Foreland basins - flexing lithosphere

Part of "The Shear Zone" video collection. Mountain belts are commonly flanked by moats within which sedimentary successions accumulate - these are foreland basins. This is an introduction to their tectonic processes.

[@jensmash]

This is amazing. It's explained in a perfectly lucid manner!!

[@robbutler2095]

Thanks - glad you liked it!

[@muhammadfahim3736]

Great work

[@rprabir]

Thanks for sharing these high quality material in public domain. Is it possible to have variable effective elastic thickness of lithosphere across a foreland basin? If yes what kind of features it will develop and is there a example of that exists.

[@robbutler2095]

Hi - given that Te is a simplification of the real rheology of lithosphere and its ability to support loads - of course it should show spatial variations. The interesting question is over what length-scales this matters in basin modelling... but there are few attempts to model this in detail. Lateral variations in front of the Himalayas etc - are out there.

[@rprabir]

@@robbutler2095 Thanks Rob for your reply. It’s helpful.

[@salehalqahtani5122]

Great illustrations, thanks. Is the elastic thickness usually inferred or measured somehow?

[@robbutler2095]

It can be calculated from the support of gravity anomalies - see papers by Tony Watts... and in the early foreland basin papers came from this approach - gravity modelling (see Karner & Watts 1983, JGR). But, see "How strong are plates" video - it's a (at times gross) simplification of "real" lithosphere rheology...

[@salehalqahtani5122]

@@robbutler2095 Will check the papers and video. Thanks again.