Coupled petrological-geodynamical modeling of a compositionally heterogeneous mantle plume

Abstract Self-consistent geodynamic modeling that includes melting is challenging as the chemistry of the source rocks continuously changes as a result of melt extraction. Here, we describe a new method to study the interaction between physical and chemical processes in an uprising heterogeneous mantle plume by combining a geodynamic code with a thermodynamic modeling approach for magma generation and evolution. We pre-computed hundreds of phase diagrams, each of them for a different chemical system. After melt is extracted, the phase diagram with the closest bulk rock chemistry to the depleted source rock is updated locally. The petrological evolution of rocks is tracked via evolving chemi…

Dynamic pressure variations in the lower crust caused by localized fluid-induced weakening

When continents collide, the Earth’s crust experiences structural and metamorphic transformations that control the geodynamic evolution of the orogen. Metamorphism of dry, lower crust requires fluid supply and produce mechanically weaker rocks. Metamorphism is often localized in shear-zones, which provide the available fluid pathways. Several field-based studies show that shear zone development is preceded by brittle faults, frequently portraying evidence for seismic slip rates and introduction of externally derived fluids. However, despite the extensive documentation of lower crustal metamorphism and associated deformation features, a unifying model coupling deformation to fluid …

Mountain Building in Taiwan: Insights From 3‐D Geodynamic Models

Taiwan is widely considered to be a typical example of an arc-continent collision surrounded by two opposite dipping subduction zones. The manner by which the interaction of the two neighboring slabs caused plate collision and mountain building is insufficiently understood. Various hypotheses have been proposed, but the geodynamic feasibility of those remains to be tested. Here we present 3-D thermomechanical models to study the geodynamic evolution process of a Taiwan-like setting after an initial transform fault was consumed. In our model setup, the boundary between the Eurasian plate and the South China Sea is northeast trending. The results show that all simulations result in toroidal m…

Thermomechanical modeling of slab eduction

[1] Plate eduction is a geodynamic process characterized by normal-sense coherent motion of previously subducted continental plate. This mechanism may occur after slab detachment has separated the negatively buoyant oceanic plate from the positively buoyant orogenic root. Eduction may therefore be partly responsible for exhumation of high pressure rocks and late orogenic extension. We used two-dimensional thermomechanical modeling to investigate the main features of the plate eduction model. The results show that eduction can lead to the quasi adiabatic decompression of the subducted crust (≈2 GPa) in a timespan of 5 My, large localized extensional strain in the former subduction channel, f…

Constraining effective rheology through parallel joint geodynamic inversion

Abstract The dynamics of crust and lithosphere is to a large extent controlled by its effective viscosity. Unfortunately, extrapolation of laboratory experiments indicates that viscosity is likely to vary over many orders of magnitude. Additional methods are thus required to constrain the effective viscosity of the present-day lithosphere using more direct geophysical observations. Here we discuss a method, which couples 3D geodynamic models with observations (surface velocities and gravity anomalies) and with a Bayesian inversion scheme on massively parallel high performance computers. We illustrate that the basic principle of a joint geodynamic and gravity inversion works well with a simp…

Subduction metamorphism in the Himalayan ultrahigh-pressure Tso Morari massif: an integrated geodynamic and petrological modelling approach

The Tso Morari massif is one of only two regions where ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism of subducted crust has been documented in the Himalayan Range. The tectonic evolution of the massif is enigmatic, as reported pressure estimates for peak metamorphism vary from ∼2.4 GPa to ∼4.8 GPa. This uncertainty is problematic for constructing large-scale numerical models of the early stages of India–Asia collision. To address this, we provide new constraints on the tectonothermal evolution of the massif via a combined geodynamic and petrological forward-modelling approach. A prograde-to-peak pressure–temperature–time (P–T–t) path has been derived from thermomechanical simulations tailored for E…

Lower Crustal Rheology Controls the Development of Large Offset Strike‐Slip Faults During the Himalayan‐Tibetan Orogeny

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Benchmarking numerical models of brittle thrust wedges

International audience; We report quantitative results from three brittle thrust wedge experiments, comparing numerical resultsdirectly with each other and with corresponding analogue results. We first test whether the participatingcodes reproduce predictions from analytical critical taper theory. Eleven codes pass the stable wedgetest, showing negligible internal deformation and maintaining the initial surface slope upon horizontaltranslation over a frictional interface. Eight codes participated in the unstable wedge test that examinesthe evolution of a wedge by thrust formation from a subcritical state to the critical taper geometry. Thecritical taper is recovered, but the models show two…

