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The International Year of Planet Earth IYPE was established as a means of raisingworldwide public and political awareness of the vast, though frequently under-used,potential the Earth Sc

New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences

International Year of Planet Earth

Series Editors:

Eduardo F.J de Mulder

Executive Director International Secretariat

International Year of Planet Earth

Edward Derbyshire

Goodwill Ambassador

International Year of Planet Earth

The book series is dedicated to the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth The aim of the Year

is to raise worldwide public and political awareness of the vast (but often under-used) potential of Earth sciences for improving the quality of life and safeguarding the planet Geoscientific knowledge can save lives and protect property if threatened by natural disasters Such knowledge is also needed to sustainably satisfy the growing need for Earth’s resources by more people Earths scientists are ready to contribute to

a safer, healthier and more prosperous society IYPE aims to develop a new generation of such experts to find new resources and to develop land more sustainably.

For further volumes:

http://www.springer.com/series/8096

Sierd Cloetingh · Jörg Negendank

Editors

New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences

123

Prof Dr Sierd Cloetingh

VU University Amsterdam

Netherlands Research Centre

for Integrated Solid Earth Science,

Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences

14473 PotsdamTelegrafenbergGermanysecretariat-ILP@gfz-potsdam.de

ISBN 978-90-481-2736-8 e-ISBN 978-90-481-2737-5

DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-2737-5

Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009938168

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V 2010

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work Printed on acid-free paper

Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

The International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) was established as a means of raisingworldwide public and political awareness of the vast, though frequently under-used,potential the Earth Sciences possess for improving the quality of life of the peoples

of the world and safeguarding Earth’s rich and diverse environments

The International Year project was jointly initiated in 2000 by the InternationalUnion of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the Earth Science Division of the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) IUGS, which

is a Non-Governmental Organisation, and UNESCO, an Inter-Governmental sation, already shared a long record of productive cooperation in the natural sciencesand their application to societal problems, including the International GeoscienceProgramme (IGCP) now in its fourth decade

Organi-With its main goals of raising public awareness of, and enhancing research in theEarth sciences on a global scale in both the developed and less-developed countries

of the world, two operational programmes were demanded In 2002 and 2003, theSeries Editors together with Dr Ted Nield and Dr Henk Schalke (all four being coremembers of the Management Team at that time) drew up outlines of a Science and

an Outreach Programme In 2005, following the UN proclamation of 2008 as theUnited Nations International Year of Planet Earth, the “Year” grew into a triennium(2007–2009)

The Outreach Programme, targeting all levels of human society from makers to the general public, achieved considerable success in the hands of mem-ber states representing over 80% of the global population The Science Programmeconcentrated on bringing together like-minded scientists from around the world toadvance collaborative science in a number of areas of global concern A strongemphasis on enhancing the role of the Earth sciences in building a healthier, saferand wealthier society was adopted – as declared in the Year’s logo strap-line “Earth

decision-Sciences for Society”.

The organisational approach adopted by the Science Programme involved nition of ten global themes that embrace a broad range of problems of widespreadnational and international concern, as follows

recog-• Human health: this theme involves improving understanding of the processes bywhich geological materials affect human health as a means of identifying andreducing a range of pathological effects

• Climate: particularly emphasises improved detail and understanding of the human factor in climate change

non-v

vi Foreword

• Groundwater: considers the occurrence, quantity and quality of this vital resource

for all living things against a background that includes potential political tension

between competing neighbour-nations

• Ocean: aims to improve understanding of the processes and environment of the

ocean floors with relevance to the history of planet Earth and the potential for

improved understanding of life and resources

• Soils: this thin “skin” on Earth’s surface is the vital source of nutrients that sustain

life on the world’s landmasses, but this living skin is vulnerable to degradation if

not used wisely This theme emphasizes greater use of soil science information in

the selection, use and ensuring sustainability of agricultural soils so as to enhance

production and diminish soil loss

• Deep Earth: in view of the fundamental importance of deep the Earth in supplying

basic needs, including mitigating the impact of certain natural hazards and

control-ling environmental degradation, this theme concentrates on developing scientific

models that assist in the reconstruction of past processes and the forecasting of

future processes that take place in the solid Earth

• Megacities: this theme is concerned with means of building safer structures and

