An Albian‐Cenomanian salt canopy and secondary minibasins in the sub‐Alpine fold and thrust belt of Haute Provence, France
Author(s)
Csicsek, Lajos Adam
Brooke-Barnett, Samuel
Graham, Rod
Lonergan, Lidia
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Allochthonous salt is common on passive margins and although present in some onshore fold and thrust belts, only a few examples of salt canopies and associated secondary minibasins are known in this tectonic setting. The Subalpine chains of Haute Provence contain Triassic evaporites and have been studied for over 100 years but the importance of salt tectonics during the Mesozoic (Tethyan) rifting and passive margin subsidence which preceded the development of the fold and thrust belt has been underestimated along with the influence of pre-existing salt structures in the evolution of the fold and thrust belt. This work describes a pre-Alpine salt canopy with associated secondary minibasins and discusses its influence in the development of the fold and thrust belt. Salt structures started to develop during an Early Middle Jurassic rifting event and salt tectonic activity continued after the rifting, resulting in the emplacement of Upper Triassic evaporites onto the Albian-Cenomanian seafloor. Salt extrusion coincided with a global sea-level highstand and deposition of black shales. Allochthonous salt was sourced from mature diapirs, and salt sheets coalesced to form a canopy. During the Late Cretaceous, second-generation salt structures developed on the canopy, bounding secondary minibasins. Late Cretaceous-Pliocene Alpine compression led to the squeezing of salt structures and depletion of the canopy and secondary minibasins were carried as piggyback basins during Alpine thrusting. Thrusting and coeval salt expulsion resulted in the formation of rotated asymmetric basins such as the Barrême basin and the almost complete welding of the salt canopy.
Date Issued
2025-03-01
Date Acceptance
2025-03-11
Citation
Tectonics, 2025, 44 (3)
ISSN
0278-7407
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Tectonics
Volume
44
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1029/2024TC008588
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2024TC008588
Date Publish Online
2025-03-24