PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth RESEARCH ARTICLE Neotectonic Deformation in Central Eurasia: A Geodynamic 10.1002/2017JB014487 Model Approach Key Points: Lavinia Tunini1,2 , Ivone Jiménez-Munt1, Manel Fernandez1 , Jaume Vergés1, and Peter Bird3 • Modeled velocities reproduce lateral escape tectonics due to the 1Group of Dynamics of the Lithosphere, Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera, CSIC, Barcelona, Spain, 2Now at Ecole continental collisions of Arabia and 3 India with Eurasia Normale Supérieure, Department of Geosciences, Paris, France, Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, • SE Tibet velocities can be explained by University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA the combination of Sumatra trench retreat, a lithospheric mantle thinning and strike-slip faulting Abstract Central Eurasia hosts wide orogenic belts of collision between India and Arabia with Eurasia, with • Arabia-India intercollision zone shows diffuse or localized deformation occurring up to hundreds of kilometers from the primary plate boundaries. no velocity deflections related to Arabia and India indentations Although numerous studies have investigated the neotectonic deformation in central Eurasia, most of them have focused on limited segments of the orogenic systems. Here we explore the neotectonic deformation of all of central Eurasia, including both collision zones and the links between them. We use a Correspondence to: thin-spherical sheet approach in which lithosphere strength is calculated from lithosphere structure and its L. Tunini, thermal regime. We investigate the contributions of variations in lithospheric structure, rheology, boundary
[email protected] conditions, and fault friction coefficients on the predicted velocity and stress fields. Results (deformation pattern, surface velocities, tectonic stresses, and slip rates on faults) are constrained by independent Citation: observations of tectonic regime, GPS, and stress data.