Early Tertiary evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin of the Swiss Alps and adjoining areas

We present a new palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Helvetic zone based on the palinspastic restoration of 18 recently published and new retrodeformed structural cross‐sections through the Swiss Alps, Haute Savoie (France) and Vorarlberg (Austria). The reconstruction resulted in two palaeogeographic maps, one of the pre‐Mesozoic basement, the other for the sedimentary cover of the Helvetic shelf including the Nummulitic deposits of the Palaeocene–Eocene, which mark the onset of the North Alpine Foreland Basin of the Alps. Based on the palaeogeographic maps and a precise dating of the Nummulitic deposits, we established maps of the facies distribution including the estimated positions of the ancient coastlines and their evolution through time. The North Alpine Foreland Basin started as a narrow flysch basin in Palaeocene–Eocene times. Emplacement of the Penninic nappes led to the formation of a mélange on the active margin of this basin. This early foreland basin and its active margin migrated to the NW in Early Eocene times at a rate of about 10 mm yr^?1. The maps also reveal a general progressive north‐ and westward propagation of the Eocene coastline between 50–34 Ma and during the Oligocene until approximately 32 Ma. Coastline propagation reveals strongly varying rates both spatially and temporally, and is ca. 1–2 mm yr^?1 between 50 and 37 Ma and approximately 20 mm yr^?1 between 37 and 32 Ma. Evolution and orientation of the Tertiary coastlines infers that the early development of the North Alpine Foreland Basin was mainly controlled initially by eustatic sea‐level fluctuations superimposed on flexural subsidence. After 37 Ma, we suggest a tectonically controlled coastline evolution in response to the collision of the European and Adriatic margins.     

Sediment routing evolution in the North Alpine Foreland Basin,Austria: interplay of transverse and longitudinal sediment dispersal

Integration of detrital zircon geochronology and three‐dimensional (3D) seismic‐reflection data from the Molasse basin of Austria yields new insight into Oligocene‐early Miocene palaeogeography and patterns of sediment routing within the Alpine foreland of central Europe. Three‐dimensional seismic‐reflection data show a network of deep‐water tributaries and a long‐lived (>8 Ma) foredeep‐axial channel belt that transported Alpine detritus greater than 100 km from west to east. We present 793 new detrital zircon ages from 10 sandstone samples collected from subsurface cores located within the seismically mapped network of deep‐water tributaries and the axial channel belt. Grain age populations correspond with major pre‐Alpine orogenic cycles: the Cadomian (750–530 Ma), the Caledonian (490–380 Ma) and the Variscan (350–250 Ma). Additional age populations correspond with Eocene‐Oligocene Periadriatic magmatism (40–30 Ma) and pre‐Alpine, Precambrian sources (>750 Ma). Although many samples share the same age populations, the abundances of these populations vary significantly. Sediment that entered the deep‐water axial channel belt from the west (Freshwater Molasse) and southwest (Inntal fault zone) is characterized by statistically indistinguishable age distributions that include populations of Variscan, Caledonian and Cadomian zircon at modest abundances (15–32% each). Sandstone from a shallow marine unit proximal to the northern basin margin consists of >75% Variscan (350–300 Ma) zircon, which originated from the adjacent Bohemian Massif. Mixing calculations based on the Kolmogorov–Smirnoff statistic suggest that the Alpine fold‐thrust belt south of the foreland was also an important source of detritus to the deep‐water Molasse basin. We interpret evolving detrital zircon age distributions within the axial foredeep to reflect a progressive increase in longitudinal sediment input from the west (Freshwater Molasse) and/or southwest (Inntal fault zone) relative to transverse sediment input from the fold‐thrust belt to the south. We infer that these changes reflect a major reorganization of catchment boundaries and denudation rates in the Alpine Orogen that resulted in the Alpine foreland evolving to dominantly longitudinal sediment dispersal. This change was most notably marked by the development of a submarine canyon during deposition of the Upper Puchkirchen Formation that promoted sediment bypass eastward from Freshwater Molasse depozones to the Molasse basin deep‐water axial channel belt. The integration of 3D seismic‐reflection data with detrital zircon geochronology illustrates sediment dispersal patterns within a continental‐scale orogen, with implications for the relative role of longitudinal vs. transverse sediment delivery in peripheral foreland basins.     

