past forearc deformation in nicaragua and coupling at the megathrust interface evidence for subduction retreat 1 deformation at the boundary between the cocos and caribbean plates in nicaragua is currently focused in the volcanic arc in the form of arc parallel shearing in the middle miocene however there was widespread subsidence with local uplift in the outer forearc and inner forearc broad uplift to understand this complex deformation we use numerical modeling to investigate the effect of inhomogeneous friction at the megathrust fault on strain localization in the upper plate a good fit is obtained when 1 the interface between the slab and upper plate is not situated at the current wadati benioff zone but rather is moved 50 km landward to where subduction may have been active in the early tertiary and 2 there is high stress accumulation between 15 and 25 km depths and low stress accumulation updip and downdip of the thrust interface the results are consistent with a high velocity block being the remnant of an oceanic plateau that subducted in the eocene and was later incorporated into the upper plate we suggest that this geometry persisted into the middle miocene before the slab broke off and the thrust interface jumped seaward

uplift history of the central and northern andes a review the elevation of the andean cordillera is a crucial boundary condition for both climatic and tectonic studies the andes affect climate because they form the only barrier to atmospheric circulation in the southern hemisphere and they intrigue geologists because they have the highest plateau on earth formed at a noncollisional plate margin the altiplano puna yet until recently few quantitative studies of their uplift history existed this study presents both 1 a review of the quantitative paleoelevation estimates that have been made for the central and colombian andes and 2 an examination of the source and magnitude of error for each estimate in the central andes paleobotanical evidence suggests that the altiplano puna had attained no more than a third of its modern elevation of 3700 m by 20 ma and no more than half its modern elevation by 10 7 ma these data imply surface uplift on the order of 2300 3400 m since the late miocene at uplift rates of 0 2 0 3 mm yr paleobotanical and geomorphological data suggest a similar uplift history for the eastern cordillera namely no more than half the modern elevation present by 10 ma no evidence exists for an exponential increase in uplift rate as has been interpreted from fissiontrack data these uplift rates mostly reflect mean surface uplift rather than rock uplift that is uplift of material points because little dissection of the western eastern cordillera has occurred south of lat 19 s and of the altiplano puna thus the central andean plateau appears to be young in the colombian andes paleobotanical data imply rapid uplift of the eastern cordillera between 2 and 5 ma at rates on the order of 0 6 3 mm yr however some of this uplift is likely rock uplift due to erosion driven isostatic rebound rather than mean surface uplift

relationship between slab dip and topography segmentation in an oblique subduction zone insights from numerical modeling slab dip controls the state of stress in an overriding plate and affects mountain building analog and numerical models have shown variations in tectonic regime induced by slab folding over the 660 km depth discontinuity zone in orthogonal convergence here using a three dimensional model of oblique subduction 30 and accounting for free top surfaces we show how slab folding generates an along strike slab dip segmentation inducing variations in topography of the overriding plate when the subducting plate begins to curve forward the elevation height rises inland and varies along the trench from 5 km to 2 km the andes are a suitable natural zone to compare our results with because of its linear margin and well constrained plates kinematics thus we provide a new explanation to the general decrease in elevation from the central to southern andes which still remains to be combined with other 3 d mechanisms to explain the actual andean topography

moho topography in the central andes and its geodynamic implications p to s converted waves at the continental moho together with waves multiply reflected between the earth s surface and the moho have been used to estimate the moho depth and average crustal vp vs variations in the central andes our analysis confirms and significantly complements the moho depth estimates previously obtained from wide angle seismic studies and receiver functions the resulting crustal thickness varies from about 35 km in the forearc region to more than 70 km beneath the plateau and thins 30 km further to the east in the chaco plains beneath the andean plateau the moho is deeper in the north altiplano and shallower in the south puna where the plateau attains its maximum elevation a non linear relation exists between crustal thickness and elevation and bouguer gravity suggesting that the crust shallower than 50 55 km is predominately felsic in contrast to a predominately mafic crust below such a relation also implies a 100 km thick thermal lithosphere beneath the altiplano and with a lithospheric thinning of a few tens of kilometers beneath the puna absence of expected increase in lithospheric thickness in regions of almost doubled crust strongly suggests partial removal of the mantle lithosphere beneath the entire plateau in the subandean ranges at 19 20 s the relation between altitude and crustal thickness indicates a thick lithosphere up to 130 150 km and lithospheric flexure beneath a relative topographic low at the salar de atacama a thick crust 67 km suggests that the lithosphere in this region is abnormally cold and dynamically subsided possibly due to coupling with the subducting plate this may be related to the strongest ms 8 0 known intra slab earthquake in the central andes that happened very close to this region in 1950 the average crustal vp vs ratio is about 1 77 for the altiplano puna and it reaches the highest values 1 80 1 85 beneath the volcanic arc indicating high ambient crustal temperatures and wide spread intra crustal melting 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

numerical modelling of spontaneous slab breakoff dynamics during continental collision slab detachment or breakoff is directly associated with phenomena like morphological orogenesis occurrenceofearthquakesandmagmatism atdepththedetachmentprocessisslowand characterized by viscous rheolgy whereas closer to the surface the process is relatively fast and plastic using a 2d mantle model 1500 km deep and 4000 km wide we investigated with finite difference and marker in cell numerical techniques the impact of slab age convergence rate and phase transitions on the viscous mode of slab detachment in contrast to previous studies exploring simplifiedbreakoffmodelsinwhichtheblockageresponsibleforinducingbreakoffiskinematically prescribed we constructed a fully dynamic coupled petrological thermomechanical model of viscousslabbreakoff inthismodel forcedsubductionofa700 km longoceanicplatewasfollowed bycollisionoftwocontinentalplatesandspontaneousslabblockingresultingfromthebuoyancyof thecontinentalcrustonceithadbeensubductedtoadepthof100 124 km typically fivephasesof model development can be distinguished a oceanic slab subduction and bending b continental collision initiation followed by the spontaneous slab blocking thermal relaxation and unbending in experiments with old oceanic plates in this phase slab roll back occurs c slab stretching and necking d slab breakoff and accelerated sinking and e post breakoff relaxation our experiments confirm a correlation between slab age and the time of spontaneous viscous breakoff as previously identified in simplified breakoff models the results also demonstrate a non linear dependence of the duration of the breakoff event on slab age a positive correlation being characteristic of young 50 ma slabs while for older slabs the correlation is negative the increasing duration of the breakoff with slab age in young slabs is attributed to the slab thermal thickness which increases both the slab thermal relaxation time and duration of the neckingprocess inolderslabsthistendencyiscounteractedbynegativeslabbuoyancy whichgen eratehigherstressesthatfacilitateslabneckingandbreakoff apredictionfromourbreakoffmodels isthattheolivine wadsleyitetransitionplaysanimportantroleinlocalizingviscousslabbreakoffat depths of 410 510 km due to the buoyancy effects of the transition

syn collisional magmatism at the longgen pb zn deposit western nyainqentanglha belt tibet petrogenesis and implications for regional polymetallic metallogeny abstract syn collisional orogeny generally lacks adequate fluids and has a low potential to form magmatic hydrothermal ore deposits however some syn collisional pb zn deposits have been recognized in the nyainqentanglha polymetallic belt npb central lhasa subterrane and ore related magma petrogenesis and the metallogenic geodynamic setting is limited in this study detailed petrology geochemical and geochronological data of ore related syn collisional granite porphyries are evaluated to constrain the timing of mineralization and discuss the genesis and evolution of ore related magma using the longgen skarn pb zn deposit as a case study zircon u pb dating of ore related porphyries provides a weighted mean age of 61 2 0 8 ma which is slightly earlier than the sphalerite rb sr age of 59 1 3 0 ma indicating that a paleocene pb zn mineralization event occurred during syn collisional orogeny the porphyries have high sio2 k2o na2o and are enriched in rb th u pb lrees and a cnk 0 94 1 15 but have low p2o5 and are depleted in nb ta and ti this suggests that the longgen granite porphyries are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous high k calc alkaline arc like granites these porphyries have highly radiogenic isotopic compositions with 87sr 86sr i 0 709513 0 713587 207pb 204pb i 15 657 15 713 and 208pb 204pb i 38 964 39 163 but low end t values from 6 7 to 6 0 as well as negative zircon ehf t values from 5 1 to 3 2 corresponding to tdm2 nd ages of 1 37 to 1 42 ga and zircon hf tdmc ages of 1 30 to 1 42 ga this demonstrates that the longgen granite porphyries may have been generated by the partial melting of mesoproterozoic basement continental crust materials with significant amounts 30 50 of mantle derived melt input paleocene eocene 65 45 ma magmatic rocks associated with pb zn and fe cu deposits are compiled in the npb the pb zn ore related granitoids have relatively lower whole rock end t and zircon ehf t values higher 87sr 86sr i values and older tdmc ages than the coeval granitoids associated with fe cu mineralization this indicates that mantle material is more critical for the development of fe cu ore related granitoids than granitoids associated with pb zn mineralization the final results show that different sources of paleocene eocene syn collisional magma in the npb are beneficial for different mineralization events during the syn collisional orogeny of the indian and asian plates

