On the origin of orogens
CELEBRATING ADVANCES IN GEOSCIENCE
R.A. Jamieson1,† and C. Beaumont2
1
Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
2
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
ABSTRACT
In order to understand how orogens
“work,” a quantitative approach demon-
strating proof of concept is essential. Our
goal is to reconcile the diverse array of tec-
tonic features observed in natural orogens in
the context of “working” numerical models
that are consistent with both the underlying
physics and first-order geological constraints.
We present a simple conceptual temperature-
magnitude (T-M) framework for orogenesis
in terms of the progression from small-cold
to large-hot orogens, and we use forward
numerical models to test hypotheses cor-
responding to specific stages along the T-M
spectrum. Small-cold orogens are analyzed
using crustal-scale singularity (S) point mod-
els, in which suborogenic mantle lithosphere
is kinematically subducted beneath crust that
deforms by critical wedge mechanics. The
transition from oceanic subduction to conti-
nental collision, and the subsequent evolution
of large-hot orogens, has been investigated
using both crustal- and upper-mantle–scale
models, the latter including dynamic sub-
duction of suborogenic mantle lithosphere.
Large-hot orogens with thick crust are char-
acterized by elevated plateaus with a strong
superstructure underlain by hot, weak,
lower-crustal infrastructure. Beneath pla-
teaus, tectonic processes are dominated by
ductile flow of weak crust in response to dif-
ferential pressure, while plateau flanks form
external thrust-sense wedges. We discuss four
topical issues in orogenic tectonics, includ-
ing the response of the suborogenic mantle
lithosphere to convergence, the interaction
of climate and tectonics, the current debate
concerning wedge versus channel-flow mod-
els to explain the Himalayan-Tibetan system,
and the interpretation of metamorphic ar-
chitecture in terms of orogenic processes. We
conclude that collisional orogenesis is driven
largely by subduction and accretion of mate-
†
E-mail: beckyj@dal.ca
GSA Bulletin; November/December 2013; v. 125; no. 11/12; p. 1671–1702; doi: 10.1130/B30855.1; 17 figures.
rial at convergent margins, accompanied by
shortening, thickening, and heating of de-
formed crust.
INTRODUCTION
In the mid-1960s, the plate-tectonics revolu-
tion led to rapid advances in understanding how
plate-boundary processes are related to tec-
tonic features in modern and ancient orogenic
belts (e.g., Wilson, 1966; Dewey and Bird,
1970; Dickinson, 1971; Molnar and Tappon-
nier, 1975). Processes such as subduction, arc-
continent accretion, ophiolite obduction, and
continent-continent collision were recognized
as fundamental to the construction of moun-
tain belts, leading to insights into continental
evolution over time (e.g., Condie, 1976). In
the intervening 40 yr, various complementary
approaches have advanced our understanding
of orogenic processes. Conceptual models,
based mainly on geological data, link observed
lithotectonic assemblages characteristic of par-
ticular plate-tectonic settings (e.g., arcs, sub-
duction zones, continental terranes) to their
postulated interactions during plate collisions
(e.g., Dewey and Bird, 1970; Zagorevski and
van Staal, 2011; Vanderhaeghe, 2012). Physi-
cal experiments using analog materials have
also offered insights into tectonic processes and
structural geometries in simplified tectonic set-
tings (e.g., Malavieille, 1984; Chemenda et al.,
1995; Storti et al., 2000). A more theoretical
but increasingly realistic approach has been
to quantify tectonic processes using analyti-
cal or numerical models that apply continuum
mechanics to the physics of strain, heat transfer,
and mass transport in orogens (e.g., Oxburgh
and Turcotte, 1974; England and McKenzie,
1982; England and Thompson, 1984; Willett
et al., 1993; Beaumont et al., 1996a, 2001;
Braun, 2002; Gerya and Stockhert, 2006).
The conceptual approach dominates geo-
logical textbooks and modern reviews of oro-
genic tectonics (e.g., Johnson and Harley, 2012;
Vanderhaeghe, 2012). However, in many cases,
proof of concept has not been demonstrated. Do
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© 2013 Geological Society of America
18 8 8 2 013
Invited Review
the processes envisaged in conceptual models
really happen, and if so, how? Analog experi-
ments are instructive but subject to limitations in
experimental design (e.g., Allen and Beaumont,
2012; Souloumiac et al., 2012), which make
coupled thermal-mechanical modeling, in partic-
ular, difficult owing to the lack of materials that
scale correctly. The numerical approach, while
generally less accessible, has offered consider-
able insight into the physics of tectonic processes,
but until recently, it has not reproduced geologi-
cal features of orogenic belts, particularly their
internal structure, very well and has therefore not
resonated with the geological community. How
can physics be reconciled with geology?
The purpose of this paper is to provide a
quantitative perspective on orogenic evolu-
tion based on the work of the Dalhousie Geo-
dynamics Group and our colleagues, who over
the past 20 yr have helped to develop this field
of research. We acknowledge the importance of
other contributions and offer selected compari-
sons, but we do not attempt to review the field
in detail (for recent overviews, see Schellart and
Rawlinson, 2010; Gerya, 2011; Vanderhaeghe,
2012; Johnson and Harley, 2012; Roeder, 2012).
Using forward numerical models designed to
test simple hypotheses, our motivation is to
understand orogenesis in a way that is consis-
tent with both the underlying physics and first-
order geological constraints, including crustal
structure, petrology, and geochronology. We
present a broadly historical approach, following
progressive improvements in model design, in
order to address a range of orogenic processes.
Our goal is to answer the question: How do
orogens “work”?
GEODYNAMIC FRAMEWORK
The work summarized herein is based on a
few underlying premises: (1) Orogenic tectonics
are the expression of lithosphere-scale plate
convergence that starts at subduction zones
or formerly transcurrent boundaries; (2) the
mechanical (structural) response of the crust to
subduction-collision processes is determined
1671
 Jamieson and Beaumont

by temperature-dependent material properties,
in particular rheological properties; (3) key
factors governing orogenic style are accumula-
tion of mass from crustal and mantle sources
(magnitude, M) and a corresponding increase
in temperature (T); (4) lateral transport of mate-
rial and heat within and beneath orogens is as
important as vertical transport; and (5) mantle
asthenosphere and lithosphere, crust, and sur-
face processes all play key roles, possibly cryp-
tic, at various stages in orogenesis. Beaumont
et al. (2006) summarized these controls using
a conceptual orogenic temperature-magnitude
(T-M) diagram (Fig. 1), in which changes in
magnitude (a measure of mass, cross-sectional
area, and/or thickness) and temperature are
viewed as controlling the tectonic style of oro-
genic systems during their growth and decay.
The purpose of the T-M diagram is primarily
pedagogical in that it provides a general organi-
zational framework for orogen evolution, from
small-cold to large-hot systems. The terminol-
ogy (Beaumont et al., 2006) is borrowed from
stellar classification theory, in which the Hertz-
sprung-Russell diagram also plots temperature
against magnitude or equivalent quantities as a
measure of stellar structure.
Controls on Orogenic Magnitude
Orogenic magnitude increases as a result of
accretion of sediment, crust, and mantle litho-
sphere material during terrane or continental
collision, and by the addition of mantle-derived
magmas to the crust in oceanic and continental
arc systems. Magnitude decreases when orogenic
lithosphere is removed by erosion or subduction,
or by thinning during postorogenic extension.
The rate at which magnitude increases along the
T-M spectrum (Fig. 1) reflects the competition
among these processes.
End-member styles of thickening include
detachment and accretion of crust while the
subcrustal lithosphere subducts (e.g., Willett
et al., 1993; Gerya, 2011), or distributed short-
ening of crust and mantle lithosphere (e.g.,
Houseman et al., 1981; England and Thomp-
son, 1984; Houseman and Molnar, 2001). For
a given crustal thickness, these two end mem-
bers predict significant differences in thermal
structure resulting from the contrasting mantle

Large Hot Orogens

prowedge plateau retrowedge foredeep
foredeep sutu
re zone strong superstructure
ductile
infrastructure
strong lower crust
S

P LAT EAU
Transitional Orogens
c e
en
procontinent retrocontinent
lower c rust
rust UHP
lo r c
e u
ns
w
q
Se
S
io
ai
n
llis H
co
M T Y
l A
Magnitude

i c a W C
g en ent O s D
E
ro tin R arc
O n G atic
co gm
m a

Small Cold Orogens

procontinent retrocontinent Temperature

Figure 1. Conceptual orogenic temperature-magnitude (T-M) diagram showing growth from small-cold to large-hot orogens (after Beau-
mont et al., 2006). In collisional orogens, increasing magnitude and temperature both result from accretion and thickening of crustal mate-
rial. In magmatic arc systems (not considered here), voluminous addition of mantle-derived magmas exerts an additional control on the
evolution of the system. UHP—ultrahigh pressure; S—singularity.

1672 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


behaviors. In either mode, thickening occurs on
plate-tectonic time scales (controlled by conver-
gence velocity, VP, or shortening rate), limited
by the effects of syntectonic erosion and/or par-
tial subduction of convergent crust and underly-
ing mantle lithosphere. Rates of erosion during
convergence can vary dramatically depending
on factors such as the distribution of orographic
rainfall, glaciation, and the physiography of
the orogen itself (e.g., Willett, 1999a; Braun,
2006), and both the rate and distribution of ero-
sion influence the overall evolution of the sys-
tem. Postconvergent orogenic decay typically
involves crustal extension and thinning, coupled
with erosion that outcompetes accretion of new
material, leading to a decrease in magnitude and
eventually temperature.
Controls on Orogenic Temperature
Orogenic temperature is controlled by a com-
bination of crustal and mantle heat sources,
with crustal sources dominating in continental
collision zones and mantle sources dominating
in active magmatic arc systems. Crustal heat
production is controlled by the concentration of
radioactive heat-producing elements (U, Th, K).
In stable continental interiors, these elements
are concentrated in the upper and middle crust
(e.g., Rudnick and Fountain, 1995; Hasterok
and Chapman, 2011), but they may be more-
or-less evenly distributed at elevated concen-
trations in sedimentary basins, including conti-
nental margins which are the loci of collisional
orogenesis (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1998; Huerta
et al., 1998; Sandiford and McLaren, 2002).
Crustal heat production in collisional orogens
may therefore greatly exceed that of cratonic
or “standard” continental crust. Furthermore,
redistribution of crustal materials during oro-
genesis may bury tectonically accreted radio-
active material (Jamieson et al., 1998; Huerta
et al., 1998), thereby embedding a long-lived
heat source in the lower orogenic crust, where it
is capable of heating, and therefore weakening,
the middle and lower orogenic crust far more
efficiently than the equivalent material at the
surface (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1998).
Other factors that can affect the thermal struc-
ture of orogenic belts include shear heating (e.g.,
England and Molnar, 1993; Burg and Gerya,
2005; Nabelek et al., 2010), variations in ther-
mal conductivity and diffusivity (e.g., Mottaghy
et al., 2008; Whittington et al., 2009), thermal
buffering by endothermic and exothermic reac-
tions, magmatic underplating, and migration
of fluids and magmas through the crust (e.g.,
Thompson and Connolly, 1995; Stüwe, 1995;
Brown, 2010; Gerya and Meilick, 2011). While
each of these may be important in particular set-
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
tings (e.g., magmatic arcs), most appear to have
a relatively limited effect on overall crustal tem-
perature during postarc collisional orogenesis.
For example, the feedback between shear heat-
ing and viscosity reduction at high temperature
means that this process may be self-limiting,
except in very strong materials, and the insulat-
ing effects of temperature-dependent conductiv-
ity are most significant at T < 400 °C. In both
cases, these effects should be most pronounced
during the early stages of crustal thickening.
In contrast, burial of heat-producing elements
has long-term effects on the temperature of the
lower crust and uppermost mantle (Jamieson
et al., 1998, 2002; Huerta et al., 1998; Sandiford
and McLaren, 2002), and, therefore, on crustal
strength in general. Redistribution of radioactive
elements to the upper crust during multiple
stages of fractionation has the opposite effect
to burying them during accretion. The resulting
decrease in crustal geotherms leads to a signifi-
cant increase in the strength of polycyclic versus
juvenile crust, and corresponding differences in
mechanical behavior during convergence.
Lateral accretion of crustal material during
collision increases crustal heat production in the
growing orogen, leading to T ≥ 700 °C in sub-
stantial volumes of the middle and lower crust
within 20–25 m.y. of the onset of collision. In
contrast, models assuming homogeneous thick-
ening of the entire lithosphere require 50–100
m.y. for thermal relaxation of the lower crust
(e.g., England and Thompson, 1984). Once tem-
peratures exceed the partial melting threshold,
the corresponding reduction in strength will pro-
foundly change the behavior of the orogenic sys-
tem (e.g., Rosenberg and Handy, 2005; Rosen-
berg et al., 2007), marking the transition from
“small-cold” to “large-hot” orogens (Fig. 1;
Jamieson et al., 2004, 2011).
Modeling Approach
The criteria used by the Dalhousie Geo-
dynamics Group for model design and param-
eter selection have been detailed elsewhere
(e.g., Beaumont et al., 2006). Model designs
are deliberately simplified by comparison with
nature, but the numerical methodology must be
robust and able to solve the underlying coupled
mechanical and thermal problems operating at
orogenic scales (e.g., Fullsack, 1995; Jamieson
et al., 1998).
The results summarized here are from two-
dimensional (2-D) mechanical and coupled
thermal-mechanical models, including crustal-
scale models in which the behavior of the
mantle is kinematically prescribed (e.g.,
Willett et al., 1993), and upper-mantle–scale
models that incorporate subduction dynamics
(e.g., Pysklywec et al., 2000). A typical crustal-
scale model consists of 35-km-thick, laterally
uniform crust, with two or more layers that vary
in their rheological and/or thermal properties
(e.g., Fig. 2B). Subcrustal mantle prolithosphere
converges at velocity VP, detaches at point S, and
subducts beneath the retrolithosphere, which is
commonly assumed to be stationary (VR = 0).
A typical upper-mantle–scale model consists of
two continental lithospheric domains that may
have variable properties and that may be sepa-
rated by an oceanic domain. The dynamics of
the underlying mantle lithosphere and astheno-
sphere are modeled to a depth of 660 km. A uni-
form velocity condition is applied to one side of
the model, with subduction initiated by a weak
seed embedded near the center of the model.
The rate and angle of subduction are controlled
by the properties of the subducting lithosphere,
in particular, its strength and density relative to
the underlying asthenosphere. Enhanced resolu-
tion is achieved in model domain(s) of particular
interest by incorporating a small-scale subgrid
model within the full large-scale model (Beau-
mont et al., 2009).
Model parameters represent four key prop-
erty sets (e.g., Beaumont et al., 2006): (1) the
rheological parameters required to specify
the properties of the crust and mantle; (2) the
associated thermal properties; (3) the tectonic
velocity boundary conditions; and (4) the surface
processes model, which imposes boundary con-
ditions resulting from erosion and/or sedimenta-
tion. All of these play important roles in natural
systems and, in general, cannot be neglected.
In order to avoid overconstraining the models,
boundary forces on the lithosphere correspond-
ing to the velocity boundary conditions are now
monitored to ensure that they do not exceed the
“ridge push” or “slab pull” values envisaged to
act outside the model domain. Some important
parameters are poorly known or may be subject
to large experimental uncertainty or natural vari-
ability. In these cases, average values are gener-
ally chosen, unless there is a compelling reason
to do otherwise. A case in point involves the
choice of flow laws for model materials based
on laboratory experiments (e.g., Karato and Wu,
1993; Gleason and Tullis, 1995; Mackwell et al.,
1998; Mei and Kohlstedt, 2000; Hirth et al.,
2001; Hirth and Kohlstedt, 2003; Rybacki and
Dresen, 2004; Kohlstedt, 2006; Bürgmann and
Dresen, 2008; Karato, 2010; Behr and Platt,
2011; Wang et al., 2012). We limit potential
complexity by basing model rheologies on a
few reliable data sets, with appropriate scaling,
in order to minimize the number of sources of
error while allowing variation in viscous flow
properties (e.g., Beaumont et al., 2006; Jamieson
et al., 2007).
1673
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A Collision zone geomorphology

