Dataset
Data Publication
Results from analogue inversion experiments of extensional basins parallel and oblique to their boundaries with inferences from the European eastern Southern Alps
Sieberer, Anna-Katharina | Willingshofer, Ernst | Klotz, Thomas | Ortner, Hugo | Pomelia, Hannah
GFZ Data Services
(2026)
Descriptions
This image dataset contains results (original top-view and cross-section photographs) obtained from a series of 12 crustal-scale physical analogue modelling experiments performed in the Tectonic Modelling Laboratory (TecLab) at Utrecht University. We employed analogue modelling to study the inversion of extensional basins that are parallel and oblique to their boundaries. The key parameters of this study are: (i) the obliquity angle (0°, 10° or 20°) of shortening in relation to the strike of the initial rift structures; (ii) the basal décollement rheology; and (iii) the rheology of the basin fill. All analogue experiments are rectangular, 2 cm thick and consist of deformable brittle or brittle–ductile layers. Deformable parts in entirely brittle models are made of a homogeneous layer of quartz sand for the initial, non-stretched, pre-rift model crust. The subsequently resulting grabens are filled with syn- to post-extensional sediments of quartz sand, feldspar sand, or glass beads. Variations to these setups entail either a brittle layer of glass beads at the base of the above described brittle crust, or, for brittle-ductile models, a viscous layer of PDMS silicone putty with fillers. All experiments are built on one fixed above two mobile plastic sheets, their transition is pre-defining velocity discontinuities (VDs). In a first stage, deformation is induced in all models by two electric motors pulling the two mobile plastic sheets in opposite directions parallel to the backstop. These sheets are then fixed once the extensional phase is finished. VDs positioned both orthogonally and obliquely with respect to the backstop allow graben structures to form at angles of 0°, 10° and 20° to the subsequent shortening direction. In a second stage, a rigid backstop moves into the model to create compressive deformation within the entirely brittle or brittle-ductile layers. Top-view photographs were taken at regular time intervals throughout each experiment (see below for details). Cross-section photographs were taken at the end of each experiment. Therefore, the top-view photographs enable surface deformation to be tracked and analysed through time and space, while the cross-sections demonstrate the overall vertical deformation of each model. For more details about the models, see Sieberer et al. (2023). The properties of the materials used are described in Sieberer et al. (2023), Klinkmüller et al. (2016) and Willingshofer et al. (2018). All models are scaled according to the principles of geometric, rheological, and kinematic similarity between nature and models (Hubbert, 1937; Weijermars & Schmeling, 1986).
Keywords
MSL enriched keywords
Apparatus
analogue modelling
tectonic plate boundary
convergent tectonic plate boundary
continental collision
surface uplift
Phanerozoic
Mesozoic
Jurassic
Paleozoic
Permian
Cenozoic
minerals
silicate minerals
tectosilicates
quartz
unconsolidated sediment
clastic sediment
sand
analogue modelling material
granular modelling material
synthetic granular material
glass microspheres
viscous modelling material
synthetic viscous material
silicone
Inferred deformation behavior
deformation behaviour
brittle-ductile deformation
Earth's structure
Earth crust
MSL vocabulary keywords corresponding to originally assigned keywords
analogue modelling
surface uplift
Jurassic
Permian
Cenozoic
Originally assigned keywords
EPOS
multi-scale laboratories
analogue models of geologic processes
analogue modelling results
brittle
tectonic inversion
inherited structures
structural inheritance
European eastern Southern Alps
top-view
cross-section photographs
analogue modelling
physical analogue modelling results
analogue experiment
physical analogue experiments
geometric inheritance
pre-defined platform and basin configuration
platform
basin
inherited basement structures
brittle analogue models
crustal-scale analogue models
top-view photographs
cross-sections
basin inversion
lateral strength variations
mechanical inheritance
surface uplift
topographic evolution
inherited structural heterogeneities
inherited crustal structures
eastern Southern Alps
Dolomites
Neoalpine
Dinaric
Jurassic
Permian
polyphase deformation
Cenozoic
Science Keywords > EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > PLATE TECTONICS > CRUSTAL MOTION
Science Keywords > EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > PLATE TECTONICS > FAULT MOVEMENT
Science Keywords > EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES > MODELS > GEOLOGIC/TECTONIC/PALEOCLIMATE MODELS
Science Keywords > EARTH SCIENCE SERVICES > MODELS > PHYSICAL/LABORATORY MODELS
Metadata
MSL enriched sub domains
analogue modelling of geologic processes
rock and melt physics
Resource Type
Source
Source publisher
| GFZ Data Services |
DOI
| 10.5880/fidgeo.2026.031 |
Creators
| Sieberer, Anna-Katharina |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1735-8179 |
| Universität Innsbruck, Inssbruck, Austria |
| Willingshofer, Ernst |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9119-5557 |
| Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands |
| Klotz, Thomas |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6187-229X |
| Universität Innsbruck, Inssbruck, Austria |
| Ortner, Hugo |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6909-6627 |
| Universität Innsbruck, Inssbruck, Austria |
| Pomelia, Hannah |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7695-4121 |
| Universität Innsbruck, Inssbruck, Austria |
Contributors
| Sieberer, Anna-Katharina |
| Personal |
| https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1735-8179 |
| Universität Innsbruck, Inssbruck, Austria |
| TecLab-Tectonic Modelling Laboratory (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) |
| Personal |
| aa45f98e5c098237d0c57b58e5f953e1 |
| Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria |
| Sieberer, Anna-Katharina |
| Personal |
| Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria |
Citation
Sieberer, A.-K., Willingshofer, E., Klotz, T., Ortner, H., & Pomelia, H. (2026). Results from analogue inversion experiments of extensional basins parallel and oblique to their boundaries with inferences from the European eastern Southern Alps [Dataset]. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/FIDGEO.2026.031
References
Dates
| Created | 2021-07-01 |
| Issued | 2026 |
Language
- no language entry found -
Funding References
| Funder Name | Austrian Science Fund |
| Award Number | P 33272 |
| Award Title | Thermo-tectonic evolution of the Dolomites Indenter |
Rights
| Name | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
| URI | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode |
| Identifier | cc-by-4.0 |
| Identifier Scheme | SPDX |
| Scheme URI | https://spdx.org/licenses/ |
Locations
Geo location(s)
Geographic area related to the analogue modelling results (European eastern Southern Alps)