A flexural model for the Paradox Basin: implications for the tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains

The Paradox Basin is a large (190 km × 265 km) asymmetric basin that developed along the southwestern flank of the basement‐involved Uncompahgre uplift in Utah and Colorado, USA during the Pennsylvanian–Permian Ancestral Rocky Mountain (ARM) orogenic event. Previously interpreted as a pull‐apart basin, the Paradox Basin more closely resembles intraforeland flexural basins such as those that developed between the basement‐cored uplifts of the Late Cretaceous–Eocene Laramide orogeny in the western interior USA. The shape, subsidence history, facies architecture, and structural relationships of the Uncompahgre–Paradox system are exemplary of typical ‘immobile’ foreland basin systems. Along the southwest‐vergent Uncompahgre thrust, ～5 km of coarse‐grained syntectonic Desmoinesian–Wolfcampian (mid‐Pennsylvanian to early Permian; ～310–260 Ma) sediments were shed from the Uncompahgre uplift by alluvial fans and reworked by aeolian‐modified fluvial megafan deposystems in the proximal Paradox Basin. The coeval rise of an uplift‐parallel barrier ～200 km southwest of the Uncompahgre front restricted reflux from the open ocean south and west of the basin, and promoted deposition of thick evaporite‐shale and biohermal carbonate facies in the medial and distal submarine parts of the basin, respectively. Nearshore carbonate shoal and terrestrial siliciclastic deposystems overtopped the basin during the late stages of subsidence during the Missourian through Wolfcampian (～300–260 Ma) as sediment flux outpaced the rate of generation of accommodation space. Reconstruction of an end‐Permian two‐dimensional basin profile from seismic, borehole, and outcrop data depicts the relationship of these deposystems to the differential accommodation space generated by Pennsylvanian–Permian subsidence, highlighting the similarities between the Paradox basin‐fill and that of other ancient and modern foreland basins. Flexural modeling of the restored basin profile indicates that the Paradox Basin can be described by flexural loading of a fully broken continental crust by a model Uncompahgre uplift and accompanying synorogenic sediments. Other thrust‐bounded basins of the ARM have similar basin profiles and facies architectures to those of the Paradox Basin, suggesting that many ARM basins may share a flexural geodynamic mechanism. Therefore, plate tectonic models that attempt to explain the development of ARM uplifts need to incorporate a mechanism for the widespread generation of flexural basins.     

Pro- vs. retro-foreland basins

Alpine‐type mountain belts formed by continental collision are characterised by a strong cross‐sectional asymmetry driven by the dominant underthrusting of one plate beneath the other. Such mountain belts are flanked on either side by two peripheral foreland basins, one over the underthrust plate and one over the over‐riding plate; these have been termed pro‐ and retro‐foreland basins, respectively. Numerical modelling that incorporates suitable tectonic boundary conditions, and models orogenesis from growth to a steady‐state form (i.e. where accretionary influx equals erosional outflux), predicts contrasting basin development to these two end‐member basin types. Pro‐foreland basins are characterised by: (1) Accelerating tectonic subsidence driven primarily by the translation of the basin fill towards the mountain belt at the convergence rate. (2) Stratigraphic onlap onto the cratonic margin at a rate at least equal to the plate convergence rate. (3) A basin infill that records the most recent development of the mountain belt with a preserved interval determined by the width of the basin divided by the convergence rate. In contrast, retro‐foreland basins are relatively stable, are not translated into the mountain belt once steady‐state is achieved, and are consequently characterised by: (1) A constant tectonic subsidence rate during growth of the thrust wedge, with zero tectonic subsidence during the steady‐state phase (i.e. ongoing accretion‐erosion, but constant load). (2) Relatively little stratigraphic onlap driven only by the growth of the retro‐wedge. (3) A basin fill that records the entire growth phase of the mountain belt, but only a condensed representation of steady‐state conditions. Examples of pro‐foreland basins include the Appalachian foredeep, the west Taiwan foreland basin, the North Alpine Foreland Basin and the Ebro Basin (southern Pyrenees). Examples of retro‐foreland basins include the South Westland Basin (Southern Alps, New Zealand), the Aquitaine Basin (northern Pyrenees), and the Po Basin (southern European Alps). We discuss how this new insight into the variability of collisional foreland basins can be used to better interpret mountain belt evolution and the hydrocarbon potential of these basins types.     

Late Carboniferous foreland basin formation and Early Carboniferous stretching in Northwestern Europe: inferences from quantitative subsidence analyses in the Netherlands

The large thickness of Upper Carboniferous strata found in the Netherlands suggests that the area was subject to long-term subsidence. However, the mechanisms responsible for subsidence are not quantified and are poorly known. In the area north of the London Brabant Massif, onshore United Kingdom, subsidence during the Namurian–Westphalian B has been explained by Dinantian rifting, followed by thermal subsidence. In contrast, south and east of the Netherlands, along the southern margin of the Northwest European Carboniferous Basin, flexural subsidence caused the development of a foreland basin. It has been proposed that foreland flexure due to Variscan orogenic loading was also responsible for Late Carboniferous subsidence in the Netherlands. In the first part of this paper, we present a series of modelling results in which the geometry and location of the Variscan foreland basin was calculated on the basis of kinematic reconstructions of the Variscan thrust system. Although several uncertainties exist, it is concluded that most subsidence calculated from well data in the Netherlands cannot be explained by flexural subsidence alone. Therefore, we investigated whether a Dinantian rifting event could adequately explain the observed subsidence by inverse modelling. The results show that if only a Dinantian rifting event is assumed, such as is found in the United Kingdom, a very high palaeowater depth at the end of the Dinantian is required to accommodate the Namurian–Westphalian B sedimentary sequence. To better explain the observed subsidence curves, we propose (1) an additional stretching event during the Namurian and (2) a model incorporating an extra dynamic component, which might well explain the very high wavelength of the observed subsidence compared with the wavelength of the predicted flexural foreland basin.     

