New constraints for indentation mechanisms in arcuate belts from the Jura Mountains, France

Citation
C. Homberg et al., New constraints for indentation mechanisms in arcuate belts from the Jura Mountains, France, GEOLOGY, 27(9), 1999, pp. 827-830
Citations number
23
Categorie Soggetti
Earth Sciences
Journal title
GEOLOGY
ISSN journal
00917613 → ACNP
Volume
27
Issue
9
Year of publication
1999
Pages
827 - 830
Database
ISI
SICI code
0091-7613(199909)27:9<827:NCFIMI>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
The mechanism of indentation in arcuate belts is discussed using the Jura M ountains as an example. Using fault-inversion analysis from numerous sites, the Miocene-Pliocene stress pattern is reconstructed. Two superimposed com pressional stress fields have been recognized, Considering the theoretical distribution of compression in front of a rigid indenter, we interpret the complex stress pattern in the Jura Mountains as a result of a major change in the mechanism of indentation of the Jura by its hinterland. Initially, t he indenter was narrower and limited in the southwest by the Vuache transfe r fault. With time, it expanded to the southwest and included the entire Mo lasse basin. This evolution highlights the importance of decoupling along f aults, which here controlled the indenter shape.