Mountains have long intrigued scientists because of their fundamental role in shaping the Earth’s surface. However, a groundbreaking study conducted by Colorado State University has revealed that the processes behind mountain formation are much more complex than previously thought.
Titled “Calabrian forearm elevation affected by plate-mantle interactions during subduction retreat”, the study focused on subduction zones, particularly in southern water. Italy, and suggests that the fall of a tectonic plate through the Earth’s mantle and its effect on mantle flows play an important role. role in mountain formation, also known as orogeny.
This finding challenges the conventional understanding of crustal folding and thickening as a key driver of mountain formation, providing a more nuanced perspective on the subject.
Lead author Sean Gallen, assistant professor of geosciences at CSU, and his team reconstructed the extensive history of mountain building in southern Italy using data sets and methods. improve. Their approach involves exploiting the geological features of the regional landscape as a means of unraveling the complex processes at play.
One tectonic plate dives beneath another in subduction zones like Calabria, southern Italy, creating mountains through the folding and thickening of the Earth’s crust
By combining measurements in short and long geologic time scales, from thousands to tens of millions of years, the team effectively used the landscape as a “geological tape recorder” to reconstruct tectonic history.
Surprising findings and implications
The researchers encountered unexpected results, which Gallen described as “puzzling”. Traditionally, scientists have predicted a correlation between the rate at which one plate sinks beneath another over time and the rock’s corresponding uplift history.
However, the study’s findings challenge this assumption. Instead, the team found that the main factor controlling rock uplift in the Calabrian Mountains is the subduction of the underlying tectonic plate through the Earth’s mantle and its effect on the Earth’s mantle. with the flow field of the mantle.
“We expect to see a correlation between the rate at which one tectonic plate sinks under another over time and our history of rock-lifting, and we don’t,” Gallen said.
Gallen emphasized the importance of these results, pointing out that they deviate from the conventional understanding of mountain building. Although theoretical models have suggested the influence of deeper processes on Earth, this study provides the first experimental evidence of such mechanisms operating in nature. However, Gallen acknowledges that more data is needed to confirm their interpretation, even though it is supported by existing numerical models.
“The recordings we’ve made show that signals from deep inside the Earth seem to govern what’s happening on the surface. I’ve been working in the Mediterranean for 15 years and this is the result. has profoundly changed the way I think about these subduction zones.”
Revolutionary technique to understand mountain formation
An important aspect of this research lies in the newly developed techniques to construct a long history of rock lifting. The team built a single framework by integrating many standard geomorphological measurements, including thermotemporal studies, cosmological nuclei, bedrock flow records, and past sea level analysis. observed on the seafloor. This multifaceted approach allows them to extend their research further into geologic time and provides unique constraints to their modeling efforts.
Software development to support research and publication in natural geosciences, easily accessible to other researchers. Gallen hopes that these innovative techniques will stimulate further research and lead to new discoveries in other geographical areas.
These discoveries have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of mountain formation in subduction zones, providing a more nuanced and comprehensive perspective on the complex dynamics that shape the surface. face of our planet. Furthermore, the revolutionary techniques developed by the team pave the way for future research and advancements in the field of geosciences.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education