Foreland exhumation controlled by crustal thickening in the Western Alps

Stéphane Schwartz (1) , C. Gautheron (2) , L. Audin (1) , T. Dumont (1) , J. Nomade (1) , J. Barbarand (2) , R. Pinna-Jamme (2) , P. van Der Beek (1)

1 ISTerre - Institut des Sciences de la Terre
2 GEOPS - Géosciences Paris Sud

In alpine-type collision belts, deformation of the foreland may occur as a result of forward propagation of thrusting and is generally associated with thin-skinned deformation mobilizing the sedimentary cover in fold-and-thrust belts. Locally, foreland deformation can involve crustal-scale thrusting and produce large-scale exhumation of crystalline basement resulting in significant relief generation. In this study, we investigate the burial and exhumation history of Tertiary flexural basins located in the Western Alpine foreland, at the front of the Digne thrust sheet (southeast France), using low-temperature apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology. Based on the occurrence of partially to totally reset ages, we document 3.3-4.0 km of burial of these basin remnants between ca. 12 Ma and 6 Ma, related to thinskinned thrust-sheet emplacement without major relief generation. The onset of exhumation is dated at ca. 6 Ma and is linked to erosion associated with significant relief development. This evolution does not appear to have been controlled by major climate changes (Messinian crisis) or by European slab breakoff. Rather, we propose that the erosional history of the Digne thrust sheet corresponds to basement involvement in foreland deformation, leading to crustal thickening. Our study highlights the control of deep-crustal tectonic processes on foreland relief development and its erosional response at mountain fronts.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

Stéphane Schwartz, C. Gautheron, L. Audin, T. Dumont, J. Nomade, et al.. Foreland exhumation controlled by crustal thickening in the Western Alps. Geology, 2017, pp.45(2):139-142 (IF 4,548). ⟨10.1130/G38561.1⟩. ⟨hal-01498143⟩