expanding urban areas, including utilization of subsurface space

• Geohazards: aims to reduce the risks posed to human communities by both natural

and human-induced hazards using current knowledge and new information derived

from research

• Resources: involves advancing our knowledge of Earth’s natural resources and

their sustainable extraction

• Earth and Life: it is over two and half billion years since the first effects of

life began to affect Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and landmasses Earth’s

biolog-ical “cloak”, known as the biosphere, makes our planet unique but it needs to

be better known and protected This theme aims to advance understanding of

the dynamic processes of the biosphere and to use that understanding to help

keep this global life-support system in good health for the benefit of all living

things

The first task of the leading Earth scientists appointed as Theme Leaders was

the production of a set of theme brochures Some 3500 of these were published,

initially in English only but later translated into Portuguese, Chinese, Hungarian,

Vietnamese, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Lithuanian, Polish, Arabic, Japanese and

Greek Most of these were published in hard copy and all are listed on the IYPE

website

It is fitting that, as the International Year’s triennium terminates at the end of 2009,

the more than 100 scientists who participated in the ten science themes should bring

together the results of their wide ranging international deliberations in a series of

state-of-the-art volumes that will stand as a legacy of the International Year of Planet

Earth The book series was a direct result of interaction between the International

Year and the Springer Verlag Company, a partnership which was formalised in 2008

during the acme of the triennium

This IYPE-Springer book series contains the latest thinking on the chosen themes

by a large number of Earth science professionals from around the world The books

are written at the advanced level demanded by a potential readership consisting

of Earth science professionals and students Thus, the series is a legacy of the

Science Programme, but it is also a counterweight to the Earth science information in

Foreword vii

several media formats already delivered by the numerous National Committees of theInternational Year in their pursuit of world-wide popularization under the OutreachProgramme

The discerning reader will recognise that the books in this series provide not only acomprehensive account of the individual themes but also share much common groundthat makes the series greater than the sum of the individual volumes It is to be hopedthat the scientific perspective thus provided will enhance the reader’s appreciation ofthe nature and scale of Earth science as well as the guidance it can offer to govern-ments, decision-makers and others seeking solutions to national and global problems,thereby improving everyday life for present and future residents of Planet Earth

Executive Director International Secretariat Goodwill AmbassadorInternational Year of Planet Earth International Year of Planet Earth

This book series is one of the many important results of the International Year

of Planet Earth (IYPE), a joint initiative of UNESCO and the International Union

of Geological Sciences (IUGS), launched with the aim of ensuring greater andmore effective use by society of the knowledge and skills provided by the EarthSciences

It was originally intended that the IYPE would run from the beginning of 2007until the end of 2009, with the core year of the triennium (2008) being proclaimed

as a UN Year by the United Nations General Assembly During all three years,

a series of activities included in the IYPE’s science and outreach programmeshad a strong mobilizing effect around the globe, not only among Earth Scien-tists but also within the general public and, especially, among children and youngpeople

The Outreach Programme has served to enhance cooperation among earth entists, administrators, politicians and civil society and to generate public aware-ness of the wide ranging importance of the geosciences for human life and pros-perity It has also helped to develop a better understanding of Planet Earth and theimportance of this knowledge in the building of a safer, healthier and wealthiersociety

sci-The Scientific Programme, focused upon ten themes of relevance to society, hassuccessfully raised geoscientists’ awareness of the need to develop further the interna-tional coordination of their activities The Programme has also led to some importantupdating of the main challenges the geosciences are, and will be confronting within

an agenda closely focused on societal benefit

An important outcome of the work of the IYPE’s scientific themes includesthis thematic book as one of the volumes making up the IYPE-Springer Series,which was designed to provide an important element of the legacy of the Inter-national Year of Planet Earth Many prestigious scientists, drawn from differentdisciplines and with a wide range of nationalities, are warmly thanked for theircontributions to a series of books that epitomize the most advanced, up-to-dateand useful information on evolution and life, water resources, soils, changing cli-mate, deep earth, oceans, non-renewable resources, earth and health, natural hazards,megacities

This legacy opens a bridge to the future It is published in the hope that the coremessage and the concerted actions of the International Year of Planet Earth through-out the triennium will continue and, ultimately, go some way towards helping toestablish an improved equilibrium between human society and its home planet As

ix

x Preface

stated by the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, “Our knowledge of

the Earth system is our insurance policy for the future of our planet” This book series

is an important step in that direction

In the context of the International Year of Planeth Earth (IYPE), the InternationalLithosphere Programme (ILP) has taken the responsibility for the scientific coordina-tion of the IYPE theme Deep Earth

