Articles | Volume 10, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-2045-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-2045-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Nov 2019
Research article |
| 19 Nov 2019
| 19 Nov 2019
Tectonic processes, variations in sediment flux, and eustatic sea level recorded by the 20 Myr old Burdigalian transgression in the Swiss Molasse basin
Philippos Garefalakis
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, 3012,
Switzerland
Fritz Schlunegger
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, 3012,
Switzerland
Related authors
Ariel Henrique do Prado, David Mair, Philippos Garefalakis, Chantal Schmidt, Alexander Whittaker, Sebastien Castelltort, and Fritz Schlunegger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1173–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1173-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Engineering structures known as check dams are built with the intention of managing streams. The effectiveness of such structures can be expressed by quantifying the reduction of the sediment flux after their implementation. In this contribution, we estimate and compare the volumes of sediment transported in a mountain stream for engineered and non-engineered conditions. We found that without check dams the mean sediment flux would be ca. 10 times larger in comparison with the current situation.
David Mair, Ariel Henrique Do Prado, Philippos Garefalakis, Alessandro Lechmann, Alexander Whittaker, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 953–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-953-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Grain size data are important for studying and managing rivers, but they are difficult to obtain in the field. Therefore, methods have been developed that use images from small and remotely piloted aircraft. However, uncertainty in grain size data from such image-based products is understudied. Here we present a new way of uncertainty estimation that includes fully modeled errors. We use this technique to assess the effect of several image acquisition aspects on grain size uncertainty.
Fritz Schlunegger, Romain Delunel, and Philippos Garefalakis
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 717–728, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-717-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-717-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We calculated the probability of sediment transport in coarse-grained mountainous streams in the Alps and the Andes where data on water discharge is available. We find a positive correlation between the predicted probability of sediment transport and the grain size sorting of the bed material. We suggest that besides sediment discharge, the bedload sorting exerts a significant influence on the mobility of sediment and thus on the stability of gravel bars in mountainous streams.
Fritz Schlunegger and Philippos Garefalakis
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 743–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-743-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-743-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Clast imbrication, which is a depositional fabric where clasts overlap each other similar to a run of toppled dominoes, is one of the most conspicuous sedimentary structures in coarse-grained fluvial deposits. However, the conditions leading to this fabric have been contested. Here, we calculate the hydrological conditions for various stream gradients. We find that clast imbrication most likely forms where channel gradients exceed a threshold and where upper flow regime conditions prevail.
Michael Margreth, Florian Lustenberger, Dorothea Hug Peter, Fritz Schlunegger, and Massimiliano Zappa
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-78, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-78, 2024
Preprint under review for NHESS
Short summary
Short summary
Recession models (RM) are crucial for observing the low flow behavior of a catchment. We developed two novel RM, which are designed to represent slowly draining catchment conditions. With a newly designed low flow prediction procedure we tested the prediction capability of these two models and three others from literature. One of our novel products delivered the best results, because it best represents the slowly draining catchment conditions.
Fritz Schlunegger, Edi Kissling, Dimitri Tibo Bandou, Guilhem Amin Douillet, David Mair, Urs Marti, Regina Reber, Patrick Fabian Schläfli, and Michael Alfred Schwenk
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-683, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-683, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Overdeepenings are bedrock depressions filled with sediment. We combine the results of a gravity survey with drilling data to explore the morphology of such a depression beneath the city of Bern. We find that the target overdeepening comprises two basins >200 m deep. They are separated by a bedrock riegel that itself is cut by narrow canyons up to 150 m deep. We postulate that these structures formed underneath a glacier, where erosion by subglacial meltwater caused the formation of the canyons.
Daniel Bolliger, Fritz Schlunegger, and Brian W. McArdell
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1035–1049, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-1035-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-1035-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed data from the Illgraben debris flow monitoring station, Switzerland, and we modelled these flows with a debris flow runout model. We found that no correlation exists between the grain size distribution, the mineralogical composition of the matrix, and the debris flow properties. The flow properties rather appear to be determined by the flow volume, from which most other parameters can be derived.
Ariel Henrique do Prado, David Mair, Philippos Garefalakis, Chantal Schmidt, Alexander Whittaker, Sebastien Castelltort, and Fritz Schlunegger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1173–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1173-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Engineering structures known as check dams are built with the intention of managing streams. The effectiveness of such structures can be expressed by quantifying the reduction of the sediment flux after their implementation. In this contribution, we estimate and compare the volumes of sediment transported in a mountain stream for engineered and non-engineered conditions. We found that without check dams the mean sediment flux would be ca. 10 times larger in comparison with the current situation.
Renas Koshnaw, Jonas Kley, and Fritz Schlunegger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3123, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3123, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates how Earth's geodynamic processes shaped the NW Zagros in the Middle East. The Neogene foreland basin underwent subsidence due to the load of surface and the subducting slab, and was later influenced by the Neotethys horizontal slab tear propagation in the late Miocene and the northward flow of mantle material.
David Mair, Ariel Henrique Do Prado, Philippos Garefalakis, Alessandro Lechmann, Alexander Whittaker, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 953–973, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-953-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Grain size data are important for studying and managing rivers, but they are difficult to obtain in the field. Therefore, methods have been developed that use images from small and remotely piloted aircraft. However, uncertainty in grain size data from such image-based products is understudied. Here we present a new way of uncertainty estimation that includes fully modeled errors. We use this technique to assess the effect of several image acquisition aspects on grain size uncertainty.
Michael A. Schwenk, Laura Stutenbecker, Patrick Schläfli, Dimitri Bandou, and Fritz Schlunegger
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 163–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-163-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the origin of glacial sediments in the Bern area to determine their route of transport either with the Aare Glacier or the Valais Glacier. These two ice streams are known to have joined in the Bern area during the last major glaciation (ca. 20 000 years ago). However, little is known about the ice streams prior to this last glaciation. Here we collected evidence that during a glaciation about 250 000 years ago the Aare Glacier dominated the area as documented in the deposits.
Ariel Henrique do Prado, Renato Paes de Almeida, Cristiano Padalino Galeazzi, Victor Sacek, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 457–471, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-457-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-457-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our work is focused on describing how and why the terrace levels of central Amazonia were formed during the last 100 000 years. We propose to address this question through a landscape evolution numerical model. Our results show that terrace levels at lower elevation were established in response to dry–wet climate changes and the older terrace levels at higher elevations most likely formed in response to a previously higher elevation of the regional base level.
Alessandro Lechmann, David Mair, Akitaka Ariga, Tomoko Ariga, Antonio Ereditato, Ryuichi Nishiyama, Ciro Pistillo, Paola Scampoli, Mykhailo Vladymyrov, and Fritz Schlunegger
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2441–2473, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2441-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2441-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Muon tomography is a technology that is used often in geoscientific research. The know-how of data analysis is, however, still possessed by physicists who developed this technology. This article aims at providing geoscientists with the necessary tools to perform their own analyses. We hope that a lower threshold to enter the field of muon tomography will allow more geoscientists to engage with muon tomography. SMAUG is set up in a modular way to allow for its own modules to work in between.
