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Fragmentation of active continental plate margins owing to the buoyancy of the mantle wedge

Nature Geoscience volume 3, pages 257–261 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cordilleran-type orogens are characterized by the formation of mountain chains and ridges near subduction zones. The growth of orogenic systems is sustained by frictional and viscous stresses, which promote surface uplift. However, horizontal extensional stresses1 also develop, which can contribute to the formation of marginal basins1 and gravitational orogenic collapse2. Here we use a numerical model to assess the effects of the buoyancy of the mantle wedge overlying the subduction zone on the evolution of Cordilleran orogenic systems. Our simulations show that as the subduction velocity decreases, stresses from the buoyancy of the mantle wedge can drive trench retreat and the formation of marginal basins. We find that ultimately, these stresses promote the gravitational collapse of the orogen, detachment of microplates and the break-up of active plate margins. We suggest that the effects of mantle-wedge buoyancy could explain the collapse of the East Gondwana Cordillera3, constructed along the edge of the Australia/East Antarctic craton as the Gondwana and Pacific–Phoenix plates converged4,5,6,7. We propose that 105–90 million years (Myr) ago, a change in the absolute plate motion reduced the subduction velocity, ultimately triggering the gravitational collapse of the orogen and the fragmentation of the active margin.

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Figure 1: Ellipsis experiments.
Figure 2: Sensitivity to the buoyancy of the mantle wedge.
Figure 3: Fragmentation of the East Pacific Gondwana margin.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by AUSCOPE-NCRIS and Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics software infrastructure. P.F.R. thanks the Australian Research Council for supporting this research through grant ARC-A00103441 and ARC-DP 0987608.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EarthByte Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Sydney, Australia

    P. F. Rey & R. D. Müller

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  1. P. F. Rey
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Contributions

P.F.R. proposed the paper’s main concept, designed the numerical experiments and wrote the bulk of the paper. R.D.M. provided the palaeogeographic reconstruction, contributed to the interpretation of the results and the writing of the paper.

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Correspondence to P. F. Rey.

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Rey, P., Müller, R. Fragmentation of active continental plate margins owing to the buoyancy of the mantle wedge. Nature Geosci 3, 257–261 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo825

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