Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India: Crustal and lithospheric structures and its flexure

Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India were obtained from terrestrial gravity data through two independent methods: (i) wavelength filtering and (ii) removing crustal effects. The gravity fields due to the lithospheric mantle obtained from two methods were quite comparable. The long wavelength gravity anomalies were interpreted in terms of variations in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) and the Moho with appropriate densities, that are constrained from seismic results at certain points. Modeling of the long wavelength gravity anomaly along a N–S profile (77°E) suggest that the thickness of the lithosphere for a density contrast of 0.05 g/cm³ with the asthenosphere is maximum of ∼190 km along the Himalayan front that reduces to ∼155 km under the southern part of the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins increasing to ∼175 km south of the Satpura Mobile belt, reducing to ∼155–140 km under the Eastern Dharwar craton (EDC) and from there consistently decreasing south wards to ∼120 km under the southernmost part of India, known as Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT).The crustal model clearly shows three distinct terrains of different bulk densities, and thicknesses, north of the SMB under the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins, and south of it the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) and the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of bulk densities 2.87, 2.90 and 2.96 g/cm³, respectively. It is confirmed from the exposed rock types as the SGT is composed of high bulk density lower crustal rocks and mafic/ultramafic intrusives while the EDC represent typical granite/gneisses rocks and the basement under the Vindhyan and Ganga basins towards the north are composed of Bundelkhand granite massif of the lower density. The crustal thickness along this profile varies from ∼37–38 km under the EDC, increasing to ∼40–45 km under the SGT and ∼40–42 km under the northern part of the Ganga basin with a bulge up to ∼36 km under its southern part. Reduced lithospheric and crustal thicknesses under the Vindhyan and the Ganga basins are attributed to the lithospheric flexure of the Indian plate due to Himalaya. Crustal bulge due to lithospheric flexure is well reflected in isostatic Moho based on flexural model of average effective elastic thickness of ∼40 km. Lithospheric flexure causes high heat flow that is aided by large crustal scale fault system of mobile belts and their extensions northwards in this section, which may be responsible for lower crustal bulk density in the northern part. A low density and high thermal regime in north India north of the SMB compared to south India, however does not conform to the high S-wave velocity in the northern part and thus it is attributed to changes in composition between the northern and the southern parts indicating a reworked lithosphere. Some of the long wavelength gravity anomalies along the east and the west coasts of India are attributed to the intrusives that caused the breakup of India from Antarctica, and Africa, Madagascar and Seychelles along the east and the west coasts of India, respectively.     

Seismic structure and rheology of the crust under mainland China

The crust and upper mantle in mainland China were relatively densely probed with wide-angle seismic profiling since 1958, and the data have provided constraints on the amalgamation and lithosphere deformation of the continent. Based on the collection and digitization of crustal P-wave velocity models along related wide-angle seismic profiles, we construct several crustal transects across major tectonic units in mainland China. In our study, we analyzed the seismic activity, and seismic energy releases during 1970 and 2010 along them. We present seismogenic layer distribution and calculate the yield stress envelopes of the lithosphere along the transects, yielding a better understanding of the lithosphere rheology strength beneath mainland China. Our results demonstrate that the crustal thicknesses of different tectonic provinces are distinctively different in mainland China. The average crustal thickness is greater than 65 km beneath the Tibetan Plateau, about 35 km beneath South China, and about 36–38 km beneath North China and Northeastern China. For the basins, the thickness is ~ 55 km beneath Qaidam, ~ 50 km beneath Tarim, ~ 40 km beneath Sichuan and ~ 35 km beneath Songliao. Our study also shows that the average seismic P-wave velocity is usually slower than the global average, equivalent with a more felsic composition of crust beneath the four tectonic blocks of mainland China resulting from the complex process of lithospheric evolution during Triassic and Cenozoic continent–continent and Mesozoic ocean–continent collisions. We identify characteristically different patterns of seismic activity distribution in different tectonic blocks, with bi-, or even tri-peak distribution of seismic concentration in South Tibet, which may suggest that crustal architecture and composition exert important control role in lithosphere deformation. The calculated yield stress envelopes of lithosphere in mainland China can be divided into three groups. The results indicate that the lithosphere rheology structure can be described by jelly sandwich model in eastern China, and crème brulee models with weak and strong lower crust corresponding to lithosphere beneath the western China and Kunlun orogenic belts, respectively. The spatial distribution of lithospheric rheology structure may provide important constraints on understanding of intra- or inter-plate deformation mechanism, and more studies are needed to further understand the tectonic process(es) accompanying different lithosphere rheology structures.     