from passive continental margin to mountain belt insights from analytical and numerical models and application to taiwan abstract the physics of deformation at plate boundaries is insufficiently understood taiwan is particularly interesting in this context since geological and geophysical arguments indicate that passive margin sediments were exhumed into an active mountain belt over a relatively short period of time classically taiwan has been described as a critical wedge orogeny in which deformation is entirely restricted to the crust more recent data however indicate that deeper parts of the lithosphere also participate in deformation in order to study the physical feasibility of various endmember hypothesis we have performed two dimensional 2 d thermo mechanical numerical experiments in which both mantle lithospheric and surface processes are taken into account and in which crustal deformation evolves as a function of mantle flow our setup consists of ocean ocean subduction followed by passive continental margin deformation results indicate that in most cases the subducting slab becomes close to vertical upon arrival of continental material to the trench whereas crustal rheology deformation and surface processes do not modify mantle flow significantly they are important for crustal scale processes relatively little crustal exhumation occurs if the crust is homogeneous and erosion rates are small significant exhumation in a dome like structure is obtained if a weak lower crust and large erosion rates are present the presence of an oceanic arc in the overriding oceanic lithosphere modifies but does not control crustal deformation synthetic metamorphic facies maps and thermochronological data computed from the numerical models are in reasonable agreement with observations in southern taiwan if exhumation occurs in a dome like structure further physical insight in the doming mechanisms is obtained by a combination of analytical techniques and crustal scale numerical models this analysis indicates that the dome like exhumation mechanism can be attributed to a compressional mechanical instability facilitated by both a weak lower crust and large rates of erosion both conditions are likely to be satisfied in taiwan

dynamics of slab rollback and induced back arc basin formation abstract we performed a numerical study to understand the dynamical mechanisms of back arc basin formation induced by slab rollback to this end we used two dimensional numerical models of an integrated plate mantle convection system with 410 and 660 km phase transitions retrograde slab migration occurs when the slab stagnates in the transition zone or when the deep section of the slab is vertical in both cases slab rollback occurs because the deep slab section obstructs the descending motion of the shallow slab section with an inclination buoyancy of the 660 km phase boundary acts as the obstructing force in the case of stagnant slab formation and an anchoring force against the horizontal motion works similarly in the case of vertical slabs to balance the horizontal component of the obstructing force a suction force at the plate boundary pulls the overriding plate toward the ocean back arc spreading is produced by means of slab rollback when the overriding plate with a weak area is fixed to the model boundary the back arc deformation becomes compressional when the overriding plate is freely movable despite trench retreat because the wedge mantle flow viscously drags the overriding plate toward the trench this implies that forces tending to actuate the overriding plate away from the trench are necessary to generate back arc extension even when trench retreat is generated by slab rollback

yaochong mo deposit a low f porphyry mo deposit from the qinling dabie orogenic belt abstract the qinling dabie orogenic belt is the largest mo mineralization belt in the world the yaochong porphyry mo deposit is located in the northwest dabie mountains with a proven reserve of 51 kt mo metal at an average grade of 0 058 here we report geochronology and geochemistry results of the yaochong porphyry mo deposit zircon u pb la icp ms dating shows that the yaochong porphyry dykes and a hidden intrusion formed at 135 ma and 140 ma respectively which are consistent with early cretaceous mo mineralization events in the qinling dabie orogenic belt zircon grains from the yaochong porphyry dikes 2 1788 and the hidden intrusion from drill holes 41 1940 have highly variable ce 4 ce 3 values it is very likely that both the intrusion and the dikes have experienced high oxygen fugacity but was partially reduced through assimilation apatite grains from the yaochong porphyry and the intrusion are characterized by high but variable f concentrations and low cl concentrations suggesting that they formed in an f enriched environment with high f cl components in the magma source the ti in zircon temperatures of the porphyry dikes range from 700 to 710 c whereas the average temperature of the buried intrusion nearby is 675 c yaochong porphyry shows geochemical and petrologic characteristics similar to those of low f stockwork type porphyry mo deposit in north america which may be inherited from the dabie suture zone

relative motion of the nazca farallon and south american plates since late cretaceous time by combining reconstructions of the south american and african plates the african and antarctic plates the antarctic and pacific plates and the pacific and nazca plates we calculated the relative positions and history of convergence of the nazca and south american plates despite variations in convergence rates along the andes periods of rapid convergence averaging more than 100 mm a between the times of anomalies 21 49 5 ma and 18 42 ma and since anomaly 7 26 ma coincide with two phases of relatively intense tectonic activity in the peruvian andes known as the late eocene incaic and mio pliocene quechua phases the periods of relatively slow convergence 50 to 55 30 mm a at the latitude of peru and less farther south between the times of anomalies 30 31 68 5 ma and 21 and between those of anomalies 13 36 ma and 7 correlate with periods during which tectonic activity was relatively quiescent thus these reconstructions provide quantitative evidence for a correlation of the intensity of tectonic activity in the overriding plate at subduction zones with variations in the convergence rate

the genesis of early carboniferous adakitic rocks at the southern margin of the alxa block north china abstract adakite is a highly debated petrologic term that was originally proposed to describe igneous rocks formed by slab melting subsequent studies reported other ways to generate adakitic signatures such as the melting of mafic lower continental crust and fractional crystallization of basaltic magma we studied adakitic rocks from the taohuala mountain at the southern margin of the alxa block north china these rocks are characterized by high sr concentrations 300 450 ppm high sr y 20 75 ppm and la yb n 25 67 ppm ratios and low y

the mesozoic magmatic sources and tectonic setting of the zijinshan mineral field south china constraints from geochronology and geochemistry of igneous rocks in the southeastern ore segment abstract the zijinshan mineral field is a large porphyry epithermal cu au mo ag ore system located in the southwestern fujian province china the southeast cu mo ore segment soe is a newly discovered section located in the southeastern portion of the zijinshan mineral field zircon u pb and molybdenite re os ages as well as the geochemical compositions of intrusive and volcanic rocks and zircon hf isotope data are used to constrain the timing petrogenesis tectonic setting and the relationship between magmatism and metallogenesis in the soe and zijinshan mineral field major and trace element geochemistry indicates that igneous rocks from soe are mainly shoshonitic granitoids that are lile enriched rb ba th u with hfse depletion nb ta zr hf and y indicating a subduction related setting new u pb zircon analyses yield weighted mean ages of ca 160 ma for the caixi pluton ca 110 ma for the sifang granodiorite ca 107 105 ma for the luoboling granodiorite porphyry ca 105 ma for the quartz diorite porphyry ca 108 105 ma for the dacite porphyry ca 98 ma for the rhyodacite and 97 ma for the rhyolite in the soe these dates integrated with previous geochronological data indicate that there were two main magmatic events in this area 1 a middle to late jurassic event 165 150 ma and 2 a cretaceous event 110 95 ma which can be further divided into two groups i e the late early cretaceous event 110 105 ma and the early late cretaceous event 100 95 ma the late early cretaceous intrusions contain higher e hf t values 0 1 to 3 6 with t dm2 varying from 1 4 to 1 0 ga which may come from mixing between crustal and subduction related mantle derived melts in contrast to the middle to late jurassic intrusions that may come from the partial melting of the cathaysia block basement the early late cretaceous intrusions display a broader range of e hf t values 0 9 to 9 4 with t dm2 varying from 1 8 to 1 2 ga suggesting a similar source to the late early cretaceous rocks but with more crustal material the molybdenite re os ages for mineralization range from 110 ma to 105 ma consistent with ages of the late early cretaceous rocks zircon trace elements analyses imply that the early late cretaceous rocks ce 4 ce 3 113 1800 are characterized by higher oxygen fugacity with higher mineralization potential than the late early cretaceous ce 4 ce 3 9 545 and the middle to late jurassic rocks variability in ages geochemistry and oxygen fugacity indicate that the middle to late jurassic magmatic event represents pre mineralization intrusions whereas the late early cretaceous is syn mineralization and the early late cretaceous intrusions post mineralization we propose that both the middle to late jurassic and the cretaceous magmatic events may relate to the subduction of the pacific slab and the changing direction of the subducted slab may result in the different sources for the two magmatic events

formation and exhumation of ultra high pressure rocks during continental collision role of detachment in the subduction channel 1 uhp rocks commonly form and exhume during the transition from oceanic subduction to continental collision their exhumation in subduction channels depends on the balance between down channel shear traction and up channel buoyancy thermal mechanical upper mantle scale numerical models are used to investigate how variations in material properties of the subducting continental margin affect this balance changes in shear traction leading to crustal decoupling detachment are investigated by varying the onset of strain weakening thermal parameters and convergence velocity variations in buoyancy force are investigated by modifying subducted material density and volume the model results are interpreted in terms of the exhumation number e which expresses the role of the pressure gradient channel thickness effective viscosity and subduction velocity peak metamorphic conditions exhumation velocity and timing of exhumation are temporally and spatially variable and are sensitive to the evolution of e the models reproduce natural ptt constraints and indicate that neither slab breakoff nor surface erosion is required for uhp exhumation

