From extension to contraction in syn-orogenic foredeep basins: the Contessa section, Umbria-Marche Apennines, Italy

Syn-orogenic deposits that occupy foredeep basins commonly experience contraction related to the migration of fold-and-thrust systems toward the foreland. This contraction may overprint the earlier extensional deformation that is related to the initiation of the basin. Although predicted by models for foredeep development, evidence for extension predating contraction at different scales is not extensively recorded in syn-orogenic deposits. Mesoscopic structures from the Contessa section, in the Umbria-Marche Apennines, Italy, reveal a complex history, characterized by extension soon before the contractional deformation. Normal faults predate the folds and thrusts that are related to the Miocene-age orogenic event responsible for the development of the Apennines. Extensional deformation may have resulted from flexuring of a lithospheric plate induced by the load of a stacking thrust pile. The transition from extension to contraction could play an important role in the evolution of belt–foredeep–foreland systems, as it could reflect the migration of advancing thrust fronts toward the foreland.     

Foreland-dipping normal faults in the inner edges of syn-orogenic basins: a case from the Central Apennines, Italy

Extensional deformations are common within foredeep basins and generally consist of hinterland-dipping normal faults located at the foredeep–foreland transition zones. Foreland-dipping normal faults at the belt–foredeep boundaries, by contrast, are far less documented and their occurrence is not predicted by simple orogenic load models. New surface data integrated with seismic reflection profiles across the Central Apennines of Italy reveal the occurrence of foreland-dipping normal faults located in the inner edges of foredeep depressions. Extensional deformations are systematically found within sequentially younger Tortonian, Messinian and Early Pliocene foredeep basins, thus suggesting that normal fault development was an intrinsic feature of the evolving belt–foredeep–foreland system and could have influenced the stratal architectures of the host syn-orogenic deposits. Foreland extension is consistent with existing geodynamic models for the Apennines and could represent the effects of lithospheric bending: its recognition and documentation elsewhere could provide significant insights to improve our understanding of syn-orogenic basin dynamics.     

Clinoform deposition across a boundary between orogenic front and foredeep – an example from the Lower Cretaceous in Arctic Alaska

The Lower Cretaceous Fortress Mountain Formation occupies a spatial and temporal niche between syntectonic deposits at the Brooks Range orogenic front and post‐tectonic strata in the Colville foreland basin. The formation includes basin‐floor fan, marine‐slope and fan‐delta facies that define a clinoform depositional profile. Texture and composition of clasts in the formation suggest progressive burial of a tectonic wedge‐front that included older turbidites and mélange. These new interpretations, based entirely on outcrop study, suggest that the Fortress Mountain Formation spans the boundary between orogenic wedge and foredeep, with proximal strata onlapping the tectonic wedge‐front and distal strata downlapping the floor of the foreland basin. Our reconstruction suggests that clinoform amplitude reflects the structural relief generated by tectonic wedge development and load‐induced flexural subsidence of the foreland basin.     

Structure and tectonic history of the foreland basins of southernmost South America

The common elements and differences of the neighboring Austral (Magallanes), Malvinas and South Malvinas (South Falkland) sedimentary basins are described and analyzed. The tectonic history of these basins involves Triassic to Jurassic crustal stretching, an ensuing Early Cretaceous thermal subsidence in the retroarc, followed by a Late Cretaceous–Paleogene compressional phase, and a Neogene to present-day deactivation of the fold–thrust belt dominated by wrench deformation. A concomitant Late Cretaceous onset of the foreland phase in the three basins and an integrated history during the Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic are proposed. The main lower Paleocene–lower Eocene initial foredeep depocenters were bounding the basement domain and are now deformed into the thin-skinned fold–thrust belts. A few extensional depocenters developed in the Austral and Malvinas basins during late Paleocene–early Eocene times due to a temporary extensional regime resulting from an acceleration in the separation rate between South America and Antarctica preceding the initial opening of the Drake Passage. These extensional depocenters were superimposed to the previous distal foredeep depocenter, postdating the initiation of the foredeep phase and the onset of compressional deformation. Another pervasive set of normal faults of Paleocene to Recent age that can be recognized throughout the basins are interpreted to be a consequence of flexural bending of the lithosphere, in agreement with a previous study from South Malvinas basin. Contractional deformation was replaced by transpressive kinematics during the Oligocene due to a major tectonic plate reorganization. Presently, while the South Malvinas basin is dominated by the transpressive uplift of its active margin with minor sediment supply, the westward basins undergo localized development of pull-apart depocenters and transpressional uplift of previous structures. The effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere for different sections of each basin is calculated using a dynamic finite element numerical model that simulates the lithospheric response to advancing tectonic load with active sedimentation.     

