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University Southern California, Los Angeles USA
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- PublicationRestrictedPresent-day uplift of the European Alps: Evaluating mechanisms and models of their relative contributions(2019)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Recent measurements of surface vertical displacements of the European Alps show a correlation between vertical velocities and topographic features, with widespread uplift at rates of up to ~2–2.5 mm/a in the North-Western and Central Alps, and ~1 mm/a across a continuous region from the Eastern to the South-Western Alps. Such a rock uplift rate pattern is at odds with the horizontal velocity eld, characterized by shortening and crustal thickening in the Eastern Alps and very limited deformation in the Central and Western Alps. Proposed me- chanisms of rock uplift rate include isostatic response to the last deglaciation, long-term erosion, detachment of the Western Alpine slab, as well as lithospheric and surface de ection due to mantle convection. Here, we assess previous work and present new estimates of the contributions from these mechanisms. Given the large range of model estimates, the isostatic adjustment to deglaciation and erosion are su cient to explain the full observed rate of uplift in the Eastern Alps, which, if correct, would preclude a contribution from horizontal shortening and crustal thickening. Alternatively, uplift is a partitioned response to a range of mechanisms. In the Central and Western Alps, the lithospheric adjustment to deglaciation and erosion likely accounts for roughly half of the rock uplift rate, which points to a noticeable contribution by mantle-related processes such as detachment of the European slab and/or asthenospheric upwelling. While it is di cult to independently constrain the patterns and magnitude of mantle contributions to ongoing Alpine vertical displacements at present, future data should provide additional insights. Regardless, interacting tectonic and surface mass redistribution processes, rather than an individual forcing, best explain ongoing Alpine elevation changes.163 4 - PublicationRestrictedOn the relevance of Born theory in global seismic tomography(2006)
; ; ; ; ;Boschi, L.; Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, Switzerland. ;Becker, T. W.; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. ;Soldati, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Dziewonski, A. M.; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.; ; ; Does the application of seismic Born theory, as opposed to simpler ray theory, lead to an improvement in tomographic images of the Earth? In recent publications, Montelli et al. (2004a, 2004b) and van der Hilst and de Hoop (2005) among others have expressed opposite opinions. We propose a quantitative approach to the comparison of tomographic images, which we apply to the case of surface-wave phase velocity maps derived with Born vs. ray theory.451 34 - PublicationRestrictedRecent extension driven by mantle upwelling beneath the Admiralty Mountains (East Antarctica)(2008-08)
; ; ; ; ; ;Faccenna, C.; Università Roma Tre ;Rossetti, F.; Università Roma Tre ;Becker, T. W.; University of Southern California, USA ;Danesi, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia ;Morelli, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; ; ; ; Northern Victoria Land is located at the boundary between an extended, presumably hot, region (West Antarctic Rift System) and the thick, possibly cold, East Antarctic craton. The style and timing of Tertiary deformation along with relationships with the magmatic activity are still unclear, and contrasting models have been proposed. We performed structural and morphotectonic analyses at the NE termination of northern Victoria Land in the Admiralty Mountains area, where the relationship between topography, tectonics, and magmatism is expected to be well pronounced. We found evidence of two subsequent episodes of faulting, occurring concurrently with the Neogene McMurdo volcanism. The first episode is associated with dextral transtension, and it is overprinted by extensional tectonics during the emplacement of large shield alkaline volcanoes. Upper mantle seismic tomography shows that the extensional regime is limited to regions overlying a low-velocity anomaly. We interpret this anomaly to be of thermal origin, and have tested the role of largescale upwelling on lithosphere deformation in the area. The results of this integrated analysis suggest that the morphotectonic setting of the region and the magmatism is likely the result of upwelling flow at the boundary between the cold cratonic and the hot stretched province (WARS), at work until recent time in this portion of the northern Victoria Land.342 325 - PublicationRestrictedSubduction-triggered magmatic pulses: A new class of plumes?(2010-09-20)
