Fig. 2: The final snapshots of numerical experiments on central Andean shortening. | Nature Communications

Fig. 2: The final snapshots of numerical experiments on central Andean shortening.

From: Southward expanding plate coupling due to variation in sediment subduction as a cause of Andean growth

Fig. 2: The final snapshots of numerical experiments on central Andean shortening.The alt text for this image may have been generated using AI.

a Model 1 where the lubricating layer has a uniform thickness (40 km) and the two plates are uncoupled along the trench. b Model 2 that has a plate coupling zone in the central Andes. The trench segment from 15°S to 35°S has a 20 km-thick lubricating layer, while the rest of the trench has a 40 km-thick lubricating layer. c Model 3 that has a southward expanding plate coupling zone, where the southern boundary of the plate coupling zone migrates towards the south with a rate of 0.5°/Myr. d–f Show the corresponding thickness of the lubricating layer in Model 1–3. h–j Show the cross-sections of the compositional fields at 22°S in Models 1–3. Compositional types 0–4 represent the ambient mantle, oceanic mantle lithosphere, oceanic crust, continental crust, and continental mantle lithosphere, respectively. Note crustal shortening in i and j. In a–c, the effective topography is shown on the South American Plate, which reflects crustal shortening shown in h–j, with reddish colors indicating stronger shortening than bluish colors. The second invariant of the stress tensor is shown on the oceanic plates. The coordinates in a–c are shown in radians.

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