Linkages and feedbacks in orogenic systems: An introduction
Orogenic processes operate at scales ranging from the lithosphere to grain-scale, and are inexorably linked. For example, in many orogens, fault and shear zone architecture controls distribution of heat advection along faults and also acts as the primary mechanism for redistribution of heat-producing material. This sets up the thermal structure of the orogen, which in turn controls lithospheric rheology, the nature and distribution of deformation and strain localization, and ultimately, through localized mechanical strengthening and weakening, the fundamental shape of the developing orogenic wedge (Fig. 1). Strain localization establishes shear zone and fault geometry, and it is the motion on these structures, in conjunction with climate, that often focuses erosional and exhumational processes. This climatic focusing effect can even drive development of asymmetry at the scale of the entire wedge (Willett et al., 1993).
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2017 |
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Title | Linkages and feedbacks in orogenic systems: An introduction |
DOI | 10.1130/2017.1213(00) |
Authors | J. Ryan Thigpen, Richard D. Law, Arthur J. Merschat, Harold Stowell |
Publication Type | Book Chapter |
Publication Subtype | Book Chapter |
Index ID | 70192635 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center |