Provenance of Palaeo‐Rhine sediments from zircon thermochronology,geochemistry, U/Pb dating and heavy mineral assemblages

Sediments deposited in the Late Cenozoic basins of the Central European Rift System, including the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE), document the drastic extension of the Rhine's catchment towards the Central Alps in the Late Pliocene by distinct heavy mineral assemblages. This outstanding change in principal sediment sources should be accompanied by a change towards distinctly younger (i.e. Tertiary) detrital mineral cooling ages. Therefore, it provides a particularly well‐suited framework to explore the thermochronological provenance record in relation to heavy mineral assemblages. In this multi‐proxy approach we (i) exploit and elaborate detrital zircon (U–Th)/He thermochronology (ZHe) for sediment provenance surveys, (ii) document shortcomings if only a single geochronological method is employed, and (iii) obtain tighter constraints on the sources of Paleo‐Rhine sediments. Our results are based on Pliocene and Pleistocene sediment samples from the northern URG (drill core Ludwigshafen P36) and the LRE (lignite mine Hambach). In a Late Pliocene URG sample, Variscan and Permo‐Triassic cooling ages dominate the age spectra of the ZHe and Zircon fission track (ZFT) thermochronometers. The youngest ages are Late Cretaceous and these zircons show rare earth element signatures that suggest derivation from hydrothermally affected basement rocks of the URG margins. In contrast, a Lower Pleistocene URG sample contains significant Tertiary age components that unequivocally indicate Alpine sources. This cardinal difference coincides well with a significant change in the heavy mineral assemblage. The extension of the catchment of the Rhine towards the Central Alps is considered to occur no earlier than the latest Pliocene (i.e. after ~3.0 Ma). Despite strongly contrasting heavy mineral compositions, the Pliocene and Pleistocene samples from the LRE show largely similar ZHe and ZFT age distributions dominated by Permo‐Triassic and Variscan ages. Admixture of zircon‐dominated, but overall heavy mineral‐poor sediment derived from local drainages of the Rhenish Massif likely explains this apparent contradiction in sediment provenance proxies. Tertiary cooling ages occur in both Pliocene and Pleistocene LRE samples. Zircon Th/U ratios and U/Pb ages reveal that the young age component in Late Pliocene sediments from the LRE is not derived from the Alps but from Oligocene trachytic members of the Central European volcanic centres of the Vogelsberg, Westerwald, and/or Siebengebirge. The integration of ZHe and ZFT techniques with zircon geochemistry and U/Pb geochronology adds the respective advantages of each method and allows for a very detailed picture of detrital zircon provenance.     

Rapid extensive erosion of the North Alpine foreland basin at 5–4 Ma

An extensive low‐temperature thermochronology study of the Swiss part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin has been conducted with the aim of deciphering the late Neogene basin development. Apatite fission‐track (AFT) ages from wells located in the distal and weakly deformed Plateau Molasse reveal rapid, km‐scale erosion with an onset in early Pliocene times. The distribution of erosion implies that there was a strong gradient in late Miocene deposition rates along the strike of the basin, with an increase towards the northeast. Additionally, renewed tectonic activity and km‐scale out‐of‐sequence thrusting during Plio‐Pleistocene times is indicated by AFT data from wells within the thrusted, proximal Subalpine Molasse. Several different mechanisms driving late Neogene basin erosion and accelerated erosional discharge from the European Alps have been considered in the literature. Based on our AFT results, we reevaluate previously published hypotheses, and suggest that a change in climate and/or drainage reorganisation coincided and possibly interacted with preexisting tectonic and geodynamic forces in the Alpine region.     

