SIMULATION OF FORELAND BASIN STRATIGRAPHY USING A DIFFUSION-MODEL OF MOUNTAIN BELT UPLIFT AND EROSION - AN EXAMPLE FROM THE CENTRAL ALPS, SWITZERLAND

Journal article

Foreland basin stratigraphy can be considered as the result of three interacting processes: thrust deformation, which builds the tectonic load, sedimentary and erosional processes which redistribute that load, and the flexural response of the lithosphere. The resultant stratigraphy of foreland basins is commonly composed of a small number of shallowing and coarsening upward cycles bounded by regional unconformities. To understand the development of these unconformities, we present a simple model of these three processes, coupling an evolving thrust wedge on a linear elastic plate with erosion and sedimentation defined by the diffusion equation applied to topography. The model is applied to the Oligocene-Miocene North Alpine Foreland Basin of eastern Switzerland. -from Authors

Authors: Sinclair, H; Coakley, B; Allen, P; Watts, A

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: TECTONICS
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 599-620
• Publication date: 1991-06-01
• DOI: 10.1029/90TC02507
• ISSN: 0278-7407