TOPO-EUROPE: The geoscience of coupled deep Earth-surface processes

Abstract

TOPO-EUROPE addresses the 4-D topographic evolution of the orogens and intra-plate regions of Europe through a multidisciplinary approach linking geology, geophysics, geodesy and geotechnology. TOPO-EUROPE integrates monitoring, imaging, reconstruction and modelling of the interplay between processes controlling continental topography and related natural hazards. Until now, research on neotectonics and related topography development of orogens and intra-plate regions has received little attention. TOPO-EUROPE initiates a number of novel studies on the quantification of rates of vertical motions, related tectonically controlled river evolution and land subsidence in carefully selected natural laboratories in Europe. From orogen through platform to continental margin, these natural laboratories include the Alps/Carpathians-Pannonian Basin System, the West and Central European Platform, the Apennines-Aegean-Anatolian region, the Iberian Peninsula, the Scandinavian Continental Margin, the East-European Platform, and the Caucasus-Levant area. TOPO-EUROPE integrates European research facilities and know-how essential to advance the understanding of the role of topography in Environmental Earth System Dynamics. The principal objective of the network is twofold. Namely, to integrate national research programs into a common European network and, furthermore, to integrate activities among TOPO-EUROPE institutes and participants. Key objectives are to provide an interdisciplinary forum to share knowledge and information in the field of the neotectonic and topographic evolution of Europe, to

The lithospheric density structure below the western Himalayan syntaxis: tectonic implications

“…The maximum crustal thickness of the Indian and Asian plate is c. 65-70 km under the Karakoram-Pamir ranges. The occurrence of the lowest gravity field under the Pamir where the underthrust lithosphere from two sides interacts indicates that the upper mantle in this section might be serpentinized by fluids that are common in present-day orogenic belts (Cloetingh et al 2007). The serpentinized mantle might be a reason for the absence of deeper earthquakes in this region.…”

TOPO-EUROPE: Coupled Deep Earth – Surface Processes in Europe

“…TOPO-EUROPE research focuses on the following four interrelated components: (1) geodetic monitoring of the Earth System; (2) geophysical imaging and high-performance computing of the deep Earth and lithosphere; (3) geological dynamic topography reconstruction; and (4) process modelling and validation. 1 Process modelling and geoprediction require iterative runs of the sequence 'observation, modelling, process quantification, and optimisation and prediction'. Working together in a concerted effort on common data sets provides the frame for intense cross-fertilization between disciplines and for an optimal dissemination of results.…”

Geokinematics of Central Europe: New insights from the CERGOP-2/Environment Project

“…Systematic reprocessing of the campaigns, and additional campaigns done under the EU sponsored Projects CERGOP and CERGOP-2, have enabled us to extend the work of Grenerczy and Kenyeres (2006) and detail the horizontal velocities of sites, their uncertainty, and the velocity field associated with the horizontal motion. The potential of GPS data for a better understanding of the 4-D topographic evolution of the orogens and intraplate regions of Europe has recently been reviewed by Cloetingh et al (2007) in the frame of the TOPO EUROPE Project. The average velocity field resulting from the interpolation of a dense network of GPS stations can provide a unique link among several processes controlling the evolution of Central Europe.…”