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 synthesis of Cenozoic sedimentation in the North Sea

The North Sea Basin contains an almost complete record of Cenozoic sedimentation, separated by clear regional unconformities. The changes in sediment characteristics, rate and source, and expression of the unconformities reflect the tectonic, eustatic and climatic changes that the North Sea and its margins have undergone. While the North Sea has been mapped locally, we present the first regional mapping of the Cenozoic sedimentary strata. Our study provides a new regional sub‐division of the main seismic units in the North Sea together with maps of depocentres, influx direction and source areas. Our study provides a regional synthesis of sedimentation based on a comprehensive interpretation of a regionally covering reflection seismic data set. We relate observations of sediment characteristics and unconformities to the geological evolution. The timing, regional expression and stratigraphic characteristics of many unconformities indicate that they were generated by eustatic sea‐level fall, often in conjunction with other processes. Early Cenozoic unconformities, however, relate to tectonism associated with the opening of the North Atlantic. From observation on a regional scale, we infer that the sediment influx into the North Sea during the Cenozoic is more complex than previously suggested clockwise rotation from early northwestern to late southern sources. The Shetland Platform supplied sediment continuously, although at varying rates, until the latest Cenozoic. Sedimentation around Norway changed from early Cenozoic influx from the southwestern margin, to almost exclusively from the southern margin in the Oligocene and from all of southern Norway in the latest Cenozoic. Thick Eocene deposits in the Central Graben are sourced mainly from a western and a likely southern source, indicating that prominent influx from the south did not only occur from the mid‐Miocene onwards. We infer a new age for the increased progradational sediment influx in the Pleistocene of 2.5 Ma, coeval with Fennoscandian glaciation.     

Tectonic vs. climate forcing in the Cenozoic sedimentary evolution of a foreland basin (Eastern Southalpine system, Italy)

This paper discusses the Cenozoic interaction of regional tectonics and climate changes. These processes were responsible for mass flux from mountain belts to depositional basins in the eastern Alpine retro‐foreland basin (Venetian–Friulian Basin). Our discussion is based on the depositional architecture and basin‐scale depositional rate curves obtained from the decompacted thicknesses of stratigraphic units. We compare these data with the timing of tectonic deformation in the surrounding mountain ranges and the chronology of both long‐term trends and short‐term high‐magnitude (‘aberrant’) episodes of climate change. Our results confirm that climate forcing (and especially aberrant episodes) impacted the depositional evolution of the basin, but that tectonics was the main factor driving sediment flux in the basin up to the Late Miocene. The depositional rate remained below 0.1 mm year^?1 on average from the Eocene to the Miocene, peaking at around 0.36 mm year^?1, during periods of maximum tectonic activity in the eastern Southern Alps. This dynamic strongly changed during the Pliocene–Pleistocene, when the basin‐scale depositional rate increased to an average of 0.26 mm year^?1 (Pliocene) and 0.73 mm year^?1 (Pleistocene). This result fits nicely with the long‐term global cooling trend recorded during this time interval. Nevertheless, we note that the timing of the observed increase may be connected with the presumed onset of major glaciations in the southern flank of the Alps (0.7–0.9 Ma), the acceleration of the global cooling trend (since 3–4 Ma) and climate variability (in terms of magnitude and frequency). All these factors suggest that combined high‐frequency and high‐magnitude cooling–warming cycles are particularly powerful in promoting erosion in mid‐latitude mountain belts and therefore in increasing the sediment flux in foreland basins.     

The last phase of deposition in the Swiss Molasse Basin: from foredeep to negative‐alpha basin

The Molasse Basin of Switzerland evolved through a distinct late Neogene history with initial development as a classic foredeep or foreland basin in response to loading of the lithosphere by the Alpine orogen. In the central and western foreland, the foredeep behaviour was terminated by deformation and uplift of the Jura Mountains in the distal regions of the foredeep. Following the Jura deformation the Plateau Molasse remained largely undeformed as it rode ‘piggy‐back’ style above the decollement feeding displacement into the Jura. Sediment accumulation data for the Molasse suggests that sedimentation in the Plateau Molasse region continued until the basin was inverted at about 5 Ma. We present a mechanical model for this sequence of events in which deformation jumps across much of the basin to the distal Jura because of the dip on the weak evaporitic decollement and the wedge‐shape of the foredeep basin. Subsequently, the Plateau Molasse remained largely undeformed as a result of continued sedimentation in a wedgetop basin, where the physical properties and geometry of the orogenic wedge combine to produce a critical wedge whose critical surface slope would be less than zero and thus should dip towards the Alpine interior. Accommodation space is created over this negative surface–slope segment of the wedge and sedimentation maintains this slope near zero, stabilizing the wedge. We present a simple analytical theory for the necessary conditions for such a ‘negative‐alpha basin’ to develop and be maintained. We compare this theory to the late Neogene evolution of the Alps, Molasse Basin and Jura Mountains and infer physical properties for the decollement.     

