Coupling between different layers of the lithosphere under horizontal drag underneath

Abstract

Based on a layered rheological model of the lithosphere, the velocity and stress distributions in the lithosphere under horizontal drag underneath were calculated using viscoelastic finite element method of plain strain with finite deformation. In the simulation, different conditions of drag and blocking were assumed to study their influences on the stress distribution and the coupling between different layers. Blocking depth has little influence on the stress level in the whole area and the coupling between different layers, but influences the stress state in the area around the blocking. The area covered by the high stress anomaly becomes larger when the blocking depth becomes deeper, but the magnitude of the value of the maximum shear stress decreases. The greater the viscosity differences between different layers of the lithosphere, the greater the possibility of decoupling between them. Under the drag of normal mantle convection (the convection velocity is about 20 cm·a −1 ), a lithosphere with a rheological structure similar to that of North China could not have decoupling between different layers, while could have stress distribution with magnitude of several MPa to tens of MPa and could have anomalous areas with stress accumulation if the geological structure is complicated.