The role of gravitational body forces in the development of metamorphic core complexes

Alireza Bahadori (), William E. Holt, Jacqueline Austermann, Lajhon Campbell, E. Troy Rasbury, Daniel M. Davis, Christopher M. Calvelage and Lucy M. Flesch
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Alireza Bahadori: Columbia University in the City of New York
William E. Holt: Stony Brook University
Jacqueline Austermann: Columbia University in the City of New York
Lajhon Campbell: Stony Brook University
E. Troy Rasbury: Stony Brook University
Daniel M. Davis: Stony Brook University
Christopher M. Calvelage: University of Houston
Lucy M. Flesch: Purdue University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Within extreme continental extension areas, ductile middle crust is exhumed at the surface as metamorphic core complexes. Sophisticated quantitative models of extreme extension predicted upward transport of ductile middle-lower crust through time. Here we develop a general model for metamorphic core complexes formation and demonstrate that they result from the collapse of a mountain belt supported by a thickened crustal root. We show that gravitational body forces generated by topography and crustal root cause an upward flow pattern of the ductile lower-middle crust, facilitated by a detachment surface evolving into low-angle normal fault. This detachment surface acquires large amounts of finite strain, consistent with thick mylonite zones found in metamorphic core complexes. Isostatic rebound exposes the detachment in a domed upwarp, while the final Moho discontinuity across the extended region relaxes to a flat geometry. This work suggests that belts of metamorphic core complexes are a fossil signature of collapsed highlands.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33361-2

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