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Geosciences
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Tectonics and Morphodynamics
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Tectonics and Morphodynamics

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Geology and Tectonics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 25284

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. O. Adrian Pfiffner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstr. 1+3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Interests: evolution of river networks in orogens; rock avalanches; structural geology; thin-skinned and thick-skinned nappe tectonics; structure and evolution of orogens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Geosciences aims to gather high-quality original research articles, reviews and technical notes on the interplay between compressional tectonics and morphodynamics.

The evolution of mountain ranges in the framework of compressive tectonics has been of great interest in the past years. Studies included subduction and collision orogens and the amalgamation of ribbon continents, as well as the structural evolution of orogens and their exhumation history. Similarly, rivers, hillslope processes and glacial environments have been treated from a morphodynamic perspective by numerous researchers. Numerical and analog models were aimed at understanding the endogenic processes of mountain building, mostly in 2D, and surface processes in 2D and 3D. Endogenic and surface processes in mountain building have been addressed in many papers, though often biased towards the primary analytic tools at hand. It, thus, seems time to assemble the current ideas on the interplay and interaction between tectonics and morphodynamics.

Topics to be addressed in this Special Issue could include:

  • initiation and evolution of river networks and relief in a growing and evolving mountain range
  • impact on river networks and relief by pulses of uplift
  • impact of bedrock geology on the evolution of river networks and relief in a mountain range undergoing erosion
  • morphodynamics in the framework of exhumation of metamorphic rocks in a mountain range
  • mass balance between foreland sedimentation and erosion in a growing mountain range
  • impact of climate on the evolution of valleys and relief

Therefore, I would like to invite you to submit articles about your recent work, experimental research or case studies, with respect to the above topics.

I also ask you to send me a short abstract outlining the purpose of the research and the principal results obtained, in order to verify at an early stage if the contribution you intend to submit fits with the objectives of the Special Issue.

