Articles | Volume 12, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1777-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1777-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Aug 2021
Research article |
| 11 Aug 2021
| 11 Aug 2021
3D crustal stress state of Germany according to a data-calibrated geomechanical model
Steffen Ahlers
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Engineering Geology, Institute of Applied Geosciences, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Andreas Henk
Engineering Geology, Institute of Applied Geosciences, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Tobias Hergert
Engineering Geology, Institute of Applied Geosciences, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Karsten Reiter
Engineering Geology, Institute of Applied Geosciences, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Birgit Müller
Technical Petrophysics, Institute of Applied Geosciences, KIT, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Luisa Röckel
Technical Petrophysics, Institute of Applied Geosciences, KIT, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Oliver Heidbach
Seismic Hazard and Risk Dynamics, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute for Applied Geosciences, TU Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Sophia Morawietz
Seismic Hazard and Risk Dynamics, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute for Applied Geosciences, TU Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth
Basin Modelling, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Department of Geology, Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, Faculty of Georesources and Material Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Denis Anikiev
Basin Modelling, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
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In numerical geomechanical models, an initial stress state is established before displacement boundary conditions are applied in order to match calibration data. We present generic models to show that the choice of initial stress and boundary conditions affects the final state of stress in areas of the model domain where no stress data for calibration are available. These deviations are largest in the vicinity of lithological interfaces, and they can be reduced if more stress data exist.
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Luisa Röckel, Steffen Ahlers, Sophia Morawietz, Birgit Müller, Karsten Reiter, Oliver Heidbach, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, and Frank Schilling
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Steffen Ahlers, Andreas Henk, Tobias Hergert, Karsten Reiter, Birgit Müller, Luisa Röckel, Oliver Heidbach, Sophia Morawietz, Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth, and Denis Anikiev
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Sophia Morawietz, Moritz Ziegler, Karsten Reiter, and the SpannEnD Project Team
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Knowledge of the crustal stress state is important for the assessment of subsurface stability. In particular, stress magnitudes are essential for the calibration of geomechanical models that estimate a continuous description of the 3-D stress field from pointwise and incomplete stress data. We present the first comprehensive and open-access stress magnitude database for Germany, consisting of 568 data records. We introduce a quality ranking scheme for stress magnitude data for the first time.
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T. Hergert, O. Heidbach, K. Reiter, S. B. Giger, and P. Marschall
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Y. Cherubini, M. Cacace, M. Scheck-Wenderoth, and V. Noack
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Solid Earth, 4, 347–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-4-347-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-4-347-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject area: Tectonic plate interactions, magma genesis, and lithosphere deformation at all scales | Editorial team: Geodynamics and quantitative modelling | Discipline: Tectonics
Modelling the thermal evolution of extensional basins through lithosphere stretching factors: application to the NW part of the Pannonian Basin
Oblique rifting triggered by slab tearing: the case of the Alboran rifted margin in the eastern Betics
Tectonic interactions during rift linkage: insights from analog and numerical experiments
Assessing the role of thermal disequilibrium in the evolution of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary: an idealized model of heat exchange during channelized melt transport
Numerical simulation of contemporary kinematics at the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and its implications for seismic hazard assessment
An efficient partial-differential-equation-based method to compute pressure boundary conditions in regional geodynamic models
The topographic signature of temperature-controlled rheological transitions in an accretionary prism
Looking beyond kinematics: 3D thermo-mechanical modelling reveals the dynamics of transform margins
Eszter Békési, Jan-Diederik van Wees, Kristóf Porkoláb, Mátyás Hencz, and Márta Berkesi
Solid Earth, 16, 45–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-45-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-45-2025, 2025
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We present a workflow to model the temperature distribution within the lithosphere of sedimentary basins and apply it to NW Hungary. The model can reproduce the thermal evolution through basin formation, making use of temperature measurements from wells. Models provide key input to constrain geodynamic processes and geo-energy resource potential.
