Brittle Frictional Mountain Building 2. Thermal Structure and Heat Budget

JOURNAL
OF GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH,
VOL. 94, NO. B4, PAGES 3923-3947, APRIL
10, 1989
Brittle Frictional Mountain Building

2. Thermal Structureand Heat Budget
TERENCE D. BARR AND F. A. DAHLEN
Departmentof Geologicaland GeophysicalSciences,Princeton University,Princeton,New Jersey
This paper describesa simple thermal model of an actively deforming critically taperedfold-and-thrust
belt. The model determinesthe steadystatetemperaturedistributionand heat flow, as well as the pressuretemperature-timehistoriesof rocks that outcropat the surface. The main parameterscontrollingthe thermal
structureare the accretionand erosionrates, the undisturbedgeothermalgradientat the toe, and the amount
of frictional heating. Both shear heating on the decollementfault and internal strain heating within the
deformingbrittle wedge are incorporatedin a mechanicallyconsistentmanner,and they dominatethe effect
of radiogenicheating,except in fold-and-thrustbelts with significantlyoverpressured
pore fluids. The mean
stresses,temperatures,and surface heat flow all increase with an increase in the basal and internal
coefficientsof friction, and this dependenceis used to constrainthe level of friction on the decollementfault
beneaththe steadystatefold-and-thrustbelt in Taiwan. Rocks outcroppingin the core of the Central Mountain Rangeof Taiwan experiencemaximumtheoreticaltemperaturesin excessof 400C and maximummean
pressures
in excessof 500 MPa if the coefficientof basalfrictionis gt, = 0.5. Qualitatively,theseconditions
are in good agreementwith the observedhigh greenschistfaciesmetamorphism.The theoreticalsurfaceheat
flow,whichincreases
from95 mW/m2 at thefrontof thefold-and-thrust
beltto 240 mW/m2 at therear,is in
excellentagreementwith the resultsof a recent geothermalsurvey of Taiwan, and theoreticalcooling histories are in good agreementwith fission track and other geochronologicstudies. Taken together,these
resultsprovidestrongevidencethat slidingon the basaldecollementfault beneathTaiwan is governedby a
coefficientof friction in the rangeof typical laboratorymeasurements,
gt, = 0.5 +_0.2. Approximately35%
of the total surfaceheat flux of 3 GW is heat conductedinto the baseof the wedgefrom the top of the basal
decollementfault, and somewhatmore than 30% is heat advectedinto the toe by accretion.The remaining
heat is generatedinternally,about25% by internalstrainheatingand about 10% by radiogenicheating.Either
an increase
in thecoefficient
of basalfrictiongh or a reduction
in the porefluidpressure
ratio) = )h leads
to an increasein the surfaceheat flow, becauseof the increasedfrictionalheatingwithin the wedgeand on
the basal decollementfault. The overall balanceof energyin a steadystatefold-and-thrustbelt is described
by the equationE = WG + Q, whereE is the rate at whichbothmechanical
andheatenergyare addedfrom
external
sources,
1G istherateatwhich
workisperformed
against
gravitational
body
forces
ina reference
frame attachedto the overridingplate, and Q is the rate at which wasteheat flows out of both the upperand
lower boundaries.The total power input into the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt is approximately4.2 GW. The
mechanicalwork being done on the base and front of the fold-and-thrustbelt accountsfor 3 of these 4.2
GW. In addition,0.9 GW of heat are being advectedfrom the subductingplate into the toe by accretion;the
remaining0.3 GW are being suppliedby in situ radiogenicheating. The outgoingenergy is dominatedby
the 3 GW of heat conductedout the top in the surfaceheat flow; however, another0.8 GW are conducted
down beneaththe rear portionof the basal decollementfault, to heat the underlyingsubductingslab. Only
0.4 of the incoming4.2 GW do usefulmechanicalwork againstgravity within the wedge;the efficiencyof
brittle frictionalmountainbuilding in Taiwan is therefore10%.
kinematicmodel of the regional-scale

deformationof sucha
INTRODUCTION
This is the secondof two papersdescribinga simplemodel of

the thermal structureand energybudgetof actively deforming
fold-and-thrustbelts. The essentialpremise is that a fold-andthrustbelt is analogousto the wedgeof soil scrapedup in front
of a movingbulldozer. Sucha wedgeexhibitsa criticaltaperin
which the regional stateof stressis everywhereon the verge of
brittle Coulomb failure [Davis et al., 1983]. Accretion of new
material at the toe causesa wedge to deform and grow selfsimilarly; an eroding wedge must also continually deform to
maintain its critical taper. In unchangingtectonic and climatic
conditions an active fold-and-thrustbelt attains a steady state
width when the accretionaryinflux of new material at the toe is
balancedby the erosiveeffiux off the top.
In paper 1 [Dahlen and Bart, this issue] we developed a
Copyright1989 by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion.

Papernumber88JB04332.
0148-0227/89/88JB-04332505.00
3923
steadystatefold-and-thrustbelt. We usethis kinematicdescription here in paper 2 as the basis for a steady state thermal
model of a fold-and-thrustbelt. In addition to determiningthe
interior temperature distribution and surface heat flow, the
model determinesthe pressure-temperature-time
(P-T-t) trajectories of rocks that outcropat the surface.Internal strain heating
and frictional heating on the basal decollementfault are incorporated in a mechanically consistentmanner, and these heat
sourcesare shownto be more importantthan radiogenicheating
in fold-and-thrustbelts with moderatepore fluid pressures. An
analysisof the heat budgetof a steadystatefold-and-thrustbelt
is combinedwith the analysisof the mechanicalenergy budget
from paper 1 to investigatethe efficiency of brittle frictional
mountainbuilding. The fold-and-thrustbelt in Taiwan [Suppe,
1981, 1987; Ernst, 1982] is again usedas the main focusof our
modelingefforts. Both pore fluid pressuresand geothermalgradients are well determined by drilling data acquired during
petroleum and geothermalexploration,and this makes Taiwan
an ideal natural laboratoryfor studyingactive mountainbuilding.
3924
BARRANDDAHLEN:BRITTLEFRICTIONAL
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
steady
state
..:.:..:':..'.
'....'-i:.':i
"':'"'"':"
'""'
'"':'''
'"''
"':"
''
''i'..'i'i!
"'''''
':''
'''
:'"''
'"'
:'
:''
';'
'
''
''"
'
'' ero
sion
,.:::?:.:.':.:..'.,'...'.:.:..'.:.:..'.:.:.
"'.'..?.'...
:.:..'...
\
.........:.?...""]"'''"'"-".'.]]]]:]'':'[-'{'"'i'r.'"
""'.:.'..!:._...
-''
............
'' ' 'l'
noheat
m,a,
ntleheat
:"""
'"'"'"'""
' '' ''!!
Fig. 1. Schematiccross section of a steady state fold-and-thrustbelt and underlying subductingplate, showing the variables
and boundaryconditionsusedin the thermalmodeling. The x, z coordinateaxesare parallelto the axesof principalstresso l,
lJ3.
STEADY STATE THERMAL
MODEL
To solve equation(2), we employ an explicit finite difference

schemein a two-dimensionaldomain consistingof the actively
Let p denote the constantdensity, let c,. denote the constant
deforming wedge and a portion of the underlying subducting
specificheat, and let r denotethe constantthermal diffusivity of
plate; this domain is shown as the shadedregion in Figure 1.
the wedge and underlying subductingplate. The general form
For consistency,we use the same coordinatesystemas in paper
of the heat flow (or internal energy) equation in a deforming
1, with x and z axes parallel to the principal axes of stress,as
material is [Eringert, 1967; Malvern, 1969]
shown.
art +u-VT =rV2T + (pc,,)-(+ (5')
(1)
where T is the temperature,u is the Eulerianvelocity, and is
the volumetric
rateof radiogenic
heating.The product'
the stress and strain rate tensors is the rate at which
of
mechanical
energy is dissipatedagainst internal friction in the deforming

brittle wedge. We assumehere that all this dissipatedenergy is
manifestedas heat; the rate at which surface energy must be
supplied to form fresh fractures within the wedge is thus consideredto be negligible.
In a steady state fold-and-thrustbelt the velocity is steady,
tu = 0. If this kinematic steady state has persistedlong

enoughfor thermal equilibriumto be established,then )tT = 0
VelocityField
We restrict attention here to the case of uniform erosion; the
Eulerian velocity of the material within the wedge is then given
by u = u:{ + v' where(equations

(27)- (29),paper1)
u = So + Cx-( 1 - 22/x2 )-1
(3a)
v - Vo+ Czx-2(1 - z2/x2 )-1
(3b)
Uo =
- 0sec
0 +/0sec
h
(3c)
tan h - tan 0
as well, and equation(1) reducesto
u'VT = K:V2T+ (pc,,)-(+ (5':)
(2)
The time in which a thermal steadystateis achievedfollowing a

tectonic perturbation is approximately equal to the mean
residence time of a rock in the fold-and-thrust belt, since the
approach to equilibrium is governed by the rapid mass flux,

rather than by conductivecooling;we verify this below by solving equation (1) for an extremely simplified model of the
kinematic and thermal evolutionof the Taiwan orogeny. Since
the time required to attain thermal equilibrium in Taiwan is only
1- 2 m.y., a steadystatemodel basedon equation(2) shouldbe
applicable to virtually the entire constant-widthportion of the
fold-and-thrust belt, between 23N and 25N latitude.
V0
=-0sec0tan,
+/0sec,
tanl/0(3d)
tan
- tan 0
C =
2/i + 2x0( 0sec