Michael A. Schwenk, Patrick Schläfli, Dimitri Bandou, Natacha Gribenski, Guilhem A. Douillet, and Fritz Schlunegger
Sci. Dril., 30, 17–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-17-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-30-17-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A scientific drilling was conducted into a bedrock trough (overdeepening) in Bern-Bümpliz (Switzerland) in an effort to advance the knowledge of the Quaternary prior to 150 000 years ago. We encountered a 208.5 m-thick succession of loose sediments (gravel, sand and mud) in the retrieved core and identified two major sedimentary sequences (A: lower, B: upper). The sedimentary suite records two glacial advances and the subsequent filling of a lake sometime between 300 000 and 200 000 years ago.
Emilija Krsnik, Katharina Methner, Marion Campani, Svetlana Botsyun, Sebastian G. Mutz, Todd A. Ehlers, Oliver Kempf, Jens Fiebig, Fritz Schlunegger, and Andreas Mulch
Solid Earth, 12, 2615–2631, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present new surface elevation constraints for the middle Miocene Central Alps based on stable and clumped isotope geochemical analyses. Our reconstructed paleoelevation estimate is supported by isotope-enabled paleoclimate simulations and indicates that the Miocene Central Alps were characterized by a heterogeneous and spatially transient topography with high elevations locally exceeding 4000 m.
Renas I. Koshnaw, Fritz Schlunegger, and Daniel F. Stockli
Solid Earth, 12, 2479–2501, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2479-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2479-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
As continental plates collide, mountain belts grow. This study investigated the provenance of rocks from the northwestern segment of the Zagros mountain belt to unravel the convergence history of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Provenance data synthesis and field relationships suggest that the Zagros Mountains developed as a result of the oceanic crust emplacement on the Arabian continental plate, followed by the Arabia–Eurasia collision and later uplift of the broader region.
Owen A. Anfinson, Daniel F. Stockli, Joseph C. Miller, Andreas Möller, and Fritz Schlunegger
Solid Earth, 11, 2197–2220, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2197-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2197-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present new U–Pb age data to provide insights into the source of sediment for the Molasse Sedimentary Basin in Switzerland. The paper aims to help shed light on the processes that built the Central Alpine Mountains between ~35 and ~15 Ma. A primary conclusion drawn from the results is that at ~21 Ma there was a significant change in the sediment sources for the basin. We feel this change indicates major tectonic changes within the Central Alps.
Samuel Mock, Christoph von Hagke, Fritz Schlunegger, István Dunkl, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth, 11, 1823–1847, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1823-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1823-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Based on thermochronological data, we infer thrusting along-strike the northern rim of the Central Alps between 12–4 Ma. While the lithology influences the pattern of thrusting at the local scale, we observe that thrusting in the foreland is a long-wavelength feature occurring between Lake Geneva and Salzburg. This coincides with the geometry and dynamics of the attached lithospheric slab at depth. Thus, thrusting in the foreland is at least partly linked to changes in slab dynamics.
Fritz Schlunegger, Romain Delunel, and Philippos Garefalakis
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 717–728, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-717-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-717-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We calculated the probability of sediment transport in coarse-grained mountainous streams in the Alps and the Andes where data on water discharge is available. We find a positive correlation between the predicted probability of sediment transport and the grain size sorting of the bed material. We suggest that besides sediment discharge, the bedload sorting exerts a significant influence on the mobility of sediment and thus on the stability of gravel bars in mountainous streams.
David Mair, Alessandro Lechmann, Romain Delunel, Serdar Yeşilyurt, Dmitry Tikhomirov, Christof Vockenhuber, Marcus Christl, Naki Akçar, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 637–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020, 2020
François Clapuyt, Veerle Vanacker, Marcus Christl, Kristof Van Oost, and Fritz Schlunegger
Solid Earth, 10, 1489–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1489-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1489-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Using state-of-the-art geomorphic techniques, we quantified a 2-order of magnitude discrepancy between annual, decadal, and millennial sediment fluxes of a landslide-affected mountainous river catchment in the Swiss Alps. Our results illustrate that the impact of a single sediment pulse is strongly attenuated at larger spatial and temporal scales by sediment transport. The accumulation of multiple sediment pulses has rather a measurable impact on the regional pattern of sediment fluxes.
Samuel Mock, Christoph von Hagke, Fritz Schlunegger, István Dunkl, and Marco Herwegh
Solid Earth Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2019-56, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2019-56, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Based on own and published age data, we can infer tectonic pulses along-strike the entire northern rim of the Central Alps between 12–4 million years. Although lithologic variations largely influence the local deformation pattern, the tectonic signal is remarkably consistent all the way from Lake Geneva to Salzburg. This might result from a deep-seated tectonic force and marks a change from dominantly vertical to large-scale horizontal tectonics in the late stage of Alpine orogeny.
Alessandro Lechmann, David Mair, Akitaka Ariga, Tomoko Ariga, Antonio Ereditato, Ryuichi Nishiyama, Ciro Pistillo, Paola Scampoli, Fritz Schlunegger, and Mykhailo Vladymyrov
Solid Earth, 9, 1517–1533, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1517-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1517-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Muon tomography is a technology, similar to X-ray tomography, to image the interior of an object, including geologically interesting ones. In this work, we examined the influence of rock composition on the physical measurements, and the possible error that is made by assuming a too-simplistic rock model. We performed numerical simulations for a more realistic rock model and found that beyond 300 m of rock, the composition starts to play a significant role and has to be accounted for.
David Mair, Alessandro Lechmann, Marco Herwegh, Lukas Nibourel, and Fritz Schlunegger
Solid Earth, 9, 1099–1122, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1099-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1099-2018, 2018
Fritz Schlunegger and Philippos Garefalakis
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 743–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-743-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-743-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Clast imbrication, which is a depositional fabric where clasts overlap each other similar to a run of toppled dominoes, is one of the most conspicuous sedimentary structures in coarse-grained fluvial deposits. However, the conditions leading to this fabric have been contested. Here, we calculate the hydrological conditions for various stream gradients. We find that clast imbrication most likely forms where channel gradients exceed a threshold and where upper flow regime conditions prevail.
Anna Costa, Peter Molnar, Laura Stutenbecker, Maarten Bakker, Tiago A. Silva, Fritz Schlunegger, Stuart N. Lane, Jean-Luc Loizeau, and Stéphanie Girardclos
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 509–528, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-509-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-509-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the signal of a warmer climate in the suspended-sediment dynamics of a regulated and human-impacted Alpine catchment. We demonstrate that temperature-driven enhanced melting of glaciers, which occurred in the mid-1980s, played a dominant role in suspended sediment concentration rise, through increased runoff from sediment-rich proglacial areas, increased contribution of sediment-rich meltwater, and increased sediment supply in proglacial areas due to glacier recession.