Time lag of syntectonic sedimentation across an alluvial basin: theory and example from the Ebro Basin, Spain

We propose and test a conceptual framework for evaluating the relative timing of different types of sedimentary indicators of tectonism in alluvial foreland basin settings. We take the first occurrence of a detrital grain from a newly exposed source‐area lithology to provide the best indicator of the onset of tectonic uplift in the source area. Source‐area unroofing may lag behind initial uplift because of the type, thickness and structure of rocks in the uplifted mountain block, drainage patterns and climate. However, once exposed, advective transport disperses grains quickly throughout fluvial systems. Because of increased subsidence rate from thrust belt loading, an increase in sedimentation rate begins coincident with tectonic load emplacement within the flexural half‐width of the basin. However, farther out into the basin increased sedimentation rates lag behind the composition signal because of time lags associated with propagation of the thrust load and attendant sediment loads into the basin. The progradation of syntectonic gravel lags behind all of these signals as a direct function of the relative proportion of gravel fraction within transported sediment and rates and geometry of subsidence, which selectively traps the coarsest grain‐size fractions in the most proximal parts of the basin. We demonstrate this signal attenuation in the syntectonic Horta–Gandesa alluvial system (late Eocene–Oligocene), exposed along the southeast margin of the Ebro Basin, Spain. The results demonstrate that: (1) the time spans between the compositional signal and the progradation of the gravel front can be geologically significant, on the order of more than a million years within as little as 20 km of the thrust front; and (2) time lags between the signals increase with distance away from the deformation front. No lag time was observed between the first appearance of a new clast composition and the arrival of gravel front when the thrust front was within a few tens of metres from the depositional site. In contrast, the time lag was 0.5–1 Myr when the thrust front was about 5–6 km away and it increased to >1 Myr when the deformation front was about 8 km away. At the most extreme position, when the thrust front was 15–20 km away, the gravel front never reached the study area.     

Importance of inherited rift margin structures in the early North Alpine Foreland Basin, Switzerland

The earliest evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin in Switzerland was characterized by deposition in small, structurally partitioned sub-basins during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary, rather than in a single, large foredeep. These sub-basins, which were probably located between old rift margin fault-blocks reactivated during Alpine compression, were incorporated into the thrust wedge during thin-skinned deformation. In eastern Switzerland, the most external sub-basins with respect to the orogenic wedge (North Helvetic Flysch and Blattengrat units) have at their base an unconformity attributed to flexural forebulge erosion. More internal sub-basins (Sardona and Prättigau units) contain a conformable succession from the underlying passive margin stage and are dominated by deep-water sedimentation. In western Switzerland, both external sub-basins, now found in the Helvetic Diablerets and Wildhorn nappes, and deep-water internal sub-basins (Höchst-Meilleret Flysch, Neisen Flysch, Tarentaise Flysch) preserve a well-developed basal unconformity. Comparison of the eastern and western Swiss transects shows important intrabasinal lateral variations to be present. The western Swiss area was a topographic high for much of the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary; this is demonstrated by the increased chronostratigraphic gap at the karstified basal unconformity surface in western Switzerland. The strata onlapping this unconformity young to the west, suggesting that drowning of the emergent area was delayed compared with the east. In addition, reactivation and uplift of the rift margin structures occurred earlier in western Switzerland compared with eastern Switzerland. There is therefore strong evidence for lateral topographic gradients in the early foreland basin caused by differential amounts of tectonic reactivation of rift margin structures. In the early foreland basin-fill, these lateral variations are as important in determining depositional patterns as strike-normal changes across the basin.     

