New Study Challenges Traditional Understanding of Mountain Formation in Southern Italy
A groundbreaking new study led by researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) has revealed that the formation of mountains, specifically in subduction zones like southern Italy, may be primarily influenced by the descension of a tectonic plate through Earth’s mantle, rather than the traditional belief of crust crumpling and thickening. This research offers a more nuanced understanding of the mountain building process.
Sean Gallen, lead author and CSU assistant professor of geosciences, emphasized the significance of this study, stating, “Mountain building is a fundamental process of how Earth behaves, and this study suggests that we may not understand that as well as we thought we did.”
Gallen and his team developed novel data sets and methodologies to reconstruct extensive histories of mountain building in southern Italy. Their approach involved combining measurements that spanned geologically short and long timescales, creating a comprehensive understanding of the tectonic history.
The landscape in Calabria, southern Italy, played a crucial role in the research. The flat, high-elevation patches of the terrain provided insight into a slow period of mountain formation, while a steep transition below revealed a rapid acceleration. By analyzing these clues in the landscape, the researchers were able to construct a long-term, continuous record of rock uplift, which is considered the longest and most complete record of its kind.
Contrary to expectations, the team found that the rate at which the tectonic plate dives beneath the other plate through time did not correlate with the rock uplift history. Instead, the data points to the descension of the lower plate through Earth’s mantle and its alteration of the mantle flow field as the primary factor controlling rock uplift.
Gallen cautioned that further data is necessary to confirm their findings, but existing numerical models align with their interpretation. This research indicates, for the first time, that deep earth signals play a dominant role in mountain building in subduction zones, challenging the conventional understanding of the process.
The implications of this study extend beyond southern Italy. The innovative techniques developed by the research team offer a breakthrough in constructing long-term rock uplift histories. By utilizing a unified framework of various geomorphology measurements and data sets, the researchers were able to go further back in time than previous methods allowed.
The team’s software, which was developed for this study and published in Nature Geoscience, is freely available for other researchers to use. Gallen hopes that these new techniques will stimulate further research and discoveries in other areas.
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, underscoring the importance of continued investment in scientific research to expand our understanding of Earth’s dynamic processes.