Abstract
The behavior of many physical and earth systems is granular, via the more-or-less elastic interactions between grains of all sizes. Obvious examples are found in sand dunes, lahar flows, agricultural hoppers, and grocers' fruit bins. In fact, many large- and small- scale tectonic systems can be described as "granular". A few such examples are western US fault systems, accretionary subduction-zone margins, and Mid-Ocean Ridge hydrothermal systems. In fact, the physics community has greatly advanced the underlying theory of granular deformation, largely through analog-materials experiments. I will present new results from one such experimental approach in the context of tectonic systems.