François Clapuyt, Veerle Vanacker, Fritz Schlunegger, and Kristof Van Oost
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 791–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-791-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-791-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This work aims at understanding the behaviour of an earth flow located in the Swiss Alps by reconstructing very accurately its topography over a 2-year period. Aerial photos taken from a drone, which are then processed using a computer vision algorithm, were used to derive the topographic datasets. Combination and careful interpretation of high-resolution topographic analyses reveal the internal mechanisms of the earthflow and its complex rotational structure, which is evolving over time.
Camille Litty, Fritz Schlunegger, and Willem Viveen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 571–583, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-571-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-571-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper focuses on the analysis of the properties controlling the grain size in the streams of the western Peruvian Andes. Pebble size distributions in these streams have been compared to fluvial processes and basin properties. The resulting trends and differences in sediment properties seem to have been controlled by threshold conditions upon supply and transport.
Laura Stutenbecker, Anna Costa, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 253–272, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-253-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-253-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This paper considers the influence of lithology on the landscape development in the Central Swiss Alps. In high-alpine settings such as the upper Rhône valley, external forcing by climate, glaciation and uplift affects the geomorphological evolution of the landscape. By careful compilation of published data and geomorphological analysis we found that the rock type and its susceptibility to erosion are the main factors controlling the response time to those perturbations.
K. P. Norton, F. Schlunegger, and C. Litty
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 147–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-147-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-147-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Cut-fill terraces are common landforms throughout the world. Their distribution both in space and time is not clear-cut, as they can arise from numerous processes. We apply a climate-dependent regolith production algorithm to determine potential sediment loads during climate shifts. When combined with transport capacity, our results suggest that the cut-fill terraces of western Peru can result from transient stripping of hillslope sediment but not steady-state hillslope erosion.
Related subject area
Subject area: The evolving Earth surface | Editorial team: Stratigraphy, sedimentology, geomorphology, morphotectonics, and palaeontology | Discipline: Sedimentology
What does it take to restore geological models with “natural” boundary conditions?
Impact of stress regime change on the permeability of a naturally fractured carbonate buildup (Latemar, the Dolomites, northern Italy)
The influence of extraction of various solvents on chemical properties on Chang 7 shale, Ordos Basin, China
Deep vs. shallow – two contrasting theories? A tectonically activated Late Cretaceous deltaic system in the axial part of the Mid-Polish Trough: a case study from southeast Poland
Miocene high elevation in the Central Alps
What makes seep carbonates ignore self-sealing and grow vertically: the role of burrowing decapod crustaceans
Dawn and dusk of Late Cretaceous basin inversion in central Europe
Simulating permeability reduction by clay mineral nanopores in a tight sandstone by combining computer X-ray microtomography and focussed ion beam scanning electron microscopy imaging
Birth and closure of the Kallipetra Basin: Late Cretaceous reworking of the Jurassic Pelagonian–Axios/Vardar contact (northern Greece)
Sediment history mirrors Pleistocene aridification in the Gobi Desert (Ejina Basin, NW China)
Miocene basement exhumation in the Central Alps recorded by detrital garnet geochemistry in foreland basin deposits
Can anaerobic oxidation of methane prevent seafloor gas escape in a warming climate?
Precipitation of dolomite from seawater on a Carnian coastal plain (Dolomites, northern Italy): evidence from carbonate petrography and Sr isotopes
The Ogooue Fan (offshore Gabon): a modern example of deep-sea fan on a complex slope profile
Formation of linear planform chimneys controlled by preferential hydrocarbon leakage and anisotropic stresses in faulted fine-grained sediments, offshore Angola
From oil field to geothermal reservoir: assessment for geothermal utilization of two regionally extensive Devonian carbonate aquifers in Alberta, Canada
Sedimentary mechanisms of a modern banded iron formation on Milos Island, Greece
Melchior Schuh-Senlis, Guillaume Caumon, and Paul Cupillard
Solid Earth, 15, 945–964, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-945-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-945-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the application of a numerical method for restoring models of the subsurface to a previous state in their deformation history, acting as a numerical time machine for geological structures. The method is applied to a model based on a laboratory experiment. The results show that using force conditions in the computation of the deformation allows us to assess the value of some previously unknown physical parameters of the different materials inside the model.
Onyedika Anthony Igbokwe, Jithender J. Timothy, Ashwani Kumar, Xiao Yan, Mathias Mueller, Alessandro Verdecchia, Günther Meschke, and Adrian Immenhauser
Solid Earth, 15, 763–787, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-763-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-763-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a workflow that models the impact of stress regime change on the permeability of fractured Latemar carbonate buildup using a displacement-based linear elastic finite-element method (FEM) and outcrop data. Stress-dependent heterogeneous apertures and effective permeability were calculated and constrained by the study area's stress directions. Simulated far-field stresses at NW–SE subsidence deformation and N–S Alpine deformation increased the overall fracture aperture and permeability.
Yan Cao, Zhijun Jin, Rukai Zhu, and Kouqi Liu
Solid Earth, 14, 1169–1179, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1169-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was performed on shale before and after solvent extraction. The extraction yield from shale with THF is higher than other solvents. The organic-C-normalized yield of a mature sample is higher than other samples. The aromaticity of organic matter increases, and the length of organic matter aliphatic chains does not vary monotonically with increasing maturity. The results will help in the selection of organic solvents for oil-washing experiments of shale.
Zbyszek Remin, Michał Cyglicki, and Mariusz Niechwedowicz
Solid Earth, 13, 681–703, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-681-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-681-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Traditionally, the axial part of the Polish Basin, i.e. the Mid-Polish Trough, was interpreted as the deepest and most subsiding part of the basin during the Cretaceous times. We interpret this area conversely, as representing a landmass – the Łysogóry–Dobrogea Land. Inversion-related tectonics, uplift on the one hand and enhanced subsidence on the other, drove the development of the Szozdy Delta within the axial part of the basin. New heavy mineral data suggest different burial histories.
Emilija Krsnik, Katharina Methner, Marion Campani, Svetlana Botsyun, Sebastian G. Mutz, Todd A. Ehlers, Oliver Kempf, Jens Fiebig, Fritz Schlunegger, and Andreas Mulch
Solid Earth, 12, 2615–2631, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present new surface elevation constraints for the middle Miocene Central Alps based on stable and clumped isotope geochemical analyses. Our reconstructed paleoelevation estimate is supported by isotope-enabled paleoclimate simulations and indicates that the Miocene Central Alps were characterized by a heterogeneous and spatially transient topography with high elevations locally exceeding 4000 m.
Jean-Philippe Blouet, Patrice Imbert, Sutieng Ho, Andreas Wetzel, and Anneleen Foubert
Solid Earth, 12, 2439–2466, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2439-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2439-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Biochemical reactions related to hydrocarbon seepage are known to induce carbonates in marine sediments. Seep carbonates may act as seals and force lateral deviations of rising hydrocarbons. However, crustacean burrows may act as efficient vertical fluid channels allowing hydrocarbons to pass through upward, thereby allowing the vertical growth of carbonate stacks over time. This mechanism may explain the origin of carbonate columns in marine sediments throughout hydrocarbon provinces worldwide.