1989), Cascadia margin–Olympic Mountains
(Brandon et al., 1998), Taiwan (Fig. 3B; e.g.,
wedge dynamics crustal structure Suppe, 1981; Willett et al., 2003; Malavieille
foreland basin thermal evolution metamorphic history
stratigraphy and Trullenque, 2009), Pyrenees (Fig. 3C;
e.g., Muñoz, 1992; Beaumont et al., 2000b),
procontinent retrocontinent and the European Alps (Fig. 3E; e.g., Schmid
et al., 1996, 2004; Pfiffner et al., 2000; Steck,
2008). The Southern Alps of South Island, New
Figure 2. (A) Simplified rep- Zealand (Fig. 3D) represent an example of a
resentation of natural small- small-cold orogen that developed as a result of
transpression along a transcurrent plate bound-
cold collisional orogens, noting
features capable of being ex-
B Boundary conditions, VS = 0 ary (e.g., Wellman, 1979; Koons, 1990; Beau-
plained by numerical models. proside retroside mont et al., 1996b; Walcott, 1998; Molnar et al.,
(B) Boundary conditions for 1999; Sutherland et al., 2000; Baldock and
standard S-point model (after crust Stern, 2005).
VR = 0 To a first order, these orogens can be consid-
Willett et al., 1993). Proside
lithosphere (velocity = VP ) mantle S ered in a 2-D mechanical model framework in
converges on and is subducted
VP lithosphere VS = 0 which the crustal domain consists of single or
beneath retroside lithosphere back-to-back bivergent (“doubly vergent” of
(velocity = VR), with detachment Willett et al., 1993) critical wedges and where
at the S-point (velocity = VS). C Slab advance, VS > 0 mantle lithosphere ± lower crust subduct or
In the standard model, VP > 0, underthrust asymmetrically beneath the orogen.
VS = VR = 0. (C, D) Variations on However, in some cases, it is not clear whether
S-point velocity boundary con- the mantle underthrusts with little deformation
ditions representing slab ad- S0 S1 VR = 0 (e.g., Lesser Antilles—Torrini and Speed, 1989;
vance (VS > 0) and slab retreat VP VS > 0 European Alps—Schmid and Kissling, 2000)
(VS < 0), respectively. or whether it thickens symmetrically, becomes
unstable, and drips into the sublithospheric
D Slab retreat, VS < 0 mantle, as proposed by Molnar et al. (1999) for
South Island, New Zealand. The behavior of the
mantle lithosphere during continent-continent
collision is an unresolved but critical question
S1 S0 VR = 0 that we return to in the discussion section.
VP VS < 0 For our purposes, we define small-cold oro-
gens to be those in which the upper part of the
suborogenic mantle lithosphere underthrusts
with little deformation, particularly with little
bulk shortening, and where crustal thickening
In order to be considered successful, models model, i.e., one that is valid, consistency with a and heating are limited. Under these circum-
must be both numerically valid and geologically broad range of observations provides the funda- stances, the crustal tectonics can be analyzed
realistic. These aspects can be assessed using a mental test of whether a model is geologically using frictional-plastic critical wedge mechan-
number of criteria, including the model design realistic. However, it does not ensure a unique ics, provided the interior of the orogen remains
itself and the consistency of model results solution. cold and strong, and there is little or no ductile
with observations (e.g., Beaumont et al., 2006; deformation.
Jamieson et al., 2010). Ideally, model design SMALL-COLD OROGENS
should be as simple as possible, with relatively Critical Wedge Mechanics
few arbitrary or poorly constrained parameters. Characteristics of Small-Cold Orogens
Models should also offer a simple physical Contractional critical wedge mechanics
explanation in terms of tectonic processes and Small-cold orogens lie at the low-magni- (Davis et al., 1983; Dahlen et al., 1984; Dahlen,
be capable of explaining a wide range of obser- tude, low-temperature end of the T-M spec- 1984, 1990; Suppe, 2007; Buiter, 2012) provide
vations, including previously enigmatic features trum (Fig. 1). They develop above subduction an elegant explanation for the basic geometry
of the system under consideration. Model-data zones (Figs. 2 and 3), where they take the form and stress state in accretionary wedges and fore-
comparisons need to consider the reliability of accretionary wedges and forearcs in areas land fold-and-thrust belts on geological time
of geological constraints on the initial condi- not directly affected by arc magmatism, and scales. The theory assumes underthrusting of a
tions, the spatial resolution of the models, and in the early stages of continent-continent colli- lower plate beneath a frictional or plastic wedge
the agreement of model results with first-order sion where precursor arc magmatism was either that has attained a critical taper, corresponding
observations, including crustal-scale structure, insignificant or terminated before the onset of to an internal state of stress that is everywhere
regional geology, lithological provenance, and collision. Typical examples include the Lesser on the verge of Coulomb failure. The taper
metamorphic pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) Antilles accretionary wedge (Fig. 3A; e.g., angle (surface inclination, α, and basal dip, β)
data. Given a physically and numerically robust Westbrook et al., 1988; Torrini and Speed, is controlled by the coefficient of friction on the

1674 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013

 On the origin of orogens

Figure 3. Natural examples of small-cold A Lesser Antilles

and transitional orogens: (A) Lesser Antilles, E prowedge axial zone retrowedge W
modified from Torrini and Speed (1989), accretionary prism X
X

S
X X X

X
X X X
prowedge ba X X X X X X X
X

Storti et al. (2000); (B) Taiwan, after Mala- sement

X X X X
X X
X X X

(oceanic crust)
X X

retrowedge basement
X X
X
X X X X
X X X
X

V=H X X
X

vieille and Trullenque (2009); (C) Pyrenees,

X
X
X
(oceanic crust)
50 km
after Muñoz (1992); (D) Southern Alps of
New Zealand, modified from Little et al.
(2005) and Davey et al. (2007); and (E) cen- B Taiwan
foreland basin prowedge retrowedge
tral Swiss Alps, modified from Schmid et al. W E
forearc basin
(2004). Panels A–D represent small-cold
orogenic systems, whereas panel E repre- Philippine Sea
sents a transitional system. See text for fur- plate
ther discussion. S—singularity. S

Eurasian lithosphere
basal décollement, by the strength of the rocks V=H
50 km
comprising the wedge, by pore fluid pressures
in the wedge and décollement, and to a lesser
extent by cohesion. In natural examples, a low
taper angle corresponds to cases where the basal
C Pyrenees
S foreland basin prowedge retrowedge
décollement acts as a weak to very weak zone foreland basin N
(low effective internal angle of friction, ϕ) on
geological time scales, and the overlying wedge
is significantly stronger (higher ϕ; e.g., Dahlen,
1984; Suppe, 2007).
Critical wedge theory is an “existence” theory
S
that applies to parts of orogens that are at a criti-
cal state. It does not predict how orogens grow V=H
or how they adapt when conditions are not criti- 50 km
cal (e.g., Simpson, 2011). Although it can be
extended piecewise to situations where geome-
tries and material properties vary laterally (Zhao
et al., 1986), it is not easy to adapt the analyti- D Southern Alps, New Zealand
E prowedge retrowedge W
cal theory to more complex situations, particu-
larly where regions of the wedge are not on the upper crustal

t
ul
verge of Coulomb failure and/or where rheology seismicity

Fa
departs from frictional Coulomb behavior (e.g.,
ne
pi
Platt, 1986; Willett, 1999b; Simpson, 2011). Al
Natural accretionary and orogenic wedges S?
undoubtedly depart from critical wedge theory Pacific Plate crustal root
Australian
Plate
in that they cannot be on the verge of Coulomb V=H
failure while deforming internally and adjusting 50 km
their taper. Nevertheless, the theory provides an
excellent physical explanation of the relation-
ship of the wedge geometry and dips of failure
E Central Swiss Alps
foreland prowedge retrowedge
planes (faults) within the wedge to the internal N Helvetic nappes Penninic nappes Insubric S
basin line Southern Alps
state of stress in the ideal “critical” case. These
relationships have been widely used to analyze
the primary characteristics of natural wedges
and appear to give good estimates of their inter- upper crust
nal and basal strengths on geological time scales
(e.g., Suppe, 2007). Adriatic lower crust
Moho Europ
S
ean lo
Models of Small-Cold Orogens wer cr
ust

Critical wedge mechanics have been adapted mantle lithosphere

to more complex problems through the devel-
opment and application of analog (e.g., Mala- V=H
vieille, 1984, 2010; Storti et al., 2000; Schreurs 50 km

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1675

 Jamieson and Beaumont

et al., 2006) and numerical finite-element mod-
els (e.g., Willett et al., 1993; Beaumont et al.,
1994; Koons, 1994; Willett, 1999b; Buiter et al.,
2006; Simpson, 2011) to wedge tectonics in
single and bivergent small-cold orogens. For
bivergent orogens, the underlying model con-
cept assumes that the orogen consists of back-
to-back frictional wedges, each underlain by a
weak frictional décollement and strong mantle
lithosphere. One mantle lithosphere, termed
the promantle, is assumed to underthrust asym-
metrically beneath the other, termed the retro-
mantle (Figs. 2B and 4A). If the mantles do not
deform during underthrusting, the mechanical
problem reduces to that of accretion and growth
of back-to-back wedges (Fig. 4B) subject to
the asymmetric basal velocity boundary con-
dition (Willett et al., 1993), corresponding to
the basal plastic sheets in the equivalent analog
model (Malavieille, 1984, 2010). These models
are known as singularity (S) point (hereafter
S-point; S-line in three dimensions [3-D]) mod-
els, because in 2-D, the point (line in 3-D) where
one plate underthrusts the other corresponds to
a singularity (S) in basal stress where the veloc-
ity abruptly changes from VP (promantle) to VR
(retromantle). In simple cases, S is taken to be
stationary, but VS can also be varied in the mod-
els (Figs. 2C and 2D), corresponding to sub-
duction advance or retreat in nature. Although
considered overconstrained by some owing to
the assumed basal velocity boundary condi-
tion, this simple model framework accounts for
many first-order features of small-cold orogens,
both in 2-D and more recently in 3-D (Braun
and Beaumont, 1995; Seyferth and Henk, 2004;
Popov and Sobolev, 2008; Braun and Yamato,
2010). In addition, S-point models provide an
important link between critical wedge mechan-
ics and lithospheric-scale models.
Basally driven S-point models can be con-
trasted with viscous thin-sheet models, particu-
larly those that are based on the fundamentally
different assumption that the whole lithosphere
deforms uniformly when shortened, such that
strain rate and strain vary spatially but are uni-
form with depth at any given location (e.g.,
Houseman et al., 1981; England and McKenzie,
1982; England and Houseman, 1988; House-
man and Molnar, 2001). The two approaches
contrast in their assumptions in that deforma-

A Boundary conditions pro- retro-

0o
one-layer crust strength profile
strong coupling VP = 2 cm/yr h = 35 km (wet feldspar)
mantle subducted
325o
S VS = 0; VR= 0

B Model 1: no denudation; Δx = 1.5h C Model 2: total denudation; Δx = 1.5h

proshear zone retroshear zone proshear zone retroshear zone

velocity and
strain rate

plug removed by exhumed

prowedge retrowedge denudation lower crust

deformation
and
temperature

distributed crustal-scale no flexure

thrust belt shear zone distributed focused
foredeep shear shear or foredeep
foredeep

total strain

Figure 4. Mechanical S-point models demonstrating end-member effects of erosion on a small-cold orogenic system (after Beaumont et al.,
1994). (A) Boundary conditions, identical for both models. (B, C) Model results showing contrasting effects of no surface denudation
(B) and denudation that removes all surface topography (C); Δx = convergence (1.5× crustal thickness, h); warm colors (red-orange-yellow)
correspond to high strain rates (top), temperature (middle), and total strain (bottom).

1676 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


tion is driven by velocity/force boundary condi-
tions applied to the base and sides of the sys-
tem, respectively, although the approaches can
also be reconciled (Ellis, 1996). Although these
assumptions are clearly opposite end members,
each approach has its merits as a simplification
that allows underlying behaviors of natural oro-
gens to be modeled and understood quantita-
tively. Because the corresponding model predic-
tions are fundamentally different, it is essential
to take into account the contrasting assumptions
when trying to make comparisons, a point that
we return to in the discussion. In addition, recent
work has assessed the validity of thin-sheet
models by comparison with the corresponding
fully 3-D models (Garthwaite and Houseman,
2011) but without considering the effect of sub-
horizontal layering in the rheological properties.
In addition to the side-driven uniform viscous
thin-sheet models, 2-D viscous thin-layer mod-
els, also based on simplified lubrication theory
(Pozrikidis, 2001), use basal velocity bound-
ary conditions corresponding to symmetric and
asymmetric subduction. These models are the
viscous equivalents of the crustal-scale S-point
frictional-plastic numerical models outlined
earlier. A basic model (Emerman and Turcotte,
1983) was used to calculate the geometry of
accretionary wedges on the assumption that
their rheology was uniform and linearly viscous,
from which it was inferred that natural accre-
tionary wedges have an effective viscosity in the
range 1017–1018 Pa s. More recent papers have
compared analytical models based on lubrica-
tion theory with fully 2-D numerical calculations
(Medvedev, 2002) and shown that the simplified
models are not accurate for some phases in their
development. Other approaches have developed
similarity solutions or used scaling analysis to
provide insight into the basic physics of viscous
gravity currents. Examples include the symmet-
ric convergent and divergent case for Newtonian
viscous fluids (Perazzo and Gratton, 2008), for
nonlinear viscous fluids (Gratton and Perazzo,
2009), for the nonsymmetric case (Perazzo and
Gratton, 2009), for systems consisting of two
fluid layers (Perazzo and Gratton, 2011), and
for plateau development in the two-layer case
(Gratton and Perazzo, 2011).
Mechanical models for frictional-plastic
small-cold orogens (e.g., Willett et al., 1993;
Beaumont et al., 1994, 1999) demonstrate the
following properties of the system where the
boundary conditions correspond to asymmetric
subduction (Fig. 2B and 4A). The stress singu-
larity at S leads to failure of the crustal layer
and the formation of two conjugate slip lines
(pro- and retroshears) (Figs. 2 and 4) that bound
a central plug. As material is accreted from
the procrust, these shears rotate outward and
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
become the basal shears for back-to-back, criti-
cal, frictional pro- and retrowedges that develop
on either side of the central plug (Fig. 4). Pri-
mary accretion of crust is at the toe and at the
base of the prowedge, which grows by internal
deformation to maintain its critical shape. The
system is fundamentally asymmetric; material
flows from the prowedge into the plug (Fig. 4),
leading to translation of the initial nondeform-
ing plug up the hanging wall of the retroshear.
As the system is translated retroward, material
is accreted to the base and toe of the retrowedge,
which also grows with critical taper and main-
tains a horizontal force balance with the basal
traction on the prowedge (Fig. 4). The bound-
ing shears form a conjugate pair with equal
instantaneous shear-strain rates. However, the
cumulative deformation is highly asymmetric,
because material is transported across the pro-
shear and accumulates in the hanging wall of the
retroshear. The resulting distributed finite strain
in the prowedge and plug contrasts with high
cumulative strain in the retrowedge, particu-
larly at the retroshear zone. The advected tem-
perature field is also asymmetric, because hotter
lower crust is uplifted and transported along the
retroshear (Figs. 4B, 4C, 5B, and 5C).
Orogenic S-point models were developed
to investigate three major processes, namely:
(1) coupling and feedback between the tectonics
of the model orogen and surface processes,
primarily erosion (e.g., Koons, 1990; Willett,
1999a; Beaumont et al., 2001; Braun, 2006);
(2) the characteristics of the model orogens
when the basal boundary condition is varied,
e.g., symmetrical subduction versus advanc-
ing and retreating subducting slabs (positive
and negative VS; Figs. 2C and 2D; e.g., Roy-
den, 1993a; Waschbusch and Beaumont, 1996;
Waschbusch et al., 1998; Ellis and Beaumont,
1999; Beaumont et al., 2004); and (3) variable
mechanical and thermal-mechanical properties
of the wedge materials (Beaumont et al., 1994;
Jamieson et al., 1996; Batt and Braun, 1997;
Willett, 1999b; Braun, 2006). Equivalent 3-D
models have also been used to investigate strain
partitioning in obliquely convergent orogens
(Braun and Beaumont, 1995).
There have been numerous investigations of
the coupling and feedback between model tec-
tonics and erosion for critical wedges and small-
cold orogens. These range from the effects of
total denudation (Fig. 4C), through 2-D models
of fluvial erosion charged by orographic rainfall
(Willett, 1999a), which demonstrate a funda-
mental difference in orogenic response between
cases where erosion is focused on the prowedge
versus the retrowedge, to discussions of 3-D
effects (e.g., Koons, 1994), to fully 3-D examples
with planform erosion (e.g., Braun and Yamato,
2010). Both theory and models show that if mate-
rial is eroded from the wedge surface in a pattern
that changes taper angle, contractional wedges
at the minimum critical taper angle must deform
to maintain their critical taper (e.g., Dahlen
and Suppe, 1988; Barr and Dahlen, 1989) and
can adjust to achieve a geometrical steady state
(Willett and Brandon, 2002) by balancing the
accretionary flux with the erosional flux. Fol-
lowing extensive discussion of the feedbacks
that operate in this system (e.g., Willett, 1999a;
Willett et al., 2001; Whipple and Meade, 2004;
Stolar et al., 2007), it is generally agreed that the
response of critical wedge systems to climate-
driven enhanced erosion includes a decrease in
the width of the belt, a short-term increase in
sediment yield, a persistent increase in the rate
of rock uplift/exhumation, and a reduction in
the subsidence rate of adjacent foreland basins
(Whipple, 2009). However, compelling evidence
of this type of response in natural orogens is rela-
tively rare; examples include the European Alps
(Willett et al., 2006; Willett, 2010) and the St.
Elias Range of Alaska (Berger et al., 2008). The
lack of definitive large responses to changes in
erosion may reflect the style of the feedbacks in
this system. Roe and Brandon (2011) argued that
orogens intrinsically evolve toward a “critical
topographic form,” and that this tendency acts
as a tectonic governor on the system, thereby
damping the individual effects of rheology and
erosion. If correct, this implies that scaling rela-
tionships among width, height, and exhumation
rate as a function of accretionary flux and pre-
cipitation rate are insensitive to both erosion and
rheology, implying weak sensitivity of orogen
characteristics to changes in either climate or
tectonic forcing.
Most of the theory developed to analyze feed-
backs in this system has assumed that the entire
mass flux balance is between erosion and frontal
or basal accretion to the wedges. However, as
pointed out later herein, the system can also
remove and add mass through the subduction
conduit. This requires rethinking of the general
mass balance problem, particularly because
the subduction flux beneath orogens is hard to
estimate and is determined dynamically, and
therefore is not easily amenable to kinematic
analysis.
Erosion also directly affects the structural
development of small-cold orogens, as demon-
strated with reference to two simple end-member
models (Fig. 4), one with no erosion (model 1;
Fig. 4B), and the other with total denudation
(model 2; Fig. 4C). Model 2 shows how lower
crust is exhumed and exposed in the hanging
wall of the retroshear in the same manner as
crust is exhumed above the Alpine fault in the
Southern Alps of New Zealand (Figs. 3D and
1677
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A 2
VR = 0
The effects of sedimentation on orogens and
wedges have received less attention in numeri-
qs = 60 mW/m