In the preparatory phase of the IYPE, ILP has organized in June 2007 a meeting

on New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences at the GeoForschungsZentrumPotsdam to review breakthroughs and challenges in the connection of Deep Earth andsurface processes The present volume is an outcome of this conference, providingexamples of recent exciting developments in this field as well as an inventory ofopportunities for future research

The Potsdam conference was held in conjunction with the retirement of RolfEmmermann, founding director of GFZ, one of the largest Integrated Earth ResearchInstitutes of the world He has also been vital in the realization of major IntegratedEarth Research initiatives such as the International Continental Drilling Programme(ICDP), succeeding the first big science research project in continental geosciences

in Germany drilling to 9000 m depth (KTB)

Peter Ziegler, well known for his life time activities connecting the energy industryand in-depth understanding of lithosphere evolution in space and time, is another pio-neer in the domain of Integrated Solid Earth Science His fundamental contributions

to the study of the lithosphere are documented in a monumental series of atlases onthe paleogeography of Europe and the North Atlantic as well as in seminal highlycited papers on sedimentary basins and lithosphere evolution His 80th birthday in

2008 coincides with the IYPE

ILP wishes to thank Rolf and Peter for laying the foundations both in terms ofpromoting scientific innovation, novel concepts and vision, on which future endeavors

to move the frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences can build This volume isdedicated to both of them

xi

Perpectives on Integrated Solid Earth Sciences 1

S.A.P.L Cloetingh and J.F.W Negendank

3D Crustal Model of Western and Central Europe as a Basis for

Modelling Mantle Structure 39

Magdala Tesauro, Mikhail K Kaban, and Sierd A.P.L Cloetingh

Thermal and Rheological Model of the European Lithosphere 71

Magdala Tesauro, Mikhail K Kaban, and Sierd A.P.L Cloetingh

Thermo-Mechanical Models for Coupled Lithosphere-Surface

Processes: Applications to Continental Convergence and

Mountain Building Processes 103

E Burov

Achievements and Challenges in Sedimentary Basin Dynamics:

A Review 145

François Roure, Sierd Cloetingh, Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth,

and Peter A Ziegler

Recent Developments in Earthquake Hazards Studies 235

Walter D Mooney and Susan M White

Passive Seismic Monitoring of Natural and Induced Earthquakes:

Case Studies, Future Directions and Socio-Economic Relevance 261

Marco Bohnhoff, Georg Dresen, William L Ellsworth, and Hisao Ito

Non-volcanic Tremor: A Window into the Roots

of Fault Zones 287

Justin L Rubinstein, David R Shelly, and William L Ellsworth

Volcanism in Reverse and Strike-Slip Fault Settings 315

Alessandro Tibaldi, Federico Pasquarè, and Daniel Tormey

DynaQlim – Upper Mantle Dynamics and Quaternary Climate in

Cratonic Areas 349

Markku Poutanen, Doris Dransch, Søren Gregersen, Sören Haubrock,

Erik R Ivins, Volker Klemann, Elena Kozlovskaya, Ilmo Kukkonen,

Björn Lund, Juha-Pekka Lunkka, Glenn Milne, Jürgen Müller,

Christophe Pascal, Bjørn R Pettersen, Hans-Georg Scherneck,

Holger Steffen, Bert Vermeersen, and Detlef Wolf

xiii

xiv Contents

Ultradeep Rocks and Diamonds in the Light of Advanced

Scientific Technologies 373

Larissa F Dobrzhinetskaya and Richard Wirth

New Views of the Earth’s Inner Core from Computational

Mineral Physics 397

Lidunka Voˇcadlo

Index 413

Sierd A.P.L Cloetingh Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Netherlands Research

Centre for Integrated Solid Earth Science, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam,The Netherlands, sierd.cloetingh@falw.vu.nl

Larissa F Dobrzhinetskaya Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,

Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USAlarissa@ucr.edu

Doris Dransch Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Georg Dresen Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany, dre@gfz-potsdam.de