Evolution of the late Cenozoic Chaco foreland basin, Southern Bolivia

Eastward Andean orogenic growth since the late Oligocene led to variable crustal loading, flexural subsidence and foreland basin sedimentation in the Chaco basin. To understand the interaction between Andean tectonics and contemporaneous foreland development, we analyse stratigraphic, sedimentologic and seismic data from the Subandean Belt and the Chaco Basin. The structural features provide a mechanism for transferring zones of deposition, subsidence and uplift. These can be reconstructed based on regional distribution of clastic sequences. Isopach maps, combined with sedimentary architecture analysis, establish systematic thickness variations, facies changes and depositional styles. The foreland basin consists of five stratigraphic successions controlled by Andean orogenic episodes and climate: (1) the foreland basin sequence commences between ～27 and 14 Ma with the regionally unconformable, thin, easterly sourced fluvial Petaca strata. It represents a significant time interval of low sediment accumulation in a forebulge‐backbulge depocentre. (2) The overlying ～14–7 Ma‐old Yecua Formation, deposited in marine, fluvial and lacustrine settings, represents increased subsidence rates from thrust‐belt loading outpacing sedimentation rates. It marks the onset of active deformation and the underfilled stage of the foreland basin in a distal foredeep. (3) The overlying ～7–6 Ma‐old, westerly sourced Tariquia Formation indicates a relatively high accommodation and sediment supply concomitant with the onset of deposition of Andean‐derived sediment in the medial‐foredeep depocentre on a distal fluvial megafan. Progradation of syntectonic, wedge‐shaped, westerly sourced, thickening‐ and coarsening‐upward clastics of the (4) ～6–2.1 Ma‐old Guandacay and (5) ～2.1 Ma‐to‐Recent Emborozú Formations represent the propagation of the deformation front in the present Subandean Zone, thereby indicating selective trapping of coarse sediments in the proximal foredeep and wedge‐top depocentres, respectively. Overall, the late Cenozoic stratigraphic intervals record the easterly propagation of the deformation front and foreland depocentre in response to loading and flexure by the growing Intra‐ and Subandean fold‐and‐thrust belt.     

Foreland basin systems

A foreland basin system is defined as: (a) an elongate region of potential sediment accommodation that forms on continental crust between a contractional orogenic belt and the adjacent craton, mainly in response to geodynamic processes related to subduction and the resulting peripheral or retroarc fold-thrust belt; (b) it consists of four discrete depozones, referred to as the wedge-top, foredeep, forebulge and back-bulge depozones – which of these depozones a sediment particle occupies depends on its location at the time of deposition, rather than its ultimate geometric relationship with the thrust belt; (c) the longitudinal dimension of the foreland basin system is roughly equal to the length of the fold-thrust belt, and does not include sediment that spills into remnant ocean basins or continental rifts (impactogens). The wedge-top depozone is the mass of sediment that accumulates on top of the frontal part of the orogenic wedge, including ‘piggyback’ and ‘thrust top’ basins. Wedge-top sediment tapers toward the hinterland and is characterized by extreme coarseness, numerous tectonic unconformities and progressive deformation. The foredeep depozone consists of the sediment deposited between the structural front of the thrust belt and the proximal flank of the forebulge. This sediment typically thickens rapidly toward the front of the thrust belt, where it joins the distal end of the wedge-top depozone. The forebulge depozone is the broad region of potential flexural uplift between the foredeep and the back-bulge depozones. The back-bulge depozone is the mass of sediment that accumulates in the shallow but broad zone of potential flexural subsidence cratonward of the forebulge. This more inclusive definition of a foreland basin system is more realistic than the popular conception of a foreland basin, which generally ignores large masses of sediment derived from the thrust belt that accumulate on top of the orogenic wedge and cratonward of the forebulge. The generally accepted definition of a foreland basin attributes sediment accommodation solely to flexural subsidence driven by the topographic load of the thrust belt and sediment loads in the foreland basin. Equally or more important in some foreland basin systems are the effects of subduction loads (in peripheral systems) and far-field subsidence in response to viscous coupling between subducted slabs and mantle–wedge material beneath the outboard part of the overlying continent (in retroarc systems). Wedge-top depozones accumulate under the competing influences of uplift due to forward propagation of the orogenic wedge and regional flexural subsidence under the load of the orogenic wedge and/or subsurface loads. Whereas most of the sediment accommodation in the foredeep depozone is a result of flexural subsidence due to topographic, sediment and subduction loads, many back-bulge depozones contain an order of magnitude thicker sediment fill than is predicted from flexure of reasonably rigid continental lithosphere. Sediment accommodation in back-bulge depozones may result mainly from aggradation up to an equilibrium drainage profile (in subaerial systems) or base level (in flooded systems). Forebulge depozones are commonly sites of unconformity development, condensation and stratal thinning, local fault-controlled depocentres, and, in marine systems, carbonate platform growth. Inclusion of the wedge-top depozone in the definition of a foreland basin system requires that stratigraphic models be geometrically parameterized as doubly tapered prisms in transverse cross-sections, rather than the typical ‘doorstop’ wedge shape that is used in most models. For the same reason, sequence stratigraphic models of foreland basin systems need to admit the possible development of type I unconformities on the proximal side of the system. The oft-ignored forebulge and back-bulge depozones contain abundant information about tectonic processes that occur on the scales of orogenic belt and subduction system.     

