Anomalous uplift of the Apennines and subsidence of the Adriatic: The result of active mantle flow?

Abstract

We consider the potential for interpreted mantle flow to generate anomalous topography across the north-central Mediterranean. A seismic tomography section was translated into the temperature domain and used as input into a series of 2D thermo-mechanical numerical models of crust-mantle deformation. The generated dynamic topography signal was then compared with a derived residual topography that showed a distinct residual low across the Adriatic Sea and easternmost Apennines and a residual high to the west of the Apennine range and into the Tyrrhenian Sea. A good spatial correlation was found between the modeled dynamic effects of inferred underlying mantle structure and the observed residual topography. The results of this study suggest that underlying mantle structure may play a role in supporting the (dynamic) anomalous surface topography along the investigated profile and within the north-central Mediterranean. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.