Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
ing to longer thrust sheets. The surface slope Strong Coulomb (I) Intermediate Coulomb (II)
and geometry of fold-and-thrust belts are also Internal Detachment (III)
Basal Dcollement (IV)
affected by flexural controls on plate bending,
which are not easily incorporated in analogue Elastic Beam v = 1 cm yr 1
models (but see Hoth et al., 2007). Numerical 400 km
models of fold-and-thrust belt development
Figure 1. Model geometry and boundary conditions (v is velocity). Dotted line on right side
integrate these effects more easily, and have of box represents continuity of the Lagrangian grid up to 800 km from the backstop; Eulerian
now reached sufficiently high numerical resolu- grid extends to 400 km. Syntectonic deposition starts at 5 m.y. See text and Table DR1 (see
tion that their predictions can be compared with footnote 1) for model parameter values.
observations in natural systems (Stockmal et
al., 2007). Here we use two-dimensional (2-D) 1
GSA Data Repository item 2013005, supplementary methods and models, fold-and-thrust belt data,
mechanical models to investigate depositional and Movie DR1, is available online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2013.htm, or on request from editing@
controls on fold-and-thrust belt development. geosociety.org or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
GEOLOGY, January 2013; v. 41; no. 1; p. 14; Data Repository item 2013005 | doi:10.1130/G33531.1 | Published online XX Month 2012
GEOLOGY
| January
2012 Geological 2013
Society | www.gsapubs.org
of America. For permission to copy, contact Copyright Permissions, GSA, or editing@geosociety.org. 1
G 33531 2nd pages
0
14
14.2
14.2
-10
28
56.6
42.5
.3
01200
Sensitivity to Flexural RigidityModels 46
0
12 m.y., x = 120 km sopale_plot_hbb:, color1, e_vel, l_grid, contour_strain2
Models 46 test the sensitivity to variations in
10 time step: 1200 time (My): 12.0
0
0 50 100 150 200 ural rigidity (model 4; 1021 Nm) favors a narrow
Distance from backstop (km) foreland basin and the formation of a shorter
(34-km-long) thrust sheet. In contrast, a higher
Figure 2. Model evolution with different amounts of syntectonic sedimentation. A:
Model 1, no syntectonic sedimentation. B: Model 2, syntectonic sedimentation up
flexural rigidity (model 6; 1023 Nm) favors the
to 1.95 km elevation. C: Model 3, syntectonic sedimentation up to 3 km elevation. development of a wide foreland basin and the
Panels show development at 5, 7, 9, and 12 m.y. Flexural rigidity is 1022 Nm. formation of a 94-km-long thrust sheet.
10 8 m.y., x = 80 km
Model 4 Figure 3. Sensitivity to foreland basin is formed, limiting the extent of
0 flexural rigidity. Panels sedimentation with consequently shorter thrust
show evolution at 8 m.y. sheets initiating where the sediments taper out.
-10 for models 46 with In contrast, for higher flexural rigidities, a wider
varying flexural rigidity
10 8 m.y., x = 80 km
Model 5 (model 4: 1021 Nm; model foreland basin develops, promoting sedimenta-
0 5: 1022 Nm; model 6: 1023 tion much further out in the foreland and forma-
Nm), corresponding to tion of longer thrust sheets.
-10
elastic thicknesses of 4.8, The location of the frontal thrust is also
8 m.y., x = 80 km 10.4, and 22.4 km, respec-
10
Model 6 tively (for Poisson ratio of
affected by the strength of the dcollement
0 0.25 and Youngs modu- level. A stronger dcollement renders frontal
lus of 1011 Nm-2). Models accretion more difficult (see the supplemen-
-10
were run with syntectonic tary models in the Data Repository), but the
0 50 100 150
sedimentation reference reduction in thrust-sheet length is moderate (a
Distance from backstop (km) level of 2.15 km.
few kilometers) compared to the effect of syn-
tectonic sedimentation. Therefore, the role of
dcollement strength appears to be of second-
DISCUSSION ization and timing of thrust activation is strongly ary importance in controlling the geometry of
The first-order evolution of all models is sim- influenced by strain weakening and the evolu- fold-and-thrust belts.