Thomas Voigt, Jonas Kley, and Silke Voigt
Solid Earth, 12, 1443–1471, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Basin inversion in central Europe is believed to have started during Late Cretaceous (middle Turonian) and probably proceeded until the Paleogene. Data from different marginal troughs in central Europe point to an earlier start of basin inversion (in the Cenomanian). The end of inversion is overprinted by general uplift but had probably already occurred in the late Campanian to Maastrichtian. Both the start and end of inversion occurred with low rates of uplift and subsidence.
Arne Jacob, Markus Peltz, Sina Hale, Frieder Enzmann, Olga Moravcova, Laurence N. Warr, Georg Grathoff, Philipp Blum, and Michael Kersten
Solid Earth, 12, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we combined different imaging and experimental measuring methods for analysis of cross-scale effects which reduce permeability of tight reservoir rocks. Simulated permeability of digital images of rocks is often overestimated, which is caused by non-resolvable clay content within the pores of a rock. By combining FIB-SEM with micro-XCT imaging, we were able to simulate the true clay mineral abundance to match experimentally measured permeability with simulated permeability.
Lydia R. Bailey, Filippo L. Schenker, Maria Giuditta Fellin, Miriam Cobianchi, Thierry Adatte, and Vincenzo Picotti
Solid Earth, 11, 2463–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2463-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2463-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Kallipetra Basin, formed in the Late Cretaceous on the reworked Pelagonian–Axios–Vardar contact in the Hellenides, is described for the first time. We document how and when the basin evolved in response to tectonic forcings and basin inversion. Cenomanian extension and basin widening was followed by Turonian compression and basin inversion. Thrusting occurred earlier than previously reported in the literature, with a vergence to the NE, at odds with the regional SW vergence of the margin.
Georg Schwamborn, Kai Hartmann, Bernd Wünnemann, Wolfgang Rösler, Annette Wefer-Roehl, Jörg Pross, Marlen Schlöffel, Franziska Kobe, Pavel E. Tarasov, Melissa A. Berke, and Bernhard Diekmann
Solid Earth, 11, 1375–1398, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1375-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1375-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We use a sediment core from the Gobi Desert (Ejina Basin, NW China) to illustrate the landscape history of the area. During 2.5 million years a sediment package of 223 m thickness has been accumulated. Various sediment types document that the area turned from a playa environment (shallow water environment with multiple flooding events) to an alluvial–fluvial environment after the arrival of the Heihe in the area. The river has been diverted due to tectonics.
Laura Stutenbecker, Peter M. E. Tollan, Andrea Madella, and Pierre Lanari
Solid Earth, 10, 1581–1595, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1581-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1581-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Aar and Mont Blanc regions in the Alps are large granitoid massifs characterized by high topography. We analyse when these granitoids were first exhumed to the surface. We test this by tracking specific garnet grains, which are exclusively found in the granitoid massifs, in the sediments contained in the alpine foreland basin. This research ties in with ongoing debates on the timing and mechanisms of mountain building.
Christian Stranne, Matt O'Regan, Martin Jakobsson, Volker Brüchert, and Marcelo Ketzer
Solid Earth, 10, 1541–1554, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1541-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1541-2019, 2019
Maximilian Rieder, Wencke Wegner, Monika Horschinegg, Stefanie Klackl, Nereo Preto, Anna Breda, Susanne Gier, Urs Klötzli, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Gernot Arp, and Patrick Meister
Solid Earth, 10, 1243–1267, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1243-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1243-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The formation of dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), an abundant mineral in Earth's geological record, is still incompletely understood. We studied dolomites embedded in a 100 m thick succession of coastal alluvial clays of Triassic age in the southern Alps. Observation by light microscopy and Sr isotopes suggests that dolomites may spontaneously from concentrated evaporating seawater, in coastal ephemeral lakes or tidal flats along the western margin of the Triassic Tethys sea.
Salomé Mignard, Thierry Mulder, Philippe Martinez, and Thierry Garlan
Solid Earth, 10, 851–869, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-851-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-851-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A large quantity a continental material is transported to the oceans by the world rivers. Once in the ocean, these particles can be transported down the continental shelf thanks to underwater avalanches. The repetition of such massive events can form very important sedimentary deposits at the continent–ocean transition. Data obtained during an oceanic cruise in 2010 allowed us to study such a system located offshore of Gabon and to evaluate the importance sediment transport in this area.
Sutieng Ho, Martin Hovland, Jean-Philippe Blouet, Andreas Wetzel, Patrice Imbert, and Daniel Carruthers
Solid Earth, 9, 1437–1468, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1437-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
A newly discovered type of hydrocarbon leakage structure is investigated following the preliminary works of Ho (2013; et al. 2012, 2013, 2016): blade-shaped gas chimneys instead of classical cylindrical ones. These so-called
Linear Chimneysare hydraulic fractures caused by overpressured hydrocarbon fluids breaching cover sediments along preferential directions. These directions are dictated by anisotropic stresses induced by faulting in sediments and pre-existing salt-diapiric structures.
Leandra M. Weydt, Claus-Dieter J. Heldmann, Hans G. Machel, and Ingo Sass
Solid Earth, 9, 953–983, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-953-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-953-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study focuses on the assessment of the geothermal potential of two extensive upper Devonian aquifer systems within the Alberta Basin (Canada). Our work provides a first database on geothermal rock properties combined with detailed facies analysis (outcrop and core samples), enabling the identification of preferred zones in the reservoir and thus allowing for a more reliable reservoir prediction. This approach forms the basis for upcoming reservoir studies with a focus on 3-D modelling.
Ernest Chi Fru, Stephanos Kilias, Magnus Ivarsson, Jayne E. Rattray, Katerina Gkika, Iain McDonald, Qian He, and Curt Broman
Solid Earth, 9, 573–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-573-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-573-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Banded iron formations (BIFs) are chemical sediments last seen in the marine sedimentary record ca. 600 million years ago. Here, we report on the formation mechanisms of a modern BIF analog in the Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, demonstrating that rare environmental redox conditions, coupled to submarine hydrothermal activity and microbial processes, are required for these types of rocks to form in the modern marine biosphere.
Cited articles
Allen, J. R. L.: Sedimentary Structures. Their Characteristics and Physical
Basis. Vol. I, Developments in Sedimentology 30A, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 593 pp., 1982.
Allen, J. R. L.: Sedimentary Structures. Their Characteristics and Physical
Basis. Vol. I., Developments in Sedimentology 30B, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 679 pp., 1984.
Allen, P. A.: Reconstruction of ancient sea conditions with an example from
the Swiss Molasse, Mar. Geol., 60, 455–473, 1984.
Allen, P. A.: Earth Surface Processes, 404 pp. ISBN 0-632-03507-2, Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, 1997.
Allen, P. A. and Allen, J. R.: Basin Analysis: Principles and Applications,
Malden, MA, Blackwell Pub., ix, 549 pp., ISBN: 0632052074, 2005.
Allen, P. A. and Bass, J. P.: Sedimentology of the Upper Marine Molasse of
the Rhône-Alp region. Eastern France: Implications for basin evolution.
