Morphotectonic Evolution of an Alluvial Fan: Results of a Joint Analog and Numerical Modeling Approach

Abstract

Surface topography results from complex couplings and feedbacks between tectonics and surface processes. We combine analog and numerical modeling, sharing similar geometry and boundary conditions, to assess the topographic evolution of an alluvial fan crossed by an active thrust fault. This joint approach allows the calibration of critical parameters constraining the river deposition–incision laws, such as the settling velocity of suspended sediments, the bed-rock erodibility, or the slope exponent. Comparing analog and numerical models reveals a slope-dependent threshold process, where a critical slope of ca. 0.081 controls the temporal evolution of the drainage network. We only evidence minor topographic differences between stable and stick-slip fault behavior localized along the fault scarp. Although this topographic signature may increase with the slip rate and the return period of slip events, it remains slight compared to the cumulated displacement along the fault scarp. Our results demonstrate that the study of morphology cannot be used alone to study the slip mode of active faults but can be a valuable tool complementing stratigraphic and geodetic observations. In contrast, we underline the significant signature of the distance between the fault and the sediment source, which controls the degree of channels incision and the density of the drainage network.