Stretch and fold: Multistage analogue experiments of rifting, inversion, and orogenesis

Abstract

<p>Analogue models are powerful tools for investigating extensional and convergent tectonic processes in 4D and at multiple scales. However, rarely do we introduce two successive phases of tectonism in a single analogue experiment to study the interaction between structures from two kinematically distinct tectonic events. Here we showcase a series of analogue experiments in which lithospheric-scale models are extended and subsequently shortened, simulating rifting followed by inversion and mountain building.</p><p>In our experiments, we simulate rifting by extending a multi-layer, brittle-ductile model lithosphere; this initial model is analogous to a hot, thickened lithosphere immediately after orogenesis. We demonstrate that the absence or presence of a narrow, pre-existing weakness in the lithospheric mantle results in end-member models of either wide or narrow rifting, respectively. Extension is immediately followed by shortening of the model, where we observe that contractional structures are localised along pre-existing rift basins. Analyses of particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) data reveal that shortening is accommodated by several mechanisms, including reverse reactivation of normal faults and buckling and/or inversion within pre-existing basins. We also show that these findings are consistent with field and geophysical observations from northern Australia as well as previous numerical experiments.</p>