Quantifying the impact of mechanical layering and underthrusting on the dynamics of the modern India-Asia collisional system with 3-D numerical models

The impact of mechanical layering and the strength of the Indian lower crust on the dynamics of the modern India-Asia collisional system are studied using 3-D thermomechanical modeling. The model includes an Indian oceanic domain, Indian continental domain, and an Asian continental domain. Each domain consists of four layers: upper/lower crust, and upper/lower lithospheric mantle. The Tarim and Sichuan Basins are modeled as effectively rigid blocks and the Quetta-Chaman and Sagaing strike-slip faults as vertical weak zones. The geometry, densities, and viscosities are constrained by geophysical data sets (CRUST2.0, gravity, and seismology). Both static (no horizontal movement of model bound…

Plastic yielding of glass in high-pressure torsion apparatus

International audience; Hardness measurements performed at room temperature have demonstrated that glass can flow under elevated pressure, whereas the effect of high pressure on glass rheology remains poorly quantified. Here, we applied a high-pressure torsion (HPT) apparatus to deform SCHOTT SF6 â glass and attempted to quantify the effect of pressure and temperature on the shear deformation of glass subjected to pressures from 0.3 GPa to 7 GPa and temperatures from 25 ℃ to 496 ℃. Results show that the plastic yield deformation was occurring during the HPT experiments on the SF6 glass at elevated temperature from 350 ℃ to 496 ℃. The yield stress of SF6 glass decreases with increasing tempe…

Nonlithostatic pressure during subduction and collision and the formation of (ultra)high-pressure rocks

The mechanisms that result in the formation of high-pressure (HP) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks are controversial. The usual interpretation assumes that pressure is close to lithostatic, petrological pressure estimates can be transferred to depth, and (U)HP rocks have been exhumed from great depth. An alternative explanation is that pressure can be larger than lithostatic, particularly in continental collision zones, and (U)HP rocks could thus have formed at shallower depths. To better understand the mechanical feasibility of these hypotheses, we performed thermomechanical numerical simulations of a typical subduction and collision scenario. If the subducting crust is laterally homogen…

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 …

A free plate surface and weak oceanic crust produce single-sided subduction on Earth

[1] Earth’s lithosphere is characterized by the relative movement of almost rigid plates as part of global mantle convection. Subduction zones on present-day Earth are strongly asymmetric features composed of an overriding plate above a subducting plate that sinks into the mantle. While global self-consistent numerical models of mantle convection have reproduced some aspects of plate tectonics, the assumptions behind these models do not allow for realistic single-sided subduction. Here we demonstrate that the asymmetry of subduction results from two major features of terrestrial plates: (1) the presence of a free deformable upper surface and (2) the presence of weak hydrated crust atop subd…

Effect of pressure and temperature on viscosity of a borosilicate glass

International audience; During industrial glass production processes, the actual distribution of stress components in the glass during scribing remains, to date, poorly quantified, and thus continues to be challenging to model numerically. In this work, we experimentally quantified the effect of pressure and temperature on the viscosity of SCHOTT N-BK7 glass, by performing in situ deformation experiments at temperatures between 550 and 595 °C and confining pressures between 100 MPa and 300 MPa. Experiments were performed at constant displacement rates to produce almost constant strain rates between 9.70 × 10 −6 s-1 and 4.98 × 10-5 s-1. The resulting net axial stresses range from 81 MPa to 8…

The role of slabs and oceanic plate geometry in the net rotation of the lithosphere, trench motions, and slab return flow

[1] Absolute plate motion models with respect to a deep mantle reference frame (e.g., hot spots) typically contain some net rotation (NR) of the lithosphere. Global mantle flow models for the present-day plate setting reproduce similarly oriented NRs but with amplitudes significantly smaller than those found in some high NR Pacific hot spot reference frames. It is therefore important to understand the mechanisms of NR excitation, which we attempt here with two-dimensional cylindrical models of an idealized Pacific domain. We study the influence of slab properties, oceanic ridge position, continental keels, and a weak asthenospheric layer on NR and trench migration. Fast slab return flow dev…