0 -/ 0sec
)
log
(3e)
(1 +tanh)(1-tan0)
(1-tan)(1
+tan0)
The quantity
is the cross-sectional
influxrateof freshly
accretedmaterialat the front of the wedge,0 is the constant
rateof erosion
offthetop,and/0is theconstant
rateof underplating alongthe basaldecollementfault. The quantities0 and
are the constantangles between the x axis and the top and
BARRANDDAHLEN:BRITTLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAINBUILDING,2
bottomof the wedge,andx0 is the distancefrom the wedgever-
3925
Internal
StrainHeating
(pW/m
3)
tex to the deformationfront, as shownin Figure 1.
The subducting
platebeneaththe deformingwedgeis assumed
to be rigid; the uniformvelocityfield within the plate is given
'
by
Ta,wan
u = V cos
0 +/0sinb
(4a)
v = V sinb -/ 0cos
0
(4b) _.__.____
,--___
where
accretion
V = U0coso+ V0sin0+ Cx sec0( 1 - tan20)-I
and erosion
rate
halved
(5)
is thedow.
ndipsubduction
velocity.Thenormalcomponent
of _
velocity
b0
isthe
regarded
as
continuous
across
basal
mentfault;
tangential
slip rate
is the
given
bydecolleAu=
V - u cos0 - v sin.
'--_
accret,on
anderos,on
ratequartered
(
Thermal
Parameters
'
l)km
Fig. 2. (Top) Theoretical

east-west
crosssectionof the Taiwanfoldand-thrustbelt (no verticalexaggeration)
showingthe variationof inter-
As in paper 1, we assumethe constantrock densityis nal strainheating. (Bottom)The lower two crosssectionsshow the
effectof a reduced
accretion
anderosionrate;the quantity
p- 2500kg/m3;thisis themeasured
average
density
of rocks hypothetical
c' is contoured
at intervals
of 1 ,gW/m
3 in eachcase.In Taiwanthe
influxrateis A = 500km2/m.y.,andtheerosion
rateis
all the modelspresentedhere, we use a constantspecificheat accretionary
e0 = 5.5 km/m.y. Reducing
the flux ratessimplyreduces
the strain
Cv= 1200 J/(kg C) and a constantthermal conductivity heatingby thesamefraction.Theconstant
slopeof thetopographic
sur-
within the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt [Dahlen et al., 1984]. In
CpCv
= 3.5 W/(m C). The formeris a fairly universal
value faceis ot= 3 andthedip of thebasaldecollement
faultis [ = 6. The
belt is W = 90 km, and the

thatis independent
of rocktype [Oxburgh,1980],andthe latter steadystatewidth of the fold-and-thrust
at the toe of the wedgeis 7 km. The
is in goodagreement
with laboratory
measurements
on themost thicknessof incomingsediments
to the deformationfront on the western
commonrock types in the Taiwan fold-and-thrust
belt. The toe of the wedgecorresponds
measuredthermal conductivitiesof sandstonesgenerally lie in
the range 3-7
edgeof the Taiwanfold-and-thrust

belt.
W/(m C), shaleslie in the range 2-3
W/(m C), and schistslie in the range3-4 W/(m C) [Clark,

1966; Robertson, 1979]. The inferred constant thermal
diffusivity
is c- 1.2mm2/s.The adopted
valuesof p, c,,, and where ct is the constantsurfaceslopeand g is the acceleration
careemployed
throughout
thedomainof solution,includingthe of gravity. The quantity, is the constant
ratio of porefluid
underlyingslab. Sincemostof the rocksincorporated
into the pressure
to lithostatic
pressure
withinthe wedge,andp = tanqb
Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt are derived from the Chinese con-
tinentalmargin,they containrelativelyhigh concentrations

of
is the coefficient of internal friction.
The upperdiagramin Figure2 showsthe theoretical

magni-
uranium and thorium. We assumethat the rate of radiogenic tude of the strainheatingthroughout
the crosssectionof the
heating throughoutthe wedge and underlying slab is fold-and-thrustbelt in Taiwan. The adopted value of the
T- 1 pW/m3;thisis the average
valueof theradioactive
heat coefficient of basal friction, which we justify below, is
generation
in terrigenous
shalesand sandstones
[Clark et al., lab= 0.5; the corresponding
valueof the internalfrictioncon19661.
sistentwith the observedgeometryand pore fluid pressurein
Taiwanis p = 0.7. The strainheatingproduced
by thesetypical
laboratoryvaluesof friction exceedsthe radiogenicheating
Internal Strain Heating
almosteverywhere;
nearthe toe, wherethe strainrate is high,
o'/; exceeds
10 pW/m3. ThestrainheatingwithintheunderlyThe internal strain heating reducesto
(5"; -- (5'111q-(5'
3t}3
ing rigid slabis, of course,zero.
(6)
Frictional Heating on the DecollementFault
The rate of shearheatingon the decollementfault is % Au,

whereor1 and03 are the principalstresses
and/;2= 3ul)x and
i;3- 8v/Sz are the principalstrainrates. Explicit expressions where% is the frictionaltractionandAu is the slip rate. This
of heat
for thesequantities
are givenin equations
(4) and(33) of paper heatinggivesrise to a jump in the normalcomponent
flow acrossthe fault; if q =- rpc,,VT is the heat flux vector,
1. In the case of uniform erosion, we obtain
then [Eringen, 1967]
o:/; = ( 1- ,) pg cosct( z cos0 - x sint0)
2sin
qb xC
(1+z2_x
)2
x 1-sinqbcos20
2(1-z
[ fi . q ]+ = - cpc,, [ fi ' V T ]_+= 'coAu
(8)
(7)
where fi is the unit outwardnormal to the wedge, and plus and
3926
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
vertical depth at the front of the wedge. Equation (11) is the

solutionto the steadystate one-dimensional
heat flow equation
for the specifiedradiogenicheating and surfaceconditions;the
quadraticdependencefrom the heating is slight in the upper
crust,so that to a good approximationwe are simply specifying
an undisturbedlinear geotherm.
In Taiwan the gradientT can be constrainedby data from
numerousdeep wells drilled in the undeformedforedeepsedi-
2O0
Taiwan
50E
._
ments in the Coastal Plain to the west of the fold-and-thrust
1001/2
belt. Figure 4 shows an example of thermal data from the

Chingtsaohugas field operatedby the ChinesePetroleumCompany in northernTaiwan; the gradientthere is very constantat
27C/km to depthsof 5 km. Similar geothermalgradients,in
the range 25C/km to 30C/km, have been measuredat other
sites in the Coastal Plain by $uppe and Wittke [1977], and we
rate
50-
1/4 rate
20
40
60
adoptT = 27C/km as the undisturbed

surfacethermalgra-
80
dient at the toe of the Taiwan wedge; this correspondsto an
dstance
x-x o (km)
undisturbed
surface
heatfluxq0 = cpc,,
T = 95 mW/m2.
Fig. 3. Theoreticalvariation of the shear heating% Au along the
decollementfault. Distance along the abscissais measuredin the x
direction; the actual distance from the tip along the fault is
(.x - x0) secb.
In Taiwan the accretionary flux rate is
Along the base of the subductingplate, we assumethere is a

constant mantle heat flux
fi ' q = - CpCv
( fi ' VT ) = q .
A = 500km2/m.y.,andtheerosion
rateis 0 = 5.5km/m.y.Reducing
(12)
the flux ratessimplyreduces Au by the samefraction.
minusrefer to the lower and upperside of the decollementfault,

respectively. Explicit expressionsfor 'c and Au are given in
equations(10) and (35) of paper 1. In the caseof uniform erosion the heatingon the fault is given by
Neitherthe adoptedvalueof q. nor the thickness(within limits)

of the subductedslab has any noticeableeffect on the temperature distributionwithin the wedge. This insensitivityis a consequenceof the rapid downdipvelocityof the subductingslab;
any heat from the mantle is advectedaway before it can diffuse
into the wedge,providedthe thicknessof the slabis greaterthan
about 5 km. In all the models discussedhere, we have used a
% Au = pg sinc( tant cost0 - sint0 )
conservative
slabthicknessof 10 km and requiredthat q. be
consistentwith the undisturbedgeotherm(11). Although the
directeffect of q. is insignificant,heat from the mantleis not
xsin2'
IIC(x-x)sect'
sin2t0
x0( 1 - tan2t)
(9)
In general, the heating increaseslinearly from zero at the

decollementtip to a maximum beneaththe rear of the fold-andthrust belt. For the adopted coefficient of basal friction,
g, = 0.5, the maximum shear heating beneaththe rear of the
temperature (C)
0
50
I
1 O0
I
150
I
200
Taiwanwedgeexceeds
200mW/m2, as illustrated
in Figure3.
As we show next, this is more than a factor of 2 greaterthan
the undisturbedsurfaceheat flow at the toe, suggesting
that it is
a very importantheat source.
Chingtsoaohu
O'= 27C/km
Boundary Conditions
The temperaturealong the top of the wedge is taken to be a

constant
r = To = 20C
(10)
'o
Chingtsaoh
& :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..
The incomingsedimentsat the toe of the fold-and-thrustbelt are

assumedto exhibit an undisturbedregionalgeotherm. The temperaturealong the oblique front edge of both the wedge and
subductingslab is then given by
T (z) = To+ Tg ( z - x0tant0) cos( t0+ {x)
)-i ( z - x0tanW0
)2cos2
21( <pc,,
( W0
+a )
'
(11)
Fig. 4. Thermal gradientmeasuredin the Chingtsaohugas field at the

toe of the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt (data courtesyof the Chinese
PetroleumCompany). Temperaturemeasurementsin severalwells exhi-
where T is the observedverticaltemperature

gradientat the bit a linearthermalgradientT(= 27C/km to a depthof almost6 km.
surface ( z = x0 tant0) and ( z - x0 tant0) cos( t0+ a ) is the
The activemountainbelt is shownas the shadedregionon insetmap.
BARR
ANDDAHLEN:
BRITTLE
FRICTIONAL
MOUNTAIN
BUILDING,
2
3927
undisturbedgeotherm
--
oc200o
C300
c
100oc
400oc
shear heatingon decollementadded

0
10 km
Fig.5. Cross
sections
of theTaiwan
fold-and-thrust
beltandunderlying
slab,showing
thesequential
thermal
effects
of accretionanderosion,
internal
strain
heating,
andfrictional
heating
alongthedecollement
fault. Thesteady
statetemperature
distributionis contoured
at 50C intervalswith the 100C isotherms
labeled.The locationof the decollement
faultis shown;there
is no verticalexaggeration.
distributionthroughout
beingdisregarded,
sincemantleheatingis impliedby the front with depth instead. The temperature
most of the wedge is controlledby the temperature
of the
boundarycondition(11).
anderoOn the back of the wedge and subductingslab, we assume incomingrocksat the toe, as well as by the accretion
sion rates and the rate of frictional heating.
there is no heat flux, that is,
fi ' q = - :pCv( fi ' VT ) = O
(13)
THERMAL STRUCTURE AND HEAT FLOW
Figure5 is a sequential
illustration
of the effectsof accretion
This boundaryconditionis poorly constrainedby data, but it
only affectsthe temperatures
in a relativelynarrowboundary and erosion,internal strain heatingand basal shearheating on
layer at the back of the wedge. We haveverifiedthis by per- the thermal structure of the Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt. The
regionalgeotherm
in the
forming calculationsusing a prescribedtemperaturevariation topcrosssectionshowstheundisturbed
3928
BARRANDDAHLEN:
BRITTLE
FRICTIONAL
MOUNTAIN
BUILDING,
2
TABLE 1. Measuredand Inferred ParametersCharacterizingthe Taiwan Fold-and-ThrustBelt
Symbol
Parameter
Value
Method of Determination
Geometricparameters
Regionalsurfaceslope
ct
Linear regressionof topographicprofiles [Davis et al.,
Regionaldecollementdip
15
t0
Seismicreflectionprofilingand drilling; constrainedbest

in front 30 km of wedge [Davis et al., 1983]
Inferred using critical Coulomb wedge theory [Dahlen,
13
Inferred using critical Coulomb wedge theory;
90
Distancefrom toe in WesternFoothills to Longitudinal

Valley [Suppe,1981]
Seismic reflection profiling in vicinity of toe [Suppe,
1983]
Surface stress orientation
1984]
Basal stress orientation
t, = + [5+ o [Dahlen,1984]
Steadystatewidth, km
Thickness of accreted sediments, km
l0
Distanceto deformationfront, km
x0
45
2500
1981]
Inferredfrom l0 = x0 ( tanWt, - tanW0)
Mechanicalparameters
Density,
kg/m3
Porefluidpressure
ratio
) = )b
0.7
Direct measurementof core samplesand outcrop samples [Dahlen et al., 1984]