mechanical
0 km 100°C

thermal -
cal models than in analog models (e.g., Storti
A1 = 2 μW/m3 and McClay, 1995; Storti et al., 2000). Specific
cases where sedimentation and wedges interact
35 km include the formation of forearc basins where
Moho
VP = 1 cm/y S the wedges develop a landward-dipping surface
slope (“negative-alpha” wedges; Fuller et al.,
2006a; Willett and Schlunegger, 2010). Under
these circumstances, accommodation develops

kinematic
thermal -
1200°C on the surface of the wedge, and the resulting
initial forearc and wedge-top basins become a com-
ponent of the wedge system, thereby assisting
conditions
in maintaining the critical taper or increasing it
so that the wedge becomes “supercritical” and
2
qm = 30 mW/m therefore stable. A related effect occurs when
Ta = 1350°C foreland basin sediments are detached and
accreted to a thrust wedge. Under some circum-
stances, the undeformed sediments have already
B proshear retroshear attained the critical geometry, and these parts
of the foreland basin are therefore accreted to
deformed the orogenic wedge without deformation. This
marker grid behavior is favored where the detachment is very
weak. Equivalent models with and without sedi-
mentation onto the wedge or into the foreland
basin therefore evolve in strikingly different
C t = 28 My Δx = 280 km ways (e.g., Stockmal et al., 2007; Malavieille,
2010), as discussed further in the following.
Thermal-mechanical models of S-type oro-
A1 A1 qs= 60 mW/m
2
gens require an accessory model of heat trans-
port beneath the mechanical model in order to
calculate the evolving basal heat flux distribu-
Moho tion for the modeled region (e.g., Jamieson et al.,
VP = 1 cm/y 1996; Batt and Braun, 1997). In S-point models,
S 700°C
Pe = 14 the accessory thermal model is kinematic and
represents the asymmetric subduction of the
underlying mantle lithosphere, consistent with
the basal velocity boundary condition. Within
thermal and qm= 30 mW/m
2
the crustal region, the model is fully thermally
velocity fields and mechanically coupled with radioactive heat
production and heat transport by diffusion and
advection according to the calculated velocity
field. The thermal Peclet number for this type of
Figure 5. Simple thermal-mechanical S-point model (after Jamieson et al., 1998). (A) Crustal model is generally greater than unity (Pe > 1),
domain includes full thermal-mechanical coupling; mantle domain is thermal-kinematic meaning that thermal advection dominates over
with specified mantle velocity field. qm = basal mantle heat flux; qs = surface heat flux; Ta diffusion of heat, even for low tectonic conver-
= asthenosphere temperature; A1 = heat production in upper crust. (B) After 280 km of gence rates, leading to a highly asymmetric tem-
convergence, distributed shear on the proside of the system contrasts with focused shear perature regime in which isotherms are advected
on the retroside of the system. (C) Focused deformation in the retroshear zone, combined with the material flow through the model orogen
with moderate erosion, produces elevated temperatures on the retroside of the system. The (Fig. 5C). Hot material from the lower model
relatively high thermal Peclet number (Pe = 14) reflects efficient advection from the proside crust is uplifted and exhumed in the hang-
to the retroside with material points transported through isotherms. ing wall of the retroshear zone. In models that
include surface erosion, the combination of ero-
sion and advection produces a thermal boundary
4C; e.g., Koons, 1990; Little, 2004). The origi- ened nor subsided isostatically. The model 2 layer in which isotherms are condensed near the
nal uplifted plug region has been eroded and configuration corresponds closely to the struc- surface of the uplifted plug (Fig. 5C). Material
replaced by deformed procrust. In contrast to ture of the Southern Alps, so it can be concluded passing through this layer experiences rapid
model 1 (Fig. 4B), no bounding critical wedges immediately that erosion has acted as a funda- late-stage cooling. At greater depth, decompres-
have developed, the orogen has not widened, mental control on its evolution (Beaumont et al., sion can occur with relatively little cooling, and
and the interior of the orogen has neither thick- 1996b; Batt and Braun, 1999). could be isothermal under extreme conditions.

1678 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013

 On the origin of orogens

Coupled thermal-mechanical models provide 2-D systems. Applications include the Southern Fuller et al., 2006b), Canadian orogens studied
specific information on the evolving thermal Alps of New Zealand (Beaumont et al., 1996b; by Lithoprobe (Fig. 6B; Ellis et al., 1998; Ellis
regime, surface heat flux, and metamorphism Waschbusch et al., 1998; Batt and Braun, 1999), and Beaumont, 1999), and the Olympic Moun-
within the model orogen (e.g., Jamieson et al., European Alps (Fig. 6D; Beaumont et al., tains (Brandon et al., 1998; Willett et al., 2001).
1998; Batt and Braun 1999), as well as the global 1996a; Ellis et al., 1999; Pfiffner et al., 2000; Despite their clear differences, the first-order
heat budget and rate of mechanical work (Barr Willett et al., 2006; Gasco et al., 2013; Butler characteristics of these orogens conform to vari-
and Dahlen, 1989, 1990). When coupled to par- et al., 2013), Pyrenees (Fig. 6C; Beaumont ations on the S-point, one-sided or bivergent,
ticle tracking through the orogen, the P-T-t paths et al., 2000b), Taiwan (e.g., Willett et al., 2003; small-cold orogen theme (e.g., Figs. 3 and 6).
and associated cooling rates of particles exhumed
to the surface can be calculated and used to pre-
dict model metamorphic and thermochronologi-
cal data. Predicted cooling ages can be compared A Basic S-point model
with detrital and in situ thermochronometric data
from orogens (e.g., Batt and Braun, 1999; Batt
et al., 2001; Fuller et al., 2006b; Gasco et al.,
2013). These comparisons are specifically use-
ful in determining cooling rates as a proxy for S
erosion rates, thereby providing an additional
constraint on the response of orogens to shorter-
and longer-term variations in denudation rates.
The results also inform the “chicken and egg” B S-point “vise” model with weak internal zone
question of the roles of climate and tectonics as
drivers of orogenesis (e.g., Molnar and England,
1990a), as discussed further in the following.
Development of S-point thermal-mechanical S
models (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1996, 1998; Batt
and Braun, 1997; Pope and Willett, 1998) also
allowed the evolving temperature field within
the model orogen (Fig. 5) to be calculated, inter-
C Pyrenees-style S-point model
preted in terms of the corresponding evolving
metamorphic facies distribution, and compared
with metamorphic data from specific orogenic
belts (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1996, 2004, 2010). lower crust
In addition, these models include self-consistent S
temperature-dependent rheologies such that
both ductile and frictional-plastic deforma-
tion, corresponding more closely to observa-
tions from natural orogens, can be included.
In contrast to thermal-kinematic models with D Alpine-style S-point model
assumed geometries and velocity fields (e.g.,
Henry et al., 1997; Bollinger et al., 2006), these
models predict mutually consistent changes in
velocity field, strain, and temperature as the
orogen evolves. One common observation is
that predicted model temperatures tend to be fold nappe
low
somewhat lower (by up to 10%) than the equiv- er c S
rust
alent data from natural orogens (e.g., Jamieson
et al., 1998), leading to the continuing assess-
ment of the model parameters, specifically with
respect to the importance of strain heating (e.g.,
Burg and Gerya, 2005; Nabelek et al., 2010),
temperature-dependent thermal properties (e.g.,
thermal diffusivity; Mottaghy et al., 2008; Whit-
tington et al., 2009), and magmatic and aqueous Figure 6. Variations on S-point models applied to contrasting orogenic styles. (A) Basic
heat transport (e.g., Thompson and Connolly, S-point model; note distributed vs. focused deformation on preshear and retroshear, respec-
1995; Gerya and Meilick, 2011). tively. (B) S-point model with weak internal zone (vise model), applied to Newfoundland
Small-cold orogen models that include one or Appalachians by Ellis et al. (1998). (C) Model with S-point located within the crust, leading
more of the processes described here have been to detachment and subduction of lower crust, applied to the Pyrenees by Beaumont et al.
developed and tuned to include specific char- (2000b). (D) S-point model with active subduction conduit, applied to the Alps by Ellis
acteristics for particular orogens in simplified et al. (1999). Undeformed crustal thickness in these models is 35 km, with V = H.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1679


Fold-and-Thrust Belts
Fold-and-thrust belts and accretionary wedges,
such as the Rocky Mountains of the western
Canadian Cordillera (e.g., Price, 1981), the
Siwaliks of the Himalaya (DeCelles et al., 2001;
Robinson et al., 2006), western Taiwan (e.g.,
Suppe, 1981; Malavieille and Trullenque, 2009),
and the Lesser Antilles accretionary wedge
(e.g., Westbrook et al., 1988; Torrini and Speed,
1989), typically comprise the thin-skinned,
deformed external parts of orogens ranging from
small-cold to large-hot in scale. Given that the
first-order geometry of fold-and-thrust belts is
well described by critical wedge mechanics, it is
appropriate to consider them at this point. Fold-
and-thrust belts have been analyzed using critical
wedge theory (Davis et al., 1983; Dahlen, 1984,
1990; and many more), analog models (e.g.,
Malavieille, 1984, 2010; Storti et al., 2000),
and numerical models, as described earlier.
This body of research was reviewed in depth by
Buiter (2012), and we therefore restrict our com-
ments to a few key points.
The geometrical comparison of fold-and-
thrust belts with contractional critical wedge
analysis demonstrates that the low taper angle of
fold-and-thrust belts requires the basal detach-
ment to be weak to very weak on geological
time scales. This has posed a problem for ana-
log models, because sufficiently weak frictional
materials are not readily available. Similarly,
the individual thrust sheets and stacking geom-
etries that develop in sandbox models do not
correspond closely to observations from natural
fold-and-thrust belts (e.g., Liu et al., 1992). In
particular, both analog and numerical models
with very weak detachments tend to evolve by
growth of a series of triangular plugs bounded
by conjugate shears (Fig. 7A; Stockmal et al.,
2007; Malavieille and Trullenque, 2009),
another feature that is not common in natural
fold-and-thrust belts.
As pointed out by Simpson (2011), a layer of
frictional material that shortens against a but-
tress does not form a wedge that is everywhere
at failure, as assumed in critical wedge theory.
Instead, the wedge comprises nondeforming
regions bounded by narrow plastic shears (char-
acteristics or slip lines) that propagate through
the system in a self-organized manner, like the
shears bounding the triangular plugs noted pre-
viously (Fig. 7A). The principal stress orienta-
tions vary strongly, which also disagrees with
critical wedge theory. Although noncritical
wedges do self-organize to form a wedge with
an overall taper that is similar to that predicted
by theory (Simpson, 2011), at a smaller scale
the surface of the wedge is uneven, particu-
larly at the scale of the nondeforming regions
1680 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
Jamieson and Beaumont
(e.g., Fig. 7). Dahlen-type critical wedge theory
(e.g., Dahlen, 1984) represents the limiting case
where deformation occurs at all scales, such that
the wedge is everywhere critical.
The current understanding is that fold-and-
thrust belt geometry conforms to critical wedge
theory to first order. However, because fold-and-
thrust belts develop via a network of intermit-
tently active and inactive shears bounding the
nondeforming regions, the next level of insight
will emerge from investigations of analog or
numerical models that reproduce this mecha-
nism (e.g., in 2-D—Stockmal et al., 2007; Simp-
son, 2011; in 3-D—Ruh et al., 2013). In addi-
tion, an emerging consensus is that lithological
layering in the sediments accreted at the toe of
fold-and-thrust belts is key to the development
of long thrust sheets, anticlinal stacks, and other
structural features characteristic of fold-and-
thrust belts, as has been illustrated using numeri-
cal models (Fig. 7B; Stockmal et al. 2007). The
lithological layering imparts a corresponding
strength layering that modifies the basic shear
network and, in particular, allows internal mul-
tiple décollements/detachments within the
wedge to form thrust sheets. A system consist-
ing of a stack of equal uniform frictional lay-
ers separated by equally uniform weak layers
deforms in different ways at different levels, e.g.,
by forming plugs in the surface layer and pro-
gressively longer and more intact thrust sheets
at depth (shown approximately by Fig. 7B).
This behavior cannot be the result of the intrin-
sic properties of the layers, which are all the
same. Instead, it must reflect the changing state
of stress with depth such that the difference in
the absolute strengths of the adjacent frictional-
plastic (pressure-dependent) strong and weak
layers increases with depth of burial (P sin ϕs vs.
P sin ϕw, where P = pressure [mean stress] and
ϕs and ϕw are the internal angles of friction of
the strong and weak layers, respectively). This
increasing strength difference means that fewer
shear zones cross and disrupt the strong layers,
allowing them to stack as long coherent thrust
sheets because they are effectively much stron-
ger than their near-surface equivalents (Fig. 7B).
By contrast, purely cohesive laminates are pre-
dicted to behave uniformly with depth.
Like other systems governed by critical wedge
mechanics, the evolution of fold-and-thrust belts
is strongly affected by sedimentation and ero-
sion. For example, these processes are consid-
ered instrumental to the formation of piggyback
basins and to jumps of the thrust front into the
foreland (e.g., Stockmal et al., 2007; Malavieille,
2010). The profound effect of even mild erosion
and sedimentation on an otherwise identical
multilayer model can be seen by comparing Fig-
ure 7C with Figure 7B.
TRANSITIONAL OROGENS
Characteristics of Transitional Orogens
As orogens grow along the T-M spectrum,
they will eventually evolve from small-cold
orogens dominated by critical wedge mechan-
ics to large-hot orogens characterized by an
orogenic plateau underlain by a weak ductile
flow zone. In simple terms, two distinct changes
accompany the transition from one orogenic
style to the other. The first involves a change
from oceanic subduction to terrane accretion
or continental collision, leading to a substantial
increase in orogenic magnitude. During this
transition, incoming procontinental crust may
be subducted and exhumed, creating the (ultra-)
high-pressure metamorphic complexes that are
characteristic of the early stages of collision in
many orogens. The increase in magnitude dur-
ing collision leads to a corresponding increase
in temperature as radioactive crustal material is
accreted, buried, and heats up, typically result-
ing in Barrovian metamorphism. Where not
interrupted by a change in boundary conditions,
this process may lead to a second transition, in
which the back-to-back critical wedges evolve
into a system with a central orogenic plateau
flanked by external wedges. A third style can
develop at Cordilleran-type margins that lack
continental collision or terrane accretion if the
retrolithosphere detaches, shortens, and thick-
ens, as on the eastern flank of the Andean oro-
gen. Under these circumstances, lithospheric
thickening leads to an increase in magnitude
by accretion and thickening of retrocrust, and a
corresponding increase in radioactive heating.
The Alps is an example of an orogen that passed
through the subduction-collision transition but
did not evolve into a large-hot orogen with an
orogenic plateau. The Himalayan-Tibetan oro-
gen represents a combined system in which the
Early Tertiary subduction-collision transition
was followed by the development of a large-
hot orogen with a plateau by the Miocene. The
increase in magnitude involved both accretion
of the Indian margin (prolithosphere) and signif-
icant shortening and thickening of Asia (retro-
lithosphere).
PURC Conceptual Framework
For purposes of discussion, it is useful to
consider small-cold orogens and the transition
to larger systems using the conceptual frame-
work proposed by Beaumont et al. (1999) based
on critical wedge mechanics. Simple bivergent
orogens with convergence normal to strike and
insignificant orogen-parallel transport can be
considered in terms of four integral components
 On the origin of orogens

