Uploaded May 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
This model is patterned after the work of Jacques Malavieille and colleagues at Géosciences Montpellier, Université of Montpellier II. Glass beads (used for sandblasting) act as weak decollement horizons which activate due to the high basal friction provided by a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper atop the basal plastic sheet. Slip in the decollements forms high-displacement, nearly flat thrusts, which fold due to subsequent footwall deformation resulting from erosion of the wedge. Erosion into a wedge of this structural style produces a landscape of windows and klippen, even without significant topographic relief.
This model is patterned after the work of Jacques Malavieille and colleagues at Géosciences Montpellier, Université of Montpellier II. Glass beads (used for sandblasting) act as weak decollement horizons which activate due to the high basal friction provided by a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper atop the basal plastic sheet. Slip in the decollements forms high-displacement, nearly flat thrusts, which fold due to subsequent footwall deformation resulting from erosion of the wedge. Erosion into a wedge of this structural style produces a landscape of windows and klippen, even without significant topographic relief.