Formationpressuretestsand soniclogs in wells [Suppe
and Wittke, 1977; Davis et al., 1983]
Basal coefficient of friction

Internal coefficient of friction
0.5
g
0.7
Best fit to regionalheat flow and Chipancoolinghistory

data (this paper)
Inferred using critical Coulomb wedge theory [Dahlen,
1984]
Kinematicparameters
Accretionary
influxrate,km2/m.y.
500
Observedplate convergence
rate x thicknessof accreted
sediments[Suppe,1981]
Inferred
from 0sec
0 = ,zi/W; agrees
withhydrologic
Erosionrate, km/m.y.
g0
5.5
Underplatingrate, km/m.y.
t;0
and geomorphologic
data [Li, 1976;Penget al., 1977]
Constrainedby massbalanceto be lessthan 1.8 km/m.y.
(25% underplating)
cv
1200
Typical value for most rocks and minerals [Oxburgh,
cpcv
3.5
Average
1.2
metamorphic
rocks[Robertson,
1979;Clark, 1966]
Inferred from thermalconductivity,density,and specific
Thermal parameters
Specificheat,J/(kg C)
1980]
Thermal conductivity,W/(m C)
Thermal
diffusivity,
mm2/s
value
for
sedimentary and
low-grade
heat
Radiogenic
heatproduction,
gW/m3
Averagevalue for terrigenoussedimentary

rocks [Clark
Undisturbedgeothermalgradient,C/km
27
Thermal logging of oil and gas wells in CoastalPlain

[Suppeand Wittke, 1977; this paper]
et al., 1966]
absenceof any tectonism,and the next shows the effect of

accretion and erosion; the third includes the effect of internal
strain heating, and the fourth includesshear heating on the

decollementfault. The wedge geometryand boundaryconditions are the samein all four cases,and the adoptedcoefficients
of friction are assumedas before to be [t = 0.5 and It = 0.7.
These and the other measured and inferred parametersthat
characterize the Taiwan
fold-and-thrust
belt are summarized in
Table 1; they are utilized throughoutthis paper unlessstated

otherwise.
The main effect of accretionand erosionis to reducetemperatures at depth within the wedge; this is a consequence
of the
compressivethickening,as well as the subductionof the cool
slab underneath. If there were no frictional heating, rocks
incorporatedinto the fold-and-thrustbelt would not experience

any increasein temperature,and thus they would not exhibit
any evidence of syntectonicmetamorphism. The observed
increasein metamorphicgrade away from the toe [Liou, 1981;
Ernst, 1982] is thus a direct consequence
of the frictionalheating. Internal strainheatingraisestemperatures
in the thickest
part of the wedgeby approximately50-75C. Frictionon the
decollementfault is, however,the most importantheat source;it
increasesthe deep temperatures
by more than 150C. The maximum temperatureoccursat the deepestpoint on the decollement fault, where the shear heating is the highest. The heat
producedon the fault flows in both directions,giving rise to an
inverted thermal gradient of-20C/km
in the underlying
subductedslab; this agreeswell with simple one-dimensional
3929
b = 0.3
b = 0.5
b = 0.9
0
i
10 km
I
Fig. 6. Dependence
of the theoreticaltemperature
distributionin Taiwan on the coefficientof basalfrictionI.t/,. The pore
fluid/lithostatic
pressureratio is kept constantat , = ,/, = 0.7, and the coefficientof internalfrictiong is variedto fit the
observed
wedgegeometry.The modelprovidingthe bestfit to the heatflow in Taiwanhasg/, = 0.5 and = 0.7.
models of shear heating [Graham and England, 1976]. The

temperatureexceeds400C throughouta substantialportion of
the wedge,as a resultof the frictionalheating.
Many other combinationsof It/, and It are consistentwith the
observedgeometryand pore fluid pressurein Taiwan, as noted
in paper 1, and Figure 6 shows the effect of four different
choices on the thermal
structure.
The coefficient
of basal fric-
tion in the uppermostcrosssection,It/, = 0.3, is a typical value

for many claysand clay-richfault gouges[Morrow et al., 1981;
Logan and Rauenzahn, 1987], whereas that in the lowermost
crosssection,It/, = 0.9, is a typical value for the maximumfriction of most rocks [Byerlee, 1978]. The correspondingvalues
of internalfriction consistentwith the observedgeometryand
pore fluid pressuresin Taiwan are It = 0.4 if It/, = 0.3, It = 0.9
if It/, = 0.7, and It = 1.1 if It/, = 0.9. Increasingthe amountof
frictionleadsto highertemperatures
within the wedge,primarily
becauseof the increasedshearheatingon the basaldecollement
fault but alsobecauseof the increasedinternalstrainheating. If
It/, = 0.9, the temperatureexceeds550C throughouta substantial portion of the wedge; this is approximately150C hotter
than the case It/, = 0.5 and 200C hotter than the case
It/, = 0.3. This strongeffect of the assumedmagnitudeof the
friction
on the thermal
structure of fold-and-thrust
belts is also
apparentin the inferred surfaceheat flow. Figure 7 showsthe

surface heat flow qr =-Kpc,.(fi 'VT) for the same four
choicesof It/,; the mean surfaceheat flow r in the four cases
is 140, 160, 185, and210 mW/m2.

We can obtain a constrainton the regional-scalelevel of friction in Taiwan by comparingthese theoreticalresults with the
observedheat flow. Lee and Cheng [1986] have recently conducteda heat flow surveyof the entire island,by measuringthe
thermal gradientin over 100 geothermalexplorationwells, oil
and gas wells, and shallowboreholes. A contourmap of their
resultsis shownin Figure 8; the data have been smoothedusing
a two-dimensionalgeneralizationof the running median technique [Tukeyand Tukey, 1981; Goodall and Hansen, 1989] and
3930
BARR AND DAHLEN: BRITTLE FRICTIONAL MOUNTAIN BUILDING, 2
600 mW/m2, but suchextremely

highvaluesarenotconsidered
reliable due to possibleinterferencefrom groundwatercirculation [Lee and Cheng, 1986]. All the very high measurements
come from geothermalareas, whose very presenceis evidence
of high heat flow. The theoreticalheat flow for gb = 0.5 is also
shownin Figure 8, and it is clear that both the trend and magnitude of the theoreticalcontoursexhibit a good fit to the data; the
fits for gb = 0.3 or go = 0.7 are both poorer,but still acceptable
within the uncertainties. We consider this good agreement
betweenthe theoreticaland observedheat flow to be strongevidencethat slidingon the basaldecollementfault beneathTaiwan
is governed by a typical laboratory coefficient of friction,
go = 0.5 + 0.2. The best fitting value, go = 0.5, is in the high
range of laboratorymeasurements
for clays and clay-rich fault
gougesand in the low range of laboratorymeasurementsfor
most other rocks. South of 23N latitude, where the steady
state assumptionis questionable,the measuredheat flow varies
rapidly along the strike of the fold-and-thrustbelt, and the fit to
300
l.[b= 0.9
l.t,b =
200
b=0.3
100
3'0
t0
90
the
distancex- xo (km)
Fig. 7. Theoreticalsurfaceheat flow qT versusdistancefrom the front
of the wedgeas a functionof the coefficientof basalfrictiongb, for the
three casesin Figure 6.
theoretical
values
deteriorates.
The
fit
also
deteriorates
north of 25N, due to the changein tectonicconditionsassociated with the onshorepropagationof back arc spreadingin the
Okinawa Trough [Suppe, 1984].
PRESSURE-TEMPERATURE-TIME
TRAJECTORIES
The movement of individual rocks through a fold-and-thrust

convertedto heat flow using the thermal conductivityadoptedin
the model, cpc,.= 3.5 W/(m C). Between 23N and 25N belt can be determinedby numericalintegrationof the approprilatitude,the heat flow contoursare roughlyparallel to the strike ate velocity equations,as describedin paper 1. The theoretical
of the fold-and-thrust
belt, increasing
from 95 mW/m2 in the pressure-temperature-time
(P-T-t)
trajectoryof any particular
westto greaterthan240mW/m2 in theeast. Isolatedmeasure- rock can then be modeled by tracing its physical trajectory
ments in the easternmostpart of the Coastal Range exceed through the thermal and pressurestructurefor the wedge, as
Smoothed Surface Heat Flow in mW/m2
TheoreticalSurface Heat Flow in mW/m2
(1b: 0.5)
(data from Lee and Cheng, 1986)
25N +
23N +
120OE
121OE
Fig. 8. (Left) Observedsurfaceheat flow in Taiwan. The fold-and-thrustbelt is denotedby the shadedregion. Dots show
locationof oil and gaswells, geothermalwells, and boreholeswherethe thermalgradienthasbeenmeasuredby Lee and Cheng
[1986]. The data have been smoothedusing a two-dimensionalgeneralizationof the running median technique[Tukey and
Tukey, 1981; Goodall and Hansen, 1989] and convertedto heat flow using the thermal conductivityadoptedin the model,
rpcv = 3.5 W/(m C). (Right) Contourmap of the theoreticalheat flow for the best fitting coefficientof basal friction
go= 0.5. Themaximum

theoretical
heatflowis 240mW/m
2, at theeastern
edgeof thefold-and-thrust
belt,90 kmfromthe
toe.
3931
300000 o
temperature
- 500
solid
pressure
P=-((71
+(73)
,-_
90 km
particle
trajectories
---
max
400
T'max
200
o
E
entering
depth
6km
-----/./
4km
.. '
o
o
2OO
4O0
temperature (C)
Fig.9. (Top)Trajectories
of three
rocks
moving
through
thesteady
state
temperature
andmean
solidpressure
fields
in the
Taiwan
wedge.
(Bottom)
Corresponding
pressure-temperature-time
trajectories
ofthesame
three
rocks,
withentering
depths
of
2, 4, and6 km. Thedotsonboththeparticle
andP-T-t trajectories
represent
1-m.y.intervals.
Therockentering
at 6 km
depth
attains
itsmaximum
pressure
Pmax
approximately
2 m.y.afterit isaccreted,
whereas
it does
notattain
itsmaximum
temperature
Tma
x until3 m.y.afterit is accreted.
for the
illustratedin Figure9. The mostappropriate
thermodynamicat 1-m.y. intervals. The resultantP-T-t trajectories
measureof the solidpressure
in thisnonhydrostatically
stressed three rocks are shownin the lower diagramof Figure 9, with
at 1-m.y. intervals.Therockthatentersthe
situationis the meansolidstressP--T(oi
+ o3), given dotsagainsituated
wedge
at
a
depth
of
6 km exhibitsan increase
in pressure
and
throughoutthe wedgeby
temperature
for the first2-3 m.y. as it is buried;thenthe pressureandtemperature
decrease
as it is exhumedby erosion.The
P = pg coso( z costFo- x sintFo)
rock that entersat a depthof 4 km remainsat very nearlythe
samedepthfor almost1 m.y., soit exhibitsonlya slightchange
(14)
1 - sincos2o
in pressure
beforebeingupliftedto the surface.The shallowest
enteringrock experiences
no burialand showsno increasein
it justsupliftsalongan almostlineargeotherm.All
The top two crosssections
in Figure9 showthe variationof T pressure;
of rocksthatdo experience
burialareclockwise
and P within the Taiwan wedge,and the bottomcrosssection the trajectories
of the inabilityof the
showsthreeparticletrajectories
thatenterthe wedgeat depths loopson a plot of P versusT because
coolingto keep up with the relativelyrapiduplift;
of 2, 4, and6 km. Dotsdepictthemotionalongthe trajectories conductive
x[1-,sin
cos
2o
3932
BARRANDDAHLEN:
BRITTLE
FRICTIONAL
MOUNTAIN
BUILDING,
2
600
entering
depth
6.7
km
"--"' 1
entering
depth
6.7
km
'" t
400-
6.3
km
.,,.'x
/ '
entering
depth
67km
__/1 t
6.3 km -,,.-
200 _
63km
---,.-
5.
5.6k
0o
200
400
200
temperature(C)
400
200
temperature(C)
400
'b
0.7
600
temperature(C)
Fig. 10. Effectof thecoefficient

