Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Highly porous rocks, such as sandstones, often deform in a surprising way: instead of breaking apart or sliding, they develop thin zones called deformation bands. In these bands, the grains are squeezed closer together, making the rock denser, and reducing how easily fluids such as water or oil can move through it. This behavior is important because it affects both the strength of rocks and their ability to store and transport fluids underground. However, these bands are difficult to model because they form suddenly from an initially uniform material and concentrate deformation into very narrow zones.
Wang et al. [2026] developed a computer modeling approach called a “phase‑field model” to study this process. Instead of drawing the bands in the initially homogeneous rock, the model allows them to appear naturally as the system evolves and minimizes its energy. The study shows how grain crushing and rearrangement allows the formation of localized deformation zones. The results also demonstrate that natural spatial variations in the rock, such as differences in grain size or porosity, strongly influence where bands initiate and how they grow. Additionally, the model captures how deformation changes from sliding (shear bands) to pure compaction as pressure increases. Overall, this work provides a realistic way to understand how localized deformation develops in rocks, with important implications for geology, engineering, and energy applications.
Citation: Wang, Y., Zhang, C., Braun, P., Kang, X., & Wu, W. (2026). How does heterogeneity control strain localization patterns in high-porosity rocks? Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 131, e2025JB032494. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JB032494
—François Renard, Associate Editor, JGR: Solid Earth