Plio-Pleistocene folding in the southern Rhinegraben recorded by the evolution of the drainage network (Sundgau area; northwestern Switzerland and France)

Abstract

The southern Rhinegraben represents a key area to unravel the Neogene paleohydrographic history of the northern Alpine foreland. At least, three successive main drainage systems are documented by the youngest sediments of the graben fill. They are respectively pre-, syn- and post-dating the folding of the Jura Mountains (about 10-5 Ma ago). Pliocene to recent uplift and shortening of the Pliocene fluvial gravel (“Sundgauschotter”), which accumulated on a nearly plain surface, and the progressive deflection and capture of rivers resulted from reactivation of pre-existing Paleogene faults. The alluvial terraces along the major rivers of the Sundgau area show upward warping near the uplift areas. Furthermore, river beds responded to uplift by lateral shift. During the Pliocene-Pleistocene, fluvial drainage diverted stepwise from the initial, westwards directed course (towards the Bressegraben) to the N (into the Rhinegraben): Firstly, uplift in the south at the boundary between the Rhinegraben and the Jura Mountains induced a northwards directed migration of the middle Pliocene, E-W flowing paleo-drainage system. Successively, a late Pliocene/early Pleistocene lowering of the base level in the Rhinegraben north of Mulhouse resulted in the capture by southwards directed backward erosion of this system into the Rhinegraben, as likewise documented by the reconstitution of the paleo-drainage patterns in the Sundgau area. In addition, a gradually capture moving from NE to SW has been identified for the Sundgau catchment area.