of basalfrictiongt, on theP-T-t trajectories
of threerocksentering
theTaiwanwedgeat
depths
of 5.6, 6.3, and6.7 km. Thedotsrepresent
1-m.y.intervals
alongeachtrajectory.
To avoidcrowding,
theinitialportion of the deepertrajectoriesis not shown.
this results in a time lag between the attainmentof the maximum pressurePmaxand maximum temperatureTma
x that can
exceed1 m.y. for the deepestenteringrocks.
Figure 10 showsthe effect of the coefficient of basal friction
I-b, on the theoreticalP-T-t trajectories,for three rocksin the
be compareddirectlywith obsekved
coolinghistoriesdetermined
by geochronologicalmethods. BOth fission track and
radiometric
datinggive agesat whicha particularmineralpasses
throughan appropriate
blockingtemperature,
anda coolinghistory can be determinedfor a rock by applyingone or moretech-
lowermost1.5 km of enteringsection.Boththe maximumpres- niques

to constituent
minerals
withdiferot
blocking
temperasure and the maximum temperatureexperiencedincreasewith tures.Liu [1982]hasdetermined
theaooling
his{ory
of a samincreasingI-b,, due to the greater mean stressas well as the ple fromtheChipanlocalityin thdCentralRankeby applying
increased
frictionalheating.The rocksillustratedoutcropin the fissiontrack datingto zirconand apatiteand.Rh-Sr datingto
rear 20 km of the fold-and-thrust
belt, wherehigh greenschist biotite. Figure 11 compare Liu's results with the theoretical
facies syntectonicmetamorphismis observed in the Central coolinghistoriesof rocksthat outcropin the vicinityof the samMountains of Taiwan [Liou, 1981; Ernst, 1982]. This is consistentwith the theoreticalmaximumpressures
in excessof 500
ple locality, between 70 and 80 km from the deformationfront.

These data also agree best with the theoreticalcurves for the
MPa and maximumtemperatures

in excessof 400C experi- case go = 0.5, althoughboth p, = 0.3 and g, = 0.7 provide
encedin the case g, = 0.5. A more quantitativecomparison adequate fits within the uncertainties. This corroboratesour
requires, however, an assessmentof the effect of nonlithostatic conclusionabout the regional-scale
applicabilityof a typical
pore fluid pressures
on low-grademetamorphism;
we show in laboratoryfriction value, g, = 0.5 + 0.2, on the basal decollement fault beneath Taiwan. More such data from other localipaper1 thatg, = 0.5 impliesPf/P = 0.5.
Theoretical
coolinghistoriescaneasilybe determined
by con- ties,in additionto geobarometric
data,mightbe ableto provide
sidering
onlythetemperature
andtimevariabies,
andthesecan an even tighter constraint.
IJ,b = 0.3
300
-
80
km
.::i::::ii::iii::iiii::::ii
I ..i.!.;-!.!.!.!.!
70
km
l.ii;i:':':':':':':':':':
.......... '
--h200
70km
cz
E
/:i7ii:':/;:"
/:ii::?:ii::
!::i!i
f::
"
/ :::'
a, z.....
'/''
RbSrData
:?:
Apabte
100 .?'
:::::::::::::::::::::::
;::;:::"'
Fsslon
Track
Data
an
!:5:::2
t.::]:
l'
::5:::::::::."
'"::E:5
:'
Biotite
0
0.0
''"4':::::
1.0
age (m.y.)
2 0
0.0
1.
2.0
age(m.y.)
I
0.0
1.
I '
2.0
age(m.y.)
Fig. 11. Comparison

of fission
trackandradiometric
datafroma sitenearChipan
[Liu,1982]withtheoretical
cooling
historiesfor thethreecases
in Figure6. Theshaded
areaontheinsetmaprepresents
theTaiwanfold-and-thrust
belt;Chipan
is
located
about75 kmto theeastof thedeformation
front.Eachplotcompares
thedatawiththetheoretical
cooling
histories
of
rocksthatoutcrop
between
70 and80 kmfromthedeformation
front.Thebestfit is obtained
forgb = 0.5.
I
3.0
3933
plate convergencerate (70 km/m.y.) and the erosion rate (5.5

km/m.y.) in Taiwan are amongthe highestin the world, so it is
interestingto considercaseswith lower material flux rates. For
simplicity, we consider two hypotheticalfold-and-thrustbelts
having the samegeometryand steadystatewidth as Taiwan, but
withboth, andb0reduced
byfactors
of 2 and4. Theeffect
To=27C/km
of thesereduced
fluxeson the internaltrain
heatingandthe
basalshearheatingis illustrated
in Figure.2and3; sincethe
velocityand strainrate dependlinearlyon A and b0, both heat
sourcesare simply reducedeverywhereby the samefactorsof 2
and 4. This reducedheatinglowers the maximumtemperatures
in the deepestpartso,fthe wedgeby 25C to 50C, as shown
in Figure 13. The thermal gradient and therefore the surface
heat flow out the top of the wedgeare likewisereduced,in part
becausethe lower uplift rates lead to less upwarpingof the
To=20C/km
isotherms.
Figure 14 illustrates the effect of reduced material flux rates
To/=
15C/km
---""-'
0
!
10km
i
Fig. 12. Dependenceof the theoreticaltemperaturedistributionin

Taiwanon theundisturbed
geothermal
gradientT(at thetoe of the foldand-thrust
belt. The observed
gradientis T = 27C/km.
on the P-T-t trajectories;a rock with a given enteringdepth

experiences[oughly the samePmax
and Tma
x in each of the three
cases,but the shape6f the P-T-t pathsvariesconsiderably
in
additionto the rate at which the rocksmove alongthem. In the
case of Taiwan the clockwise P-T-t
paths are well-rounded
loops,but the loopsbecometighteras the flux ratesare reduced.
In the case that the rates are reducedby a factor of 4, the thermal structureis very little affectedby eitherfrictionalheatingor
up!ift, and the P-T-t trajectorieslie almost on the undisturbed
regionalgeotherm. The well-roundedtrajectoriesin the caseof
Taiwan are morenearlyadiabatic,due to the morerapid uplift.
SENSITIVITY TO VARIOUS PARAMETERS
To illustratehow otherfold-and-thrustbelts might differ from

Taiwan, we next examinethe effect of the regionalthermalgradient, the materialflux rate, the extentof underplating,and the
pore fluid pressure. These are all parametersthat might be
much different
Taiwan
in other localities.
Regional Thermal Gradient

The undisturbed surface heat flux of 95 mW/m 2 at the toe of
the fold-and-thrust
belt in westernTaiwanis significantlyhigher
than either the mean oceanic heat flux of 78 mW/m 2 or the
meancontinental
heatflux of 57 mW/m2 [Sclateret al., 1980].
To examinethe effect of the incomingtemperature,we consider
two caseswith lower undisturbedgradients,T = 20C/km and
Tg= 15C/km' the corresponding
undisturbed
heatflowsare 70
accretion
anderosion
ratehalved
50
and50 mW/m2, respectively.

The thermalstructures
for these
two casesare comparedwith that of Taiwan in Figure 12; temperaturesin the deepestpans of the wedge are about 50C
cooler if T=20 C/km and about 100C cooler if
T= 15C/km. The uncertaintyin the observedgradient

T = 27C/km is no morethan+ 5C/km' thisgivesriseto an
uncertaintyin the maximum temperaturebeneath the Taiwan
fold-and-thrust
belt of less than + 35C.
accretionand erosion rate quartered

0
i
Material
10 km
,
Flux Rate
The rate at whichnewmaterialis accreted

at the toeof a
Fig. 13. Hypothetical effect of the accretionand erosion rates on the

theoreticaltemperaturedistributionof the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt.
fold-and-thrust
belt is the productof the plate convergence
rate The observed
accretionary
influxrateis A = 500km2/m.y.,andthe
and the thicknessof the incomingsediments.Both the observed erosionrateis e0 = 5.5 km/m.y.
3934
BARR AND DAHLEN:BRITTLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAIN BUILDING,2
600[
400[
6.3km
6.3 km
6.3 km
km
---,-,
.
5.6
km---,.
, . . 5.6
200 5.6
km
/J
entering
depth
6.7
km
entering
depth
6.7
km
-,
200
temperature(C)
Taiwan
J,
400
accretion
and
erosion
rate
d
2OO
4OO
accretion
and
erosion
rate
quartered
200
400
temperature(C)
temperature(C)
Fig. 14. Hypotheticaleffectof the accretionanderosionrateson the theoretical

