The instability of continental passive margins and its effect on continental topography and heat flow

Abstract

AbstractThe long geological history of passive margin evolution is complex yet typified by an initial ramp‐like tilting of the subaerial surface toward the continent‐ocean boundary, followed by episodic uplift and subsidence at a smaller wavelength. We argue that this behavior is due to changes in margin structure brought about by buoyancy‐driven lithospheric flow. Continental lithosphere is melt‐depleted, buoyant, and thick. It will resist convective breakdown into the asthenosphere below, but will be prone to lateral flow due to horizontal density contrasts. Changes in lithosphere thickness at the transition between continent and ocean will nucleate convection cells. Using a numerical model of viscous upper mantle flow, we show that stability or instability of the continental lithosphere at a passive margin is a function of the lithospheric rheology and composition. Increased compositional buoyancy leads to oceanward lateral flow of the continental lithosphere whereas decreased buoyancy has the opposite effect, causing landward lateral flow of the continental lithosphere. In model simulations, a continental lithosphere thought typical of Phanerozoic continental platforms experiences first a margin‐wide ramp‐like tilting, followed by topographic fluctuations due to an evolving array of convection cells in the mantle. The timing and magnitude of predicted changes in topography are similar to those observed at the eastern North American margin, suggesting that the tilting and episodic uplift and subsidence at continental passive margins are a natural consequence of the evolution of continental lithosphere after breakup and during mature seafloor spreading.