thermal and exhumation history of the coastal cordillera arc of northern chile revealed by thermochronological dating abstract the thermal and erosional history of convergent plate boundaries is important for understanding the links between subduction arc magmatism genesis of ore deposits topography and climate of orogenic belts unlike the continent continent collision that formed many of the largest orogenic belts known today the central andes of south america is a unique case where an oceanic continent collision has given rise to the earth s longest and second tallest orogenic belt over the last thirty years a plethora of models have been suggested in an attempt to explain how a plateau type orogen formed at the leading edge of western south america in the central andes most research have focussed attention on the study of the evolution of the arc and backarc since continuous subduction erosion of the forearc has left little trace of the interplate dynamics that initiated the orogenic belt in this article we present a new insight into the thermal and exhumation history of the forearc along the coastal cordillera of northern chile based on biotite k ar apatite fission track and apatite zircon u th he dating we collected diorite samples in a 2 km thick crustal section at the coastal cliff 22 s and a sea level isoelevation profile between 21 and 27 s results from all three dating methods show that the cooling of coastal cordillera took place shortly after emplacement during a period of rifting in jurassic times cooling took place in two episodes mainly in late jurassic early cretaceous 118 152 ma but also during late cretaceous 60 80 ma due to the resumption of compression rift closure arc uplift exhumation eastward migration of magmatic arc activity and thermal relaxation the youngest apatite u th he ages reveal a cooling event never reported previously between 40 and 50 ma eocene this thermal event affected a 500 km long and 1 km thick section of the coastal cordillera in northern chile rock cooling recorded in the eocene cannot be explained by the thermal effect of the magmatic arc we explore two scenarios that can provide an explanation for the observed cooling 1 forearc uplift and exhumation and 2 changes in plate subduction dynamics erosion rates of 0 24 to 0 36 km myr for a period of 10 myr are necessary to explain the cooling event alternatively the subduction of a ridge could explain significant cooling by flat slab dewatering based on recent sea floor spreading reconstruction we suggest the subduction of the farallon phoenix ridge as a possible candidate the subduction of this ridge can account for the cooling event at 40 50 ma but also for some important aspects of the eocene development of the central andes notably the onset of uplift an abrupt decrease in magmatic activity and porphyry copper mineralization

buildup of a dynamically supported orogenic plateau numerical modeling of the zagros central iran case study the iranian plateau is a vast inland region with a smooth average elevation of c 1 5 km formed at the rear of the zagros orogen as a result of the arabia eurasia collision i e over the last 30 35 myr this collision zone is of particular interest due to its disputed resemblance to the faster himalayan collision which gave birth to the tibetan plateau around 50 myr ago recent studies have suggested that a recent 10 5 ma slab break off event below central iran caused the formation of the iranian plateau here we test several hypotheses through large scale 3082 3 590 km numerical models of continental subduction mod els that incorporate a free upper surface erosion rheological stratification brittle elastic ductile rheologies and metamorphic phase changes density and physical properties and account for the specific crustal and thermal structure of the arabian and iranian continental lithospheres we test the impact of the transition from oceanic to continental subduction and the topographic consequences of the progressive slowdown of the convergence rate during continental subduction our results demonstrate the role of mantle flow beneath the overriding plate initiated as an indirect consequence of slab break off this flow creates a dynamic topography support during continental subduction and results in delamination of the overriding plate lithospheric mantle followed by isostatic readjustment hence of further uplift and maintenance of a plateau like topography without significant crustal thickening the slowdown of the convergence rate dur ing the development of the continental subduction collision phase largely contributes to this process by controlling the timing and depth of slab break off

neogene and quaternary ignimbrites in the area of arequipa southern peru stratigraphical and petrological correlations abstract this study focuses on the correlation of four newly identified rhyolitic ignimbrites located around arequipa which were previously described as a single ignimbrite sheet 1 the rio chili ignimbrite ca 13 33 ma crops out in the rio chili canyon and consists of a cooling unit of non welded to partially welded massive crystal rich lapilli tuff this ignimbrite represents the base of the neogene ignimbrite succession in the arequipa area and may be stratigraphically equivalent to the 14 13 ma huaylillas ignimbrites in southern peru 2 the second voluminous 20 km3 and widespread la joya ignimbrite sheet ca 4 87 ma filled the arequipa depression its probable source is now buried underneath the chachani volcanic complex the la joya ignimbrite covers both the arequipa batholith toward the rio vitor piedmont and also part of the altiplano to the east and north of the chachani complex 3 the arequipa airport ignimbrite aai sheet ca 1 6 ma 18 km3 the third and latest infill of the arequipa basin consists of a lower white columnar jointed massive lapilli tuff indurated by vapor phase recrystallization and is overlain by an upper pink lithic rich non welded massive lapilli tuff the source of this ignimbrite is also buried underneath the chachani complex as indicated by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility measurements and component lithology 4 the yura non welded pumice flow deposits ca 1 02 ma 1 5 km3 are restricted to the northern and western flanks of the chachani complex and may correlate with tuffs of the capillune formation on the altiplano all ignimbrites are high k calc alkaline to alkaline rhyolites which contain variable amounts of plagioclase biotite quartz sanidine and fe ti oxides the modal composition of mineral phases and chemistry of amphiboles and biotites are useful for distinguishing the ignimbrites specific geochemical fingerprints such as sr y rb ba cs ree and sr isotopes were effective discriminator elements magmatic differentiation crustal residence time and contamination and source melting processes are discussed in order to explain compositional variations the older la joya ignimbrite and rio chili ignimbrite reflect initial wetter crustal melts closer to granite composition whereas with time the younger arequipa airport ignimbrite and yura tuffs initial melts are slightly less evolved and dryer due to more extensive crustal melting the voluminous 40 km3 neogene ignimbrites of the arequipa area were produced by three major explosive volcanic pulses in the central volcanic zone of southern peru whose genetic relation with tectonic uplift and crustal thickening of the andean cordillera are still a matter of debate

uplift of the central andean plateau and bending of the bolivian orocline the topography of the central andes can be considered the primary tectonic signal of late cenozoic mountain building in an arid region where the effects of uplift and magmatism are little obscured by denudation the spatial coverage of the topographic signal is more complete than that for sparsely sampled geological and geophysical data a color coded image of digitized topography between 12 s and 37 s highlights the altiplano puna one of the world s most remarkable plateaus and reveals important physiographic clues about the formation of that major feature the topographic data combined with information on structure magmatism seismicity and paleomagnetism support a simple kinematical model for the late cenozoic evolution of the central andes the model does not require collisional effects or enormous volumes of intrusive additions to the crust but instead calls upon plausible amounts of crustal shortening and lithospheric thinning the model interrelates andean uplift a changing geometry of the subducted nazca plate and a changing outline in map view of the leading edge of the south american plate crustal shortening has accommodated convergence between the chilean peruvian forearc and the south american foreland the altiplano puna plateau can be constructed by a combination of crustal shortening and thickening and lithospheric thinning above a shallow dipping 20 30 subducted plate the seawardly concave bend of western south america the bolivian orocline was enhanced but not completely produced by an along strike variation in the amount of late cenozoic shortening maximum shortening in bolivia both produced the widest part of the plateau and increased the seaward concavity of the bolivian orocline the along strike variations of shortening are hypothesized to result from corresponding along strike variations in the width of a weakened zone in the overriding plate weakening occurs above the wedge of asthenosphere located between the subducted and overriding plates hence the width of the zone of weakening depends upon the dip of the subducted plate two types of shortening are recognized 1 a widespread basin and range laramide like shortening that characterizes modem activity in the sierras pampeanas and late miocene deformation of the altiplano puna and 2 on the eastern side of the cordilleras and plateau an east verging foreland fold thrust belt in which the underthrust foreland compresses and thickens the ductile lower crust and produces a plateau uplift of the upper crust the second type of shortening can be applied to plio quaternary deformations throughout the central andes but with a substantial narrowing of the region of plateau uplift in peru and south of 28 s a proposed monoclinal flexure of the upper crust on the western side of the plateau uplift explains the remarkably simple and regular morphology of the main western slope of the central andes the monocline is located above the tip of the asthenospheric wedge between the converging plates it is postulated to occur above the western limit of lower crustal thickening in the regions of horizontal subduction the monocline can be associated with a late miocene asthenospheric wedge tip

