GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 5, 1243, doi:10.
1029/2002GL016877, 2003
Thickening the Altiplano crust by gravity-driven crustal channel flow
L. Husson and T. Sempere
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Lima, Perú
Received 4 January 2003; revised 4 February 2003; accepted 6 February 2003; published 12 March 2003.
[1] In the Central Andes, crustal thickness is not well
correlated to upper crustal shortening. Only little shortening
is documented in the upper crust of the 60 –65 km-thick
Altiplano plateau, whose thickening and uplift were delayed
with respect to earlier and greater thickening in the adjacent
Western and Eastern Cordilleras. Because crustal thickness
variations induce horizontal stress gradients and cause crustal
flow, a thickness-dependent channel flow is modeled here
and applied to the Central Andes. In situ thickening is
assumed for both cordilleras, while the Altiplano crustal
thickening is generated by lateral flow from these
overthickened adjacent domains. A
8.1018 Pa s viscosity
channel is predicted for crustal thicknesses exceeding 45– 50
km to match the estimated topographic evolution of the
Central Andes. Thickening in the cordilleras was sufficient to
generate a flow of 6.109 m3 per unit length toward the initially

30 – 35 km-thick Altiplano. I NDEX T ERMS : 3210
Mathematical Geophysics: Modeling; 5104 Physical Properties of
Rocks: Fracture and flow; 8164 Tectonophysics: Evolution of the
Earth: Stresses—crust and lithosphere; 8102 Tectonophysics:
Continental contractional orogenic belts; 8122 Tectonophysics:
Dynamics, gravity and tectonics. Citation: Husson, L., and
T. Sempere, Thickening the Altiplano crust by gravity-driven
crustal channel flow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(5), 1243, doi:10.1029/
2002GL016877, 2003.
1. Introduction
[2] The origin of the Altiplano plateau is poorly under-
stood. In the Bolivian Orocline, i.e. the central segment of
the Central Andes, upper crustal shortening estimates do not
correlate well with total crustal thickness [Kley and Mon-
aldi, 1998]. The largest deviation is found for the 60– 65
km-thick [Beck et al., 1996] Altiplano crust: in this domain,
the pre-Neogene total crustal thickness was
30– 35 km
[Sempere et al., 2002] and only minor (<10 – 15%) upper
crustal shortening has occurred during the Neogene [Rochat
et al., 1999]. This profound discrepancy means that homo-
geneous crustal shortening cannot have been responsible for
the Altiplano crustal growth. We address this issue by
testing the hypothesis that the Bolivian Orocline has devel-
oped heterogeneously from gravity-driven channel flow of
crustal material injected from overthickened areas of the
Western and Eastern Cordilleras towards the Altiplano.
2. Relevant Characteristics of the Bolivian
Orocline
[3] The Bolivian Orocline (BO) is commonly divided into
a number of geomorphic zones (Figure 1), among which the
Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.
0094-8276/03/2002GL016877$05.00
47
Altiplano plateau is the most characteristic due to its 3600 m
mean elevation and 60– 65 km crustal thickness [Isacks,
1988; Beck et al., 1996]. The Altiplano is bounded by the
Eastern Cordillera (EC), which originated mainly from
tectonic shortening [e.g., Sheffels, 1990], and by the Western
Cordillera (WC), where cluster the volcanoes of the sub-
duction arc. Both EC and WC crustal thicknesses are, at least
locally, over 70 km [Beck et al., 1996], but there is no
evidence that the WC, unlike the EC, originated from
tectonic contraction only. West of the WC, which is largely
covered by Late Neogene volcanics, the Coastal Belt dis-
plays a west-tapering 65– 0 km-thick crust [ANCORP Work-
ing Group, 1999] and a complex history. In contrast, the EC
has resulted from the Oligocene-Miocene tectonic inversion
of a Triassic-Jurassic rift system [Sempere et al., 2002]. East
of the EC, between 18
S and 23
S, the Subandean Zone
(SAZ) is a Neogene fold-and-thrust belt, the foredeep of
which underlies the Chaco plain [e.g., Dunn et al., 1995].
[4] Models of Andean uplift [Gregory-Wodzicki, 2000;
Kennan, 2000] consider that the onset of the WC uplift
occurred 60 Ma ago, and that the EC uplift developed later
and slower (Figure 2a). This first stage of mountain growth
last until the Late Paleogene, when the WC and EC reached
elevations of
2000 m and
1000 m respectively. Uplift
rates of both cordilleras have increased since 20 Ma, leading
to the present-day high elevations. Located between them,
the Altiplano uplift mainly occurred during the last 20– 10
Ma, and thus was delayed with respect to the cordilleras.
