The thermotectonic development of southern Sweden during Mesozoic and Cenozoic time

Abstract

AbstractLate Carboniferous-Early Mesozoic exhumation of southern Sweden has previously been traced using apatite fission-track thermochronology. In addition, the morphotectonic development of the region has been studied using geomorphology. The aim of this study is to attain further knowledge of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic thermotectonic development of southern Sweden by integrating results from these methods.Well-dated re-exposed palaeosurfaces and sedimentary records in the surrounding areas were used as constraints in the modelling of apatite fission-track data from the Precambrian basement. The obtained modelled thermal histories suggest that southern Sweden can be divided into three main tectonic areas associated with different cooling histories. In Triassic and Jurassic time, low to moderate exhumation in the central part was accompanied by more rapid exhumation in the SE and NW. Additionally, individual block movements may have occurred in the NW. It has also been possible to estimate the heating effect of renewed Cretaceous-Paleogene burial to 20–35°C on the west and SE coasts.Final Cenozoic unroofing of the basement is indicated by the modelled thermal histories. Areas around the southern tip of Lake Vättern together with the SE coast experienced the most pronounced exhumation compared with the surrounding parts.