In active tectonic areas, fault systems represent one of the main structural elements in shaping landscapes. Thus, the study and dating of landforms and continental deposits affected by tectonic deformation, such as river profiles and knickpoints, paleosurfaces, strath and alluvial terraces, are crucial to assess the activity state of the faults and how they evolved over time. Some features may provide a time-averaged history of deformation (e.g., deformed geomorphic markers), while others have the potential to record a continuous history of deformation (e.g., rock-uplift histories from inversions of river profiles). In this work, we present three case studies where we reconstruct the history and characteristics of fault systems at different scales through a combination of geomorphological and morphostratigraphical analyses. At a regional scale, we present the case study of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF). We reconstructed a spatio-temporal history of rock-uplift by inverting river profiles from 19 different catchments draining the northern part of the Central Pontides, a mountain belt uplifted by the transpression produced by the NAF. We found that uplift migrated westward over time, and combining our results with other published data, we proposed a model describing the age and propagation rates of the NAF from the nucleation point in the Eastern Pontides to the Marmara Sea. The second case study investigates, at a meso-scale, the Quaternary evolution of the northwestern sector of the Apennine Chain (Italy). By combining the rock-uplift history inferred from the inversion of river profiles from 6 catchments draining the Apennine Belt and the morphostratigraphy of the youngest marine units uplifted during the Pliocene in the Po Plain, we inferred the main activity phases of the thrust-top/compressive arc system of the Alessandria Basin and Monferrato Arc, one of the outermost arcs of the northern Apennines. The third case study is a local investigation into identifying the master faults in the Aterno River Valley, one of the most active tectonic intramontane basins in the Central Apennines (Italy). Because the tectonic complexity of the area makes it unsuitable for reconstructing a continuous deformation history by the inversion of river profiles, we applied a different approach by combining the deformation of dated paleosurfaces and fluvial terraces with the present characteristics of the topography (slope, relief, present elevation of deformed paleosurfaces and terraces) and drainage system (channel steepness index, knickpoints). We identified two opposite fault segments (Monte Marine Fault in the Upper Aterno Valley and Bazzano-Monticchio-Fossa Fault in the Lower Aterno Valley), respectively dipping SW and NE, representing the master faults of two different half-grabens.

Abstract Investigating rock‐uplift variations in time and space provides insights into the processes driving mountain‐belt evolution. The Apennine Mountains of Italy underwent substantial Quaternary rock uplift that shaped the present‐day topography. Here, we present linear river‐profile inversions for 28 catchments draining the eastern flank of the Northern‐Central Apennines to reconstruct rock‐uplift histories. We calibrated these results by estimating an erodibility coefficient (K) from incision rates and catchment‐averaged erosion rates obtained from cosmogenic‐nuclide data, and we tested whether a uniform or variable K produces a rock‐uplift model that satisfactorily fits independent geochronological constraints. We employ a landscape‐evolution model to demonstrate that our inversion results are reliable despite substantial seaward lengthening of the catchments during uplift. Our findings suggest that a rock‐uplift pulse started around 3.0–2.5 Ma, coinciding with the onset of extension in the Apennines, and migrated southward at a rate of ∼90 km/Myr. The highest reconstructed rock‐uplift rates (>1 km/Myr) occur in the region encompassing the highest Apennine massifs. These results are consistent with numerical models and field evidence from other regions exhibiting rapid rock‐uplift pulses and uplift migration related to slab break‐off. Our results support the hypothesis of break‐off of the Adria slab under the central Apennines and its southward propagation during the Quaternary. Moreover, the results suggest a renewed increase in rock‐uplift rates after the Middle Pleistocene along the Adriatic coast, coeval with recent uplift acceleration along the eastern coast of southern Italy in the Apulian foreland.

Drainage networks are particularly sensitive systems among all the topographic features in terms of their response to perturbations driven by active tectonics. Indeed, fluvial landscapes can record several information about different processes especially in geodynamically active areas, allowing to relate spatial-temporal variation in base-level fall and vertical incision of stream channels with certain morphometric features. This study focuses on the tectonic evolution of the Alessandria Basin, a syn-orogenic tectonic basin located at the junction between the Alps and the Apennines, that experienced progressive subsidence during the overthrusting of the Monferrato Arc (the westernmost outer arc of the Apennine belt) onto the Po Foreland Basin. Different studies carried out in this region have assessed the Neogene tectonic evolution at a regional scale, although Quaternary activity is still poorly understood in terms of both Alps/Apennines uplift and activity of the compressive front of the Monferrato Arc. In this study, we applied river linear inversions to reconstruct the baselevel-fall history of 6 catchments that drain into the Alessandria Basin. We used 9 10Be-derived basin-average denudation rates to calculate the erodibility parameter needed for inferring base-level fall rates from previously chi-transformed river profiles. The results describe the last ~ 3 Ma of tectonic activity, highlighting increases in baselevel-fall rate with an initial peak around 3 Ma, and a second around 2 Ma. While the first peak is coeval with the vertical uplift that affected most of the northern-central Apennine, the second one suggests an acceleration in subsidence of the Alessandria Basin concurrently with the uplift of the Monferrato Arc.

