Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396

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Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Sedimentary loading–unloading cycles and faulting in intermontane

basins: Insights from numerical modeling and field observations
in the NW Argentine Andes
Paolo Ballato a,c,∗ , Sascha Brune b,c , Manfred R. Strecker c
a
Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1, 00146, Rome, Italy
b
Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, D-14473, Potsdam, Germany
c
Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The removal, redistribution, and transient storage of sediments in tectonically active mountain belts
Received 19 September 2018 is thought to exert a first-order control on shallow crustal stresses, fault activity, and hence on the
Received in revised form 25 October 2018 spatiotemporal pattern of regional deformation processes. Accordingly, sediment loading and unloading
Accepted 28 October 2018
cycles in intermontane sedimentary basins may inhibit or promote intrabasinal faulting, respectively, but
Available online xxxx
unambiguous evidence for this potential link has been elusive so far. Here we combine 2D numerical
Editor: A. Yin
experiments that simulate contractional deformation in a broken-foreland setting (i.e., a foreland where
Keywords: shortening is diachronously absorbed by spatially disparate, reverse faults uplifting basement blocks)
sedimentary loading and unloading cycles with field data from intermontane basins in the NW Argentine Andes. Our modeling results suggest
intermontane basins that thicker sedimentary fills (>0.7–1.0 km) may suppress basinal faulting processes, while thinner fills
intrabasinal faulting (<0.7 km) tend to delay faulting. Conversely, the removal of sedimentary loads via fluvial incision and
Argentinean broken foreland basin excavation promotes renewed intrabasinal faulting. These results help to better understand the
2D numerical experiments
tectono-sedimentary history of intermontane basins that straddle the eastern border of the Andean
Andes
Plateau in northwestern Argentina. For example, the Santa María and the Humahuaca basins record
intrabasinal deformation during or after sediment unloading, while the Quebrada del Toro Basin
reflects the suppression of intrabasinal faulting due to loading by coarse conglomerates. We conclude
that sedimentary loading and unloading cycles may exert a fundamental control on spatiotemporal
deformation patterns in intermontane basins of tectonically active broken forelands.
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction lationships between shortening, sedimentary basin fills, and an

In tectonically active mountain belts the removal, redistribu-
tion or transient storage of sedimentary and ice loads may have
a strong impact on the shallow crustal stress field and thus the
spatiotemporal pattern of earthquakes and deformation (Hetzel
and Hampel, 2005; Mey et al., 2016. This may apply to individ-
ual faults (e.g., Hampel and Hetzel, 2006; Hampel et al., 2007;
Maniatis et al., 2009; Steer et al., 2014; Turpeinen et al., 2008)
and more complex, linked fault networks that constitute orogenic
wedges or extensional provinces (e.g., Davis et al., 1983; Friedrich
et al., 2003; Hampel et al., 2009; Simpson, 2006; Strecker et al.,
2007; Whipple, 2009; Calais et al., 2010; Vernant et al., 2013;
Ballato et al., 2015). A prime example reflecting the dynamic re-
*Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ballato@geo.uni-potsdam.de, paolo.ballato@uniroma3.it
(P. Ballato).
increase in loading stresses suppressing faulting, may be repre-
sented by the evolution of thick sedimentary fills in intermon-
tane basins and adjacent intraorogenic plateau basins (Sobel et al.,
2003; Garcia-Castellanos, 2007; Strecker et al., 2009). This process
may be exacerbated by aridity. For example, the development of
orographic rainfall barriers along the flanks of an orogenic plateau
of such intermontane basins may ultimately promote the aridifi-
cation of the interior of the orogen, the defeat of fluvial systems,
loss of fluvial connectivity with the foreland, and the establish-
ment of endorheic basins. Over time, erosion, shortening and pro-
tracted sedimentation in these basins will accumulate thick fills,
which will increase lithostatic pressure affecting the basin cen-
ters and the fault-bounded basin margins; in turn this may result
in reduced, and finally aborted fault activity (Sobel et al., 2003;
Garcia-Castellanos, 2007; Strecker et al., 2009; Heidarzadeh et al.,
2017). Conversely, headward erosion toward the orogen interior,
basin capture, and the re-establishment of fluvial connectivity with
the foreland will result in incision, basin exhumation, and a reduc-

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.043
0012-821X/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396 389

