Relief and drainage evolution during the exhumation of the Sierra Nevada (SE Spain): Is denudation keeping pace with uplift?

Azañón, José Miguel; Arnedo, Jorge Pedro Galve; Pérez-Peña, Jose Vicente; Giaconia, Flavio; Carvajal, R.; Booth‐Rea, Guillermo; Jabaloy, A.; Vázquez, M.; Azor, António; Roldán, Francisco Javier

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2015.06.015

Cited by 59 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…The degree of fluvial erosion indicates roughly whether there has been equilibrium between uplift and erosion of landscapes over the last million years (e.g., Whipple, ). The presence of minimally dissected summit surfaces in the Sierra de Gador argues for a transient state of the range's topography, whereas equilibrium seems to have been reached for the Sierra Nevada (Azañón et al., ). This difference could be explained either by a later uplift stage of the Sierra de Gador and/or by the resetting of the topography due to the Tortonian marine transgression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neogene exhumation and relief evolution in the eastern Betics (SE Spain): Insights from the Sierra de Gador

et al. 2017

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The Betics are a key area to study an orogenic landscape disrupted by late-orogenic extension. New low-temperature thermochronology (LTT) data (AHe and AFT) coupled with geomorphic constraints in the Sierra de Gador (Alpujarride complex) are used to reconstruct the cooling history and evolution of relief during the Neogene. We document three stages: (1) a fast cooling event between 23 and 16 Ma associated with the well-known extensive tectonic exhumation of the Alpujarride unit, (2) a period of slow cooling between 16 and 7.2 Ma related to a planation event and (3) a post-7.2 Ma surface uplift associated with the inversion of the Alboran domain undetected by LTT. The planation event followed by this late uplift can explain the occurrence of inherited low-relief surfaces overlain by Tortonian-Messinian platform deposits at the top of the range. Finally, we propose that the Sierra de Gador is a more transient landscape than the nearby

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neogene exhumation and relief evolution in the eastern Betics (SE Spain): Insights from the Sierra de Gador

et al. 2017

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“…a) and continuing to the north and east. The χ value disparity across the ridge of Sierra Nevada is mimicked by hypsometric analysis of stream long profiles draining the range to the north vs. those draining to the south (Azañón et al ., , ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exogenic forcing and autogenic processes on continental divide location and mobility

2017

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The position and mobility of drainage divides is an expression of exogenic landscape forcing and autogenic channel network processes integrated across a range of scales. At the large scale, represented by major rivers and continental drainage divides, the organization of drainage patterns and divide migration reflects the long-wavelength gradients of the topography, which are exogenically influenced by tectonics, isostasy, and/or dynamic topography. This analysis utilizes long-wavelength topography synthesized by a low-pass filter, which provides a novel framework for predicting the direction of divide movement as well as an estimate of the ultimate divide location that is complementary to recent studies that have focused on the v channel metric. The Gibraltar Arc active plate boundary and Appalachian stable plate interior, two tectonically diverse settings with ongoing drainage system reorganization, are chosen to explore the length scales of exogenic forcings that influence continental drainage divide location and migration. The major watersheds draining both the active-and decay-phase orogens studied here are organized by topographic gradients that are expressed in long-wavelength low-pass filtered topography (k ≥ 100 km). In contrast, the river network and divide location is insensitive to topographic gradients measured over filtered wavelengths <100 km that are set by local crustal structures and rock type. The lag time between exogenic forcing and geomorphic response and feedbacks cause divide migration to be unsteady, and occur through pulses of drainage capture and drainage network reorganization that are recorded in sedimentological, geomorphic, or denudation data.

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“…Previous work concludes that the main thrusting within the external zones of the central Betics occurred during lower Miocene (Aquitanian‐Burdigalian; circa 20 Ma) [ Crespo‐Blanc , , ] and that the FTB front was subsequently dismantled generating the OU during Langhian times (circa 16–14 Ma) [ Azañón et al ., ; Roldán et al ., , ; Rodríguez‐Fernández et al ., ] (Figures a and b). However, post‐Langhian extensional and contractional structures have been widely observed both in the western Gibraltar Arc [ Balanyá et al ., ; Barcos et al ., ; Jiménez‐Bonilla et al ., , ] and in the eastern Betics [e.g., Giaconia et al ., ; Pérez‐Peña et al ., ; Azañón et al ., ]. Our observations from the IFTB‐MFTB agree with these previous results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Changes in dip and frictional properties of the basal detachment controlling orogenic wedge propagation and frontal collapse: The external central Betics case

et al. 2016

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Thin‐skinned fold‐and‐thrust belts (FTBs) have been extensively studied through both field examples and modeling. The overall dynamics of FTBs are, therefore, well understood. One less understood aspect is the combined influence of across‐strike changes in the detachment properties and the basement topography on the behavior of an orogenic wedge. In this paper, we use field data together with reflection seismic interpretation from the external zones of the central Betics FTB, southern Spain, to identify a significant increase in the wedge basal dip (a basement “threshold”) coinciding with the pinch‐out of a weak substrate. This induced both changes to the wedge geometry and to the basal friction, which in turn influenced the wedge dynamics. The changing dynamics led to a transient “stagnation” of the FTB propagation, topographic buildup, and subsequent collapse of the FTB front. This in turn fed an important Langhian depocenter made up of mass transport deposits. Coevally with the FTB propagation, extension took place both parallel and perpendicular to the orogenic trend. This case study illustrates how across‐strike changes in wedge basal properties can control the detailed behavior of a developing FTB front, but questions remain regarding the time‐space interaction and relative importance of the basal parameters.

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Relief and drainage evolution during the exhumation of the Sierra Nevada (SE Spain): Is denudation keeping pace with uplift?

Cited by 59 publications

References 84 publications

Neogene exhumation and relief evolution in the eastern Betics (SE Spain): Insights from the Sierra de Gador

Neogene exhumation and relief evolution in the eastern Betics (SE Spain): Insights from the Sierra de Gador

Exogenic forcing and autogenic processes on continental divide location and mobility

Changes in dip and frictional properties of the basal detachment controlling orogenic wedge propagation and frontal collapse: The external central Betics case

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