P-T-t trajectories
of threerocksenteringthe
threewedgesshownin Figure13, at depthsof 5.6, 6.3, and6.7 km. The dotsrepresent
1-m.y.intervals.To avoidcrowding,
the initial portionof the deepertrajectories
is not shown.
wedges are assumedto have the same accretion and erosion

rates as Taiwan, so they all have the same steady state width;
Figure 15 showsthe effect of variousamountsof underplating
their surface slopesdiffer, howeger, due to the differencesin
on the thermal structure;the wedge geometry and total accre,= ,.
tionary
flux/i + b0W arethesame
in eachcase,
butthefluxis In the limiting caseX = Xt, = 0.4, the theoreticaltemperatures
divided between the toe and the decollementfault, as discussed
exceed 700C throughouta significantportion of the wedge.
in paper 1. Temperaturesin the deepestportionsof the wedge
Such high temperatureswould give rise to extensive partial
are increasedby approximately25C in the case with 25%
melting which is not observed. This is consistentwith the
underplating,whereasthey are approximately75C hotter in
observedubiquity of superhydrostatic
pore fluid pressuresin
the case with 50% underplating. These higher temperaturesare
active fold-and-thrust belts [Davis et al., 1983]. In contrast,
simply a consequence
of the higherenteringtemperatures
of the
temperaturesin the deepestportions of a fold-and-thrustbelt
underplatedrocks.
havingX = Xb = 0.9 are 100- 150C coolerthan the theoretiFigure 16 illustratesthe effect of various amountsof undercal temperaturesin Taiwan. Rocks incorporatedinto such a
plating on the P-T-t
trajectories'the three rocks considered
highly overpressured wedge would experience very little
always outcropat points70, 80, and 85 km from the toe of the
metamorphism.
fold-and-thrustbelt, but their entry points into the wedge vary
dependingon the extent of the underplating. In the two cases
HEAT BUDGET
with 25% and 50% underplating,all threerocks are underplated,
Extent of Underplating
but in the casewith 10% underplating,

onlythe rockoutcropping at 85 km is underplated. Rocks that are underplated
beneaththe rear of the fold-and-thrustbelt experiencetheir maximum temperatureupon crossingthe decollementfault as they
enter the wedge; thereafterboth P and T decreasemonotonically as the rocks are uplifted. Becauseof the high temperatures
along the decollement fault generated by the shear heating,
underplatedrocks tend to experiencehigher maximum temperatures than rocks that are accretedat the toe; for this reasonthey
should exhibit higher grades of metamorphism. Mass balance
constrainsthe amount of underplatingin Taiwan to be less than
25%; the maximum temperaturesattainedby rocks exposedon
the surfacewould in that casebe 50- 100C higher.
Pore Fluid
Pressure
To determine the balance of thermal (internal) energy, we

integratethe steadystateheat flow equation(2) over the volume
M formed by extendingthe wedge crosssectiona unit distance
along strike. Let T, F, B, and D denote the top, front, back,
and decollementsurfacesof the wedge as shownin Figure 1.
Upon integrating by parts and invoking the incompressibility
condition V.u = 0, we obtain
I pcv
fi(Tu- }cVT
) dA=I (T+o')dV (15)
T+F+B+D
The quantity pc,,T(fi .u ) is the advective heat flux and
-CpCv(fi-VT ) is the conductiveheat flux out of the wedge.
The advective
flux on the topboundary.
is pcvTodo,whereas
that on the decollementfault is -pcvT bo. On the back of the
If the baal coefficientof frictiongoverningTaiwanis univer- wedgethereis no conductiveheat flux, so -}CpCv( fi VT ) = 0;
sally applicableto other fold-and-thrust

belts,then the poi'e furthermore, there is no net mhterial flux so, to a very good
fluid/lithostaticpressureratio X = Xb is the most important approximation,pcvT (fi-u )= 0. On the front of the wedge,
mechanicalvariable affecting the thermal structurebecauseof
its Stronginfluenceon the level of frictional heating. Figure 17
shows the theoretical thermal structure of five hypothetical
fold-and-thrustbelts with X = Xb ranging from hydrostatic
(X= Xt, =0.4) to nearly lithostatic (X= Xt, = 1). All the
fi .u =- V so, to a very good approximation,the advectiveflux

is -pcvT V; the conductiveflux is negligible by comparison,
sincethe temperaturegradientin the undisturbedregionalgeotherm is very nearly perpendicularto fl. With thesesubstitutions,
equation(15) simplifiesto
BARR AND DAHLEN: BRITTLE FRICTIONALMOUNTAIN BUILDING, 2
_.
3935
1oooc
200oc
400oc
500oc
no underplating
1 O0C
200C
400C
500C
10% underplating
100C
400C
500C
25% underplating
400C
500C
600C
50% underplating
0
10 km
Fig. 15. Hypotheticaleffe.ctof underplatingon the thermalstructureof the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt. In eachcasethe total
accretionary
influxrateis A - 500km2/m.y.,butR% is underplated
beneath
thedecollement
faultand(100-R)%is accreted
at the toe or deformation
front.
Qr = QB + QA + HR + Hs
(16)
HR=I dV
M
(17d)
where
Qr=-CpCv
I fi'VTdA=I qrdA
T
Qa: CpCv
I fi'VTdA: I qB
dA
D
(17a)
Equation (16) expressesthe balance of heat energy within a

steady state fold-and-thrustbelt; the quantity Qr on the left is
the total rate at which heat is conductedout of the top of the
wedge, and the four quantities on the right representthe four
sourcesof this surface heat flow. The quantity Qa is the total
rate at which heat is conductedinto the base of the wedge from
the top of the basal decollementfault, QA is the total rate at
(17b)
QA
: pcvV
I (T- To)dA
+pCv/01
(T- To)dA(17c)
HS: I o';dV
=I (IJllq-IJ33)dV (17e)
3936
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
.-.
600
t
outcrops
at85km
.__,.,,..W'"""o/
- .
outcropsat 85 km
",
400
80
km
'---"
a/ /;/!
80 km
70
km
-----
._
200
70km
no underplating
i
"I I
/ 17
*"'"
underplating
I10%
Ie5 km.----'I'
I
85km
6OO
o,rop,,t
?O,,m
--":
utcrps
at80
km
'"'-'x%
i/
1
II
II
'"
400
'
200
o/
///
/
//
/;
990
_....
25% underplating
-
200
iI ' /////
/ /
.-'-'
0
,, ]'_,;l
,.v,
//r/
o
400
600
200
50%underplating
I
400
600
temperature(C)
temperature(C)
Fig. 16. Hypotheticaleffectof underplating

on the P-T-t trajectories
of threerocksthatoutcropat points70, 80, and 85 km
from the toe of the Taiwan fold-and-thrust
belt. The dashedtrajectoriesdenoterocksthat are underplated,whereasthe solid
trajectoriesdenoterocksaccretedat the toe. To avoid crowding,the initial portionof someof the accretedtrajectoriesis not
shown.
which heat is advectedinto the wedge acrossall the boundaries,

HR is the total rate of radiogenicheating, and Hs is the total
rate of internal strain heating. All the ratesof heatingare measured per unit length along the strike of the fold-and-thrustbelt.
We define the advective heat flux QA as the difference in heat
of rocks enteringand leaving the wedge, and this gives rise to
the temperaturedifferenceT - To in equation(17c). We ignore
underplatingin all the quantitativeconsiderationsthat follow;
the advective heat flux then dependsonly on the undisturbed
geotherm(11), and it is given analyticallyby
Qa/ QT -- 34%
(20a)
QA/ QT = 33%
(20b)
Hs / QT = 24%
(20c)
HR/ QT -- 9%
(20d)
Radiogenicheatingis seento contributerelativelylittle to the

surfaceheat flow, whereasthe accretionaryinflux of hot rocks
1
into
the toe, internal strainheating,and heat flow into the base
(18)
/(/}c)Vcos2(t0
+ ct)l
of the wedgecontributein roughlyequalproportions.
Figure 18 showsthe effect of the varioustectonicheat sources
where !0 = x0 ( tantt, - tant0 ) is the thicknessof the incoming on the local surfaceheat flow qr and the local heat flow into
sediments at the toe.
base of the wedge q. Accretion and erosion, internal strain
The theoretical total surface heat flow in Taiwan is found by heating, and shear heating on the decollementfault are connumerically integratingthe heat flow curves in Figure 7. For sidered sequentiallyin the same order as in Figure 5. In the
!.tt,= 0.5 this gives
absenceof tectonism the difference Qr -Q between the total
QA= T pC,.
ToV cos
( t0+ ct) 102
surfaceand basal heat flux, denotedby the stippledarea, is due

entirely to the radiogenicheating HR. Accretion and erosion
uplift the isothermsnear the top of the wedge, thereby increaswhich is equivalent to a mean surface heat flow ing the surfaceheat flow qT. The basal heat flow q is, howq-r= 160mW/m2. The lengthalongstrikeof the steadystate ever, reduced,particularlyin the rear of the wedge,by the subregion is 200 km, so the integratedheat flux over the entire ductionof the cool underlyingslab. The differenceQr - Q is
fold-and-thrustbelt is approximately3 GW. The fractionalcon- now augmentedby the accretionaryinflux, so it is equal to
tribution from each of the four sources is found by either HR + QA. The heat producedby internal frictional dissipation
numericalor analyticalintegrationto be
flows both upward and downwardout of the wedge;this gives
QT -- 15 kW/m
(19)
BARR Aa DAHLEN:BRrFTLEFRICTIONALMourr
BUiLDInG. 2
3937
k=0.4
100C
400C
500C
:L= 0.6
100C
400C
=0.7
1 O0C
2000
300oC
400oC
=0.8
1 O0C
200C
300C
400C
=0.9
0
i
10 km
i
Fig. 17. Effect of the pore fluid/lithostatic

pressureratio 3.= 3.t, on the theoretical
temperature
distribution
of a suiteof
hypothetical
fold-and-thrust
belts, with the same basaldip and accretionand erosionratesas Taiwan. The actualratio
3= 3t,= 0.7 in Taiwanis bestconstrained
by deepdrillingnearthetoe.
3938
300
undisturbed geotherm
effect of accretion
and erosion
250-
internal strain
shear heating on
heatingadded
decollement
added
2O0-
150-
leo
===============================
S ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
qB
50'
3'0
'
6'0
90
30
distance
x - x0(km)
60
900
distance
x- x0 (km)
30
60
900
distance
x - x0 (km)
3'0
6'0
9O
distance
x- x0(km)
Fig. 18. Sequential

effectsof accretion
anderosion,internalstrainheating,and frictionalheatingalongthe decollement
fault
on the surfaceheatflow qT and the basalheatflow into the wedgeqB- The corresponding
steadystatetemperature
distributionsareshownin Figure5. BothqT andqB areplottedversusdistance
fromthedeformation
frontx - x0. The stippled
area
denotesthe integrated
differenceQr - Q.
rise to a further increasein qr and a further decreasein qo.

Shear heating on the basal decollementfault increasesboth qr
and qo' the total difference QT-Qo
remains equal to
HR + QA + Hs, since the addedheat is being generatedbeneath
the wedge. The basal heat flow qB exhibits a maximum at the
decollementtip and a nearly monotonicdecreasetoward the rear
of the wedge, despitethe linear increasein shearheating. The
mean heat flow into the base of the wedge is only
the total heat flux out the bottom of the decollement
fault into
the underlyingslab. The temperaturegradientVT in equation

(17b) is evaluatedon top of the decollementfault, whereasthat
in equation(22b) is evaluatedon the bottomof the fault. Figure 19 compares the local heat flow on both sides of the
decollementfault beneathTaiwan with the shearheating'r Au.
q-= 55 mW/m2, ascompared

to 85 mW/m2 in theabsence
of
I
plate convergenceand tectonism.

It is also of interest to ask how much of the total surface heat
200
flux Qr is a direct consequenceof the tectonismin Taiwan.