William L Ellsworth United States Geological Survey; Menlo Park, CA 94025,

USA, ellsworth@usgs.gov

Søren Gregersen GEUS Copenhagen

Sören Haubrock Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Hisao Ito Center for Deep Earth Exploration, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth

Science and Technology, Yokohama Kanagawa 236-0001, Japan,

hisaoito@jamstec.go.jp

Erik R Ivins Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mikhail K Kaban Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches

GeoforschungsZentrum (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Volker Klemann Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Elena Kozlovskaya University of Oulu

Ilmo Kukkonen Geological Survey of Finland, Finland

xv

xvi Contributors

Björn Lund University of Uppsala

Juha-Pekka Lunkka University of Oulu

Glenn Milne University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada

Walter D Mooney USGS, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, mooney@usgs.gov

Jürgen Müller University of Hannover

J.F.W Negendank Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches

GeoforschungsZentrum (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany, neg@gfz-potsdam.de

Christophe Pascal Geological Survey of Norway, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Federico Pasquarè Department of Chemical and Environment Sciences, University

of Insubria, Como, Italy

Bjørn R Pettersen Norwegian University of Life Science

Markku Poutanen Finnish Geodetic Institute, Masala, Finland,

markku.poutanen@fgi.fi

François Roure Institut Français du Pétrole, 1-4 Avenue de Bois-Préau, 92852

Rueil-Malmaison, France; Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije

Universiteit, de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Nederlands,

Francois.ROURE@ifp.fr

Justin L Rubinstein United States Geological Survey; Menlo Park, CA 94025,

USA, jrubinstein@usgs.gov

Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches

GeoforschungsZentrum (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Hans-Georg Scherneck Chalmers University of Technology

David R Shelly United States Geological Survey; Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

Holger Steffen University of Hannover; University of Calgary

Magdala Tesauro Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Netherlands Research

Centre for Integrated Solid Earth Science, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam,

The Netherlands; Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany, magdala.tesauro@falw.vu.nl

Alessandro Tibaldi Department of Geological Sciences and Geotechnologies,

University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy, alessandro.tibaldi@unimib.it

Daniel Tormey ENTRIX Inc., Ventura, California, USA

Bert Vermeersen DEOS, TU Delft

Lidunka Voˇcadlo Department of Earth Sciences, UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK,

l.vocadlo@ucl.ac.uk

Susan M White USGS, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

Richard Wirth Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), German Research Centre for Geosciences, Experimental Geochemistry and

Mineral Physics, Potsdam, Germany

Contributors xvii

Detlef Wolf Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoforschungsZentrum

(GFZ), Potsdam, Germany

Peter A Ziegler Geological-Paleontological Institute University of Basel,

Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056 Basel, Switzerland, paziegler@magnet.ch

New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth

Evgeni Burov (Paris, France) Tetsuzo Seno (Tokyo, Japan)

Cathy Busby (Berkeley, CA, USA) Gerd Steinle-Neumann (Bayreuth, Germany) Bernard Dost (De Bilt, The Netherlands) Kazuhiko Tezuka (Chiba, Japan)

Jeffrey T Freymueller (Fairbanks, AK, USA) John Vidale (Seattle, WA, USA)

Roy Gabrielsen (Oslo, Norway) Marlies ter Voorde (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Georg Hoinkes (Graz, Austria) Shah Wali Faryad (Prague, Czech Republic) Laurent Jolivet (Paris, France) Wim van Westrenen (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Fred Klein (Menlo Park, CA, USA) Jolante van Wijk (Los Alamos, NM, USA) Stephen R McNutt (Fairbanks, AK, USA) Tadashi Yamasaki (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Joerg Negendank (Potsdam, Germany)