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.     

Glacial erosion and geomorphology in the northwest Sierra Nevada, CA

Pleistocene glacial erosion left a strong topographic imprint in the northwestern Sierra Nevada at many scales, yet the specific landforms and the processes that created them have not been previously documented in the region. In contrast, glaciation in the southern and central Sierra was extensively studied and by the end of the 19th century was among the best understood examples of alpine glaciation outside of the European Alps. This study describes glacially eroded features in the northwest Sierra and presents inferred linkages between erosional forms and Pleistocene glacial processes. Many relationships corroborate theoretical geomorphic principles. These include the occurrence of whalebacks in deep ice positions, roches moutonnées under thin ice, and occurrence of P-forms in low topographic positions where high subglacial meltwater pressures were likely. Some of the landforms described here have not previously been noted in the Sierra, including a large crag and tail eroded by shallow ice and erosional benches high on valley walls thought to be cut by ice-marginal channels.     

High‐resolution evolution of terrigenous sediment yields in the Provence Basin during the last 6 Ma: relation with climate and tectonics

Basin‐wide correlation of Messinian units and Plio‐Quaternary chronostratigraphic markers (5.3 Ma, 2.6 Ma, 0.9 Ma and 0.45 Ma), the mapping of total sediment thickness and the determination of overall sedimentary volumes enabled us to provide a high‐resolution quantitative history of sediment volumes for the last 6 Ma along the Gulf of Lions margin. The results point to (i) a dramatic increase in terrigenous sediment input during the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This increased sedimentation reflects enhanced regional fluvial erosion related to the dramatic fall of Mediterranean base‐level. Stronger weathering due to a regional wetter climate probably also increased erosional fluxes. (ii) A sediment input three times higher during the Plio‐Quaternary compared to the Miocene seems in agreement with published measurements from World's ocean. However, the timing of this increase being uncertain, it implies that the trigger(s) also remain(s) uncertain. (iii) A decrease in detrital volume around 2.6 Ma is attributed to a regional change in the drainage pattern of rivers in the northwestern Alps. (iv) This study also highlights the Mid‐Pleistocene Revolution around 0.9 Ma, which resulted in an almost doubling of sediment input in the Provencal Basin.     

The changing Patagonian landscape: Erosion and westward sediment transfer paths in northern Patagonia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene

Pleistocene glaciations have promoted important landscape transformations as a result of high rates of erosion and rapid sediment evacuation to adjacent marine basins. In the Patagonian Andes the role of the Patagonian Ice Sheet on landscape evolution, in particular the spatial patterns of glacial erosion and its influence on sediment fluxes, is poorly documented. Here, we investigate the Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary record of the continental slope from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 861, offshore Patagonia (46°S), to evaluate the link between glaciations, mountain range erosion and continental margin strata formation. Petrographic analysis of the sand-size fraction (0.063–2 mm) and ɛNd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr measurements in the silt-size fraction (10–63 µm) indicate that glacial erosion over the last 350,000 years has focused within the Patagonian Batholith, with a minor influence of a proximal source to the drilling site, the Chonos Metamorphic Complex. This shows that erosion has focused in the core of the northern Patagonian Andes, coinciding roughly with the location of the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone and the zone of concentrated precipitation during glaciations, suggesting a combined climatic and structural control on glacial erosion. Temporal variation in the provenance signal is contemporaneous with a marked change in the stratigraphy of ODP Site 861 that occurred after the glaciation of MIS 8 (~240 kyr ago). Before MIS 8, a restricted provenance signal and coarse lithofacies accumulated on the continental slope indicates spatially restricted erosion and efficient transfer of sediment towards the ocean. In contrast, very high provenance variability and finer continental slope lithofacies accumulation after MIS 8 suggest a disorganized expansion of the areas under erosion and a more distal influence of ice sediment discharge to this site. We argue that this change may have been related to a re-organization of the drainage patterns of the Patagonian Ice Sheet and flow of outlet glaciers to the continental margin during the last two glaciations.     