Eclogae Geol. Helv., 86, 121–171, 1993.
Allen, P. A. and Homewood, P.: Evolution and mechanics of a Miocene tidal
sandwave, Sedimentology, 31, 63–81, 1984.
Allen, P. A., Mange-Rajetky, A., and Matter, A.: Dynamic palaeogeography of
the open Burdigalian seaway, Swiss Molasse basin, Eclogae Geol.
Helv., 78, 351–381, 1985.
Allen, P. A., Crampton, S. L., and Sinclair, H. D.: The inception and early
evolution of the North Alpine foreland basin, Switzerland, Basin Res.,
3, 143–163, 1991.
Baas, J. H.: Ripple, ripple mark, ripple structure. In: Sedimentology.
Encyclopedia of Earth Science, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 921–925,
1978.
Baran, P., Jodłowski, G. S., Krzyżanowski, A., and Zaręba, K.:
Experimental testing of methanol sorption on selected coal samples from
Upper Silesian Basin, Geology, Geophysics and Environment, 40,
261–269, 2014.
Beaumont, C.: Foreland basins, Geophys. J. Int., 65,
291–329, 1981.
Berger, J.-P.: Cartes paléogéographiques-palinspastiques du bassin
molassique suisse (Oligocène inférieur – Miocène moyen), N. Jb.
Geol. Paläont. Abh., 2002, 1–44, 1996.
Bieg, U., Süss, M. P., and Kuhlemann, J.: Simulation of tidal flow and
circulation patterns in the Early Miocene (Upper Marine Molasse) of the
Alpine foreland basin, Analogue and Numerical Modelling of Sedimentary
Systems: From Understanding to Prediction, 40, 145–169, 2008.
Boston, K. R., Rubatto, J., Hermann, J., Engi, M., and Amelin, Y.:
Geochronology of accessory allanite and monazite in the Barrovian
metamorphic sequence of the Central Alps, Switzerland, Lithos,
286–287, 502–518, 2017.
Bridge, J. S. and Tye, R. S.: Interpreting the dimensions of ancient fluvial
channel bars, channels and channel belts from wireline-logs and cores, AAPG
Bull., 84, 1205–1228, 2000.
Cande, S. C. and Kent, D. V.: A new geomagnetic polarity time scale for the
Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic, J. Geophys. Res., 97,
913–951, 1992.
Cande, S. C. and Kent, D. V.: Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity
timescale for the Late Cretacesou and Cenocoic, J. Geophys.
Res., 100, 6093–6095, 1995.
Cederbom, C. E., Sinclair, H. D., Schlunegger, F., and Rahn, M.:
Climate-induced rebound and exhumation of the European Alps, Geology, 32,
709–712, 2004.
Cederbom, C. E., van der Beek, P., Schlunegger, F., Sinclair, H. D., and
Oncken, O.: Rapid extensive erosion of the North Alpine foreland basin at
5–4 Ma, Basin Res., 23, 528–550, 2011.
Clifton, H. E. and Dingler, J. R.: Wave-Formed Structures and
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Mar. Geol., 60, 165–198, 1984.
Daidu, F., Yuan, W., and Min, L.: Classifications, sedimentary features and
facies associations of tidal flats, J. Palaeogeogr., 2,
66–80, 2013.
Dam, G. and Andreasen, F.: High-energy ephemeral stream deltas; an example
from the Upper Silurian Holmestrand Formation of the Oslo Region, Norway,
Sediment. Geol., 66, 197–225, 1990.
Davies, J. and von Blanckenburg, F.: Slab breakoff: A model of lithosphere
detachment and its test in the magmatism and deformation of collisional
orogens, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 129, 85–102, 1995.
DeCelles, P. G.: Late Jurassic to Eocene evolution of the Cordilleran
thrust belt and foreland basin system, western USA, Am. J.
Sci., 304, 105–168, 2004.
DeCelles, P. G. and Giles, K. A.: Foreland basin systems, Basin Res., 8,
105–123, 1996.
Diem, B.: Analytical method for estimating paleowave climate and water
depth from wave ripple marks, Sedimentology, 32, 705–720, 1985.
Diem, B.: Die Untere Meeresmolasse zwischen der Saane (Westschweiz) und der
Ammer (Oberbayern), Eclogae Geol. Helv., 79, 493–559, 1986.
Doppler, G.: Zur Stratigraphie der nördlichen Vorlandmolasse in
Bayerisch-Schwaben, Geologica Bavarica, 94, 83–133, 1989.
Fertig, J., Graf, R., Lohr, H., Mau, J., and Müller, M.: Seismic sequence
and facies analysis of the Puchkirchen Formation, Molasse basin, south-east
Bavaria, Germany, Eur. Assoc. Pet. Geosci. Spec. Publ., 1, 277–287, 1991.
Flemings, P. B. and Jordan, T. E.: Stratigraphic modeling of foreland
basins: Interpreting thrust deformation and lithosphere rheology, Geology,
18, 430–434, 1990.
Flemming, B. W.: Geology, Morphology, and Sedimentology of Estuaries and
Coasts, Treatise on Estuaries and Coasts, 3, 7–38, 2011.
Frieling, D., Mazumder, R., and Reichenbacher, B.: Tidal sediments in the
Upper Marine Molasse (OMM) of the Allgäu area (Lower Miocene,
Southwest-Germany), Neues Jahrb. Geol.
P.-A., 254, 151–163, 2009.
Froitzheim, N., Schmid, S. M., and Frey, M.: Mesozoic paleogeography and the
timing of eclogite-facies metamorphism in the Alps: A working hypothesis,
Eclogae Geol. Helv., 89, 81–110, 1996.
Fry, B., Deschamps, F., Kissling, E., Stehly, L., and Giardini, D.: Layered
azimuthal anisotropy of Rayleigh wave phase velocities in the European
Alpine lithosphere inferred from ambient noise, Earth Planet. Sc.
Lett., 297, 95–102, 2010.
Füchtbauer, H.: Sedimentpetrographische Untersuchungen in der
älteren Molasse nördlich der Alpen, Eclogae Geol. Helv.,
61, 157–298, 1964.
Garefalakis, P. and Schlunegger, F.: Link between concentrations of
sediment flux and deep crustal processes beneath the European Alps,
Sci. Rep.-UK, 8, 183, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17182-8, 2018.
Haldemann, E. G., Haus, H. A., Holliger, A., Liechti, W., Rutsch, R. F., and
Della Valle, G.: Geologischer Atlas der Schweiz, Blatt 1188 Eggiwil (Nr.
75): Schweizerische Geologische Kommission, scale 1 : 25 000, 1 sheet, 1980.
Hammer, B.: Sedimentologie der Oberen Meeresmolasse im Raum St. Gallen,
unpublished Diploma thesis, Univ. Bern, Bern, Switzerland, 96 pp., 1984.
Handy, M. R., Schmid, S. M., Bousquet, R., Kissling, E., and Bernoulli, D.:
Reconciling plate-tectonic reconstructions of Alpine Tethys with the
geological – geophysical record of spreading and subduction in the Alps,
Earth Sci. Rev., 102, 121–158, 2010.
