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Cameron Carlson
Professor Cassle
4/9/15
Molasse Basin from the European Alps
Introduction:
The Molasse Basin has gained recent interest from European counties as a resource for
geothermal energy and hydrocarbon potential. The Molasse Basin is an alpine foreland basin
located across south-central Europe. The area extends 1000 kilometers in length from eastern
France to northwest Austria, encompassing central Switzerland and southern Germany with a
width of 130 kilometers (Eva Grke, 2007). Relatively recent in age, the basin began to develop
in the late Eocience (55 Ma) through the late Miocene (5 Ma) in response to uplift of the
European Alps. The Molasse basin formed from two primary mechanisms, flexural loading from
the alpine thrust belt and eustatic sea change; this resulted in two distinct megasequences that
end with shallowing and upward coarsening. Figure 1 may be used for a geographic orientation
and visualization of the margins that define the Molasse Basin.
Mechanisms:
The primary mechanism for the Molasse Basin is tectonically driven orogenesis. The
Alps orogeny began in the early Cretaceous (145-65 Ma) when the European and Adriatic plate
converged. (Schlunegger et al. 2006). During this time, crustal thickening from the orogeny was
also related to loading of the lithosphere, in which the thrusting front formed an
accretionary wedge. The wedge reached a critical slope which affects the dip of the foreland
plate as it subducts under the wedge. The critical taper is important to transmit the geometries of
the underlying plate and set the conditions for the foreland accommodations. With the alpine
orogeny, a considerable amount of heat from the asthenosphere has upwelled beneath the
subduciting slab. This scenario has initially influenced uplift in the basin, but as the lithosphere
continues to cool it adds to the subsidence of the region.
An important, but less significant mechanism to explain changes in the basin can also be
attributed with tectonics. Global eustatic changes are typically the result of glaciation, but the
focus for this basin is plate tectonics. Expanding oceans in the Oligocene increased oceanic
volume and in turn lowered global sea level through regression (Willett and Fritz Schlunegger,
2010). There was some glaciation of the southern Antarctic ice sheet at this time which affected
sea levels in two ways. First, the apparent removal of water from the oceans in the form of ice
lowered global levels. A secondary effect was cooling of the oceans from the glaciation, making
oceans denser and further decreasing the volume.
Megasequences:
In the development of the Molasse Basin there are two dominant upward coarsening and
shallowing megasequences. The first megasequence is classified by a deep sea flysch deposition
that occurred in the Eocene (47 Ma). This sequence begins with a transgression in which shallow
marine limestone was covered by turbiditic sandstones with thicknesses up to 2000 meters near
the southern margin, or the alpine thrust front. (Eva Grke, 2007). The sequence continued into
the Oligocene (33 Ma) where the flysch transitioned towards a shallow marine and terrestrial
molasse. The shallowing can be attributed with a eustatic regression from expanding plate
tectonics, couple with high subsidence in the basin. At this point, the basin was moving towards