Fig. 1. A) Digital Elevation Model of NW Argentina showing the location of the studied Santa María, Quebrada del Toro and Humahuaca basins and associated drainage
networks. Inset shows location of Fig. A and major morphostructural provinces of the southern Central Andes: SAB – Subandean Belt; EC – Eastern Cordillera; SBS – Santa
Barbara System; SP – Sierras Pampeanas; AP – Altiplano-Puna Plateau; FPC – Frontal and Precordillera; and PC – Principal Cordillera. B) Simplified tectono-stratigraphic
evolution of studied basins. Note that all basins show characteristic patterns of sedimentary filling, incision, and deformation. C) Regional-scale cross-section showing the
distribution of fault-bounded mountain ranges and intermontane basins across the eastern Andean flank at ca. 24.5◦ S (see Fig. A for location, modified from Pearson et al.,
2013). Note that the Calchaquí Valley is the northern continuation of the Santa María Valley.

tion in loading stresses, which should promote fault reactivation.
Although a similar concept has been proposed and numerically in-
vestigated to explain Quaternary slip-rate variations during glacial–
interglacial cycles in an extensional setting (i.e., Hetzel and Ham-
pel, 2005; Hampel et al., 2009), or to quantify stress transfer in
eroding landscapes during the seismic cycle (i.e., Calais et al., 2010;
Steer et al., 2014), the importance of oscillating sediment loading
and unloading processes for controlling fault activity in intermon-
tane, compressional basins has neither been fully recognized yet
in field studies nor has it been explored by means of numerical
studies.
Here, we employ 2D numerical modeling experiments to inves-
tigate faulting within the upper continental crust during sedimen-
tary loading–unloading cycles in intermontane basins. We discuss
our results in light of field observations from three tectonically ac-
tive sedimentary basins in the northwestern Argentine Andes along
the eastern margin of the Andean Plateau (Puna), where several
cycles of basin filling and excavation have occurred during the last
few Ma (e.g., Strecker et al., 2009 and references therein; Pingel
et al., 2013; Fig. 1). These basins are bounded by high-angle re-
verse faults and constitute an integral part of the evolution of the
Eastern Cordillera and the broken foreland of the Andes. Collec-
tively, our study suggests that surface processes associated with
different degrees of transient sediment loading may modulate the
spatiotemporal pattern of faulting in the interior of tectonically ac-
tive mountain belts.
2. Modeling setup
Our model approach aims at employing a low-complexity setup
that nevertheless captures the key tectonic processes of intermon-
tane basins. The model simulates an area that is 200 km wide, ini-
tially 15 km thick, and consists of a single brittle crustal layer over-
lying a 1-km-thick décollement horizon at the base of the model
(Fig. 2A). The model is horizontally shortened by adding new ma-
terial at a velocity of 4 mm/yr from the right-hand side. The setup
features a free surface at the top, and free-slip boundaries allowing
for tangential motion at the bottom and lateral boundaries.
We employ a 2D version of the elasto-visco-plastic finite-
element code SLIM3D (Popov and Sobolev, 2008) that solves the
390 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396

Fig. 2. 2D modeling results showing strain-rate distributions A) after 2.0 and 4.5 Myr relevant for all models. Active faults are indicated by yellow to red colors. B) and C)
Model results after 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0 Myr from model M1 without sedimentary load and model M2 with a 1.25-km-thick sedimentary load applied for a duration of 4 m.y.
For M1 the sampling point (black circle) starts to be uplifted after ca. 6 Myr, while in M2 uplift occurs during/after unloading only. (For interpretation of the colors in the
figure(s), the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