A one-detachment model: plug uplifts

9 My, Δx = 90 km

21 My, Δx = 210 km

B three-detachment model: thrust sheets

9 My, Δx = 90 km

21 My, Δx = 210 km

C effect of erosion and sedimentation

9 My, Δx = 90 km sediments deposited
during model evolution

out-of-sequence
21 My, Δx = 210 km thrust faults

Figure 7. Numerical models of fold-and-thrust belts (after Stockmal et al., 2007), showing effect of (A) single and (B) multiple frictionally
weak detachments on style of deformation, and (C) the effects of synthrusting erosion and sedimentation. Numbers show equally spaced,
originally vertical, grid markers. All three models have an initial phase in which a single detached layer (light brown) is accreted against the
backstop (left-hand side); models B and C then change to accreting multiple layers (blue-gray), with erosion and sediment accumulation
(yellow-orange) in C. Further details are given in text and Stockmal et al. (2007, which also has animations).

(Fig. 8): two bounding back-to-back thrust-
sense wedges (P—prowedge; R—retrowedge),
a core region that forms an uplifted plug (U)
in small-cold orogens but may evolve into an
elevated plateau (E) in large-hot orogens, and
an underlying subduction conduit (C) (e.g.,
Pfiffner et al., 2000). The conduit includes both
the active subduction channel, where material is
detached from the subducting lithosphere and
deforms, and a storage region, mainly above
the active channel, where channel material has
been accreted and is stored. It therefore acts as a
region in which material detaches and deforms
in the subduction channel, and as a repository
where accreted material is stored. Below the
conduit, material is subducted into the mantle.
This simplifies the original terminology (Beau-
mont et al., 1999) in that we now define the

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1681

 Jamieson and Beaumont

A PC mode: Subduction with accretionary wedge B PUR mode: Bivergent wedges

(U) (R) U
P P
Figure 8. PURC interpreta- R
tion of orogenesis in terms of P
stationary
(prowedge), U (uplifted plug), retrolithosphere
subducting (C)
R (retrowedge), and C (subduc- prolithosphere
tion conduit) compartments C
(modified after Beaumont et al.,
1999). In this case, the subduc-
tion conduit includes both the C PURC mode: Bivergent wedges with D PUC′ mode: Continental subduction with
active subduction channel and active subduction conduit prowedge UHP exhumation
a storage region where chan- U
nel material is accreted. Flow P R P U
(R)
of material between compart-
ments (light-gray arrows in
panels A and C) governs ac-
C'
tivity in different parts of the C
orogen. Letters in parentheses
indicate a compartment that is
currently inactive; C′ indicates E PER mode: Plateau flanked by wedges
return flow of subducted crust
from the subduction conduit E
P R
(panel D). In large-hot orogens
melt-weakened zone
(panel E), an elevated plateau
(E) replaces the uplifted plug.
(C)

“conduit” to include the active channel. The
P-U-R-C compartments have distinctive geom-
etries and mechanics, leading to characteristic
flow regimes and transport paths within each
zone, and unified behavior as a system (Beau-
mont et al., 1999; Butler et al., 2011). For exam-
ple, in a system of bivergent critical wedges, the
uplifted plug (U) is a required region bounded by
oppositely dipping shear zones (rear shear zones
of the wedges) that intersect at the S-point. In
small-cold orogens, the plug is therefore always
triangular with its vertex at S (Fig. 8), with
deformation only along its bounding shears.
Transition from Subduction to Collision
In simple orogenic systems that evolve from
oceanic subduction to collision (e.g., European
Alps; Schmid et al., 1996, 2004; Beaumont
et al., 1999; Pfiffner et al., 2000), incoming oce-
anic crust and overlying sediments are normally
either accreted to P or transferred to C and sub-
ducted (PC mode; U and R inactive; Fig. 8A).
During collision, weak procontinental crust may
be detached from the subducting plate and trans-
ferred from P to U and then into R (Fig. 8B),
with little or no crustal material subducted. This
PUR mode is typical of small-cold orogens, and
it is the conceptual basis of the S-point models
described previously. The PC mode (Fig. 8A)
may be analogous to the concept of a “soft” col-
lision, in which only the lower plate is deformed,
whereas the PUR mode may be thought of as a
“hard” collision in which both upper and lower
plates are deformed (e.g., Zagorevski and van
Staal, 2011).
Alternatively, during the transition from sub-
duction to collision, continental material may
be subducted and carried deep into the subduc-
tion conduit (PUC mode; Fig. 8C), where it will
be subjected to (ultra-)high-pressure ([U]HP)
metamorphism. Subsequent weakening and
detachment of this subducted continental mate-
rial lead to buoyancy-driven exhumation (e.g.,
England and Holland, 1979; Platt, 1993; Ernst,
2001; Hacker, 2007; Raimbourg et al., 2007;
Warren et al., 2008a; Beaumont et al., 2009),
which can dramatically change the system
dynamics. In particular, competition between
down-channel shear traction and up-channel
buoyancy forces, expressed as the exhumation
number, E (Raimbourg et al., 2007; Warren
et al., 2008a), controls burial and exhumation
behavior, leading to rapid up-channel flow when
E > 1. Although mantle subduction continues,
material transport within the subduction con-
duit is dominated by the return flow (C′) (Fig.
8D). As exhuming material is emplaced into the
crust, flows in P, U, and R can also be disrupted.
These processes have been investigated using
upper-mantle–scale models that incorporate
subduction-zone and upper-mantle dynamics
(Figs. 9 and 10; e.g., Ellis et al., 1999; Pysklywec
et al., 2000; Gerya et al., 2002; Warren et al.,
2008a, 2008b; Beaumont et al., 2009; Butler
et al., 2011, 2013).
In the prowedge (U)HP exhumation mode
(Figs. 8D, 9B, 10B), material flows from C
into P, forcing uplift, internal extension, and
normal faulting, and finally exposure of (U)HP
rocks at the surface of P, typically in the suture
footwall. Both the (U)HP rocks and their hosts
are derived from the procontinent and may
also contain (U)HP mantle material accreted
to C from the retromantle hanging wall. Beau-
mont et al. (2009) demonstrated the feasibil-
ity of the prowedge exhumation mode (PC′)
with respect to the (U)HP metamorphic rocks
of the Tso Morari complex in the northwest-
ern Himalaya, where subduction of the Indian
continental margin beneath Asia led to (U)HP
metamorphism and rapid exhumation between
55 and 45 Ma (e.g., de Sigoyer et al., 2004;
Leech et al., 2007; Epard and Steck, 2008). The
upper-mantle–scale models predict that exhum-
ing (U)HP material forms a nappe stack and
structural dome as it penetrates and destabilizes

1682 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013

 On the origin of orogens

A t = 18.8 My-pc; PC mode

0 km Model M
200°C
underplating of P
400°C

50
Microcontinent phase changes
600°C
High-pressure (HP)
(U)HP in C
Figure 9. Upper-mantle–scale model (model Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP)
800°C
M) for an Alpine-type orogen showing Retrogressed UHP (HP)
how subduction of a microcontinent leads Retrogressed UHP (LP)
to formation and exhumation of (ultra) 100 1000°C
1 cm yr –1
high-pressure ([U]HP) rocks in a subduc-
tion conduit, and their subsequent trans-
port to the upper crust by retrothrusting B t = 30.0 My-pc; PUC′ mode
(after Butler et al., 2013), interpreted in
0 km
internal extension
terms of P (prowedge), U (uplifted plug), R
(retrowedge), and C (subduction conduit) 200°C
compartments (see Fig. 8). (A) PC mode: 400°C
Microcontinent (pink) is subducted, un-
dergoes (U)HP metamorphism (red, dark 600°C
pink), and is detached and stored with pre- 50 (U)HP
viously accreted oceanic material (brown). formation
exhumation
(B) PUC′ mode: A plume of buoyant mate- 800°C of ICM
rial is exhumed rapidly from the conduit,
forming what will become an Internal Crys-
1000°C
talline Massif (ICM; blue, brown, pink);
100
this is accompanied by extension within the
overlying wedge as the Internal Crystal-
line Massif is inserted into the base of the
crust. (C) PUR mode: The Internal Crystal- C t = 39.4 My-pc; PUR mode
line Massif is exhumed to the upper crust
0 km
in the hanging wall of the retroshear zone; 200°C
the resulting crustal structure resembles
400°C
that of the western Alps. My-pc—million
years after the onset of collision, defined as
the time at which the microcontinent begins 600°C retrothrust
to be subducted. Material properties: ϕ— 50 ICM
effective internal angle of friction (°); A—
radioactive heat production (μW/m3); flow 800°C

laws with scaling factors: WQ—wet quartz-

ite (Gleason and Tullis, 1995); DMD—dry
1000°C
Maryland diabase (Mackwell et al., 1998);
100
WOL—wet olivine (Karato and Wu, 1993);
model mantle domains: CLM—continental
lithospheric mantle; SLM—sublithospheric 1000 km 1100 1200
mantle; OLM—oceanic lithospheric mantle.
Material Properties Oceanic plate
Procontinent cover (WQ x 0.25, φ = 4–4º, A = 1)
cover (WQ x 0.25, φ = 4–4º, A = 2) crust (DMD x 0.1, φ = 15–4º, A = 0)
margin (WQ x 0.5, φ = 15–4º, A = 2) OLM (WOL x 10, φ = 15–4º, A = 0)
microcontinent (WQ x 3, φ = 15–4º, A = 2) Retrocontinent
acc. wedge (WQ x 2, φ = 8–4º, A = 2)
lower crust (DMD x 0.05, φ = 15–4º, A = 1)
cover (WQ x 0.25, φ = 4–4º, A = 2)
CLM (WOL x 10, φ = 15–4º, A = 0)
margin (WQ x 5, φ = 8–4º, A = 2)
SLM (WOL x 1, φ = 15–4º, A = 0)
lower crust (DMD x 0.5, φ = 15–4º, A = 1)
CLM (WOL x 10, φ = 15–4º, A = 0)

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1683

 Jamieson and Beaumont

A Model design sediment

Retrocontinent Ocean Procontinent retro/pro-margin crust
0 km

retro/pro-interior crust
weak zone
models vary lower crust
strength VP = 5 then 2.5 cm/y
oceanic crust
150

High-resolution domain (2 × 2 km)

Full model domain 2500 × 660 km mantle lithosphere
500 km 1000 1500 2000 sublithospheric mantle
B Prowedge exhumation C Retrowedge exhumation
0 km a. 10 Ma-pc 0 km a. 10 Ma-pc 100°C
100°C
300°C 300°C
500°C 500°C
50 700°C PC margin phase changes 50 PC margin phase changes
High pressure High pressure 700°C
Ultrahigh pressure (UHP) Ultrahigh pressure (UHP)
100 100
Retrogressed UHP Retrogressed UHP
5 cm/a 5 cm/a
150 150

0 km 0 km

50 50

100 100

b. 16 Ma-pc b. 15 Ma-pc
150 150

0 km 0 km

50 50

100 100

c. 20 Ma-pc c. 20 Ma-pc
150 150
800 km 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 600 km 700 800 900 1000 1100

Suture
Suture
Retrolithosphere
(upper plate)
Retrolithosphere
(upper plate)
Subducting prolithosphere
Subducting prolithosphere
(lower plate)
(lower plate)

Figure 10. Model for exhumation UHP metamorphic rocks (after Butler et al., 2011). (A) Model design and initial conditions; details
in Butler et al. (2011). (B) Prowedge exhumation mode; bottom panel shows interpretation in terms of PURC framework, where P is
prowedge, U is uplifted plug, R is retrowedge, and C is subduction conduit (U, R inactive). This is the typical style of UHP rock exhumation
from a subduction conduit during the early stages of collision. (C) Retrowedge exhumation mode; bottom panel shows interpretation in
terms of PURC framework, with all compartments active. This style of exhumation leads to emplacement of UHP rocks into upper-plate
crust. Ma-pc—million years after onset of collision of accretionary wedge with microcontinent.

the orogenic wedge, driving thrusting and inter-
nal extension in the overlying crust (Figs. 9B
and 10B). Model results are compatible with
the geology, structure, petrology, and age of the
Tso Morari complex (Beaumont et al., 2009).
This constitutes proof of concept for this type
of system and demonstrates that pulse-like
buoyant exhumation from deep in the subduc-
tion conduit can account for (U)HP metamor-
phic complexes formed during the early stages
of collision.
However, a bivergent PURC system may also
exhibit retrowedge exhumation (Fig. 10C), in
which exhuming (U)HP material flows from C
into U, where it may be stored or transported
into R along with the orogenic suture (Butler
et al., 2011). In this way, (U)HP material derived
mainly from the procontinent will be inserted
into the retrocrust if the exhuming plume dis-
rupts and crosses the suture. In prowedge mode,
the trajectory of exhuming (U)HP rocks is up