Crustal thickening and crustal extension as controls on the evolution of the drainage network of the central Swiss Alps between 30 Ma and the present: constraints from the stratigraphy of the North Alpine Foreland Basin and the structural evolution of the Alps

The combined information about sedimentary petrography from the North Alpine Foreland Basin and structural geology from the Alps allows a qualitative reconstruction of the drainage network of the central Swiss Alps between 30 Ma and the present. This study suggests that crustal thickening and crustal thinning significantly controlled the location of the drainage divide. It also reveals the possible controls of crustal thickening/thinning on the change of the orientation of the drainage network from across-strike between 30 and 14 Ma to along-strike thereafter. Initial crustal thickening in the rear of the wedge is considered to have formed the drainage divide between north and south at 30 Ma. Because the location of crustal thickening shifted from east to west between ≈30–20 Ma, the catchment areas of the eastern dispersal systems reached further south than those of the western Alpine palaeorivers for the same time slice. Similarly, the same crustal dynamics appear to have controlled two phases of denudation that are reflected in the Molasse Basin by petrographic trends. Uplift in the rear of the wedge caused the Alpine palaeorivers to expand further southward. This is reflected in the foreland basin by increasing admixture of detritus from structurally higher units. However, tectonic quiescence in the rear of the wedge allowed the Alpine palaeorivers to cut down into the Alpine edifice, resulting in an increase of detritus from structurally lower units. Whereas uplift in the rear of the wedge was responsible for initiation of the Alpine drainage systems, underplating of the external massifs some 50 km further north is thought to have caused along-strike deviation of the major Alpine palaeorivers. Besides crustal thickening, extension in the rear of the wedge appears to have significantly controlled the evolution of the drainage network of the western Swiss Alps. Slip along the Simplon detachment fault exposed the core of the Lepontine dome, and caused a 50-km-northward shift of the drainage divide.     

Glacial Erosion in the Abisko Mountains: Kärkevagge and Vassivagge, Northern Sweden

This paper discusses direct current resistivity soundings and geomorphological studies of Quaternary deposits in two glacial troughs in the Abisko Mountains of northern Sweden. The subject of the fieldwork is the depth of Pleistocene glacial erosion. Studies were carried out in 1998 and 2003 in the Kärkevagge and Vassivagge. The estimated thickness of Quaternary deposits and bedrock properties are discussed in the broader context of glacial erosion studies in the Abisko area. Geophysical and geomorphological studies suggest that the depth of glacial erosion was highly differentiated from –190 m in the Torneträsk basin to the metric overall erosion on the upland plateau. In medium‐sized valleys several kilometres long, erosion depth measures 30–50 m. Present‐day stream channel patterns reveal a strong relation to the bedrock configuration in valley floors     

Signatures of tectonic‐climatic interaction during the Late Cenozoic orogenesis along the northern Chinese Tian Shan

The Chinese Tian Shan is one of the most actively growing orogenic ranges in Central Asia. The Late Miocene‐Quaternary landscape evolution of northern Tian Shan has been significantly driven by the interaction between tectonic deformations and climate change, further modulated by the erosion of the upstream bedrocks and deposition into the downstream basins. In this study, only the accessible Kuitun River drainage basin in northern Tian Shan was considered, and detrital zircon geochronology and heavy minerals were analyzed to investigate the signature of the driving forces for Miocene sedimentation in northern Tian Shan. This study first confirmed a previously recognized tectonic uplift at ca. 7.0 Ma and further revealed that the basin sediments were mainly derived from the present glacier‐covered ridge‐crest regions during 3.3–2.5 Ma. It is suggested Late‐Pliocene to Early Pleistocene sedimentation was likely a response to the onset of the northern hemispheric glaciation. Although complicated, this study highlights that the tectonic‐climatic interaction during the Late Cenozoic orogenesis can be discriminated in the northern Chinese Tian Shan.     