conservation equations of momentum, mass, and energy by em-
ploying an Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation with the
particle-in-cell technique (Gerya, 2010). This code has been exten-
sively benchmarked and previously applied to a variety of conver-
gent (Quinteros and Sobolev, 2012; Fennell et al., 2018), divergent
(Brune et al., 2012, 2016, 2017a, 2017b), and transform (Popov et
al., 2012; Brune, 2014) plate-boundary settings. Due to the simplic-
ity of the setup with a single brittle layer, the only relevant defor-
mation mechanism is parameterized through the Mohr–Coulomb
failure criterion.
Our model focuses on the loading and unloading cycles in inter-
montane basins and does not include inherited structures formed
during previous phases of compression or extension. However, we
account for tectonic inheritance in a simplified way by employing
an initial friction coefficient of 0.2 that is considerably less than
for undisturbed, intra-continental crust (Zoback et al., 1993). For
the cohesion parameter we use a value of 5 MPa. Long-lived faults
are generated self-consistently via the standard technique of a
strain-dependent friction coefficient (e.g. Huismans and Beaumont,
2003; Buiter et al., 2006), where the friction coefficient at each el-
ement decreases linearly from 0.2 to 0.02 between local strains of
0 and 0.5. We seed a small component of random strain as an ad-
ditional means to account for simplified inherited structures and
in order to break the initial symmetry of the homogeneous layer
(Brune et al., 2014).
The main objective of this modeling study is to investigate the
impact of sedimentary loading and unloading cycles on deeper
crustal tectonics. This setup applies to the basin configurations of
NW Argentina where mass redistribution is highly non-cylindrical.
Sediment is hence transported out-of-plane of the 2D model,
which is why mass is not conserved during sediment loading and
unloading. Instead of implementing mass conservative surface pro-
cesses (e.g., Burov and Poliakov, 2001; Armitage et al., 2014), we
therefore approximate the impact of sediments simply as vertical
loads at the top boundary (Clift et al., 2015) that fill a basin to
a specified horizontal base level (Figs. 2C and 3). This base level
is defined in a time-dependent way and linearly increases from 0
to a maximum value within 1 m.y.; the model stays at this maxi-
mum sediment load for a given time, and finally resets to zero load
(Fig. 4A). To convert sediment load to sediment thickness, we use
a compacted sediment density of 2300 kg/m3 . This setup enables
us to investigate the response of brittle compressional tectonics to
sediment loading–unloading cycles in a self-consistent modeling
framework.
3. Model results
The reference model M1 without sedimentation shows initial
homogeneous layer-parallel shortening until ∼2 Myr (model time)
when two inward-dipping faults with a dip of ∼45◦ nucleate and
accommodate shortening (pop-up structure; Fig. 2; Supplementary
Material SM1). The dip of these faults increases during shorten-
ing to ∼60◦ and becomes shallower within the first few km of
depth when topography starts developing (Thieulot et al., 2014).
Subsequently, a new system of inward-dipping faults nucleates
and accommodates shortening. Each pop-up structure accommo-
dates shortening for about 2 million years and then becomes in-
active. Note that the associated uplift rates (Fig. 4) are slightly
overestimated in our study since isostatic compensation has to
be expected in this area where the elastic lithospheric thickness
is <20 km (Tassara et al., 2007; Pérez-Gussinyé et al., 2008). The
general pattern of uplift and subsidence, however, is independent
 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396
Fig. 3. 2D modeling results showing strain-rate distributions for models M3 to M5
after 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0 Myr. Active faults are indicated by yellow to red colors.