1684 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


and into P, whereas in retrowedge mode, it
is into U, with later transport into R. Exhum-
ing (U)HP material can thus be emplaced into
either the lower (P) or upper (R) plate of an
orogen without requiring different subduction
geometries or a change in subduction polarity.
Retrowedge exhumation has been interpreted to
explain the presence of lower-plate Baltican (U)
HP rocks within upper-plate Laurentian crust in
east Greenland (e.g., Augland et al., 2010; But-
ler et al., 2011). Retrowedge exhumation of very
weak “molten’ crust is also evident in the results
of Gerya et al. (2008), and may be present in
models by Yamato et al. (2008).
An alternative to exhumation through the
subduction conduit, involving diapiric emplace-
ment through the upper plate (cf. “vertical extru-
sion” of Sizova et al., 2012), has been inferred
for the very young (U)HP metamorphic rocks
of the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, Papua New
Guinea (e.g., Baldwin et al., 2004, 2008; Ellis
et al., 2011; Little et al., 2011). Eocene sub-
duction of the Australian margin led to (U)HP
metamorphism of quartzofeldspathic rocks that
remained lodged in the subduction conduit for
~20 m.y. The introduction of heat and fluid asso-
ciated with rifting in the Woodlark Basin led to
their detachment, rapid diapiric rise through the
mantle, partial melting, and exhumation as Plio-
cene gneiss domes (e.g., Baldwin et al., 2004;
Little et al., 2011; Gordon et al., 2012). In this
case, numerical models demonstrated the feasi-
bility of the feedback between lithosphere-scale
extension and diapirism to drive rapid exhuma-
tion of subducted continental crust (Ellis et al.,
2011). However, the general role of extension
in exhumation of (U)HP complexes remains
uncertain. While normal faults and shear zones
are commonly associated with exhumed (U)HP
complexes, in many cases, both the style (inter-
nal vs. lithosphere-scale) and timing (syn- vs.
postconvergent) of extension are debated.
Another factor widely linked to (U)HP exhu-
mation is breakoff of the subducting slab, which
is inferred to increase the buoyancy of the lower
plate, driving exhumation of subducted crustal
rocks (e.g., von Blanckenburg and Davies,
1995; Hacker, 2007). While slab breakoff obvi-
ously happens, its essential role in the exhuma-
tion of (U)HP metamorphic rocks has not been
convincingly demonstrated. Several studies
(e.g., Warren et al., 2008b; Sizova et al., 2012;
Butler et al., 2013) have shown that slab break-
off in upper-mantle–scale models does not con-
sistently correlate with pulses of exhumation,
and they have concluded that slab breakoff is not
necessary for exhumation of subducted crust.
The importance of this process in driving (U)
HP exhumation and other effects in collisional
orogens depends on the depth at which breakoff
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
occurs, which in turn depends on the rheological
properties (e.g., plastic vs. viscous, stiff vs. pli-
able) and density of the subducting slab relative
to the surrounding mantle (e.g., Duretz et al.,
2011; Gerya, 2011; Sizova et al., 2012).
A upper-mantle–scale numerical model that
illustrates the modes described here (Fig. 9;
model M) was designed to show how Alpine-
type orogens evolve, and it includes (U)HP
exhumation as observed in the Internal Crystal-
line Massifs of the western Alps (Monte Rosa,
Gran Paradiso, Dora Maira; e.g., Beltrando
et al., 2010; Butler et al., 2013). The orogen first
operates in PC mode, during which a micro-
continent, corresponding to the Briançonnais
zone, subducts into the conduit, undergoes (U)
HP metamorphism (Fig. 9A), detaches, and is
stored with oceanic material already accreted
in the conduit (Fig. 9A). The next phase (PUC′;
Fig. 9B) demonstrates a pulse of rapid buoyant
exhumation of material from the conduit, form-
ing an internal crystalline massif and driving
internal extension within the orogenic wedge
(PU) as the internal crystalline massif is inserted
into the crust. During the last phase (PUR; Fig.
9C), the internal crystalline massif is retrothrust
in the hanging wall of the rear shear zone of P,
corresponding to the Insubric Line in the case
of the Alps. Superposition of the PC, PUC′,
and PUR modes creates an orogen with the
first-order structural and geological character-
istics of the western Alps. The model evolves
dynamically from one mode to the next without
any externally imposed changes in model prop-
erties. The emergence of the channel flow that
exhumes (U)HP material can be analyzed using
lubrication theory (Raimbourg et al., 2007) and
understood as a consequence of the evolving
exhumation number (Beaumont et al., 2009).
Transition from Bivergent Wedges to
Orogenic Plateaus
Large-hot orogens evolve from small-cold
orogens by progressive crustal accretion and/or
thickening, and consequent burial of heat-pro-
ducing material. To become “large” as it evolves
along the T-M spectrum (Fig. 1), the orogen must
increase in magnitude; therefore, prowedge and
retrowedge accretion must outpace surface ero-
sion. Vanderhaeghe et al. (2003) used thermal-
mechanical S-point models to investigate the
transition from small-cold to large-hot orogens
for a range of frictional and viscous crustal prop-
erties. Approaching the problem from the small-
cold initial state, the evolution can be envisaged
as an ever-growing, self-similar, frictional-
plastic PURC orogen that becomes thicker as
it widens according to critical wedge mechan-
ics (Fig. 11A). When isostasy is included, the
resulting orogen becomes massively thick with
a large crustal root (cf. Fig. 7 of Vanderhaeghe
et al., 2003).
However, this purely mechanical description
neglects the thermal evolution over the 50–75
m.y. that it takes to grow this orogen. Thermal
relaxation and radioactive heating in the thick-
ened crust raise lower-crustal temperatures to
more than 700 °C in the 20–25 m.y. following
crustal thickening (Jamieson et al., 2002; Med-
vedev and Beaumont, 2006; Kaus et al., 2008).
Consequently, the middle-lower crust becomes
ductile and flows viscously, and the interior of
the orogen therefore departs from critical wedge
mechanics (e.g., Willett, 1999b). Instead, the
surface and basal slopes in the interior of the oro-
gen progressively relax to lower values, reflect-
ing the decreasing basal viscosity. Ultimately,
the base becomes sufficiently weak (viscosity ≤
1019 Pa s), and the basal shear traction becomes
so low that the interior of the orogen cannot
sustain significant topographic slopes against
gravity (Figs. 11B and 11C; e.g., Vanderhaeghe
et al., 2003). This may require temperatures in
excess of 700 °C, with accompanying incipient
melting. Under these circumstances, the orogen
interior will relax to form an elevated plateau
(E) that is bounded on either side by colder, fric-
tional, pro- and retrowedges (P, R) that act as
“bookends” (Figs. 8E, 11B, and 11C).
This two-stage conceptual framework is useful
in that it describes the roles of the two contributing
processes, i.e., mechanical thickening followed
by thermal relaxation. However, in natural oro-
gens, the two processes overlap, because thermal
relaxation lags crustal thickening by only 20–25
m.y. For a nominal convergence rate of 1 cm/yr,
the interior of orogen becomes ductile and vis-
cously weak after ~30 m.y., at which stage it may
still be only a modest-magnitude orogen. Under
these circumstances, the reduction of surface
slopes and the onset of plateau development are
components of the transitional state that mod-
erate-magnitude orogens pass through as they
progress in the T-M diagram. The fully coupled
thermal-mechanical evolution (Fig. 11; Vander-
haeghe et al., 2003; Beaumont et al., 2004, 2006;
Medvedev and Beaumont, 2006) shows that
there may be some topographic overshoot, par-
ticularly in rapidly converging orogens, so that
the elevation of the orogen may be higher at the
onset of the transitional phase than at the final
plateau stage because of the thermal relaxation
lag (Fig. 11A vs. 11B). Following thermal relax-
ation, a third stage of evolution, involving ductile
flow of weak infrastructure, is characteristic of
the behavior of large-hot orogenic systems (e.g.,
Culshaw et al., 2006).
Other factors affecting the rate and style of
the transition from orogenic wedges to an ele-
1685
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A bivergent wedges
prowedge retrowedge
0
km
700°C 35
S
0 km 200
B incipient plateau V=H
prowedge plateau retrowedge 0
km
700°C 35
S

C fully developed plateau

prowedge plateau suture retrowedge 0
km
700°C
35
S
2
qs = 70 mW/m
3
A1 = 2.0 μW/m
3
A2 = 0.75 μW/m 700°C
S Moho

2
qm = 20 mW/m

VP = kine
mati
1 cm c su
/y bdu
ction

Ta = 1350°C
Figure 11. Transition from bivergent wedges to orogenic plateau (see also Vanderhaeghe et al., 2003). Upper panels
show deformed marker grid, with suture (red) and 700 °C isotherm (blue) marked for reference. (A) Formation of
bivergent wedges after 450 km of convergence at 1 cm/yr; note displacement of suture toward retroside of system.
(B) Postconvergent thermal relaxation leads to heating and weakening of orogenic core, shown by migration of
700 °C isotherm into crust; gravitational spreading forms an incipient plateau bounded by wedges. (C) Plateau de-
veloped in model with no erosion, in which crustal thickening is sufficient to weaken orogenic core during conver-
gence; lower panel shows full thermal structure of this model. qm = basal mantle heat flux; qs = surface heat flux;
Ta = asthenosphere temperature; A1, A2 = upper and lower crustal heat production, respectively; S—singularity.

vated plateau include the rate of erosion and its
distribution within the orogenic system, as well
as the source of heat and of the mass that is
accreted to the growing orogen. As noted ear-
lier, mass loss by erosion will affect the growth
rate and tectonic style of the wedges bound-
ing the uplifted plug; high erosion rates may
delay or inhibit the transition to a plateau. In
orogenic systems with a prolonged precursor
phase of arc magmatism (Andean style; not
considered here), the lower crust may be suf-
ficiently hot and weak during the growth of the
orogen that a plateau develops at a relatively
early stage in comparison to a system in which
heat is generated entirely by radioactive decay.
Conversely, if the accreted material includes
significant volumes of oceanic terranes or
polycyclic continental material with low heat
production, the transition to a plateau may be
delayed in comparison to the simple systems
considered here.

1686 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013

 On the origin of orogens

LARGE-HOT OROGENS A HT1: homogeneous channel flow

Characteristics of Large-Hot Orogens

Large-hot orogens lie near the upper end of

the T-M spectrum (Fig. 1), where the combi-
nation of crustal thickening and heating is suf-
ficient to cause widespread partial melting in
the lower and/or middle crust. They typically B HT111: homogeneous channel flow with weak upper crust
are composed of a central elevated plateau (E)
underlain by 60–80-km-thick crust (Fig. 11C),
flanked by external wedges (P, R) including
fold-and-thrust belts, and foreland basins (e.g.,
Hodges, 2000; Royden et al., 2008). Because
the lower crust beneath the plateau is weak, it
is decoupled from both the underlying mantle C LHO-2: heterogeneous channel flow
lithosphere and the overlying cooler, stronger,
upper crust. Although the suborogenic litho-
sphere may break off or continue to subduct,
the overlying orogen is not strongly influenced
by these processes, because the traction exerted
by the mantle lithosphere is small where it is
decoupled from the crust (e.g., Royden, 1996).
In contrast, processes that remove suborogenic D GO-3: ductile extrusion of lower crustal nappes
mantle lithosphere and replace it with astheno-
sphere (e.g., delamination or subduction-zone
retreat) are predicted to have more dramatic
effects on the mechanical and thermal response
of the orogen (e.g., Royden, 1993a; Beaumont
et al., 2006; Gerya, 2011; Sizova et al., 2012).
Within the crust, decoupling between the hot, E GO-ST87: post-convergent gravitational spreading
weak infrastructure and the cooler, stronger
upper-crustal superstructure will lead to marked
contrasts in structural style across the midcrustal
décollement that separates them (e.g., Culshaw
et al., 2006). In particular, the superstructure
should display early, steep structures, while
the infrastructure should display late, ductile,
shallow-dipping structures that overprint earlier
steep structures (e.g., Fig. 12C). Figure 12. Different styles of ductile flow in large-hot orogens in response to heating and
Tectonic processes in large-hot orogens are weakening of middle and lower crust beneath an orogenic plateau; 700 °C isotherm cor-
dominated by the effects of ductile flow of the responds to onset of melt weakening in these models. (A) Homogeneous channel flow with
weak infrastructure in response to differential extrusion at the orogenic front (HT1; after Beaumont et al., 2001; Jamieson et al., 2004).
pressure (Figs. 12 and 13; e.g., Bird, 1991; Roy- (B) Flow of variably weak upper crust above midcrustal channel (HT111; after Jamieson
den, 1996; Beaumont et al., 2001). The expres- et al., 2006); extension of upper crust above a lower-crustal ramp leads to upward flow of
sion of this ductile flow depends on a number of channel material, forming a dome. (C) Heterogeneous flow of strong and weak materials in
factors, including the source, rate, and duration midcrustal channel (modified from LHO-2; Beaumont et al., 2006). (D) Ductile flow of lower-
of heating, the rheological structure of the crust crustal nappes and extrusion over a strong lower-crustal indentor (GO-3; after Jamieson
and upper mantle and corresponding flow modes et al., 2007). (E) Postconvergent gravitational spreading of GO-3 with ductile thinning in
within the orogen, the source of the differential orogenic core and thrusting on the flanks (GO-ST87; after Jamieson and Beaumont, 2011);
pressure, and the path of least resistance for lat- dots indicate VP = 0. Details of model design and other results are available in cited papers.
eral or vertical flow. The differential pressure
gradient is generally attributed to the topographic
difference between the plateau and the foreland tion conduit, leading to exhumation of (U)HP The flow direction will be determined by the
(e.g., Fig. 13A), but differential pressures suffi- rocks (Fig. 10; e.g., Raimbourg et al., 2007; path of least resistance, which may change as the
cient to drive ductile flow can also result from Warren et al., 2008a; Beaumont et al., 2009), system evolves (e.g., Miocene across-strike flow
extension of strong superstructure, leading to and activation of ductile flow by transport of a vs. Neogene along-strike flow in the Himalayan-
doming and exhumation of ductile infrastructure plunger or indentor into the orogen (Figs. 12D Tibetan system; Unsworth et al., 2005; Yao
(Figs. 12B and 13B; e.g., Jamieson et al., 2006; and 13D; e.g., Zhao and Morgan, 1987; Beau- et al., 2008; Royden et al., 2008). Ductile flow
Rey et al., 2009), buoyancy forces in a subduc- mont et al., 2004; Jamieson et al., 2007, 2010). will continue after convergence stops as long as

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1687

 Jamieson and Beaumont

A P 1 > P2 plateau P1
Channel flows may exhibit two end-member
styles. For a uniform linear viscosity, Poiseuille
foreland P2
flow (or “pipe-flow”) is characterized by a para-
bolic velocity profile, with the maximum veloc-
strong
channel flow ηe < ηcrit VC h ity in the center of the channel (Fig. 13A), which
strong flows between stationary, nondeforming, upper
and lower bounding materials. In Couette flows,
B one of the bounding layers (typically the upper
P2 P1 > P2 dome plateau P1 one) is either coupled to and transported with
foreland
the flow or has an independent tectonic velocity
that drags the viscous channel material (e.g., Fig.
ηe 13B, proward of dome), so that the maximum
strong
ramp < ηcrit VC
flow velocity is at the top of the channel (e.g.,
strong Turcotte and Schubert, 1982; Grujic et al., 1996;
Beaumont et al., 2004; Grujic, 2006). In nature,
C P1 > P2 plateau P1 the flow style will generally be a combination
foreland P2 of the two, with variable displacement of chan-
nel material relative to reference markers above
channel flow ηe < ηcrit and below the channel, depending on the degree
weak stron VC
g of coupling between the weak channel and its
weak strong weak strong stronger bounding layers. Vigorous erosion at
the orogenic flank may lead to extrusion of the
D P1 > P2 plateau P1 channel between bounding thrust-sense and
foreland P2 normal-sense shear zones (Fig. 12A; e.g., Beau-
mont et al., 2001); extension of plateau upper
ductile ηe > ηcrit crust may lead to upward flow of ductile channel
strong nappe
inden material, creating gneiss domes and core com-
tor
weaker weakest plexes (Fig. 13B; e.g., Jamieson et al., 2006).
However, the weak channel cannot be injected
Figure 13. Flow modes in ductile crust in response to pressure into strong crust; in the absence of preweakened
gradient between plateau and foreland (P1 > P2 ) (adapted from crust, the channel can only advance when the
Beaumont et al., 2006). (A) Homogeneous Poiseuille-style channel adjacent crust has thickened, thermally relaxed,
(pipe) flow, with channel tunneling beneath plateau flank; channel is and weakened sufficiently for channel flow to
decoupled from underlying and overlying crust and does not pene- develop (Medvedev and Beaumont, 2006; Rey
trate stronger foreland crust. (B) Couette-style flow of upper crust et al., 2010; cf. Clark and Royden, 2000). Where
with channel above a lower-crustal ramp, creating a dome in the erosion rates are low and the orogenic flank is
upper crust (cf. Fig. 12B); upper crust is coupled to and flows out- relatively cool and strong, the channel is likely
ward with channel near orogenic front. (C) Heterogeneous channel to retreat beneath the edge of the plateau rather
flow with variable-strength lower crust; weak materials are thrust than being extruded. It is, however, possible that
over stronger ones and entrained in channel (cf. Fig. 12C). (D) Ex- melt or fluid migrating beyond the channel front
trusion of ductile lower-crustal nappes over strong lower-crustal could cause sufficient weakening to allow lim-
indentor (cf. Fig. 12D); midcrust is too strong to undergo homo- ited channel advance.
geneous channel flow. ηe = effective viscosity of midcrust; ηcrit = Heterogeneous channel flows are also driven
threshold viscosity required for efficient channel flow (≤1019 Pa s); by gravitational forces, but the ductile infrastruc-
Vc = mean velocity of channel flow. Pale blue—upper crust; yellow— ture may contain stronger blocks that are car-
middle crust; gray—lower crust; pink—active channel flow zone. ried along within a weaker matrix, or that may
remain attached to the channel walls. Tectonic
forcing of flow over and around these blocks will
the crust remains weak and a differential pres- nappes (Figs. 12 and 13; Beaumont et al., 2006; be focused at the boundaries between weaker
sure gradient is maintained. In the case of 2-D Jamieson et al., 2007). Within any given orogen, and stronger blocks, with weaker materials sys-
postorogenic gravitational spreading, ductile one flow mode may evolve into another as mate- tematically transported over stronger ones (Figs.
thinning in the core drives thrusting in the oro- rial properties or boundary conditions change 12C and 13C; Beaumont et al., 2006). Lateral
genic foreland (Fig. 12E; e.g., Rey et al., 2001; with time or position within the system. Homo- flow of ductile nappes is driven by tectonic forc-
Jamieson and Beaumont, 2011; see following). geneous channel flow requires laterally homo- ing, where a strong indentor is carried into an
geneous ductile infrastructure to be sufficiently orogen, forcing expulsion of variably ductile
Flow Modes on Large-Hot Orogens hot and weak so that it flows under gravitational material from the orogenic core (Figs. 12D and
forces alone (Beaumont et al., 2004, 2006; 13D), with weaker materials thrust over stronger
Styles of ductile flow in large-hot orogens Grujic, 2006). The channel flow zone is bounded ones (Jamieson et al., 2007, 2010). The over-
range from homogeneous or heterogeneous by coeval ductile shear zones, with thrust-sense at thrust weaker materials develop a fold-nappe–
channel flow to ductile flow of lower-crustal the base and normal-sense at the top (Fig. 12A). like geometry and may become imbricated,

