Stratigraphic modeling of the Western Taiwan foreland basin: sediment flux from a growing mountain range and tectonic implications

Sediment flux signals in foreland basins preserve a record of
tectonics, sea level and climate through erosion and sedimentation.
However, longitudinal sediment transport often occurs in foreland basin,
thus removing part of the orogenic material flux from foreland basins.
Here we use mass balance calculation and stratigraphic simulations of
sediment fluxes for the Taiwan orogen to provide a quantified order of
magnitude estimate of how much orogenic material may bypass a foreland
basin. Our results indicate a significant, potentially more than 50%,
mismatch between sediment volume currently preserved in the basin and ...  more

Sediment flux signals in foreland basins preserve a record of
tectonics, sea level and climate through erosion and sedimentation.
However, longitudinal sediment transport often occurs in foreland basin,
thus removing part of the orogenic material flux from foreland basins.
Here we use mass balance calculation and stratigraphic simulations of
sediment fluxes for the Taiwan orogen to provide a quantified order of
magnitude estimate of how much orogenic material may bypass a foreland
basin. Our results indicate a significant, potentially more than 50%,
mismatch between sediment volume currently preserved in the basin and the
amount of material eroded from the orogen since the onset of collision in
Taiwan. This supports previous paleogeographic work suggesting that
longitudinal sediment transport in the paleo-Taiwan Strait served as a
bypass conduit important for the establishment of a steady state orogen.
We identify candidate submarine topography in the South China Sea that
may preserve Taiwans missing erosional mass.