Geodynamics of NW India: Subduction, lithospheric flexure, ridges and seismicity

Spectral analysis of digital data of the Bouguer anomaly map of NW India suggests maximum depth of causative sources as 134 km that represents the regional field and coincides with the upwarped lithosphere — asthenosphere boundary as inferred from seismic tomography. This upwarping of the Indian plate in this section is related to the lithospheric flexure due to its down thrusting along the Himalayan front. The other causative layers are located at depths of 33, 17, and 6 km indicating depth to the sources along the Moho, lower crust and the basement under Ganga foredeep, the former two also appear to be upwarped as crustal bulge with respect to their depths in adjoining sections. The gravity and the geoid anomaly maps of the NW India provide two specific trends, NW-SE and NE-SW oriented highs due to the lithospheric flexure along the NW Himalayan fold belt in the north and the Western fold belt (Kirthar -Sulaiman ranges, Pakistan) and the Aravalli Delhi Fold Belt (ADFB) in the west, respectively. The lithospheric flexures also manifest them self as crustal bulge and shallow basement ridges such as Delhi — Lahore — Sagodha ridge and Jaisalmer — Ganganagar ridge. There are other NE-SW oriented gravity and geoid highs that may be related to thermal events such as plumes that affected this region. The ADFB and its margin faults extend through Ganga basin and intersect the NW Himalayan front in the Nahan salient and the Dehradun reentrant that are more seismogenic. Similarly, the extension of NE-SW oriented gravity highs associated with Jaisalmer — Ganganagar flexure and ridge towards the Himalayan front meets the gravity highs of the Kangra reentrant that is also seismogenic and experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1905. Even parts of the lithospheric flexure and related basement ridge of Delhi — Lahore — Sargodha show more seismic activity in its western part and around Delhi as compared to other parts. The geoid highs over the Jaisalmer — Ganganagar ridge passes through Kachchh rift and connects it to plate boundaries towards the SW (Murray ridge) and NW (Kirthar range) that makes the Kachchh as a part of a diffused plate boundary, which, is one of the most seismogenic regions with large scale mafic intrusive that is supported from 3-D seismic tomography. The modeling of regional gravity field along a profile, Ganganagar — Chandigarh extended beyond the Main Central Thrust (MCT) constrained from the various seismic studies across different parts of the Himalaya suggests crustal thickening from 35-36 km under plains up to ～56 km under the MCT for a density of 3.1 g/cm³ and 3.25 g/cm³ of the lower most crust and the upper mantle, respectively. An upwarping of ～3 km in the Moho, crust and basement south of the Himalayan frontal thrusts is noticed due to the lithospheric flexure. High density for the lower most crust indicates partial eclogitization that releases copious fluid that may cause reduction of density in the upper mantle due to sepentinization (3.25 g/cm³). It has also been reported from some other sections of Himalaya. Modeling of the residual gravity and magnetic fields along the same profile suggest gravity highs and lows of NW India to be caused by basement ridges and depressions, respectively. Basement also shows high susceptibility indicating their association with mafic rocks. High density and high magnetization rocks in the basement north of Chandigarh may represent part of the ADFB extending to the Himalayan front primarily in the Nahan salient. The Nahan salient shows a basement uplift of ～ 2 km that appears to have diverted courses of major rivers on either sides of it. The shallow crustal model has also delineated major Himalayan thrusts that merge subsurface into the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT), which, is a decollment plane.     