1688 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


detached, or strongly attenuated during flow
(Jamieson et al., 2007). Melt-weakened middle
crust may develop incipient channel flow and/or
may become entrained into the lower-crustal
nappe-expulsion zone. Where erosion rates are
high, lower-crustal nappes may be exhumed at
the orogenic front; lower erosion rates lead to
lateral midcrustal transport of strongly attenu-
ated nappes (Jamieson et al., 2007).
Homogeneous channel flow is likely an end
member applicable to hot systems in which
large volumes of heat-producing material are
accreted, e.g., during collisions involving very
wide continental margins, such as the Early to
Middle Tertiary stage of the India-Asia colli-
sion. In the corresponding models, both upper
and lower crust can be considered laterally
uniform. Channel flows in natural orogens are
likely to be more complex owing to 3-D (vs.
2-D) spatial variations in crustal materials,
channel geometry, nonlinearities in the flow
laws, and other effects. Heterogeneous flow,
including the formation of lower-crustal nappes,
is likely more common than homogeneous
channel flow in natural systems involving ter-
rane accretion (e.g., Canadian Cordillera; Beau-
mont et al., 2010; Simony and Carr, 2011) or
collision involving laterally heterogeneous crust
(e.g., western Grenville orogen; Jamieson et al.,
2007, 2010).
Channel flow and other ductile flow modes
share a number of geological effects, including
association with orogenic plateaus, large-scale
lateral transport of midcrustal material, diach-
ronous propagation of deformation from the
orogenic core toward the foreland, high-grade
metamorphism including widespread partial
melting, and pervasive ductile deformation and
transposition. While laterally extensive coeval
thrust-sense and normal-sense shear zones and
inverted metamorphic sequences are charac-
teristic of extruded channel-flow zones (e.g.,
Jamieson et al., 2004; Grujic, 2006; Harris,
2007), their discontinuous, localized equiva-
lents could also form during heterogeneous
flow. The surface expression of ductile flow
will depend on the style of exhumation (Fig.
12), e.g., whether focused synorogenic erosion
or extension of the superstructure exhumes the
ductile infrastructure during convergence (e.g.,
Beaumont et al., 2001; Jamieson et al., 2006),
or whether exhumation is dominated by posto-
rogenic erosion or lithosphere-scale extension
(e.g., Rey et al., 2009; Jamieson et al., 2010;
Jamieson and Beaumont, 2011; Vanderhaeghe,
2012). It may therefore be difficult in practice
to distinguish the results of one style of crustal-
scale ductile flow from another.
Nevertheless, the effects of ductile flow in
large-hot orogens should be clearly distinct from
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
those resulting from critical wedge mechanics,
e.g., in the flanking wedges that link plateaus
with the foreland. For example, in all the models
we have investigated to date, weak infrastructure
(viscosity ≤ 1019 Pa s), likely associated with
some form of melt-weakening in natural sys-
tems, is required to form broad plateaus associ-
ated with lateral ductile flow from the core of the
orogen toward its flanks. Models that lack this
low-viscosity region form back-to-back oro-
genic thrust wedges and do not develop plateaus
or coeval, shallow-dipping, thrust-sense and
normal-sense shear zones (e.g., Beaumont et al.,
1994; Willett, 1999b; Vanderhaeghe et al., 2003).
Since pervasive melt-weakening is incompatible
with critical wedge mechanics, Coulomb critical
wedge models cannot develop the characteristic
features of the interiors of large-hot orogens.
This “wedge versus channel” problem is dis-
cussed further later herein.
Orogenic Decay
When convergence ends, no new material
is accreted to the orogenic system by tectonic
advection into the orogen, and the tectonic
basal traction forces that support high topog-
raphy are substantially reduced or removed.
Under these circumstances, orogens will decay
by the combined effects of erosion and gravi-
tational spreading, enhanced in some cases by
lithosphere-scale extension, which may culmi-
nate in rifting. In large-hot orogenic systems,
this stage of orogenesis, commonly referred
to as gravitational (or extensional) “collapse”
(e.g., Dewey, 1988; Platt and Vissers, 1989; Rey
et al., 2001), is dominated by lateral flow of hot
orogenic infrastructure (Fig. 12E). This leads to
extension and ductile thinning of the orogenic
core and contraction and thrusting on its flanks
(e.g., Rey et al., 2001; Jamieson and Beaumont,
2011; Vanderhaeghe, 2012), which may accrete
more material to the toes of the orogen. At some
stage, erosion will outcompete accretion, and a
reduction in orogenic magnitude is inevitable,
although temperatures in the orogenic core
may remain high for tens of millions of years
(Jamieson et al., 2002; Jamieson and Beaumont,
2011). In terms of the T-M spectrum, orogenic
decay drives the system along the path shown in
Figure 1. Postconvergent exhumation of deep-
seated metamorphic rocks accompanies erosion
at the orogenic flanks and extension and ductile
thinning in the orogenic core (e.g., Rey et al.,
2009; Jamieson and Beaumont, 2011; Vander-
haeghe, 2012). The end of tectonic convergence,
and consequent decreasing down-channel drag
force, may also enhance the possibility of (U)
HP exhumation from the subduction conduit
(e.g., England and Holland, 1979).
DISCUSSION
Here, we highlight some unresolved issues
that are the subject of current debate in the tec-
tonics community, and we propose solutions
based on integrating quantitative geodynamic
models with geological and geophysical data,
drawing on examples from the small-cold
Southern Alps and large-hot Himalayan-
Tibetan systems.
Mantle Lithosphere Subduction versus
Thickening—Too Stark a Contrast?
How does the suborogenic mantle lithosphere
accommodate convergence during continental
collision? There are two end-member propo-
sitions: (1) intracontinental underthrusting or
subduction, where the upper-mantle lithosphere
underthrusts with little deformation (Fig. 14A;
Willett et al., 1993; Beaumont et al., 1994, 2009;
Pysklywec et al., 2002); and (2) distributed
thickening, where the mantle lithosphere short-
ens and thickens (Fig. 14B; Molnar et al., 1993,
1999; Houseman and Molnar, 2001). The first
proposition can be generalized to include the
possibility of mantle lithosphere delamination,
not considered here. Geological and geophysi-
cal observations from specific natural examples
can be interpreted to support either model, sug-
gesting that perhaps both are correct, depend-
ing on the circumstances (Figs. 14C and 14D).
Additional evidence in favor of continental sub-
duction is that subduction combined with exhu-
mation provide a self-consistent explanation for
the observed rapid burial and exhumation of (U)
HP rocks in regions of low geothermal gradient.
This is more difficult to explain in the context of
a region that undergoes distributed lithospheric
thickening.
A less stark choice emerges if the discus-
sion takes account of the particular plate-tec-
tonic setting. Houseman and Molnar (2001)
placed their analysis of lithospheric thickening
and Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) instabilities in the
context of reactivation tectonics within con-
tinents. Here, we add the simple proposal that
the style of mantle deformation may depend
on the preceding style of lithospheric deforma-
tion; namely, underthrusting of subcontinental
mantle lithosphere is favored by precursor oce-
anic subduction, whereas reactivated intracon-
tinental convergent or transcurrent zones may
exhibit distributed lithospheric shortening and
thickening.
Where collision follows a period of oceanic
subduction, the presence of a weak subduction
zone with the dipping geometry necessary to
accommodate continued subduction is likely
to favor continental underthrusting, as appears to
1689
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A subduction/underthrusting have happened in the Alps (e.g., Schmid et al.,

2004), Taiwan (Kaus et al., 2008; Malavieille
and Trullenque, 2009), and Himalayas (e.g., Nel-
crust son et al., 1996; Klemperer, 2006). In contrast,
distributed shortening/thickening of the litho-
mantle sphere may be favored where transpressional
lithosphere zones become increasingly convergent (e.g.,
Transverse Ranges, California—Houseman
et al., 2000; South Island, New Zealand—Wal-
cott, 1998; Baldock and Stern, 2005), or where
B lithosphere shortening lithospheric shortening affects continental interi-
ors far removed from plate boundaries (e.g., Tien
crust Shan and central Australia—Neil and House-
man, 1999; Pysklywec and Beaumont, 2004).
mantle Where two plates abut across a near-vertical
lithosphere transcurrent boundary or suture zone, the plate
boundary may have been weakened over a broad
zone by transcurrent motion, and therefore nei-
ther plate has the necessary strength nor rigidity
to initiate subduction.
The Southern Alps of New Zealand is an
C shortening underthrusting, Δx = 100 km equivocal case of an intracontinental transcur-
0 rent system that has evolved through transpres-
30 sion to oblique collision (e.g., Wellman, 1979;
42
66 Walcott, 1998; Beavan et al., 1999; Cox and
Sutherland, 2007). Models involving both sub-
km Δρ = 500 kg/m
3
duction and distributed thickening have been
proposed to explain various features of the
150
resulting small-cold orogen (e.g., Koons, 1990;
3
Δρ = 40 kg/m Beaumont et al., 1996b; Batt and Braun, 1999;
Molnar et al., 1999; Pysklywec et al., 2002; Ger-
D shortening underthrusting, Δx = 200 km
bault et al., 2003). Seismic evidence for mantle
deformation distributed across a 200–335-km-
wide zone (Baldock and Stern, 2005) has been
interpreted to be mostly inherited from 800 ±
200 km of right-lateral shear. However, in the
<10 m.y. since the onset of significant conver-
gence across the Alpine fault, there has been
insufficient contraction across the system to
differentiate clearly between subduction and
thickening end members. An explanation that
includes underthrusting of strong uppermost
mantle along with more distributed deformation
in the lower, hotter, viscous mantle lithosphere
(Figs. 14C and 14D) appears equally compat-
ible with the data (e.g., Pysklywec et al., 2002;
Davey et al., 2007).
The distributed shortening model is com-
Figure 14. (A–B) Conceptual diagrams showing contrasting end- monly extended to include the hypothesis that
member mantle lithosphere deformation styles during orogenic con- thickened mantle lithosphere will develop a
vergence. (C–D) Upper-mantle–scale numerical model showing how Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) instability and eventu-
both shortening and underthrusting may operate during progres- ally detach (e.g., Figs. 14B and 14D), leading
sive convergence within the same orogenic system (see also Pyskly- to rapid uplift of the overlying orogen (e.g.,
wec et al., 2002); Δρ indicates density contrasts at layer boundaries; Houseman et al., 1981; Molnar et al., 1993;
scale and density contrasts are identical in C and D. Strong fric- Houseman and Molnar, 2001; Pysklywec and
tional-plastic uppermost mantle (dark green) is strong and under- Cruden, 2004; Gogus and Pysklywec, 2008).
thrusts, whereas viscous mantle lithosphere (blue-gray) develops a For example, continued convergence across
Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Crustal deformation is strongly linked the Alpine fault in New Zealand could lead
to underthrusting of the uppermost mantle lithosphere and not to to a “dripping paint brush” style in which a
thickening and dripping of the lower mantle lithosphere. lower lithosphere R-T “drip” forms at the end

