Project Details
Projekt
Reconstructing Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps: Integrating Stable Isotope Palaeoaltimetry and Palaeoclimate Modelling
Applicants
Professor Dr. Andreas Mulch, since 1/2022; Dr. Sebastian Mutz; Professorin Dr. Kira Rehfeld, since 5/2023
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
since 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442540222
The proposed project tests the hypothesis that the west-to-east propagation of slab breakoff and slab tearing under the Western/Central to Eastern Alps produced a similar propagation in surface uplift, so that the Western/Central Alps reached higher elevations earlier than the Eastern Alps (SPP Themes 1 and 2). Our Phase 1 work documented high middle Miocene elevations in the Central Alps, and in this 2nd phase we extend our interdisciplinary approach to the Western/Eastern Alps to evaluate if surface uplift was diachronous. We do this through an integration of several methods: (1) New samples for the δ-δ palaeoaltimetry approach, including stable isotope measurements (δ18O, δD, ∆47-∆48) on Oligocene to Miocene basin deposits, will be collected from the Western and Eastern Alps and along upwind vapor source trajectories (Spain, France) for comparison to our results from the Central Alps (Phase 1). (2) An isotope tracking atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) will be used to predict palaeoclimates for time periods that overlap with sample ages, and to quantify the effects of different west-to-east topographic configurations. Climate modelling is required to correct observed stable isotope proxy records for palaeoclimate and isolate the surface uplift signal, thereby allowing the reconstruction of Western vs. Eastern Alps surface uplift histories. The outcomes of this combined approach will then be used to determine if suggested west-to-east propagation of slab breakoff and tearing documented from geodynamic modelling and seismic components of 4DMB resulted in a diachronous surface uplift history of the Western and Eastern Alps.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
International Connection
USA
Cooperation Partner
Katharina Methner, Ph.D.
Ehemalige Antragstellerinnen / Ehemalige Antragsteller
Professor Dr. Todd Alan Ehlers, until 5/2023; Dr. Maud Meijers, until 12/2021