a new andean deep ice core from nevado illimani 6350 m bolivia abstract a new ice core record from the nevado illimani 16 s bolivia covers approximately the last 18 000 years bp a comparison with two published ice records from sajama 18 s bolivia thompson et al science 282 1998 1858 1864 and huascaran 9 s peru thompson et al science 269 1996 46 50 documents a regionally coherent transition from glacial to modern climate conditions in south america north of 20 s the strong resemblance between the illimani and huascaran water isotope records and their differences from the sajama record in particular during the period from 9000 years bp to 14 000 years bp suggest that local water recycling or local circulation changes played a major role for sajama we interpret the common illimani huascaran water isotope history in terms of a common change from wetter cooler conditions during glacial times to drier warmer conditions in the early holocene

subduction initiation by thermal chemical plumes numerical studies abstract prior suggestions for the initiation of subduction have included sediment loading compression and plate reconfiguration as potential triggers here we investigate the possibility of subduction initiation by the interaction of the lithosphere with a buoyant mantle plume numerical testing of this hypothesis has been conducted in 2d with the i2vis thermo mechanical code accounting for phase transitions and a viscoplastic model of a thin oceanic lithosphere hit by a partially molten thermal chemical or purely thermal plume we demonstrate that a mantle plume can break the lithosphere and initiate self sustaining subduction provided the plume causes a critical local weakening of the lithospheric material above it the intensity of the required weakening depends on the plume volume plume buoyancy and the thickness of the lithosphere and is the highest for the least buoyant purely thermal plumes another necessary condition is the presence of high pressure fluids at the slab upper interface reducing the effective friction coefficient there to very low values based on our results we suggest that sheet like instabilities of the archean mantle convection could have initiated subduction on earth where ocean was already present in less stable tectonic settings provided that mantle plumes sheets at that time were rich in water and melt which could drastically reduce the effective friction coefficient in the lithosphere above the plume our numerical models are also in good agreement with suggested concepts for corona formation on venus

the evolution of deformation and topography of high elevated plateaus 2 application to the central andes the central andes form a wide elevated plateau flanked in the west by a steep slope toward the deep chilean trench and in the east by a gentle slope that subsides gradually toward the brazilian shield the low elevated trench topography is dynamically supported whereas the high andean mountain topography is mostly isostatically supported by a thick crust the last mountain building phase which thickened the crust and formed the present day andes began 26 m y ago in the late oligocene with the increase of the convergence rate between the nazca and the south american plates we investigate the time evolution of the andean deformation and topography by applying a temperature dependent viscoplastic flow model of continental lithosphere to the south american plate the model predicts the observed present day topographic profile across the central andes from the trench across the high altiplano plateau to the brazilian shield our numerical results combined with observations of the spatial and temporal distribution of igneous activity in the central andes lead us to conclude that the altiplano developed and extended to its present width of 400 km as a result of thermal weakening of the lithosphere since late oligocene until present the model also predicts the observed eastward migration of the locus of the andean crustal deformation with time at early stages both the crustal and mantle loci of deformation lie in the thermally weak region which results in crustal thickening in this finite region at later stages as the crust thickens it induces increased buoyancy forces which resist crustal thickening beyond 65 km as a result the locus of crustal deformation migrates eastward the detachment of the crustal locus of deformation from that of the mantle can explain the observed change in deformation pattern from thick skinned tectonism during early stages of the deformation to thin skinned tectonism during the more recent stages

surface erosion events controlled the evolution of plate tectonics on earth plate tectonics is among the most important geological processes on earth but its emergence and evolution remain unclear here we extrapolate models of present day plate tectonics to the past and propose that since about three billion years ago the rise of continents and the accumulation of sediments at continental edges and in trenches has provided lubrication for the stabilization of subduction and has been crucial in the development of plate tectonics on earth we conclude that the two largest surface erosion and subduction lubrication events occurred after the palaeoproterozoic huronian global glaciations 2 45 to 2 2 billion years ago leading to the formation of the columbia supercontinent and after the neoproterozoic snowball earth glaciations 0 75 to 0 63 billion years ago the snowball earth event followed the boring billion a period of reduced plate tectonic activity about 1 75 to 0 75 billion years ago that was probably caused by a shortfall of sediments in trenches and it kick started the modern episode of active plate tectonics the rise of continents and the accumulation of sediments in trenches since about three billion years ago has had a crucial role in the emergence and evolution of plate tectonics on earth

studying deep sources of volcanism using multiscale seismic tomography abstract this paper presents an overview of several examples of multiscale studies of different volcanic systems including intracontinental collisional and subduction related volcanic areas regional tomographic models of the upper mantle are presented for three regions with the cenozoic intracontinental volcanism in eurasia namely europe southern siberia and eastern arctic in all cases recent volcanic fields correlate with low velocity anomalies in the mantle the modeling results show that these volcanic manifestations are related to large hot areas in the mantle and not to thin column shaped contrasted plumes as presumed by many collisional type volcanism is discussed with an example of the caucasus and the surrounding areas the regional tomographic model for this region reveals a lack of mantle lithosphere beneath the collision zone volcanism in this area is most likely due to the direct heating of the thick crust by the hot asthenosphere a dominantly felsic composition of the crust facilitates upward transport of the fluids and melts that leads to volcanic eruption subduction related volcanic systems are discussed for three different scale levels an example of a regional model of the mantle beneath the sunda arc reveals the general configuration of the slab middle scale tomographic models in areas of the toba caldera central java and central andes display feeding paths of the arc volcanoes from the slab the feeding paths are apparent in all of the considered cases but have different shapes depending on the unique features of the subduction regimes an example of a detailed local scale study of magmatic sources in the crust is discussed for the kluchevskoy volcano group it is found that the main volcano kluchevskoy is fed through a complex three layered system of magma sources another volcano of the same group bezymianny seems to be connected with the mantle through a direct short lived channel which appears only during the eruption periods a time dependent tomography study performed for this group over a period of ten years clearly reveals the correlation between the changes in the seismic structures and the stages of the volcanic process namely preparation activation and relaxation

upper plate controls on the formation of broken foreland basins in the andean retroarc between 26 s and 28 s from cretaceous rifting to paleogene and miocene broken foreland basins

numerical models of crustal scale convection and partial melting beneath the altiplano puna plateau we employ 2 d thermo mechanical modelling to study possible mechanisms for generating large scale crustal magmas in the altiplano puna region of the central andes the peak of ignimbrite activity in the late miocene and pliocene is associated in space and time with tectonic shortening and plateau uplift a seismic low velocity zone and other geophysical observations indicate that partial melting in the mid crust is still present under the ignimbrite province today we show that neither radiogenic heat production in a thickening crust nor shear heating due to tectonic shortening nor heat brought by intrusions of arc magmas into the mid crust can heat the mid crust to the degree and within the time frame suggested by the geologic petrologic and geophysical observations a viable mechanism to achieve high temperatures within the time constraints is convective heat and mass transfer by partially molten lower crust which itself was heated by enhanced mantle heat flow possibly associated with delamination of the mantle lithosphere during tectonic shortening and intensified magmatic arc activity the thermo mechanical models explain the mid crustal low velocity zone and the high and strongly variable surface heat flow observed in the altiplano convection by bulk flow of the crust appears when the middle and lower crust are mechanically weak quartz dominated rheology the basal heat flow from the mantle is high s 60 mw m 2 and tectonic shortening is active we argue that these conditions are satisfied in the central andes orogen 6 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

cordillera formation mantle dynamics and the wilson cycle we propose that the andes cordillera formed by a collision between the trenchward moving south american plate and the nazca slab and subslab mantle resistance to trenchward motion in the form of horizontal compressive normal stress deforms south america9s leading edge the advancing continent also perturbs the subslab mantle flow field as mantle is displaced this flow field detected via shear wave splitting includes trench parallel flow away from a central stagnation point and corner flow around the northern and southern ends of the continent the corresponding spatial variation in applied stress accounts for the large scale characteristics of andean deformation buckling at the stagnation point maximum normal stress forming the central andes and bolivian orocline and corner flow associated with the eastward motion of the caribbean and scotia plates the high stresses required to form and maintain the andes imply that south america9s trenchward motion is primarily driven by deep mantle flow coupled to its base no other driving force of sufficient magnitude is available similarities between north and south american plate motion history and large scale cordillera structure indicate that the western north american laramide rockies formed in a similar manner and that the north american plate is also driven westward by deep mantle flow we infer that atlantic spreading itself is similarly driven by contrast slab rollback in a closing ocean basin opens marginal basins at convergent margins as in the western pacific we suggest that there is a causal link between the opening and closing of ocean basins and the formation of cordilleras and marginal basins cordillera formation occurs at the leading continental margin during the spreading phase of the wilson cycle whereas marginal basins form during the closing phase