1690 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


of the underthrust but nondeforming upper-
most mantle.
In this context, a critical question concerns
the rheological layering of the lithosphere
and the importance of mechanically pressure-
dependent plastic (frictional-plastic) layers in
contrast to viscous layers. Cold plastic layers
are generally stronger than viscous layers, and
it is reasonable to expect plate-like subduc-
tion of continental mantle lithosphere, similar
to subduction of oceanic lithosphere, if the
continental mantle retains a cold plastic layer.
This is essentially the argument supporting
the underthrusting/subduction model. How-
ever, what happens if the lithosphere does not
behave as a plate, but instead starts to deform?
Whether plastic or viscous behavior dominates
will depend on the growth rates of the resulting
instabilities.
The argument in favor of distributed thicken-
ing is partly based on a comprehensive series of
studies of the development of R-T instabilities in
viscous power-law flows as applied to the litho-
sphere (e.g., Houseman et al., 1981; Houseman
and Molnar, 2001; Harig et al., 2010, and ref-
erences therein). The results show shortening,
thickening, and dripping of viscous lithosphere.
More generally, deformation of the continental
lithosphere will depend on the relative growth
rates of instabilities in the stiff and pliable parts
of the lithosphere, where the terms “stiff” and
“pliable” approximately correspond to the fric-
tional-plastic and viscous regions, respectively.
Other factors being equal, instabilities will grow
faster in the stiff part of the lithosphere than
in the viscous part (e.g., Fletcher and Hallet,
1983), with the faster-growing instabilities tend-
ing to dominate the style of deformation. The
growth rates of the viscous R-T instabilities
are superexponential in power-law fluids with
small stress exponents (n ~2–5), typical of litho-
spheric rocks deforming by ductile creep. How-
ever, because growth rate scales with n, R-T
growth rates with n ~2–5 will be much slower
than the growth rates of plastic instabilities in
stiff upper-mantle lithosphere because n → ∞
for plastic materials. A stiff lithosphere results
in early localization of deformation in conjugate
shear zones, followed by shortening and under-
thrusting (e.g., Fig. 14D). By implication, if the
lithosphere contains stiff layers, instabilities in
these layers will grow faster than, and outcom-
pete, sluggishly developing viscous instabilities.
Models based solely on the formation of viscous
R-T instabilities will therefore apply to strictly
viscous lithosphere but not necessarily to litho-
sphere with stiff layers. This needs to be taken
into account when assessing whether R-T insta-
bilities will be the dominant mantle deformation
mechanism in specific orogenic settings.
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
Interaction of Climate and Tectonics—
Erosion-Induced Reactivation of the
Main Central Thrust Zone
Recent research into the interactions between
climate and tectonics has raised the question of
whether changes in erosion rate drive tectonics
or vice versa (e.g., Molnar and England, 1990a;
Willett, 1999a; Whipple, 2009, and references
therein). Numerical models offer a vehicle for
exploring these competing hypotheses and
potentially resolving the question. An instruc-
tive example concerns the possible reactivation
of the Main Central Thrust zone in the Hima-
laya of central Nepal (e.g., Wobus et al., 2003;
Huntington et al., 2006).
In the last ~10 m.y., convergence between
India and Asia within the Himalaya has been
accommodated on three main thrust fault sys-
tems, the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT), and Main Central
Thrust (MCT) zone, all of which are interpreted
to root into a basal décollement, the Main Hima-
layan Thrust (MHT). The MCT zone is consid-
ered by many to have been relatively inactive
since the mid-Miocene, but a recently discov-
ered structure located south of a reentrant in the
MCT in central Nepal requires this assumption
to be reassessed. Here, a distinct physiographic
transition (PT2 ; Wobus et al., 2003) coincides
with a discontinuity in 40Ar/39Ar and fission-
track ages (Wobus et al., 2003; Huntington and
Hodges, 2006), displays evidence of recent
deformation (Hodges et al., 2004), and marks
the position of a fourfold increase in recent
erosion rate as constrained by cosmogenic iso-
topes (Wobus et al., 2005). Conceptual models
that might explain these characteristics include:
(1) passive transport of the hanging wall over a
ramp in the MHT (e.g., Herman et al., 2010);
(2) duplexing by sequential accretion of slices
of the MHT footwall to the hanging wall (e.g.,
Bollinger et al., 2006); and (3) active out-of-
sequence thrusting focused at PT2 (Wobus et al.,
2003, 2006).
Identification of recent faults in the vicin-
ity of PT2 raises the important question of
the cause of this localized deformation in the
interior of the orogen. The two primary causal
mechanisms are tectonics and climate (which
acts to modulate erosion rates), or a combina-
tion of both. No evidence exists for signifi-
cant recent changes in local plate convergence
rates during the last few million years (Molnar
and Stock, 2009; Herman et al., 2010). There
is, however, a strong contrast in the pattern
of low-temperature ([U-Th]/He and apatite
fission-track) cooling ages compared with data
from higher-temperature systems (40Ar/ 39Ar
muscovite and zircon fission-track), which has
been interpreted to demonstrate a recent (Plio-
cene) change in erosion rates across much of
the Himalaya (e.g., Sorkhabi et al., 1997; Ruhl
and Hodges, 2005; Bojar et al., 2005; Hunting-
ton and Hodges, 2006; Huntington et al., 2006;
Thiede et al., 2009). Huntington et al. (2006)
interpreted this in terms of a change from a
period of uniform erosion (at ~0.57 km/m.y.)
to elevated erosion rates (~3.1 km/m.y.) ini-
tiated somewhere between 2.5 and 0.9 Ma.
In contrast, Herman et al. (2010) concluded
from inverse thermal-kinematic modeling of
thermochronological data that elevated erosion
rates are best explained by basal accretion and
duplexing that started at ca. 10 Ma. They noted
that out-of-sequence thrusting could also sat-
isfy the data, but would require a steeper MCT
than that assumed in their kinematic model.
In order to understand the significance of PT2
and associated thermochronological data, we
used a dynamical model to test the response of
the orogenic system to a range of possible recent
(≤3 Ma) increases in erosion rates (Fig. 15). This
differs from the thermal-kinematic approach
(Bollinger et al., 2006; Wobus et al., 2006; Her-
man et al., 2010; Robert et al., 2011) in which
the model tectonics are kinematically prespeci-
fied, and increased erosion is a response to the
predefined tectonics. The converse hypothesis,
that increased erosion drives the tectonics, must
be tested using a dynamical model. Specifically,
Beaumont et al. (2007) used dynamical models
to investigate whether increased erosion and
recent thrusting may be directly connected. The
model response to an increase in the intensity
of erosion owing to the climate was determined
using the following simple model of erosion
rate, e(x,t):
e(x,t) = C(t)g(x)dh(x,t)/dx, (1)
where C(t) is a lumped erosivity function that
specifies the way in which the erosional climate
intensity varies with time, g(x) is the spatial
variation of this climate and includes effects like
orographic rainfall and glaciation, and dh(x,t)/dx
is the local slope determined by the evolving
surface of the finite-element model (Fig. 15A).
The constant convergence velocity model
used to test the response of the system to ero-
sion builds on published results (Beaumont
et al., 2006; Jamieson et al., 2006). Model
HT111 (Jamieson et al., 2006) passes many of
the observational tests but fails to reproduce
either the observed low-temperature thermo-
chronometric data or the spatial pattern of those
data, implying that there are changes in the
last 2–4 m.y. not accounted for by this model.
Model HT111E (not published) is identical to
HT111 except for a linear increase in erosivity,
1691
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A Erosion model: C(t) × g(x) × dh(x,t)/dx
g(x): “climate” function
C(t)
C(t), by a factor of 3 over 3 m.y. (Fig. 15A). This
fundamentally changes the style of deformation,
reactivating the dormant model MCT (Fig. 15B)
10 HT111E in the region corresponding to observed thrust
faults and leading to good agreement with the
observations.
HT111 Until 50 m.y. after the onset of convergence
(Fig. 15B), models HT111 and HT111E are
50 53
0 the same, consisting of a large-hot orogen with

surface slope 49 My 54 an external fold-and-thrust belt and a dipping

décollement zone corresponding to the MHT.
(determined by model)
C(t): “intensity” function There is no focused thrusting, shortening, or
surface uplift at the model MCT. The increased
B HT111E: erosion, strain, velocity, and isotherms erosion rate in HT111E causes the model MCT
to be reactivated as an out-of-sequence thrust
zone (increased strain rate at 53 m.y.; Fig. 15C),
such that both surface uplift rate and topogra-
phy increase at the model MCT, thereby fur-
ther increasing the erosion rate because the
local slope increases. Thrusting also continues
at the toe of the fold-and-thrust belt. Channel
flow, which had retreated beneath the plateau
50 My (E + 0) in response to declining erosion rates, is reac-
tivated (Fig. 15C, bold red line), although the
South Tibetan Detachment (STD) is not active
C at this stage. The geometry and deformation
style of model HT111E agree well with the
observations summarized by Hodges et al.
(2004) (Fig. 15D). By 2 m.y. after the increase
in erosion rate, reactivation of the MCT is com-
plete, and it remains active until the end of the
model. Results for both 2 and 3 m.y. after the
53 My (E + 3) increase in erosion rate reproduce the observed
cooling-age patterns within error, whereas the
equivalent constant low-erosion model repro-
(active duces neither the thermochronological nor the
channel) structural observations.
We agree with Wobus et al. (2003, 2006) that
D HT111E @ 53 My vs. structural and seismic data PT2 can be explained by out-of-sequence thrust-
ing. In addition, we suggest that recent (3–0 Ma)
PT2 MCT STD increased erosion rates in the Himalaya may
be responsible for reactivating the MCT, or a
related structure at the position of PT2, as an out-
of-sequence thrust. This conclusion is consistent
model lo with critical wedge theory in that when erosion
wer cru
st (subd causes a wedge to lose critical taper, criticality
ucted)
is regained by out-of-sequence thrusting in the
region subject to erosion.
Figure 15. Model for reactivation of Main Central Thrust (MCT) by enhanced erosion.
(A) Erosion model (see text) applied to model HT111E, which is identical to model HT111 Channel Flow versus (Critical) Wedge
(Jamieson et al., 2006) except that the erosion intensity is increased by a factor of 3 be- Mechanics—A False Dichotomy?
tween 50 and 53 m.y. (million years after model start). (B) Model HT111E at 50 m.y., just
before the erosion rate increases (E + 0); upper panel shows erosion rate across the model Two classes of hypotheses supported by
surface; lower panel shows instantaneous strain rate with isotherms (yellow = 300 °C); 1019 quantitative models, here termed channel-flow
Pa s viscosity contour (red) corresponds to the limit of active channel flow. (C) Same model and (critical) wedge models, have been central
after 3 m.y. of enhanced erosion (E + 3), showing increased strain rate and channel ad- to recent discussions concerning the evolution
vance. (D) Comparison of HT111E at 53 m.y. with seismic and structural data from central of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. The chan-
Nepal (modified from Hodges et al., 2004). Circles show crustal earthquakes. Positions of nel-flow model (see reviews by Grujic, 2006;
MCT, South Tibetan Detachment (STD), and physiographic transition (PT2 ) are shown for Klemperer, 2006; Hodges, 2006; Harris, 2007)
reference. provides an explanation for the development

1692 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013


of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) by
extrusion and exhumation of a weak midcrustal
channel. As described earlier, channel flow
develops in thickened model orogenic crust by
ductile weakening following thermal relaxation
and radioactive heating, augmented by a small
component of “melt” weakening (Beaumont
et al., 2001, 2004; Jamieson et al., 2004, 2006).
Channel flow is driven outward from beneath
the orogen by the pressure difference between
the plateau and the foreland, and the channel is
interpreted to have been exhumed to the surface
by climate-enhanced erosion focused on the
flank of the plateau (Beaumont et al., 2001).
Exhumation occurs between coeval basal thrust-
sense and overlying normal-sense shear zones,
corresponding to the MCT and STD systems,
respectively. The channel-flow model also pre-
dicts the formation of a plateau in regions where
the crust is too weak to support topographic gra-
dients, and it is consistent with regional-scale
structural, metamorphic, thermochronological,
and other data (e.g., Grujic et al., 1996, 2002;
Hodges, 2000; Jamieson et al., 2004; Klem-
perer, 2006; Harris, 2007). Where not exhumed,
the channel “tunnels” beneath the flank of the
orogen (Beaumont et al., 2001), at a rate lim-
ited by thermal relaxation and weakening of the
adjacent crust (Medvedev and Beaumont, 2006;
Rey et al., 2010).
In the second class of models, the Himalaya
is interpreted to have evolved as a wedge (Kohn,
2008), possibly one that obeys critical wedge
mechanics (cf. Dahlen, 1984; Platt, 1986).
Variations on this approach include reconstruc-
tion of wedge geometries using balanced cross
sections (e.g., DeCelles et al., 2001; Robinson
et al., 2006), or transport of thrust sheets over
a basal ramp-flat system accompanied by the
formation of accretionary duplexes (e.g., Bol-
linger et al., 2006; Herman et al., 2010). Most
models in the latter class are thermal-kinematic
and predict the thermal evolution of a system
with a predefined geometry, which may resem-
ble a “critical taper,” in response to prescribed
velocity fields and surface erosion (e.g., Henry
et al., 1997; Bollinger et al., 2006; Whipp et al.,
2007; Robert et al., 2009; Herman et al., 2010).
Regardless of their other merits, these types of
models should not be confused with those that
solve the full critical wedge mechanical prob-
lem, either analytically (e.g., Dahlen, 1984) or
numerically (e.g., Willett, 1999a), so that the
velocity field is consistent with that of an erod-
ing critical wedge (cf. Barr et al., 1991). In par-
ticular, thermal-kinematic models are limited by
the assumed geometry and velocity distribution
and cannot be used to predict the response of the
system to changes in geometry or internal ther-
mal structure. It is therefore highly misleading
Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
On the origin of orogens
to refer to thermal-kinematic models as “criti-
cal taper” models, as done “for convenience”
by Kohn (2008, p. 265). Moreover, they cannot
be considered viable candidates for pre–10 Ma
Himalayan-Tibetan tectonics because they do
not develop any structure resembling the STD
system (cf. conceptual normal fault shown by
Kohn, 2008, his Fig. 3B). This version of the
wedge model therefore lacks proof of concept
and cannot be regarded as a “working” model.
While it is misleading to use thermal-kine-
matic models to support “critical wedge” con-
cepts for the GHS, the relative merits of the two
types of models deserve discussion. They are
often portrayed as mutually exclusive—either
channel flow or critical wedges must account for
the large-scale tectonic evolution of the Hima-
layan system (e.g., Robinson et al., 2006; Robin-
son and Pearson, 2006; Kohn, 2008). However,
the two types of models are not mutually exclu-
sive, and we should expect both tectonic styles
to coexist in nature (Beaumont and Jamieson,
2010; Larsen et al., 2011; Mukherjee, 2013).
This coexistence is shown by the plateau
flank region of model HT111 (Jamieson et al.,
2006), which has a phase of channel flow and
then evolves as a critical wedge. In this model,
channel flow (red line, Fig. 16A) has retreated
beneath the margin of the Tibetan Plateau by 50
m.y. and is no longer active in the vicinity of
the MCT–STD system. Extrusion of the chan-
nel, leading to the geometry shown in Figure
16A, ended 6 m.y. earlier, as the system cooled
following a decline in erosion rate. Since a
channel cannot be injected into strong adjacent
crust, the model channel retreats beneath the
edge of the plateau rather than being extruded.
Consequently, the thin-skinned (critical) wedge
corresponding to the Siwaliks and Lesser Hima-
layan Sequence (LHS) expands into the orogen
to encompass the region of the exhumed for-
mer channel (Fig. 16A), i.e., the GHS and its
bounding shear zones. Thus, model HT111 at
50 m.y. represents a large-hot orogen with latent
channel flow confined beneath the plateau and
a bounding external zone comprising a true
critical wedge (Fig. 16A). At no point in model
HT111, or other models of this type, does a nor-
mal-sense shear zone resembling the STD sys-
tem develop within the Coulomb-plastic critical
wedges that flank the hot plateau crust; this type
of feature requires the presence of low-viscosity
material to shallow depth (e.g., Willett, 1999b).
As explained in the previous section,
latent channel flow can be reactivated (model
HT111E, Fig. 15B, bold red line) by a new
phase of enhanced erosion. However, by the
end of this model (3 m.y. after the increase in
erosion rate), the reactivated channel has not yet
reached the edge of the plateau. Instead, it occu-
pies a position consistent with the distribution
of high-electrical-conductivity material (Fig.
16B), interpreted to indicate the presence of hot,
weak crust potentially capable of channel flow
(Unsworth et al., 2005; Rippe and Unsworth,
2010). Given the excellent correlation between
the reactivated channel flow in model HT111E
and the location of high-conductivity crust
beneath central and eastern Nepal and adjacent
southern Tibet (Unsworth et al., 2005), we infer
that channel flow may now be active beneath
the Tibetan Plateau in the vicinity of the north
Himalayan gneiss domes (Fig. 16B, white
lines on M-T panels). The external Himalayan
region, including the Siwaliks, LHS, and previ-
ously exhumed GHS, is currently a crustal-scale
wedge that is in a near-critical state. In contrast,
geophysical data suggest that channel flow may
now be active beneath the eastern flank of the
Tibetan Plateau (Yao et al., 2008; Royden et al.,
2008; Rippe and Unsworth, 2010).
We conclude that there is no real dichotomy
between channel-flow and wedge behaviors in
orogenic tectonic models, and most likely
in nature as well. The interior plateau region of
the orogen will be governed by lateral ductile
flow of hot, weak middle or lower crust and
may develop channel flows or other flow modes
(Beaumont et al., 2006; Jamieson et al., 2007;
Figs. 12 and 13). Beneath the flank of the oro-
gen, channel flow will coexist with, and be jux-
taposed against, a crustal-scale external wedge
that tapers to a thin-skinned foreland fold-and-
thrust belt (Prowedge-Elevated Plateau-Retro-
wedge [PER], Fig. 8E). Depending on the rates
of surface erosion and the basal boundary con-
ditions, the plateau flank region will behave as
a tunneling or exhuming channel system with
an external wedge, as a thrust-sense wedge that
grows to encompass the former channel-flow
extrusion zone as the orogen cools, or as an
unstable system subject to gravitational spread-
ing. The system is expected to migrate among
these behaviors as the external conditions (e.g.,
convergence velocity, erosion rate) that govern
the mechanical state of the orogen vary.
For the Himalayan-Tibetan system, we infer
three contrasting tectonic phases over the last
~20 m.y. (1) In the early Miocene, a midcrustal
channel was exhumed as a result of protracted,
intense erosion focused on the southern flank of
the orogen. (2) In the mid-late Miocene, channel
exhumation ceased in response to waning ero-
sion rates; the flank of the orogen cooled and
became a thrust-sense wedge with the active
channel tip tunneling at the edge of the plateau.
(3) Since the late Pliocene, more aggressive ero-
sion has begun to reactivate the MCT as an out-
of-sequence structure, ahead of a channel now
situated beneath the north Himalayan gneiss
1693
 Jamieson and Beaumont

A Model HT111E @ 50 My crustal deformation

domes. In addition, we predict that if aggressive
erosion persists for ~10 m.y., a modern channel
will be exhumed in a similar manner to that of
the main Miocene phase.