Deriving scaling laws in geodynamics using adjoint gradients

Abstract Whereas significant progress has been made in modelling of lithospheric and crustal scale processes in recent years, it often remains a challenge to understand which of the many model parameters is of key importance for a particular simulation. Determining this is usually done by manually changing the model input parameters and performing new simulations. For a few cases, such as for folding or Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, one can use thick-plate stability analysis to derive scaling laws to obtain such insights. Yet, for more general cases, it is not straightforward to do this (apart from running many simulations). Here, we discuss a numerically cheaper approach to compute scalin…

Influence of surface processes and initial topography on lateral fold growth and fold linkage mode

Elongation of randomly distributed fold segments and their potential linkage are important for hydrocarbon exploration because it can greatly influence the morphology of the reservoir and both migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons in antiformal traps. Here we study the effects of surface processes and the presence of a topographic slope on the different linkage modes that can occur, and how these parameters affect the required horizontal offset for perturbations to link. The proposed numerical model represents a sedimentary cover detached over a much weaker basal decollement layer. The upper surface is modified by mass redistribution, which is achieved by a combination of fluvial and h…

Development of branching brittle and ductile shear zones: A numerical study

Continental collision zones are usually associated with large-scale strike-slip shear zones. In most cases these shear zones are complex and consist of multiple strands, varying in width, length, and total displacement. Here we present 2-D numerical models to simulate the formation of such shear zones at different depth levels within the crust, under either brittle (frictional/plastic) or ductile conditions. Localization of shear zones is initiated by a material contrast (heterogeneity) of the material parameters. We systematically test the rate of strain-weakening in brittle and in ductile regimes to understand its influence on the development of shear zone networks. Our simulations sugges…

Plume — Lid interactions during the Archean and implications for the generation of early continental terranes

Abstract Many Archean terranes are interpreted to have a tectonic and metamorphic evolution that indicates intra-crustal reorganization driven by lithospheric-scale gravitational instabilities. These processes are associated with the production of a significant amount of felsic and mafic crust, and are widely regarded to be a consequence of plume-lithosphere interactions. The juvenile Archean felsic crust is made predominantly of rocks of the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) suite, which are the result of partial melting of hydrous metabasalts. The geodynamic processes that have assisted the production of juvenile felsic crust, are still not well understood. Here, we perform 2D and …

Seafloor expression of oceanic detachment faulting reflects gradients in mid-ocean ridge magma supply

International audience; Oceanic detachment faulting is a major mode of seafloor accretion at slow and ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges, and is associated with dramatic changes in seafloor morphology. Detachments form expansive dome structures with corrugated surfaces known as oceanic core complexes (OCCs), and often transition to multiple regularly-spaced normal faults that form abyssal hills parallel to the spreading axis. Previous studies have attributed these changes to along-axis gradients in lithospheric strength or magma supply. However, despite the recognition that magma supply can influence fault style and seafloor morphology, the mechanics controlling the transition from oceani…

Quantification and visualization of finite strain in 3D viscous numerical models of folding and overthrusting

Abstract Finite strain analysis and three-dimensional (3D) numerical modeling are important methods to understand the deformation history of rocks. Here, we analyze finite strain in 3D numerical simulations of power-law viscous folding and overthrusting. Simulations with different and laterally varying detachment geometries cause a lateral transition from folding (for thicker detachments) to overthrusting. We compute the 3D finite strain tensor, the principal strain values and their orientations. We compute the Nadai strain, e S , and the Lode’s ratio, ν , representing the strain symmetry (constriction or flattening). We apply Hsu diagrams to visualize strain distribution in e S - ν space, …

Equivalent continuum-based upscaling of flow in discrete fracture networks: The fracture-and-pipe model

Abstract. Predicting effective permeabilities of fractured rock masses is a key component of reservoir modelling. This is often realized with the discrete fracture network (DFN) method, where single-phase incompressible fluid flow is modelled in discrete representations of individual fractures in a network. Depending on the overall number of fractures, this can result in significant computational costs. Equivalent continuum models (ECM) provide an alternative approach by subdividing the fracture network into a grid of continuous medium cells, over which hydraulic properties are averaged for fluid flow simulations. While this has the advantage of lower computational costs and the possibility…