testing the influence of far field topographic forcing on subduction initiation at a passive margin abstract despite favourable gravitational instability and ridge push elastic and frictional forces prevent subduction initiation from arising spontaneously at passive margins here we argue that forces arising from large continental topographic gradients are required to initiate subduction at passive margins in order to test this hypothesis we use 2d numerical models to assess the influence of the andean plateau on stress magnitudes and deformation patterns at the brazilian passive margin the numerical results indicate that plateau push in this region is a necessary additional force to initiate subduction as the se brazilian margin currently shows no signs of self sustained subduction we examined geological and geophysical data to determine if the margin is in the preliminary stages of subduction initiation the compiled data indicate that the margin is presently undergoing tectonic inversion which we infer as part of the continental oceanic overthrusting stage of subduction initiation we refer to this early subduction stage as the brazilian stage which is characterized by 10 km deep reverse fault seismicity at the margin recent topographic uplift on the continental side thick continental crust at the margin and bulging on the oceanic side due to loading by the overthrusting continent the combined results of the numerical simulations and passive margin analysis indicate that the se brazilian margin is a prototype candidate for subduction initiation

a geodynamical view on the steadiness of geodetically derived rigid plate motions over geological time 1 the ability to map ocean floor magnetization is key to infer past plate motions the advent of geodesy in the earth sciences offered an independent snapshot of contemporary plate kinematics averaged over decades early studies suggested plate motions steadiness through geological time because contemporary rates were similar to past 3 myr averages recent data however show that geodetic and paleo magnetic motions exhibit differences beyond confidence ranges which might suggest geodesy samples time scales shorter than a few centuries these differences pose important questions on the character of plate kinematic variability through time here i derive inferences on the steadiness of geodetically derived plate motions by combining geodynamical arguments with kinematic data sets i exploit data sets to build scenarios for the recent evolution of most of the major plates i compare the minimum rate at which torque needs to vary to generate these scenarios with the maximum rate at which geological processes can contribute torque this allows assessing the geodynamical plausibility of each scenario results indicate that plate motion changes recorded since 3 ma must have taken at least 1 myr to occur two exceptions are the pacific and australian plates whose motions changed by less than 5 and therefore required torque variations that might be built over periods as short as 0 1 myr it remains unresolved for how long geodetically derived plate motions kept steady in the geological past however results indicate it is indeed plausible that they did over the past 1 2 myr these inferences call for a shift in the way we regard the figure of geodetic plate motions

relationships among climate erosion topography and delamination in the andes a numerical modeling investigation cordilleran orogenic systems such as the andes are controlled by shortening rates climatically controlled erosion rates and in some cases eclogite production and delamination all of these processes are coupled however making it diffi cult to uniquely determine the relative importance of each process and the feedbacks among them in this paper we develop a massbalanced numerical model that couples an actively shortening orogen and crustal root with eclogite production delamination and climatically controlled erosion the model provides a fi rst order quantifi cation of the sources shortening and sinks erosion and eclogite production and delamination of crustal volume during the cenozoic in the andes as a function of latitude and time given reasonable estimates for the rates of eclogite production and the threshold size of the eclogitic root required for delamination the model suggests that in the central andes between 5 s and 32 s the orogen has grown to a suffi cient height to produce and maintain eclogite which in turn has promoted delamination in the lower crust and mantle in this region climatically controlled erosion rates infl uence the size of the orogen through two separate mechanisms by exporting mass via surface processes and by controlling the lithostatic pressure in the lower crust which modulates the rates of eclogite production and or delamination to the north and south of the central andes relatively low shortening rates and high precipitation and erosion rates have slowed eclogite production such that delamination likely has not occurred during the cenozoic

control of forearc density structure on megathrust shear strength along the chilean subduction zone abstract unveiling how the interaction of friction pore pressure p and normal stress n controls the shear strength distribution along megathrust faults at convergent plate boundaries is crucial to our understanding of processes leading to the occurrence of devastating earthquake and the construction of mountains an existing density model of the chilean margin 18 45 s allows the computation of the so called vertical stress anomaly vsa that accounts for the component of normal stress due to the weight of the overlying crustal column a spatial correlation between vsa surface geology and several earthquake parameters suggests a significant control exerted by the geologically dominated density structure of the crust on megathrust shear strength the very seismogenic forearc in front of the high central andes 18 34 s has positive vsa values up to 60 mpa and a mafic dominated crust which suggest high values of shear strength at the megathrust that are partially controlled by the weight of a dense forearc crustal column in addition to a likely dry subduction channel characterized by high and low p in contrast the southern andean forearc 34 45 s shows neutral to negative vsa down to 30 mpa correlated with a felsic dominated crust which added to a presumably wet subduction channel low and high p configures a rather weak megathrust below a light forearc earthquakes here are concentrated around the arauco peninsula a first order morpho structural anomaly characterized by comparatively higher values of vsa than the rest of this segment which is the nest of the giant mw 9 5 valdivia 1960 earthquake and the southern rupture termination of the recent mw 8 8 maule earthquake the ultimately giant size of the 1960 earthquake resulted from rupture propagation along a 1000 km long region characterized by negative vsa values the correlation between vsa and the along strike segmentation of the andean orogen indicates that the geologically inherited density structure of the forearc also rules long term mechanical coupling between converging plates and prescribes the possible structure of the orogen because central and southern andes represent two extremes in terms of orogenic structure and seismogenic behavior results presented here have significant implications for the general comprehension of processes occurring at short and long time scale at convergent margins

strong plate coupling along the nazca south america convergent margin the force balance in plate tectonics is fundamentally important but poorly known here we show that two prominent and seemingly unrelated observations trench parallel gravity anomalies along the nazca south america margin that coincide with the rupture zones of great earthquakes and a rapid slowdown of nazca south america convergence over the past 10 m y provide key insights both result from rapid miocene pliocene uplift of the andes and provide quantitative measures of the magnitude and distribution of plate coupling along the nazca south america margin we compute the plate tectonic force budget using global models of the faulted lithosphere coupled to high resolution mantle circulation models and find that andean related plate margin forces are comparable to plate driving forces from the mantle and they have sufficient magnitude to account for pronounced bathymetry variations along the trench our results suggest that plate coupling gravity anomalies and bathymetry variations along a given trench are all controlled by long term stress variations in the upper portion of plate boundaries and that an explicit budget of driving and resisting forces in plate tectonics can be obtained for the convergent margin considered here spatial variations in the effective coefficient of friction associated with the distribution of lubricating sediments entering the trench are by comparison of minor importance

relating rapid plate motion variations to plate boundary forces in global coupled models of the mantle lithosphere system effects of topography and friction abstract recent high resolution models of past plate motions and their comparison with plate motion models inferred from space geodetic techniques reveal a number of short term variations in global plate velocities over the past 10 myrs such variations serve as powerful probe into the nature and magnitude of plate boundary forces because they are unlikely to originate from changes in mantle buoyancy forces which evolve on longer time scales here we explore the constraints of the velocity record using a novel coupled modeling approach of global neo tectonic simulations combined with realistic plate driving forces obtained from mantle circulation models mcms to arrive at simple global budgets of mantle lithosphere and plate boundary forces we focus on three plate boundary systems along the nazca south america plate margin the aleutian trench and the india australia plate boundary to show that gravitational spreading from high topography in the andes and tibet contributes substantially to the global plate tectonic force balance and that this contribution is sufficient to explain some 35 of recent velocity changes over the earth s surface including among others the observed 30 convergence reduction between the nazca south america plates our models make a number of specific predictions such as significant lateral variations in plate coupling forces along a given margin revealed by trench parallel gravity and bathymetry anomalies and the occurrence of large earthquakes as well as differences by as much as a factor of five from margin to margin they also support the notion of a relatively young plate boundary separating the india and australia plates which has been previously suggested based on independent observations importantly we find that the modeled nazca south america convergence reduction explains recent spreading rate variations in the south atlantic and south pacific which points to the importance of far field effects on the adjacent continents in explaining the spreading record of oceanic basins our numerical results demonstrate a that detailed budgets of forces acting upon plates can be obtained and b support the notion of strong forcing along weak plate boundaries

study of plate deformation and stress in subduction processes using two dimensional numerical models two dimensional finite element modeling is used to model subduction of an oceanic lithospheric plate beneath continental lithosphere the subduction process is initiated along a preexisting inclined fault and continues until reaching 400 km of total convergence the lithosphere is assumed to be underlain by an in viscid asthenosphere different rheological laws have been considered for the lithosphere including elasticity and elastoplasticity the modeling shows that both the stress system in the plates and the surface topography are strongly dependent on two main parameters the density contrast between lithosphere and asthenosphere l a and the coefficient of friction along the subduction plane varying these two parameters allows explanation of the main characteristics of real subduction zones and results in two major regimes manifested by extension or compression in the arc back arc system extension and back arc rifting corresponds to a positive density contrast and a low coefficient of friction while negative values and or high friction leads to a compressional regime the coexistence of trench arc compression and back arc tension is only possible for a coefficient of friction lower than 0 1 the results of the numerical experiments agree with those of experimental modeling conducted under similar physical assumptions

