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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2000; v. 179; p. 217-230;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2000.179.01.14
© 2000 Geological Society of London

Deformation, metamorphism and exhumation: quantitative models for a continental collision zone in the Variscides

M. Seyferth & A. Henk

Institut für Geologie, Universität Würzburg, Pleicherwall 1, D-97070 Würzburg, Germany

Two-dimensional thermo-mechanical finite-element models are used to gain a quantitative insight into the complex strain partitioning in continental collision zones. If models with Moho temperatures of 700–900 °C, as is indicated by petrological data, are simulated, frequently used flow laws for the lower crust cannot reproduce significant crustal thickening. Instead, decoupling between crust and mantle occurs, resulting in the widening of a diffuse deformation zone. To reproduce observed petrological data and orogen geometries, a stronger lower crust, with viscosities between 1021 and 1023 Pa s, is required. Models are applied specifically to a collision zone from the Variscan Orogen of Central Europe to understand the tectonometamorphic history, strain partitioning within the collision zone, as well as the rapid synconvergent exhumation of metamorphic complexes. Model predictions agree with the observed distribution of peak metamorphic conditions and show systematic variations of contemporaneous pressure-temperature (P-T) paths across the collision zone.





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