Erosion of orogenic wedges - a sandbox view

PDF
Published: Jan 1, 2001
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.17051
Keywords:
effective indenter erosion orogenic wedge sandbox modelling
K. S. PERSSON
Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory, Uppsala University
D. SOKOUTIS
Dept. of Geology and Physical Geography, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Abstract

Sandbox models give insights into the progressive development of two-sided orogenic wedges. Effective indenters, that develop in models without erosion for rigid indenter face-dips of 75 ° or 15 °, are strongly affected by erosion. No effective indenters develop in models with moderate and total erosion when the rigid indenter face-dip is 75°. In models with rigid indenter face-dips of 15° effective indenters develop but are smaller in size when erosion is applied. If the effective indenter is smaller, strain partitioning by compaction decreases in favor of strain partitioning by imbricate shear. Models with rigid indenter face-dips of 15° and 30° and without redeposition favor strain partitioning by development of new shears.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Neotectonics and Geomorphology
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
BEAUMONT, C, FULLSACK, P. & HAMILTON, J. 1992. Erosional control of active compressional orogens. In Thrust Tectonics, ed. K.R. McClay, pp. 1-18. Chapman and Hall, London.
BEAUMONT, C , FULLSACK, P. & HAMILTON, J. 1994. Styles of crustal deformation in compressional orogens caused by subduction of the underlying lithosphère. Tectonophysics 232, 119-132.
BONINI, M., SOKOUTIS, D., TALBOT, C.J., BOCCALETTI, M. & MILNES, A.G. 1999. Indenter growth in analogue models of Alpine-type deformation. Tectonics, 18, 119-128.
BYERLEE, J. 1978. Friction of rocks. Pure and Applied Geophysics 116, 615-626.
COLETTA, Β., LETOUZEY, J., PINEDO, R., BALLARD, J.F. & BALE, P. 1991. Computerized X-ray tomography analysis of sandbox models: Examples of thin-skinned thrust systems. Geology 19, 1063-1067.
DAVY, C. & COBBOLD, PR. 1988. Indentation tectonics in nature and experiment. 1. Experiments scaled for gravity. Bulletin of the Geological Institutions of Uppsala 14, 129-141.
KOONS, P.O. 1990,. Two-sided orogen: Collision and erosion from sandbox to the Southern Alps, New Zealand. Geology 18, 679-682.
MALAVIEILLE, J. 1984.. Modélisation expérimentale des chevauchements imbriqués: application aux chaînes de montagnes. Bull. Soc. géol. France 7, 129-138.
MERLE, Ο 1994. Syn-convergence exhumation of the central Alps. Geodinamica Acta 7, 3, 129-138.
MERLE, Ο. & ABIDI, Ν. 1995.. Approche expérimentale du fonctionnement des rampes émergentes. Bulletin de la Société géologique de la France 166, 439-450.
MULUGETA, G. 1988. Modelling the geometry of Coulomb thrust wedges. Journal of Structural Geology 10, 847-859.
MULUGETA, G. & KOYI, H. 1987. Three-dimensional geometry and kinematics of experimental piggyback thrusting. Geology 15, 1052-1056.
MULUGETA, G. & KOYI, H. 1992. Episodic accretion and strain partitioning in a model sand wedge. Tectonophysics 202, 319-333.
PERSSON, K. (in press) Effective indenters and the development of double-vergent orogens - insights from analogue sand models, in Koyi, H.A. and Mancktelow, N.S., eds., Tectonic Modeling: A volume in Honor of Hans Ramberg, Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 193.
RATSCHBACHER, L., MERLE, O., DAVY, P. & COBBOLD, P. 1991. Lateral extrusion in the eastern Alps, part 1: boundary conditions and experiments scaled for gravity. Tectonics 10, 245-256.
TAPPONNIER, P. & MOLNAR, P. 1976. Slip-line field theory and large-scale continental tectonics. Nature 264, 319-324.
TAPPONNIER, P., PELZER, G., LE DAIN, A.Y, ARMIJO, R. & COBBOLD, P. 1982. Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: new insights from simple experiments with plasticine. Geology 10, 611-616.
TAPPONNIER, P., PELZER, G. & ARMIJO, R. 1986, On the mechanism of collision between India and Asia. In Collision Tectonics, eds Coward, M.P and Ries, A.C., Spec. Pubi. Geol. Soc. London 19, 115-157.
THOMPSON, A.B., SCHULMANN, Κ. & JEZEK, J. 1997. Extrusion tectonics and elevation of lower crustal metamorphic rocks in convergent orogens. Geology 6, 491-494.
WILLETT, S., BEAUMONT, C. & FULLSACK, P. 1993. Mechanical model for the tectonics of doubly vergent compressional orogens. Geology 21, 371-374.
Most read articles by the same author(s)