xix

Perpectives on Integrated Solid Earth Sciences

S.A.P.L Cloetingh and J.F.W Negendank

Abstract During the last decades the Earth

sci-ences are rapidly changing from largely descriptive

to process-oriented disciplines that aim at

quantita-tive models for the reconstruction and forecasting

of the complex processes in the solid Earth This

includes prediction in the sense of forecasting the

future behaviour of geologic systems, but also the

pre-diction of geologic patterns that exist now in the

sub-surface as frozen evidence of the past Both ways of

prediction are highly relevant for the basic needs of

humanity: supply of water and resources, protection

against natural hazards and control on the

environmen-tal degradation of the Earth

Intensive utilization of the human habitat carries

largely unknown risks of and makes us increasingly

vulnerable Human use of the outermost solid Earth

intensifies at a rapid pace There is an urgent need for

scientifically advanced “geo-prediction systems” that

can accurately locate subsurface resources and forecast

timing and magnitude of earthquakes, volcanic

erup-tions and land subsidence (some of those being man

induced) The design of such systems is a major

mul-tidisciplinary scientific challenge Prediction of

solid-Earth processes also provides important constraints for

predictions in oceanographic and atmospheric sciences

and climate variability

The quantitative understanding of the Earth has

made significant progress in the last few decades

Important ingredients in this process have been the

advances made in seismological methods to obtain

S.A.P.L Cloetingh (  )

ISES, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University

Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

e-mail: sierd.cloetingh@falw.vu.nl

information on the 3D structure of the mantle and thelithosphere, in the quantitative understanding of thelithospheric scale processes as well as the recogni-tion of the key role of quantitative sedimentary basinanalysis in connecting temporal and spatial evolution

of the system Earth recorded in their sedimentary fill.Similar breakthroughs have been made in the spa-tial resolution of the structural controls on lithosphereand (de)formation processes and its architecture by3D seismic imaging Earth-oriented space research isincreasingly directed towards obtaining a higher reso-lution in monitoring vertical motions at the Earth’s sur-face Modelling of dynamic topography and landformevolution is reaching the phase where a full couplingcan be made with studies of sediment supply and ero-sion in the sedimentary basins for different spatial andtemporal scales

Quantitative understanding of the transfer of mass

at the surface by erosion and deposition as well astheir feed back with crustal and subcrustal dynam-ics presents a new frontier in modern Earth sciences.This research bridges current approaches separatelyaddressing high resolution time scales for a limitednear surface record and the long term and large scaleapproaches characteristic so far for the lithosphere andbasin-wide studies The essential step towards a 4Dapproach (in space and time) is a direct response tothe need for a full incorporation of geological and geo-physical constraints, provided by both the quality ofmodern seismic imaging as well as the need to incor-porate smaller scales in the modelling of solid Earthprocesses

Keywords Solid earth dynamics· Earth monitoring ·

Reconstruction of the past · Solid earth process

modelling

1

S Cloetingh, J Negendank (eds.), New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences, International Year of Planet Earth,

DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-2737-5_1, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V 2010

2 S.A.P.L Cloetingh and J.F.W Negendank

Introduction

The structure and processes of the deep Earth may

sound remote from everyday concerns, but both have

strong relevance for humanity’s basic needs, such as

supply of water and resources, protection against

natu-ral hazards, and control of the environmental

degrada-tion of the Earth

In recent years geologists have come to understand

the solid Earth in more measurable (“quantitative”)

ways Better seismic techniques have brought us to a

better understanding of the 3D structure of the Earth’s

mantle and lithosphere We can describe, in

numeri-cal terms, how the deep Earth system works; at the

same time, quantitative analysis of the basins in which

sediments accumulate has allowed us to connect the

deep Earth system with the record of those changes

written in the sediments that build up over geological

time

Better ways of “seeing” through solid rock have

allowed Earth scientists to understand the fine structure

of the Earth’s outer shell, or “lithosphere”, and how

it deforms under pressure from the movement of the

crustal plates, in three dimensions Recent advances in

the ways geologists can give things accurate ages in

years have made it possible to find out how fast

tec-tonic and surface processes take place, with the

pre-cision necessary to distinguish between the different

forces that shape the landscape

Using space satellites to survey the Earth has

allowed us to obtain ever-higher resolution when

mon-itoring the vertical motions of Earth’s surface

Mod-elling the way topography changes with time has now

reached the stage where it is possible to couple

stud-ies of sediment supply and erosion in time and space

At a much smaller scale, we face problems of

sedi-mentary architecture (the way different sediments are

structured), and of imaging this architecture using

remote sensing techniques that use seismic or

elec-tromagnetic waves to see inside them, like a “body

scanner”

Despite enormous progress in the last 15 years,

such remote imaging barely keeps pace with the great

demands society places upon it, with urgent needs for

water supplies, mineral resources, protection against

natural hazards and control of the environment

Below we highlight some key issues central in

mod-ern integrated solid Earth science

Mass Transfer

“Mass transfer” means the way in which rocks areeroded from certain areas of the Earth’s crust andredeposited in others, and the way the Earth’s interiorresponds to those gradual changes in pressure Thispresents a new frontier in modern Earth sciences –namely, trying to understand these processes quanti-tatively

