Consequences of foreland basin development on thinned continental lithosphere: Application to the Aquitaine basin (SW France)

Abstract We present an analysis of the consequences of foreland basin development on thinned continental lithosphere, inherited from pre-orogenic phases of extension. Bathymetry at the transition from pre-orogenic extensional basin to foreland basin and compaction of pre-orogenic sediments contribute to the accommodation space for foreland basin sediments and thrust loads. In addition, the extension-induced transient thermal state of the lithosphere, results in ongoing thermal subsidence, and a flexural rigidity which changes through time. Quantitative modelling of the phase of extension and the foreland basin stage of the Aquitaine basin (southern France) shows that the inherited transient thermal state of the lithosphere contributes significantly to (1) the total foreland basin depth and width, (2) the post-compressional subsidence history, and (3) the cratonward onlap pattern. Accounting for the thermo-mechanical effects of pre-orogenic extension significantly reduces the estimates of both the flexural rigidity (30–43% for the Aquitaine basin) and the required topographic or thrust load (40% for the Aquitaine basin) at foreland basins. Emplacement of thrust loads below sea level, as expected in a pre-orogenic extensional basin setting, further reduces the required topographic load. This sheds light on the wide range of flexural rigidity values reported for continental lithosphere from foreland basin modelling studies, and explains, in many instances, the inferred ‘hidden load’ or subsurface load in flexural modelling studies at foreland basins. The present study has shown that pre-orogenic extension phases significantly affect the record of vertical motion and the stratigraphy of the Aquitaine basin and is probably important for foreland basin evolution in general.