechanically and compositionally stratified layers, and regions of decoupling between adjacent rock bodies. The research at the Rock Deformation Lab at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is focused on the diverse mechanical response of different minerals under a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions and their imprint on the rock’s microstructure. Through the mechanical and microstructural data, we wish to understand the underlying physics of large-scale processes such as the slip-along faults and the seismic cycle and flow of rocks at large depths within the Earth (i.e., creep, aseismic flow).

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