Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting
Abstract Relative plate motions during continental rifting result from the interplay of local with far‐field forces. Here we study the dynamics of rifting and breakup using large‐scale numerical simulations of mantle convection with self‐consistent evolution of plate boundaries. We show that contine...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080387 |
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| author | Martina M. Ulvrova Sascha Brune Simon Williams |
| author_facet | Martina M. Ulvrova Sascha Brune Simon Williams |
| author_sort | Martina M. Ulvrova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Relative plate motions during continental rifting result from the interplay of local with far‐field forces. Here we study the dynamics of rifting and breakup using large‐scale numerical simulations of mantle convection with self‐consistent evolution of plate boundaries. We show that continental separation follows a characteristic evolution with four distinctive phases: (1) an initial slow rifting phase with low divergence velocities and maximum tensional stresses, (2) a synrift speed‐up phase featuring an abrupt increase of extension rate with a simultaneous drop of tensional stress, (3) the breakup phase with inception of fast sea‐floor spreading, and (4) a deceleration phase occurring in most but not all models where extensional velocities decrease. We find that the speed‐up during rifting is compensated by subduction acceleration or subduction initiation even in distant localities. Our study illustrates new links between local rift dynamics, plate motions, and subduction kinematics during times of continental separation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eab37756e14e41fab6700a6d5018c9ae |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-eab37756e14e41fab6700a6d5018c9ae2025-08-20T01:51:45ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-02-014631338134710.1029/2018GL080387Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During RiftingMartina M. Ulvrova0Sascha Brune1Simon Williams2Institute of Geophysics ETH Zürich Zürich SwitzerlandGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam GermanyEarthByte Group, School of Geosciences University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales AustraliaAbstract Relative plate motions during continental rifting result from the interplay of local with far‐field forces. Here we study the dynamics of rifting and breakup using large‐scale numerical simulations of mantle convection with self‐consistent evolution of plate boundaries. We show that continental separation follows a characteristic evolution with four distinctive phases: (1) an initial slow rifting phase with low divergence velocities and maximum tensional stresses, (2) a synrift speed‐up phase featuring an abrupt increase of extension rate with a simultaneous drop of tensional stress, (3) the breakup phase with inception of fast sea‐floor spreading, and (4) a deceleration phase occurring in most but not all models where extensional velocities decrease. We find that the speed‐up during rifting is compensated by subduction acceleration or subduction initiation even in distant localities. Our study illustrates new links between local rift dynamics, plate motions, and subduction kinematics during times of continental separation.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080387riftingconvectionnumerical modelingplate motionplate tectonicssupercontinent breakup |
| spellingShingle | Martina M. Ulvrova Sascha Brune Simon Williams Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting Geophysical Research Letters rifting convection numerical modeling plate motion plate tectonics supercontinent breakup |
| title | Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting |
| title_full | Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting |
| title_fullStr | Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting |
| title_short | Breakup Without Borders: How Continents Speed Up and Slow Down During Rifting |
| title_sort | breakup without borders how continents speed up and slow down during rifting |
| topic | rifting convection numerical modeling plate motion plate tectonics supercontinent breakup |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080387 |
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