Handy, M. R., Ustaszewski, K., and Kissling, E.: Reconstructing the
Alps-Carpathians-Dinarides as key to understanding switches in subduction
polarity, slab gaps and surface motion, Int. J. Earth
Sci., 104, 1–26, 2015.
Herwegh, M., Berger, A., Baumberger, R., Wehrens, P., and Kissling, E.:
Large-scale crustal-block-extrusion during Late Alpine collision, Sci.
Rep.-UK, 7, 413, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00440-0, 2017.
Hilgen, F. J., Lourens, L. J., Van Dam, J. A., Beu, A. G., Boyes, A. F., Cooper, R. A., Krijgsman, W., Ogg, J. G., Piller, W. E., and Wilson, D. S.: Chapter 29 – The Neogene Period, edited by: Gradstien, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., and Ogg, G. M., The Geologic Time Scale, Elsevier, 923–978, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-59425-9.00029-9, 2012.
Homewood, P. and Allen, P. A.: Wave-, Tide-, and Current-Controlled
Sandbodies in Miocene Molasse, Western Switzerland, Am. Assoc.
Petr. Geol. B., 65, 2534–2545, 1981.
Homewood, P., Allen, P. A. and Williams, G. D.: Dynamics of the Molasse Basin
of western Switzerland, Spec. Publs int. Ass. Sediment., 8, 199–217,
1986.
Hurford, A. J.: Cooling and uplift patterns in the Lepontine Alps, south
central Switzerland and an age of vertical movement on the Insubric fault
line, Contrib. Mineral. Petr., 93, 413–427, 1986.
Isler, A. and Murer, R.: Geologische Karte der Schweiz, Kartenblatt 1149
Wolhusen 1 : 25 000, Karte 164, Bundesamt für Landestopographie swisstopo, Bern,
2019.
Jin, J., Aigner, T., Luterbacher, H. P., Bachmann, G. H., and Müller, M.:
Sequence stratigraphy and depositional history in the south-eastern German
Molasse Basin, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 12, 929–940, 1995.
Jordan, T. E.: Thrust loads and foreland basin evolution, Cretaceous,
western United States, AAPG Bull., 65, 2506–2520, 1981.
Jordan, T. E. and Flemings, P. B.: Large-scale stratigraphic architecture,
eustatic variation, and unsteady tectonism: A theoretical evaluation.
J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 96, 6681–6699, 1991.
Jost, J., Kempf, O., and Kälin, D.: Stratigraphy and palaeoecology of
the Upper Marine Molasse (OMM) of the central Swiss Plateau, Swiss J.
Geosci., 109, 149–169, 2016.
Kälin, D. and Kempf, O.: High-resolution stratigraphy from the
continental record of the Middle Miocene Northern Alpine Foreland Basin of
Switzerland, N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh., 254, 177–235, 2009.
Keller, B.: Fazies und Stratigraphie der Oberen Meeresmolasse (Unteres
Miozän) zwischen Napf und Bodensee, PhD, Bern, 302 pp., University of Bern, 1989.
Keller, B.: Wirkung von Wellen und Gezeiten bei der Ablagerung der Oberen
Meeresmolasse–Löwendenkmal und Gletschergarten–zwei anschauliche
geologische Studienobjekte, Mitteilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft
Luzern, 31, 245–271, 1990.
Kempf, O.: Magnetostratigraphy and facies evolution of the Lower Freshwater
Molasse (USM) of eastern Switzerland, PhD, Bern, 138 pp., University of Bern, 1998.
Kempf, O. and Matter, A.: Magnetostratigraphy and depositional history of
the Upper Freshwater Molasse (OSM) of eastern Switzerland, Eclogae
Geol. Helv., 92, 97–103, 1999.
Kempf, O., Bolliger, T., Kälin, D., Engesser, B., and Matter, A.: New
magnetostratigraphic calibration of Early to Middle Miocene mammal biozones
of the North Alpine foreland basin, Mém. Trav. EPHE Inst. Montpellier,
21, 547–561, 1997.
Kempf, O., Matter, A., Burbank, D. W., and Mange, M.: Depositional and
structural evolution of a foreland basin margin in a magnetostratigraphic
framework: the eastern Swiss Molasse basin, Int. J. Earth
Sci., 88, 253–275, 1999.
Kissling, E. and Schlunegger, F.: Rollback orogeny model for the evolution
of the Swiss Alps, Tectonics, 37, 1097–1115, 2018.
Kuhlemann, J.: Post-collisional sediment budget of circum-Alpine basins
(Central Europe), Mem. Sci. Geol. Padova, 52, 1–91, 2000.
Kuhlemann, J. and Kempf, O.: Post-Eocene evolution of the North Alpine
Foreland Basin and its response to Alpine tectonics, Sediment. Geol.,
152, 45–78, 2002.
Kuhlemann, J., Frisch, W., Dunkl, I., Sze ìkely, B., and Spiegel, C.:
Miocene shifts of the drainage divide in the Alps and their foreland basin,
Z. Geomorphol. N. F., 45, 239–265, 2001a.
Kuhlemann, J., Frisch, W., Dunkl, I., and Székely, B.: Quantifying
tectonic versus erosive denudation by the sediment budget: The Miocene core
complexes of the Alps, Tectonophysics, 330, 1–23, 2001b.
Kuhlemann, J., Frisch, W., Székely, B., Dunkl, I., and Kázmér,
M.: Post-collisional sediment budget history of the Alps: tectonic versus
climatic control, Int. J. Earth Sci., 91,
818–837, 2002.
Kühni, A. and Pfiffner, O. A.: The relief of the Swiss Alps and
adjacent areas and its relation to lithology and structure: topographic
analysis from a 250-m DEM, Geomorphology, 41, 285–307, 2001.
Leclair, S. F. and Bridge, J. S.: Quantitative interpretation of sedimentary
structures formed by river dunes, J. Sediment. Res., 71,
713–716, 2001.
Lemcke, K., Engelhardt, W. V., and Füchtbauer, H.: Geologische und
sedimentpetrographische Untersuchungen im-Westteil der ungefalteten Molasse
des süddeutschen-Alpenvorlandes, Beihefte zum Geologischen Jahrbuch, 11,
1–182, 1953.
Lihou, J. C. and Allen, P. A.: Importance of inherited rift margin structures
in the early North Alpine Foreland Basin, Switzerland, Basin Res., 8,
425–442, 1996.
Lippitsch, R., Kissling, E., and Ansorge, J.: Upper mantle structure beneath
the Alpine orogen from high-resolution teleseismic tomography, J.
Geophys. Res., 108, 2376, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JB002016, 2003.
Lourens, L. J., Hilgen, F. J., Laskar, J., Shackleton, N. J., and Wilson, D.:
The Neogene Period. A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press,
409–440, 2004.
Lu, G., Winkler, W., Rahn, M., von Quadt, A., and Willett, S. D.: Evaluating
igneous sources of the Taveyannaz formation in the Central Alps by detrital
zircon U–Pb age dating and geochemistry, Swiss J. Geosci.,
111, 399–416, 2018.
