Gravitational Collapse and Tertiary Extension in the North American Cordillera

由于地壳过厚或深部热扰动引起的岩石圈势能过大导致的重力坍缩被认为是北美科迪勒拉第三纪伸展的主要机制。该项目的目的是约束控制重力坍缩的主要参数及其对科迪勒拉第三纪构造的可能影响。这项研究将把科迪勒拉的地质和地球物理证据与物理模型结合起来。要研究的主要过程，如流变分层、局部应变软化和流变层之间的力学解耦，对所有大陆的演化都至关重要。从这项研究中获得的见解应该对大陆构造学有广泛的影响。

Gravitational collapse driven by the excessive potential energy of the lithosphere owing to over thickened crust or deep thermal perturbations is believed to be the primary mechanism for Tertiary extension in the North American Cordillera. The objective of this project is to constrain the major parameters controlling gravitational collapse and their possible implications for tertiary tectonics in the Cordillera. The research will combine geological and geophysical evidence from the Cordillera with physical modeling. The major processes to be investigated, such as rheologic stratification, localized strain softening and mechanical decoupling between rheological layers, are critical to the evolution of all continents. Insight gained from this research should have broad implications for continental tectonics.