3. Discrepancies Between Shortening Rates and
Crustal Thicknesses
[5] The present-day crustal thickness in the EC can be
explained by intense inversion and tectonic contraction of
previously thinned crust [Sempere et al., 2002]. According
to shortening estimates [e.g., Rochat et al., 1999], bulk
strain in the EC is
0.4, in agreement with its 70 km crustal
thickness. In the SAZ, minimum bulk strain is
0.45, but its
overall crustal thickening has been only moderate due to its
thin-skinned deformation.
[6] The high crustal thickness of the WC has not been
satisfactorily explained yet: tectonic shortening, magma-
tism, and possibly other in-situ crustal growth processes
(see, Lamb and Hoke [1997] for a review) have contributed
to crustal growth.
[7] Figure 3 compares the actual crustal thickness and the
crustal thickness predicted by assuming in situ crustal
thickening correlated to upper crustal bulk strain across
the BO. The SAZ presents a large excess of crustal volume,
whereas the Altiplano is characterized by a significant
deficit (bulk strain
0.12). Because this discrepancy cannot
be explained by homogeneous crustal deformation, we
explore the hypothesis that thickening of the Altiplano crust
- 1
47 - 2 HUSSON AND SEMPERE: THICKENING THE ALTIPLANO
Figure 1. Location map of the considered area of the
Central Andes and b) schematic lithospheric cross-section
(after Beck et al., 1996; Myers et al., 1998, Yuan et al.,
2000).
originated by viscous flow from the overthickened WC and
EC crusts.
4. Viscous Mid/Lower Crustal Channel Flow
[8] Laboratory experiments suggest that the viscosity
exponentially decreases with temperature [e.g., Goetze,
Figure 2. a) Observed uplift for the E. and W. Cordilleras
(solid lines) and Altiplano (gray dashed) [Kennan, 2000],
and predicted Altiplano uplift for the thickness-dependent
viscosity attitudes shown in b). Only EC and WC uplifts are
inputs for the model, Altiplano is given as a reference.
Heavy black curve is the best fit model, dashed lines and
dotted lines show the effect of varying Sc and hmin,
respectively. Predicted Altiplano elevations are given at its
center.
Figure 3. Deviation between the actual crustal thickness
(solid line, after Beck et al., 1996) and crustal thickness
predicted from estimates of in situ crustal growth in the
Central Andes (gray area); additional sources refer to other
processes for crustal growth (e.g. magmatism, underplating).
1978; Kirby, 1983]. Thus viscosity strongly decreases at
some critical depth in thick crusts. This in turns help to
understand why the upper crust is more likely described by
an elastic/brittle behavior and the lower crust by a ductile
behavior. Following Bird [1991], models have demonstrated
that a lateral flow in the middle to lower crust may explain
geological observations [e.g., Royden, 1996; McQuarrie
and Chase, 2000; Clark and Royden, 2000]. We model
the response of a low-viscosity material flowing into a
channel under a topographic load. Lateral flow variations
induce vertical injection from the mid/lower crust and
crustal thickness variations. The flow Q is assumed to occur
within a channel of constant thickness C and can be
described by a Poiseuille flow for a Newtonian fluid [e.g.,
Turcotte and Schubert, 1982], by the equation
C 3 @P
Q¼ ; ð1Þ
12h @x
where h is the viscosity, and @P
@x the lateral pressure gradient.
We assume that the lateral pressure gradient only depends
on the lateral density variations related to crustal thickness.
The change in crustal thickness S through time is given by
the flow lateral variation and writes
 
@S C 3 @ 1 @h
¼ grc ; ð2Þ
@t 12 @x h @x
where g is the gravitational acceleration and h the predicted
elevation (h varies through time by Airy-type isostasy with
@h rm rc @S
@t ¼ rm @t ), where rm and rc are the mantle and crust
densities, of 3300 kg m3 and 2800 kg m3 respectively).
