Numerical modeling of stresses in the interior of the continental lithosphere: application in the Pantanal and Chaco-Paraná basins

• Grant number: 17/18627-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2017
• End date: September 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geophysics
• Principal Investigator: Victor Sacek
• Grantee: João Pedro Macedo Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/24215-6 - Pantanal-Chaco-Paraná basins (PCPB): crust and upper mantle seismic structure and evolution, AP.TEM

Abstract

The aim of this project is to simulate the stress state in the interior of the continental lithosphere to evaluate how lateral heterogeneities, like variations in the crustal and lithospheric thickness along with other rheological properties, can affect the geodynamic evolution of the lithosphere under different regional stress regime. A two-dimensional finite element code will be used to simulate the viscoelastic behavior of the lithosphere through the geologic time scale. Based on the quantification of the stress field in the numerical model under initial and boundary conditions that reproduce different geotectonic scenarios, this work can contribute to the understanding of intraplate seismicity. The results of this project will be applied in the study of the mechanism responsible for the creation of the intraplate seismic zone in Central Brazil and in the Pantanal Basin. (AU)