On the Mechanisms of Generation of Excessive Horizontal Compression in the Continental Crust

Abstract

It is proposed to consider the processes of surface denudation and crustal magmatism to explain the formation of increased horizontal compressive stresses in the crust, which are excessive relative to the lithostatic pressure. Exhumation of a rock results in only partial unloading of the crust due to the removal of the weight of the overburden, unless the crust is above the yield point. This is due to the fact that in the case of exhumation, the unloading follows the elastic law. As a result, residual stresses of horizontal compression received at the stage of cataclastic flow arise in the rock. Another mechanism of formation of additional compressive stresses in the crust is related to volcanic and magmatic processes. The ascent of a magma along subvertical faults and fracture networks is only possible under the conditions when the magma pressure at the propagation front exceeds the level of horizontal compression in the rock. As a result, below the magma propagation front, the level of horizontal compressive stresses in the rocks rises to the level of magma pressure. Since the pressure in the subcrustal or intracrustal magma chamber is close to the lithostatic pressure of the overburden, above the magma propagation front in the fault, the stresses normal to the fault exceed the level of vertical compression. Thus, crustal magmatization is capable of changing the crustal stress state from horizontal extension to horizontal compression.