Allogenic forcing of the late Quaternary Rhine–Meuse fluvial record: the interplay of sea-level change, climate change and crustal movements

The Rhine–Meuse system in the west‐central Netherlands is a continental‐scale fluvial system bordered by an extremely wide continental shelf. Consequently, late Quaternary eustatic sea‐level changes have resulted in dramatic shoreline displacements, by as much as 800 km. In addition, changes in climate have been severe, given the latitudinal and palaeogeographic setting of the Rhine–Meuse system. We investigated the relative importance of these allogenic controls on fluvial aggradation and incision during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. We used optical dating of quartz from ～30 samples in a cross‐section perpendicular to the palaeoflow direction, allowing us to correlate periods of aggradation and incision with independent records of sea‐level change, climate change and glacio‐isostatic crustal movements. We found the long‐term aggradation rate to be ～8 cm kyr^?1, a value similar to previous estimates of tectonic subsidence rates in the study area. Several excursions from this long‐term aggradation trend could be identified for the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Dry climatic conditions with relatively high sediment supply induced aggradation during oxygen‐isotope stages (OIS) 4 and 3. Build‐up of a glacio‐isostatic forebulge during OIS 2 is a likely cause of incision around the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by an aggradation phase during forebulge collapse. Sea‐level highstands during OIS 5 have likely resulted in the aggradation of coastal prisms, but only minor, basal estuarine deposits have been preserved because these coastal prisms were prone to erosion during ensuing sea‐level falls. Overall, the sedimentary record is dominated by strata formed during time intervals when the study area was completely unaffected by sea‐level control, and our evidence shows that the falling‐stage systems tract has the highest preservation potential. Our study highlights the importance of considering the complex interplay of both upstream and downstream controls to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of basin‐margin successions.     

The world''s large lake basins as denudation-accumulation systems and implications for their lifetimes

The mechanical denudation rates of 81 large lake basins (lake area > 500 km²) were determined from long-term river loads and erosion maps. Using the drainage area/lake area ratios the mean sedimentation rates of the lakes were calculated for a porosity of 0.3. The mean sedimentation rates of different lake types vary between 0.1 mm/a (glacial lakes, lowland) and 5.4 mm/a (mostly sag basin lakes). The calculated lifetimes of the lakes are based on the lake volumes and mean sedimentation rates, assuming steady-state conditions and solely clastic material. On average, glacial lakes in highlands and fault-related lakes show the shortest lifetimes (c. 70 ka), glacial lakes in lowlands and rift lakes have the longest lifetimes (c. 1 Ma). Some lakes remain unfilled for very long time spans due to rapid subsidence of their basin floors. The calculated lifetimes are compared with those derived from sediment core studies. Most core studies indicate lower mechanical sedimentation rates than the calculated ones because a major part of the incoming sediment is trapped in deltas. However, a number of lakes (e.g., the Great Lakes of North America) show the opposite tendency which is largely caused by extensive shoreline erosion and resuspension. The lifetimes of large glacial lakes often exceed the duration of interglacials. Hence, their lifetimes are restricted by glaciation and not by sediment infill. Rift lakes persist for long time periods which exceed the calculated lifetimes in some cases. Time-dependent subsidence, basin extension, as well as the impact of climate change are briefly described.     

Miocene–Recent tectonic and climatic controls on sediment supply and sequence stratigraphy: Canterbury basin, New Zealand

