Control of 3D tectonic inheritance on fold-and-thrust belts: insights from 3D numerical models and application to the Helvetic nappe system

Abstract. Fold-and-thrust belts and associated tectonic nappes are common in orogenic regions. They exhibit a wide variety of geometries and often a considerable along-strike variation. However, the mechanics of fold-and-thrust belt formation and the control of the initial geological configuration on this formation are still incompletely understood. Here, we apply three-dimensional (3D) thermo-mechanical numerical simulations of the shortening of the upper crustal region of a passive margin to investigate the control of 3D laterally variable inherited structures on the fold-and-thrust belt evolution and associated nappe formation. We consider tectonic inheritance by applying an initial mode…

Intermediate-depth earthquake generation and shear zone formation caused by grain size reduction and shear heating

cited By 23; The underlying physics of intermediate-depth earthquakes have been an enigmatic topic; several studies support either thermal runaway or dehydration reactions as viable mechanisms for their generation. Here we present fully coupled thermomechanical models that investigate the impact of grain size evolution and energy feedbacks on shear zone and pseudotachylite formation. Our results indicate that grain size reduction weakens the rock prior to thermal runaway and significantly decreases the critical stress needed for thermal runaway, making it more likely to result in intermediate-depth earthquakes at shallower depths. Furthermore, grain size is reduced in and around the shear z…

Subduction initiation triggered the Caribbean large igneous province

AbstractSubduction provides the primary driving force for plate tectonics. However, the mechanisms leading to the formation of new subduction zones remain debated. An example is the Lesser Antilles Arc in the Atlantic. Previous initiation mechanisms have implied the transmission of subduction from the Pacific Ocean or the impact of a plume head. Here, we use geodynamic models to simulate the evolution of the Caribbean region during the Cretaceous, where the eastern Pacific subduction triggered the formation of a new subduction zone in the Atlantic. The simulations show how the collision of the old Caribbean plateau with the Central America margin lead to the formation of a new Atlantic subd…

Inferring rheology and geometry of subsurface structures by adjoint-based inversion of principal stress directions

SUMMARY Imaging subsurface structures, such as salt domes, magma reservoirs or subducting plates, is a major challenge in geophysics. Seismic imaging methods are, so far, the most precise methods to open a window into the Earth. However, the methods may not yield the exact depth or size of the imaged feature and may become distorted by phenomena such as seismic anisotropy, fluid flow, or compositional variations. A useful complementary method is therefore to simulate the mechanical behaviour of rocks on large timescales, and compare model predictions with observations. Recent studies have used the (non-linear) Stokes equations and geometries from seismic studies in combination with an adjoi…

Influence of pre-existing salt diapirs on 3D folding patterns

Abstract The 3D detachment folding instability gives rise to a wide variety of fold shapes (e.g. from dome shape structures to long en-echelon or straight anticlines) as a result of interactions between growing fold segments. The 3D growth of these folds, as well as the wavelength and lateral propagation of folds, is controlled by the physical parameters of a detachment layer and its overburden. However, the existence of initial heterogeneities, such as pre-existing salt plugs within the sedimentary cover, might affect fold development as well. We use numerical modeling to investigate how the fold pattern is affected by pre-existing salt structures. High-resolution 3D folding simulations (w…

Numerical investigation of deformation mechanics in fold-and-thrust belts: Influence of rheology of single and multiple décollements

[1] Thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts related to convergence tectonics develop by scraping off a rock sequence along a weaker basal decollement often formed by water-saturated shale layers or low-viscosity salt horizons. A two-dimensional finite element model with a viscoelastoplastic rheology is used to investigate the structural evolution of fold-and-thrust belts overlying different types of decollements. In addition, the influence of multiple weak layers in the stratigraphic column is studied. Model shale decollements are frictional, with lower friction angles as the cover sequence. Model salt layers behave linear viscous, due to a lower viscosity as the cover sequence, or with a power …

Insights into the compositional evolution of crustal magmatic systems from coupled petrological-geodynamical models

Funding was provided by the VAMOS Research Center, University of Mainz (Germany) and by the ERC Consolidator Grant MAGMA (project #771143). The evolution of crustal magmatic systems is incompletely understood, as most studies are limited either by their temporal or spatial resolution. Exposed plutonic rocks represent the final stage of a long-term evolution punctuated by several magmatic events with different chemistry and generated under different mechanical conditions. Although the final state can be easily described, the nature of each magmatic pulse is more difficult to retrieve. This study presents a new method to investigate the compositional evolution of plutonic systems while consid…

Heating glaciers from below

Climate change is affecting the cryosphere from above. Geothermal heat flux from below is also contributing to conditions at the base of Greenland's ice sheet, which sits atop a lithosphere of variable thickness.

DMStag: Staggered, Structured Grids for PETSc

Numerical modelling of magma dynamics coupled to tectonic deformation of lithosphere and crust

Many unresolved questions in geodynamics revolve around the physical behaviour of the two-phase system of a silicate melt percolating through and interacting with a tectonically deforming host rock. Well-accepted equations exist to describe the physics of such systems and several previous studies have successfully implemented various forms of these equations in numerical models. To date, most such models of magma dynamics have focused on mantle flow problems and therefore employed viscous creep rheologies suitable to describe the deformation properties of mantle rock under high temperatures and pressures. However, the use of such rheologies is not appropriate to model melt extraction above …