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a shore face as the first mega-alluvial fans and deltas prograded into the basin, forming costal
sediments and conglomerates. The regression and central thrusting of the Alps exposed the basin
to a brief period of erosion in the late Oligocene concluding the first megasequence.
The second megasequence begins in the Miocene (20 Ma) with the Burdigalian
transgression. This phase covered the previously exposed and erode basin with a shallow marine
system, depositing tidal influenced sandstones. However, accommodation rates in the basin
exceeded sedimentation and the basin began to subside once more. The shallow marine platform
supported calcarious limestone, but this was covered with clastic rocks transported by the
freshwater fluvial systems of the Alps. Around 13-15 Ma the sea regressed for a final time and
subsidence slowed. This would promote deposition of the terrestrial molasse across the basin,
derived in the eastern alpine orogeny and transported westward into the basin.
Basin Stratigraphy:
Stratigraphic packages of the Molasse Basin are closely related to the transgression and
regression cycles found in the two megasequences. The term molasse defines a sedimentary
sequence composed of shales, conglomerates, and sandstones. These form at the front of a
mountain orogeny in a foreland basin, in either terrestrial or shallow marine environments,
during a regressive sequence. The Molasse Basin is primary composed of these rapidly
accumulating molasse depositions from the Alps orogeny, and owes its name to this. Flysch are
typically the first to be deposited at the front of an orogeny when a transgression is present. They
are indicative of a deeper marine environment and progress from a coarse conglomerate on the
bottom, then fining up to sandstone. The coarse bottom conglomerates that form flysch
accumulate from turbidites and debris flows moving down the steep accretionary wedge into the
foredeep. The molasse sequence then followed; filling an entire basin through alluvial fans from
rapid erosion of the thrust front. Thickness of the molasse and flysch may reach up to 2000
meters in the southern margin of the Molasse basin (Eva Grke, 2007).
In the case of the Molasse Basin, the sediment composition is generally of
unmetamorphosed origin, but high-grade metamorphosed matrix can be found at the eastern and
western most margins of the basin near the Alps. The basement of the basin is of a crystalline
nature from the Variscan orogeny when Gonwanda and Laurasia collided. It should be noted that
the late stages of this orogeny resulted in a north-south oriented syn-rift system with normal
faulting from local crustal thinning. The resulting grabens have since been covered by the
molasse, but this is an important conduit for recent seismic activity in the region (Bachmann,
1987). Figure 2, constructed by Sean D. Willett and Fritz Schlunegger, shows a North-South
cross section of the Molasse Basin, and emphasizes the distinction between stratigraphic
sequences affected by various faulting.
Continuing with the sequence, above the crystalline basin is a Jurassic limestone and
sandstone that deposited when an epicontinental sea dried out. Three areas define the Triassic
deposition. The first is the Buntsandstein which is composed of conglomerates and sandstones.
The second is the Muschelkalk, mostly made of dolomites, marls, sandstones, and evaporates.
The last is referred to as the Keuper, which contains dolomites, limestones, and lignites. A
shallow sea in the Cretaceous formed calcareous marls and limestones, which are important
reservoir rocks in the present basin. These may be found at depths around 1500-2000 meters in
the center of the basin and southern margin near the orogeny (Vron, 2005). The late stages of
the deposition are defined after the tertiary as the alpine orogeny slowed. Concluding deposition

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through the present is mostly flysch and molasse, which are currently exposed and eroding.
When the basin was submerged, turbidites filled the wedge with flysch, where the sediments
began to accrete in front of the wedge as they are scrapped from the subducting slab. From this
process the basin rapidly thickened, any existing lithified rock became deformed and caught in
the alpine orogeny, which outcrops near vertical in the southern margin.
Geochronology:
The rapid infill of the foreland basin is directly influenced by the alpine orogeny. It is
important to determine the current and paleo uplift of the Alps to understand the dominant
mechanisms and their timing. There are multiple approaches being used to absolute date the
molasse basin, because no single method can accurately account for age. Fission Track (FT)
dating of apatite crystals has been studied to describe the Oligocene-Miocene boundary.
Research is being done to determine the paleo-uplift rates with the use of greenshist infill and FT
dating of the basement rock, but recent uplift rates tracked by GPS suggest a maximum vertical
movement of 1 millimeter per year (Eva Grke, 2007). Ar/Ar and Rb/Sr ratios in zircons have
accurately defined the early Tertiary (60 Ma) deposition within the basin. However, there is some
discrepancy about the closing temperatures due to the depths and pressures of the accumulated
sediment combined with the thrust front. Relative dating of the southern margin based on well
logs has been avoided since the thrust front has obscured and deformed the sediment sequences.
Because of the recent age of the basin, young sediments (5-10 Ma) are difficult to date using
previously mentioned techniques. For this reason, dating Cl and OH end members found in
apatites from volcanic ash layers may help expand absolute dates of the molasse sequences.
Economic Potential:
The Cretaceous Marls found in the basin have a relatively high porosity and act like a
reservoir for water. An assessment by Geothermal Technologies reported that, the basin contains
an interconnected network of aquifers capable of producing temperatures of 140 degrees Celsius
from depths less than 5000 meters. The high temperatures of the ground water are correlated
with the upwelling heat beneath the subducting European plate. The geothermal energy is a
renewable source that may be used to heat homes and produce hundreds to thousands of
megawatts of electricity annually. Because geothermal electricity is renewable, it is relatively
cheap electricity (Hal Gurgenci, 2011).
Contained in the northern margin are thin Jurassic limestones from the first deep marine
flysch. Initial analysis suggested that petroleum-grade oil may have pooled at the top of the
groundwater reservoirs, but following data only supports a limited amount of natural gas. The
groundwater in this area is an oil-associated brine solution from the Eocene, and contains
dissolved radiogenic Ar which means the system has not been replaced by new or recent water.
The phenomenon infers that several of the water bearing horizons are not connected and likely
have natural gas potential (Vron, J, 2005).
Conclusion:
Sediment response in the foreland of the Molasse Basin can be attributed to the climatic
and tectonic mechanisms that have influenced two megasequences. As the basin progressed
through transgressive and regressive sequences, the general trend was upward shallowing and
coarsening. There was a transition from deep marine flysch, to shallow and eventually terrestrial
deposition of molasse. The resulting sequences are also in response to the lithospheric and crustal