藏北岩石圈厚度与减薄机制分析

天然地震S波和大地电磁测深给出了两种不同的藏北岩石圈厚度模型,两种测量结果的地质含义至今还不十分清楚。通过对地表高程与地壳厚度回归关系的研究,以回归直线的斜率和截距作为地壳和岩石圈地幔平均密度取值的约束,并考虑相变因素对软流圈密度的影响,采用均衡理论对藏北岩石圈厚度进行了计算。计算结果表明,在可能的软流圈温度取值范围内藏北岩石圈的平均厚度约为106～120km,地壳增厚前的岩石圈平均厚度约80km。藏北新生代火山作用和岩浆起源-分凝深度分析表明,藏北现今岩石圈厚度主要受金云母脱水深度所控制。增厚前岩石圈地幔底部温度高于橄榄岩湿固相线温度,并受闪石和金云母高压脱水作用的影响。加厚岩石圈地幔因其底部不断发生脱水低程度熔融而进入软流圈小尺度对流体系,使岩石圈加厚过程中伴随有底部的脉动减薄作用。     

Deformation of a pervasively molten middle crust: insights from the neoproterozoic Ribeira‐Araçuaí orogen (SE Brazil)

Pervasive melting of the middle crust, as inferred in Tibet and the Altiplano, probably influences the deformation of the lithosphere. To constrain strain distribution in a pervasively molten crust, we analysed the deformation in an eroded analogue of these orogens. The Ribeira‐Araçuaí orogen (SE Brazil) comprises a stack of allochthons containing large volumes of anatectic and magmatic rocks. The upper allochton (∼300 km long, 50–100 km wide and >10 km thick) involves peraluminous diatexites and leucogranites resulting from partial melting of the middle crust. It overlies another allochthon containing huge early‐ to syn‐collisional plutons intruding metasediments. Both anatexites and magmatic intrusions display a pervasive strain‐induced magmatic fabric. Homogeneous strain distribution suggests inefficient localization. U–Pb ages of ∼575 Ma imply that anatexite melting was synchronous to the early‐ to syn‐collisional magmatism. Similarity in ages magmatic and solid‐state fabrics indicates that intrusions and anatexites deformed coherently with solid‐state rocks while still molten, in response to a combination of gravity‐driven and collision‐driven deformation.     

中国大陆岩石圈厚度分布研究

利用不同物理性质所估计的岩石圈厚度可能具有不同的地球动力学意义。大陆岩石圈等效弹性厚度往往只与岩石圈内部的某些岩层相关,因此它可能不代表一般意义上的岩石圈厚度。地震学岩石圈厚度虽然有较高的精度,但依赖于人为地对岩石圈的定义;并且其具有的短时间尺度效应决定了它与长时间尺度的岩石圈概念不一致。热学岩石圈厚度体现了长时间尺度上的岩石圈热学作用,因此其厚度定义的标准是较合理的。地震-热学岩石圈厚度研究利用地震波速反演得到的温度数据按照热学岩石圈标准来对岩石圈厚度进行研究,具有地震学和热学岩石圈厚度两者的优点,是较合理的对岩石圈厚度的估计。中国大陆地震-热学岩石圈厚度分布有如下特点:(1)中国东部岩石圈较薄,厚度约100 km,其中包括中国东北、中朝克拉通、扬子克拉通东部和华南造山带;(2)青藏高原和塔里木克拉通以南地区的厚度变化较大,厚度约在160~220 km;(3)三大克拉通的岩石圈厚度有较大区别,扬子克拉通的核心最厚达约170 km,塔里木克拉通的核心厚度约140 km,中朝克拉通的厚度约100 km;(4)昆仑秦岭造山带的岩石圈上地幔内部较复杂,可能有大面积的部分熔融;(5)整个大陆岩石圈厚度分布并没有显示出与地壳年龄的线性相关关系,却表现出了与大地构造格局的直接关系。受板块碰撞强烈影响的地区,岩石圈较厚;受大洋俯冲带影响较强的地区,岩石圈较薄。     