ilar, independent of the amount of syntectonic tion of the shear zones, which cannot be read-
sediments (Fig. 2): (1) initiation of a frontal ily explained by the theory, as observed in other COMPARISON TO NATURAL SYSTEMS
thrust, (2) out-of-sequence internal deformation recent studies (Buiter, 2012; Simpson, 2011). The numerical models presented here dem-
and passive retreat of the external thrust belt, Flexure plays an important role in determin- onstrate that syntectonic sedimentation exerts a
and (3) initiation of a new in-sequence thrust, ing the structural style of a fold-and-thrust belt. major control on fold-and-thrust belt develop-
reproducing a frontal accretion cycle (e.g., Hoth The extent of sediment deposition is itself pri- ment. We compare our results to observed struc-
et al., 2007; DeCelles and Mitra, 1995). The marily governed by flexural parameters control- tural style, syntectonic sediment thickness, and
main differences between the models are the ling the foreland basin shape. For lower flexural flexural rigidity of several thin-skinned fold-
locus and the timing of thrust activation. rigidities (Fig. 3, model 4) a narrow and deep and-thrust belts around the world (Fig. 4). Cross
The model without synorogenic sedimentation
propagates most rapidly. Thrusts are very short,
SW Canadian Rockies NE
numerous, and do not accommodate much short-
ening, whereas the thrust-sheet length increases A
with the amount and extent of syntectonic sedi- Figure 4. A: Simplified
cross sections of fold-
mentation. 1km and-thrust belts with
The first external thrust and the subsequent Paleozoic Mesozoic Upper Cretaceous Tertiary different thicknesses of
frontal thrusts emerge either at the point where syntectonic sediments
SW Northern Apennines NE and thrust-sheet lengths.
the sediments taper out (model 2) or where they
From top to bottom: Ca-
start forming a constant-thickness foreland- nadian Rockies (Olleren-
basin fill (model 3). The location of thrust ini- shaw, 1978), northern
tiation corresponds to the point where the total Apennines (Pieri, 1989),
work needed to slide on the dcollement and to and ECORS (Etude Con-
1km
break through the sediments is minimal (Hardy tinentale et Oceanique
Mesozoic & Ligurian unit Miocene Pliocene Quaternary par Reflexion et Refrac-
et al., 1998). When sediment deposits extend tion Sismique) section,
N South-Central Pyrenees S
further (model 3), the location of frontal thrust Pyrenees (Muoz, 1992).
activation migrates toward the foreland. The S B: Average thrust-sheet
extent and thickness of syntectonic sediments length plotted against
maximum sediment thick-
thus assert a first-order control on the location ness (Te) for the Western
1km
of the frontal thrusts. Alps, France (Alp); sub-
Paleozoic Triassic to Upper Cretaceous Upper Cretaceous to Oligocene
The models presented here demonstrate that Andean belt, northwest
the extent and thickness of syntectonic sediments Bolivia (An1) and south
strongly affect the structural style of fold-and- Bolivia (An2); northern
25 Apennines (Ap); Brooks
thrust belts. The sediments are deposited hori-
zontally, effectively stabilizing the wedge (e.g.,
B Range, Alaska (Br); Ca-
nadian Rockies (Can);
Willett and Schlunegger, 2010). In the most 20
Br Carpathians (Car) and
Thrust-Sheet Length (km)
external parts, where the sediments are thinnest southern Pyrenees (Pyr).
Alp An1 The maximum sediment
and the angle of the basal dcollement () tends 15 Pyr thickness and thrust-
to zero, the wedge reaches a critical state. After Car
Ap sheet length were mea-
the formation of the first thrust the surface slope 10 sured on at least three
Te(km)
strongly decreases, stabilizing the wedge. thrust sheets of the fold-
Further syntectonic sedimentation in front of Can An2 65
45
and-thrust belt and then
5 30 averaged; see Table DR2
the active thrust enlarges the stable wedge and 15 (see footnote 1) for values
promotes formation of a new frontal thrust. 0 and references.
0
Therefore, the overall development of the wedge 0 1 2 3 4
follows critical-taper theory. However the local- Syntectonic Sediment Thickness (km)
sections for three different fold-and-thrust belts and surface processes during lithosphere inversion of and kinematics of orogenic wedges: Analog
(Pyrenees, Apennines, and Canadian Rockies) the Pyrenean-Cantabrian Mountain belt). We thank models and case studies: GSA Today, v. 20,
Sean Willett for constructive comments on an earlier p. 410, doi:10.1130/GSATG48A.1.
qualitatively illustrate the correlation between Marshak, S., and Wilkerson, M.S., 1992, Effect of
version of this work, and Peter DeCelles and Jacques
thrust-sheet length and syntectonic sediment Malavieille for insightful reviews that helped im- overburden thickness on thrust belt geometry
thickness (Fig. 4A). The southern Pyrenean proving the manuscript. and development: Tectonics, v. 11, p. 560566,
fold-and-thrust belt is characterized by a thick doi:10.1029/92TC00175.