Fluvial drainage patterns in orogenic belts reflect interactions among tectonics, climate, and lithology. The central South Tian Shan displays a complex fluvial drainage pattern that shifts from longitudinal (flowing parallel to mountain ranges) in the west to transverse (flowing across ranges) in the east. Whether such drainage patterns reflect underlying patterns of tectonic deformation, lithology, climate, or the influence of surface processes within a drainage basin is often unclear. We focus here on the large Saryjaz catchment of SE Kyrgyzstan, which marks the transition between longitudinal and transverse drainages. We analyse topographic and fluvial metrics including slope, river steepness (ksn), and the integral proxy (χ) along the river profile, and we map the spatial distribution and characteristics of knickpoints to discern the possible controls on the observed drainage pattern. We discriminate between knickpoints of different origin, namely tectonic, lithologic, glacial, and those linked to transient waves of incision. We find a series of transient knickpoints in tributaries downstream of a sharp 180° bend in the main stem of the Saryjaz river, which also marks a striking increase in channel steepness. Both observations indicate accelerated incision along this lower reach of the catchment. Knickpoint elevations and ksn below the knickpoints decrease downstream, whereas χt values of knickpoints (χ measured from the tributary junctions) remain near-constant among tributaries. These results, together with a comparison of other rivers in the vicinity that show no evidence of transient knickpoints, suggest that transient incision in the Saryjaz catchment is driven “top-down” by a large-magnitude river capture event rather than “bottom-up” by accelerated uplift or base-level fall. We estimate an erodibility parameter from 10Be-derived catchment-average denudation rates and use this to estimate the celerity of knickpoints. We find that the knickpoints started retreating at a similar time between ca. 1.5 and 4.4 Myr ago. Considering the river patterns and the timing constraints, we suggest that this capture event was likely driven by the overfill of Neogene intermontane basins, potentially affected by both tectonic and climate factors.

Transient topography represents an opportunity for extracting information on the combined effect of tectonics, mantle-driven processes, lithology and climate across different temporal and spatial scales. The geomorphic signature of transient conditions can be used to unravel landscape evolution, especially in areas devoid of stratigraphic constraints. The topography of the Western Moroccan Meseta domain (WMM) is characterized by elevated non-lithological knickpoints, that delimit an uplifted relict landscape, implying a transient response to a change in uplift rate that occurred during the Cenozoic. Here, we determine denudation rates of selected watersheds and bedrock outcrops from cosmogenic nuclides and perform stream profile, regional and basin-scale geomorphic analysis. Denudation rates of the relict and the rejuvenated landscape range from 15 to 20 m/ Myr and from 30 to 40 m/Myr, respectively. Rock uplift rates from river-profile inversions are 10-25 m/Myr from 45 to 22 Ma and 30-55 m/Myr from 22 to 10 Ma. Despite the different time scales, the inverted rates are consistent with 10Be averaged denudation rates (15-20 and 30-40 m/Myr) and river incision values from Pleistocene lava flows (<10 and -50 m/Myr) for the rejuvenated and relict regions of the WMM. These results agree with geological data and indicate that the observed -400 m of surface uplift in the WMM started to develop possibly during the early Miocene (first phase). Given the wavelength of the topographic swell forming the topography of the WMM, uplift is here interpreted to reflect localized crustal thickening through magma addition or lithospheric thinning through mantle delamination. More recently, the occurrence of late Miocene marine sediments at -1200 m of elevation indicates that the adjacent Folded Middle Atlas during the last 5-7 Ma experienced surface uplift at -170-220 m/Myr. Considering the cumulative amount of surface uplift that varies eastward from 400 to 800 and 1200 m from the Meseta to the Tabular and the Folded Middle Atlas, as well as the spatio-temporal pattern of alkaline volcanism (middle Miocene and Pliocene to Present), we suggest that the most recent episode (second phase) of surface uplift was induced by a larger-scale process that most likely included upwelling of asthenospheric mantle and to a lesser extent crustal shortening in the Folded Middle Atlas.