A) Model M3 with a 1.25-km-thick sedimentary load for 2 m.y. B) Model M4 with a
0.75-km-thick sedimentary load for 4 m.y. and C) Model M5 with a 0.5-km-thick
sedimentary load for 4 m.y. While model M3 (and M2, see Fig. 2) exhibits de-
formation and uplift during/after sedimentary unloading, M4 and M5 reveal fault
activation before the prescribed unloading event.
of isostasy, as long as individual mountain ranges are capable of
trapping large amounts of sediments within intermontane basins.
At ∼9 Myr, the entire modeling space is occupied by mountain
ranges with a wavelength of 30 to 40 km and elevations of 2–3 km
(Fig. 2B). At this stage, all faults are maximally weakened so that
the pop-up faults become simultaneously active and accommodate
shortening until model termination at 12 Myr. This setup repro-
duces the fundamental structures of the transition between the
Eastern Cordillera and the broken foreland of NW Argentina, and
specifically of the Santa María, Humahuaca, and Quebrada del Toro
basins, which are delimited by a system of basement cored, mostly
double-verging, high-angle reverse faults (Fig. 1).
391
Fig. 4. Time-dependent sediment load and tectonic response for all models.
A) Loading–unloading functions prescribed to the models. B) Uplift rates at the cen-
ter of the modeled basins (sampling point in Figs. 2 and 3). Dashed lines show
discrete time steps shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
Models M2 and M3 are characterized by a cycle of sedimen-
tary loading and unloading starting from 5 Myr (Figs. 2C and 3A;
Supplementary Animations SM2 and SM3). Loading and unloading
phases are separated by a period of constant load, equivalent to
a 1.25-km-thick sedimentary cover. These cycles last 4 and 2 m.y.
for model M2 and M3, respectively. Sediments are accumulated in
a topographic depression 40 to 50 km long, and delimited by two
adjacent, fault-bounded mountain ranges, very similar to reverse-
fault bounded intermontane basins in NW Argentina (Fig. 1). When
sediment unloading starts, a complex system of inward-dipping
faults nucleates within the basin until a major pop-up structure
generates basin uplift. This starts at about 0.2 and 0.4 m.y. after the
onset of sediment unloading, which corresponds to the removal of
0.5 and 1 km of sediments for model M2 and M3, respectively
(Fig. 4).
Models M4 and M5 are characterized by 0.75 and 0.5 km of
sediment loading, respectively (Figs. 3B and 3C; Supplementary
Animations SM4 and SM5). Although the loading–unloading func-
tion is like that of model M2, albeit at lower amplitude, basin up-
lift for both models starts at 7 Myr, and thus 1.4 m.y. earlier than
the onset of basin unloading. This generates basin uplift and the
progressive reduction of sediment load until the basin is entirely
evacuated at 8.8 and 7.5 Myr, for models M4 and M5, respectively.
Once the sediment load has been removed, basin uplift occurs via
a new set of inward-dipping faults, and deformation shifts toward
less deformed areas (Fig. 4).
Our models document that sediment loading and unloading cy-
cles can have a strong impact on fault activity in intermontane
basins, and consequently on the spatiotemporal pattern of defor-
mation in an orogen. The comparison between the reference model
M1 and models M2 and M3, shows that 1.25 km of sediment load
suppress the nucleation of new faults, promoting deformation in
undeformed areas. Conversely, the onset of sediment unloading is
directly linked to subsequent fault nucleation and basin uplift in
both models (Fig. 4). The thickness of the sediment load, however,
seems to play a key role in hampering or promoting fault activity.
In fact, for a sediment thickness of 0.75 and 0.5 km (models M4
and M5, respectively), basin uplift and exhumation occurs before
the onset of sediment unloading. This implies that such a load is
392 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396

