Low long-term erosion rates in high-energy mountain belts: Insights from thermo- and biochronology in the Eastern Pyrenees

Gunnell, Yanni; Calvet, Marc; Brichau, Stéphanie; Carter, Andrew; Aguilar, Jean-Pierre; Zeyen, Hermann

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.004

Cited by 91 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…For instance, De Sitter (1952) argued that low-relief surfaces in the Pyrenées were formed near sea level and have subsequently been raised to an altitude of ~2000 m. In support of this view, Gunnell et al (2009) presented biochronologic and thermochronologic data and suggested that the Eastern Pyrenées experienced a strong post-orogenic uplift by thermally driven thinning of the lithospheric mantle after 12 Ma. On the other hand, field observations and experimental data have been used to suggest that the low-relief surfaces in the Pyrenées were already formed at high elevation owing to the deposition of thick alluvial fans at the mountain front and a concomitant rise in base level (Babault et al, 2005(Babault et al, , 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

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Landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain on the southern Tibetan Plateau revealed by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne

et al. 2012

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: Landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain on the southern Tibetan Plateau revealed by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne.-Geomorphology, [153][154][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202][203][204] AbstractLow-relief bedrock surfaces that occur at high altitude are a common feature of Cenozoic mountain belts and have often been used to infer a significant amount of rock uplift after their generation at low elevation. The timescale over which such surfaces can be preserved at high elevation and the rate at which they are modified by weathering and erosion are poorly known. Here we use cosmogenic 10 Be and 21 Ne to quantify the landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain in southern Tibet that occurs at an altitude of ~5300 m. The peneplain is developed in Cretaceous granitoids and Jurassic metasediments of the northern Lhasa block (90°E, 31°N) and originally had a minimum extent of ~150 km east-west and ~75 km northsouth. It has been dissected by small rivers that generated a few hundred meters of relief and formed additional bedrock surfaces of limited extent at lower elevation. Local denudation rates for the peneplain and the lower bedrock surfaces -based on 10 Be concentrations in grus samples and amalgamated quartz clasts -cluster between 5 and 11 m Ma -1 (mean = 8.1 m Ma -1 ) and are thought to be representative for the long-term rate of downwearing of these surfaces. Samples from bedrock outcrops and bedrock blocks yield more variable rates (3-20 m Ma -1 ), which partly overestimate the long-term lowering rate, presumably due to block tilting and bedrock inhomogeneity. Spatially averaged 10 Be denudation rates for small river catchments range from 9 to 16 m Ma -1 (mean = 11.8 m Ma -1 ) and are only slightly higher than the local denudation rates. Hence, the incision and widening of valleys proceeds at low rates, which demonstrates that the landscape of the peneplain region is remarkably stable. The combined 21 Ne and 10 Be data in a subset of the samples suggest that the bedrock surfaces have experienced a simple exposure history without periods of burial. Thus, our data do not provide any evidence for extended periods of shielding by ice during past glaciations, which is consistent with the absence of erratic boulders and moraines in the peneplain region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Some workers have referred to these remnant surfaces as peneplains (e.g. Babault et al, 2005;Gunnell et al, 2009), a term that denotes a nearly featureless, gently undulating land surface of considerable area, which has been produced by subaerial erosion almost to base level (Jackson, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain on the southern Tibetan Plateau revealed by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne

et al. 2012

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“…The possible factors that have been discussed as the causes of the isostatic compensation of the chain are 1) the loss of weight due to erosion, suggested by Lacan (2008), Ortuño (2008) and Ortuño et al (accepted) for the Western and Central High chain, 2) the partial loss of the subducted lithosphere, proposed by Gunnell et al (2008) and Gunnell et al (2009) for the Eastern Pyrenees on the light of the tomographic study performed by Souriau et al (2008) and 3) the combination of erosion and tectonic denudation relating the Neogene rifting process suggested by (Lewis et al, 2000) for NE Iberia. As pointed by the authors, buoyancy forces related to lateral differences in the mantle density probably reinforced this phenomenon.…”

Section: Neotectonic Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Tectonics of the Pyrenees: A review

Lacan

Ortuño

2012

Journal of Iberian Geology

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The Pyrenees have experienced at least seven earthquakes with magnitude M > 5 in the last 400 years. During the last decades, several seismotectonic, neotectonic and paleoseismological studies have focused on identifying the main active structures of the areas experiencing damaging earthquakes. In spite of these studies, the regional stress regime is still discussed and there is no unequivocal seismotectonic model at the scale of the range. In this paper, we first present a revision of the former works on active faults in the Pyrenees, and then we discuss the main results in terms of their neotectonic setting. We have distinguished five neotectonic regions according to their seismicity, faulting style and morphologic evolution: the westernmost Pyrenees, the North Western Pyrenean zone, the Foreland basins, the Lower Thrust Sheets Domain and the Eastern Pyrenees. This review lead us to differentiate the range into two major domains: the High Chain, where active faults are controlled by vertical maximum stresses, and the Low Chain, where horizontal maximum stresses of variable orientation seem to be dominant. We propose that these different stress domains are related to the isostatic rebound in response to either the difference in crustal thickness and/or the distribution of the Plio-Quaternary erosion.

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“…The Oligocene -Miocene planation surface was formed before the opening of the Gulf of Lions (Gunnell et al, 2009), i.e. before the rifting of the Corsica-Sardinia block (Mauffret et al, 2001).…”

Section: Interest Of the Olistostrome To Reconstruct The Uplift Of Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roussillon Basin (S. France): A case-study to distinguish local and regional events between 6 and 3 Ma

Clauzon

Strat²,

Duvail³

et al. 2015

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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The Roussillon Basin is a non-silled Miocene sedimentary basin filling a late Oligocene-early Miocene graben. The basin was intensively impacted by the 2 Messinian fluvial erosion, as evidenced in exposed sections, in seismic profiles and in deep boreholes drilled for hydrocarbon exploration. As the basin was open to the Mediterranean Sea, the huge drop in sea level at the peak of the Messinian Salinity Crisis is clearly recorded, along with the subsequent sudden marine reflooding and the resulting prograding sedimentary filling, particularly in Gilbert-type fan deltas. Here, the Messinian Erosional Surface (MES) is accurately mapped in a high-resolution document, which corrects the confusion resulting from the set of 1:50,000 scale regional maps. Aim of the 3D reconstruction of the MES is to modernize geological mapping, a crucial challenge for Mediterranean and peripheral areas. Thanks to a reliable chronostratigraphy provided by planktonic foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, micro-and macro-mammal remains, paleomagnetism and a 10 Be cosmogenic nuclide-derived study, our reconstruction is one of the most comprehensive models of changes in sea level from 6 to 3 Ma. After the marine reflooding of the Mediterranean Basin at 5.46 Ma, the fluctuations in sea level recorded in the Roussillon Basin were forced by global changes. Following reflooding, the Prades large olistostrome collapsed prepared by the previous exhumation along the Canigou fault. The olistostrome is a good example of a local accident resulting from Messinian events. The exceptional changes in sea level at the peak of the Messinian Salinity Crisis deeply marked the Roussillon Basin, momentarily overprinting the Pyrenean orogenesis.

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Low long-term erosion rates in high-energy mountain belts: Insights from thermo- and biochronology in the Eastern Pyrenees

Cited by 91 publications

References 39 publications

Landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain on the southern Tibetan Plateau revealed by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne

Landscape evolution of a bedrock peneplain on the southern Tibetan Plateau revealed by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be and 21Ne

Active Tectonics of the Pyrenees: A review

The Roussillon Basin (S. France): A case-study to distinguish local and regional events between 6 and 3 Ma

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