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Recent advancements in the understanding of mountain belts have focused on vertical coupling of the lithospheric layers. This volume describes the extent to which observed or inferred sub-horizontal coupling or attachment zones provide vertical kinematic linkage between rheologically distinct layers in the continental lithosphere. A common theme is whether the deformation, which partitioned differently in each layer, is linked kinematically across attachment zones and driven by flow in the deeper crust and mantle lithosphere.

The papers are divided into six sections. The first analyses the extent to which mantle flow controls deformation of the overlying layers. The Vertical axis block rotations section uses geological and palaeomagnetic data to constrain the role and magnitude of basal shear across mid-crustal attachment zones. The Lower crustal flow and topography section addresses the time-dependent development of orogenic plateaux and their role in the orogenic cycle. Multiple examples of the spatial and temporal development of lithospheric coupling are given in both the Orogenic examples and Subduction examples sections. Finally, rheological constraints of vertical coupling in the lithosphere are investigated