Fig. 5. A), B) Satellite images from the Santa María Valley (Fig. 1) with major intrabasinal and bounding structures. Note large Quaternary pediment surfaces extending from
basin-bounding ranges on the east side. C) Southeast-facing photograph near Entre Ríos (south of Fig. B). Black arrows mark the highest regional pediment surface (ca. 1 km
above the local base level) formed in deformed Late Pliocene Punaschotter conglomerates. This surface is in thrust contact with the basement rocks of the Sierra Aconquija.
D) Geological profiles showing four generations of locally deformed pediment surfaces. E) Panoramic view to the south (location in Fig. B) highlighting a major reverse fault
juxtaposing basement rocks with 1.2-Myr-old pediment surface II. Note that the same pediment surface, farther to the west, is back tilted (see also Fig. D).

not sufficient for delaying fault nucleation as observed for models
M2 and M3 (Fig. 4).
4. Observations from intermontane basins in Northwestern
Argentina
The arid Andean Plateau comprises reverse-fault bounded
mountain ranges and sedimentary basins that record protracted
endorheic conditions in association with ∼4 km of late Cenozoic,
large-scale surface uplift (e.g., Alonso et al., 1991; Garzione et al.,
2006; Rohrmann et al., 2016; Fig. 1). The southeastern margin
of the plateau, the Argentine Puna, includes the Cenozoic East-
ern Cordillera, which transitions into the broken foreland of the
Sierra Pampeanas to the south and the Santa Barbara System of in-
verted Cretaceous extensional basins to the east, respectively (Mon
and Salfity, 1995). This region is characterized by a series of in-
termontane basins that repeatedly experienced transient episodes
of basin filling, incision, and a re-establishment of fluvial connec-
tivity with the foreland (Fig. 1; Tchilinguirian and Pereyra, 2001;
Sobel et al., 2003; Strecker et al., 2009; Hain et al., 2011). The
Santa María, Humahuaca, and Quebrada del Toro basins are lo-
cated in this region of compressional basins and ranges. These
basins were an integral part of a contiguous foreland until ∼5.2,
4.2 and 6.0 Ma, respectively, when spatially and temporally dis-
parate rock uplift led to foreland fragmentation and intermontane
basin development (Bossi et al., 2001; Kleinert and Strecker, 2001;
Marrett and Strecker, 2000; Strecker et al., 2009; Pingel et al.,
2013; Pearson et al., 2013). Below, we discuss the basin fill and
faulting history of these intermontane basins in the context of our
modeling results.
4.1. Santa María Basin
In the Santa María Basin, intermontane sedimentation in associ-
ation with localized intrabasinal deformation lasted until ∼2.9 Ma
with the deposition of the syntectonic Corral Quemado Forma-
tion (Fig. 1B; Santa María Group; Bossi et al., 2001; Kleinert and
Strecker, 2001). This was followed by basin deformation and ero-
sion during intrabasinal west-verging thrusting (Figs. 1B and 5;
Strecker et al., 1989). Subsequently, an episode of basin filling
led to the accumulation of an at least ∼800-m-thick sequence of
basement-derived conglomerates sourced from the uplifting ranges
between 2.9 and 2.5 Ma (Figs. 1B and 5C; Punaschotter conglom-
erates; Strecker et al., 1989). These gently deformed conglomerates
are preserved only along the southernmost sector of the basin,
where they have been cut by a major west-verging fault uplift-
ing the 5-km-high Sierra Aconquija. Their occurrence at ∼800 m
above the present-day base level suggests that the entire basin
and most likely its southern and northern continuation (El Ca-
jon and Calchaqui basins, respectively; Mortimer et al., 2007;
Bywater-Reyes et al., 2010; Pingel et al., 2016) were rapidly filled
by a significant volume of sediments (Fig. 1). Similar events oc-
curred diachronously between 6 and 3 Ma at least in five inter-
montane basins of this sector of the Eastern Cordillera and the
Sierras Pampeanas (Penck, 1920); these conglomerates were inter-
preted to reflect enhanced tectonic deformation and increased sea-
sonal precipitation associated with the growth of orographic bar-
riers (Schoenbohm et al., 2015 and references therein). Although
the causes for this episode of aggradation are not the focus of our
study, basin-wide deposition of thick conglomerates in an inter-
montane basin suggests reduced fluvial connectivity with the fore-
land, associated either with damming of the basin outlet triggered
by landslides (but it generally lasts only a few thousand years; e.g.,
 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396 393

Fig. 6. A) Perspective satellite view of the Tilcara area in the Humahuaca Basin (Fig. 1). Note the occurrence of a complex basin-fill history where different generations of
Quaternary river terraces and conglomerates cover unconformably faulted Cretaceous to Paleogene deposits of the Salta Group and Late Miocene to Pliocene intermontane
deposits. B) Field photo (see Fig. A) of a thrust fault juxtaposing the Maimará Formation with Late Quaternary terrace gravels; this setting suggests horizontal and vertical
displacement rates of approximately 0.6 and 0.3 mm/yr over the last 63 ka, respectively (Robinson et al., 2005; Sancho et al., 2008; Pingel et al., 2013).

