EGU25-12313, updated on 15 Mar 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12313
EGU General Assembly 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Quantifying super-continent evolution through Wilson cycle phases at global scale
Miao Dong1,2, Michaël Pons2, and Sascha Brune2,3
Miao Dong et al.
  • 1Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 2GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
  • 3Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

  The Wilson Cycle describes the periodic nature of supercontinent formation through amalgamation and break-up of continents. This cycle is driven by the dynamic interaction between the lithosphere and mantle. To investigate the role of plate-mantle interactions during the supercontinent cycle, we have performed a series of high-resolution, 2D global numerical simulations using the ASPECT geodynamic code. We explicitly include continental lithosphere with pressure- and temperature-dependent visco-plastic rheology. The models are conducted in a self-consistent way without imposing velocity boundary conditions at the surface. They include a free surface to simulate realistic topography which we use to quantify gravitationally induced stresses.

  Our simulations reveal a complex interaction between, subduction, mantle and lithosphere dynamics as continents collide, and break apart during 600 My of model evolution. We quantify the plate tectonic driving forces: slab pull, gravitational potential energy gradients, and basal drag, i.e. mantle flow-induced tractions. In our models, we identify slab pull and mantle plumes as key factors in overcoming the strength of the lithosphere to achieve continental break-up. Interestingly, in our models, continental break-up does not occur at the suture zone of colliding continental plates—a region traditionally considered to be structurally weak and with higher GPE. These model results provide new insights into the relative importance of plate driving forces during the Wilson cycle.

How to cite: Dong, M., Pons, M., and Brune, S.: Quantifying super-continent evolution through Wilson cycle phases at global scale, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12313, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12313, 2025.