ProjectREAL - TE – Reconstructing Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps: Integrating Stable Isotope…

Basic data

Acronym:
REAL - TE
Title:
Reconstructing Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps: Integrating Stable Isotope Palaeoaltimetry and Palaeoclimate Modelling
Duration:
01/02/2021 to 31/01/2024
Abstract / short description:
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 (​δ18​
​ O, ​δ​D, ∆​47​-∆​48​) on Oligocene to Miocene basin deposits, will be collected from the Western and Eastern Alps and along upwind vapor source rajectories (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.
Keywords:
paleoclimate
Paläoklima
paleoclimatology
Paläoklimatologie
Alps
Alpen
Paläoaltimetrie

Involved staff

Managers

Ehlers, Todd
Mineralogy and Geodynamics Research Area
Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Science
Mineralogy and Geodynamics Research Area
Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Science
Department of Geoscience
Faculty of Science

Local organizational units

Department of Geoscience
Faculty of Science
University of Tübingen

Funders

Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
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