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Rift linkage and inheritance determine collisional mountain belt evolution
Sebastian G Wolf1, Ritske S Huismans2, Josep Anton Muñoz3
1Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. sebastian.wolf@uib.no.
Nature Communications
|December 4, 2025
Summary
Mountain belts form by inverting ancient rift basins. Rift basin geometry and offset control mountain structure and evolution, linking surface topography to deep lithospheric features.
Area of Science:
- Geodynamics
- Tectonics
- Geomorphology
Background:
- Many mountain belts originate from the inversion of pre-collisional extensional basins.
- These orogens display complex three-dimensional structures with variations along strike.
- The link between these variations and inherited extensional architecture is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how pre-collisional rift linkage influences rift inversion and mountain belt evolution.
- Understand the control of inherited extensional architecture on 3D mountain belt complexity.
- Develop a framework linking topography to deep lithospheric structures.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 3D geodynamic models.
- Coupled geodynamic models with a landscape evolution model.
- Compared model results with natural examples like the Greater Caucasus, Atlas, and Pyrenees.
Main Results:
- Initial mountain belt structure is dictated by inherited basin geometry.
- Subsequent mountain growth is governed by subduction polarity.
- Subduction polarity is influenced by basin offset magnitude and pre-existing weaknesses.
- Along-strike variations in mountain ranges correlate with inverted, segmented rift basins.
Conclusions:
- Extensional inheritance significantly impacts mountain building processes.
- A diagnostic framework can link surface topography to deep lithospheric structures.
- The inversion of segmented and offset rift basins explains observed variations in mountain ranges.
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