Development of tectonic cyclothems in rift, pull-apart, and foreland basins: Sedimentary response to episodic tectonism

Research Article| June 01, 1988 Development of tectonic cyclothems in rift, pull-apart, and foreland basins: Sedimentary response to episodic tectonism Terence C. Blair; Terence C. Blair 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William L. Bilodeau William L. Bilodeau 2971 Cook Street, Denver, Colorado 80206 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Terence C. Blair 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 William L. Bilodeau 2971 Cook Street, Denver, Colorado 80206 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1988) 16 (6): 517–520. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1988)0162.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Terence C. Blair, William L. Bilodeau; Development of tectonic cyclothems in rift, pull-apart, and foreland basins: Sedimentary response to episodic tectonism. Geology 1988;; 16 (6): 517–520. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1988)0162.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The thickest part of asymmetric rift, pull-apart, and foreland basin fills commonly consists of large-scale (hundreds to thousands of metres thick), tectonically generated cyclothems of fine-grained marine, lacustrine, or longitudinal fluvial deposits and coarse-grained transverse braid-plain or alluvial-fan deposits. The appearance of coarse clastics in these basin fills is typically noted as the time of tectonically rejuvenated source-area uplift, based on the conceptual tie between relief and coarse grain size, and on the application of the Davis theory of landform development. We propose the opposite interpretation: that the commencement of fine-grained sedimentation above coarse-grained deposits in a tectonic cyclothem is the best indicator of renewed tectonic activity. This reinterpretation is more consistent with (1) modern examples, (2) the consideration of source-area and sedimentary-basin geomorphology, (3) the disparity between the reaction rates of the various environments to subsidence, (4) the disparity between the rates of tectonic uplift and erosion, and (5) the controls on elastic-wedge progradation. In our model, extensive coarse-grained clastic-wedge progradation is an indicator of tectonically quiescent phases. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.