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Intraplate deformation and 3D rheological structure of the Rhine Rift System and adjacent areas of the northern Alpine foreland

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Abstract

The lithosphere of the Northern Alpine foreland has undergone a polyphase evolution during which interacting stress-induced intraplate deformation and upper mantle thermal perturbations controlled folding of the thermally weakened lithosphere. In this paper we address relationships among deeper lithospheric processes, neotectonics and surface processes in the Northern Alpine foreland with special emphasis on tectonically induced topography. We focus on lithosphere memory and neotectonics, paying special attention to the thermo-mechanical structure of the Rhine Graben System and adjacent areas of the northern Alpine foreland lithosphere. We discuss implications for mechanisms of large-scale intraplate deformation and links with surface processes and topography evolution.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded through the European Union (grants ENTEC and EUROBASIN), the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (grant NEESDI), the EUCOR-URGENT program, and the Netherlands Research Centre for Integrated Solid Earth Science. We thank A. Henk, an anonymous reviewer, and J. Behrmann for their in-depth reviews and suggestions.

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  1. Netherlands Research Centre for Integrated Solid Earth Science, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081, HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    S. Cloetingh, F. Beekman, P. A. M. Andriessen & N. Hardebol

  2. Geological-Palaeontological Institute, Department of Geosciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    P. A. Ziegler & P. Dèzes

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  1. S. Cloetingh
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Cloetingh, S., Ziegler, P.A., Beekman, F. et al. Intraplate deformation and 3D rheological structure of the Rhine Rift System and adjacent areas of the northern Alpine foreland. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 94, 758–778 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-005-0502-3

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