Drainage network systems are one of the more responsive elements to recent active tectonic from among all the topographic features. Their anomalies can be significant in areas with high relief energy or less noticeable where intense deposition rates might make capable tectonic signatures not visible. In addition, surface processes are even dominated by changes in climate. Since landscape evolution is the result of the combination of these elements, drainage network systems represent a key element for understanding the role and importance of different factors involved in the processes during Quaternary that have led to the formation of the current relief.The study area comprises two different zones in Piedmont region (North-Western Italy): the Western Po Plain and the Langhe and Monferrato hills, both located in a complex tectonic framework at which a juxtaposition on a crustal scale between Alpine metamorphic Units and the Ligurian Units of the Apennines takes place. A multi-disciplinary approach is proposed combining geomorphology and geostatistics, with the aim of obtaining a better understanding and knowledge of various aspects of the Quaternary evolution of the area on a regional scale.A morphometric analysis was carried out based on 5 m resolution DEM supported by geological and geomorphological field surveys. To assess the changes in the river network’s direction a quantitative geomorphic analysis of river pattern has been performed through Geographic Information System (GIS) and MATLAB® tools. Different parameters were calculated with the aim of detecting anomalies and the estimation of local uplift and different erosion rates. Following the extraction of longitudinal river profiles, calculating Normalized Channel steepness index (Ksn) has been possible for assessing river incision, based on local channel slope, contributing drainage area and some other characteristics related to incision processes and basin hydrology. This step has also allowed the identification of knickpoints whose presence represent a deviation of steady-state streams condition and hence a transient phase of potentially landscape changes. These anomalies are present whether they were produced by tectonic deformation or by different factors. In addition, a paleotopographic reconstructions of Pleistocene deposits have allowed the estimation of the thickness of the deposits and the reconstruction of the river patterns during this period.Preliminary results have provided relevant evidence of potentially recent and important changes in the regional drainage network of Western Po Plain resulting from the combination of tectonic activity during the Early Pleistocene and the climatic variation from the Middle and Late Pleistocene.

As the highest intra-continental orogen in Central Asia, with summits above 7000 m, the Tian Shan orogenic belt has experienced multiple phases of orogeny, and has been reactivated since the early Cenozoic in response to the India-Asia collision. In the south-Central Tian Shan, sedimentary and thermochronology records suggest that Cenozoic deformation initiated from the late Oligocene to the early Miocene, leading to the building of widely-spaced mountain ranges. The Kyrgyz south-Central Tian Shan is characterized by a significant contrast between a longitudinal (i.e., strike-parallel) drainage pattern in the west and a transverse (i.e., strike-perpendicular) drainage in the east. However, it is not clear how the drainage pattern, a key topographic feature in orogenic belts, responded to Cenozoic structural reactivation and uplift of individual ranges.We focus here on the transition area between the regions of longitudinal and transverse drainage: the anomalously large Saryjaz catchment, which drains the highest part of the south-Central Tian Shan and shows a complex and peculiar drainage pattern. Through geomorphic observations and existing geological (i.e., structural and lithological) data, we analyze drainage characteristics, including longitudinal profiles in χ-space, knickpoints, and normalized channel steepness to understand the possible controls on the observed drainage pattern. We discriminate between knickpoints of different origin: tectonic (potentially linked to active faults), lithologic, glacial and linked to transient waves of incision.We find a series of transient knickpoints in tributaries downstream of a sharp U-shaped bend along the main stem of the Saryjaz catchment, which also shows a striking increase in channel steepness. Both observations indicate recent incision along this reach. The incision depth and the elevation of knickpoints both show a decreasing trend downstream. These results suggest that incision is driven “top-down” by a large-magnitude capture event rather than “bottom-up” by a base-level drop. We link this capture to ongoing replacement of the longitudinal drainage system to the west by the transverse one to the east, consistent with inferred patterns of drainage development in other intra-continental mountain belts and suggesting a more mature stage of drainage development in the east.

