Stress field in the Antarctic tectonic plate: elastic and plastic models

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare different rheological models of tectonic plates for the same set of input data. First, the 2D elastic tectonic stress field in Antarctic plate is modelled by employing experimental data on principal stress orientations. Then the determination of the 2D stress field by assuming the Antarctic lithospheric plate to be in fully plastic state follows. Boundary conditions for the plastic model are specified from the elastic solution. A finitedifference type approach based of alternation of the Cauchy boundary value problems for the construction of the slip lines and the principal stress trajectories is applied to obtain distribution of the mean stress within Antarctic plate. The significance of rheology is underpinned by comparing the elastic and plastic fields of the mean stress.