The Miocene Saint-Florent Basin in northern Corsica: stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonic implications

Late early–early middle Miocene (Burdigalian–Langhian) time on the island of Corsica (western Mediterranean) was characterized by a combination of (i) postcollisional structural inversion of the main boundary thrust system between the Alpine orogenic wedge and the foreland, (ii) eustatic sealevel rise and (iii) subsidence related to the development of the Ligurian‐Provençal basin. These processes created the accommodation for a distinctive continental to shallow‐marine sedimentary succession along narrow and elongated basins. Much of these deposits have been eroded and presently only a few scattered outcrop areas remain, most notably at Saint‐Florent and Francardo. The Burdigalian–Langhian sedimentary succession at Saint‐Florent is composed of three distinguishing detrital components: (i) siliciclastic detritus derived from erosion of the nearby Alpine orogenic wedge, (ii) carbonate intrabasinal detritus (bioclasts of shallow‐marine and pelagic organisms), and (iii) siliciclastic detritus derived from Hercynian‐age foreland terraines. The basal deposits (Fium Albino Formation) are fluvial and composed of Alpine‐derived detritus, with subordinate foreland‐derived volcanic detritus. All three detrital components are present in the middle portion of the succession (Torra and Monte Sant'Angelo Formations), which is characterized by thin transitional deposits evolving vertically into fully marine deposits, although the carbonate intrabasinal component is predominant. The Monte Sant'Angelo Formation is characteristically dominated by the deposits of large gravel and sandwaves, possibly the result of current amplification in narrow seaways that developed between the foreland and the tectonically collapsing Alpine orogenic wedge. The laterally equivalent Saint‐Florent conglomerate is composed of clasts derived from the late Permian Cinto volcanic district within the foreland. The uppermost unit (Farinole Formation) is dominated by bioclasts of pelagic organisms. The Saint‐Florent succession was deposited during the last phase of the counterclockwise rotation of the Corsica–Sardinia–Calabria continental block and the resulting development of the Provençal oceanic basin. The succession sits at the paleogeographic boundary between the Alpine orogenic wedge (to the east), its foreland (to the west), and the Ligurian‐Provençal basin (to the northwest). Abrupt compositional changes in the succession resulted from the complex, varying interplay of post‐collisional extensional tectonism, eustacy and competing drainage systems.     

Interplay between lithospheric flexure and river transport in foreland basins

ABSTRACT Foreland basins form by lithospheric flexure under orogenic loading and are filled by surface transport of sediment. This work readdresses the interplay between these processes by integrating in a 3D numerical model: the mechanisms of thrust stacking, elastic flexural subsidence and sediment transport along the drainage network. The experiments show that both crustal tectonic deformation and vertical movements related to lithospheric flexure control and organise the basin-scale drainage pattern, competing with the nonlinear, unpredictable intrinsic nature of river network evolution. Drainage pattern characteristics are predicted that match those observed in many foreland basins, such as the axial drainage, the distal location of the main river within the basin, and the formation of large, long-lasting lacustrine systems. In areas where the river network is not well developed before the formation of the basin, these lithospheric flexural effects on drainage patterns may be enhanced by the role of the forebulge uplift as drainage divide. Inversely, fluvial transport modifies the flexural vertical movements differently than simpler transport models (e.g. diffusion): Rivers can drive erosion products far from a filled basin, amplifying the erosional rebound of both orogen and basin. The evolution of the sediment budget between orogen and basin is strongly dependent on this coupling between flexure and fluvial transport: Maximum sediment accumulations on the foreland are predicted for a narrow range of lithospheric elastic thickness between 15 and 40 km, coinciding with the T _e values most commonly reported for foreland basins.     

Location,extent, and magnitude of dynamic topography in the Late Cretaceous Cordilleran Foreland Basin,USA: New insights from 3D flexural backstripping

Mantle-induced dynamic topography (i.e., subsidence and uplift) has been increasingly recognized as an important process in foreland basin development. However, characterizing and distinguishing the effects (i.e., location, extent and magnitude) of dynamic topography in ancient foreland basins remains challenging because the spatio-temporal footprint of dynamic topography and flexural topography (i.e., generated by topographic loading) can overlap. This study employs 3D flexural backstripping of Upper Cretaceous strata in the central part of the North American Cordilleran foreland basin (CFB) to better quantify the effects of dynamic topography. The extensive stratigraphic database and good age control of the CFB permit the regional application of 3D flexural backstripping in this basin for the first time. Dynamic topography started to influence the development of the CFB during the late Turonian to middle Campanian (90.2–80.2 Ma) and became the dominant subsidence mechanism during the middle to late Campanian (80.2–74.6 Ma). The area influenced by >100 m dynamic subsidence is approximately 400 by 500 km, within which significant (>200 m) dynamic subsidence occurs in an irregular-shaped (i.e., lunate) subregion. The maximum magnitude of dynamic subsidence is 300 ± 100 m based on the 80.2–74.6 Ma tectonic subsidence maps. With the maximum magnitude of dynamic uplift being constrained to be 200–300 m, the gross amount of dynamic topography in the Late Cretaceous CFB is 500–600 m. Although the location of dynamic subsidence revealed by tectonic subsidence maps is generally consistent with isopach map trends, tectonic subsidence maps developed through 3D flexural backstripping provide more accurate constraints of the areal extent, magnitude and rate of dynamic topography (as well as flexural topography) in the CFB through the Late Cretaceous. This improved understanding of dynamic topography in the CFB is critical for refining current geodynamic models of foreland basins and understanding the surface expression of mantle processes.     