; ; ; ; ; ; ;Faccenna, C.; Univ Roma TRE, Dip Sci Geol, Rome, Italy ;Becker, T. W.; Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Earth Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA ;Lallemand, S.; Univ Montpellier 2, CNRS, Lab Geosci Montpellier, F-34095 Montpellier 5, France ;Lagabrielle, Y.; Univ Montpellier 2, CNRS, Lab Geosci Montpellier, F-34095 Montpellier 5, France ;Funiciello, F.; Univ Roma TRE, Dip Sci Geol, Rome, Italy ;Piromallo, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; ; ; ; ; A variety of atypical plume-like structures and focused upwellings that are not rooted in the lower mantle have recently been discussed, and seismological imaging has shown ubiquitous small-scale convection in the uppermost mantle in regions such as the Mediterranean region, the western US, and around the western Pacific. We argue that the three-dimensional return flow and slab fragmentation associated with complex oceanic subduction trajectories within the upper mantle can generate focused upwellings and that these may play a significant role in regional tectonics. The testable surface expressions of this process are the outsidearc alkaline volcanism, topographic swell, and low-velocity seismic anomalies associated with partial melt. Using three-dimensional, simplified numerical subduction models, we show that focused upwellings can be generated both ahead of the slab in the back-arc region (though ~five times further inward from the trench than arc-volcanism) and around the lateral edges of the slab (in the order of 100 km away from slab edges). Vertical mass transport, and by inference the associated decompression melting, in these regions appears strongly correlated with the interplay between relative trench motion and subduction velocities. The upward flux of material from the depths is expected to be most pronounced during the first phase of slab descent into the upper mantle or during slab fragmentation. We discuss representative case histories from the Pacific and the Mediterranean where we find possible evidence for such slab-related volcanism.353 26 - PublicationRestrictedSlab flattening and the rise of the Eastern Cordillera, ColombiaThe topographic growth of a mountain belt is commonly attributed to isostatic balance in response to crustal and lithospheric thickening. However, deeper mantle processes may also influence the topography of the Earth. Here, we discuss the role of these processes in the Eastern Cordillera (EC) of Colombia. The EC is an active, double-vergent fold and thrust belt that formed during the Cenozoic by the inversion of a Mesozoic rift, and topography there has risen up to ∼5,000 m (Cocuy Sierra). The belt is located ∼500 km away from the trench where two separate portions of the Nazca plate subduct below the South American plate. North of 5◦N, the EC rises above a flat-slab subduction region. Volcanic arc migration implies slab shallowing by ∼10 Ma and flattening up to the present-day configuration at ∼6 Ma. The occurrence of a high vP/vSanomaly and clustered seismicity below the belt at ∼160 km depth delineates the slab geometry and has been related to dehydration of the slab, suggesting the presence of a hydrated mantle wedge. We compiled thermochronologic data and inverted for the exhumation history of the chain over the last 20 Ma using the age-elevation relationship and the different closure temperatures of multiple thermochronologic systems. Results indicate that exhumation rates increased during the Plio–Pleistocene at different wavelengths and amplitudes. The small wavelength and large amplitude signals could be related to shallow crustal deformation, whereas the source of the long wavelength and moderate amplitude signal has yet to be identified. Pulses of fast exhumation are found to be concomitant with the uplift that occurred from ∼7 Ma to the present-day. Previous studies suggested that the high topography of the chain cannot be achieved solely through isostatic adjustment. The highest residual topography is centered on the highest elevations of the EC, whereas the lowest residual topography corresponds to the Magdalena Valley, following the regional slab geometry. We propose that the recent uplift and exhumation events were triggered by the transition from regular to flat-slab subduction, along with the hydration of the mantle wedge above the slab. We test the dynamic feasibility of our hypothesis with a series of numerical models for the present-day state. Predicting the correct trends in elevation requires a flat-slab geometry, and a weak and buoyant mantle wedge.