Development of topography in 3-D continental-collision models

Understanding the formation and evolution of high mountain belts, such as the Himalayas and the adjacent Tibetan Plateau, has been the focus of many tectonic and numerical models. Here we employ 3-D numerical simulations to investigate the role that subduction, collision, and indentation play on lithosphere dynamics at convergent margins, and to analyze the conditions under which large topographic plateaus can form in an integrated lithospheric and upper mantle-scale model. Distinct dynamics are obtained for the oceanic subduction side (trench retreat, slab rollback) and the continental-collision side (trench advance, slab detachment, topographic uplift, lateral extrusion). We show that sla…

Pattern formation in 3-D numerical models of down-built diapirs initiated by a Rayleigh–Taylor instability

The Impact of a Very Weak and Thin Upper Asthenosphere on Subduction Motions

Recent geophysical observations report the presence of a very weak and thin upper asthenosphere underneath subducting oceanic plates at convergent margins. Along these margins, trench migrations are significantly slower than plate convergence rates. We use numerical models to assess the role of a weak upper asthenospheric layer on plate and trench motions. We show that the presence of this layer alone can enhance an advancing trend for the motion of the plate and hamper trench retreat. This mechanism provides a novel and alternative explanation for the slow rates of trench migration and fast-moving plates observed globally at natural subduction zones.

An autonomous petrological database for geodynamic simulations of magmatic systems

SUMMARY Self-consistent modelling of magmatic systems is challenging as the melt continuously changes its chemical composition upon crystallization, which may affect the mechanical behaviour of the system. Melt extraction and subsequent crystallization create new rocks while depleting the source region. As the chemistry of the source rocks changes locally due to melt extraction, new calculations of the stable phase assemblages are required to track the rock evolution and the accompanied change in density. As a consequence, a large number of isochemical sections of stable phase assemblages are required to study the evolution of magmatic systems in detail. As the state-of-the-art melting diag…

Geodynamic Modeling with Uncertain Initial Geometries

Analytical and Numerical Investigation of 3D Multilayer Detachment Folding

Multilayer detachment folding, in which a sequence of sedimentary layers is compressed above a weaker salt layer, is a common mode of deformation in thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts. Here, we investigate the dynamics of multilayer detachment folding with three different viscosities: lower detachment or salt layer, overlying weak layers and competent layers. A semi-analytical solution, based on thick plate analysis of multilayer systems, is used to create mechanical phase diagrams of folding dominant wavelength and growth rate as a function of material parameters. The validity of the phase diagrams is tested and confirmed beyond the nucleation stages of folding by performing several 2D and…

Self-replicating subduction zone initiation by polarity reversal

AbstractSubduction zones have recurrently formed on Earth. Previous studies have, however, suggested that they are unlikely to start in the interior of a pristine ocean. Instead, they seem to be more likely to form from another pre-existing subduction zone. One widely cited conceptual model to start new subduction zones is polarity reversal, resulting from the shutdown of a pre-existent subduction zone due to the arrival of a buoyant block at the trench. However, the dynamic conditions by which this process occurs remain elusive. Here, we present 3D numerical models of subduction zone initiation by polarity reversal resulting from the arrival of an oceanic plateau at the trench. Our results…

Fold interaction and wavelength selection in 3D models of multilayer detachment folding

Abstract Many fold-and-thrust belts are dominated by folding and exhibit a fairly regular fold-spacing. Yet, in map-view, the aspect ratio of doubly-plunging anticlines varies considerably from very elongated, and sometimes slightly curved, cylindrical folds to nearly circular, dome-like structures. In addition, the fold spacing often varies significantly around an average value. So far, it remains unclear whether these features are consistent with a folding instability. Therefore, we here study the dynamics of multilayer detachment folding, process by which shortening can be accommodated in thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts. We start by analysing the physics of this process by using both …

Shear heating induced lithospheric-scale localization: Does it result in subduction?

Abstract Even though it is a well-established fact that the Earth is currently in a plate-tectonics mode, the question on how to “break” lithospheric plates and initiate subduction remains a matter of debate. Here we focus on shear heating as a potential mechanism to cause lithospheric shear localization and subsequent subduction initiation in oceanic plates. It is shown that shear heating under some conditions (i) facilitates the formation of a lithospheric-scale shear zone and (ii) is capable of stabilizing a lithospheric-scale shear zone, thus creating the necessary condition for subduction initiation to occur. Furthermore, we demonstrate that not only the localization process is of impo…

Zircon Dates Long-Lived Plume Dynamics in Oceanic Islands

In this contribution we report the first systematic study of zircon U-Pb geochronology and δ 18O-εHf(t) isotope geochemistry from 10 islands of the hot-spot related Galapagos Archipelago. The data extracted from the zircons allow them to be grouped into three types: (a) young zircons (0–∼4 Ma) with εHf(t) (∼5–13) and δ 18O (∼4–7) isotopic mantle signature with crystallization ages dating the islands, (b) zircons with εHf(t) (∼5–13) and δ 18O (∼5–7) isotopic mantle signature (∼4–164 Ma) which are interpreted to date the time of plume activity below the islands (∼164 Ma is the minimum time of impingement of the plume below the lithosphere), and (c) very old zircons (∼213–3,000 Ma) with mostly…

3D Geodynamic Models for HP‐UHP Rock Exhumation in Opposite‐Dip Double Subduction‐Collision Systems

Speculations on the impact of catastrophic subduction initiation on the Earth System

Abstract The physics of subduction initiation can be studied with numerical models of lithosphere dynamics, to the extent where we can now test the potential consequences of a catastrophic subduction initiation event on the Earth System. The South American Atlantic passive margin is here used to show that, once subduction has catastrophically initiated there, a major geodynamic reconfiguration of the South American plate (SAm) is likely to take place: (1) compression in the east will be inverted to extension, because ridge push will be replaced by subduction rollback and trench retreat; (2) compression in the west will be inverted to extension due to absolute rollback; and (3) without buttr…