Since the undisturbedheat flow is 95 mW/m2, and the mean
heat
flow
with
all the tectonic
heat
sources accounted
for
is
150
q-r: 160mW/m2, the tectonicfractionis 40%. This is less
heat
flow
into
than the sum of the accretionaryinflux and internal strain heating QA + Hs, since these additional heat sourcesare offset by
the reduced heat flux Qt into the base. Some of the increased
heat flow is due to the uplifting effect of accretionand erosion,
but most of it is a consequence
of the frictionalheating.
We can obtain a different perspectiveon the heat budget by
accountingfor the downward flow of heat from the decollement
fault into the underlying subductingslab. By integrating the
boundarycondition(8) over the fault, we obtain
Ho = Q + QsL
shear heating
-''100
1the
wedge
qB he%aat
flow
''
o
o
I
(21)
? . region
o!inverted --,.
-50
where
-100
H=1%AudA
D
QsL
:- }cpcv
I fi'VTdA: I qs
dA
D
(22a)
3'0
90
distancex- xo (km)
Fig. 19. Variation of the upwardheat flow into the wedge,qa, the
downwardheat flow into the underlyingslab,qs,and the shearheating
% Au along the Taiwan decollementfault. The boundaryconditionon
the fault requiresthat qt + qs= 'cbAu everywhere. Heat flows into
the slab only along the rear 60 km of the fault, where the geothermis
(22b)
The quantity Ho is the total rate of shearheating, and Qsr is
inverted.
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
HEAT SOURCES
HEAT FLOW IN OR OUT

coefficient of internal friction
0.4
0.7
0.9
3939
coefficient of internal friction u.

1.1
0.7
0.4
0.9
1.1
40
30
20
10
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
0.3
coefficientof basal frictionu.b
0.5
0.7
0.9
coefficientof basalfrictionU.b
Fig. 20. Dependence

of the heatbudgetof the Taiwanfold-and-thrust
belton the coefficientof basalfrictiongo. The various
ratesof heatingare plottedcumulativelyso that the highestcurveon both the left and right is the total rate at whichheat is
ejectedout the top and bottom,Q = Qr + Qsr. The right side showsthe variousheat sourcesthat contributeto Q: the
advectedinfluxof heatdueto the accretionof hot rocksat the toe, QA; radiogenicheatproduction,
HI?; internalstrainheating,
Hs; andfrictional
heating
onthedecollement
fault,Ho .
The downwardheat flow qsr is positiveonly alongthe rear portion of the decollementfault, where the thermalgradientin the
GW.
The fractional
contribution
from each of the four sources
is
slab is inverted.
Combiningequations(16) and (21), we obtainan alternative
QA/ Q = 25%
(26a)
HI?/ Q = 7%
(26b)
Hs / Q = 18%
(26c)
HD/Q = 50%
(26d)
versionof the heat balanceequation,namely,

Qr + QsL = QA +Hi? + Hs + HD
(23)
Equation(23) showsthat the total heat

Q = Qr + QsL
(24)
that flows out both the top and bottom of the wedge consistsof
the heat generatedby both internalstrainheatingand shearheating on the decollement fault, in addition to the accretionary
influx of hot rocks into the toe and radiogenic heating. As
before, all the rates of heating are measuredper unit length
along the strike of the fold-and-thrustbelt. The theoretical
downward heat flux into the subductingslab beneath Taiwan is
found by numericalintegrationto be
Qsr = 4 kW/m
(25)
The correspondingintegratedflux ovei' the 200 km long steady

state region is 0.8 GW. The total heat escapingboth upward
and downwardis Q = 19 kW/m, for an integratedtotal of 3.8
The major source of heat in the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt is

thereforefrictional heating on the decollementfault, which contributes half of the total outward heat flow.
Figure 20 showshow the heat budgetdependson the adopted

coefficientsof friction gb and It, and Figure 21 shows the
dependenceon the pore fluid pressureratio = b. The flux
rates and incoming sedimentthicknessare assumedto be those
observedin Taiwan, and the variousrates of heating are plotted
cumulatively. The highestcurve on the left is the total heat flux
Q, and the next highest is the surfaceheat flux QT; the right
side shows how Q is subdividedamong the four sourcesQA,
HI?, Hs, and Ha. Since QT = QB + QA + HI? + Hs, the lowest
curve on the left and the three lowest curves on the right also
show the subdivisionof the surfaceheat flux Qt. The advec-
3940
BARRANDDAHL,EN:BRITTLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAINBUILDING,2
HEAT FLOW IN OR OUT

I
HEAT SOURCES
401
20-
10-
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.4
fluidpressureratiox = Xb
0.6
0.8
fluidpressureratioX = Xb
Fig. 21. Dependence

of the heatbudgeton the porefluidpressure/lithostatic
pressure
ratio = b, for a suiteof hypothetical
fold-and-thrustbelts with the samebasaldip and accretionand erosionratesas Taiwan. The variousratesof heatingare plotted cumulativelyas in Figure 20.
tive influx of heat QA is a constantthat does not dependon

either the friction or pore fluid pressure.The total radiogenic
heating HR is proportional to the cross sectional area of the
wedge, so it decreases (almost imperceptibly) as )=
increases,due to the dependenceof the critical surfaceslopeon
pore fluid pressure. Both Qr and Qsc increasesignificantly
with either an increasein the coefficientof basalfriction !.t or
a decreasein the pore fluid pressureratio ) = ). In eithercase
the increasein the surfaceheat flux is due almostentirely to the
increasedinternal strain heatingHs; the total heat flux QB into
the base increasesonly very slightly, despitethe increasedrate
of shear heating Ht on the decollementfault. The principal
effect of an increasein shear heating is to steepenthe inverted
geotherm in the underlying slab, thus increasingQsc. If the
pore fluid pressureratio exceeds) = ) = 0.9 the downward
heat flux Qsc is negative, signifying that there is a net flow of
heat from the subductingslab up into the wedge.
EFFICIENCY OF BRITTLE
MOUNTAIN
FRICTIONAL
BUILDING
The equationgoverningthe balanceof mechanicalenergy is

(equation(49), paper 1)
WB= Wr+ Ws+ Wo
(27)
overriding plate. By assumption,the total rate of internal strain
heating.
is equalto the totalrate of internalenergydissipation,
Hs = Ws, and the total rate of shearheatingon the decollement
faultisequal
totherateoffrictional
dissipation,
Hz)= Wz).By
combiningequations(23)'and (27) we can obtainan equation
describingthe balance of total energy of a steady state foldand-thrust belt,
WB+ QA+ HR= WG+ Qr + Qsc
(28)
The left side of equation(28)
t = WB+ QA+ HR
(29)
is the total rate at which both mechanicaland thermalenergyis

being delivered to the fold-and-thrustbelt from external sources;
mechanicalwork is being done on the base and front of the
wedge by the subductingplate, and heat is being addedto the
wedge by advection across the boundariesas well as by
radiogenicheating. A portionof this e.nergydoes useful

mechanicalwork againstgravity at a rate WG, and the rest is
waste heat that either flows out the top at a rate Qr or down
intotheunderlying
slabat a rateQsc. Thee.ffic!ency
of brittle
frictional mountainbuilding is the fraction Wo/E of the externally suppliedenergythat is usedto performwork againstgravitational body forces.
where
Weisthetotalrateofworkperformed
bythesubducting
slabonthefold-and-thrust
belt,lz) isthetotalrateof energy
The efficiencyis calculated

in termsof the mechanical
energy
dissipation
against
frictiononthedecollement
fault,Wsis the balancein a referenceframe attachedto the overridingplate
total rate of ener.
gy dissipation
againstinternalfrictionwithin ratherthan one attachedto the subductingplate, because,physithe wedge,and WG is the total rate of work performedagainst cally, it is the sinking of the subductingplate rather than the
gravitational body forces in a reference frame attachedto the bulldozing action of the overriding plate that is the ultimate
BARRAND DAHLEN:BRITTLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAINBUILDING,2
source of mechanical energy. Our analysis of the thermal

budget has been conductedin a referenceframe attachedto the
overridingplate as well, since it is u rather than u'= u- U
(where U is the velocity of the subductingplate) that appearsin
equation (15). All three of the terms that contribute to the total
3941
the rates at which externalenergy is being supplied,whereasthe
rightsidesubdivides
it intotheratesat whichenergyis being
expended or ejected. The total power input E
increases
significantly
with eitheran increasein gp or a decrease
in
) = ), due to the directdependence
of W on the deviatoric
powerinput = IB + QA+He comeeitherdirectlyor stresslevel. However,almostall of this increasegoes.into

indirectly from the subductingplate, since all the radiogenic waste heat Q, since the rate of work against gravity WG is
rocks within the wedge were attachedto the subductingplate nearlyindependent
of .g and) = )b,asnotedin paper1. As a
result,
theefficiency
Wc/ of brittlefrictional
mountain
buildbefore they were accreted.
If the coefficient of basal friction in Taiwan is [tb = 0.5, then ing decreaseswith either an increasein friction or a decreasein
the rate at which mechanicaland thermal energy are being sup- pore fluid pressure. If the coefficientof basal friction in Taiwan
is [t = 0.3, the efficiency is 14%, whereasif [t = 0.7, it is
plied to the fold-and-.thrust
belt is
only 8%. In a fold-and-thrust

belt with a hydrostaticpore fluid
= 21kW/m
(30) pressureratio) = ), = 0.4, the efficiencyis 7%, whereasin one

with a nearly lithostaticratio ) -- ) = 0.9 it reaches15%.
The relative importanceof the variousexternal sourcesis
WB//= 72%
(3la)
QA/t= 22%
(3lb)
He// = 6%
(31c)
The total power being suppliedto the entire 200-km-long foldand-thrust belt is approximately 4.2 GW; this is roughly the
amount of power suppliedby four nuclear power plants, and it
is abouttwo thirds of the total electricalpower generationof the
island [Europa Yearbook, 1986]. The mechanicalwork being
done by the subductingEurasianplate on the base and front of
the fold-and-thrustbelt accountsfor 3 GW of the incoming4.2
GW; only 1.2 GW of the incoming4.2 GW are being supplied
as heat. Most of the externally contributedheat is due to the
accretionaryinflux of warm Eurasianplate rocks into the toe; in
situ radiogenicheatingof theserocks after they have enteredthe
wedge is the least importantheat source.
The partition of this incomingenergy into useful work performed againstgravity or waste heat ejectedout the top or bottom of the wedge is found to be
WG/t= 10%
(32a)
Qr/t = 67%
(32b)
QsL//= 23%
(32c)
The total rate of outward heat flow, as noted above, is 3.8 GW.
Three of these 3.8 GW
constitute the measured conductive
heat
flux out the top, and another0.8 GW is being conductedout the

bottomof the decollementfault to heat the underlyingsubducted
slab. Only 0.4 GW of the incoming4.2 GW is being used to
perform the useful work of uplifting rocks againstgravity and
maintaining the critical topography against erosion. The
efficiency of steadystate mountainbuilding in Taiwan is therefore
10%.
Figure 22 showshow the overall energy budgetdependson

the adoptedcoefficientsof friction [t and [tb, and Figure 23
showsthe dependenceon the pore fluid pressureratio ) = ),.
JUSTIFICATION OF A STEADY STATE MODEL
The
Taiwan
fold-and-thrust
belt
is the result
of a collision
between the Luzon arc situatedon the Philippine Sea plate and
the stable continentalmargin of China situatedon the Eurasian
plate. The convergence rate between the two plates is 70
km/m.y. in a northwest-southeast,
direction [Seno, 1977; Ranken
et al., 1984], and the collision is oblique since the arc strikes
north-southand the continentalslope trendsnortheast-southwest
as shown in Figure 24. As a consequenceof the geometry, the
point of collision is propagatingsouthalong the Luzon arc at a
rate of 90 km/m.y. [Suppe, 1981]. The mountains in northern
Taiwan are therefore approximately 4 m.y. older than those in
the south [Chiet
al., 1981].
The subaerial fold-and-thrust belt
forms by an expansion of the accretionarywedge as the arc