Boundaries of mantle–lithosphere domains in the Bohemian Massif as extinct exhumation channels for high-pressure rocks

Five domains (microplates) have been recognized by seismic anisotropy in the mantle lithosphere of the Bohemian Massif. The mantle domains correspond to major crustal units and each of the domains bears a consistent fossil olivine fabric formed before their Variscan assembly. The present-day mantle fabric indicates that this process consisted of at least three oceanic subductions, each followed by an underthrusting of the continental lithosphere. The seismic anisotropy does not detect remnants of the oceanic subductions, but it can trace boundaries of the preserved continental domains subsequently underthrust along the paths of previous oceanic subductions. The most robust continent–continent collision was followed by westward underthrusting of the Brunovistulian mantle lithosphere, still detectable by seismic anisotropy more than 100 km beneath the Moldanubian mantle lithosphere. Major occurrences of the high-pressure/ultra high-pressure (HP–UHP) rocks follow the ENE and NNE oriented sutures and boundaries of the mantle–lithosphere domains mapped from three-dimensional modeling of body-wave anisotropy. The HP–UHP rocks are products of oceanic subductions and the following underthrusting of the continental crust and mantle lithosphere exhumed along the mantle boundaries. The close relation of the mantle sutures and occurrences of the HP–UHP rocks near the paleosubductions testifies for models interpreting the granulite–garnet peridotite association by oceanic/continental subduction/underthrusting followed by the exhumation of deep-seated rocks. Our findings support the bivergent subduction model of tectonic development of the central part of the Bohemian Massif. The inferences from seismic anisotropy image the Bohemian Massif as a mosaic of microplates with a rigid mantle lithosphere preserving a fossil olivine fabric. The collisional mantle boundaries, blurred by tectonometamorphic processes in easily deformed overlying crust, served as major exhumation channels of the HP–UHP rocks.     

Thickness of the Earth's crust in the deep Arctic Ocean: Results of a 3D gravity modeling

The employed method of 3D gravity modeling is based on calculation of the gravity effects of the main density boundaries of the lithosphere, subtraction of these effects from the observed gravity field, and the subsequent conversion of the residual gravity anomalies first to the Moho depth and then to the total thickness of the Earth's crust and the thickness of its consolidated part. On the modeling, we also took into account the gravity effects due to an increase in the sediment density with increasing sediment depth and a rise of the top of the asthenosphere beneath the mid-ocean Gakkel Ridge. The resulting 3D models of the Moho topography and crustal thickness are well consistent with the data of deep seismic investigations. They confirm the significant differences in crustal structure between the Eurasian and Amerasian Basins and give an idea of the regional variations in crustal thickness beneath the major ridges and basins of the Arctic Ocean.     

Is magmatic underplating the cause of post-rift uplift and erosion within the Cabora Bassa Basin,Zambezi Rift,Zimbabwe?

The Cabora Bassa Basin in northern Zimbabwe is an Upper Paleozoic karoo basin trending almost east-west. It has clearly recognisable gravity and magnetic signatures from which its dimensions are estimated to be approximately 150 km long and at least 62 km wide. Its southern boundary is marked by a north dipping, listric, master fault of possibly a ramp-flat-ramp geometry. Within the basin there is erosional truncation of over 2 km of sediment at the top of the stratigraphy and an absence of a post-rift thermal subsidence phase. Modern and major river channels are characteristically narrow, deep and without considerable amounts of silt on the river beds, whilst their valley sides are marked by multiple terraces. These ongoing erosional processes are evidence for sustained and possibly episodic uplift of the basin since the end of rifting in the Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary.An evaluation of possible uplift mechanisms for the basin and its surroundings lends support to lithospheric thickening as the most likely mechanism. Compression and magmatic underplating and/or intrusion are two common ways of thickening the lithosphere. The absence of major compressional structures within the basin suggests that magmatic underplating and intrusion may have played a major role in lithospheric thickening. Major element data for the mantle-derived Jerama basalts indicate substantial hidden cumulates, which possibly thickened the lithospheric column.Modelling of gravity data, constrained by both seismic reflection results, and the densities of the surface rocks, show that the crustal thickness beneath the basin is in the range 19–23 km. The stretching factors from seismic and gravity models range from 1.6 to 1.9. There is up to 5 km difference between the expected and modelled crustal thicknesses beneath the basin, which could be explained by magmatic underplating.     

