Abstract
The geometry of foreland basins is controlled by a dynamic balance between thrust-belt migration, flexural subsidence, and fluvial deposition. To improve our ability to quantify the relationships between tectonics, climate, and foreland basin geometry, I developed analytic solutions for basin topography and stratigraphy using a classic two-dimensional mathematical model of foreland basin evolution. Model predictions for basin topography are successfully tested against observed profiles along a humid-to-arid climatic gradient in the central Andes. Using published estimates for the thrust-belt migration rate, flexural parameter, and thrust-front basin depth in this region, I show that basin topographic proffies can be used to estimate the upstream erosion rate at any point along a foreland basin. Basin-averaged erosion rates estimated in this way vary from 0.025 to 0.045 mm/yr in the central Andes, increasing from semiarid to humid climates.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 5-8 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Geology |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2007 |
Keywords
- Diffusion
- Flexure
- Foreland basin
- Modeling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geology