encountersthe thick sedimentarydepositson the Chinese continental slope and shelf. At the southernmosttip of the island
the mountainshave just risen above sea level, and they grow in
both height and width to the north as more sediments are
accreted;the shadedarea in Figure 24 showsthe terrain with an
elevation greater than 200 m. Between 23N and 25N latitude, the active fold-and-thrustbelt exhibits a nearly constant
width of 90 km; this is the steady state region in which the
accretionaryinflux of new sedimentsat the toe is balanced by
the rapid erosion. North of 25N latitude, the mountains are
being rifted on their easternflank by the back arc spreadingin
the Okinawa Trough; this major changein tectonicconditionsis
causedby the southwardpropagationof a reversalin the polarity of subduction,as the Philippine Sea plate subductsbeneath
the Eurasian plate along the Ryukyu arc to the northeast of
Taiwan [Suppe, 1984].
Although the 200-km-long region between23N and 25N is
in a kinematic steady state it may not be in a thermal steady
state, if there has been insufficient time for the establishment of
thermal equilibrium subsequentto the collision. To justify the

applicationof a steady state thermal model to Taiwan, we estimate the time required to attain thermal equilibrium by solving
an idealized initial-value problem using equation (1). We consider a wedge of constantgeometry, initially in thermal equilibrium, with accretion and erosion rates one quarter of those in
Taiwan and examine the consequences
of an abrupt quadrupling
of both flux rates to the observed values. This change is
intended to representthe increasein both accretion and erosion
The variousratesare plottedc.umulatively,

so thatthe h!ghest
as the arc encounters
curve is the total power input E; the left side subdividesE into
gin and the wedge rises above sea level. This is admittedly an
the thick sediments of the continental
mar-
3942
BARR AND DAHLEN:BRITTLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAIN BUILDING,2
ENERGY INPUT
ENERGY EXPENDITURE
coefficient of internal friction

0.4
0.7
i
4O
0.9
i
coefficient of internal friction u.

1.1
0.4
0.7
0.9
1.1
0.9
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
.c_ 20
10
0.3
15
0'.7
coefficientof basalfrictionu.b
coefficient
of basalfrictionu.b
Fig. 22. Effectof the basalcoefficient

of friction, on thetotalenergybudgetof theTaiwanfold-and-thrust
belt. The various ratesare plotted.cumulativelyso that the highestcurveon boththe left and right represents
the total powerinputto the
fold-and-thrust
beltE. (Left) The partitionof E into externalenergysources:
the advectedinfluxof heat,QA; radiogenic
heating,He; andthe mechanical
workdoneby the subducting
slabon thefold-and-thrust.belt,
WB. (Right)How thisexternally
suppliedenergyis expended:
it is eitherusedto performusefulwork ag.ainst
gravity,Wc , or ejectedas wasteheatout thetop
of thewedge,Qr, or intothe underlying
slab,QSL.The efficiency
Wc/E is represented
by thedarkfractionof thestipplepattern.
extremelysimplifiedkinematicand thermalevolutionmodel;not
only is the collisionassumedto occur abruptly,but the growth
in crosssectionalarea of the wedge is ignored.
The theoretical evolution of the thermal structurefollowing
the increase in flux rates is shown in Figure 25. The initial
state at 0 m.y. is the 1/4-rate equilibrium state, and the state
attained after 4 m.y. is essentiallyindistinguishablefrom the
final equilibriumstate;both equilibriumstatesare depictedin
Figure 13. The time incrementsillustrated are not equally
spaced because the approach to equilibrium occurs quasiexponentiallyin time. Rock velocities and thus the rate of
advectiveheat transportare greatestin the front portion of the
wedge and in the subductingslab, and the temperaturesthere
are very nearly equilibratedin 0.25 m.y. It takes longer, but
still only 1- 2 m.y., for the isothermsat the back of the wedge
to be upliftedto their equilibriumstate. Sincethe time required
to reach thermal equilibriumfollowing the onsetof collisionis
roughlythe sameas the time requiredfor the collisionpoint to
propagatefrom 23N to its presentpositionsouthof the island,
a steady state thermal model should be valid for virtually the
entire constant-widthportion of the fold-and-thrustbelt. This
inferenceis corroboratedby the parallel patternof observedheat
flow contoursbetween23N and 25N, as shownin Figure 8.
HEAT CONSUMED BY METAMORPHIC REACTIONS
The rocks in the Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt are visibly
metamorphosed,
up to high greenschistfacies in the Central
Mountain Range. The endothermicdehydrationreactionsthat
occur during this low-grade metamorphismconsumeapproxi-
mately105J/molof H20 released

[Fyfeet al., 1978;Holland,
1981]; this latent heatconsumptionhas beenignoredin calculating the theoreticalthermalstructure.We can obtaina roughestimate of the magnitudeof this ignoredeffect by makingthe simplifying assumption
that the reactionsoccurcontinuously
as the
rocks move through the fold-and-thrustbelt. The rocks that
undergothe highestdegreeof metamorphism
are thosewith the
deepestenteringdepthsat the toe; they residein the wedgefor
more than 6 m.y. and experiencemaximumtheoreticaltemperaturesand pressures
in excessof 400C and 500 MPa. Rocksof
pelitic compositionlose about 1.5 wt % of structurallybound
water when subjectedto thesetemperatures
and pressures[Fyfe
et al., 1978]. The rate at which heat is consumedby dehydration reactionsis the latent heat of reaction multiplied by the
molarrateat whichwateris released;

thisamounts
to 1 tW/m3
for the most highly metamorphosedrocks. Repeating this
analysisfor all the P-T-t trajectoriesof rocks enteringthe
BARRANDDAHLEN:BRrrTLEFRICTIONAL
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
ENERGY
INPUT
3943
ENERGY EXPENDITURE
i
4O
3O
0.4
0.6
0.8
fluidpressureratiox = Xb
0.4
0.6
0.8
fluid pressureratio = Xb
Fig. 23. Effectof the porefluid pressure/lithostatic

pressure
ratio, = 'b on the totalenergybudget,for a suiteof hypothetical fold-and-thrustbelts with the samebasal dip and accretionand erosionratesas Taiwan. The variousratesof energy supply
or expenditureare plottedcumulatively,and the efficiency is representedby the dark fractionof the stipplepattern,as in Figure
22.
rate of 70 km/m.y.) loses 5% by volume of fluid, due to both

physicalcompactionand metamorphosis.If all this fluid flows
0.3 gW/m. Sincethe averagerateat whichheatis consumed upward throughthe wedge, the total fluid flux rate throughthe
by metamorphic reactions amounts to only one third of the base
of thewe.dge
isF! = 18 km2/m.y.
Thisis only4%of the
fold-and-thrustbelt and averaging over the entire wedge, we
find the average rate of heat consumptionto be approximately
assumed
rateof radiogenic
heating,
T = 1 gW/m3andthelatter rockfluxrateA = 500 km2/m.y.
has a relatively small effect on the thermal structure, the
metamorphic heat consumption can be justifiably ignored.
There are two reasonsthat the averagerate of metamorphicheat
consumptionis so low: the rocks in the uppermostincoming
sedimentarysectionare simply uplifted without being metamorphosed, whereas those in the lowermost section have long
residencetimes within the wedge, so the rate at which they are
metamorphosedand consume heat is low. The rocks in the
underlyingslab also undergometamorphicreactionswhich consume heat at a somewhatmore rapid rate, but this has little
effect on temperatureswithin the overlying wedge becauseof
the advectiveeffect of the rapid subductionvelocity.
HEAT TRANSFER BY FLUID FLOW
WITHIN
THE WEDGE
Although the advectionof heat due to the transportof rocks

through the fold-and-thrustbelt is accountedfor in the thermal
model, heat advection due to hydrothermal circulation of pore
fluids has been disregarded. The widespreadoccurrenceof hot
springsin the mountainsof Taiwan testifiesto the presenceof
such fluid advection. The relative importance of this ignored
effect can be determined by estimatingthe total rate at which
fluid flow might advect heat through the wedge. Supposethat
the upper 5 km of the subductingslab (which has a subduction
If the releasedfluid enters the wedge at the local temperature

of the rocks on the decollement fault and flows through the
wedge in thermal equilibrium with the rock until it leaves the
top at a temperatureTo = 20C, then the net rate of heat advection into the wedge is
Qf = pf cf Ff ( T - To)
The quantity T-
(33)
400C is the average temperature of the
enteringfluid, and pf and cf are the fluid densityand specific
heat.Assuming
thefluidis waterwithpf = 1000kg/m3 and
cf - 3000 J/(kg C), we find uponevaluatingequation(33) that
Qj = 0.6 kW/m' this is only 4% of the total surfaceheatflow,
Qr = 15 kW/m.
In fact, 4% is probably an upper bound on the amount by
which the temperaturedistributionwithin the wedge could be

affected, becauseit is unlikely that the fluid would flow pervasively through the fold-and-thrust belt, as assumed above.
The fluid would more likely flow through a few isolated veins
or channels,in which case it would thermally equilibrate much
less with the surroundingrock, so the overall effect on the rock
temperaturewould be reduced. Furthermore,the heating effect
of the fluid releasedby the subductingslab will tend to be offset
by the expulsionof fluid due to compactionand metamorphosis
3944
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
120E
125E
"- CHINA"
MAINLAND
25N
TAIWAN
Eurasian
Plate
Ryukyu
Philippine
Sea Plate
20N
100
200km
Fig. 24. Simplifiedmapshowingthetectonicsettingof Taiwan. The arrowshowstheconvergence

directionof thePhilippine
Sea plate relativeto the Eurasianplate. The shadedareaon the islandshowsthe activefold-and-thrust
belt of Taiwan. Brittle
frictionalmountainbuildingin Taiwan is a consequence
of the obliquecollisionbetweenthe Luzon islandarc and the stable
continentalmargin of China.
of the rocks within the wedge, which removesheat from the

wedge. This effect is probably smaller than that estimated
above, since the average temperature at which the water is
releasedis less, and the fluid flux rate is roughly the same. A
complete model of the effect of fluid advectionis beyond the
scope of the present treatment, since it demands detailed
knowledgeof the sourcesof circulatingfluid, rock permeabilities, and the occurrenceof major fluid conduitsthrough the
fold-and-thrustbelt. The aboveestimatesuggests,however,that
the overall effect on the temperature distribution and heat
budgetcan be justifiably ignored.
whereasalbite is governedby the law [Sheltonand Tullis, 1981]
2.5x 10-6I {J1- (J314

exp
-0.23
MJ
mo1-1
1
RT
(35)
The uniaxialstrainrate/; in equations

(34) and (35) is measured
in s-1, and(Jl- (J3is measured

in MPa;the temperature
T is
the absolute
temperature
in K, andR = 8.314 J mo1-1K-1 is
the gas constant.
A plot of the inferredstrengthI Cl- c31versusdepthin the
Taiwan wedge is shown on the right in Figure 26. The brittle

