Postcollisional lithospheric evolution of the Southeast Carpathians: Comparison of geodynamical models and observations

Abstract

Seismic evidence and thermal and topographic transients have led to the interpretation of lithospheric removal beneath the Southeast Carpathians region. A series of numerical geodynamic experiments in the context of the tectonic evolution of the region are conducted to test the surface-crustal response to lithosphere delamination and slab break-off. The results show that a delamination-type removal ("plate-like" migrating instability) causes a characteristic pattern of surface uplift/subsidence and crustal extension/shortening to occur due to the lithospheric deformation and dynamic/thermal forcing of the sublithospheric mantle. These features migrate with the progressive removal of the underlying lithosphere. Model results for delamination are comparable with observables related to the geodynamic evolution of the Southeast Carpathians since 10 Ma: the mantle structure inferred by seismic tomography, migrating patterns of uplift (>1.5 km) and subsidence (>2 km) in the region, crustal thinning in the Carpathian hinterland and thickening at the Focsani depression, and regional extension in the Carpathian corner (e.g., opening of Brasov basin) correlating with volcanism (e.g., Harghita and Persani volcanics) in the last 3 Myr.

Long Wavelength Progressive Plateau Uplift in Eastern Anatolia Since 20 Ma: Implications for the Role of Slab Peel‐Back and Break‐Off

“…This delamination-style progressive removal of the lithosphere and associated mantle dynamics suggest a distinct transient migratory pattern of surface subsidence and uplift and magmatism as well as crustal shortening and extension, different from the stationary convective removal process (Houseman et al, 1981;Molnar et al, 1993;Elkins-Tanton, 2007;Göğüş & Pysklywec, 2008b;Wang & Currie, 2015;Göğüş, Pysklywec, Şengör, et al, 2017;Bodur et al, 2018). Such processes of migrating instability mechanism with the surface subsidence and uplift have been linked with various regions: the Colorado Plateau (Bird, 1979;Levander et al, 2011), the Southern Sierra Nevada (Le Pourhiet et al, 2006;Saleeby et al, 2012Saleeby et al, , 2013, Wallowa mountains-Columbia basalts (Camp & Hanan, 2008;Darold & Humphreys, 2013), Andes , Southeast Carpathians (Girbacea & Frisch, 1998;Fillerup et al, 2010;Göğüş et al, 2016;van Wyk de Vries et al, 2018;Şengül Uluocak et al, 2019), Apennines (Channell & Mareschal, 1989;Chiarabba & Chiodini, 2013), Alboran Domain-western Mediterranean (Baratin et al, 2016;Docherty & Banda, 1995;Valera et al, 2008), Eastern Anatolia (Keskin, 2003;Şengör et al, 2003, 2008Göğüş & Pysklywec, 2008a;Göğüş et al, 2011), North Island of New Zealand (Stern et al, 2013), Pamir Mountains (Chapman et al, 2017), and Rhodope-Balkans (Burg, 2011).…”

Identifying mantle lithosphere inheritance in controlling intraplate orogenesis

“…Over the past 50 years this conventional theory of plate tectonics has been at the forefront of geodynamics. However, many features of lithosphere evolution fall outside the realm of the Wilson Cycle: plate tectonics has progressed beyond plate boundaries as the sole locus of major deformation with the study of intraplate orogenesis [e.g., Sykes , , ; Smith and Bruhn , ; Sibson , ; Ziegler et al , , ; Stein and Liu , ; Stephenson et al , ]; mantle lithosphere processes generating lithospheric instabilities (in the form of viscous dripping and delamination) that represent a foundering and recycling of plate material [e.g., Bird , ; Houseman et al , , ; Göǧüş and Pysklywec , ; Bajolet et al , ; Göǧüş et al , ] and in situ mantle lithosphere inversion of Archean cratonic keels [ Percival and Pysklywec , ]; and the interaction of subduction and large low shear velocity provinces in driving the development of large igneous provinces at the surface [e.g., Ernst et al , ; McNamara and Zhong , ; Bull et al , ; Heron et al , ; Mallard et al , ].…”

İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan Sütur Zonu (KD, Türkiye) Boyunca Gelişen Çarpışma Sonrası Orta Eosen Magmatizmasının Volkano-Stratigrafik Olarak Araştırılması

“…Furthermore, coevally developed magmatic pulse in the all three distinct region can be governed by sinking and denuding of the dense parts of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (Figure 14c) which is exemplified in many Alpine-Himalayan belt post-collisional magmatic regions (Göğüş et al, 2016 and references therein). We tentatively suggest that this mechanism also be suitable for the post-collisional middle Eocene magmatism along the Almus-Yıldızdağ-Yıldızeli range.…”