Climate-induced formation of a closed basin: Great Divide Basin, Wyoming

Heller, Paul L.; McMillan, M. E.; Humphrey, N. F.

doi:10.1130/b30113.1

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Eroding the boundaries of a closed basin in a low lithospheric rigidity region (normally associated with a young tectono-thermal age of the lithosphere) leads to flexural uplift of the basin flanks, and then to a delay in erosion and reintegration of the internal basin. This mechanism was first reported in the Ebro Basin (Garcia-Castellanos et al, 2003) and the Great Divide Basin (Wyoming, USA) by Heller et al (2011) and our results show that it is also consistent with the evolution of the Duero Basin and partially explains its different evolution relative to the neighboring Ebro Basin.…”

Section: Discussion On the Timing Of Transient Landscape Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Our modeling results suggest that basins without tectonically active boundaries (or long after the ending of tectonic deformation) can also have their opening delayed by low values of lithosphere rigidity, implying a more local flexural response to the unloading of the basin divides (e.g. Heller et al, 2011). Eroding the boundaries of a closed basin in a low lithospheric rigidity region (normally associated with a young tectono-thermal age of the lithosphere) leads to flexural uplift of the basin flanks, and then to a delay in erosion and reintegration of the internal basin.…”

Section: Discussion On the Timing Of Transient Landscape Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Topographic, lithospheric and lithologic controls on the transient landscape evolution after the opening of internally-drained basins. Modelling the North Iberian Neogene drainage

Struth¹,

García‐Castellanos²,

Rodríguez‐Rodríguez³

et al. 2021

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

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The opening of internally-drained (endorheic) sedimentary basins often leads to a major drainage change, re-excavation of the basin sedimentary infill, and transient landscape. The timing of such basin openings can be dated only in exceptional cases in which the youngest sedimentary infill remains preserved. For this reason, the processes and timing involved in their transient landscape evolution are poorly known. We explore the role of erodibility, basin geometry and flexural isostasy during the capture of internally-drained basins by means of numerical modelling techniques constrained by recent terrace cosmogenic dating and geomorphological analysis, addressing the issue as to why the Duero and Ebro rivers, draining two Cenozoic sedimentary basins in N Iberia with similar geographical dimensions and drainage histories, have undergone a markedly different erosion evolution leading to distinctly different present morphology. To evaluate how these intrinsic parameters affect the transient landscape evolution, we design a synthetic scenario inspired by those basins. The results show that, once a basin becomes externally drained, its drainage integration and erosion rates are strongly dependent on 1) the basin elevation above the base level; 2) the width of the topographic barrier, 3) its erodibility; and 4) the rigidity of the lithosphere. The results show that transient landscape evolution can last for tens of millions of years even in absence of tectonic activity and changes in base level or climate. Basins isolated by wide and resistant barriers such as the Duero Basin may undergo a multi-million-year time lag between drainage opening and basin-wide incision. In the case of the Duero Basin, this delay may explain the paradoxical time lag between the last lacustrine sedimentation dated at 9.6 Ma and the onset of widespread basin incision variously estimated at 3.5 to 1 Ma.

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Section: Discussion On the Timing Of Transient Landscape Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussion On the Timing Of Transient Landscape Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Topographic, lithospheric and lithologic controls on the transient landscape evolution after the opening of internally-drained basins. Modelling the North Iberian Neogene drainage

Struth¹,

García‐Castellanos²,

Rodríguez‐Rodríguez³

et al. 2021

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although there is a consensus on the formation process of closed basins, several discussions have been carried out in the literature on the origin of basin closure processes in these areas. Whereas some of the works indicate a major role of external forces (such as climate and/or surface processes; e.g., Heller et al, 2011) in initiating basin closure, some others suggest that the role of internal forces (such as isostasy and/ or tectonics; e.g., Isacks, 1988) is much stronger. In other settings, there is an apparent coupling between internal and external forces (e.g., Masek et al, 1994;Garcia-Castellanos, 2006;Strecker et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In other settings, there is an apparent coupling between internal and external forces (e.g., Masek et al, 1994;Garcia-Castellanos, 2006;Strecker et al, 2009). In every case, closed basins form when the rates of sediment supply derived from the surrounding mountains is less than the rate of accommodation by tectonics in the basin (e.g., Carroll and Bohacs, 1999;Garcia-Castellanos, 2007;Heller et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic framework of Neogene–Quaternary basin closure process in central Turkey

Gürbüz

Kazancı

2015

Lithosphere

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Central Turkey represents the only orogenic plateau in the Mediterranean region. Also, the largest closed drainage basin and the largest intracontinental basin of Turkey, the Lake Tuz Basin, is located in this region. Results from a three-dimensional (3-D) computer modeling study of the Lake Tuz Basin indicate a southward-deepening freshwater lake basin with great depth in the Mio-Pliocene, which regressed toward the north during the Plio-Quaternary into the shallow saline lake basin it is today. The spatio-temporal variations of Neogene and Quaternary deposits reflect the main effects of internal forces (isostasy>volcanism>faulting) that were caused by lithospheric slab breakoff and subsequent asthenospheric upwelling under central Turkey. Climatic change played a relatively minor role during these periods and was closely associated with the results of internal forces.

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“…However, the mechanisms and the timing that govern this transition are not well understood, even for basins where the latest sedimentary record is relatively well preserved, such as the Colorado Plateau in North America (House et al, 2008;Karlstrom et al, 2014). Modeling studies show that posttectonic flexural isostatic motions are key in determining the pace of the drainage change (Garcia-Castellanos et al, 2003;Zeilinger and Schlunegger, 2007;Heller et al, 2010;Lazear et al, 2013). Other basins, such as the Cenozoic Ebro basin (Spain; Evans and Arche, 2002;Garcia-Castellanos et al, 2003) or the Sichuan Basin (China; Richardson et al, 2008), lack the youngest part of their sedimentary record due to postopening erosion, impeding a direct dating of the change in drainage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the post-tectonic topographic evolution of closed basins: The Ebro basin (northeast Iberia)

García‐Castellanos

Larrasoaña

2015

Geology

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Closed (endorheic) sedimentary basins are key recorders of the climatic, erosional, and tectonic history of their surrounding topography, playing an active role in its evolution by changing the local geomorphological base level. When these basins become exorheic, the accelerated incision along the new fluvial network can excavate excellent stratigraphic outcrops, but this often removes the uppermost infill, and essential information about the late basin history is lost. Here we propose estimating the opening age and past elevation of captured closed basins by combining the flexural isostatic compensation of the eroded volume with available constraints on sediment age. We use this method to constrain the post-tectonic evolution of the Cenozoic Ebro basin in northeast Iberia. The similar results obtained for 4 dated stratigraphic columns show the robustness of the model and date the basin opening as 12.0-7.5 Ma, with a maximum paleoelevation of the basin of 535-750 m. The isostatic rebound associated with basin erosion, as much as 630 m in the center of the basin, may explain the absence of a canyon excavated by the Ebro River during the Mediterranean sea-level fall associated with the Messinian salinity crisis.

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Climate-induced formation of a closed basin: Great Divide Basin, Wyoming

Cited by 11 publications

References 22 publications

Topographic, lithospheric and lithologic controls on the transient landscape evolution after the opening of internally-drained basins. Modelling the North Iberian Neogene drainage

Topographic, lithospheric and lithologic controls on the transient landscape evolution after the opening of internally-drained basins. Modelling the North Iberian Neogene drainage

Genetic framework of Neogene–Quaternary basin closure process in central Turkey

Quantifying the post-tectonic topographic evolution of closed basins: The Ebro basin (northeast Iberia)

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