青藏高原东北缘岩石圈密度与磁化强度及动力学含义

利用横贯柴达木盆地南北的格尔木—花海子剖面岩石圈二维P波速度结构以及地震波速度与介质密度之间的关系,建立了该剖面岩石圈二维密度结构与二维磁化强度的初始模型。依据重磁同源原理,在柴达木盆地重、磁异常的二重约束下完成了重磁联合反演,获得了该剖面岩石圈二维密度结构与二维磁化强度分布。结果表明:柴达木盆地地壳厚度沿测线变化较大,平均厚度约60km。在柴达木盆地南缘地壳厚约50km,达布逊湖附近地壳最厚为63km左右,大柴旦附近地壳较薄,为50km左右。柴达木盆地的地壳纵向上可分为三层,即上地壳、中地壳与下地壳。位于盆地中部的中、下地壳分别发育大范围的壳内低密度体,并处于上地幔隆起的背景之上;横向上可将盆地分成南北两个部分,分界在达布逊湖附近。整个剖面结晶基底埋深变化也很大,在达布逊湖附近为12km,在昆仑山北缘基底几乎出露地表。结晶基底的展布形态与地壳底界,即莫霍面呈近似镜像对称。综合研究认为,柴达木盆地的岩石圈结构存在着明显的南北差异,其分界在达布逊湖的北面。在盆地南部,岩石圈介质横向变化较小,各层介质分布正常;在盆地的北侧,岩石圈结构特别在中、下地壳和上地幔顶部横向上发生了变化。壳内低密度体的存在意味着柴达木盆地具有较热的岩石圈和上地幔,加之基底界面与莫霍面的镜像对称分布,形成与准噶尔盆地和塔里木盆地的构造差异。多种地球物理参数所揭示的地壳上地幔结构及其横向变化特点为柴达木盆地构造演化及青藏高原北部边界的地球动力学研究提供了岩石圈尺度的地球物理证据。     

Collisional plateaus

In the fifteen years since the importance of collisional plateaus with thickened continental crust began to be recognized as one of the inevitable consequences of the processes of plate tectonics, rapid progress in their understanding has come from studies of the world's only active terminal collision zones in the Himalayan-Tibetan and Turkish-Iranian plateaus.Ancient collisional plateaus are being recognized throughout the geological record (back to 3.8 Ga) from the occurrence of extensive areas (typically > 500,000 km²) of 8 kbar metamorphism in granulite facies or from the occurrence of extensive areas of higher level minimum-melt composition granite rocks whose isotopic signatures indicate reactivation of existing continental crust rather than addition of new crust from the mantle at the time of collision. Recognition of strike-slip faulting in the ancient collisional plateau areas indicates that “tectonic escape” may have been as important in the past as it is today.Earth may not be the only planet on which collisional plateaus are important. The highlands of Venus (approximately 7% of the surface with elevations over 1.5 km above mean planetary radius) can only exist as a result of crustal thickening, and not as a product of lithospheric thinning. Most of these highlands can be explained by models involving volcanic construction. However, the highest peaks, including Maxwell Montes, the highest mapped area of Venus rising over 10 km above mean planetary radius, require much greater crustal thickening to support them than can reasonably be explained by a volcanic mechanism. Geological features of Maxwell Montes inferred from radar images suggest some analogy between Maxwell Montes and the Tibetan plateau.It is somewhat paradoxical that extensional tectonics are commonly associated with continental collision, and that collision-related rifts may be the only sites where the uppermost layers of a collision-thickened crust are preserved from erosion. Extensional stress fields are generated during continental collision, primarily in areas associated with strike-slip faulting and “tectonic escape”. Additional extensional stresses are gravitationally generated associated with the topography and thickened crust in a collision zone. Tectonically thickened crust is particularly susceptible to rifting as its lithosphere is weak as a result of heating associated with magmatism. This lithosphere is also compositionally weak because of the relatively thick crust, dominated by a weak quartz rheology, and thin mantle lithosphere, dominated by a strong olivine rheology, in comparison with a lithosphere with a more normal crustal thickness. Thus, the common association of rifts and collision zones may be a consequence of both stresses generated during collision and modification of the lithosphere by collision.     