A thin orogenic wedge upon thick foreland lithosphere and the missing foreland basin

Along the Caledonian front in central Scandinavia, the expected peripheral or pro-foreland basin is neither physically present nor are there any significant traces in the sedimentary record. In order to explain and quantify this situation, the authors assess the major geometric and mechanical constraints on the Caledonian orogenic wedge and model the orogenic load and its influence on the foreland lithosphere of Baltica. Geologic and geophysical data show a strong foreland lithosphere with a flexural parameter (α) of approximately 100 km. The shape of the orogenic wedge and its critical taper angle are dependent mainly on basal friction and wedge strength. In the external part organic-rich black shales provide a low-friction horizon both at the basal detachment surface and within the wedge itself. The more internal part of the wedge is composed of metamorphic and crystalline rocks, which cooled and strengthened prior to thrusting. As a result, the external part of the wedge had a lower strength and a smaller critical taper angle than its internal part, so the orogenic load is upward concave. Modelling of the effect of such a load on the Baltica lithosphere shows a very small depression in front of the load (2 km). The flexural depression produced by the main part of the orogenic load is filled up by the thickening thrust-and-fold belt, so that there is little space left for a foreland basin. These results imply that the missing foreland basin in front of the central Scandinavian Caledonides is not due to subsequent erosion, but is a primary feature.     

Thermo-mechanical structure beneath the young orogenic belt of Taiwan

We investigate the thermo-mechanical properties beneath the young orogenic belt of Taiwan by constructing a shear strength profile from a vertical stratified rheological structure. The stratified rheological structure is estimated based on the recently developed thermal structure and its likely composition. Subduction–collision in the young orogenic belts and the thick accretionary wedge make a significant contribution to the growth of sialic crust in the hinterland. The sialic bulk crust not only results in a low seismic velocity but also produces weak crust in the hinterland. The earthquake depth–frequency distribution in the foreland and hinterland correlates very well with the regimes of the brittle/ductile transition revealed in the strength profile. Our results show that the observed two-layer seismicity in the foreland is due to a moderate geotherm and an intermediate mafic bulk composition; while single-layer seismicity in the hinterland is due to its felsic bulk composition. In the foreland, the mechanically strong crust (MSC) and the mechanically strong lithosphere (MSL) coincide with frequent seismicity. The shallow MSC in the hinterland is consistent with the 20- to 25-km seismicity occurring there. The total lithospheric integrated strength (LIS) in the hinterland is only about half of that in the foreland, suggesting a weak lower crust and lithosphere mantle in the hinterland. The results confirm that the earthquake cutoff depth is a proxy for temperature. The calculated decrease of effective elastic thickness (EET) from the orogenic margin (foreland) to the center (hinterland) is consistent with the results of flexure modeling in most orogenic belts. Due to the weak LIS in the hinterland, crustal thinning and rifting may occur in the future. Our results, thus, suggest that the mechanical structure is also closely related to the composition and is not directly reflected in the thermal structure.     

