Cenozoic subsidence and uplift of continents from time-varying dynamic topography
- Creators
- Lithgow-Bertelloni, C.
-
Gurnis, Michael
Abstract
Time-varying global dynamic topography has been computed for the entire Cenozoic. The spherical viscous-flow model is driven by a distribution of density heterogeneity based on Mesozoic and Cenozoic subduction. By using the calculated topography, the uplift and subsidence histories of five regions fixed to the North American, Indian, Australian, Indonesian, and South American continents are computed. Predicted vertical motions are in qualitative agreement with observed values except for India and South America. For Australia and North America, the predicted periods of uplift and subsidence are out of phase with respect to observations, but display the correct overall trend. The latest phase of uplift for North America is directly related to the cessation of Kula plate subduction after 48 Ma. Dynamic topography depends on the viscosity structure of the mantle; a lower mantle that is 50 times more viscous than the upper mantle yields the best agreement between modeled and predicted vertical motions. The presence of a low-viscosity channel beneath the lithosphere has only a small influence on our results. Compared to dynamic topography, the time-varying geoid is insignificant in controlling relative sea level.
Additional Information
© 1997 Geological Society of America. Manuscript received October 2, 1996; revised manuscript received April 18, 1997; manuscript accepted May 5, 1997. Lithgow-Bertelloni was supported by a National Science Foundation Earth Sciences Post-Doctoral fellowship. Gurnis was partly funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. We thank M. Richards for insightful discussions and comments, and B. Hager and P. Hoffman for their helpful reviews. Contribution 5737 of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 36682
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130130-100419369
- NSF Earth Sciences Post-Doctoral fellowship
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Created
-
2013-01-30Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2020-03-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Seismological Laboratory
- Other Numbering System Name
- Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 5737