Geophysical constraints on mesozoic disruption of North China Craton by underplating‐triggered lower‐crust flow of the Archaean lithosphere

The mechanism of the disruption, both lithospheric thinning and oceanization of the commonly accepted long‐term‐stable Archaean craton, is still an open question. The available models, all imply a bottom to top process. With the construction of a 1660‐km‐long transect across the eastern North China Craton (NCC), we demonstrate that both the P‐wave velocity and density in the lowermost crust beneath the central section are significantly higher than in the corresponding parts of the south and north sections on the transect. These features are interpreted as geophysical signature of lower crustal underplating, which supplies sufficiently high gravitational potential energy to trigger lateral flow of the lower crust. This magma underplating‐triggered bilateral lower crust flow may facilitate the lithospheric thinning by means of asthenosphere upwelling and decompression melting, which infill the gap produced by the lower crust flow. The underplating‐triggered lower crustal flow can provide an alternative mechanism to explain the NCC lithosphere disruption, which highlights the crustal feedback to Archaean lithosphere disruption, from top to bottom.     

Role of lithosphere in intra-continental deformation: Central Australia

Since the Proterozoic, there has been a set of deformation cycles in central Australia culminating in the Alice Springs Orogeny around 400 Ma. These events occurred away from plate boundaries and involved extension as well as compression, although their precise history remains difficult to unravel from the geologic record. Much evidence of deformation is left in the central Australian crust, which features significant Moho topography and an associated gravity signal. In the past, several mechanical models invoked crustal thickening and considerable compression to explain these geophysical characteristics. However, it is hard to envisage extensive deformation affecting the crust alone, but leaving no deformation record in the sub-crustal lithosphere. In recent seismic tomography studies, there is continuous seismically-fast lithosphere in central Australia below depths of about 100 km. In this region, the uppermost lithospheric mantle is seismically slow, but exhibits no significant attenuation of seismic waves. These new constraints make simple crustal thickening unlikely to be the main mechanism to generate variations of the Moho depth in central Australia. Here we propose a mechanical model of deformation that involves the entire lithosphere. We make no strong assumptions about the history of deformation cycles. Our model does not require lithospheric thickening at any stage of the deformation cycle, and results in a present-day scenario compatible with shallow as well as deep constraints on the lithosphere structure.     

大陆岩石圈有效弹性厚度与有关地球物理参数的关系--以泉州-黑水地学断面为例

大陆岩石圈有效弹性厚度(Te)是反映岩石圈综合强度的参数,它反映了岩石圈的整体特征。分析岩石圈有效样性厚度与反映深部地质特征的有关地球物理参数之间的关系,对研究控制Te的因素、各因素之间的关系以及探索大陆构造与大陆动力学等具有重要意义。泉州一黑水地学断面Te与地壳厚度、热岩石圈厚度、均衡重力异常、磁性构造层底面深度、上地幔低速层顶界面深度、上地幔低阻层顶面深度之间的关系研究表明：Te与大地热流关系密切的“热”地球物理参数磁性构造层底面深度、热岩石圈厚度相关性好;与地壳厚度有一定的相关性;上地幔低速层顶界面深度和上地幔低阻层顶面深度与大陆岩石圈Te相关性均较差。     

