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SUMMARY We study possible responses to arc-continent or continent-continent collision using numerical models. Our short-term integration models show that the initial stage of deformation following continental collision is governed by the competition between three potential weakness zones: (1) mantle wedge, (2) plate interface and (3) lower continental crust. Depending on which of these is the weakest zone in the system, three different responses can be recognized: (1) subduction polarity reversal, (2) continuation of subduction and (3) delamination and back stepping. Subduction polarity reversal occurs if the mantle wedge is the weakest zone in the system. This happens only if the viscosity of the mantle wedge is at least one order of magnitude lower than the average viscosity of the lithosphere. In continent-continent collision, one additional condition needs to be satisfied for subduction polarity reversal to occur: for the subducting lithosphere the ratio of the viscosity of the lower continental crust to the viscosity of the upper lithospheric mantle must be equal to or higher than 0.006. The time required for polarity reversal depends on several parameters: the convergence rate, the sinking velocity of the detached slab and the relative strength of the mantle wedge, arc and backarc. The response to collision is continued subduction if the plate interface is the weakest zone, and is delamination and back stepping if the lower continental crust is the weakest area in the system. Our finding that a low-viscosity wedge is a prerequisite for a reversal of subduction polarity agrees with inferences about regions for which subduction polarity reversal has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of geodetic observations of postseismic relaxation most often represent the lithosphere with only a few layers with constant viscosity. This is surprising, because rock mechanical experiments consistently demonstrate that we should expect a profound vertical gradient in lithospheric viscosities, due to the geothermal gradient in this thermal boundary layer. We isolate the effect of lower crustal flow, where the effect of viscosity gradients has the largest impact on surface deformation. We therefore explore postseismic deformation in models with realistic vertical viscosity gradients, and seek to illustrate the differences between these models and those with idealized uniform viscosity layers. By means of synthetic experiments with a semi-analytical viscoelastic relaxation model, we show how, for a given earthquake, the averaged viscosity value obtained for a thick viscoelastic layer is dependent on both the layout of the geodetic network and on the observation time window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations shows that continental collision may evolve in different ways, resulting in a wide range of tectonic responses. In search of the controlling conditions and parameters, we start from the results of our previous work, which demonstrated that the properties of the plate contact are important for the overall dynamics of convergent plate margins. Two fundamental types of subduction plate contact can be distinguished: one based on a fault and the other based on a weak subduction channel. In this study, we investigate how the plate contact affects the initial stage of continental collision. We use a finite element method to solve the heat and the time-dependent momentum equations for elastic, (power-law) viscous and plastic rheologies. For the same rheological properties and driving forces, varying the nature of the plate contact leads to three types of responses. The presence of a subduction channel promotes coherent and, when the boundary conditions allow it, plate-like subduction of the continental margin. In models with a subduction fault, coherent subduction of the incoming continental lithosphere occurs when the colliding passive margin has a gentle slope. The approaching continental sliver starts to subduct and the subduction is characterized by a non-plate like behaviour—slower subduction velocity than in channel models and strong slab deformation. If the continental margin is steep and the strength of the incoming continental crust is high, fault models result in locking of the trench, eventually leading to slab break-off. If the crustal strength is relatively low, shear delamination of part of the crust is expected. In the channel model, this type of delamination never occurs. The tectonic settings used in our experiments (prescribed plate velocity of the subducting plate versus fixed subducting plate corresponding to a landlocked basin setting) do not significantly influence the nature of the model response. We conclude that initial stages of continental collision are strongly affected by whether the subduction contact is a fault or a channel. Neither the slab pull magnitude nor the tectonic setting is very important to the overall geodynamics at this stage. The plate contact type, along with the slope of the incoming passive margin and the rheology of the continent, controls whether the incoming crust (1) subducts entirely; (2) separates partially or entirely from the lithospheric mantle or (3) blocks the trench, likely leading to slab break-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Stress-dependent nonlinear upper mantle rheology has a firm base in rock mechanical tests, where this nonlinearity results from dislocation creep of minerals. In the last few decades there has been some attention to nonlinear, power-law, materials for application in scaled analogue experiments for tectonic processes. However, studies describing the rheology of analogue materials with the same nonlinear dependency on stress as observed for lithospheric mantle materials at relevant stress levels, are still lacking. In this study we have developed and rheologically tested materials based on combinations of silicone polymers and plasticine, with the aim of obtaining a material that can serve as a laboratory analogue to the power-law rheology of olivine aggregates at lithospheric mantle conditions. From our steady-state creep tests we find that it is possible to obtain such a power-law material, with effective viscosities over relevant model stress ranges [5–4000 Pa] that allow for nonlinear deformation at laboratory time scales. We apply the developed material to a process where localized deformation of the lithosphere can be expected: slab break-off. We study this process using analogue models, where we apply the new nonlinear material to the lithospheric mantle domains, while we use Newtonian glucose to represent the low viscous asthenosphere. Now that we properly manage power-law behavior in our analogue lithosphere materials, we are able to model localized lithospheric tearing. Highlights • New materials to represent the lithospheric mantle in analogue models. • find power-law behavior comparable to olivine rheology. • We observe localized deformation in an analogue slab break-off model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]