Distinguishing fault reactivation from flexural deformation in the distal stratigraphy of the Peripheral Blountian Foreland Basin, southern Appalachians, USA

Reactivation of intraplate structures and weak zones within the foreland lithosphere disrupt the modelled geometry and pattern of migration of the flexural wave in foreland basins. In the southern Appalachians (USA), the Middle Ordovician unconformity, irregular Middle Ordovician distal foreland deposition and backstepping of Middle–lower Upper Ordovician carbonate strata have been related to migration of the flexural wave. However, integration of stratigraphy, tectonic subsidence history and composition of palinspastically restored distal foreland strata, using a map of subsurface basement structures as reference, allows us to distinguish an early event of inversion from two events of flexural migration. Sections restoring at very short distances outside the boundaries of a former basement graben have the youngest passive‐margin strata preserved beneath Middle Ordovician (～466 Ma) peritidal to deep lagoonal carbonates with gravel‐size chert clasts. In contrast, sections restoring inside the graben record >470 m of truncation of pre‐Middle Ordovician passive‐margin strata, late onset of deposition (～456 Ma), and subaerial features in carbonate and siliciclastic strata. The lacuna geometry and early patterns of distal foreland uplift and carbonate deposition indicate that inversion of a basement graben in response to Middle Ordovician convergence, rather than a migrating or semi‐fixed forebulge, was the primary control on the early evolution of the distal foreland. Drowning of the carbonate platform in more proximal settings, northeastward onset of deposition on upthrown blocks, and thick accumulation of carbonates in downthrown blocks record northwestward and northeastward flexural wave migration at the Middle–Late Ordovician boundary. In early Late Ordovician, the overall shoaling of carbonate and siliciclastic depocentres and the rise of tectonic subsidence curves indicate hinterlandward migration of flexural uplift. Both events of flexural migration were accompanied by influx of volcanic ash and synorogenic sediments.     

Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt: northern Neuquén Basin,Argentina

The Andean Orogen is the type‐example of an active Cordilleran style margin with a long‐lived retroarc fold‐and‐thrust belt and foreland basin. Timing of initial shortening and foreland basin development in Argentina is diachronous along‐strike, with ages varying by 20–30 Myr. The Neuquén Basin (32°S to 40°S) contains a thick sedimentary sequence ranging in age from late Triassic to Cenozoic, which preserves a record of rift, back arc and foreland basin environments. As much of the primary evidence for initial uplift has been overprinted or covered by younger shortening and volcanic activity, basin strata provide the most complete record of early mountain building. Detailed sedimentology and new maximum depositional ages obtained from detrital zircon U–Pb analyses from the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt (35°S) record a facies change between the marine evaporites of the Huitrín Formation (ca. 122 Ma) and the fluvial sandstones and conglomerates of the Diamante Formation (ca. 95 Ma). A 25–30 Myr unconformity between the Huitrín and Diamante formations represents the transition from post‐rift thermal subsidence to forebulge erosion during initial flexural loading related to crustal shortening and uplift along the magmatic arc to the west by at least 97 ± 2 Ma. This change in basin style is not marked by any significant difference in provenance and detrital zircon signature. A distinct change in detrital zircons, sandstone composition and palaeocurrent direction from west‐directed to east‐directed occurs instead in the middle Diamante Formation and may reflect the Late Cretaceous transition from forebulge derived sediment in the distal foredeep to proximal foredeep material derived from the thrust belt to the west. This change in palaeoflow represents the migration of the forebulge, and therefore, of the foreland basin system between 80 and 90 Ma in the Malargüe area.     

Fluvial deposition during transition from flexural to dynamic subsidence in the Cordilleran foreland basin: Ericson Formation,Western Wyoming,USA

The Ericson Formation was deposited in the distal foredeep of the Cordilleran foreland basin during Campanian time. Isopach data show that it records early dynamic subsidence and the onset of basin partitioning by Laramide uplifts. The Ericson Formation is well exposed around the Rock Springs uplift, a Laramide structural dome in southwestern Wyoming; the formation is thin, regionally extensive, and does not display the wedge‐shaped geometry typical of foredeep deposits. Sedimentation in this area was controlled both by activity in the thrust belt and by intraforeland tectonics. The Ericson Formation is ideally situated both spatially and temporally to study the transition from Sevier to Laramide (thin‐ to thick‐skinned) deformation which corresponded to the shift from flexural to dynamic subsidence and the demise of the Cretaceous foreland basin system. We establish the depositional age of the Ericson Formation as ca. 74 Ma through detrital zircon U–Pb analysis. Palaeocurrent data show a generally southeastward transport direction, but northward indicators near Flaming Gorge Reservoir suggest that the intraforeland Uinta uplift was rising and shedding sediment northward by late Campanian time. Petrographic data and detrital zircon U–Pb ages indicate that Ericson sediment was derived from erosion of Proterozoic quartzites and Palaeozoic and Mesozoic quartzose sandstones in the Sevier thrust belt to the west. The new data place temporal and geographic constraints on attempts to produce geodynamic models linking flat‐slab subduction of the oceanic Farallon plate to the onset of the Laramide orogenic event.     