Changes in crustal thickness are calculated assuming
incompressibility (r~ v where ~v is the velocity). In our
model, the negative lateral flow variations from the zones
which tend to collapse are instantaneously compensated, i.e.
the net balance of flowing material is always positive and the
total volume increases through time due to shortening in the
cordilleras. We assume that the warm flowing material,
while injected in a thinner crust, cools and retrieves the
viscosity of the material embedding the channel (i.e.
undeformable). The channel thickness may range from 5
km to 25 km [Wernicke, 1990]; here C is fixed to 15 km (see
discussion). Viscosity exponentially relates to the thermal
 HUSSON AND SEMPERE: THICKENING THE ALTIPLANO
Figure 4. Conceptual model for the lateral injection of
mid-lower crust below the Altiplano.
field; as the thermal regime of a thick crust increases due to
radiogenic heat production, we now assume that the
viscosity of the channel is a direct function of the crustal
thickness (neglecting any delay for thermal relaxation). On
this basis, the viscosity strongly decreases around a critical
depth Sc, and a low-viscosity layer appears within thick
crusts. We subsequently define the channel viscosity hch as
a function of crustal thickness S by
 
ðhmax  hmin Þ ðS  Sc Þ
hch ¼ hmin  1 þ tanh ; ð3Þ
2
h
5. Modeling the Altiplano Crustal Growth
[9] We now apply our model to the BO, in order to
characterize the critical thickness Sc for which a strong
viscosity decrease occurs, the length parameter over which
it occurs
h, and to give estimates of the maximum and
minimum viscosities hmin and hmax (see profiles Figure 2b).
[10] As the crust thickens (in situ thickening, from t1 to t2,
Figure 4), its base gradually melts as a function of thickness,
and melted fractions are incorporated into the mid-lower
crust, lowering its average viscosity to hch; this layer may
correspond to the partially molten zone inferred within the
Andean crust [e.g. Yuan et al., 2000, Figure 1]. The channel
is bounded laterally by the subducting Brazilian craton and
Nazca plate. Density contrasts due to lateral thickness
variations drive the channel-flow Q described by equation
(1) into the thinner Altiplano crust, inducing its uplift
without any shortening.
[11] We calibrate the viscosity variations using the
present-day topography together with uplift estimates from
Kennan [2000] and Gregory-Wodzicki [2000]. Uplift rates
are converted into in situ crustal growth rates from isostasy
for both WC and EC (Figure 2a). The best fit between
estimates and the predicted evolution of the overall top-
ography occurs for a viscosity decrease from 2.1020 Pa s to
8.1018 Pa s, for a critical crustal thickness Sc of 47 km, over
a 10 km step
h (Figure 2b). Uncertainty on WC and EC
elevation input values is
500 m (L. Kennan, personal
communication, 2002) inducing variations in the Altiplano
predicted elevation also of
500 m. Uncertainties in input
elevations correspond to variations in both Sc and
h by

5 km for similar Altiplano uplift rates.
[12] This predicted viscosity also matches the results of
previous depth-dependent or temperature-dependent mod-
els, with a strong viscosity decrease (1019 Pa s in the
channel) for crusts thicker than 40 – 50 km [Clark and
47 - 3
Royden, 2000; McQuarrie and Chase, 2000; Medvedev
and Beaumont, 2001]. Viscosity estimates from full-2D
models involving more complex rheologies [e.g., Beaumont
et al., 2001] are also in the same range. The low viscosity
found for the channel is expected for temperatures higher
than 600– 700
C, consistent with the observations of parti-
ally molten rocks within the crust of high plateaus.
6. Discussion
[13] Various processes have been suggested for plateau
formation, but they seldom explain all observations when
applied to the Andes. Other studies that favor that ‘‘blind’’
brittle shortening would have occurred below the Altiplano
as deep as
26– 44 km [e.g., McQuarrie and DeCelles,
2001] are contradicted by laboratory experiments [e.g.,
Goetze, 1978; Kirby, 1983] and by seismological data,
which both suggest that the lower crust is ductile, at least
locally as shallow as 18 km [e.g., Yuan et al., 2000]. Mantle
delamination [e.g., Platt and England, 1994] is insufficient
to produce major uplift (<800 m, Husson [2001]) and does
not induce crustal thickening. Thickening by magmatic
addition [Kay and Mpodozis, 2001] on the time scale of
an orogenesis would involve considerable heat advection,
which would appear on the surface heat flow signal.
Eventually, homogeneous crustal deformation is incompat-
ible with the observed upper crust shortening.
[14] Although the average viscosity of the lithosphere is
generally considered to be about 1021 to 1022 Pa s [e.g.,
England, 1986; Wdowinski et al., 1989] the viscosity of the
crust is highly variable with depth due to the elevated
crustal geotherm. Conversion of rheological envelopes
(after e.g., Ranalli and Murphy [1987]) into Newtonian
viscosity profiles indicates that viscosity in thick crust is
low (<1019 Pa s) at depth for typical geotherms. Our model
supports the theoretical results for mid-lower crustal flow
within high plateaus. Significant channel weakening (<1019
Pa s) occurs for critical crustal thickness of 40 to 50 km,
while normal (e.g. 35 km thick) crust channel viscosity
would be higher than 2.1020 Pa s. Note that a higher channel
viscosity for normal crust does not affect our results as most
of the predicted Altiplano uplift occurred when both cor-
dilleras had thickened up to 40– 50 km, and 2.1020 Pa s is
thus a lower bound. As emphasized by Clark and Royden
[2000], due to the uncertainty in channel thickness, the
results for channel viscosity are nonunique, as they scale
with C3/h. Variations in C from 10 to 20 km must be
balanced by variations in hmin and hmax from 2.4 1018 Pa s
to 1.9 1019 Pa s and from 6.1019 Pa s to 9.5 1020 Pa s,
respectively, giving a range of channel viscosities of almost
one degree of magnitude. Our estimates for the viscosity
profile are based on the assumption that temperature, and
thus viscosity, is a function of crustal thickness. But apart
from radiogenic heating, various thermal processes are
heterogeneously distributed in orogens. Full-2D models
could more likely integrate these processes. However, our
poor knowledge of the distribution of heat sources limits
integrative analysis, and simple models with restricted
number of free parameters yield more informative results.
[15] In the Central Andes, the heat flow is globally
correlated to crustal thickness [Springer and Forster,
1998; Husson and Moretti, 2002]. To a first order approx-
imation, viscosity may be more conveniently described as
47 - 4 HUSSON AND SEMPERE: THICKENING THE ALTIPLANO
thickness-dependent (rather than truly temperature-depend-
ent). Our model suggests that the present-day Altiplano
crust has been almost equally fed by both cordilleras
(3.109 m3 per unit length flowing eastward and as much
westward), but an uneven distribution of thermal sources
could locally limit or enhance weakening and imply an
asymmetric flow (only the cumulative flows are equal as
they vary through time).
[16] About volume balance in the Central Andes, we
propose that: (i) Large amounts of excess crustal volume
flow from the SAZ to the EC lower crust. For a 30 km-thick
basement shortened by 70 km to 150 km [e.g., Dunn et al.,
1995; Rochat et al., 1999], the volume accreted to the EC
ranges between 2.1 109 and 4.5 109 m3 per unit length. (ii)
The EC shows a fair correlation between upper crustal strain
and crustal thickness. However, the expected excess crustal
material incorporated from the SAZ is difficult to evidence
as crustal mass also flows from the EC into the Altiplano.
(iii) No significant in situ crustal growth can be invoked for
the Altiplano, and its crustal volume represents the injected
mass from the middle and lower crusts of the adjacent
cordilleras. This interpretation is supported by the timing
(Altiplano uplift delayed with respect to the cordilleras),
which illustrates the time span necessary for viscous pro-
cesses to develop, and by its crustal growth without sig-
nificant upper crustal shortening. (iv) Ductile crust was
likely to flow into the Altiplano from the WC. In this area
early shortening was possibly larger than currently eval-
uated and that more recent strain was low; additional
processes like magmatic addition or underplating might
have contributed to its crustal growth.
[17] The recent vertical uplift of the coastal area of
southern Peru and northern Chile can also be explained
by a similar process of lateral crustal flow from the over-
thickened WC toward the coast. The issue of the Altiplano
crustal thickening should also be considered in 3D, as
along-strike ductile crustal flow may have participated in
crustal thickening of the northern and southern Central
Andes.
[18] Acknowledgments. This study is a contribution of IRD’s UR
104 (Continental Lithospheric Deformation in Convergence Zones and
Material Transfers). We acknowledge S. Wdowinski and S. Medvedev for
their reviews.
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L. Husson, Laboratoire de Géologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue
Lhomond, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France. (husson@geologie.ens.fr)
T. Sempere, I. R. D.-Perú, casilla 18-1209, Lima 18, Peru. (sempere@
terra.com.pe)