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The role of gravitational potential energy in active deformation in the southwestern United States

Nature volume 381, pages 37–41 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

In orogenic belts, intrinsic (buoyancy) and extrinsic (boundary) forces act on the continental lithosphere; determining the relative importance of these forces is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of continental deformation. In the western United States, estimates of gravitational potential energy show that, given available constraints on rheology, buoyancy forces are sufficient to produce the wide variety of rates and styles of observed deformation, including absence of deformation. This underscores the importance of gravitational potential energy for deformation in orogenic belts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 216, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0216, USA

    Craig H. Jones

  2. William Lettis & Associates, Inc., 1777 Botelho Drive, Suite 262, Walnut Creek, California, 94596, USA

    Jeffrey R. Unruh

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, 6105 Fairchild Science Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, USA

    Leslie J. Sonder

Authors
  1. Craig H. Jones
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  2. Jeffrey R. Unruh
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  3. Leslie J. Sonder
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Jones, C., Unruh, J. & Sonder, L. The role of gravitational potential energy in active deformation in the southwestern United States. Nature 381, 37–41 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/381037a0

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