Linkage of Sevier thrusting episodes and Late Cretaceous foreland basin megasequences across southern Wyoming (USA)

Deposition and subsidence analysis, coupled with previous structural studies of the Sevier thrust belt, provide a means of reconstructing the detailed kinematic history of depositional response to episodic thrusting in the Cordilleran foreland basin of southern Wyoming, western interior USA. The Upper Cretaceous basin fill is divided into five megasequences bounded by unconformities. The Sevier thrust belt in northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming deformed in an eastward progression of episodic thrusting. Three major episodes of displacement on the Willard‐Meade, Crawford and ‘early’ Absaroka thrusts occurred from Aptian to early Campanian, and the thrust wedge gradually became supercritically tapered. The Frontier Formation conglomerate, Echo Canyon and Weber Canyon Conglomerates and Little Muddy Creek Conglomerate were deposited in response to these major thrusting events. Corresponding to these proximal conglomerates within the thrust belt, Megasequences 1, 2 and 3 were developed in the distal foreland of southern Wyoming. Two‐dimensional (2‐D) subsidence analyses show that the basin was divided into foredeep, forebulge and backbulge depozones. Foredeep subsidence in Megasequences 1, 2 and 3, resulting from Willard‐Meade, Crawford and ‘early’ Absaroka thrust loading, were confined to a narrow zone in the western part of the basin. Subsidence in the broad region east of the forebulge was dominantly controlled by sediment loading and inferred dynamic subsidence. Individual subsidence curves are characterized by three stages from rapid to slow. Controlled by relationships between accommodation and sediment supply, the basin was filled with retrogradational shales during periods of rapid subsidence, followed by progradational coarse clastic wedges during periods of slow subsidence. During middle Campanian time (ca. 78.5–73.4 Ma), the thrust wedge was stalled because of wedge‐top erosion and became subcritical, and the foredeep zone eroded and rebounded because of isostasy. The eroded sediments were transported far from the thrust belt, and constitute Megasequence 4 that was mostly composed of fluvial and coastal plain depositional systems. Subsidence rates were very slow, because of post‐thrusting rebound, and the resulting 2‐D subsidence was lenticular in an east–west direction. During late Campanian to early Maastrichtian time, widespread deposits of coarse sediment (the Hams Fork Conglomerate) aggraded the top of the thrust wedge after it stalled, prior to initiation of ‘late’ Absaroka thrusting. Meanwhile Megasequence 5 was deposited in the Wyoming foreland under the influence of both the intraforeland Wind River basement uplift and the Sevier thrust belt.     

Determining kinematic order and relative age of faulting via flexural‐kinematic restoration: A case study in far western Nepal

Forward modeled, balanced cross sections that account for the flexural response to thrust loading and erosional unloading can verify and refine the kinematic sequence of deformation in fold‐thrust belts as well as help assess the validity of a balanced cross section. Results from flexural‐kinematic reconstructions that indicate either the cross section, the kinematic order or both are invalid include: (a) a predicted final topography that is dramatically different from the actual topography; (b) large normal fault or thrust fault bounded synorogenic basins that are not present in the mapped geology; and/or (c) an exhumation history that is not consistent with provenance records in the basin or measured thermochronometers. Where detailed measured foreland basin sections exist, flexural‐kinematic modeling of fold‐thrust belt deformation, including out‐of‐sequence (OOS) faults can predict a foreland basin evolution that can be compared to measured data. The modeling process creates a “pseudostratigraphy” in the modeled foreland. The pseudostratigraphy and predicted provenance of each modeled stratigraphic increment can be directly compared to measured stratigraphic sections. We present a case study using two cross sections through the Himalaya of far western Nepal (Api and Simikot) to assess the validity of the section geometries and the resulting kinematic histories, displacement rates, flexural wave response and predicted provenance for both sections. Insights from combining the flexural‐kinematic models with existing stratigraphic data include: (a) Changing the order of proposed OOS and normal faults to earlier in the evolution of the fold‐thrust belt was necessary to reproduce the foreland provenance data. We argue that OOS thrust and normal faults in the Api section occurred between 11 and 4 Ma. (b) Published shortening estimates for the Simikot cross section are too high (>50 km), resulting in unrealistic shortening rates up to 80 mm/yr between 25 and 20 Ma. (c) Flexural forward models with and without an additional sediment loading modeling step indicate that while sediment loading does not have a measurable effect on the magnitude and location of erosion within the fold‐thrust belt, it does have a small effect on accumulation rates and thus the predicted age of stratigraphic boundaries when compared to measured stratigraphic thicknesses and age. Thickness difference range from 0.2 to 0.5 km and can result in predicted age differences of ca. 1 Ma. Accounting for both flexural isostacy and erosion can eliminate unviable kinematic sequences and when combined with provenance data from measured stratigraphic sections, can provide insight into the order, age and rate of deformation.     