trench parallel spreading ridge subduction and its consequences for the geological evolution of the overriding plate insights from analogue models and comparison with the neogene subduction beneath patagonia a series of 3 d asthenospheric scale analogue models have been conducted in the laboratory in order to simulate the arrival of a spreading ridge at the trench and understand its effect on plate kinematics slab geometry and on the deformation of the overriding plate these models are made of a two layered linearly viscous system simulating the lithosphere and asthenosphere we reproduce the progressive decrease in thickness of the oceanic lithosphere at the trench we measure plate kinematics slab geometry and upper plate deformation our experiments reveal that the subduction of a thinning plate beneath a freely moving overriding continent favors a decrease of the subduction velocity and an increase of the oceanic slab dip when the upper plate motion is imposed by lateral boundary conditions the evolution of the subducting plate geometry largely differs depending on the velocity of the overriding plate the larger its trenchward velocity the smaller the superficial dip of the oceanic slab a slab flattening episode may occur resulting from the combined effect of the subduction of an increasingly thinner plate and the trenchward motion of a fast overriding plate slab flattening would be marked by an increase of the distance between the trench and the volcanic arc in nature this phenomenon may explain the reported neogene eastward motion of the volcanic arc in the southern patagonian that occurred prior to the subduction of the chile ridge

thermal mechanical model for crustal thickening in the central andes driven by ablative subduction the thick up to 65 km crust of the high elevation regions of the andean orogenic belt results from structural thickening of the felsic upper crust of south america the great thickness implies shortening or loss of several hundred kilometers of lithospheric mantle and lower crust through numerical simulation of the thermal and mechanical processes of crustal thickening we test a model of lithospheric mantle removal by ablative subduction the model combines kinematic assumptions regarding mantle motion with dynamic calculations of crustal deformation predictions include the formation of an outwardly growing orogenic plateau analogous to the altiplano that results from high temperature low viscosity flow of the lower crust due to thickening of the high heat production upper crust

coupling of south american and african plate motion and plate deformation although the african plate s northeastward absolute motion slowed abruptly 30 million years ago the south atlantic s spreading velocity has remained roughly constant over the past 80 million years thus requiring a simultaneous westward acceleration of the south american plate this plate velocity correlation occurs because the two plates are coupled to general mantle circulation the deceleration of the african plate due to its collision with the eurasian plate diverts mantle flow westward increasing the net basal driving torque and westward velocity of the south american plate one result of south america s higher plate velocity is the increased cordilleran activity along its western edge beginning at about 30 million years ago

plateau style accumulation of deformation southern altiplano 1 employing surface mapping of syntectonic sediments interpretation of industry reflection seismic profiles gravity data and isotopic age dating we reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the southern altiplano 20 22 s between the cordilleras defining its margins the southern altiplano crust was deformed between the late oligocene and the late miocene with two main shortening stages in the oligocene 33 27 ma and middle late miocene 19 8 ma that succeeded eocene onset of shortening at the protoplateau margins shortening rates in the southern altiplano ranged between 1 and 4 7 mm yr with maximum rates in the late miocene summing rates for the southern altiplano and the eastern cordillera we observe an increase from eocene times to the late oligocene to some 8 mm yr followed by fluctuation around this value during the miocene prior to shutoff of deformation at 7 8 ma and transfer of active shortening to the sub andean fold and thrust belt shortening inverted early tertiary graben and half graben systems and was partitioned in three fault systems in the western central and eastern altiplano respectively the east vergent fault systems of the western and central altiplano were synchronously active with the west vergent altiplano west flank fault system from these data and from section balancing we infer a kinematically linked western altiplano thrust belt that accumulated a minimum of 65 km shortening evolution of this belt contrasts with the eastern cordillera which reached peak shortening rates 8 mm yr in between the above two stages hence local shortening rates fluctuated across the plateau superimposed on a general trend of increasing bulk rate with no trend of lateral propagation this observation is repeated at the shorter length and time scales of individual growth structures that show evidence for periods of enhanced local rates at a timescale of 1 3 myr we interpret this irregular pattern of deformation to reflect a plateau style of shortening related to a self organized state of a weak crust in the central south american back arc with a fault network that fluctuated around the critical state of mechanical failure tuning of this state may have occurred by changes in plate kinematics during the paleogene initially reactivating crustal weak zones and by thermal weakening of the crust with active magmatism mainly in the neogene stage

tectonic shortening and crustal thickness in the central andes how good is the correlation exceptional thickening of continental crust beneath the central andes is believed to be mainly a result of tectonic shortening of the south american plate in neogene time this shortening has been estimated to have contributed as much as 70 80 of the present crustal volume a compilation of published shortening values and our own estimates based on balanced cross sections from the central andes between lat 3 s and 40 s suggest that 70 80 is a maximum rather than an average value for this part of the andes tectonic shortening and the crustal cross section area are only loosely correlated variations in tectonic shortening are more abrupt than those of crustal areas particularly near the northern and southern ends of the altiplano puna high plateau where thick crust is associated with relatively small amounts of shortening shortening there may account for no more than about 30 of the present crustal cross section area the processes that created the remaining crustal area are not clear but are likely to involve poorly constrained pre neogene tectonic shortening moderate magmatic additions to the crust tectonic underplating of material derived from the forearc and possible flow of ductile lower crust along strike

taiwan mountain building insights from 2 d thermomechanical modelling of a rheologically stratified lithosphere summary the taiwan orogen has long been regarded as a case example for studying mountain building in association with subduction processes in this paper we present a fully coupled thermomechanical modelling of the taiwan collision based on a realistic viscous elastic plastic rheology it satisfactorily reproduces available thermochronometric data long short term deformation patterns heat flux and erosion sedimentation distribution across the taiwan orogeny we found that a deep seated flux of asian crustal material into the orogenic wedge should be invoked to counter balance observed exhumation and erosion in the central range however in contrast with recent thermokinematic models of exhumation and deformation suggesting that underplating plays a significant role we show that most constraints on exhumation and deformation can be more straightforwardly interpreted by the frontal accretion of the rheologically layered asian crust we finally infer that such a model is in better agreement with the basic expectation that the hot young and buoyant chinese continental margin should hardly be subducted beneath the cold old and dense oceanic plate of the philippines sea

what drives orogeny in the andes the andes the world9s second highest orogenic belt were generated by the cenozoic tectonic shortening of the south american plate margin overriding the subducting nazca plate we use a coupled thermomechanical numerical modeling technique to identify factors controlling the intensity of the tectonic shortening from the modeling we infer that the most important factor was accelerated westward drift of the south american plate changes in the subduction rate were less important other important factors are crustal structure of the overriding plate and shear coupling at the plates9 interface the model with a thick 40 45 km at 30 ma south american crust and relatively high friction coefficient 0 05 at the nazca south american interface generates 300 km of tectonic shortening during 30 35 m y and replicates the crustal structure and evolution of the high central andes the model with an initially thinner

prolonged extension and subsidence of the peruvian forearc during the cenozoic abstract ocean continental subduction zones are commonly associated with compressional stress fields which ultimately result in regional uplift of the overriding plate this has particularly been inferred by most studies for the western margin of the peruvian andes however local geological observations have contested this idea here we present a review of existing local and international literature supplemented by new structural and geomorphic observations that suggest that nearly the entire central 15 to 11 s latitude and northern peruvian forearc 11 to 6 s latitude are under extension with a slight tendency to transtension instead of compression and that this region has experienced a prolonged period of subsidence since the middle late eocene interrupted by short pulses of uplift in contrast the southern peruvian forearc 15 to 18 s latitude has experienced trans tension from the middle late eocene until recent in combination with uplift the central and southern peruvian forearc that was influenced by the passage of the nazca ridge experienced transtension and subsidence until the middle late miocene and alternating phases of compressional and transtensional tectonics afterwards these new findings on the geodynamic development of the peruvian forearc need to be considered in future reconstructions of the mechanisms at work within this subduction zone

tracking rainfall in the northern mediterranean borderlands during sapropel deposition the role of mid latitude precipitation in the hydrological forcing leading to the deposition of sapropels in the mediterranean sea remains unclear the new gdec 4 2 borehole east corsica margin northern tyrrhenian sea provides the first precisely dated evidence for enhanced rainfall in the western mediterranean during warm intervals of interglacial periods over the last 547 kyr comparison of gdec 4 2 proxy records with pollen sequences and speleothems from the central and eastern mediterranean reveals that these pluvial events were regional in character and occurred probably in response to the intensification of the mediterranean storm track along the northern mediterranean borderlands in autumn winter our dataset suggests that the timing of maxima of the mediterranean autumn winter storm track precipitation coincide with that of the north african summer monsoon and sapropel deposition besides highlighting a close coupling between mid and low latitude hydrological changes our findings suggest that during warm intervals of interglacial periods the reduced sea surface water salinities together with the high flux of nutrient and organic matter produced by the monsoonal nile and wadi systems floods were maintained throughout the winter by the mediterranean rainfall this provides an important additional constraint on the hydrological perturbation causing sapropel formation