REFERENCES CITED Mugnier, J.L., Baby, P., Colletta, B., Vinour, P., Bale,
succession of syntectonic sediments, long thrust
P., and Leturmy, P., 1997, Thrust geometry con-
sheets, and a wide wedge-top basin, transported Beaumont, C., Fullsack, P., and Hamilton, J., 1992,
trolled by erosion and sedimentation: A view
over an efficient dcollement level, compa- Erosional control of active compressional oro-
from analogue models: Geology, v. 25, p. 427
gens, in McClay, K.R., ed., Thrust Tectonics:
rable to model 3 (Fig. 2C). The Apennines, 430, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0427:
London, Chapman & Hall, p. 118. TGCBEA>2.3.CO;2.
with intermediate syntectonic sediment thick- Bonnet, C., Malavieille, J., and Mosar, J., 2007, Inter- Muoz, J.A., 1992, Evolution of a continental col-
ness, are characterized by moderate thrust-sheet actions between tectonics, erosion, and sedimen- lision belt: ECORS Pyrenees crustal balanced
length. The Canadian Rocky Mountains, where tation during the recent evolution of the Alpine cross section, in McClay, K.R., ed., Thrust Tec-
orogen: Analogue modeling insights: Tectonics, tonics: London, Chapman & Hall, p. 235246.
syntectonic sediments are thin or even absent, v. 26, TC6016, doi:10.1029/2006TC002048.
developed very short thrust sheets comparable OSullivan, P.B., Murphy, J.M., and Blythe, A.E.,
Boyer, S.E., 1995, Sedimentary basin taper as a factor 1997, Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic thermo-
to model 1 (Fig. 2A). controlling the geometry and advance of thrust tectonic evolution of the central Brooks Range
The average thrust-sheet length of eight belts: American Journal of Science, v. 295, and adjacent North Slope foreland basin,
p. 12201254, doi:10.2475/ajs.295.10.1220.
fold-and-thrust belts is plotted as a function Alaska: Including fission track results from the
Buiter, S.J.H., 2012, A review of brittle compres- Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT): Jour-
of maximum syntectonic sediment thickness sional wedge models: Tectonophysics, v. 530 nal of Geophysical Research, v. 102, p. 20821
in Figure 4B and according to the equiva- 531, p. 117, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2011.12.018. 20845, doi:10.1029/96JB03411.
lent elastic thickness of the underlying litho- Dahlen, F.A., 1984, Noncohesive Critical Coulomb Ollerenshaw, N.C., 1978, Calgary, AlbertaBrit-
sphere. Although these fold-and-thrust belts wedges: An exact solution: Journal of Geophysi- ish Columbia: Canada, Geological Survey of
cal Research, v. 89, p. 1012510133, doi:10.1029 Canada, Map 1457A, scale 1:250000, 2 sheets.
differ strongly in age and tectonic setting, a /JB089iB12p10125.
clear correlation appears between the thick- Pieri, M., 1989, Three seismic profiles through the
Dahlen, F.A., 1990, Critical taper model of fold-and- Po Plain, in Bally, A.W., ed., Atlas of Seismic
ness and extent of syntectonic sedimentation thrust belts and accretionary wedges: Annual Re- Stratigraphy, Volume 27/3: Tulsa, Oklahoma,
and thrust-sheet length. The effect of flexural view of Earth and Planetary Sciences, v. 18, p. 55 American Association of Petroleum Geolo-
99, doi:10.1146/annurev.ea.18.050190.000415. gists, p. 90110.
rigidity is less obvious, although ranges devel- Davis, D., Suppe, J., and Dahlen, F.A., 1983, Mechan-
oped on thicker elastic lithosphere appear to Simpson, G., 2011, Mechanics of non-critical
ics of fold-and-thrust belts and accretionary fold-and-thrust belts based on finite element
be characterized by the longest thrust sheets. wedges: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 88, models: Tectonophysics, v. 499, p. 142155,
Only the Brooks Range (Alaska) lies outside p. 11531172, doi:10.1029/JB088iB02p01153. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2011.01.004.