Hermanns et al., 2004), tectonic uplift and severed fluvial networks
(e.g., Hilley and Strecker, 2005), or reduced sediment-transport
capacity through to a combination of increased sediment supply
and decreased river discharge (e.g., Ballato and Strecker, 2014;
Schildgen et al., 2016; Tofelde et al., 2017). In any case, basin fill-
ing was followed by regional incision through the establishment
of a longitudinal fluvial network (Rio Santa María) that led to a
significant removal of the Punaschotter conglomerates and the de-
velopment of five generations of pediments at successively lower
elevations adjusted to the incising Río Santa María (Figs. 1B and 5;
Strecker et al., 1989). These multiple surfaces document alternat-
ing sediment transport processes associated with an alluvial-fan
setting during transitory stable base levels of the Río Santa María
and subsequent incision that caused the termination of these areas
as transport surfaces. As the alluvial-fan gravels of these surfaces
are generally thin, laterally extensive, and cover the underlying
Teriary sedimentary units unconformably, these extensive surfaces
represent pediments. Pediment surfaces in the piedmont region of
the Aconquija range are in thrust contact with the adjacent base-
ment, and the original westward-sloping surfaces were affected
by folding and thrusting, in places leading to a reversal of ped-
iment inclination (pediment surfaces I, II and III; Figs. 5D and
5E) between ∼2.5 and 0.6 Ma (Fig. 1B). In some cases, existing
folds were re-folded during the Quaternary incision phase. Overall,
these observations document that the vestiges of the pediments
are valuable strain markers that document renewed tectonic defor-
mation of piedmont areas during the downwearing and removal of
the conglomeratic basin fills.
4.2. Humahuaca Basin
In the Humahuaca Basin, intermontane sedimentation lasted
until ∼2.5 Ma (Tilcara Formation) and 1.5 Ma for the northern
sectors of the basin (Uquia Formation; Pingel et al., 2013 and
references therein; Fig. 1B). This was followed by basin uplift
and erosion through the development of a system of east-verging
intrabasinal thrust faults (Fig. 1B; Pingel et al., 2013). Within
the last 1 Ma, however, the basin was characterized by a major
episode of filling with the deposition of conglomerates at least un-
til ∼800 ka, (Pingel et al., 2013; Streit et al., 2015; Fig. 6A) and
few short episodes of filling and incision (at least 3 events over
the last 110 ka; Figs. 1B and 6; Tchilinguirian and Pereyra, 2001;
Robinson et al., 2005; Schildgen et al., 2016). The widespread oc-
currence of Pleistocene deposits at ∼350 m above the current
base level indicates reduced fluvial connectivity with temporary
basin-wide deposition of thick conglomerate fills that were sub-
sequently removed by fluvial incision. Importantly, these cycles
were associated with renewed intrabasinal deformation as doc-
ument by regional unconformities, folded and faulted terraces,
and cross-cutting relationships (Sancho et al., 2008; Pingel et al.,
2013). Near the town of Tilcara, an up to 200-m-thick sequence
of 89 to 63-ka-old terrace conglomerates was overthrusted by late
Miocene to Pliocene deposits of the Maimará Formation at hor-
izontal and vertical displacement rates of ∼0.6 and 0.3 mm/yr
over the last 63 ka, respectively (Fig. 6B; Sancho et al., 2008;
Pingel et al., 2013). These observations suggest that renewed fault-
ing occurred during or after unloading of the late Pleistocene basin
fill.
4.3. Quebrada del Toro Basin
In the Quebrada del Toro Basin, intermontane sedimentation
was active between ∼4.17 and 0.98 Ma (syntectonic Sola, Alfarcito
and Carachi conglomerates; Fig. 1B; Marrett and Strecker, 2000;
Hilley and Strecker, 2005). Subsequently, the Plio-Pleistocene con-
glomerates were intensely deformed, eroded, and again covered
by at least 700-m-thick, coarse basement-derived conglomerates
and intercalated lake sediments (Figs. 1B and 7) most likely dur-
ing aggradation over a fault-bounded uplifted block that led to
a progressive increase in the local base level and steepening of
394 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396

Fig. 7. Perspective satellite view of the San Bernardo area in the Quebrada del Toro Basin (see Fig. 1) showing deformed Miocene to Pleistocene clastic and volcaniclastic
deposits covered in angular unconformity (see dashed line) by 1- to 0.5-Myr-old terrace forming conglomerates. B) Field photo taken few km S of Fig. 7C showing fluvial
terraces T6 to T2. C) Field photo (see Fig. 7A for location) showing the geometrical relationship between the Lower Alfarcito conglomerates and the ∼1- to 0.5-Myr-old
conglomerates in the footwall of the San Bernardo Fault.