Major strike-slip fault systems on Earth, like the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), play an important role in accommodating plate motion, but surprisingly little is known about how such structures evolve through space and time. Along the central sector of the NAF in the Central Pontides, transpression and crustal thickening along the northward restraining bend of the fault are thought to have generated rock-uplift rates of 0.2-0.3 km/Myr since at least 400 ka based on Quaternary marine and river terraces, while data from low-temperature thermochronology suggest that an enhanced exhumation phase occurred within the last 11 Myr. However, the precise onset of this faster uplift phase, which likely reflects deformation associated with the development of the central sector of the NAF, is poorly constrained. Here we define the spatiotemporal pattern of rock-uplift rates within the Central Pontides over the last -10 Myr by performing linear inversions of 19 river profiles that drain the northern margin of the Central Pontides, from the Sinop Range to the Black Sea. We use 21 new 10Be-derived basin-average denudation rates to calibrate an erodibility parameter, which we use to convert our & chi;-transformed river profiles into rock-uplift histories. Our results document an increase in rock-uplift rates after 10 Ma, with peak rates of -0.15-0.25 km/Myr occurring between 4 and 2 Ma. Moreover, the spatiotemporal pattern of uplift suggests that faster rock uplift started in the eastern part of the Sinop Range and migrated westward over a period of ca. 2 to 2.5 Myr, which we relate to the westward propagation of the NAF through this sector at a rate of 74 & PLUSMN; 13 km/Myr. In the context of previously published constraints on the westward propagation of the NAF starting in eastern Turkey at -12 Ma, our results suggest differences in fault-propagation rates that coincide with differences in the orientation of the NAF relative to plate -convergence velocity vectors. Fault segments with higher obliquity appear to have propagated at rates up to 2-fold slower than those oriented more parallel to the plate-convergence vector. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Central Pontide orogenic belt marks the northern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau and is the result of several geodynamic processes, including the subduction of the Neo-Tethys crust, the opening of the Black Sea, the continental collision between the southern Eurasian margin and the Anatolide-Tauride block, and the development of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF). Transpressional deformation and crustal thickening along the North Anatolian fault zone are thought to have generated rock-uplift rates of 0.2 – 0.3 km/Myr since ca. 400 ka within the Central Pontides based on Quaternary marine and river terraces. Moreover, data from low-temperature thermochronology suggest that an enhanced exhumation phase in the Central Pontides occurred within the last 11 Mya. However, the precise onset of this faster uplift phase, which likely reflects the timing of the development of the NAF in the Central Pontides, is poorly constrained. In this work we define the spatiotemporal pattern of rock-uplift rates within the Central Pontides over the last ca. 10 Myr by performing linear inversions of river profiles that drain the northern, external margin of the Central Pontides. We analyze 19 different catchments that drain from the Sinop Range to the Black Sea, first applying a non-dimensional inversion on the chi-plots of the selected stream channels. We then use 21 new basin-averaged denudation rates derived from 10Be concentrations in river sands to calibrate an erodibility parameter, which we use in turn to scale our chi-transformed river profiles. Our results document an increase in rock-uplift rates after 8 Ma, with peak uplift rates of around 0.15 – 0.25 km/Myr occurring between 4 and 2 Ma. Moreover, the spatiotemporal pattern of uplift suggests that faster rock uplift started first in the eastern part of the Sinop Range and migrated westward over a period of ca. 2 to 2.5 Myr. Overall, these results provide important new constraints on the timing of topographic development in the Central Pontides and the westward migration of the NAF from eastern Turkey.

Transient topography represents an opportunity for extracting information on the combined effect of tectonics, mantle-driven processes, lithology and climate across different temporal and spatial scales. The geomorphic signature of transient conditions can be used to unravel the landscape evolution and to assess perturbations in uplift rates, especially in areas devoid of stratigraphic constraints. The Atlas-Meseta system experienced a large scale topographic rejuvenation during the Cenozoic through a combination of different processes. Despite the uplift, the Western Moroccan Meseta (WMM) represents a quiescent tectonic domain with deeply incised valleys and high-standing erosional surfaces (relict landscape). This topography is characterized by elevated non-lithological knickpoints, that delimit an uplifted relict landscape, implying a transient response to a change in uplift rates. Here, we determine denudation rates of selected watersheds and bedrock outcrops from cosmogenic nuclides and perform stream profile, regional and basin-scale geomorphic analysis. Denudation rates of the relict and the rejuvenated landscape range from 15 to 20 m/Myr and from 30 to 40 m/Myr, respectively. These results allow estimating the erodibility parameter for performing river-profile inversions and hence extracting rock uplift rates through time. Inverted rock uplift rates are 10-25 m/Myr from 45 to 22 Ma and 30-55 m/Myr from 22 to 10 Ma. Despite the different time scales, the inverted rates are consistent with 10Be averaged denudation rates (15-20 and 30-40 m/Myr) and river incision values from Pleistocene lava flows (<10 and ~50 m/Myr) for the rejuvenated and relict regions of the WMM. These results agree with geological data and indicate that the observed 400 m of surface uplift in the WMM started to develop at ~22-20 Ma. Given the wavelength of the topographic swell forming the topography of the WMM, uplift is here interpreted to reflect localized crustal thickening through magma addition or lithospheric thinning through mantle delamination. This event, however, represents only a first episode of uplift. The occurrence of ~7-Myr-old marine sediments at ~1200 m of elevation indicates that the adjacent Folded Middle Atlas experienced a more recent surface uplift at ~170 m/Myr. Considering the cumulative amount of surface uplift that varies eastward from 400 to 800 and 1200 m from the Meseta to the Tabular and the Folded Middle Atlas, as well as the spatio-temporal pattern of alkaline volcanism (middle Miocene and Pliocene to Present), we suggest that the most recent episode (second phase) of surface uplift was induced by a larger-scale process that most likely included upwelling of asthenospheric mantle and to a lesser extent crustal shortening and thickening in the Folded Middle Atlas.