DeCelles, P., and Giles, K.A., 1996, Foreland ba-
the observed trend. However, low-temperature Simpson, G.D.H., 2006, Modelling interactions be-
sin systems: Basin Research, v. 8, p. 105123, tween fold-and-thrust belt deformation, fore-
thermochronology indicates that post-orogenic doi:10.1046/j.1365-2117.1996.01491.x. land flexure and surface mass transport: Ba-
erosion has removed several kilometers of sed- DeCelles, P.G., and Mitra, G., 1995, History of the sin Research, v. 18, p. 125143, doi:10.1111
iment from this range (OSullivan et al., 1997), Sevier orogenic wedge in terms of critical taper /j.1365-2117.2006.00287.x.
so syntectonic deposits may have been much models, northeast Utah and southwest Wyoming: Stockmal, G.S., Beaumont, C., Nguyen, M., and Lee,
Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, B., 2007, Mechanics of thin-skinned fold-and-
thicker initially. Including these sediments p. 454462, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1995)107 thrust belts: Insights from numerical models, in
aligns this system with the observed trend. <0454:HOTSOW>2.3.CO;2. Sears, J.W., et al., eds., Whence the Mountains?
Fullsack, P., 1995, An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian Inquiries into the Evolution of Orogenic Sys-
CONCLUSIONS formulation for creeping flows and its applica- tems: A Volume in Honor of Raymond A. Price,
tion in tectonic models: Geophysical Journal In- Geological Society of America Special Paper
We have presented mechanical models that ternational, v. 120, p. 123, doi:10.1111/j.1365
provide a general explanation for the effects 433, p. 6398, doi:10.1130/2007.2433(04).
-246X.1995.tb05908.x. Storti, F., and McClay, K., 1995, Influence of syntec-
of syntectonic sedimentation on the forma- Hardy, S., Duncan, C., Masek, J., and Brown, D., 1998, tonic sedimentation on thrust wedges in analogue
tion of thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belts. The Minimum work, fault activity and the growth models: Geology, v. 23, p. 9991002, doi:10.1130
model results show that an increase in syn- of critical wedges in fold and thrust belts: Ba- /0091-7613(1995)023<0999:IOSSOT>2.3.CO;2.
sin Research, v. 10, p. 365373, doi:10.1046/j Whipple, K.X, 2009, The influence of climate on the
tectonic sedimentation leads to significantly .1365-2117.1998.00073.x. tectonic evolution of mountain belts: Nature Geo-
longer thrust sheets. Increases in flexural rigid- Hoth, S., Hoffmann-Rothe, A., and Kukowski, N., science, v. 2, p. 97104, doi:10.1038/ngeo413.
ity enhance this effect by widening the basin 2007, Frontal accretion: An internal clock for Willett, S.D., 1999, Orogeny and orography: The ef-
and therefore extending the area of sediment bivergent wedge deformation and surface up- fects of erosion on the structure of mountain
lift: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 112, belts: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 104,
deposition. A range of natural thin-skinned B06408, doi:10.1029/2006JB004357 p. 2895728981, doi:10.1029/1999JB900248.
fold-and-thrust belts shows a linear correlation Huiqi, L., McClay, K.R., and Powell, D., 1992, Willett, S.D., and Schlunegger, F., 2010, The last
between maximum sediment thickness and Physical models of thrust wedges, in McClay, phase of deposition in the Swiss Molasse Basin:
thrust-sheet length, confirming the inference K.R., ed., Thrust Tectonics: London, Chapman From foredeep to negative-alpha basin: Basin
& Hall, p. 7181. Research, v. 22, p. 623639, doi:10.1111/j.1365
from the numerical models. Huismans, R.S., and Beaumont, C., 2003, Symmetric -2117.2009.00435.x.
and asymmetric lithospheric extension: Relative
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS effects of frictional-plastic and viscous strain Manuscript received 16 April 2012
This study is supported by Institut national des softening: Journal of Geophysical Research, Revised manuscript received 20 July 2012
sciences de lUniversCNRS through the European v. 108, p. 2496, doi:10.1029/2002JB002026. Manuscript accepted 25 July 2012
Science Foundation Topo-Europe project PyrTec Malavieille, J., 2010, Impact of erosion, sedimenta-
(Spatial and temporal coupling between tectonics tion, and structural heritage on the structure Printed in USA