The Influence of Surface Processes on Continental Deformation: Extension and Erosion in the Basin and Range

在大陆变形过程中，应变很少在大区域内均匀分布，也很少均匀分布在断层等离散结构上。相反，一些地区可能会承受大量的应变，变形和隆起，而其他地区则相对未变形。造成这种情况的原因仍然不甚明了。应变分配的驱动因素可以从地壳的流变学差异到影响侵蚀的气候因素。在地壳拉张过程中，地表作用引起的地壳负荷的运动对断裂的寿命有重要影响。因此，表面过程可能在拉伸域的应变分配中起着至关重要的作用。盆地和山脉提供了一个理想的地区，研究地表过程对构造发展的影响，因为该地区自中新世以来一直受到持续的延伸，并适应气候梯度和不同的地表过程。该项目将把联合收割机热年代学分析与物理过程的数值模拟相结合，以模拟盆地和山脉的应变率历史，评估表面过程在多大程度上可被视为应变释放和山脉构造发展的驱动因素。这项工作的更广泛用途是，它可以帮助为与预测的气候变化相关的地震风险评估提供信息。

During continental deformation, strain is rarely evenly distributed across large regions, or equally partitioned onto discrete structures such as faults. Instead, some areas may host large amounts of strain, deformation and uplift, whilst others are left relatively undeformed. The reasons for this remain poorly understood. The drivers of partitioning of strain can range from rheological differences in the crust, to climate factors that influence erosion. During crustal extension, movement of surficial loads by surface processes can heavily influence the longevity of faults. It is thus possible that surface processes may play a vital role in partitioning strain in extensional domains. The Basin and Range provides an ideal area to study the influence of surface processes on tectonic development, as the region has been subject to ongoing extension since the Miocene and accommodates gradients in climate and different surface processes. This project will combine thermochronology analyses with numerical modelling of physical processes to characterise the strain rate history of the Basin and Range, assessing the extent to which surface processes can be considered drivers of strain release and range tectonic development. The wider utility of this work is that it can help inform seismic risk assessments associated with predicted climate change.