Alpine lithosphere slab rollback causing lower crustal seismicity in northern foreland

Singer, Júlia; Diehl, Tobias; Husen, Stephan; Kissling, Eduard; Duretz, Thibault

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.04.002

Cited by 60 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The distribution of earthquakes in the lower crust of the foreland basin and the Jura Mountains is explained by the effect of rollback of the European slab beneath the Alps [148]. According to these authors fault plane solutions are in agreement with bending of the European slab combined with a buoyancy force stemming from the subducted lower crust.…”

Section: Central Alps Of Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 95%

Thick-Skinned and Thin-Skinned Tectonics: A Global Perspective

Pfiffner¹

2017

Preprint

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This paper gives an overview of the large-scale tectonic styles encountered in orogens worldwide. Thin-skinned and thick-skinned tectonics represents two end member styles recognized in mountain ranges. A thick-skinned tectonic style is typical for margins of continental plates. Thick-skinned style including the entire crust and possibly the lithospheric mantle are associated with intracontinental contraction. Delamination of subducting continental crust and horizontal protrusion of upper plate crust into the opening gap occurs in the terminal stage of continent-continent collision. Continental crust thinned prior to contraction is likely to develop relatively thin thrust sheets of crystalline basement. A true thin-skinned type requires a detachment layer of sufficient thickness. Thickness of the décollement layer as well as the mechanical contrast between décollement layer and detached cover control the style of folding and thrusting within the detached cover units. In subduction related orogens, thin-and thick-skinned deformation may occur several hundreds of kilometers from the plate contact zone. Basin inversion resulting from horizontal contraction may lead to the formation of basement uplifts by the combined reactivation of pre-existing normal faults and initiation of new reverse faults. In composite orogens thick-skinned and thin-skinned structures evolve with a pattern where nappe stacking propagates outward and downward.

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Section: Central Alps Of Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 95%

Thick-Skinned and Thin-Skinned Tectonics: A Global Perspective

Pfiffner¹

2017

Preprint

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“…Moreover, higher temperatures at shallow depths below the Alps (compared to larger depths below the Molasse Basin) would explain the earthquake distribution described by Deichmann et al (1999), Willingshofer and Cloetingh (2003) and Singer et al (2014) with deep earthquakes in the foreland and shallow earthquakes in the Alpine area. In fact, the deepest earthquakes shown by Singer et al (2014) correlate well with the depth of the 460 °C isotherm predicted by the conductive calculations of this study.…”

Section: Prominent Isothermsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 3D conductive thermal field of the North Alpine Foreland Basin: influence of the deep structure and the adjacent European Alps

2015

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“…Singer et al 2014). However, these studies refer to an area where the alpine foreland is in a purely flexural foreland context and do not apply further west.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wiemer et al 2009;Singer et al 2014;Diehl et al 2015). However, digital seismic data collected by the Swiss National Network since the late 1970's show a concentration of earthquakes that delineate a 20-30 km long N-S striking seismic lineament east of the city of Fribourg called the Fribourg Lineament (FL) (Fig.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Swiss Molasse basin initiated as a flexural foreland basin in response to the bending of the European lithosphere due to the southward subduction of the European lower plate under the colliding Adriatic plate in early Tertiary time (e.g. Singer et al 2014;Schlunegger and Kissling 2015). Sedimentation started in the lower Oligocene and continued through Miocene times with progressive onlap towards the North on top of the underlying Mesozoic sediments (Homewood et al 1986).…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-scale imaging of a slow active fault zone: contribution for improved seismic hazard assessment in the Swiss Alpine foreland

Vouillamoz

Mosar

Deichmann³

2017

Swiss J Geosci

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Seismic hazard assessment of slow active fault zones is challenging as usually only a few decades of sparse instrumental seismic monitoring is available to characterize seismic activity. Tectonic features linked to the observed seismicity can be mapped by seismic imaging techniques and/or geomorphological and structural evidences. In this study, we investigate a seismic lineament located in the Swiss Alpine foreland, which was discussed in previous work as being related to crustal structures carrying in size the potential of a magnitude M 6 earthquake. New, low-magnitude (-2.0 B M L B 2.5) earthquake data are used to image the spatial and temporal distribution of seismogenic features in the target area. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are applied to the waveform dataset to better constrain earthquakes distribution and source processes. Potential tectonic features responsible for the observed seismicity are modelled based on new reinterpretations of oil industry seismic profiles and recent field data in the study area. The earthquake and tectonic datasets are then integrated in a 3D model. Spatially, the seismicity correlates over 10-15 km with a N-S oriented sub-vertical fault zone imaged in seismic profiles in the Mesozoic cover units above a major decollement on top of the mechanically more rigid basement and seen in outcrops of Tertiary series east of the city of Fribourg. Observed earthquakes cluster at shallow depth (\4 km) in the sedimentary cover. Given the spatial extend of the observed seismicity, we infer the potential of a moderate size earthquake to be generated on the lineament. However, since the existence of along strike structures in the basement cannot be excluded, a maximum M 6 earthquake cannot be ruled out. Thus, the Fribourg Lineament constitutes a non-negligible source of seismic hazard in the Swiss Alpine foreland.

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Alpine lithosphere slab rollback causing lower crustal seismicity in northern foreland

Cited by 60 publications

References 51 publications

Thick-Skinned and Thin-Skinned Tectonics: A Global Perspective

Thick-Skinned and Thin-Skinned Tectonics: A Global Perspective

The 3D conductive thermal field of the North Alpine Foreland Basin: influence of the deep structure and the adjacent European Alps

Multi-scale imaging of a slow active fault zone: contribution for improved seismic hazard assessment in the Swiss Alpine foreland

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