Crustal character and thickness over the Dangerous Grounds and beneath the Northwest Borneo Trough

New deep reflection seismic, bathymetry, gravity and magnetic data have been acquired in a marine geophysical survey of the southern South China Sea, including the Dangerous Grounds, Northwest Borneo Trough and the Central Luconia Platform. The seismic and bathymetry data map the topography of shallow density interfaces, allowing the application of gravity modeling to delineate the thickness and composition of the deeper crustal layers. Many of the strongest gravity anomalies across the area are accounted for by the basement topography mapped in the seismic data, with substantial basement relief associated with major rift development. The total crustal thickness is however quite constant, with variations only between 25 and 30 km across the Central Luconia Platform and Dangerous Grounds. The Northwest Borneo Trough is underlain by thinned crust (25–20 km total crustal thickness) consistent with the substantial water depths. There is no evidence of any crustal suture associated with the trough, nor any evidence of relict oceanic crust beneath the trough. The crustal thinning also does not extend along the complete length of the trough, with crustal thicknesses of 25 km and more modeled on the most easterly lines to cross the trough. Modeled magnetic field variations are also consistent with the study area being underlain by continental crust, with the magnetic field variations well explained by irregular magnetisations consistent with inhomogeneous continental crust, terminating at the basement unconformity as mapped from the seismic data.     

The crustal structure of the Eastern Alps from a combination of 3D gravity modelling and isostatic investigations

The transition between European and Adriatic crust is an important feature related to the plate collision that formed the European Alps. The diversity of seismic and geological information allows the construction of two alternative 3D density models, which both match the observed gravity field. Different seismic experiments suggest a thickness for the Adriatic crust between 30 and 40 km. The thick crust model requires an unusually dense lower crust (>3050 kg/m³) to reproduce the observed Bouguer anomaly. To evaluate the two alternative models, the isostatic implications of the geometry and density distribution within both 3D models are investigated, using local (Airy) and regional (Vening Meinesz) isostasy.Airy isostatic investigations show that the Eastern Alps are not isostatically compensated and the residuals correlate strongly with exposed geological formations. Subsequently, subsurface loading is an important factor controlling isostatic processes. The different geometry and densities in the two 3D models imply different loading at the crust–mantle boundary. The subsurface loads calculated from the 3D density models were used to estimate regional isostasy by a convolution method. In general, small rigidity values (D<10×10²¹ Nm) are determined for the Eastern Alpine lithosphere. In the model with a 40-km-thick Adriatic crust, high flexural rigidities are inferred for the Adriatic plate (>100×10²¹ Nm), but these values are unusual for an active orogenic region. The results point to the interfingering of European and Adriatic crust that results in the squeezing of European crust between Adriatic crust and mantle with additional contamination by mantle material.     

Lithospheric structure beneath the south-eastern Zagros Mountains,Iran: recent slab break-off?

Integrated lithospheric modelling, based on the combined interpretation of gravity, geoid and topography data sets, highlights a previously undocumented lithospheric thinning beneath the Zagros collisional belt (Iran), which we propose to relate to recent slab break-off at the continent–ocean transitional lithosphere. Recent published data on the distribution of seismicity at depth support this interpretation. In agreement with other published models for the Zagros Mountains, the overlying crust exhibits, by contrast, a noticeable thickening, reaching a maximum of 52 km. The consequent thermal uplift expected from slab break-off is suggested to have modified the Zagros wedge taper and triggered the recently documented switch from thin-skinned to thick-skinned deformation in the Zagros Fold–Thrust Belt.     

