FB-4D: Foreland basin evolution records the effects of plate reorganization, surface evolution and crustal deformation on mountain building

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We aim to contribute to our understanding of the present day deep structure of the Alps, its evolution and the surface response to deep seated processes. Whereas the thermochronological signal of the stacking of thrust sheets in the orogen can overwhelm subtle signals related to mantle processes, the foreland basin records large-wavelength subsidence or uplift. We propose to use data from the Molasse basin to constrain the contribution of mantle dynamics to surface evolution. Tectonic forces and mantle processes vary strongly along strike in the Alps, and so does their expression in the burial and exhumation history of the adjacent foreland basin. Following its initial stage as a classical foreland basin, the Molasse basin has undergone substantial exhumation (~2-3 km) during the Neogene, which can only partly be explained by known tectonic processes. The entire basin has been exhumed to a degree that is sufficient for low-temperature thermochronometers to map the timing and rate of exhumation at high resolution. We aim to build on our work in the western part of the basin to quantify the exhumation history of the central Molasse Basin using low-temperature thermochronology along three transects. We will quantify the timing and rate of exhumation using a new probabilistic thermal model specifically designed for studies of sedimentary basins in combination with tectonic reconstructions. With this combination, we will quantify the contribution of tectonic, climatic and mantle drivers to exhumation of the Molasse basin and provide essential input to testing the main hypothesis of the SPP. This proposal links to the research themes RT-1, 2 and 4, and is placed in Activity Field E with close link to results from Swath D.