The transport of fluids through the Earth’s crust controls the redistribution of elements to form mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, the release and sequestration of greenhouse gases, and facilitates metamorphic reactions that influence lithospheric rheology. In permeable systems with a well-connected porosity, fluid transport is largely driven by fluid pressure gradients. In less permeable rocks, deformation may induce permeability by creating interconnected heterogeneities, but without these perturbations, mass transport is limited along grain boundaries or relies on transformation processes that self-generate transient fluid pathways. The latter can facilitate large-scale fluid and mass transport in nominally impermeable rocks without large-scale fluid transport pathways. Here, we show that pervasive, fluid-driven metamorphism of crustal igneous rocks is directly coupled to the production of nanoscale porosity. Using multi-dimensional nano-imaging and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that in feldspar, the most abundant mineral family in the Earth’s crust, electrokinetic transport through reaction-induced nanopores (<100 nm) can potentially be significant. This suggests that metamorphic fluid flow and fluid-mediated mineral transformation reactions can be considerably influenced by nanofluidic transport phenomena.

流体通过地壳的运输控制元素的重新分布以形成矿物和碳氢化合物沉积物，释放和隔离温室气体，并促进影响岩石圈流变的变质反应。在具有良好连通孔隙度的渗透系统中，流体输送主要由流体压力梯度驱动。在渗透性较低的岩石中，变形可能会通过产生相互关联的异质性来诱导渗透性，但如果没有这些扰动，质量传输会沿着晶界受到限制，或者依赖于自产生瞬态流体路径的转化过程。后者可以在没有大规模流体传输路径的情况下促进名义上不透水的岩石中的大规模流体和质量传输。在这里，我们展示了无处不在，地壳火成岩的流体驱动变质作用与纳米级孔隙度的产生直接相关。使用多维纳米成像和分子动力学模拟，我们证明在地壳中最丰富的矿物家族长石中，通过反应诱导的纳米孔（<100 nm）的电动传输可能具有重要意义。这表明变质流体流动和流体介导的矿物转化反应可能会受到纳米流体传输现象的显着影响。100 nm）可能很重要。这表明变质流体流动和流体介导的矿物转化反应可能会受到纳米流体传输现象的显着影响。100 nm）可能很重要。这表明变质流体流动和流体介导的矿物转化反应可能会受到纳米流体传输现象的显着影响。