THE BRITTLE-PLASTIC TRANSITION
strengthin the upper crust is that predictedby the best fitting
A fundamentalassumptionunderlyingboth the critical taper critical taper model, and the plastic strengthis for a constant
model and the thermal model is that the wedgeexhibitsbrittle thermalgradientof 25 C/km anda strainrate/; = 10-14s-l; the
frictional behavioreverywhere. In the best fitting model, tem- latteris appropriatefor the rear of the wedge,as shownin paper
peraturesexceed400-450C in the deep rear portion of the 1. The empirical laws indicate that quartz-rich materials with
Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt. Such high temperaturescause g =0.7 and ,= q, =0.7 should be governed by brittle
less than about 350C, whereasthey
many upper crustal materialsto deform by thermally activated behaviorfor temperatures
should
be
governed
by
plastic
behaviorabovethis temperature;
plastic mechanismsrather than brittle Coulomb mechanisms.
for
feldspar-rich
materials
this
brittle-plastic
transitionoccursat
The rheologiesof both quartzand albite feldsparhavebeenstudied exter/sivelyin laboratoryexperiments;they are two of the about 400C. The thermal gradientis not constantwithin the
mostimportantmineralogicalconstituents
of the terrigenous
sed- Taiwan wedge, so the temperatureat which the brittle-plastic
iments being accreted into the Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt. transitionoccursvariesspatiallyas shownon the left. A wedge
Quartz exhibits plastic flow governedby the empirical law dominatedby quartz begins to exhibit plastic behaviorover a
temperaturerange of 350-375C, whereasif feldsparis the
[Brace and Kohlstedt, 1980]
strength-limitingconstituentthe transition is in the range
400-425C.
Oncethe baseof a fold-and-thrust
belt protrudes
-0.19 MJ mo1-1
(34)
I1= 5 X 10-6 Il - (J313
exp
significantlybelowthe brittle-plastictransition,the surfaceslope
RT
should drop abruptly due to the reduced drag on the basal
MOUNTAINBUILDING,2
100C
3945
--
200C
Om.y.
0.25 m.y.
Fig. 25.
10 km
Simplified model of the evolution of the thermal structureof Taiwan with time. The increasein accretionand ero-
sion,as the wedgeencounters

the thicksediments
of the continental
shelfandrisesabovesealevel,is simulated
by an abrupt
quadrupling
of bothflux ratesto theirobserved
steadystatevalues.Thermalequilibriumis very nearlyattainedin 1-2 m.y.
decollement fault [Davis et al., 1983]. The observed falloff in
frictional heating within the deforming brittle wedge exceeds

radiogenicheating in fold-and-thrustbelts with typical laboratory coefficientsof friction and moderatepore fluid pressures,
and shear heating on the basal decollementfault is an even
surfaceslope is roughly situatedabove the 450-475C isotherm, where the laboratorydata indicate that the strengthof
quartzofeldspathic
rocks shouldbe significantlyreduced. This
may however be fortuitous,since the earthquakehypocentral
data of Roeckeret al. [1987] suggestthat there is an increasein
the dip of the Benioff zone in the samelocality.
Graham and England [1976] and Pavlis [1986] have both
pointedout that the occurrence
of a brittle-plastictransitionhas
an importantcontrollingeffect on thermalanomaliescausedby
shearheating;oncethe temperaturewithin a wedgeexceedsthat
at which the transitionoccurs,the rock strengthand thus the
shearheatingdecrease,therebybufferingthe temperatureat that
of the transition.For this reason,temperaturesmuch in excess
of 400C in the bestfittingTaiwan modelare probablyunrealistic. Since rocks whose P-T-t trajectoriesexperiencesuch
temperaturesoutcrop only in the rear 10 km of the fold-and-
becauseof the increasedrate of frictional heating. An increase

in the accretionand erosionratesalso increasesthe temperature
thrust belt, this is not a severe limitation of the model.
of basal friction
CONCLUSIONS
The level of frictional heating exerts an important control on

the thermal
structure of an active fold-and-thrust
belt.
Internal
more important heat source. An increase in the coefficients of

basal and internal friction or a decrease in the pore
fluid/lithostaticpressureratio increasesthe internal temperature
distribution and surface heat flow of a fold-and-thrust belt,
and heat flow
because of the increased
advective
influx
of hot
rocksat the toe, as well as the increasedfrictionalheating.

In Taiwan, the combined effect of accretion, erosion, and fric-
tional heating is to increasethe surfaceheat flow from its tec-
tonicallyundisturbed
valueof 95 to 240 mW/m2 at the rearof
the fold-and-thrustbelt. A comparisonof the theoretical heat
flow with the resultsof a recentsurveyconstrainsthe coefficient
on the basal decollement
fault beneath Taiwan
to be in the range !.th= 0.5 + 0.2. Rocks that enter the toe of
the Taiwan wedge between 6 and 6.5 km depth are first buried
an additional 10-15 km and then uplifted so they outcrop
between
70 and 80 km from the toe.
As a result of the fric-
3946
BARR AND DAHLEN: BRrVFLEFRICTIONALMOUNTAIN BUILDING.
falloffof
critical taper
IOl-O31
(MPa)
surface slope
200
400
600
..
...............
-.......................
:....... ::::-:--:-:::::::i
__ S
,%, 200
10 --
400
15
20
600
Fig. 26. (Right)Idealizedfailureenvelopes

I oI - o3l versusdepthfor quartzandalbitefeldspar.Thebrittlestrength
is for
}.t= 0.7 andX = 0.7,andtheplastic

strengths
arefora uniaxial
strainrate = 10-14s-1 anda constant
geothermal
gradient
of
27C/km. (Left) Inferred location of the brittle-plastictransitionwithin the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt. The shadedregions
show where pure quartz and albite first begin to exhibit plastic behavior;the region where the strengthof quartzofeldspathic
rocks would be reducedsubstantially,say by one half, is considerablysmaller. The observedtopographyalong a representative
profile of the fold-and-thrustbelt is shown along the top of the crosssection. The regionalsurfaceslopeis remarkablyconstantfor 80 km, then it decreasessharplyover the back of the wedge where plasticbehaviorpredominates.
tional heating, they experience maximum temperatures of

400C
in addition to maximum mean stresses of 500 MPa;
these conditionsare responsiblefor the high greenschistfacies

metamorphismobservedin the Central Mountains. Fissiontrack
and other geochronologicdata demonstratethat rocks in the
Central Mountains cooled 300C in 2.5 m.y. during uplift to
the surface;this observationagreeswith theoreticalcooling histories for the same range of basal friction values,
g = 0.5 + 0.2. Such a regional-scalecoefficientof friction is
in good agreementwith laboratorymeasurementsof the sliding
friction of most sedimentary and low-grade metasedimentary
rocks as well as clay-rich fault gouges [Byeflee, 1978; Morrow
et al., 1981]. The constraint obtained here on the level of fric-
nuclearpower plant, becauseof the high levels of strengthand

deviatoricstressin the upper crust.
Acknowledgments.This work has benefited greatly from numerous
discussionswith John Suppe. We also thank C. S. Ho for sendingus
the Taiwan heat flow data, and ChinghuaLo and T. K. Liu for discussions of the cooling history data. Financial supporthas been provided
by the Experimentaland TheoreticalGeophysicsProgramof the U.S.
National Science Foundation under grants EAR-8609991 and EAR8804098. In addition, Terence Barr has been supportedby a National
ScienceFoundationGraduateFellowship.
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Brittle Frictional Mountain Building 2. Thermal Structure and Heat Budget

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JOURNAL

VOL. 94, NO. B4, PAGES 3923-3947, APRIL

Brittle Frictional Mountain Building

Departmentof Geologicaland GeophysicalSciences,Princeton University,Princeton,New Jersey

kinematicmodel of the regional-scale

This is the secondof two papersdescribinga simplemodel of

Copyright1989 by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion.

STEADY STATE THERMAL

To solve equation(2), we employ an explicit finite difference

art +u-VT =rV2T + (pc,,)-(+ (5')

where T is the temperature,u is the Eulerianvelocity, and is

energy is dissipatedagainst internal friction in the deforming

tu = 0. If this kinematic steady state has persistedlong

Eulerian velocity of the material within the wedge is then given

by u = u:{ + v' where(equations

v - Vo+ Czx-2(1 - z2/x2 )-1

as well, and equation(1) reducesto

u'VT = K:V2T+ (pc,,)-(+ (5':)

The time in which a thermal steadystateis achievedfollowing a

approach to equilibrium is governed by the rapid mass flux,

2/i + 2x0( 0sec

bottomof the wedge,andx0 is the distancefrom the wedgever-

tex to the deformationfront, as shownin Figure 1.

V = U0coso+ V0sin0+ Cx sec0( 1 - tan20)-I

Fig. 2. (Top) Theoretical

within the Taiwan fold-and-thrustbelt [Dahlen et al., 1984]. In

belt is W = 90 km, and the

measuredthermal conductivitiesof sandstonesgenerally lie in

the range 3-7

edgeof the Taiwanfold-and-thrust

W/(m C), shaleslie in the range 2-3

W/(m C), and schistslie in the range3-4 W/(m C) [Clark,

tinentalmargin,they containrelativelyhigh concentrations

is the coefficient of internal friction.

The upperdiagramin Figure2 showsthe theoretical

ing rigid slabis, of course,zero.

Frictional Heating on the DecollementFault

The rate of shearheatingon the decollementfault is % Au,

1. In the case of uniform erosion, we obtain

then [Eringen, 1967]

o:/; = ( 1- ,) pg cosct( z cos0 - x sint0)

[ fi . q ]+ = - cpc,, [ fi ' V T ]_+= 'coAu

where fi is the unit outwardnormal to the wedge, and plus and

vertical depth at the front of the wedge. Equation (11) is the

ments in the Coastal Plain to the west of the fold-and-thrust

belt. Figure 4 shows an example of thermal data from the

adoptT = 27C/km as the undisturbed

dient at the toe of the Taiwan wedge; this correspondsto an

Along the base of the subductingplate, we assumethere is a

the flux ratessimplyreduces Au by the samefraction.

minusrefer to the lower and upperside of the decollementfault,

Neitherthe adoptedvalueof q. nor the thickness(within limits)

% Au = pg sinc( tant cost0 - sint0 )

In general, the heating increaseslinearly from zero at the

The temperaturealong the top of the wedge is taken to be a

The incomingsedimentsat the toe of the fold-and-thrustbelt are

T (z) = To+ Tg ( z - x0tant0) cos( t0+ {x)

Fig. 4. Thermal gradientmeasuredin the Chingtsaohugas field at the

where T is the observedverticaltemperature

The activemountainbelt is shownas the shadedregionon insetmap.

shear heatingon decollementadded

there is no heat flux, that is,

fi ' q = - :pCv( fi ' VT ) = O