Malzer, O., Rögl, F., Seifert, P., Wagner, L., Wessely, G., and Brix, F.:
Die Molassezone und deren Untergrund. Erdöl und Erdgas in
Österreich, 281–322, 1993.
Mancktelow, N.: The Simplon Line: a major displacement zone in the western
Lepontine Alps, Eclogae Geol. Helv., 78, 73–96, 1985.
Mancktelow, N. S. and Grasemann, B.: Time-dependent effects of heat
advection and topography on cooling histories during erosion,
Tectonophysics, 270, 167–195, 1997.
Matter, A.: Sedimentologische Untersuchungen im östlichen Napfgebiet
(Entlebuch–Tal der Grossen Fontanne, Kt. Luzern), Eclogae Geol.
Helv., 57, 315–429, 1964.
Matter, A., Homewood, P., Caron, C., Rigassi, D., van Stuijvenberg, J.,
Weidmann, M., and Winkler, W.: Flysch and Molasse of western and central
Switzerland, Exc. Guidebook No. 126A, 26th Int. Geol. Congr. Schweiz.
Geol. Komm. Wepf and Co. Publ., Basel, 1980.
Mazurek, M. Hurford, A., and Leu, W.: Unravelling the multi-stage burial history of
the Swiss Molasse basin: Integration of Apatite fission track, vitrinite
reflectance and biomarker isomerisation analysis, Basin Res., 18,
27–50, 2006.
Mein, P.: Résultats du groupe de travail des vertébrés:
Biozonation du Néogène méditerranéen à partir des
Mammifères, in: Report on Activity of RCMNS Working Groups (1971–1975), 77–81, edited by: Sénès, J., IUGS Commission on Stratigraphy, Subcommission on Neogene Stratigraphy, Vertebrata, Bratislava, 1975.
Mein, P.: Rapport d'activité du Groupe de Travail Vertébrés
Mise à jour de la biostratigraphie du Néogène basée sur les
Mammifères, Ann. géol. Pays Héilen., Tome hors série, 3,
1367–1372 (VII International Congress on Mediterranean Neogene, Athens,
1979), 1979.
Mein, P.: Updating of MN zones, in:
European Neogene mammal chronology. NATO ASI, Life Sci. 180, edited by: Lindsay, E., Fahlbusch, V., and Mein, P., Plenum
Press, New York, 73–90, 1989.
Miall, A. D.: Lithofacies types and vertical profile models in braided river
deposits, a summary, in: Fluvial sedimentology, edited by: Miall, A. D., Can.
Soc. Petr. Geol. Mem., 5, 597–604, 1978.
Miall, A. D.: Architectural-Element Analysis: A New Method of Facies
Analysis Applied to Fluvial Deposits, Earth-Sci. Rev., 22, 261–308, 1985.
Miall, A. D.: The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. Sedimentary Facies, Basin
Analysis, and Petroleum Geology, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 582 pp., 1996.
Miller, M. C. and Komar, P. D.: Oscillation Sand Ripples Generated by
Laboratory Apparatus, J. Sediment. Res., 50, 173–182,
1980a.
Miller, M. C. and Komar, P. D.: A field investigation of the relationship
between oscillation ripple spacinng and the near-bottom water orbital
motions, J. Sediment. Res., 50, 183–191, 1980b.
Miller, K. G., Mountain, G. S., the Leg 150 Shipboard Party, and Members of
the New Jersey Coastal Plain Drilling Project: Drilling and dating New
Jersey Oligocene–Miocene sequences: Ice volume, global sea level, and Exxon
records, Science, 271, 92–94, 1996.
Miller, K. G., Mountain, G. S., Browning, J. V., Kominz, M., Sugarman, P. J.,
Christie-Blick, N., Katz, M. E., and Wright, J. D.: Cenozoic global sea level,
sequences, and the New Jersey transect: results from coastal plain and
continental slope drilling, Rev. Geophys., 36, 569–601, 1998.
Nichols, P. G.: Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, Blackwell Sci., 355 pp.,
1999.
Ortner, H., Fügenschuh, B., Zerlauth, M., and Hinsch, R.: Geometry, sequence and amount of thrusting in the Subalpine Molasse of Austria and Bavaria, in: Fragile Earth: Geological Processes from Global to Local Scales and Associated Hazards, edited by: Friedrich, A., Hofmann, F., and Neumeier, G., GV-GSA joint meeting, Abstracts and Programs, 4–7 September 2011, Munich, A35, Boulder, Geological Society of America, 2011.
Pfiffner, O. A.: Evolution of the north Alpine foreland basin in the Central
Alps. Special Publication, Int. As. Sed., 8,
219–228, 1986.
Pfiffner, O. A., Schlunegger, F., and Buiter, S. J. H.: The Swiss Alps and
their peripheral foreland basin: Stratigraphic response to deep crustal
processes, Tectonics, 6, 1054, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002TC001465, 2002.
Pippèrr, M. and Reichenbacher, B.: Late Early Miocene
palaeoenvironmental changes in the North Alpine Foreland Basin,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 468, 485–502, 2017.
Platt, N. H. and Keller, B.: Distal alluvial deposits in a foreland basin
setting – the Lower Freshwater Miocene), Switzerland: sedimentology,
architecture and palaeosols, Sedimentology, 39, 545–565, 1992.
Python, C.: Geologische Karte der Schweiz, Kartenblatt 1185 Fribourg
1 : 25 000, Bundesamt für Landestopographie swisstopo, 1996.
Reichenbacher, B., Krijgsman, W., Lataster, Y., Pipperr, M., Van Baak, C.
G., Chang, L., Kälin, D., Jost, J., Doppler, G., Jung, D., Priet, J.,
Abdul Aziz, H., Böhme, M., Garnish, J., Kirscher, U., and Bachtadse, V.:
A new magnetostratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene
(Burdigalian/Ottnangian, Karpatian) in the North Alpine Foreland Basin,
Swiss J. Geosci., 106, 309–334, 2013.
Reichenwallner, S.: Die vulkanische Aktivität in den Westalpen
hergeleitet aus detritischem Amphibol und Klinopyroxen im
Taveyannaz-Sandstein, unpublished Ms thesis, University of Bern, Bern, 57 pp., 2019.
Reineck, H. E. and Singh, I. B.: Depositional sedimentary environments,
Springer, 549 pp., 1980.
Rust, B. R. and Gibling, M. R.: Braidplain evolution in the Pennsylvanian
South Bar Formation, Sydney basin, Noca Scotia, Canada, J.
Sediment. Petrol., 60, 59–72, 1990.
Salvermoser, S.: Zur Sedimentologie gezeiten-beeinflusster Sande in der
Oberen Meeresmolasse und Süssbrackwassermolasse (Ottnangium) von
Niederbayern und Oberösterreich, Münchner Geologische Hefte A, 26,
1–179, 1999.