Influences of surface processes on fold growth during 3-D detachment folding

In order to understand the interactions between surface processes and multilayer folding systems, we here present fully coupled three-dimensional numerical simulations. The mechanical model represents a sedimentary cover with internal weak layers, detached over a much weaker basal layer representing salt or evaporites. Applying compression in one direction results in a series of three-dimensional buckle folds, of which the topographic expression consists of anticlines and synclines. This topography is modified through time by mass redistribution, which is achieved by a combination of fluvial and hillslope erosion, as well as deposition, and which can in return influence the subsequent defor…

Intrusion of granitic magma into the continental crust facilitated by magma pulsing and dike‐diapir interactions: Numerical simulations

Comparison of continuous and discontinuous Galerkin approaches for variable-viscosity Stokes flow

We describe a Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme for variable-viscosity Stokes flow which is a crucial aspect of many geophysical modelling applications and conduct numerical experiments with different elements comparing the DG approach to the standard Finite Element Method (FEM). We compare the divergence-conforming lowest-order Raviart-Thomas (RT0P0) and Brezzi-Douglas-Marini (BDM1P0) element in the DG scheme with the bilinear Q1P0 and biquadratic Q2P1 elements for velocity and their matching piecewise constant/linear elements for pressure in the standard continuous Galerkin (CG) scheme with respect to accuracy and memory usage in 2D benchmark setups. We find that for the chosen geodynami…

Strong intracontinental lithospheric deformation in South China: Implications from seismic observations and geodynamic modeling

Abstract Classical plate tectonics theory predicts concentrated deformation at plate boundaries and weak deformation within plates. Yet, the existence of intracontinental orogens shows that highly deformed regions can occur within continental plates, which is geodynamically incompletely understood. Shear wave splitting measurements in South China show belt-parallel (i.e. NE–SW) fast directions beneath the Wulingshan-Xuefengshan Belts, while no dominant fast direction is found in the cratonic Sichuan Basin. Tomographic studies in the mantle in the same area show that the thickness of lithosphere beneath the intracontinental orogen is larger than that beneath the cratonic Sichuan Basin. In or…

3D Numerical Modelling of Salt Tectonics

Summary Many factors have been suggested to affect the development of salt structures, including sedimentation, brittle sediment deformation, multiple tectonic events and basement topography. To unravel the relative importance of these processes, we performed high resolution 2D and 3D thermo-mechanical simulations that take these factors into account, while incorporating nonlinear salt creep laws and visco-elasto-plastic rock properties. Simulations show that the sedimentation rate affects both the speed with which structures form, and the spacing between the salt structures, which is larger for higher rates. Consistent with earlier sandbox experiments, we find that there is a feedback betw…

The effect of rheological approximations in 3-D numerical simulations of subduction and collision

Abstract Subduction and collision zones evolve differently from one another due to different rheological properties, different amounts of regional isostatic compensation, and the different mechanisms by which forces are applied to the convergent plates. The rheology of mantle and lithosphere is known to have the largest influence on the dynamics of subduction and continental collision. However, previous 3-D geodynamic models of subduction/collision processes have used various rheological approximations, making their results difficult to compare, since there is no clear understanding on the extent of these approximations on the dynamics. Here, we test the effect of rheological approximations…

Constraining lithospheric flow.

The motion of Earth's tectonic plates—the lithosphere—is driven by the subduction of relatively cold and dense oceanic plates into the mantle. The resulting forces drive the motions of continental plates, but the manner in which this happens depends on the effective viscosities of the lithosphere and mantle. On page 1515 of this issue, Liu and Hasterok ( 1 ) discuss a novel method of constraining viscosities of the lithosphere from geophysical data.