The well‐constrained seismic stratigraphy of the offshore Canterbury basin provides the opportunity to investigate long‐term changes in sediment supply related to the formation of a transpressive plate boundary (Alpine Fault). Reconstructions of the relative motion of the Australian and Pacific plates reveal divergence in the central Southern Alps prior to ～20.1 Ma (chron 6o), followed by increasing average rates of convergence, with a marked increase after ～6 Ma (late Miocene). A strike–slip component existed prior to 33.5 Ma (chron 13o) and perhaps as early as Eocene (45 Ma). However, rapid strike–slip motion (>30 mm yr^?1) began at ～20.1 Ma (chron 6o). Since ～20.1 Ma there has been no significant change in the strike–slip component of relative plate motion. Sedimentation rates are calculated from individual sequence volumes that are then summed to represent sequence groups covering the same time periods as the tectonic reconstructions. Rates are relatively high (>22 mm yr^?1), from 15 to ～11.5 Ma (sequence group 1). Rates decrease to a minimum (<15 mm yr^?1) during the ～11.5–6 Ma interval (sequence group 2), followed by increased rates during the periods of ～6–2.6 Ma (21 mm yr^?1; group 3) and 2.6–0 Ma (～25 mm yr^?1; group 4). Good agreement between sedimentation and tectonic convergence rates in sequence groups 2–4 indicates that tectonism has been the dominant control on sediment supply to the Canterbury basin since ～11.5 Ma. In particular, high sedimentation rates of 21 and ～25 mm yr^?1 in groups 3 and 4, respectively, may reflect increased plate convergence and uplift at the Southern Alps at ～6 Ma. The early‐middle Miocene (～15–11.5 Ma) high sedimentation rate (22 mm yr^?1) correlates with low convergence rates (～2 mm yr^?1) and is mainly a response to global climatic and eustatic forcing.     

Relay ramp evolution and mass flow deposition (Upper Kimmeridgian–Lower Volgian) in the Tail End Graben, Danish North Sea

The Central Graben in the Danish North Sea sector consists of a series of N–S to NW–SE trending, eastward‐tilted half‐grabens, bound to the east by the Coffee Soil Fault zone. This fault zone has a complex Jurassic history that encompasses at least two fault populations; N–S to NNW–SSE striking faults active in the Late Aalenian–Early Oxfordian, and NNW–SSE to WNW–ESE striking faults forming in Late Kimmeridgian time (sensu gallico), following a short period of tectonic quiescence. Sediment transport across the Coffee Soil Fault zone was controlled by fault array evolution, and in particular the development of relay ramps that formed potential entry points for antecedent drainage systems from the Ringkøbing–Fyn High east of the rift. Fault and isochore trends of the Upper Kimmeridgian–Lower Volgian succession in the northeast Danish Central Graben show that accommodation space was initially generated close to several minor, isolated or overlapping faults. Subsidence became focused along a few master faults in the Early Volgian through progressive linkage of selected faults. Seismic time isochore geometries, seismic facies, amplitude trends and well ties indicate the presence of coarse clastic lithologies locally along the fault zone. The deposits probably represent submarine mass flow deposits supplied from footwall degradation and possibly also from the graben hinterland via a relay ramp. The latter source appears to have been cut off as the relay ramp was breached and the footwall block are uplifted. Fault growth and linkage processes thus controlled the spatial and temporal trends of accommodation space generation and sediment supply to the rift basin.     

Landforms and landscape evolution in the Skardu,Shigar and Braldu Valleys,Central Karakoram

The Central Karakoram, which includes K2 in Pakistan, is one of the most rapidly rising areas on Earth and exhibits complex topography and extreme relief. Impressive valley fills and glacial landforms are present throughout the valleys. The dynamics of landscape evolution of the region are currently not well understood. Consequently, the landforms were mapped and assessed in the Skardu, Shigar, and Braldu valleys, to elucidate the spatio-temporal scale dependencies of surface processes active in the region. These valleys were examined using geomorphic field methods, remote sensing, geomorphometry, and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCNs) surface exposure dating. The glaciers in this region have oscillated considerably throughout the Late Quaternary, and four glacial stages have been recognized including at least six glacial advances. Surface processes readjusted after glacier retreat, and ubiquitous mass movements and catastrophic landsliding transported material from steep slopes to valley bottoms, while glaciofluvial meltwater and glacier outburst floods redistributed sediment down valley. Glacier geochronology and late Holocene ages of the outburst flood deposits indicate that landscape evolution has been dominated by glaciation and paraglaciation during the late Quaternary.     