This needs a research strategy bridging currentapproaches that separately address high-resolutiontimescales for a limited near-surface record on the onehand, and the long-term and large-scale approachesthat are more typical of studies at the scale of wholesedimentary basins The essential step towards a fourdimensional (4D) approach (i.e., involving both spaceand time) requires modelling solid Earth processes in

a way that incorporates smaller scale data with highquality modern seismic imaging We need to probethe deep Earth, to obtain a high-resolution image ofboth deep Earth structure and processes, if we are toquantify and constrain the forces that drive the Earth’scrustal plates

The deep Earth framework provides a unifyingtheme capable of addressing, in a process-orientedway, the full dynamics of the Earth system Recenttechnical advances (including seismic tomography,Earth-oriented space observations, oceanic and conti-nental drilling, modelling, and analytical techniques)have created fertile ground for a breakthrough bymeans of a global effort that integrates state-of-the-art methodology and the assembly of globaldatabases

Continental Topography: Interplay of Deep Earth and Surface Processes

Topography, the landscape’s physical shape, is a uct of the interaction between processes taking placedeep in the Earth, on its surface, and in the atmosphereabove it Topography influences society, not only interms of the slow process of landscape change, but alsothrough climate Topographic evolution (changes inland, water and sea levels) can seriously affect humanlife, as well as plants and animals When levels offresh water or of the sea rise, or when land subsides,the risk of flooding increases, directly affecting local

prod-Perpectives on Integrated Solid Earth Sciences 3

ecosystems and human settlements On the other hand,

declining water levels and uplift may lead to a higher

risk of erosion and even desertification

These changes are caused both by natural processes

and human activities, yet the absolute and relative

con-tributions of each are still little understood The present

state and behaviour of the Shallow Earth System is

a consequence of processes on a wide range of time

scales These include:

• long-term tectonic effects on uplift, subsidence and

river systems;

• residual effects of ice ages on crustal movement (the

weight of ice accumulations depresses the crust, and

takes tens of thousands of years to recover following

melting of the ice sheet;

• natural climate and environmental changes over the

last millennia right up to the present;

• powerful anthropogenic impacts;

If we are to understand the present state of the Earth

System, to predict its future and to engineer our

sus-tainable use of it, this spectrum of processes (operating

concurrently but on different time scales) needs to be

better understood The challenge to Earth science is to

describe the state of the system, to monitor its changes,

to forecast its evolution and, in collaboration with

oth-ers, to evaluate different models for its sustainable use

by human beings Research will need to focus upon the

interplay between active tectonics, topographic

evolu-tion, and related sea level changes and drainage pattern

(river) development This includes developing an

inte-grated strategy for observation and analysis,

empha-sising large scale changes in vulnerable parts of the

globe

Making accurate geological predictions in

com-plexly folded and faulted mountain belts will require

collaboration between researchers from several broad

fields of expertise Among other scientific disciplines,

geology, geophysics, geodesy, hydrology and

climatol-ogy, as well as various fields of geotechnolclimatol-ogy, will

need to be integrated

Geoprediction: Observation,

Reconstruction and Process Modelling

The increasing pressure that we are placing upon the

environment makes us increasingly vulnerable We

have an urgent need for scientifically advanced prediction systems” that can accurately locate sub-surface resources and forecast the timing and magni-tude of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and land sub-sidence (some of which is caused by human activity).The design of such systems poses a major multidisci-plinary scientific challenge Prediction of solid Earthprocesses also imposes important constraints on pre-dictions in oceanographic and atmospheric sciences,including climate variability