造山带与前陆盆地结构构造及动力学研究思路和进展

运用大量的研究成果，综合分析了大陆岩石圈结构和动力学特征，在此基础上探讨了造山带研究的思路和方法，总结了造山带结构、构造及其形成演化研究的新进展。指出前陆盆地的研究是深入研究造山带的关键，前陆盆地是前陆冲断作用引起岩石圈挠曲变形的结果，阐述了前陆盆地形成机制的研究进展。     

造山带与前陆盆地结构构造及动力学研究思路和进展

运用大量的研究成果，综合分析了大陆岩石圈结构和动力学特征，在此基础上探讨了造山带研究的思路和方法，总结了造山带结构、构造及其形成演化研究的新进展。指出前陆盆地的研究是深入研究造山带的关键，前陆盆地是前陆冲断作用引起岩石圈挠曲变形的结果，阐述了前陆盆地形成机制的研究进展     

Potential evidence for slab detachment from the flexural backstripping of a foredeep: Insight on the evolution of the Pescara basin (Italy)

The discrepancy between the size of the Apenninic chain and the depth of the Adriatic foredeep is investigated using 2D flexural backstripping on well‐constrained depth‐converted cross‐sections in the Pescara basin (Central Italy). The procedure consisted of removal, uplift, unfolding and unfaulting of the Pliocene–Pleistocene foreland deposits to produce a palaeogeographic map of the basin at the end of the Messinian and to constrain sedimentary rates since the Miocene. Results are found to support the contribution of an external load to the foreland evolution together with the Apenninic chain load. The interplay of the two types of loads resulted in spatial and temporal variations of the foredeep evolution that are quantified by palaeogeographic maps and sedimentation rates obtained through backstripping. Results are interpreted as representing the effects of a southward‐migrating wave linked to slab detachment beneath the Adriatic foredeep. This procedure can be useful to investigate similar problems on other chains worldwide.     

A metamorphic perspective on foreland flexure during intraplate orogeny: evidence for the involvement of weak lithosphere

Constraining depth–temperature conditions of syn‐orogenic burial metamorphism of syn‐orogenic sediments in a foreland basin provides an innovative way to investigate the thermomechanical state of the lithosphere. In central Australia, major intraplate deformation resulted in 10 km of syn‐orogenic sedimentation in a basin approximately 70 km wide. The deep level of burial in the foreland of the intraplate orogen requires the involvement of weak lithosphere with an elastic thickness of ≤20 km. The profound flexural response of the foreland region indicates that major intraplate deformation in central Australia was localised into a region of dramatically weakened lithosphere.     

Physical modelling of deformation in the Tasman Orogenic Zone

Structural vergence within the Western Subprovince of the Lachlan Fold Belt is towards the hinterland rather than the foreland, in contrast to many well-known orogenic belts. High angle-reverse faults and upright folds verge eastwards, away from the Australian craton, towards the inferred centre of orogenic and magmatic activity. We designed a series of analogue models to test the anomalous vergence in the western Lachlan Fold Belt, particularly the interaction of a stable Australian craton with Tasman Line geometry, interacting with weaker oceanic or transitional lithospheric material. We found consistently that vergence direction in the models was towards the hinterland, not the foreland, as in the western Lachlan Fold Belt, irrespective of the way the model was deformed. Strength gradients between the oceanic and cratonic lithosphere control the deformation patterns. An important result of the models is that they demonstrate that fold belts with different vergences can be generated without the requirement of subducting oceanic lithosphere.     

