Faulting and graben formation in western and central Europe

Abstract

Rifts and rift-related basins play a pre-eminent role among the sedimentary basins of western and central Europe. Through time, grabens developed in a number of different megatectonic settings whereby the principal mechanisms governing their subsidence was crustal stretching and ‘subcrustal erosion’. The level of volcanic activity associated with rifting is highly variable and can change significantly during the development history of a rift. Some rifts are totally non-volcanic. The development of rift domes is generally associated with volcanic activity. Uplifting of a rift dome can induce a reversal in the subsidence pattern of a rift. Intracontinental rifts, with their thinned crust, are prone to inversion when the respective craton is subjected to tangential stresses. In the process of inversion the crust of rifts is mechanically thickened again.