PyBacktrack is a Python package that backtracks the paleo-water depth of ocean drill sites through time by combining a model of tectonic subsidence with decompaction of the site stratigraphic lithologies. PyBacktrack can also include the effects of mantle-convection driven dynamic topography on paleo-water depth, as well as sea-level variations. PyBacktrack provides a model of tectonic subsidence on both oceanic and continental crust. Ocean crust subsidence is based on a user-selected lithospheric age-depth model and the present-day unloaded basement depth. At drill sites on stretched continental crust where the paleo-water depth is known from benthic fossil assemblages, tectonic subsidence can be computed via backstripping.
Changes since version 1.0:
- The example data are now included in the Python package.
- Includes notebooks (such as plotting paleo-water depths for various dynamic topography models).
- Added Docker image.
- Added new inbuilt dynamic topography models ngrand, s20rts and smean (from Müller et al., 2008).
- The total number of dynamic topography models to choose from is now 10, including forward, backward advection and hybrid models.
- Can specify more than one lithology definition file.
- Added inbuilt extended lithologies for shallow water (to complement primary lithologies in pyBacktrack 1.0 paper).
- Added backstripping example (uses extended lithologies).
- Can now specify your own oceanic age-to-depth model (instead of just the inbuilt models).
- Fixed bug specifying your own dynamic topography model (inbuilt models were fine though).
- The best place to start is the documentation (which has been significantly updated): https://pybacktrack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
