Paleogeography of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB) from Eocene to Pliocene

Abstract

Twenty paleogeographic maps are presented for Middle Eocene (Lutetian) to Late Pliocene times according to the stratigraphical data given in the companion paper by Berger et al. this volume. Following a first lacustrine-continental sedimentation during the Middle Eocene, two and locally three Rupelian transgressive events were identified with the first corresponding with the Early Rupelian Middle Pechelbronn beds and the second and third with the Late Rupelian ( Serie Grise ) (Fischschiefer and equivalents). During the Early Rupelian (Middle Pechelbronn beds), a connection between North Sea and URG is clearly demonstrated, but a general connection between North Sea, URG and Paratethys, via the Alpine sea, is proposed, but not proved, during the late Rupelian. Whereas in the southern URG, a major hiatus spans Early Aquitanian to Pliocene times, Early and Middle Miocene marine, brackish and freshwater facies occur in the northern URG and in the Molasse Basin (OMM, OSM); however, no marine connections between these basins could be demonstrated during this time. After the deposition of the molasse series, a very complex drainage pattern developed during the Late Miocene and Pliocene, with a clear connection to the Bresse Graben during the Piacenzian (Sundgau gravels). During the Late Miocene, Pliocene and Quaternary sedimentation persisted in the northern URG with hardly any interruptions. The present drainage pattern of the Rhine river (from Alpine area to the lower Rhine Embayment) was not established before the Early Pleistocene.

Pore-water evolution and solute-transport mechanisms in Opalinus Clay at Mont Terri and Mont Russelin (Canton Jura, Switzerland)

“…In the early Burdigalian, the Mont Terri region was either continental with no sedimentation or marine deposits of this age were eroded (Berger 1996;Berger et al 2005). In the late Burdigalian, the region was located close to the coast line, and the conditions were shallow marine to brackish (Berger et al 2005;Becker and Berger 2004). Today, the nearest outcrops of the OMM are about 20 km to the southeast near Moutier (Pfirter et al 1996).…”

Feedback between erosion and active deformation: geomorphic constraints from the frontal Jura fold-and-thrust belt (eastern France)

“…2). During the main rifting phase that started in Middle to Late Eocene times (Berger et al 2005;Hinsken et al 2007) the RBTZ formed by extensional to sinistral transtensional reactivation of the Permo-Carboniferous Burgundy Trough System (Lacombe et al 1993). This reactivation also contributed to the exhumation of the La Serre Horst (Madritsch et al 2009).…”

Large mammals from Rickenbach (Switzerland, reference locality MP29, Late Oligocene): biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental implications

“…A humid swampy area along the early Alpine reliefs, marked by the deposit of the ''Coal Molasse'' (characteristic of the locality of Rochette), 2. A more arid and seasonal environment, marked by the deposit of lacustrine and evaporitic sediments in the distal part of the basin (e.g., ''Calcaires delémontiens'' and ''Grès et Marnes gris à Gypse'', Berger et al 2005), sometimes drained by fluvial system (''Aarwanger Molasse'', characteristic of the locality of Rickenbach).…”