Marine Larrey, Frédéric Mouthereau, Damien Do Couto, Emmanuel Masini, Anthony Jourdon, Sylvain Calassou, and Véronique Miegebielle
Solid Earth, 14, 1221–1244, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1221-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1221-2023, 2023
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Extension leading to the formation of ocean–continental transition can be highly oblique to the main direction of crustal thinning. Here we explore the case of a continental margin exposed in the Betics that developed in a back-arc setting perpendicular to the direction of the retreating Gibraltar subduction. We show that transtension is the main mode of crustal deformation that led to the development of metamorphic domes and extensional intramontane basins.
Timothy Chris Schmid, Sascha Brune, Anne Glerum, and Guido Schreurs
Solid Earth, 14, 389–407, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-389-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-389-2023, 2023
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Continental rifts form by linkage of individual rift segments and disturb the regional stress field. We use analog and numerical models of such rift segment interactions to investigate the linkage of deformation and stresses and subsequent stress deflections from the regional stress pattern. This local stress re-orientation eventually causes rift deflection when multiple rift segments compete for linkage with opposingly propagating segments and may explain rift deflection as observed in nature.
Mousumi Roy
Solid Earth, 13, 1415–1430, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1415-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1415-2022, 2022
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This study investigates one of the key processes that may lead to the destruction and destabilization of continental tectonic plates: the infiltration of buoyant, hot, molten rock (magma) into the base of the plate. Using simple calculations, I suggest that heating during melt–rock interaction may thermally perturb the tectonic plate, weakening it and potentially allowing it to be reshaped from beneath. Geochemical, petrologic, and geologic observations are used to guide model parameters.
Liming Li, Xianrui Li, Fanyan Yang, Lili Pan, and Jingxiong Tian
Solid Earth, 13, 1371–1391, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1371-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1371-2022, 2022
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We constructed a three-dimensional numerical geomechanics model to obtain the continuous slip rates of active faults and crustal velocities in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Based on the analysis of the fault kinematics in the study area, we evaluated the possibility of earthquakes occurring in the main faults in the area, and analyzed the crustal deformation mechanism of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.
Anthony Jourdon and Dave A. May
Solid Earth, 13, 1107–1125, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1107-2022, 2022
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In this study we present a method to compute a reference pressure based on density structure in which we cast the problem in terms of a partial differential equation (PDE). We show in the context of 3D models of continental rifting that using the pressure as a boundary condition within the flow problem results in non-cylindrical velocity fields, producing strain localization in the lithosphere along large-scale strike-slip shear zones and allowing the formation and evolution of triple junctions.
Sepideh Pajang, Laetitia Le Pourhiet, and Nadaya Cubas
Solid Earth, 13, 535–551, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-535-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-535-2022, 2022
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The local topographic slope of an accretionary prism is often used to determine the effective friction on subduction megathrust. We investigate how the brittle–ductile and the smectite–illite transitions affect the topographic slope of an accretionary prism and its internal deformation to provide clues to determine the origin of observed low topographic slopes in subduction zones. We finally discuss their implications in terms of the forearc basin and forearc high genesis and nature.
Anthony Jourdon, Charlie Kergaravat, Guillaume Duclaux, and Caroline Huguen
Solid Earth, 12, 1211–1232, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1211-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1211-2021, 2021
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The borders between oceans and continents, called margins, can be convergent, divergent, or horizontally sliding. The formation of oceans occurs in a divergent context. However, some divergent margin structures display an accommodation of horizontal sliding during the opening of oceans. To study and understand how the horizontal sliding part occurring during divergence influences the margin structure, we performed 3D high-resolution numerical models evolving during tens of millions of years.
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Short summary
Knowledge about the stress state in the upper crust is of great importance for many economic and scientific questions. However, our knowledge in Germany is limited since available datasets only provide pointwise, incomplete and heterogeneous information. We present the first 3D geomechanical model that provides a continuous description of the contemporary crustal stress state for Germany. The model is calibrated by the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress and stress magnitudes.
Knowledge about the stress state in the upper crust is of great importance for many economic and...