龙门山前陆盆地底部不整合面: 被动大陆边缘到前陆盆地的转换

晚三叠世龙门山前陆盆地是在扬子板块西缘被动大陆边缘的基础上由印支造山运动而形成的,盆地中地层充填厚度巨大,包括晚三叠世卡尼期至瑞提期的马鞍塘组、小塘子组和须家河组,持续时间达20Myr,显示为1个以不整合面为界的构造层序。位于晚三叠世龙门山前陆盆地构造层序与下伏古生代-中三叠世被动大陆边缘构造层序之间的不整合面属于龙门山前陆盆地的底部不整合面,标志了扬子板块西缘从被动大陆边缘盆地到前陆盆地的转换。该底部不整合面位于晚三叠世马鞍塘组与中三叠世雷口坡组之间,显示为平行不整合面或角度不整合面,在接触面上发育冲蚀坑、古喀斯特溶沟、溶洞、溶岩角砾、古风化壳的褐铁矿、黏土层及石英、燧石细砾岩等底砾岩。该不整合面向南东方向不断地切削下伏地层,且均发育岩溶风化面,上覆的晚三叠世地层沿不整合面向南东超覆,显示了从整合面到不整合面的变化过程,并随着逆冲楔的推进向南东方向迁移,其超覆线、侵蚀带和相带的走向线与龙门山冲断带的走向大致平行。底部不整合面显示为典型的前陆挠曲不整合面,标志着龙门山前陆盆地的形成和扬子板块西缘挠曲下降和淹没过程,底部为古喀斯特作用面,下部为碳酸盐缓坡和海绵礁建造,上部为进积过程中形成的三角洲沉积物,具有向上变粗的垂向结构,表明底部不整合面和前缘隆起的抬升是扬子板块西缘构造负载的挠曲变形的产物,显示了在卡尼期松潘-甘孜残留洋盆的迅速闭合和逆冲构造负载向扬子板块的推进过程。本次在对晚三叠世龙门山前陆盆地底部不整合面的风化壳、残留厚度、地层缺失、剥蚀厚度、地层超覆等研究的基础上,计算了底部不整合面迁移速率、前缘隆起迁移速率、地层上超速率和前缘隆起的剥蚀速率,并与逆冲楔推进速率进行了对比,结果表明,底部不整合面迁移速率、前缘隆起的迁移速率、地层上超速率均介于3~18mm·a^-1之间,其与逆冲楔推进速率(5~15mm·a^-1)相似,因此,可用底部不整合面迁移速率、前缘隆起的迁移速率和地层上超速率代表逆冲楔推进速率。但是前缘隆起的剥蚀速率很小,介于0.02~0.08mm·a^-1之间,仅为逆冲楔推进速率的1/100。     

Lithospheric buoyancy forces in Africa from a thin sheet approach

Many features in rift zones and passive margins have been successfully explained by lithospheric stretching models driven solely by tectonic forces. However, the origin of these forces and whether they are sufficient for amagmatic rifting of an initially thick lithosphere remain open questions. We use a thin sheet approach and the CRUST 2.0 model to compute vertically averaged deviatoric stresses arising from horizontal gradients of gravitational potential energy. Computed deviatoric stress directions agree well with earthquake focal mechanisms and stress indicators from the World Stress Map project. We compare the resulting force per unit length with the integrated strength of the lithosphere in the East African Rift and show that buoyancy forces may account for a significant part of the force budget causing continental rifting but are likely insufficient to rupture an initially thick and cold continental lithosphere. This suggests other processes contribute at a significant level to the force balance driving continental rifting in East Africa.     

岩石圈中热压系数的计算

中国中西部地区发育众多前陆冲断带,它们具有构造变形复杂、油气潜力大和有别于经典前陆盆地的沉积和油气地质特征,但其成因过程和动力学并不清楚。文中利用中西部盆地区的地温、岩石热物性参数和地热学模拟技术,分析该区岩石圈热状态和流变学特征,进一步结合其他地质、地球物理资料,揭示盆地区的深部构造特征和岩石圈性质。研究表明,中西部各主要盆地的岩石圈具有厚度大、强度高、地温低等热-流变学特征,表现为刚硬块体;而其周缘和造山带区却表现为温度高、强度低和厚度小等特征,是构造变形的易发区。在此基础上讨论了岩石圈性质和变形过程等深部构造对前陆盆地成因演化的控制作用,进而初步归纳这类陆内再生前陆盆地的成因演化机制:发育于小型克拉通块体的边缘,其就位受控于岩石圈热-流变学非均质性和构造继承性,其动力来源是新生代印度-欧亚大陆碰撞及其持续的挤压作用。上述研究为探讨中国中西部地区的前陆盆地成因机制提供了深部资料和岩石圈热-流变学约束。     

Evolution of the European Cenozoic Rift System: interaction of the Alpine and Pyrenean orogens with their foreland lithosphere

