The transition from Variscan collision to continental break-up in the Alps: insights from the comparison between natural data and numerical model predictions

2014 ◽  
Vol 405 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Iole Spalla ◽  
Davide Zanoni ◽  
Anna Maria Marotta ◽  
Gisella Rebay ◽  
Manuel Roda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Natural Data ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Break Up

scholarly journals Thermo-mechanical numerical model of the transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading: the case study of the Alpine Tethys

2016 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA MARIA MAROTTA ◽  
MANUEL RODA ◽  
KATYA CONTE ◽  
MARIA IOLE SPALLA
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Northern Apennines ◽  
Continental Lithosphere ◽  
Continental Rifting ◽  
Lithospheric Extension ◽  
Natural Data ◽  
The Alps

AbstractWe develop a two-dimensional thermo-mechanical numerical model in which the formation of oceanic crust and serpentinite due to the hydration of the uprising mantle peridotite has been implemented, with the aim of discussing the behaviour of the lithosphere of the Alps and Northern Apennines during the transition from continental rifting to ocean spreading of the Alpine Tethys. The predictions of the model are compared with natural data related to the Permian–Triassic high-temperature – low-pressure (HT-LP) metamorphism affecting the continental lithosphere and data from the JurassicP–Tevolution of the oceanic lithosphere from the Alps and the Northern Apennines. Our analysis indicates that a thinned continental crust, an ocean–continent transition zone and an oceanic lithosphere characterize the final structure of the system in a poor magma rift pre-Alpine configuration. We also find that mantle serpentinization starts before crustal break-up and that denudation occurs before ocean spreading. The mantle denudation starts several million years before the gabbros/basalt formation, generating an ocean–continent transition zone from the passive continental margin to the oceanic lithosphere of size 160–280 km. The comparative analysis shows that the extension of a hot and weak lithosphere, which promotes the development of hyperextended Alpine margins, better agrees with the natural data. Finally, our comparative analysis supports the hypothesis that the lithospheric extension preceding the opening of the Alpine Tethys did not start in a stable continental lithosphere, but developed by recycling part of the old Variscan collisional suture.

Synconvergent and coherent (ultra)high-pressure crustal rock exhumation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo G. Candioti ◽  
Joshua D. Vaughan-Hammon ◽  
Thibault Duretz ◽  
Stefan M. Schmalholz
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Ultrahigh Pressure ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
Crustal Rock ◽  
Plate Boundaries ◽  
Crustal Rocks ◽  
Natural Data ◽  
The Alps

<p>Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) continental crustal rocks were first discovered in the Western Alps in 1984 and have since then been observed at many convergent plate boundaries worldwide. Unveiling the processes leading to the formation and exhumation of (U)HP metamorphic crustal rocks is key to understand the geodynamic evolution of orogens such as the Alps.</p><p> </p><p>Previous numerical studies investigating (U)HP rock exhumation in the Alps predicted deep (>80 km) subduction of crustal rocks and rapid buoyancy-driven exhumation of mainly incoherent (U)HP units, involving significant tectonic mixing forming so-called mélanges. Furthermore, these predictions often rely on excessive erosion or periods of divergent plate motion as important exhumation mechanism. Inconsistent with field observations and natural data, application of these models to the Western Alps was recently criticised.</p><p> </p><p>Here, we present models with continuous plate convergence, which exhibit local tectonic-driven upper plate extension enabling compressive- and buoyancy-driven exhumation of coherent (U)HP units along the subduction interface, involving feasible erosion.</p><p> </p><p>The two-dimensional petrological-thermo-mechanical numerical models presented here predict both subduction initiation and serpentinite channel formation without any a priori prescription of these two features. The (U)HP units are exhumed coherently, without significant internal deformation. Modelled pressure and temperature trajectories and exhumation velocities of selected crustal units agree with estimates for the Western Alps. The presented models support previous hypotheses of synconvergent exhumation, but do not rely on excessive erosion or divergent plate motion. Thus, our predictions provide new insights into processes leading to the exhumation of coherent (U)HP crustal units consistent with observations and natural data from the Western Alps.</p>

Comparison of Four Friction Models: Feature Prediction

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Hsiang Sun ◽  
Tao Chen ◽  
Christine Qiong Wu ◽  
Cyrus Shafai
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Viscous Friction ◽  
Friction Model ◽  
Dynamic Features ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Friction Models ◽  
Parameter Identifications ◽  
Model Structures

In this paper, we provide not only key knowledge for friction model selection among candidate models but also experimental friction features compared with numerical predictions reproduced by the candidate models. A motor-driven one-dimensional sliding block has been designed and fabricated in our lab to carry out a wide range of control tasks for the friction feature demonstrations and the parameter identifications of the candidate models. Besides the well-known static features such as break-away force and viscous friction, our setup experimentally demonstrates subtle dynamic features that characterize the physical behavior. The candidate models coupled with correct parameters experimentally obtained from our setup are taken to simulate the features of interest. The first part of this work briefly introduces the candidate friction models, the friction features of interest, and our experimental approach. The second part of this work is dedicated to the comparisons between the experimental features and the numerical model predictions. The discrepancies between the experimental features and the numerical model predictions help researchers to judge the accuracy of the models. The relation between the candidate model structures and their numerical friction feature predictions is investigated and discussed. A table that summarizes how to select the most optimal friction model among a variety of engineering applications is presented at the end of this paper. Such comprehensive comparisons have not been reported in previous literature.

