Coupled Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates

Coupled Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Coupled Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates Rawi Dawood, Jean-Arthur Olive, Einat Aharonov This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A pronounced power-law relationship between extensional strain rates and elevation has been measured in active orogenic belts, with an exponent near 3. This trend has been previously attributed to non-Newtonian creep in mylonitic roots of crustal faults. Here we show, using a simple analytical force-balance, that this scaling may instead arise from large-scale orogenic extension and collapse, driven by topographic gradients. We identify a novel orogenic-collapse mechanism involving mechanical coupling between slip on upper crust normal-faults and distributed power-law flow within a mid-crustal “channel”. The mid-crustal flow exerts a shear stress on the overlying brittle crust, producing normal faults whose frictional resistance opposes and slows the flow. The mechanical properties of both the upper crustal faults, and the viscous middle crust, jointly determine the observed power-law relationship. Extension rates and topography can thus be inverted for key parameters such as the effective viscosity and thickness of the mid-crustal channel, as well as the frictional strength of the upper crust. We demonstrate this using available datasets from the Apennines and the Tibetan plateau. Our findings imply that orogenic collapse is governed by vertically integrated crustal mechanics, challenging models that treat brittle and ductile deformation as spatially or dynamically separate. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Tectonics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geodynamics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geology/Structural geology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationf.docx Supplementary Information for Joint Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6907340","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":500066811,"identity":"58021978-e666-4613-a8c4-a612bc0287df","order_by":0,"name":"Rawi Dawood","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABD0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAwxsYNrwAQODhAyDBAODQQKIz8zcQEiLsQFQCw+SFkacWhigWsyAihnAWqAAuxbz9jOGBxjK7BL72Zu3Vd2oseBhkO4xKHjAYCfPwI5di8yZHIMDDOeSE2f2HCu7nXMM6DCZMwZAhyUbNuBwmARD7oYDjG3MuRtu5JjdzmED+SUHpIU5AZdfJPjfgrTUg7UU5/yDa6nHrUUCbMthsBbm3Da4lsN4tLz/cCDh3PF6oF+KpXP7JHjYJNIKDBIMjhu24XRYWvKHD2XVxvzszRs/53yrk+OXSN5m+KOiWp6f//ABbFrAIAGZA4wjNgMGA1hkEQmYH5CiehSMglEwCoY9AAAwRVXQCG85nAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Earth Sciences, The hebrew university of jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rawi","middleName":"","lastName":"Dawood","suffix":""},{"id":500066812,"identity":"8153fdf3-d279-474f-a6e9-ef767162fcdb","order_by":1,"name":"Jean-Arthur Olive","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6899-592X","institution":"École Normale Supérieure / CNRS","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jean-Arthur","middleName":"","lastName":"Olive","suffix":""},{"id":500066813,"identity":"a78454f0-ee10-4888-aeca-71c584b79703","order_by":2,"name":"Einat Aharonov","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8470-2645","institution":"Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Einat","middleName":"","lastName":"Aharonov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-16 16:20:59","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105583859,"identity":"e5f17e7a-b60e-47b9-901f-527351160637","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 14:58:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":908214,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OrogenicCollapseWeakCrust29f.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6907340/v1_covered_0c644c63-c585-47fb-99a4-bd51d2a0f6a6.pdf"},{"id":89087389,"identity":"97e2c415-e4bb-435a-84e1-64e238ee9148","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-14 14:17:56","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4561718,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Information for Joint Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformationf.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6907340/v1/6de8a6073bd45984c1d58c8f.docx"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Coupled Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA pronounced power-law relationship between extensional strain rates and elevation has been measured in active orogenic belts, with an exponent near 3. This trend has been previously attributed to non-Newtonian creep in mylonitic roots of crustal faults. Here we show, using a simple analytical force-balance, that this scaling may instead arise from large-scale orogenic extension and collapse, driven by topographic gradients. We identify a novel orogenic-collapse mechanism involving mechanical coupling between slip on upper crust normal-faults and distributed power-law flow within a mid-crustal \u0026ldquo;channel\u0026rdquo;. The mid-crustal flow exerts a shear stress on the overlying brittle crust, producing normal faults whose frictional resistance opposes and slows the flow. The mechanical properties of both the upper crustal faults, and the viscous middle crust, jointly determine the observed power-law relationship. Extension rates and topography can thus be inverted for key parameters such as the effective viscosity and thickness of the mid-crustal channel, as well as the frictional strength of the upper crust. We demonstrate this using available datasets from the Apennines and the Tibetan plateau. Our findings imply that orogenic collapse is governed by vertically integrated crustal mechanics, challenging models that treat brittle and ductile deformation as spatially or dynamically separate.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Coupled Brittle-Ductile Control on Orogen Collapse Rates","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-14 14:17:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6907340/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"67591490-fb0b-470a-abf4-f38a7a3bddcc","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":53122432,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Tectonics"},{"id":53122433,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geodynamics"},{"id":53122434,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geology/Structural geology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-27T14:58:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-14 14:17:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6907340","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6907340","identity":"rs-6907340","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}