Stratigraphic signatures of translation of thrust-sheet top basins over low-angle detachment faults

Abstract Low‐angle detachment faults and thrust‐sheet top basins are common features in foreland basins. However, in stratigraphic analysis their influence on sequence architecture is commonly neglected. Usually, only eustatic sea level and changing flexural subsidence are accounted for, and when deformation is considered, the emphasis is on the generation of local thrust‐flank unconformities. This study analyses the effects of detachment angle and repetitive detachment activation on stratigraphic stacking patterns in a large thrust‐sheet top basin by applying a three‐dimensional numerical model. Model experiments show that displacement over low‐angle faults (2–6°) at moderate rates (～5.0 m kyr^?1) results in a vertical uplift component sufficient to counteract the background flexural subsidence rate. Consequently, the basin‐wide accommodation space is reduced, fluvio‐deltaic systems carried by the thrust‐sheet prograde and part of the sediment supply is spilled over towards adjacent basins. The intensity of the forced regression and the interconnectedness of fluvial sheet sandstones increases with the dip angle of the detachment fault or rate of displacement. In addition, the delta plain is susceptible to the formation of incised valleys during eustatic falls because these events are less compensated by regional flexural subsidence, than they would be in the absence of fault displacement.     

Stratigraphic evidence for a Late Devonian possible back-bulge basin in the Appalachian basin, United States

Isopach and sedimentary facies maps of Upper Devonian (upper Frasnian and lower Famennian) strata deposited in a part of the central Appalachian foreland basin (eastern United States) during the Acadian orogeny show a significant change in depositional style over time. Maps of two successive upper Frasnian intervals show steady thickening to the east towards the hinterland. Coarser‐grained sediment was deposited in distinct tongues in front of the Augusta lobe, a previously recognized locus of sediment input in the central Appalachian basin. Maps of two subsequent lower Famennian stratigraphic intervals show distinct depocentres in the study area. Famennian strata thin eastward (by about 50%) over a distance of about 90 km from these depocentres to the limit of mapping at the Allegheny structural front. This is towards the Acadian sediment source and in contrast to general Upper Devonian thickening in that direction. The axes of these lower Famennian depocentres are stacked on top of each other. Also, coarser‐grained lower Famennian sediment is concentrated in strike trends just east of the axes of the depocentres, and no coarser tongues exist in front of the Augusta lobe, in contrast to the underlying (upper Frasnian) strata. The duration of each of the four study intervals is estimated to be between 0.5 and 3.0 Myr. The early Famennian depocentres may be in a back‐bulge basin, with a forebulge uplifted to the east of the study area. Earlier deposition may have occurred in a basin with a subtle, subdued, and longer wavelength forebulge (perhaps located west of the study area). Previously published regional isopachs of Upper Devonian strata suggest that the main axis of subsidence of the Acadian foreland basin (foredeep depozone) at this time was over 350 km east of the study area. Examination of published quantitative flexural models of other foreland basins with flexural rigidities close to published rigidities calculated for the Appalachian basin suggests that the proposed back‐bulge basin is in the correct location, relative to the suggested position of the foredeep at that time. Several previously recognized structural features of the northern Appalachian basin support the interpretations presented herein. Much of the Acadian foreland basin may be eroded in the central Appalachian basin. The present study demonstrates the difficulties in recognizing foreland basin depozones in partially preserved orogens.     

Middle Eocene‐Oligocene broken‐foreland evolution in the Andean Calchaqui Valley,NW Argentina: insights from stratigraphic,structural and provenance studies

Two end‐member models have been proposed for the Paleogene Andean foreland: a simple W‐E migrating foreland model and a broken‐foreland model. We present new stratigraphic, sedimentological and structural data from the Paleogene Quebrada de los Colorados (QLC) Formation, in the Eastern Cordillera, with which to test these two different models. Basin‐wide unconformities, growthstrata and changes in provenance indicate deposition of the QLC Formation in a tectonically active basin. Both west‐ and east‐vergent structures, rooted in the basement, controlled the deposition and distribution of the QLC Formation from the Middle Eocene to the Early Miocene. The provenance analysis indicates that the main source areas were basement blocks, like the Paleozoic Oire Eruptive Complex, uplifted during Paleogene shortening, and that delimits the eastern boundary of the present‐day intraorogenic Puna plateau. A comparison of the QLC sedimentary basin‐fill pattern with those of adjacent Paleogene basins in the Puna plateau and in the Santa Bárbara System highlights the presence of discrete depozones. These reflect the early compartmentalization of the foreland, rather than a stepwise advance of the deformation front of a thrust belt. The early Tertiary foreland of the southern central Andes is represented by a ca. 250‐km‐wide area comprising several deformation zones (Arizaro, Macón, Copalayo and Calchaquí) in which doubly vergent or asymmetric structures, rooted in the basement, were generated. Hence, classical foreland model is difficult to apply in this Paleogene basin; and our data and interpretation agree with a broken‐foreland model.