Metamorphic Architecture
lower cr
ust (sub
ducted) As one of the main consequences of orogen-
esis, metamorphism is key to recognizing the
distribution of orogenic belts in the geologic
channel retreats record and to inferring the age, duration, ther-
MFT MBT (MCT) (STD) beneath plateau mal structure, and tectonic style of the processes
responsible for the metamorphism. Since the
ground-breaking work of England and Rich-
ardson (1977), Spear and Selverstone (1983),
and England and Thompson (1984), consider-
frontal region of orogen 1019 Pa.s able effort has gone into interpreting pressure-
acts as a critical wedge temperature-time-deformation (P-T-t-d) paths,
inferred from mineral assemblages, geochro-
0 km 100 strain rate, velocity, isotherms nology, and microsctructure (e.g., Spear, 1993;
V=H Powell et al., 1998; Müller, 2003; and many
others), in terms of the times and rates of crustal
B HT111E @ 53 My vs M-T data thickening, heating, exhumation, and cooling.
In conjunction with metamorphic facies series
MFT MBT suture characteristic of crustal dP/dT regimes (e.g.,
GHS Miyashiro, 1961; Brown, 2009), P-T-t-d paths
0
are widely used to infer the tectonic setting of
km metamorphism. How robust is this approach?
While they form an essential part of the data
800 line against which quantitative models must be
50
tested, P-T-t-d data are not sufficiently diagnos-
tic to be used in isolation to construct or assess
specific tectonic models. Numerical models
active chan predict considerable variation in both specific
nel and generic P-T-t paths within model orogenic
systems (e.g., Jamieson et al., 2004; Gerya et al.,
2008; Faccenda et al., 2008; Sizova et al., 2012),
and they also show that certain path styles (e.g.,
STD suture isothermal decompression) can form by more
0 GHS Kangmar dome than one process. Moreover, although metamor-
phic processes such as partial melting can influ-
ence subsequent tectonic evolution, in general
metamorphism is the result, not the cause, of the
evolving tectonic and thermal architecture of an
km
orogenic system.
Systematic variations in metamorphic grade
within orogens are generally represented as iso-
grads that can be linked to structural geology
100 line + INDEPTH profile and age to interpret the thermal and tectonic
100
evolution of some part of the system. Numerical
Figure 16. (A) Model HT111E at 50 m.y., showing cumulative crustal deformation (upper) and models predict that as thermal and deformation
instantaneous strain rate (lower) and velocity field (labels and coloring as in Fig. 15). Lower fields evolve with time, material points will be
panel shows that neither MCT nor STD is active at this time, and that active channel (red advected through isotherms along trajectories
line = 1019 Pa s viscosity contour) has retreated beneath the plateau in response to cooling of the determined by the velocity field, which in turn
plateau flank region, which is now deforming as a critical (sensu stricto in the model) wedge. depends on factors such as convergence velocity,
MFT—Main Frontal Thrust; MBT—Main Boundary Thrust. (B) Predicted position of chan- rheology, and erosion rate (e.g., Jamieson et al.,
nel in HT111E at 53 m.y. compared with high-conductivity regions from magnetotelluric (M-T) 2004; Faccenda et al., 2008; Sizova et al.,
data inferred to represent the presence of melt (from Unsworth et al., 2005). GHS—Greater 2012). At the end of the model, points juxta-
Himalayan Sequence; MHT—Main Himalayan Thrust. Red line in middle panel, outlining posed at the model surface are likely to have
position of active channel, corresponds to white lines on upper and lower panels. experienced peak P-T conditions in different

1694 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013

 On the origin of orogens

A model isotherms and instantaneous geotherms (HT1, 54 My)

0 T (C) 1000 0 T (C) 1000 0 T (C) 1000

depth

depth
depth
75 75 75
suture
100
300
500
700
900

0 km 200
V=H
T (C) 1000
B model particle trajectories and metamorphic field gradient 0
0
18.7

depth
L2
depth (km)

G4 25
L3
6 9.3 G3 31
25 G2 16.9
G1 15.2 29.2
12.9
50 19 LHS
27.4
Tmax Pmax with times in Ma before model end GHS
75 75
1900 1850 1800 1750 1700 1650 1600 1550 1500 1450 1400 1350 1300
distance (km)

Figure 17. (A) Thermal structure of Himalayan channel-flow model HT1 (after Jamieson et al., 2004) showing instantaneous geotherms for
different regions of the model system at 54 m.y. (end of model). Gray shaded region shows distribution of high-heat-production material in
deformed upper and middle crust (A = 2.0 μW/m3). (B) Model particle paths for GHS (G1–G4) and Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS, L2,
L3) points exhumed to surface at end of the model (Jamieson et al., 2004). Arrows show transport direction; numbers show times at which
Pmax (black stars) and Tmax (white stars) are reached (Ma = millions of years before end of model). Inset at right shows metamorphic field
gradient at the orogenic front inferred from these data (dots = Tmax with P at Tmax) compared with instantaneous geotherm from the vicinity
of the orogenic front (left, panel A).

places and at different times (Fig. 17B). Their
transport and assembly generally occur while
the model orogen is hot or heating up, i.e., dis-
placement is generally synmetamorphic rather
than postmetamorphic. In natural orogens,
therefore, unless metamorphism is entirely
postkinematic, the present-day distribution of
isograds may not be related in a simple way to
the distribution of former isotherms within the
orogen (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1996).
This poses a problem for interpreting meta-
morphic P-T data in terms of thermal “gradi-
ents,” which are instantaneous variations in T
over a specified distance (vertical in the case
of geotherms; Fig. 17A). For a particular set of
samples, it is necessary to establish that the tem-
peratures of interest were reached at the same
time and that relative sample positions did not
change after that time. Since every foliation
plane represents a potential displacement sur-
face, and metamorphism tends to be diachro-
nous, it follows that variations in peak tempera-
ture with structural position in general do not
correspond to true thermal gradients at the time
of metamorphism (Fig. 17B). This has been
explicitly recognized by the use of terms such
as “metamorphic field gradient” (e.g., Turner,
1981; Spear, 1993) or “metamorphic geotherm”
(e.g., England and Richardson, 1977) to distin-
guish spatial variations in metamorphic grade
observed today (cumulative) from the thermal
gradients that existed at the time of metamor-
phism (instantaneous) (Fig. 17A vs. 17B).
A case in point involves the origin of “inverted”
metamorphic sequences, in which metamorphic
grade increases structurally up section, con-
trary to the “normal” increase in temperature
with depth. These are commonly interpreted in
terms of inverted thermal gradients, for exam-
ple, resulting from emplacement or transport
of hot thrust sheets over a cooler substrate (e.g.,
England and Molnar, 1993; Royden, 1993b).
Although “inverted” metamorphic sequences
can form in the absence of inverted thermal gra-
dients by variable displacement of rocks within
synmetamorphic ductile shear zones (Jamieson
et al., 1996), in many cases this will also lead
to thermal inversion (Fig. 17A; e.g., Jamieson
et al., 2004). However, where metamorphism is
synkinematic, the thermal gradient at the time of
metamorphism, whether inverted or not, cannot
be reconstructed directly from the distribution of
peak metamorphic temperature with structural
position. Isograds that have been displaced by
postmetamorphic folding, thrusting, or flattening
should not be interpreted in terms of thermal gra-
dients (cf. Searle and Rex, 1989; Hubbard, 1996;
Corrie et al., 2012).
While most geodynamic models focus on the
combination of radiogenic heating from thick-
ened crust and basal mantle heat flux as the heat
source for metamorphism, other processes may
influence orogenic temperatures during specific

Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013 1695


stages of their evolution. For example, magmatic
processes obviously influence thermal structure
in regions associated with voluminous and per-
sistent underplating, intrusion, or melt transport
(e.g., Thompson and Connolly, 1995; Brown,
2010; Sizova et al., 2012). The latent heat of
melting may buffer metamorphic temperatures
in regions where melt is being produced (e.g.,
Stüwe, 1995). The thermal effects of melting
and melt transport have not been considered
here, and so our results and interpretations can-
not be applied directly to orogens such as con-
tinental magmatic arcs that are dominated by
magmatic processes (e.g., Gerya, 2011; Gerya
and Meilick, 2011).
Another potential heating mechanism
involves shear (frictional) or strain (ductile)
heating along major faults or shear zones, as
proposed for the formation of the Himala-
yan inverted metamorphic sequence associ-
ated with the MCT (e.g., Molnar and England,
1990b; England and Molnar, 1993; Nabelek
et al., 2010). Strain heating is widely regarded
as self-limiting owing to the decrease in rock
strength with increasing temperature, although
this limitation may not apply if shear zones are
limited by constant stress rather than strain rate
(e.g., Platt and Behr, 2011). However, thermal-
kinematic models that include T-dependent
diffusivity suggest that strain heating may con-
tribute substantially to the thermal budget in
some cases (e.g., Nabelek et al., 2010). In the
current generation of Dalhousie models (e.g.,
Beaumont et al., 2009), strain heating has a
small but detectable effect (~50 °C). However, if
strain heating contributes substantially to crustal
metamorphism, metamorphic temperatures in
general should typically increase from both
directions toward faults and shear zones. This
effect is likely to be difficult to distinguish from
other processes (e.g., strain localization within a
thermally weakened zone), although some con-
vincing examples have been documented (e.g.,
Camacho et al., 2001).
Metamorphic pressures are generally equated
with lithostatic pressure and therefore burial
depth. However, in deforming lithosphere, the
full dynamic pressure may exceed the ambient
lithostatic pressure as a result of stress anomalies
in the crust related, for example, to compres-
sional frictional-plastic stress regimes, volume
changes, stress singularities (e.g., S-point), inden-
tation, confinement in a subduction channel, or
extreme strength contrasts (e.g., Mancktelow,
1995; Li et al., 2010). This phenomenon, com-
monly referred to as “tectonic overpressure,” has
been invoked as an alternative to subduction to
explain some examples of (U)HP metamorphism
(e.g., Petrini and Podladchikov, 2000; Vrijmoed
et al., 2009). Our model calculations predict that
1696 Geological Society of America Bulletin, November/December 2013
Jamieson and Beaumont
transient overpressures can affect small volumes
of crust but are unlikely to be preserved; signifi-
cant, persistent differences between lithostatic
and dynamic pressures are negligible in mate-
rial that is undergoing ductile deformation (e.g.,
Jamieson et al., 2004). If tectonic overpressure
is widespread and preserved in the rock record,
pressures that are anomalously high by compari-
son with inferred lithostatic pressures should be
common in the orogenic crust, with P-T-t paths
that exhibit unusual near-isothermal excursions
to very high pressures.
Based on the current generation of numeri-
cal models (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1998, 2004,
2007; Beaumont et al., 2001, 2009; Gerya and
Stockhert, 2006; Faccenda et al., 2008; Sizova
et al., 2012), we conclude that metamorphic
architecture in collisional orogens is most sim-
ply explained by the background mantle heat
flux and the distribution and redistribution of
heat-producing elements in the crust before,
during, and after convergence, augmented by
magmatism and fluid-rock interaction (e.g.,
Gerya and Meilick, 2011; Sizova et al., 2012),
and by advection of deforming rock through
isotherms established during and after conver-
gence. In combination, these processes will pro-
duce patterns of isograds in which metamorphic
grade increases from both directions toward the
center of the orogen. In large-hot orogens, the
orogenic flanks will display inverted metamor-
phic sequences that pass upward into normal
sequences (e.g., Jamieson et al., 1996, 2004),
reflecting advection of rock through regions of
inverted and/or condensed isotherms. In contrast,
the orogenic core will generally be underlain by
broad, nearly isothermal, migmatite-granulite
terranes, reflecting the subhorizontal distribution
of isotherms beneath plateaus (Figs. 11C and 17;
e.g., Vanderhaeghe et al., 2003; Jamieson et al.,
2007; Jamieson and Beaumont, 2011).
CONCLUSIONS
(1) The question “how do orogens work?” has
been addressed using numerical geodynamic
models that consider the effects of boundary
conditions and internal thermal and mechanical
evolution of the system to predict geological con-
sequences. The results are interpreted in terms
of the evolution from small-cold to large-hot
orogenic systems, including the transition from
subduction to collision and the development
of orogenic plateaus. Unlike conceptual mod-
els, quantitative models can be used to demon-
strate proof of concept and can be considered to
“work” if model results are compatible with both
the underlying physics and a range of geophysi-
cal, structural, metamorphic, and geochrono-
logical data from natural orogens.
(2) Small-cold orogens have been investi-
gated using crustal-scale mechanical and ther-
mal-mechanical S-point models. These orogens
develop asymmetric bivergent critical wedges,
with resulting crustal architecture controlled by
the strength of the wedges and basal décolle-
ments, surface processes, and thermal and rheo-
logical evolution. S-point models provide an
important link between analytical and numerical
critical wedge mechanics and the more recent
upper-mantle–scale models, and they form the
basis of the PURC interpretive framework.
(3) The transition from small-cold to large-
hot orogenic systems typically involves a
change from oceanic subduction to continental
collision, and the subsequent evolution from a
system with bivergent critical wedges to one
with an orogenic plateau. During collision,
continental crust may be subducted and sub-
jected to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism; the
style, rate, and amount of exhumation depend
on the relative buoyancies and strengths of
the overlying crust, surrounding mantle, and
exhuming low-density plume. The style of the
wedge-to-plateau transition depends on the
relative rates of crustal thickening and ther-
mal weakening. Once a significant volume
of lower crust exceeds ~700 °C, the system
is unable to sustain continued topographic
growth and undergoes gravitational relax-
ation, forming an elevated plateau flanked by
external wedges.
(4) In large-hot orogens, ductile flow of hot,
weak lower and middle crust in response to dif-
ferential pressure can produce a variety of tec-
tonic effects, including channel flow, doming,
and the formation and exhumation of ductile
fold nappes. The style of flow is controlled by
a range of factors, including topography, varia-
tions in crustal strength, transport over a strong
indentor or ramp, focused erosion, and exten-
sion of overlying crust.
(5) The importance of a quantitative approach
to solving tectonic problems is demonstrated
with respect to several topical issues. Divergent
views about the response of the suborogenic
mantle lithosphere to convergence can be rec-
onciled using models that consider whether or
not a precursor phase of oceanic subduction
preceded convergence. Using a simple numeri-
cal model, we show that a recent increase in
erosion rate can account for postulated reacti-
vation of the MCT zone in the Himalayas. We
also show that the current debate on the role of
channel flow versus wedge mechanics in the
evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen cre-
ates a false dichotomy—these behaviors must
coexist in the plateau flank region, and one
may be superimposed on the other in response
to changes in the thermal-mechanical state of

the system. Finally, we consider the range of
factors that can affect the metamorphic archi-
tecture observed in orogenic belts and conclude
that it is not possible to reconstruct the thermal
state of an orogen at the time of metamorphism
from P-T-t data alone.
(6) The geodynamic model results presented
here, necessarily simplified by comparison with
nature, nevertheless agree well with observa-
tions from many natural orogens and thus pass
the “proof of concept” test. While the results
do not preclude the role of other processes in
specific tectonic settings, we conclude that col-
lisional orogenesis is driven largely by subduc-
tion and accretion of material at convergent
margins, accompanied by shortening, thicken-
ing, and heating of deformed crust.
(7) We caution against the use of conceptual
models for which no quantitative test, and there-
fore no proof of concept, exists. Imagine flying
in a conceptual airplane.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was funded by Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council Discovery Grants to
Jamieson and Beaumont, and by a Canada Research
Chair and International Business Machines - Shared
University Research grant to Beaumont. Numeri-
cal models were run using software developed at
Dalhousie University by P. Fullsack with the assis-
tance of J. Hamilton, B. Lee, M.H. Nguyen, and
D. Guptill. J.P. Butler contributed the model result
used in Figure 9. The work has benefited substan-
tially from many important contributions made by
members of the Dalhousie Geodynamics Group, our
colleagues, and students over the past 20 yr, and the
incentive to improve that has come from spirited de-
bates with other members of the geological commu-
nity. We also acknowledge the late Doug Nelson, who
challenged us to design “models that work” for the
Himalayan-Tibetan system. The manuscript benefited
from constructive reviews by colleague C. Warren
and referees M. Brandon and T. Gerya. Finally, we
thank guest editor J.B. Murphy for the invitation to
submit this paper to the Geological Society of Amer-
ica 125th Anniversary series.
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