why has the nazca plate slowed since the neogene the classic example of the not well understood rapid change of tectonic plate motion is the increase and then decrease of the convergence rate between the nazca and south america plates during the past 25 20 m y that coincided with the growth of the andes mountains currently the decrease in convergence rate is explained either by the increasing load of the andes or by the appearance of flat slab segments beneath south america here we present an alternative view based on a thermomechanical self consistent gravity driven model of nazca plate subduction we explain the changes in the convergence rate as a natural consequence of the nazca plate penetration into the transition zone and lower mantle after long term oblique subduction of the farallon plate the model is consistent with seismic tomographic images of the nazca plate beneath south america our model also shows that the presence of the andes does not significantly affect the convergence rate between the nazca and south america plates

cenozoic climate change as a possible cause for the rise of the andes causal links between the rise of a large mountain range and climate have often been considered to work in one direction with significant uplift provoking climate change here we propose a mechanism by which cenozoic climate change could have caused the rise of the andes based on considerations of the force balance in the south american lithosphere we suggest that the height of and tectonics in the andes are strongly controlled both by shear stresses along the plate interface in the subduction zone and by buoyancy stress contrasts between the trench and highlands and shear stresses in the subduction zone depend on the amount of subducted sediments we propose that the dynamics of subduction and mountain building in this region are controlled by the processes of erosion and sediment deposition and ultimately climate in central south america climate controlled sediment starvation would then cause high shear stress focusing the plate boundary stresses that support the high andes

late miocene early pliocene onset of n s extension along the southern margin of the central andean puna plateau evidence from magmatic geochronological and structural observations abstract extensional faulting typifies many of the earth s cenozoic orogenic plateaus the altiplano puna plateau in the southern central andes is the world s second largest orogenic plateau it contains a rich array of extensional fractures and normal faults with closely associated mafic volcanic flows dykes and cones this is in stark contrast to the foreland areas which record protracted shortening and continuous eastward growth of the mountain belt within the puna area a kinematic change over from shortening to extension has previously been inferred to have occurred during the quaternary however our research in the southern puna together with earlier petrologic investigations in the south central part of the plateau indicates an earlier onset for the extensional tectonism our analysis has focused on the eastern portion of the cordillera de san buenaventura in the southernmost part of the plateau where we mapped two upper miocene pliocene volcanic units associated with extensional faulting the aguada alumbrera ignimbrite and the la hoyada volcanic complex the structural inventory of these units records n s extensional deformation in the puna associated with the development of e w oriented fractures dykes normal and strike slip faults and folds new 40ar 39ar dating of magmatic rocks together with their relationships with the mapped structures reveal that widespread extension in the southern puna had already commenced by 5 ma and possibly as early as 7 ma although the extensional structures on the puna are typically associated with mafic volcanism the upper miocene pliocene la hoyada volcanic complex hosts dykes of intermediate compositions mafic to intermediate magmatism and extensional tectonism in this region is thus contemporaneous with and structurally akin to that in the central and northern parts of the plateau the ubiquitous cogenetic relationship between mafic volcanism and extensional tectonism both within the puna plateau and along its eastern flanks clearly indicates that the normal faulting is a regional phenomenon that is broadly coeval with an inferred rapid and large scale uplift of the altiplano puna plateau and a decrease in plate convergence rates these observations are compatible with a mantle delamination scenario in which the delamination of lithospheric mantle may have produced an ensuing weakening of the crust and regional uplift which may in turn have generated the conditions necessary to trigger gravitational extensional collapse beginning in the late miocene to early pliocene

archaean crustal growth through successive partial melting events in an oceanic plateau like setting in the tanzania craton the detrital zircon population in quartzitic conglomerates from the northern tanzania craton yield ages between 2640 ma and 2790 ma which includes most of the igneous history from this part of the craton the igneous evolution is characterised by mafic volcanism with an oceanic plateau like geochemical signature at 2800 ma followed by diorite and tonalite trondhjemite granodiorite dominated magmatism between 2790 and 2700 ma which transitioned into more evolved high k magmatism between 2700 and 2620 ma the ehf values of the detrital zircons range from 2 4 to 1 4 and change with time from radiogenic hf pre 2700 ma 98 positive ehf to unradiogenic hf post 2700 ma 41 positive ehf the petrological progression from mafic to felsic crust is reflected in the detrital age distribution and ehf isotopes and is consistent with juvenile mafic crust slowly maturing into more evolved felsic crust through a series of successive partial melting events in an oceanic plateau like environment

effect of margin curvature on plate deformation in a 3 d numerical model of subduction zones summary the large amount of data acquired along most subduction zones underlines the importance of three dimensions in the subduction mechanism in this work we use a fully 3 d mechanical numerical model to analyse the impact of the plate boundary geometry on the deformation of the upper plate the model consists of two initially horizontal independent plates overlying an inviscid fluid and continuously pushed towards each other the initial geometry of the contact zone between the two plates controls the stress regime and the strain pattern in the upper plate the case with a linear plate boundary and orthogonal convergence is first considered and used as a reference model with this simple model the effects of some important parameters i e the interplate friction and the lithosphere asthenosphere density contrast are investigated finally cases with curved plate boundaries are considered and the results are used to shed light on the importance of the dip direction of the interplate plane for the upper plate strain pattern unnecessary oceanward convexity causes an accumulation of the subducted material beneath the upper plate and induces an important uplift of the convex area on the contrary the material escapes from an oceanward concavity and provokes subsidence in the forearc zone such a behaviour induces preferential zones of weakeness in the overriding plate and may allow for explaining some local stress regime variations along convergent margins

implications of deep marine miocene deposits on the evolution of the north patagonian andes abstractthe north patagonian andes 38 43 30 s present topographic and geologic characteristics distinct from those of the central andes to the north including a lower altitude a predominance of plutonic rocks and the presence of a major n s trending dextral strike slip intra arc discontinuity known as the liquine ofqui fault zone lofz the timing for the uplift of the north patagonian andes remains poorly constrained principally because high exhumation rates resulted in the erosion of most of its volcano sedimentary cover during the late cenozoic the strongly deformed cenozoic marine deposits ascribed to the ayacara formation which crop out on the western flank of this range at 42 s can provide for a better understanding of the recent geologic evolution of this range to discern this formation s age and sedimentary environment we have integrated sedimentology ichnology foraminiferal paleontology and geochronology our results indicate that this unit was deposited in a deep marine environ

the role of climate during high plateau formation insights from numerical experiments abstract high plateaus are elevated areas of low relief mostly associated with compressional tectonics and characterized by dry climatic conditions results from a novel computer modeling technique integrating surface and tectonic processes suggest that a pre existing dry climate through its effects on surface transport and orogenic evolution can significantly contribute to the formation of high plateaus according to these results dry climatic conditions promote sediment trapping within the orogen transferring the accommodation of tectonic shortening towards the external parts of the orogen and leading to the formation of a high plateau this feedback operates in the following steps 1 dry climatic conditions at the early stages of orogenesis favor the tectonic defeat of rivers draining the orogen promoting internal drainage endorheism 2 endorheism extends the life of intramountain basins maximizing the mass trapped within the orogen and expelling deformation further into the foreland and 3 this propagation of deformation further isolates the central parts of the orogen from incoming precipitation reinforcing sediment trapping and topographic leveling of the intramountain region this phenomenon allows reproduction of basic topographic drainage and tectonic differences between orogens lacking a high plateau such as the alps and orogens with a well developed high plateau like the andes without invoking inherited heterogeneities in the crust or other tectonic processes it also suggests that internal drainage and high plateaus might be a natural stage of orogenesis undergoing dry climatic conditions in the light of recent data reporting dry climate prior to the formation of the andean high plateau aridity can be seen as one of the causes for the formation of the altiplano rather than just as a consequence of topographic growth

the nature of orogenic crust in the central andes 1 the central andes 16 22 s are part of an active continental margin mountain belt and the result of shortening of the weak western edge of south america between the strong lithospheres of the subducting nazca plate and the underthrusting brazilian shield we have combined receiver function and surface wave dispersion results from the banjo seda project with other geophysical studies to characterize the nature of the continental crust and mantle lithospheric structure the major results are as follows 1 the crust supporting the high elevations is thick and has a felsic to intermediate bulk composition 2 the relatively strong brazilian lithosphere is underthrusting as far west 65 5 w as the high elevations of the western part of the eastern cordillera ec but does not underthrust the entire altiplano 3 the subcrustal lithosphere is delaminating piecemeal under the altiplano ec boundary but is not completely removed beneath the central altiplano the altiplano crust is characterized by a brittle upper crust decoupled from a very weak lower crust that is dominated by ductile deformation leading to lower crustal flow and flat topography in contrast in the high relief inland sloping regions of the ec and sub andean zone the upper crust is still strongly coupled across the basal thrust of the fold thrust belt to the underthrusting brazilian shield lithosphere subcrustal shortening between the altiplano and brazilian lithosphere appears to be accommodated by delamination near the altiplano ec boundary our study suggests that orogenic reworking may be an important part of the felsification of continental crust

