Numerical modelling study on the flexural uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains

S U M M A R Y In this study, based on a 2-D thermomechanical finite element model, the uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) is discussed in relation to the flexural uplift of a rheologically layered lithosphere, which is described by Vening-Meinesz’s cantilever kinematics. The general model behaviour shows that the thickness of the crust and the geothermal gradient in the lithosphere are the principal factors in controlling the effective elastic thickness (T e). Although T e is also significantly dependent on the magnitude of the uplift and the wet or dry rheological condition of rocks, these two factors do not have a dominant influence on the half-wavelength of the TAM. The model with a plausible crustal structure beneath Antarctica shows that the thermal structure beneath East Antarctica is the critical factor, controlling the half-wavelength of the TAM. If there is a significant radiogenic heat source in the Antarctic lithosphere, T e beneath East Antarctica is estimated to be 50 km, at most, and the lithosphere has no potential to explain an exceptionally large-scale half-wavelength of the TAM. Even for the model without a heat source, if East Antarctica is significantly thermally influenced by West Antarctica, T e is estimated to be about 60 km, and it is difficult to reproduce the half-wavelength of the TAM. Contrarily, when a radiogenic heat source is absent and the thermal structure beneath East Antarctica is not significantly affected by that beneath West Antarctica, the rheological structure beneath East Antarctica has the potential to reproduce the half-wavelength of the TAM (T e ∼ 100 km). Thus, the presence of a radiogenic heat source in the crust and mantle and the thermal influence of West Antarctica on East Antarctica are crucial factors in the reproduction of the half-wavelength found in the TAM.