Linkages and Feedbacks in Orogenic Systems

Book excerpt: Dedicated to Bob Hatcher, this Memoir explores linkages between tectonic processes through a series of field-, numerical- and laboratory-based studies, concentrating on feedback mechanisms within ancient and evolving orogens by which individual or linked tectonic processes may influence or predetermine the operation of other processes in space and time. Case studies cover a wide range of ancient to modern orogens: the Svecofennian of southern Finland, the Gyeonggi Massif of Korea, the Caledonides of northern Scotland, the Variscan of the East European craton, the Appalachians of the eastern United States, the European Alps and Dinarides, north Cascades of the northwestern United States, and the Himalaya. Emphasis is placed on integration between data sets developed from a wide range of analytical approaches, including: field mapping, seismic reflection profiling, strain analyses, petrology, isotopic dating, and numerical modeling-based studies of thermal evolution associated with tectonic processes such as thrust-related burial and exhumation.