Sedimentary sequences, seismofacies and evolution of depositional systems of the Oligo/Miocene Lower Freshwater Molasse Group, Switzerland

ABSTRACT Magnetostratigraphic chronologies, together with sedimentological, petrological, seismic and borehole data derived from the Oligo/Miocene Lower Freshwater Molasse Group of the North Alpine foreland basin enable a detailed reconstruction of alluvial architecture in relation to Alpine orogenic events. Six depositional systems are recorded in the Lower Freshwater Molasse Group. The bajada depositional system comprises 200–400-m-thick successions of ribbon channel conglomerates and overbank fines including mud- and debris-flows which were derived from the Alpine border chain. The alluvial megafan depositional system is made up of massive pebble-to-cobble conglomerates up to 3 km thick which reveal a fan-shaped geometry. This depositional environment grades downcurrent into the conglomerate channel belt depositional system, which comprises an ≈2-km-thick alternation of channel conglomerates and overbank fines. The sandstone channel belt depositional system is bordered by the 100–400-m-thick overbank fines assigned to the floodplain depositional system. At the feather edge of the basin, 50–400-m-thick lacustrine sediments in both clastic and carbonate facies represent the lacustrine depositional system. The spatial and temporal arrangement of these depositional systems was controlled by the geometrical evolution of the Molasse Basin. During periods of enhanced sediment supply and during phases of stable sliding of the entire wedge, >2000-m-thick coarsening-and thickening-upward megasequences comprising the conglomerate channel belt, alluvial megafan and bajada depositional systems were deposited in a narrow wedge-shaped basin. In the distal reaches of the basin, however, no sedimentary trend developed, and the basin fill comprises a <500-m-thick series of sandstone meander belt, floodplain and lacustrine depositional systems. During phases of accretion at the toe of the wedge, the basin widened, and prograding systems of multistorey channel sandstones extended from the thrust front to the distal reaches of the basin. The rearrangement of the depositional systems as a function of changing orogenic conditions created discordances, which are expressed seismically by onlap and erosion of beds delimiting sedimentary sequences. Whereas stable sliding of the wedge succeeded by accretion at the toe of the wedge is recorded in the proximal Lower Freshwater Molasse by a coarsening-and thickening-upward megasequence followed by erosion, the opposite trend developed in the distal reaches of the Molasse. Here, fine-grained sandstones and mudstones were deposited during periods of stable sliding, whereas phases of accretion caused a coarsening- and thickening-up megasequence to form.     

The sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the Amur River and North Sakhalin Basin: new evidence from seismic stratigraphy and Neogene–Recent sediment budgets

The North Sakhalin Basin in the western Sea of Okhotsk has been the main site of sedimentation from the Amur River since the Early Miocene. In this article, we present regional seismic reflection data and a Neogene–Recent sediment budget to constrain the evolution of the basin and its sedimentary fill, and consider the implications for sediment flux from the Amur River, in particular testing models of continental‐scale Neogene drainage capture. The Amur‐derived basin‐fill history can be divided into five distinct stages: the first Amur‐derived sediments (>21–16.5 Ma) were deposited during a period of transtension along the Sakhalin‐Hokkaido Shear Zone, with moderately high sediment flux to the basin (71 Mt year^?1). The second stage sequence (16.5–10.4 Ma) was deposited following the cessation of transtension, and was characterised by a significant reduction in sediment flux (24 Mt year^?1) and widespread retrogradation of deltaic sediments. The third (10.4–5.3 Ma) and fourth (5.3–2.5 Ma) stages were characterised by progradation of deltaic sediments and an associated increase in sediment flux (48–60 Mt year^?1) to the basin. Significant uplift associated with regional transpression started during this time in southeastern Sakhalin, but the north‐eastward propagating strain did not reach the NE shelf of Sakhalin until the Pleistocene (<2.5 Ma). This uplift event, still ongoing today, resulted in recycling of older deltaic sediments from the island of Sakhalin, and contributed to a substantially increased total sediment flux to the adjacent basinal areas (165 Mt year^?1). Adjusted rates to discount these local erosional products (117 Mt year^?1) imply an Amur catchment‐wide increase in denudation rates during the Late Pliocene–Pleistocene; however, this was likely a result of global climatic and eustatic effects, combined with tectonic processes within the Amur catchment and possibly a smaller drainage capture event by the Sungari tributary, rather than continental‐scale drainage capture involving the entire upper Amur catchment.