Toolbox for Analysis of Flexural Isostasy (TAFI); a MATLAB toolbox for modeling flexural deformation of the lithosphere

This paper describes a new interactive toolbox for the MATLAB computing platform called Toolbox for Analysis of Flexural Isostasy (TAFI). TAFI supports two- and three-dimensional (2-D and 3-D) modeling of flexural subsidence and uplift of the lithosphere in response to vertical tectonic loading. Fle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geosphere (Boulder, Colo.) Colo.), 2017-10, Vol.13 (5), p.1555-1565
Main Authors: Jha, Sumant, Harry, Dennis L, Schutt, Derek L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aleutian Trench
asthenosphere
case studies
computer programs
deformation
flexure
geodynamics
Geophysics
gravity anomalies
Green function
isostasy
lithosphere
mathematical models
MATLAB
North Pacific
numerical analysis
Pacific Ocean
solid Earth (tectonophysics)
TAFI
three-dimensional models
Toolbox for Analysis of Flexural Isostasy
two-dimensional models
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Summary:This paper describes a new interactive toolbox for the MATLAB computing platform called Toolbox for Analysis of Flexural Isostasy (TAFI). TAFI supports two- and three-dimensional (2-D and 3-D) modeling of flexural subsidence and uplift of the lithosphere in response to vertical tectonic loading. Flexural deformation is approximated as bending of a thin elastic plate overlying an inviscid fluid asthenosphere. The associated gravity anomaly is calculated by summing the anomalies produced by flexure of each density interface within the lithosphere, using Parker's algorithm. TAFI includes MATLAB functions provided as m-files (also called script files) to calculate the Green's functions for flexure of an elastic plate subjected to point or line loads, and functions to calculate the analytical solution for harmonic loads. Numerical solutions for flexure due to non-impulsive 2-D or 3-D loads are computed by convolving the appropriate Green's function with a spatially discretized load function read from a user-supplied file. TAFI uses MATLAB's intrinsic functions for all computations and does not require any other specialized toolbox, functions, or libraries except those distributed with TAFI. The modeling functions within TAFI can be called from the MATLAB command line, from within user-written programs, or from a graphical user interface (GUI) provided with TAFI. The GUI facilitates interactive flexural modeling and easy comparison of the model to gravity observations and to data constraining flexural subsidence and uplift.
ISSN:1553-040X
1553-040X
DOI:10.1130/GES01421.1