Deformation and exhumation in thick continental crusts induced by valley incision of elevated plateaux

Geffroy, Thomas; Yamato, Philippe; Steer, Philippe; Guillaume, Benjamin; Duretz, Thibault

doi:10.5194/se-16-1289-2025

Articles | Volume 16, issue 11

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-1289-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-1289-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 16, issue 11

Research article

|

11 Nov 2025

Research article |

| 11 Nov 2025

Deformation and exhumation in thick continental crusts induced by valley incision of elevated plateaux

Thomas Geffroy, Philippe Yamato, Philippe Steer, Benjamin Guillaume, and Thibault Duretz

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-16-1289-2025-supplement

Data sets

Output files of the reference model from Geffroy et al. paper entitled « Deformation and exhumation in thick continental crusts induced by valley incision of elevated plateaux" T. Geffroy et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15241946

Model code and software

Files relative to MDoodz7.0 code used in Geffroy et al. paper entitled "Deformation and exhumation in thick continental crusts induced by valley incision of elevated plateaux" T. Geffroy et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15241965

Short summary

While erosion's role in mountain building is well known, deformation from valley incision in inactive regions is less understood. Using our numerical models, we show that incision alone can cause significant crustal deformation and drive lower crust exhumation. This is favored in areas with thick crust, weak lower crust, and high plateaux. Our results show surface processes can reshape Earth's surface over time.