2.3.4. Basement-basin fill interplay and paleo-topography

Recently a growing awareness has developed that, although denudation is an important aspect of present-day morphology, the development of topography is driven by tectonics controlled by forces operating at depth in the Solid Earth. Moreover, it is realized that tectonic topography is modified by erosion, a process driven by external forces operating at the surface of the Solid Earth. To understand the interrelationship, interdependence and feedback mechanisms between internal and external forcing, lithospheric and surface processes need to be constrained.

Age dating of detrital minerals in sedimentary basins yields information that can be used to infer detailed spatial and temporal denudation patterns in sediment source areas. Such data, together with the volume of sediments contained in basins, provides a powerful tool for estimating in source areas regionally averaged mechanical denudation rates over long time scales. Obviously, there is a clear genetic link between tectonics controlling the geomorphologic evolution of source areas and the subsidence of sedimentary basins. The chronology of denudation inferred from fission track analyses reflects the complex relationship between tectonic reactivation of major structures, development of topography and the associated geomorphologic response, related effects on local denudation rates, and other factors, such as the location of the drainage divide on the uplifted flanks of sedimentary basins (Bernet and Spiegel, 2004; Reiners and Ehlers, 2005).