In geodynamically active areas, spatio‐temporal variations in rock uplift can provide key insights into the processes responsible for the evolution of topography. The Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) southern margin experienced a rapid rock‐uplift pulse with maximum rates of 3.5 m/kyr during the Quaternary, based on marine sediments dated to the middle Pleistocene that are now located at 1,500 m.a.s.l. Fluvial landscapes record elements that reflect temporal and spatial variations in rock‐uplift rates, such as the normalized river steepness index, which is affected by rock‐uplift rate, the erodibility of the underlying rock, and climate. Following the calibration of river profiles for an erosion coefficient value, which can be done using independent data (in our case, uplifted marine terraces and dated marine sediments), river profiles can be inverted for the rock‐uplift histories that created them. Here, we demonstrate how it is possible to define the spatio‐temporal rock‐uplift history of the CAP southern margin by quantitative analysis of river profiles.

In clayey-sandy regions, deformed geomorphological features, such as river channels and terraces, may represent valuable indicators of ongoing tectonic activity. In this perspective, geomorphometric indexes have been developed, among which the SL and k(sn) indexes seem to be the most efficient to detect tectonically-induced stream anomalies. In the present study, we used these indexes to investigate the possible activity of the easternmost fold-and-thrust system of the Apennine orogen, mostly buried under a thick sequence of post- orogenic, clayey-sandy marine deposits, in a sector of Abruzzi located between the Maiella piedmont and the Adriatic coast. Whereas most authors consider these structures tectonically inactive, several others argue that they still undergo compression. In particular, we used the SL and k(sn) indexes to identify surface deformations possibly induced by the ongoing activity of the buried structures. Moreover, based on geological-geomorphological field survey, supported by remote sensing and spatial data handling (TINITALY Digital Elevation Model, and the MATLAB (R) and QGis software products), we surveyed the tread profiles of river terraces in selected valley sectors. The investigation results agree in confirming the ongoing activity of the buried structures as well as the noteworthy effectiveness of the methods applied.

The southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) records a strong uplift phase after the early Middle Pleistocene, which has been related to the slab break‐off of the subducting Arabian plate beneath the Anatolian microplate. During the last 450 kyr the area underwent an uplift phase at a mean rate of ~3.2 m/kyr, as suggested by Middle Pleistocene marine sediments exposed at ~1,500 m above sea level. These values are significantly higher than the 1.0–1.5 m/kyr estimated since the Late Pleistocene, suggesting temporal variations in uplift rate. To estimate changes in uplift rate during the Pleistocene we studied the marine terraces along the CAP southern margin, mapping the remnants of the platforms and their associated deposits in the field, and used the TerraceM software to identify the position and elevation of associated shoreline angles. We used shoreline angles and the timing of Quaternary marine sedimentation as constrains for a Landscape Evolution Model that simulates wave erosion of an uplifting coast. We applied random optimization algorithms and minimization statistics to find the input parameters that better reproduce the morphology of CAP marine terraces. The best‐fitting uplift rate history suggests a significative increase from 1.9 to 3.5 m/kyr between 500 and 200 kyr, followed by an abrupt decrease to 1.4 m/kyr until the present. Our results agree with slab break‐off models, which suggest a strong uplift pulse during slab rupture followed by a smoother decrease.