Feedback between erosion and active deformation: geomorphic constraints from the frontal Jura fold-and-thrust belt (eastern France)

Madritsch, Herfried; Fabbri, Olivier; Hagedorn, Eva-Marie; Preusser, Frank; Schmid, Stefan M.; Ziegler, Peter A.

doi:10.1007/s00531-009-0468-7

Cited by 19 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(109 reference statements)

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“…Because of this constraint, our model results should be considered maximum estimates. The Doubs profile is given a rock uplift rate of 0.05 mm/yr [Madritsch et al, 2009], except for the Bresse Graben where we assume a subsidence of 0.1 mm/yr. All other parameters are the same as Table 1.…”

Section: B Multiple Capture Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

et al. 2013

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[1] Landscape evolution is controlled by the development and organization of drainage basins. As a landscape evolves, drainage reorganization events can occur via river capture or piracy, whereby one river basin grows at the expense of another. The river downstream of a capture location will generate a transient topographic response as the added water discharge increases sediment transport and erosion efficiency. This erosional response will propagate upstream through both the captured and original river basins. Here we focus on quantifying the impact of drainage reorganization along the Rhine/Aare River system (~45,000 km 2 ) during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene, where gravel remnants indicate total incision of~650 m during the last~4.2 Myr in the region of the recent Aare-Rhine confluence. We develop a numerical model of drainage capture to quantify the range of possible magnitudes of erosion and the transient river response resulting from the reorganization of the Rhine River. The model accounts for both fluvial incision and sediment transport. Our model estimates 400-800 m of river elevation change (lowering profiles) during the last~4 Myr due to river capture events, providing an important component to the recent exhumation budget of the Swiss Alpine Foreland. The model indicates a rapid response to capture events (re-equilibration timescale of~1 Myr). The predicted incision magnitudes are consistent with incision measured from the elevation of Pliocene and early Pleistocene river gravels, suggesting that across northern Switzerland, a significant amount of incision can be explained by drainage reorganization.

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Section: B Multiple Capture Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[61] The Jura was tectonically active between 10 and 4 Ma [Ziegler and Fraefel, 2009], with some evidence suggesting continued deformation today [Madritsch et al, 2009]. By assuming a steady rate of rock uplift, we have likely oversimplified the tectonic history of the region, both spatially and temporally.…”

Section: Flexure and Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

et al. 2013

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“…Accordingly, the major thin-skinned deformation phase of the Jura between ca. 10 and 4 Ma was followed by thin-and thick-skinned (Laubscher 1986;Mosar 1999;Ustaszewski and Schmid 2007;Madritsch et al 2010a) deformation at low strain rates until recent times (Giamboni et al 2004a(Giamboni et al , 2004bBraillard 2006;Carretier et al 2006;Madritsch et al 2010a). Mosar (1999) suggested that this northward shift of basement deformation occurred in order to restore a stable orogenic wedge geometry as stacking of the External Massifs shifted the wedge to a supercritical state.…”

Section: Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Bresse Grabens and Upper Rhine Grabens are linked by the RhineBresse Transfer Zone (RBTZ), a system of transtensional faults that accommodated the Eocene to present crustal extension by left-lateral slip (Fig. 1b); (Geissert et al 1976;Petit et al 1996;Giamboni et al 2004a, b;Madritsch et al 2010aMadritsch et al , 2010b.…”

Section: The Central European Rifts: Upper Rhine and Bresse Grabensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The last erosional stage of the Molasse Basin and the Alps

Schlunegger

Mosar

2010

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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We present a synoptic overview of the Miocene-present development of the northern Alpine foreland basin (Molasse Basin), with special attention to the pattern of surface erosion and sediment discharge in the Alps. Erosion of the Molasse Basin started at the same time that the rivers originating in the Central Alps were deflected toward the Bresse Graben, which formed part of the European Cenozoic rift system. This change in the drainage direction decreased the distance to the marine base level by approximately 1,000 km, which in turn decreased the average topographic elevation in the Molasse Basin by at least 200 m. Isostatic adjustment to erosional unloading required ca. 1,000 m of erosion to account for this inferred topographic lowering. A further inference is that the resulting increase in the sediment discharge at the MiocenePliocene boundary reflects the recycling of Molasse units. We consider that erosion of the Molasse Basin occurred in response to a shift in the drainage direction rather than because of a change in paleoclimate. Climate left an imprint on the Alpine landscape, but presumably not before the beginning of glaciation at the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. Similar to the northern Alpine foreland, we do not see a strong climatic fingerprint on the pattern or rates of exhumation of the External Massifs. In particular, the initiation and acceleration of imbrication and antiformal stacking of the foreland crust can be considered solely as a response to the convergence of Adria and Europe, irrespective of erosion rates. However, the recycling of the Molasse deposits since 5 Ma and the associated reduction of the loads in the foreland could have activated basement thrusts beneath the Molasse Basin in order to restore a critical wedge. In conclusion, we see the need for a more careful consideration of both tectonic and climatic forcing on the development of the Alps and the adjacent Molasse Basin.

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First‐order control of syntectonic sedimentation on crustal‐scale structure of mountain belts

2015

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The first-order characteristics of collisional mountain belts and the potential feedback with surface processes are predicted by critical taper theory. While the feedback between erosion and mountain belt structure has been fairly extensively studied, less attention has been given to the potential role of synorogenic deposition. For thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts, recent studies indicate a strong control of syntectonic deposition on structure, as sedimentation tends to stabilize the thin-skinned wedge. However, the factors controlling basement deformation below fold-and-thrust belts, as evident, for example, in the Zagros Mountains or in the Swiss Alps, remain largely unknown. Previous work has suggested that such variations in orogenic structure may be explained by the thermotectonic "age" of the deforming lithosphere and hence its rheology. Here we demonstrate that sediment loading of the foreland basin area provides an additional control and may explain the variable basement involvement in orogenic belts. When examining the role of sedimentation, we identify two end-members: (1) sediment-starved orogenic systems with thick-skinned basement deformation in an axial orogenic core and thin-skinned deformation in the bordering forelands and (2) sediment-loaded orogens with thick packages of synorogenic deposits, derived from the axial basement zone, deposited on the surrounding foreland fold-and-thrust belts, and characterized by basement deformation below the foreland. Using high-resolution thermomechanical models, we demonstrate a strong feedback between deposition and crustal-scale thick-skinned deformation. Our results show that the loading effects of syntectonic sediments lead to long crustal-scale thrust sheets beneath the orogenic foreland and explain the contrasting characteristics of sediment-starved and sediment-loaded orogens, showing for the first time how both thin-and thick-skinned crustal deformations are linked to sediment deposition in these orogenic systems. We show that the observed model behavior is consistent with observations from a number of natural orogenic systems.

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Feedback between erosion and active deformation: geomorphic constraints from the frontal Jura fold-and-thrust belt (eastern France)

Cited by 19 publications

References 53 publications

High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

The last erosional stage of the Molasse Basin and the Alps

First‐order control of syntectonic sedimentation on crustal‐scale structure of mountain belts

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