Geodynamic Inversion to Constrain the Nonlinear Rheology of the Lithosphere

Abstract:

The rheology of the lithosphere is of key importance for the physics of the lithosphere. Yet, it is probably the most uncertain parameter in geodynamics as experiments have to be extrapolated to geological conditions and as existing geophysical methods such as EET estimation make simplifying assumptions about the structure of the lithosphere.

Here, we therefore discuss a new method that employs thermo-mechanical lithospheric-scale forward models of the lithosphere using a realistic initial geometry constructed from geophysical data sets. We employ experimentally determined creep-laws for the various parts of the lithosphere, but assume that the parameters of these creep-laws as well as the temperature structure of the lithosphere are uncertain. This is used as a priori information to formulate a Bayesian inverse problem that employs topography, gravity, horizontal and vertical surface velocities to invert for the unknown material parameters and temperature structure. In order to test the general methodology, we first perform a geodynamic inversion of a synthetic forward model of intraoceanic subduction with known parameters. This requires solving an inverse problem with 14–16 parameters, depending on whether temperature is assumed to be known or not. With the help of a massively parallel direct-search combined with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, solving the inverse problem becomes feasible. Results show that the rheological parameters and particularly the effective viscosity structure of the lithosphere can be reconstructed in a probabilistic sense. This also holds, with somewhat larger uncertainties, for the case where the temperature distribution is parametrized.

Finally, we apply the method to a cross-section of the India–Asia collision system. In this case, the number of parameters is larger, which requires solving around 1.9 × 10⁶ forward models. The resulting models fit the data within their respective uncertainty bounds, and show that the Indian mantle lithosphere must have a high viscosity. Results for the Tibetan plateau are less clear, and both models with a weak Asian mantle lithosphere and with a weak Asian lower crust fit the data nearly equally well.