Item

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reevaluate the character and evolution of the large-scale subsidence of intracontinental basins using 3-D thermomechanical numerical simulations accounting for the coupling between sedimentation, rheology-dependent lithospheric flexure, and thermal contraction by lithospheric cooling. The flexural rigidity of the lithospheric plate is controlled by elastic-brittle-plastic rheology, enabling the computation of thermal and mechanical feedback processes occurring during basin subsidence. Numerical results show that depending on the sediment loading history, a rheological stratified lithosphere can subside over geological time scales without imposition of ad hoc geometric and kinematic initial conditions. Three-dimensional feedback effects of sedimentation on the thermomechanical structure of the plate result in a weakened lower crust mechanically decoupled from the underlying mantle and therefore easily reactivated even under low background stresses. Our results explain the first-order characteristics of the subsidence in intracontinental basins and reconcile basic observations of their deformation history.