“geo-Predicting the behaviour of geological systemsrequires two things: a thorough understanding of theprocesses, and high quality data The biggest progress

in quantitative prediction is expected to occur at theinterface between modelling and observation This isthe place where scientific hypothesis is confronted withobserved reality In its most advanced version, theintegrated sequence “observation, modelling, processquantification, optimization and prediction” is repeat-edly carried out (in time and space) and the outcome

is vital in generating fundamentally new conceptualdevelopments

Observing the Present

Information on the (present-day) structure of the surface and the deeper interior of the Earth (at var-ious scales) is a key aspect of solid Earth science.This pertains to the study of both active processes andthose that have ceased to be active but which mayhave contributed to present-day structures The study

sub-of active processes plays an important role in thisrespect because process-related observations (concern-ing, for example, earthquake activity, surface defor-mation and the Earth’s gravity field) can be made(and used) as constraints upon process models Theprocess-related insight gained from such exercises isvery valuable in guiding our reconstruction of pastprocesses

Reconstructing the Past

Although the solid Earth has changed continuouslythrough time, it still retains vestiges of its earlier evo-lution Revealing the roles played in controlling rates

of erosion and sedimentation by internal lithospheric

4 S.A.P.L Cloetingh and J.F.W Negendank

processes and external forcing represents a major

challenge

The sedimentary cover of the lithosphere provides

a high-resolution record of the changing environment,

as well as of deformation and mass transfer at the

sur-face and at different depths in the crust, lithosphere,

and mantle system In the last few years,

pioneer-ing contributions have helped to explain how

litho-sphere tectonic processes and the sedimentary record

are related These demonstrate, for example, the

con-trol exerted by stress fields in the lithospheric plates

on the sequences of sediments that accumulate above

them, and on the record of relative sea-level changes

in sedimentary basins Earth scientists are also

becom-ing increasbecom-ingly conscious of the way that active

tec-tonic processes affect sedimentary basins, as well

as the major implications these processes have for

fluid flow and recent vertical motions in the

cou-pled system that links the deep Earth and its surface

processes

The sedimentary cover of the lithosphere provides a

record of the changing environment, involving

defor-mation and mass transfer at the Earth’s surface and at

different depths within the crust, lithosphere, and

man-tle system In the past few decades, sedimentary basin

analysis has been in the forefront in integrating

sedi-mentary and lithosphere components of the (previously

separate) fields of geology and geophysics

Integrat-ing active tectonics, surface processes and lithospheric

dynamics in the reconstruction of the ancient

topog-raphy of these basins and their surrounding areas is a

key objective A fully integrated approach (combining

dynamic topography and sedimentary basin

dynam-ics) is also important, considering the key societal role

these basins play as resource locations, such as

hydro-carbon reservoirs and source rocks Moreover, given

that most people alive today live either within or close

to sedimentary basins (in coastal zones and deltas)

both populations and their settlements remain

vul-nerable to geological hazards posed by Earth system

activity

Lithosphere Deformation Behaviour

The way the rocks of the mantle flow exerts

con-trols on the thickness and strength of the lithospheric

plates, the extent of coupling between plate motions

and flow in the Earth’s interior, and the pattern andrate of convection in the asthenosphere – as well asmore local processes such as the pattern and rate ofmantle flow and melt extraction at mid-ocean ridges

In order to understand the dynamic behaviour of theouter parts of the solid Earth, notably the dynamics oflithospheric extension and associated rifting and sed-imentary basin development, a detailed knowledge ofthe way in which the different zones of the mantle flow

is essential

Process Modelling and Validation

Modelling solid Earth processes is in a transitionalstage between kinematic and dynamic modelling Thisdevelopment cannot take place without the interactionwith (sub)disciplines addressing Earth structure andkinematics, or reconstructions of geological processes

In fact, advances in structure related research, in ticular the advent of 3D seismic velocity models, haveset the stage for studies of dynamic processes insidethe Earth Structural information is a prerequisite formodelling solid Earth processes Similarly, informa-tion on present-day horizontal and vertical movements,

par-as well par-as reconstructed ppar-ast motion, temperatures orother process characteristics, is used in formulatingand testing hypotheses concerning dynamic processes.Inversely, the results of process modelling motivateand guide research in observation of the present andreconstruction of the past

Through the emphasis on process dynamics, it is inprocess modelling in particular that the full benefits

of coupling spatial and temporal scales become ent The scale of the processes studied ranges from theplanetary dimension to the small scale relevant to sedi-mentary processes, with the depth scale being reducedaccordingly

appar-Challenges and New Developments

In spite of the great successes of plate tectonic ory in modern Earth science, fundamental questionsstill remain concerning the evolution of continents andtheir role in the dynamics of the Earth’s lithosphereand mantle The growth process of continents (on the