Spectral harmonic analysis and synthesis of Earth’s crust gravity field

We developed and applied a novel numerical scheme for a gravimetric forward modelling of the Earth’s crustal density structures based entirely on methods for a spherical analysis and synthesis of the gravitational field. This numerical scheme utilises expressions for the gravitational potentials and their radial derivatives generated by the homogeneous or laterally varying mass density layers with a variable height/depth and thickness given in terms of spherical harmonics. We used these expressions to compute globally the complete crust-corrected Earth’s gravity field and its contribution generated by the Earth’s crust. The gravimetric forward modelling of large known mass density structures within the Earth’s crust is realised by using global models of the Earth’s gravity field (EGM2008), topography/bathymetry (DTM2006.0), continental ice-thickness (ICE-5G), and crustal density structures (CRUST2.0). The crust-corrected gravity field is obtained after modelling and subtracting the gravitational contribution of the Earth’s crust from the EGM2008 gravity data. These refined gravity data mainly comprise information on the Moho interface and mantle lithosphere. Numerical results also reveal that the gravitational contribution of the Earth’s crust varies globally from 1,843 to 12,010 mGal. This gravitational signal is strongly correlated with the crustal thickness with its maxima in mountainous regions (Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau and Andes) with the presence of large isostatic compensation. The corresponding minima over the open oceans are due to the thin and heavier oceanic crust.     

Seismic imaging of lithospheric discontinuities and continental evolution

Discontinuities in physical properties within the continental lithosphere reflect a range of processes that have contributed to craton stabilization and evolution. A survey of recent seismological studies concerning lithospheric discontinuities is made in an attempt to document their essential characteristics. Results from long-period seismology are inconsistent with the presence of continuous, laterally invariant, isotropic boundaries within the upper mantle at the global scale. At regional scales, two well-defined interfaces termed H (60 km depth) and L (200 km depth) of continental affinity are identified, with the latter boundary generally exhibiting an anisotropic character. Long-range refraction profiles are frequently characterized by subcontinental mantle that exhibits a complex stratification within the top 200 km. The shallow layering of this package can behave as an imperfect waveguide giving rise to the so-called teleseismic Pn phase, while the L-discontinuity may define its lower base as the culmination of a low velocity zone. High-resolution, seismic reflection profiling provides sufficient detail in a number of cases to document the merging of mantle interfaces into lower continental crust below former collisional sutures and magmatic arcs, thus unambiguously identifying some lithospheric discontinuities with thrust faults and subducted oceanic lithosphere. Collectively, these and other seismic observations point to a continental lithosphere whose internal structure is dominated by a laterally variable, subhorizontal layering. This stratigraphy appears to be more pronounced at shallower lithospheric levels, includes dense, anisotropic layers of order 10 km in thickness, and exhibits horizontal correlation lengths comparable to the lateral dimensions of overlying crustal blocks. A model of craton evolution which relies on shallow subduction as a principal agent of craton stabilization is shown to be broadly compatible with these characteristics.     

Flexural and gravity modelling of the Mérida Andes and Barinas–Apure Basin, Western Venezuela

The kinematic evolution of the Barinas–Apure Basin and the southern Mérida Andes from Lower Miocene to the Present is numerically modelled using flexural isostatic theory and geophysical and geological data. Two published regional transects are used to build up a reference section, which is then used to constrain important parameters (e.g. shortenings and sedimentary thicknesses) for the flexural modelling. To control the location of the main fault system in the flexural model earthquake information is also used. The estimated flexural elastic thickness of the South American lithosphere beneath the Barinas–Apure Basin and the Mérida Andes Range is 25 km. The value for the final total shortening is 60 km. The flexural isostatic model shows that the Andean uplift has caused the South American lithosphere subsidence and the development of the Barinas–Apure Basin.In addition, gravity modelling was used to understand deep crustal features that could not be predicted by flexural theory. Consequently, the best-fit flexural model is used to build a gravity model across the Mérida Andes and the Barinas–Apure Basin preserving the best-controlled structural features from the flexural modelling (e.g. basin wavelength and depth) and slightly changing the main bodies density values and deep crustal structures. The final gravity model is intended to be representative of the major features affecting the gravity field in the study area. The predicted morphology in the lower crustal level of the final gravity model favours the hypothesis of a present delamination or megathrust of the Maracaibo crust over the South American Shield. This process would use the Conrad discontinuity as a main detachment surface within an incipient NW dipping continental subduction.