Prof. Adrian Pfiffner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 4593 KiB  
Article
Tectono-Thermal Evolution and Morphodynamics of the Central Dronning Maud Land Mountains, East Antarctica, Based on New Thermochronological Data
by Hallgeir Sirevaag, Anna K. Ksienzyk, Joachim Jacobs, István Dunkl and Andreas Läufer
Geosciences 2018, 8(11), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8110390 - 26 Oct 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5410
Abstract
The lack of preserved Mesozoic–Cenozoic sediments and structures in central Dronning Maud Land has so far limited our understanding of the post-Pan-African evolution of this important part of East Antarctica. In order to investigate the thermal evolution of the basement rocks and place [...] Read more.
The lack of preserved Mesozoic–Cenozoic sediments and structures in central Dronning Maud Land has so far limited our understanding of the post-Pan-African evolution of this important part of East Antarctica. In order to investigate the thermal evolution of the basement rocks and place constraints on landscape evolution, we present new low-temperature thermochronological data from 34 samples. Apatite fission track ages range from 280–85 Ma, while single-grain (U-Th)/He ages from apatite and zircon range from 305–15 and 420–340 Ma, respectively. Our preferred thermal history models suggest late Paleozoic–early Mesozoic peneplanation and subsequent burial by 3–6 km of Beacon sediments. The samples experienced no additional burial in the Jurassic, thus the once voluminous continental flood basalts of western Dronning Maud Land did not reach central Dronning Maud Land. Mesozoic–early Cenozoic cooling of the samples was slow. Contrary to western Dronning Maud Land, central Dronning Maud Land lacks a mid-Cretaceous cooling phase. We therefore suggest that the mid-Cretaceous cooling of western Dronning Maud Land should be attributed to the proximity to the collapse of the orogenic plateau at the Panthalassic margin of Gondwana. Cooling rates accelerated considerably with the onset of glaciation at 34 Ma, due to climate deterioration and glacial denudation of up to 2 km. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphodynamics)
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17 pages, 8937 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling of Flow Patterns Applied to Analysis of Susceptibility to Movements of the Ground
by Marcelo Cando Jácome and Antonio Martínez-Graña
Geosciences 2018, 8(9), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8090340 - 9 Sep 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3776
Abstract
Mass movements in deformed areas of natural relief deformed by seismotectonic factors are one of the most destructive and recurrent natural hazards in the Republic of Ecuador, especially during intense rain periods, the El Niño phenomenon, or due to earthquakes such as the [...] Read more.
Mass movements in deformed areas of natural relief deformed by seismotectonic factors are one of the most destructive and recurrent natural hazards in the Republic of Ecuador, especially during intense rain periods, the El Niño phenomenon, or due to earthquakes such as the one that occurred on 16 April 2016 in the Ecuadorian coastline. This study proposes the application of Hydrological Model D8 and its derived morphometric parameters like slope, orientation of the slope, and curvatures, extracted from the high spatial resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), implemented in programs such as Rockworks 7 (gridzo), SURFER (downwards slope), ArcView (flowacc), and SAGA (curvatures) to obtain runoff flow, structural geological lineaments, and superficial deformations of the topographic relief that are the origin of erosion, superficial landslides, lateral propagation, of the rock–soil complex, mass flows, and deep gravitational deformations. This methodology has been validated in three locations with intense deformations: two in Ecuador and one in Spain. The DEM were obtained from the Ecuadorian Spatial Institute (ESI) (spatial resolution of 10 m), the Rural Technological Infrastructure and Information National System (SIGTIERRAS) (spatial resolution of 5 m), and the Council of Andalusia (spatial resolution of 5 m). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphodynamics)
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24 pages, 9177 KiB  
Article
Joint and Lineament Patterns across the Midcontinent Indicate Repeated Reactivation of Basement-Involved Faults
by Caroline M. Burberry, Jerlyn L. Swiatlowski, Mindi L. Searls and Irina Filina
Geosciences 2018, 8(6), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8060215 - 13 Jun 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4596
Abstract
Joint networks hosted in successively younger rocks, developing as a result of forced (trishear) folding of a rock mass above a deep-seated fault, can be used to infer the reactivation history of that deep-seated fault. This study aims to use joint networks in [...] Read more.
Joint networks hosted in successively younger rocks, developing as a result of forced (trishear) folding of a rock mass above a deep-seated fault, can be used to infer the reactivation history of that deep-seated fault. This study aims to use joint networks in Pennsylvanian, Permian and Cretaceous rocks to document evidence of reactivation on basement faults during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic of Nebraska and Kansas. The most prominent basement features in southeast Nebraska and northeast Kansas are oriented NE-SW, likely related to the Midcontinent Rift System and Nemaha Uplift, and oriented NW-SE, likely related to fabrics from the Central Plains Orogeny. These features are well defined in the potential fields data. Joint patterns in the study area show an E-W oriented trend, as well as clearly discernable NE-SW and subsidiary N-S and NW-SE trends. The E-W trend is interpreted to be related to far-field stresses from Laramide and Ancestral Rocky Mountain orogenic events, whilst the NE-SW trend is interpreted to be related to subtle reactivation on the Mid-continent rift and related faults, observed in basement data. These movements produced stresses of sufficient magnitude to produce joints in the post-rift rock units, but not sufficient to generate shear fractures. Similarly, the ~N-S and NW-SE joint trends are taken as evidence of subtle reactivation on the Nemaha Uplift and Central Plains Orogeny systems, generating joints by the formation of forced folds. This contribution therefore provides a convincing case study of the value of coupled potential fields and surface feature studies in discerning buried tectonic trends and subtle reactivation thereon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphodynamics)
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17 pages, 2429 KiB  
Article
Mass Balance of Cenozoic Andes-Amazon Source to Sink System—Marañón Basin, Peru
by Gérôme Calvès, Ysabel Calderón, Christian Hurtado Enriquez, Stéphane Brusset, William Santini and Patrice Baby
Geosciences 2018, 8(5), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8050167 - 7 May 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4734
Abstract
We investigate the mass balance of the Cenozoic Andes-Amazon source to sink system using rock uplift proxies and solid sedimentation of the Marañón Basin in Peru. The evolution of sedimentation rates is calibrated with regional structural restored cross-section. The quantification of eroded sediments [...] Read more.
We investigate the mass balance of the Cenozoic Andes-Amazon source to sink system using rock uplift proxies and solid sedimentation of the Marañón Basin in Peru. The evolution of sedimentation rates is calibrated with regional structural restored cross-section. The quantification of eroded sediments from reliefs to sedimentary basin is achieved with ×10 Myr resolution and compared to present day proxies from the HYBAM (HYdrologie et Biogéochimie du Bassin Amazonien) Critical Zone Observatory. Erosion of the early Andean landforms started during the Upper Mesozoic period, but sediment rates significantly increase during the Neogene. This is in agreement with the calibrated increase of rock uplift in the Andean orogenic belt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphodynamics)
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30 pages, 81239 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Growth of Flexural Slip Fault-Bend and Fault-Propagation Folds and Their Geomorphic Expression
by Asdrúbal Bernal, Stuart Hardy and Robert L. Gawthorpe
Geosciences 2018, 8(4), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8040110 - 24 Mar 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6148
Abstract
The three-dimensional growth of fault-related folds is known to be an important process during the development of compressive mountain belts. However, comparatively little is known concerning the manner in which fold growth is expressed in topographic relief and local drainage networks. Here we [...] Read more.
The three-dimensional growth of fault-related folds is known to be an important process during the development of compressive mountain belts. However, comparatively little is known concerning the manner in which fold growth is expressed in topographic relief and local drainage networks. Here we report results from a coupled kinematic and surface process model of fault-related folding. We consider flexural slip fault-bend and fault-propagation folds that grow in both the transport and strike directions, linked to a surface process model that includes bedrock channel development and hillslope diffusion. We investigate various modes of fold growth under identical surface process conditions and critically analyse their geomorphic expression. Fold growth results in the development of steep forelimbs and gentler, wider backlimbs resulting in asymmetric drainage basin development (smaller basins on forelimbs, larger basins on backlimbs). However, topographies developed above fault-propagation folds are more symmetric than those developed above fault-bend folds as a result of their different forelimb kinematics. In addition, the surface expression of fault-bend and fault-propagation folds depends both on the slip distribution along the fault and on the style of fold growth. When along-strike plunge is a result of slip events with gently decreasing slip towards the fault tips (with or without lateral propagation), large plunge-panel drainage networks are developed at the expense of backpanel (transport-opposing) and forepanel (transport-facing) drainage basins. In contrast, if the fold grows as a result of slip events with similar displacements along strike, plunge-panel drainage networks are poorly developed (or are transient features of early fold growth) and restricted to lateral fold terminations, particularly when the number of propagation events is small. The absence of large-scale plunge-panel drainage networks in natural examples suggests that the latter mode of fold growth may be more common. The advective component of deformation (implicit in kink-band migration models of fault-bend and fault-propagation folding) exerts a strong control on drainage basin development. In particular, as drainage lengthens with fold growth, more linear, parallel drainage networks are developed as compared to the dendritic patterns developed above simple uplifting structures. Over the 1 Ma of their development the folds modelled here only attain partial topographic equilibrium, as new material is continually being advected through active axial surfaces on both fold limbs and faults are propagating in both the transport and strike directions. We also find that the position of drainage divides at the Earth’s surface has a complex relationship to the underlying fold axial surface locations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tectonics and Morphodynamics)
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