Continental rifts losing driving forces can still complete breakup.

ABSTRACT: The complex evolution of continental rift systems results from the intricate interplay of external driving forces and the rift system's responses. For this reason, allowing plate kinematics to emerge from the force balance can provide deeper insights than imposing prescribed velocity boundary conditions. This study investigates the influence of temporally varying driving forces, possibly resulting from changes in slab dynamics, on rift evolution using numerical and semi-analytical models. We examined the effects of varying the timing ([Formula: see text]), duration ([Formula: see text]), and magnitude ([Formula: see text]) of boundary traction reductions on extension velocities ([Formula: see text]). Our models demonstrate that later initiation of traction reduction and slower reduction ra

SUBMITTER: Silva KCC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12549862 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature