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{
    "pk": 50821,
    "title": "Crustal-Scale Signatures of Steady-State Thermal Inheritance: Insights from the South China Sea",
    "subtitle": null,
    "abstract": "<p>Long-lived lateral variations in radiogenic heat production create persistent thermal heterogeneities that shape continental lithosphere over geological timescales. We introduce a steady-state concept of thermal inheritance, linking these variations to crustal-scale strain localization and tectonic architecture.<br>Using numerical models, we explore both crustal- and lithospheric-scale consequences of heterogeneous heat production. A key finding is that lateral variations in heat production leave a distinct crustal-scale tectonic signature, controlling patterns of strain localization. The South China Sea serves as a proof-of-concept: the segmented, oblique extension observed there aligns with zones of mechanically weaker crust, reflecting the underlying inherited thermal heterogeneity.<br>These results highlight that crustal-scale tectonic features can emerge from steady-state thermal conditions, independently of transient anomalies. They provide a quantitative framework linking inherited thermal structure to observable deformation patterns. More broadly, our study suggests that laterally heterogeneous heat production offers a physically motivated alternative to traditional exponential-decay models, better capturing the spatial complexity and persistence of lithospheric thermal structure.<br>By emphasizing the crustal imprint of thermal inheritance, we demonstrate that radiogenic heat variations are a fundamental control on strain localization and tectonic segmentation. This approach opens a new perspective on how long-lived thermal heterogeneities shape continental deformation and the architecture of lithospheric structures over hundreds of millions of years.</p>",
    "language": "eng",
    "license": {
        "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0",
        "short_name": "CC BY 4.0",
        "text": "Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\n\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.",
        "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0"
    },
    "keywords": [
        {
            "word": "thermal inheritance"
        },
        {
            "word": "radiogenic heat production"
        },
        {
            "word": "crustal strain localisation"
        },
        {
            "word": "plutonic belts"
        },
        {
            "word": "lithospheric rheology"
        }
    ],
    "section": "Research article",
    "is_remote": true,
    "remote_url": "https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9wz2h92n",
    "frozenauthors": [
        {
            "first_name": "Laetitia",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Le Pourhiet",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "",
            "department": ""
        },
        {
            "first_name": "Manuel",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Pubellier",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "",
            "department": ""
        },
        {
            "first_name": "Anthony",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Jourdon",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "",
            "department": ""
        },
        {
            "first_name": "Thomas",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Francois",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "",
            "department": ""
        }
    ],
    "date_submitted": "2025-09-02T23:33:48.974000-07:00",
    "date_accepted": "2026-01-18T22:35:10.477000-08:00",
    "date_published": "2026-02-20T11:19:00-08:00",
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        "path": "https://journalpub.escholarship.org/geodynamica/article/50821/galley/48729/download/"
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}