Formation and evolution of a subduction-related mélange: The example of the Rocca Canavese Thrust Sheets (Western Alps)

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 884-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Roda ◽  
Michele Zucali ◽  
Alessandro Regorda ◽  
Maria Iole Spalla
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Mantle Wedge ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Metamorphic History ◽  
Orogenic Wedge ◽  
Thrust Sheets ◽  
History Of ◽  
Natural Data ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Subduction Wedge

Abstract In the Sesia-Lanzo Zone, Western Alps, the Rocca Canavese Thrust Sheets (RCT) subunit is characterized by a mixture of mantle- and crust-derived lithologies, such as metapelites, metagranitoids, metabasics, and serpentinized mantle slices with sizes ranging from meters to hundreds of meters. Structural and metamorphic history suggests that the RCT rocks experienced a complex evolution. In particular, two different peak conditions were obtained for the metabasics, representing different tectono-metamorphic units (TMUs), namely, D1a under eclogite facies conditions and D1b under lawsonite-blueschist-facies conditions. The two TMUs were coupled during the syn-D2 exhumation stage under epidote-blueschist-facies conditions. The different rocks and metamorphic evolutions and the abundance of serpentinites in the tectonic mixture suggest a possible subduction-related mélange origin for the RCT. To verify whether a subduction-related mélange can record tectono-metamorphic histories similar to that inferred for the RCT, we compare the pressure-temperature evolutions with the results of a 2-D numerical model of ocean-continent subduction with mantle wedge serpentinization. The predictions of the numerical model fully reproduce the two peak conditions (D1a and D1b) and the successive exhumation history of the two TMUs within the subduction wedge. The degree of mixing estimated from field data is consistent with that predicted by the numerical simulation. Finally, the present-day location of the RCT, which marks the boundary between the orogenic wedge (Penninic and Austroalpine domains) and the southern hinterland (Southalpine domain) of the Alpine chain, is reproduced by the model at the end of the exhumation in the subduction wedge. Therefore, the comparison between natural data and the model results confirms the interpretation of the RCT as a subduction-related mélange that occurred during exhumation within a serpentinized mantle wedge.

The Kettles Hill Project: Field observations, wind-tunnel simulations and numerical model predictions for flow over a low hill

1988 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Salmon ◽  
H. W. Teunissen ◽  
R. E. Mickle ◽  
P. A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Wind Tunnel ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Model Predictions

The 1513 Monte Crenone Rock Avalanche. Numerical model and geomorphological analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro De Pedrini ◽  
Christian Ambrosi ◽  
Cristian Scapozza
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Deposition Zone ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Landslide Body ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Movement Simulation

<p>The Monte Crenone rock avalanche of 30 September 1513 is one of the most catastrophic natural events in Switzerland and throughout the Alps. The enormous mass of rock that broke away from the western slope of Pizzo Magn or Monte Crenone, estimated at 50-90 million cubic metres, caused the complete damming of the course of the Brenno river, leading to the formation of a basin that extended from Biasca to the Castello di Serravalle in Semione (De Antoni et al. 2016). On 20 May 1515 the basin formed behind the dam overflowed, giving rise to a wave of more than 10 meters high that led to devastation in the territories downstream to reach Lake Maggiore (Scapozza et al. 2015).</p><p>In this project, we analyze the dynamics of the 1513 rock avalanche, trying to reconstruct the event through a numerical model, calculated with the software RAMMS::Debrisflow (RApid Mass Movement Simulation) provided by the Federal Institute for the Study of Snow and Avalanches (SLF/WSL).</p><p>The realization of the numerical model was preceded by the reconstruction of the topography before the landslide. This first phase of work, included a geological survey of the landslide body, the analysis of digital data (orthophotos, digital topographic maps, shaded model derived from swissALTI3D) and the collection of previous historical data.</p><p>The observation of the stratigraphic data obtained from the 701.27, 701.30 and 701.31 boreholes (part of the geotechnical studies for the Chiasso-San Gottardo highway) of the GESPOS database (GEstione Sondaggi, POzzi e Sorgenti) of the Institute of Earth Sciences SUPSI was essential to understand the landslide body thickness and volume in the deposition zone.</p><p>From the first phase of data collection and interpretation, we then moved on to the actual reconstruction of the digital model of the terrain before the landslide. This operation was carried out using ESRI's ArcGIS software, which made it possible recreating multiple models of the pre-event topography and thus finding the most realistic solution applicable to the subsequent RAMMS model.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document