Sant, K. V., Palcu, D., Mandic, O., and Krijgsman, W.: Changing seas in the
Early–Middle Miocene of Central Europe: a Mediterranean approach to
Paratethyan stratigraphy, Terra Nova, 29, 273–281, 2017.
Schaad, W., Keller, B., and Matter, A.: Die Obere Meeresmolasse (OMM) am
Pfänder: Beispiel eines Gilbert-Deltakomplexes, Eclogae Geol.
Helv., 85, 145–168, 1992.
Shanmugam, G.: Deep-marine tidal bottom currents and their reworked sands
in modern and ancient submarine canyons, Mar. Petroleum Geol., 20, 471–491, 2003.
Schlunegger, F. and Castelltort, S.: Immediate and delayed signal of slab
breakoff in Oligo/Miocene Molasse deposits from the European Alps,
Sci. Rep.-UK, 6, 31010, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31010, 2016.
Schlunegger, F. and Kissling, E.: Slab rollback orogeny in the Alps and
evolution of the Swiss Molasse basin, Nat. Commun., 6, 8605, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9605, 2015.
Schlunegger, F. and Willett, S.: Spatial and temporal variations in
exhumation of the central Swiss Alps and implications for exhumation
mechanisms, Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ.,
154, 157–179, 1999.
Schlunegger, F., Burbank, D. W., Matter, A., Engesser, B., and Mödden,
C.: Magnetostratigraphic calibration of the Oligocene to Middle Miocene
(30–15 Ma) mammal biozones and depositional sequences of the Swiss Molasse
Basin, Eclogae Geol. Helv., 89, 753–788, 1996.
Schlunegger, F., Leu, W., and Matter, A.: Sedimentary Sequences, Seismic
Facies, Subsidence Analysis, and Evolution of the Burdigalian Upper Marine
Molasse Group, Central Switzerland, AAPG Bull., 81, 1185–1207, 1997a.
Schlunegger, F., Jordan, T. E., and Klaper, E. M.: Controls of erosional
denudation on foreland basin evolution: The Oligocene central Swiss Molasse
Basin as an example, Tectonics, 16, 823–840, 1997b.
Schlunegger, F., Slingerland, R., and Matter, A.: Crustal thickening and
crustal extension as controls on the evolution of the drainage network of
the central Swiss Alps between 30 Ma and the present: constraints from the
stratigraphy of the North Alpine Foreland Basin and the structural evolution
of the Alps, Basin Res., 86, 717–750, 1998.
Schlunegger, F., Melzer, J., and Tucker, G.: Climate, exposed source-rock
lihtologies, crustal uplift and surface erosion: a theoretical analysis
calibrated with data from the Alps/North Alpine Foreland Basin system,
Int. J. Earth Sci., 90, 484–499, 2001.
Schlunegger, F., Anspach, O., Bieri, B., Böning, P., Kaufmann, Y., Lahl,
K., Lonschinski, M., Mollet, H., Sachse, D., Schubert, C., Stöckli, G.,
and Zander, I.: Geologische Karte der Schweiz, Kartenblatt 1169
Schüpfheim 1 : 25 000, Bundesamt für Landestopographie swisstopo,
2016.
Schmid, S. M., Pfiffner, O. A., Froitzheim, N., Schönborn, G., and
Kissling, E.: Geophysical-geological transect and tectonic evolution of the
Swiss-Italian Alps, Tectonics, 15, 1036–1064, 1996.
Schmid, S. M., Fügenschuh, B., Kissling, E., and Schuster, R.: Tectonic
map and overall architecture of the Alpine orogen, Eclogae Geol.
Helv., 97, 93–117, 2004.
Sinclair, H. D.: Plan-view curvature of foreland basins and its
implications for the palaeostrength of the lithosphere underlying the
western Alps, Basin Res., 8, 173–182, 1996.
Sinclair, H. D.: Flysch to molasse transition in peripheral foreland
basins: The role of the passive margin versus slab breakoff, Geology,
25, 1123–1126, 1997.
Sinclair, H. D. and Allen, P. A.: Vertical versus horizontal motions in the
Alpine orogenic wedge: stratigraphic response in the foreland basin, Basin
Res., 4, 215–232, 1992.
Sinclair, H. D., Coakley, B. J., Allen, P. A., and Watts, A. B.: Simulation of
foreland basin stratigraphy using a diffusion model of mountain belt uplift
and erosion: An example from the Central Alps, Switzerland, Tectonics, 10,
599–620, 1991.
Spicher, A.: Tectonic Map of Switzerland, Schweizerische Geologische
Kommission, Basel, 1980.
Strunck, P. and Matter, A.: Depositional evolution of the western Swiss
Molasse, Eclogae Geol. Helv., 95, 197–222, 2002.
Tesauro, M., Kaban, M. K., and Cloething, S. A. P. L.: How rigid is Europe's
lithosphere?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, 1–6, 2009.
Tesauro, M., Kaban, M. K., and Cloething, S. A. P. L.: Global model for the
lithospheric strength and effective elastic thickness, Tectonophysics, 602,
78–86, 2013.
Ustaszewski, K., Schmid, S.M, Fügenschuh, B., Tischler, M., Kissling, E.
and Spakman, W.: A map-view restoration of the Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaridic
system for the Early Miocene. Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 101 (Suppl. 1),
273–294, 2008.
Waschbusch, P. J. and Royden, L. H.: Spatial and temporal evolution of
foredeep basins: lateral strength variations and inelastic yielding in
continental lithosphere, Basin Res., 4, 179–196, 1992.
Wanner, J., Gisler, C., Jost, J., Christener, F., and Ninck, T.: Geologische
Karte der Schweiz, Kartenblatt 1148 Sumiswald 1 : 25 000, Karte 163, Bundesamt für
Landestopographie swisstopo, Bern, 2019.
Wehrens, P.: Structural evolution in the Aar Massif (HaslitaI transect):
Implications for midcrustal deformation, PhD, University of Bern, Bern, 2015.
Wehrens, P., Baumberger, R., Berger, A., and Herwegh, M.: How is strain
localized in a meta-granitoid, mid-crustal basement section? Spatial
distribution of deformation in the central Aar massif (Switzerland), J. Struct. Geol., 94, 47–67, 2017.
Willett, S. D.: Late Neogene erosion of the Alps: A climate driver?, Annu.
Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 38, 411–437, 2010.
Yalin, M. S.: Geometrical properties of sand waves, J.
Hydr. Div.-ASCE, 90, 105–119, 1964.
Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L. Thomas, E., and Billups, K.: Trends,
rhythms and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present, Science, 292,
686–693, 2001.
Short summary
The controls on the 20 Myr old Burdigalian transgression in the Swiss Molasse basin have been related to a reduction in sediment flux, a rise in global sea level, or tectonic processes in the adjacent Alps. Here, we readdress this problem and extract stratigraphic signals from the Upper Marine Molasse deposits in Switzerland. In conclusion, we consider rollback tectonics to be the main driving force controlling the transgression, which is related to a deepening and widening of the basin.
The controls on the 20 Myr old Burdigalian transgression in the Swiss Molasse basin have been...