the downstream channel (Hilley and Strecker, 2005). In turn, these
units were later incised episodically, forming a staircase morphol-
ogy of successively lower terraces (Marrett and Strecker, 2000;
Hilley and Strecker, 2005; Tofelde et al., 2017), with at least six
cut-and-fill episodes during the last 500 ka (Figs. 1B and 7; Tofelde
et al., 2017). Except for the northwestern sectors of the basin,
where <10◦ tilted conglomerates exist in the footwall of the basin-
bounding San Bernardo Fault, the conglomeratic basin fill appears
to be rather undeformed (Fig. 7C). In contrast to the other two in-
termontane basins, these observations suggest that loading stresses
associated with the deposition of the second-generation of con-
glomeratic basin fill may have caused intrabasinal suppression of
faulting in the Quebrada del Toro. The ongoing incision and lim-
ited removal of the valley fill (up to 220 m of net incision, but only
along the Rio Toro and the San Bernardo Fault which is located
at the western edge of the basin; Figs. 1B and 7; Tofelde et al.,
2017), however, has not resulted yet in sufficient basin-wide sedi-
ment unloading to have caused pronounced intrabasinal faulting.
5. Discussion
Our results highlight the potential impact that combined
climate-driven surface processes and tectonics may have on the
level of fault activity in a tectonically active mountain belt. A con-
ceptual sketch elucidating the relationships between sedimen-
tary loading–unloading and intrabasinal deformation based on our
combined modeling and field study is shown in Fig. 8. As the
rock-uplift rate increases relative to the transport efficiency and
incision capability of the principal stream draining a basin, in-
ternal drainage conditions, basin-wide aggradation, and locking of
the basin-bounding and intrabasinal faults may ensue, followed
by a migration of tectonic activity to another area (e.g., Sobel et
al., 2003; Garcia-Castellanos, 2007). However, if such a basin is
overfilled, it will be incised and exhumed (e.g., Heidarzadeh et
al., 2017; Garcia-Castellanos and O’Connor, 2018). Alternatively, if
tectonic rates necessary to sustain basin isolation are lower than
incision rates associated with headward erosion and knick-point
migration that might be enhanced during times of climate change
and changes in runoff, basin incision and exhumation will follow
(Hilley and Strecker, 2005). In either case, the removal of sedi-
ments may cause a re-activation or the new formation of contrac-
tional faults in the intermontane basin. This is well recorded in the
Santa Maria and Humahuaca basins where ∼800- and 350-m-thick
sedimentary basin fills where largely removed by fluvial erosion.
Conversely, the limited removal of basin-fill sediments in the up-
per Quebrada del Toro Basin (up to 220 m, but only along the
Toro river which flows at the western margin of the basin), has
not resulted yet in a decrease in lithostatic pressure followed by
renewed intrabasinal faulting.
6. Conclusions
We illustrate that sediment loading–unloading cycles may have
a strong impact on the tectonic activity of intermontane basins.
Accordingly, sediment loading may suppress intrabasinal faulting,
while sediment unloading promotes faulting. This is more evident
for thicker basin fills, while for thinner fills (<0.5 km over a length
scale of 30–40 km), faulting appears to be delayed rather than
inhibited. Our modeling results agree with previous studies that
focused on the effect of glacial loading/unloading cycles on fault
activity. In contrast to these studies where pre-defined faults are
submitted to a duration of glacial loads on the order of thousands
of years, we focus on sedimentary loading spanning several Myr
and investigate self-consistently generated crustal fault networks.
 P. Ballato et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 506 (2019) 388–396
Fig. 8. Conceptual model depicting the relationships between sedimentary loading
and unloading cycles on deformation processes in a fault-bounded intermontane
basin (see text for details).
The ensemble of previous studies and our present work leads to
the robust conclusion that a thickness of several 100 m of sedi-
ment or ice are sufficient to delay the brittle tectonic regime while
layers of ∼1 km thickness may be capable to fully inhibit faulting.
Combined, our modeling and field observations highlight the
rich interplay between tectonics and erosional surface processes,
which dictate the removal, redistribution and transient storage of
sedimentary loads, and thus modulate loading stresses and ac-
tive deformation patterns in the intermontane basis of the south-
ern Central Andes. We suggest that this process may occur in
other tectonically active intermontane basins as well. Basins with
similar characteristics where these processes may have impacted
basin evolution include the Cenozoic Tien Shan and Qilian Shan
mountains of Central Asia; the North American Laramide broken-
foreland province may represent a related paleotectonic setting
during the Cretaceous and early Eocene.
Acknowledgements
P.B. and M.S. were financed by the German Science Foundation’s
(DFG) International Research Training Group IGK2018 (StRATEGy
395
– Surface processes, tectonics and georesources: the Andean fore-
land basin of Argentina; STR 373/38-1). S.B. was supported by the
Helmholtz Young Investigators Group CRYSTALS (VH-NG-1132). We
thank John Armitage and Victor Ramos for their constructive and
motivating reviews. We are grateful to Heiko Pingel for helping
with figure drafting and to Carolina Montero Lopez, Fernando Hon-
gon, Leonardo Escalante and Alejandro Aramayo for introducing
the geology of Argentina. Finally, PB is indebted to Carolina Mon-
tero Lopez and her family for logistical support.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary material related to this article can be found on-
line at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.043.
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