Stress and strain modeling of the Central European Basin system during the Mesozoic

Scope

During the Mesozoic the Central European Basin System (CRBS) went through a phase of “differentiation”; that means a complex pattern of contemporary differential uplift and subsidence developed in adjacent basin areas. At least partly, these regional units within the CEBS are related to deeper crustal or even lithospheric structures which have been derived from geophysical data. Interestingly, according to plate tectonic reconstructions the general stress field did not change much until the onset of the alpine orogeny. The observed deformation patterns most probably resulted from the interaction between regional variations in lithosphere rheology and minor variations at the effective stress boundaries. However, numerical models do not yet exist which rigorously explain the major deformation pattern and development of subbasins in the context of rheology and stress dynamics. These interactions will be considered by use of a large scale spherical thin sheet model for various time slices together with a detailed reconstruction of paleo-temperatures and their effects on rheological properties. The project will be carried out in a joint attempt between GFZ-Potsdam, RWTH-Aachen and the University of Milan.

Participants

 

• U. Bayer
• M. Cacace

Partners

 

• R. Littke, RWTH Aachen
• A.-M. Marotta, Uni Milano
• R. Sabadini

Funding

DFG Schwerpunktprogramm: "Dynamik sedimentärer Systeme unter wechselnden Spannungsregimen am Beispiel des zentraleuropäischen Beckensystems"