The evolution of the European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS) and the Alpine orogen is discussed on the base of a set of palaeotectonic maps and two retro-deformed lithospheric transects which extend across the Western and Central Alps and the Massif Central and the Rhenish Massif, respectively.During the Paleocene, compressional stresses exerted on continental Europe by the evolving Alps and Pyrenees caused lithospheric buckling and basin inversion up to 1700 km to the north of the Alpine and Pyrenean deformation fronts. This deformation was accompanied by the injection of melilite dykes, reflecting a plume-related increase in the temperature of the asthenosphere beneath the European foreland. At the Paleocene–Eocene transition, compressional stresses relaxed in the Alpine foreland, whereas collisional interaction of the Pyrenees with their foreland persisted. In the Alps, major Eocene north-directed lithospheric shortening was followed by mid-Eocene slab- and thrust-loaded subsidence of the Dauphinois and Helvetic shelves. During the late Eocene, north-directed compressional intraplate stresses originating in the Alpine and Pyrenean collision zones built up and activated ECRIS.At the Eocene–Oligocene transition, the subducted Central Alpine slab was detached, whereas the West-Alpine slab remained attached to the lithosphere. Subsequently, the Alpine orogenic wedge converged northwestward with its foreland. The Oligocene main rifting phase of ECRIS was controlled by north-directed compressional stresses originating in the Pyrenean and Alpine collision zones.Following early Miocene termination of crustal shortening in the Pyrenees and opening of the oceanic Provençal Basin, the evolution of ECRIS was exclusively controlled by west- and northwest-directed compressional stresses emanating from the Alps during imbrication of their external massifs. Whereas the grabens of the Massif Central and the Rhône Valley became inactive during the early Miocene, the Rhine Rift System remained active until the present. Lithospheric folding controlled mid-Miocene and Pliocene uplift of the Vosges-Black Forest Arch. Progressive uplift of the Rhenish Massif and Massif Central is mainly attributed to plume-related thermal thinning of the mantle-lithosphere.ECRIS evolved by passive rifting in response to the build-up of Pyrenean and Alpine collision-related compressional intraplate stresses. Mantle-plume-type upwelling of the asthenosphere caused thermal weakening of the foreland lithosphere, rendering it prone to deformation.     

库车前陆盆地早白垩世岩石圈粘弹性变形的地层记录

基于前陆盆地岩石圈弹性与粘弹性挠曲变形的不同特点,提出应用前隆斜坡带地层结构获取岩石圈力学性质及变形过程信息的思路。对库车前陆盆地的实例分析表明,研究区早白垩世历经了两个逆冲期至宁静期的构造演化,卡普沙良群、巴什基奇克组分别为逆冲期和宁静期的地层记录。在单个逆冲期,随着逆冲加载和岩石圈挠曲变形,岩石圈性质从弹性转化为粘弹性,盆地由向克拉通方向扩展变宽转变为向逆冲带变窄加深。相应地,前隆斜坡带的地层记录为:逆冲早期,地层向克拉通方向渐进超覆和退积;逆冲晚期,地层向逆冲带收缩和前积,形成底面上超/削截和顶面削截—顶超两个重大不整合面。宁静期盆地宽浅,地层平行连续,临近冲断带因岩石圈回弹产生少量削截不整合。     

前陆盆地挠曲沉降和沉积过程3D模型研究

前陆盆地是在造山带负荷作用下岩石圈发生挠曲沉降而形成的,并且被主要从造山带搬运的沉积物所充填。为了更好地理解和认识前陆盆地的形成演化机制,特别是受控于周缘多个造山带活动所形成的前陆盆地的演化机制,本文通过建立前陆盆地挠曲沉降与沉积过程的3-D模型,模拟展示了造山带逆冲推覆作用、岩石圈挠曲沉降响应及在山盆体系中由于动力地形变化而导致的河流体系的发育变化及其产生的剥蚀和沉积过程。模型的建立和实验完整体现了逆冲推覆、弹性挠曲沉降和沉积物搬运这三者之间的耦合机制,为全面深入研究前陆盆地动力学提供了理论依据和方法。     

From foredeep to orogenic wedge-top: The Cretaceous Songliao retroforeland basin,China