A comparison of numerical surface topography calculations in geodynamic modelling: an evaluation of the ‘sticky air’ method

SUMMARY Calculating surface topography in geodynamic models is a common numerical problem. Besides other approaches, the so-called ‘sticky air’ approach has gained interest as a free-surface proxy at the top boundary. The often used free slip condition is thereby vertically extended by introducing a low density, low viscosityfluid layer. This allows the air/crust interface to behave in a similar manner to a true free surface. We present here a theoretical analysis that provides the physical conditions under which the sticky air approach is a valid approximation of a true free surface. Two cases are evaluated that characterize the evolution of topography on different timescales: (1) isostati…

Modeling of wind gap formation and development of sedimentary basins during fold growth: application to the Zagros Fold Belt, Iran

Mountain building and landscape evolution are controlled by interactions between river dynamics and tectonic forces. Such interactions have been extensively studied, however a quantitative evaluation of tectonic/geomorphic feedbacks, which is imperative for understanding sediments routing within orogens and fold-and-thrust belts, remains to be undertaken. Here, we employ numerical simulations to assess the conditions of uplift and river incision necessary to deflect an antecedent drainage network during the growth of one, or several, folds. We propose that a partitioning of the river network into internal (endorheic) and longitudinal drainage arises as a result of lithological differences w…

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…

Geodynamic inversion to constrain the non-linear rheology of the lithosphere

A common method to determine the strength of the lithosphere is through estimating its effective elastic thickness from the coherence between gravity and topography. This method assumes a priori that the lithosphere is a thin elastic plate floating on a viscous mantle. Whereas this seems to work well with oceanic plates, it has given controversial results in continental collision zones. Usually, continental collisions zones are well-studied areas for which additional geophysical datasets such as receiver functions and seismic tomography exist that constrain the geometry of the lithosphere and often show that it is rather complex. Yet, lithospheric geometry by itself is insufficient to under…

Lithospheric stresses in Rayleigh–Bénard convection: effects of a free surface and a viscoelastic Maxwell rheology

Self-consistent subduction initiation induced by mantle flow

Mantle circulation in planets with strongly temperature-dependent viscosity results in stagnant-lid convection. It is fundamental to understand how this stagnant-lid regime can change into a plate-like convection regime as on the present-day Earth. Here, we use 2D numerical models to study subduction initiation from an initial stagnant lid with laboratory-consistent parameters and without pre-existing weak zones or kinematic boundary conditions. Our results show that subduction can be initiated dynamically as a result of a thermal localization instability. The lithosphere may deform in a stagnant-lid mode, an un-necking mode, a symmetric-subduction mode or an asymmetric-subduction mode. The…

Subduction‐Induced Back‐Arc Extension Versus Far‐Field Stretching: Contrasting Modes for Continental Marginal Break‐Up

Delamination and recycling of Archaean crust caused by gravitational instabilities

The volume of Archaean crust preserved at Earth’s surface today is low. Thermodynamic calculations and geodynamic modelling show that the thick, primary crust that would have formed on a much hotter Archaean Earth was denser than the underlying mantle, and would have therefore been recycled back into the mantle as drips.

Subduction Polarity Reversal Triggered by Oceanic Plateau Accretion: Implications for Induced Subduction Initiation

Pressure dependence of density and structural relaxation of glass near the glass transition region

International audience; A simplified and effective pressure cell together with an experimental procedure has been developed and applied to compress samples of SCHOTT N-BK7 glass under static high pressures in a piston-cylinder apparatus. Results from the density and volume recovery measurements show that, the glass samples were effectively densified in piston-cylinder apparatus with the density at room temperature increasing linearly with frozen-in pressure. To explain the experimental data, we developed a mathematical model based on a suggestion by Gupta (1988) with two internal parameters, named fictive temperature (Tf) and fictive pressure (Pf), which fits the experimental data well.

Slab-triggered wet upwellings produce large volumes of melt: Insights into the destruction of the North China Craton

Abstract Cratons have remained stable for billions of years, despite of ongoing mantle convection and plate tectonics. The North China Craton (NCC), however, is abnormal, as it has experienced a destruction event during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic which was accompanied by extensive magmatism. Several lines of evidence suggest that the (Paleo-)Pacific plate played an important role in this event. Yet, the geodynamic link between subduction and craton destruction remains poorly understood, and it is unclear why there is no systematic spatial and temporal variation of magmatism related to subduction. Here, we perform 2-D petrological-thermomechanical simulations to investigate the influence of s…

Dynamic Pressure Variations in the Lower Crust Caused by Localized Fluid-Induced Weakening (LaMEM input files)

This folder contains the source code of LaMEM as was used for the simulations in E. Moulas, B. Kaus, B. Jamtveit (2022) Dynamic Pressure Variations in the Lower Crust Caused by Localized Fluid-Induced Weakening. Communications Earth & Environment Thanks for your interest in reproducing this!