The frequently observed parallelism between rifts and the pre­ existing orogenic fabric of continents suggests that the inherited tectonic fabric of the lithosphere influences the rupture of continents. We propose that the existence of a pervasive fabric in the lithospheric mantle induces an anisotropie strength in the lithosphere, that guides the propagation of continental rifts. Subcrustal ma...

■ Abstract The Cordilleran orogen of western North America is a segment of the Circum-Pacific orogenic belt where subduction of oceanic lithosphere has been underway along a great circle of the globe since breakup of the supercontinent Pangea began in Triassic time. Early stages of Cordilleran evolution involved Neoproterozoic rifting of the supercontinent Rodinia to trigger miogeoclinal sedime...

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Eclogite HP granulite Paired metamorphic belts UHPM UHTM The modern plate tectonics regime is characterized by a duality of thermal environments, one representing the subduction zone and the other representing the arc–backarc or orogenic hinterland. This duality is the hallmark of one-sided (asymmetric) subduction, and the characteristic imprint of one-sided subd...

The link between orogenic activity and foreland basin stratigraphy is well established; however, potential controls by foreland basin stratigraphy on thrust belt architecture have not been fully evaluated. Mechanical properties of typical foreland basin stratigraphic successions influence the structural development of fold-thrust belts in predictable ways. Fundamental features of foreland basin...

[1] The current structure of the South Armorican Domain in the French Variscan Belt, provides an excellent record of the late orogenic evolution, as documented by the complex interactions between extensional structures and partial melting. In the Golfe du Morbihan, the South Brittany Migmatite Belt (SBMB), tectonically overlain by non‐melted metamorphic units, was studied by combined structural...

[1] Orogenic structure appears to be partially controlled by the addition to and removal of material from the mountain belt by tectonic accretion and geomorphic erosion, respectively. We developed a coupled erosion-deformation model for orogenic wedges that are in erosional steady state and deform at their Coulomb failure limit. Erosional steady state is reached when all material introduced int...

Abstract Orogenic belts have been thought to form through plate convergence, involving subduction of oceanic lithosphere at continental margins (accretionary orogens), which may ultimately lead ocean closure and continent-continent collision (collisional orogens). Intraplate orogens away from known, but the mechanisms controlling their evolution are poorly understood. The South China craton, in...

Prospectivity modelling has been completed over the Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales, Australia, using the GIS based weights of evidence modelling technique to target porphyry Cu-Au, associated skarn Cu-Au, orogenic Au and VMS Au mineralisation. The Lachlan Fold Belt is a 700 km wide belt of Paleozoic accretionary terrains, stretching from Queensland to Tasmania. Porphyry and skarn mineralisa...

The dynamic system of tectonics and erosion contains important feedback mechanisms such that orogenic systems tend toward a steady state. This concept is often invoked, but the nature of the steady state is commonly not specified. We identify four types of steady state that characterize the orogenic system and illustrate these cases by using numerical-model results and natural examples. These t...