Songliao Basin, the largest Mesozoic intracontinental nonmarine basin in eastern China, initiated during the latest Jurassic as a backarc extensional basin; rifting failed and thermal cooling controlled subsidence through the early Late Cretaceous. Integrating 2-D and 3D reflection seismic and borehole data with regional geological studies, we interpret sedimentary sequence and structural patterns of the Coniacian-Maastrichtian fill of Songliao Basin as defining a retroforeland basin system developed after 88 Ma (marked by the T11 unconformity in the basin), including (1) significant increase in the thickness of the Nenjiang Formation eastward towards orogenic highlands of the Zhangguangcai Range and the convergent continental margin; (2) a shift of detrital provenance in the basin from north to southeast; and (3) propagation of E-W shortened structures, increasing eastward in amplitude, frequency, and degree of inversion toward the orogen. During latest Cretaceous, foreland basin fill progressively deformed, as the foredeep evolved to a wedge-top tectonic setting, marked by the basin-wide T04 unconformity within the upper Nenjiang Formation at 81.6 Ma. Much of the basin was brought into the orogenic wedge and eroded by the end of the Cretaceous. Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous backarc rifting of uncratonized basement comprised of accreted terranes likely facilitated and localized the foreland. Synrift normal faults reactivated and extensively inverted as thrust faults are prominent in the eastern 1/3 of the basin, whereas folds developed above detachments in shaley early post-rift strata dominate the western 2/3 of the basin. Songliao foreland development likely was driven by changing plate dynamics and collision along the Pacific margin after 88 Ma.     

Wilson cycle passive margins: Control of orogenic inheritance on continental breakup

Rifts and passive margins often develop along old suture zones where colliding continents merged during earlier phases of the Wilson cycle. For example, the North Atlantic formed after continental break-up along sutures formed during the Caledonian and Variscan orogenies. Even though such tectonic inheritance is generally appreciated, causative physical mechanisms that affect the localization and evolution of rifts and passive margins are not well understood.We use thermo-mechanical modeling to assess the role of orogenic structures during rifting and continental breakup. Such inherited structures include: 1) Thickened crust, 2) eclogitized oceanic crust emplaced in the mantle lithosphere, and 3) mantle wedge of hydrated peridotite (serpentinite).Our models indicate that the presence of inherited structures not only defines the location of rifting upon extension, but also imposes a control on their structural and magmatic evolution. For example, rifts developing in thin initial crust can preserve large amounts of orogenic serpentinite. This facilitates rapid continental breakup, exhumation of hydrated mantle prior to the onset of magmatism. On the contrary, rifts in thicker crust develop more focused thinning in the mantle lithosphere rather than in the crust, and continental breakup is therefore preceded by magmatism. This implies that whether passive margins become magma-poor or magma-rich, respectively, is a function of pre-rift orogenic properties.The models show that structures of orogenic eclogite and hydrated mantle are partially preserved during rifting and are emplaced either at the base of the thinned crust or within the lithospheric mantle as dipping structures. The former provides an alternative interpretation of numerous observations of ‘lower crustal bodies’ which are often regarded as igneous bodies. The latter is consistent with dipping sub-Moho reflectors often observed in passive margins.     

Mechanical aspects of sedimentary basin formation: development of integrated models for lithospheric and surface processes

Different assumptions for the thermo-mechanical properties of the lithosphere strongly affect predictions inferred from quantitative sedimentary basin modeling. Examples from various basins, selected as natural laboratories, illustrate the importance of incorporating a finite strength of the extending lithosphere in forward stratigraphic modeling of large-scale basin stratigraphy. Current models can effectively couple erosion at uplifted rift shoulders of extensional basins with the basin fill architecture of the subsiding basin compartments. Modeling of the synrift strata integrates spatial scales characteristic for subbasins, such as the Oseberg field in the North Sea, with large-scale lithospheric properties characterizing the bulk strength of extending lithosphere. Modeling of compressional basins in foreland fold-and-thrust-belt settings can effectively link lithospheric flexure with surface processes. Scales pertinent to short-term spatial and temporal variations in basin fill and basin deformation can now be addressed, allowing the quantitative investigation of consequences of different modes of thrusting for basin fill geometry and facies characteristics.