Mode of intracontinental mountain building controlled by lower crustal composition and mantle lithosphere depletion.

ABSTRACT: Tectonic plate convergence is accommodated across the continental lithosphere via discrete lithospheric subduction or distributed shortening and thickening. These end-member deformation modes control intra-plate mountain building, but their selection mechanism remains unclear. The variable composition of the continental crust and lithospheric mantle, which impacts its density and rheology, can be inferred by the distribution of magnetic-indicated crustal iron. Here we demonstrate that vertically coherent pure-shear shortening dominated the active Tian Shan orogen, central Asia, based on high-resolution aeromagnetic imaging and geophysical-geodetic observations. Integrating these findings with thermomechanical collisional models reveals that the mode of intracontinental deformation depends

SUBMITTER: Xu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12552677 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature