scholarly journals Testing the effects of topography, geometry, and kinematics on modeled thermochronometer cooling ages in the eastern Bhutan Himalaya

Solid Earth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle E. Gilmore ◽  
Nadine McQuarrie ◽  
Paul R. Eizenhöfer ◽  
Todd A. Ehlers

Abstract. In this study, reconstructions of a balanced geologic cross section in the Himalayan fold–thrust belt of eastern Bhutan are used in flexural–kinematic and thermokinematic models to understand the sensitivity of predicted cooling ages to changes in fault kinematics, geometry, topography, and radiogenic heat production. The kinematics for each scenario are created by sequentially deforming the cross section with  ∼ 10 km deformation steps while applying flexural loading and erosional unloading at each step to develop a high-resolution evolution of deformation, erosion, and burial over time. By assigning ages to each increment of displacement, we create a suite of modeled scenarios that are input into a 2-D thermokinematic model to predict cooling ages. Comparison of model-predicted cooling ages to published thermochronometer data reveals that cooling ages are most sensitive to (1) the location and size of fault ramps, (2) the variable shortening rates between 68 and 6.4 mm yr−1, and (3) the timing and magnitude of out-of-sequence faulting. The predicted ages are less sensitive to (4) radiogenic heat production and (5) estimates of topographic evolution. We used the observed misfit of predicted to measured cooling ages to revise the cross section geometry and separate one large ramp previously proposed for the modern décollement into two smaller ramps. The revised geometry results in an improved fit to observed ages, particularly young AFT ages (2–6 Ma) located north of the Main Central Thrust. This study presents a successful approach for using thermochronometer data to test the viability of a proposed cross section geometry and kinematics and describes a viable approach to estimating the first-order topographic evolution of a compressional orogen.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle E. Gilmore ◽  
Nadine McQuarrie ◽  
Paul Eizenhöfer ◽  
Todd A. Ehlers

Abstract. The temporal and kinematic evolution of fold-thrust belts is a critical component for evaluating the viability of proposed plate tectonic, geodynamic and even climatic processes in regions of convergence. Thermochronometer data have the potential to provide temporal constraints, but interpretations of these data are sensitive to both exhumational and deformational processes. In this study, reconstructions of a balanced geologic cross section in the Himalayan fold-thrust belt of eastern Bhutan are used in a flexural and thermal-kinematic model to understand the sensitivity of predicted cooling ages to changes in fault kinematics, geometry and topography. We sequentially deform the cross section with ~ 10 km deformation steps and apply flexural loading and erosional unloading at each step to develop a high-resolution evolution of deformation, erosion, and burial over time. Comparison of model-predicted cooling ages to published thermochronometer data reveals that cooling ages are most sensitive to (1) location and magnitude of fault ramps, (2) variable shortening rates between 68-6.4 mm/yr, and (3) timing and magnitude of out-of-sequence faulting. The predicted ages are less sensitive to (4) radiogenic heat production, and (5) estimates of topographic evolution. We propose a revised cross section geometry that separates one large ramp previously proposed for the modern decollement into two smaller ramps. The revised cross section results in an improved fit to observed ages, particularly young AFT ages (2–6 Ma) located north of the Main Central Thrust.


Author(s):  
Hareesh K. R. Kommepalli ◽  
Andrew D. Hirsh ◽  
Christopher D. Rahn ◽  
Srinivas A. Tadigadapa

This paper introduces a novel T-beam actuator fabricated by a piezoelectric MEMS fabrication process. ICP-RIE etching from the front and back of a bulk PZT chip is used to produce stair stepped structures through the thickness with complex inplane shapes. Masked electrode deposition creates active and passive regions in the PZT structure. With a T-shaped crosssection, and bottom and top flange and web electrodes, a cantilevered beam can bend in-plane and out-of-plane with bimorph actuation in both directions. One of these T-beam actuators is fabricated and experimentally tested. An experimentally validated model predicts that the cross-section geometry can be optimized to produce higher displacement and blocking force.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine McQuarrie ◽  
Mary Braza

<div> <p>One of the first order questions regarding a cross-section representation through a fold-thrust belt (FTB) is usually “how unique is this geometrical interpretation of the subsurface?”  The proposed geometry influences perceptions of inherited structures, decollement horizons, and both rheological and kinematic behavior.  Balanced cross sections were developed as a tool to produce more accurate and thus more predictive geological cross sections.  While balanced cross sections provide models of subsurface geometry that can reproduce the mapped surface geology, they are non-unique, opening the possibility that different geometries and kinematics may be able to satisfy the same set of observations. The most non-unique aspects of cross sections are: (1) the geometry of structures that is not seen at the surface, and (2) the sequence of thrust faulting.  We posit that integrating sequentially restored cross sections with thermokinematic models that calculate the resulting subsurface thermal field and predicted cooling ages of rocks at the surface provides a valuable means to assess the viability of proposed geometry and kinematics.  Mineral cooling ages in compressional settings are the outcome of surface uplift and the resulting focused erosion.  As such they are most sensitive to the vertical component of the kinematic field imparted by ramps and surface breaking faults in sequential reconstructions of FTB.  Because balanced cross sections require that the lengths and locations of hanging-wall and footwall ramps match, they provide a template of the ways in which the location and magnitude of ramps in the basal décollement have evolved with time.  Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas is an ideal place to look at the sensitivity of cooling ages to different cross section geometries and kinematic models. Recent studies from this portion of the Himalayan FTB include both a suite of different cross section geometries and a robust bedrock thermochronology dataset. The multiple published cross-sections differ in the details of geometry, implied amounts of shortening, kinematic history, and thus exhumation pathways. Published cooling ages data show older ages (6-10 Ma AFT, 12-14 Ma ZFT) in the frontal portions of the FTB and significantly younger ages (2-5 Ma AFT, 6-8 Ma ZFT) in the hinterland. These ages are best reproduced with kinematic sequence that involves early forward propagation of the FTB from 14-10 Ma.  The early propagation combined with young hinterland cooling ages require several periods of out-of-sequence faulting. Out-of-sequence faults are concentrated in two windows of time (10-8 Ma and 7-5 Ma) that show systematic northward reactivation of faults.  Quantitative integration of cross section geometry, kinematics and cooling ages require notably more complicated kinematic and exhumation pathways than are typically assumed with a simple in-sequence model of cross section deformation.  While also non-unique, the updated cross section geometry and kinematics highlight components of geometry, deformation and exhumation that must be included in any valid cross section model for this portion of the eastern Himalaya.</p> </div>


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1661-1663 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.O. Alabi ◽  
F.O. Akinluyi . ◽  
M.O. Ojo . ◽  
B.A. Adebo .

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aníbal J.J. Valido ◽  
João Barradas Cardoso

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a design sensitivity analysis continuum formulation for the cross-section properties of thin-walled laminated composite beams. These properties are expressed as integrals based on the cross-section geometry, on the warping functions for torsion, on shear bending and shear warping, and on the individual stiffness of the laminates constituting the cross-section. Design/methodology/approach In order to determine its properties, the cross-section geometry is modeled by quadratic isoparametric finite elements. For design sensitivity calculations, the cross-section is modeled throughout design elements to which the element sensitivity equations correspond. Geometrically, the design elements may coincide with the laminates that constitute the cross-section. Findings The developed formulation is based on the concept of adjoint system, which suffers a specific adjoint warping for each of the properties depending on warping. The lamina orientation and the laminate thickness are selected as design variables. Originality/value The developed formulation can be applied in a unified way to open, closed or hybrid cross-sections.


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