pure and simple shear plateau uplift altiplano puna argentina and bolivia abstract the concepts of pure and simple shear strain provide a meaningful way of discussing the alternative modes of lithospheric shortening which produced uplift of the central andean plateau since 10 ma discrete segments of the plateau exemplify pure or simple shear modes characteristics of the simple shear mode are a flanking thin skinned thrust belt and subdued relief and lack of significant late miocene to recent deformation within the plateau the pure shear mode is characterized by more rugged internal relief and active neotectonic deformation within the plateau and thick skinned foreland deformation involving seismic deformation of the crust to 30 km or more these modes of crustal thickening correlate with changes in lithosphere thickness modes of isostatic compensation broad wavelength topography and back arc magmatism the correlation of the boundary between pure and simple shear segments with major changes in pre existing anisotropies in the foreland of the orogen suggests that events which long pre date the andean orogeny indirectly controlled the along strike variation in the magnitude and style of shortening in the central andes and may have influenced the development of flat subduction

episodic behavior of gondwanide deformation in eastern australia insights from the gympie terrane the mechanisms that drove permian triassic orogenesis in australia and throughout the cordilleran type gondwanan margin is a subject of debate here we present field based results on the structural evolution of the gympie terrane eastern australia with the aim of evaluating its possible role in triggering widespread orogenesis we document several deformation events d d in the gympie terrane and show that the earliest deformation d occurred only during the final pulse of orogenesis 235 230 ma within the broader gondwanide orogeny in addition we found no evidence for a crustal suture suggesting that terrane accretion was not the main mechanism behind deformation rather the similar spatiotemporal evolution of permian triassic orogenic belts in australia antarctica south africa and south america suggest that the gondwanide orogeny was more likely linked to large scale tectonic processes such as plate reorganization in the context of previous work our results highlight a number of spatial and temporal variations in pulses of deformation in eastern australia suggesting that shorter cycles of deformation occurred at a regional scale within the broader episode of the gondwanide orogeny similarly to the cenozoic evolution of the central and southern andes we suggest that plate coupling and orogenic cycles in the late paleozoic to early mesozoic gondwanide orogeny have resulted from the superposition of mechanisms acting at a range of scales perhaps contributing to the observed variations in the intensity timing and duration of deformation phases within the orogenic belt

mafic injection as a trigger for felsic magmatism a numerical study 1 the origin of crustal scale silicic magmatism remains a matter of debate and notable uncertainty exists concerning the physical mechanisms that drive ascent and emplacement of felsic magmas in upper crustal regions a 2 d numerical model demonstrates that injection of mantle derived mafic magma into a partially molten hot zone in the lower crust can drive felsic magma ascent and intrusion into upper crustal levels the injection of mafic magma induces overpressure in the reservoir which increases crustal stresses and triggers development of brittle plastic shear zones and can drive significant surface uplift the emerging topography causes a nonuniform overpressure distribution in the reservoir and can trigger felsic magma ascent along crustal shear zones based on systematic numerical experiments we investigate the influence of crustal strength and injection rate the initial upper crustal strength controls the degree of crustal faulting and surface uplift and therefore whether felsic magma ascent can be initiated or not the final upper crustal strength influences the depth and final style of felsic intrusion the injection rate of mafic magma determines the time scale of overpressure growth and surface uplift stage in contrast the duration of the subsequent felsic ascent and intrusion emplacement stages remains nearly constant our results imply that mafic underplating and intrusion into the lower crust may not only be a prime control for the generation of felsic magmas in the lower crust but may also be an important physical driving mechanism for felsic magma ascent and intrusion into upper crustal levels

crustal structure a key constraint on the mechanism of ultra high pressure rock exhumation abstract the distribution of ultra high pressure uhp metamorphic rocks demonstrates that burial to 100 km and rapid exhumation 1 cm a 1 of continental crust is a normal part of early 10 ma continental collision currently there is no comprehensive model for this fundamental tectonic process that also satisfactorily explains the upper crustal structures resulting from early collisional uhp rock exhumation characteristic features requiring explanation include structural domes that are cored by uhp nappes associated medium to high pressure nappes displaying a distinct pressure gap overlying lower grade rocks including suture zone ophiolites and coeval foreland directed thrust faults and syn exhumation normal faults we present a geodynamical model involving crustal burial and exhumation in a subduction channel below an accretionary wedge competition between down channel shear traction and up channel buoyancy forces expressed as the exhumation number e controls burial and exhumation leading to rapid up channel flow when e 1 exhuming uhp material forms a nappe stack and structural dome as it penetrates and destabilises the overlying wedge driving thrusting and extension this solution is compelling because it explains both the geology and the petrology of the tso morari and other uhp complexes and because it demonstrates that pulse like buoyant exhumation from deep in the subduction channel creates observed upper crustal structures this places constraints on the exhumation mechanism and provides a test of alternative models other proposed mechanisms such as continuous circulation in a lithospheric scale wedge or overpressured subduction channel predict different types of upper crustal structures and are therefore unsatisfactory explanations for early collisional exhumation of uhp terranes

megathrust shear force controls mountain height at convergent plate margins the shear force along convergent plate boundary faults megathrusts determines the height of mountain ranges that can be mechanically sustained1 4 however whether the true height of mountain ranges corresponds to this tectonically supported elevation is debated4 7 in particular climate dependent erosional processes are often assumed to exert a first order control on mountain height5 12 although this assumption has remained difficult to validate12 here we constrain the shear force along active megathrusts using their rheological properties and then determine the tectonically supported elevation using a force balance model we show that the height of mountain ranges around the globe matches this elevation irrespective of climatic conditions and the rate of erosion this finding indicates that mountain ranges are close to force equilibrium and that their height is primarily controlled by the megathrust shear force we conclude that temporal variations in mountain height reflect long term changes in the force balance but are not indicative of a direct climate control on mountain elevation

three dimensional numerical models of the evolution of pull apart basins abstract pull apart basins are depressions that form as the result of crustal extension along strike slip systems where the sense of fault stepping or bending coincides with that of fault slip they are common features of strike slip systems we perform a number of numerical thermomechanical experiments to explore how the rheology of the lithosphere influences basin evolution and lithospheric structure beneath the basin our modeling shows that basin subsidence results from the competition of extension of the brittle part of the lithosphere which leads to its subsidence and of the compensating flow of the deeper ductile part of the lithosphere which pushes the extended brittle block upwards the result of this competition is the subsidence rate strain partitioning beneath the basin and crustal structures is controlled by i the thickness of the brittle layer and basin width ii the magnitude of strike slip displacement iii the rate of frictional softening of the crust and iv the viscosity of the ductile part of the lithosphere the thickness of the brittle layer and the viscosity of the underlying ductile part of the lithosphere in turn depend on temperature composition and material softening we interpret the modeling results deducing simple analytical expressions based on the brittle brick stretching bbs approach which despite its simplicity describes the structure and evolution of pull apart basins reasonably well we also demonstrate that the structure and evolution of the dead sea basin located at a left step of the dead sea transform in the middle east is consistent with a bbs type of deformation with only a minor contribution from compensational flow in the ductile part of the lithosphere finally we show that the formation of a deep narrow pull apart basin in relatively cold lithosphere as in the dead sea basin requires very low friction at major faults lower than 0 1 0 2 if this condition is not satisfied strike slip deformation does not localise and deep basins do not form

end member models for andean plateau uplift abstract diverse techniques have been applied over the past decade to quantify the uplift history of the central andean plateau ap in this study opposing models for surface uplift are evaluated including a rapid rise of 2 5 km 10 6 ma and a slow and steady rise since 40 ma these end member models are evaluated by synthesizing observations of the ap lithosphere and the history of deformation sedimentation exhumation magmatism uplift and fluvial incision structural and geophysical studies estimate variable shortening magnitudes 530 150 km involving cover to basement rocks an isostatically compensated thick crust 80 65 km high heat flow and zones of variable velocity and attenuation in the crust and mantle these observations have invoked interpretations such as a hot weak lithosphere partial melt crustal flow and perhaps current localized delamination but do not provide strong support for massive delamination required by the rapid uplift model deformation and associated exhumation began 60 40 ma and generally migrated eastward with consistent long term average shortening rates 12 8 mm yr in bolivia favoring the slow uplift model volcanic and helium isotope evidence show an ap wide zone of shallow mantle melting and thin lithosphere that has existed since 25 ma which is inconsistent with the rapid rise model that suggests lithospheric thinning occurred 10 6 ma paleoaltimetry data suggest a rapid 2 5 km elevation gain 10 to 6 ma but are equally consistent within error with a linear rise since 25 ma widespread fluvial incision 2 5 1 km occurred along the western flank since 11 8 ma and may be associated with surface uplift as proposed by the rapid rise model however the paleoaltimetry and incision data can also be explained by regional climate change associated with plateau uplift implications of these results for reconstructions of ap evolution are that 1 substantial deformation of a weak lithosphere is essential 2 ap growth has taken significantly longer 40 myr and was more uniform along strike 1500 km than previously appreciated and 3 the slow and steady uplift model is most consistent with available constraints we conclude that the rapid uplift model may be an overestimate and that a more protracted cenozoic uplift history is tenable