@article{IbarraLiuMeessenetal.2019,
  author    = {Ibarra, Federico and Liu, Sibiao and Meeßen, Christian and Prezzi, Claudia Beatriz and Bott, Judith and Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena and Sobolev, Stephan Vladimir and Strecker, Manfred},
  title     = {3D data-derived lithospheric structure of the Central Andes and its implications for deformation: Insights from gravity and geodynamic modelling},
  series = {Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth},
  volume    = {766},
  journal   = {Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0040-1951},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.tecto.2019.06.025},
  pages     = {453 -- 468},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {We present a new three-dimensional density model of the Central Andes characterizing the structure and composition of the lithosphere together with a geodynamic simulation subjected to continental intraplate shortening. The principal aim of this study is to assess the link between heterogeneities in the lithosphere and different deformation patterns and styles along the orogen-foreland system of the Central Andes. First, we performed a 3D integration of new geological and geophysical data with previous models through forward modelling of Bouguer anomalies. Subsequently, a geodynamic model was set-up and parametrized from the previously obtained 3D structure and composition. We do not find a unambigous correlation between the resulting density configuration and terrane boundaries proposed by other authors. Our models reproduce the observed Bouguer anomaly and deformation patterns in the foreland. We find that thin-skinned deformation in the Subandean fold-and thrust belt is controlled by a thick sedimentary layer and coeval underthrusting of thin crust of the foreland beneath the thick crust of the Andean Plateau. In the adjacent thick-skinned deformation province of the inverted Cretaceous extensional Santa Barbara System sedimentary strata are much thinner and crustal thickness transitions from greater values in the Andean to a more reduced thickness in the foreland. Our results show that deformation processes occur where the highest gradients of lithospheric strength are present between the orogen and the foreland, thus suggesting a spatial correlation between deformation and lithospheric strength.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GomezGarciaMeessenScheckWenderothetal.2019,
  author    = {Gomez-Garcia, Angela Maria and Meeßen, Christian and Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena and Monsalve, Gaspar and Bott, Judith and Bernhardt, Anne and Bernal, Gladys},
  title     = {3-D Modeling of Vertical Gravity Gradients and the Delimitation of Tectonic Boundaries: The Caribbean Oceanic Domain as a Case Study},
  series = {Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems},
  volume    = {20},
  journal   = {Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems},
  number    = {11},
  publisher = {American Geophysical Union},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1525-2027},
  doi       = {10.1029/2019GC008340},
  pages     = {5371 -- 5393},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Geophysical data acquisition in oceanic domains is challenging, implying measurements with low and/or nonhomogeneous spatial resolution. The evolution of satellite gravimetry and altimetry techniques allows testing 3-D density models of the lithosphere, taking advantage of the high spatial resolution and homogeneous coverage of satellites. However, it is not trivial to discretise the source of the gravity field at different depths. Here, we propose a new method for inferring tectonic boundaries at the crustal level. As a novelty, instead of modeling the gravity anomalies and assuming a flat Earth approximation, we model the vertical gravity gradients (VGG) in spherical coordinates, which are especially sensitive to density contrasts in the upper layers of the Earth. To validate the methodology, the complex oceanic domain of the Caribbean region is studied, which includes different crustal domains with a tectonic history since Late Jurassic time. After defining a lithospheric starting model constrained by up-to-date geophysical data sets, we tested several a-priory density distributions and selected the model with the minimum misfits with respect to the VGG calculated from the EIGEN-6C4 data set. Additionally, the density of the crystalline crust was inferred by inverting the VGG field. Our methodology enabled us not only to refine, confirm, and/or propose tectonic boundaries in the study area but also to identify a new anomalous buoyant body, located in the South Lesser Antilles subduction zone, and high-density bodies along the Greater, Lesser, and Leeward Antilles forearcs.},
  language  = {en}
}