56 3 - PublicationOpen AccessMultiscale, radially anisotropic shear wave imaging of the mantle underneath the contiguous United States through joint inversion of USArray and global data sets(2021)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; EarthScope's USArray seismic component provided unprecedented coverage of the contiguous United States and has therefore spurred significant advances in tomographic imaging and geodynamic modelling. Here, we present a new global, radially anisotropic shear wave velocity tomography model to investigate upper mantle structure and North American Plate dynamics, with a focus on the contiguous United States. The model uses a data-adaptive mesh and traveltimes of both surface waves and body waves to constrain structure in the crust and mantle in order to arrive at a more consistent representation of the subsurface compared to what is provided by existing models. The resulting model is broadly consistent with previous global models at the largest scales, but there are substantial differences under the contiguous United States where we can achieve higher resolution. On these regional scales, the new model contains short wavelength anomalies consistent with regional models derived from USArray data alone. We use the model to explore the geometry of the subducting Farallon Slab, the presence of upper mantle high velocity anomalies, low velocity zones in the central and eastern United States and evaluate models of dynamic topography in the Cordillera. Our models indicate a single, shallowly dipping, discontinuous slab associated with the Farallon Plate, but there are remaining imaging challenges. Inferring dynamic topography from the new model captures both the long-wavelength anomalies common in global models and the short-wavelength anomalies apparent in regional models. Our model thus bridges the gap between high-resolution regional models within the proper uppermost mantle context provided by global models, which is crucial for understanding many of the fundamental questions in continental dynamics.23 30 - PublicationRestrictedThree-dimensional instantaneous mantle flow induced by subduction(2006)
; ; ; ; ;Piromallo, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Becker, T. W.; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. ;Funiciello, F.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita` degli Studi ‘‘Roma Tre,’’ Rome, Italy. ;Faccenna, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita` degli Studi ‘‘Roma Tre,’’ Rome, Italy.; ; ; We conduct three-dimensional subduction experiments by a finite element approach to study flow around slabs, which are prescribed based on a transient stage of upper mantle subduction from a laboratory model. Instantaneous velocity field solutions are examined, focusing on the toroidal vs. poloidal components as a function of boundary conditions, plate width, and viscosity contrast between slab and mantle. We show how the slab-to-mantle viscosity ratio determines the strength of toroidal flow, and find that the toroidal flow component peaks for slab/mantle viscosity ratios ~100 independent of slab width or geometry.351 25 - PublicationRestrictedIsostasy, dynamic topography, and the elevation of the Apennines of ItalyThe elevation of an orogenic belt is commonly related to crustal/lithosphere thickening. Here, we discuss the Apennines as an example to show that topography at a plate margin may be controlled not only by isostatic adjustment but also by dynamic, mantle-driven processes. Using recent structural constraints for the crust and mantle we find that the expected crustal isostatic component explains only a fraction of the topography of the belt, indicating positive residual topography in the central Apennines and negative residual topography in the northern Apennines and Calabria. The trend of the residual topography matches the mantle flow induced dynamic topography estimated from regional tomography models. We infer that a large fraction of the Apennines topography is related to mantle dynamics, producing relative upwellings in the central Apennines and downwellings in the northern Apennines and Calabria where subduction is still ongoing. Comparison between geodetic and geological data on vertical motions indicates that this dynamic process started in the early Pleistocene and the resulting uplift appears related to the formation and enlargement of a slab window below the central Apennines. The case of the Apennines shows that at convergent margins the elevation of a mountain belt may be significantly different from that predicted solely by crustal isostasy and that a large fraction of the elevation and its rate of change are dynamically controlled by mantle convection.
68 1 - PublicationOpen AccessExtension and uplift driven by mantle upwelling beneath the Admiralty Mountains (East Antarctica)(2010-05)
; ; ; ; ; ;Faccenna, Claudio; Università Roma Tre ;Rossetti, Federico; Università Roma Tre ;Thorsten, W. Becker; University Southern California, Los Angeles USA ;Danesi, Stefania; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia ;Morelli, Andrea; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; ; ; ; Northern Victoria Land is located at the boundary between an extended, presumably hot, region (West Antarctic Rift System) and the thick, possibly cold, East Antarctic craton. The style and timing of Tertiary deformation along with relationships with the magmatic activity are still unclear, and contrasting models have been proposed. We performed structural and morphotectonic analyses at the NE termination of northern Victoria Land in the Admiralty Mountains area, where the relationship between topography, tectonics, and magmatism is expected to be well pronounced. We found evidence of two subsequent episodes of faulting, occurring concurrently with the Neogene McMurdo volcanism. The first episode is associated with dextral transtension, and it is overprinted by extensional tectonics during the emplacement of large shield alkaline volcanoes. Upper mantle seismic tomography shows that the extensional regime is limited to regions overlying a low-velocity anomaly.We interpret this anomaly to be of thermal origin, and have tested by means of numerical modelling the role of large-scale upwelling on lithosphere deformation in the area. The results of this integrated analysis suggest that the morphotectonic setting of the region and the magmatism result from upwelling flow at the boundary between the cold cratonic and the hot stretched province (WARS), at work until recent time in this portion of the northern Victoria Land148 126