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loading from the alpine orogeny. Sedimentation dates and rates reflect exhumation of the
orogeny, and therefore aid in determining when the orogenesis occurred. Paleo uplift rates are
being determined through geochronology techniques, but recent uplift rates are around 1
millimeter per year. The stratigraphic sequences of limestone have created conditions to host
large groundwater reservoirs. Adding to this, a high concentration of heat in the basin has enable
for accessible geothermal energy. Despite the lack of petroleum potential, harnessing geothermal
energy could produce high outputs of inexpensive electricity for European countries in the
Molasse Basin.

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Figure 1. Heidelbach et.al, 2010

Figure 2. Sean D. Willett and Fritz Schlunegger, 2010

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Citations
Allen, P. A., Crampton, S. L., and Sinclair, H. D., 1991, The inception and early evolution of the
North Alpine Foreland Basin, Switzerland: Basin Research, v. 3, p. 143163
Bachmann, G. M. (1987). Evolution of the Molasse Basin (Germany, Switzerland).
Tectonophysics 137 , pp. 77-92.
Eva Grke, 2007, The Molasse Basin: Tectonics, sea level and basin dynamics. RWTH Aachen
SS 13 Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. R. Littke Univ.-Prof. Dr. J. Urai
H. D. Sinclair, 1997, Flysch to molasse transition in peripheral foreland basin: The role of the
passive margin versus slab breakoff. School of Earth Sciences, University of
Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Laureline Scherler, Damien Becker, and Jean-Pierre Berger, 2011, Tapiridae (Perissodactyla,
Mammalia) of the Swiss Molasse basin during the Oligocene: Miocene Transition.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 31, No. 2 (March 2011), pp. 479-496
Reinecker. J., Tingay, M., Mller, B., Heidelbach. 2010. Present-day stress orientation in the
Molasse Basin. Tectonophysics. 482. 129-138
Schlunegger, F., Joradn, T.E., Klaper, E.M. 1997. Controls of erosional denudation in the orogen
on foreland basin evolution: The Oligocene central Swiss Molasse Basin as an example.
Tectonics. vol. 16. no. 5, 823-840
Sean D. Willett and Fritz Schlunegger, 2010, The last phase of deposition in the Swiss Molasse
Basin: from foredeep to negative-alpha basin. Basin Research (2010) 22, 623639, doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2117.2009.00435.x
Vron, J. (2005, July). The Alpine Molasse Basin - Review of Petroleum Geology and
Remaining Potential. Bulletin for Applied Geology, Vol. 10/1 , pp. 75-86.

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