TWO-DIMENSIONAL ANIMATIONS OF SOURCE-TO-SINK SEDIMENTARY SYSTEMS IN FOLD AND THRUST BELTS

Understanding the link between the fold-thrust belt and deposition in the foreland/deep water basin system is of central importance to a good deal of intermediate to advanced college-level courses. It is a challenging subject as students are expected to learn the numerous feedbacks between the sediment routing system, basin subsidence, tectonics, and sea level change. Here, I present a series of programs specially designed to model the deformation of foreland basins and syntectonic sedimentation called Thrust Systems Tools (THRUST). The software tools are feature-rich with many options and functional capabilities, which provide post-secondary teachers with an open software system to make their coursework more accessible and visually compelling to students. The software is able to simulate the development of fault-related folds, i.e., fault-bend folds, fault-propagation folds, and low-amplitude detachment folds. It can also simulate denudation in uplifted areas, and sedimentation in topographic depressions. The software relies on a set of equations that obey the conservation of mass principle of continuum mechanics. On the other hand, the superficial mass flow is simulated by means of the transport-diffusion equation. In this last equation, the flux of sediments is proportional to the slope of the topography and the coefficient of mass transport. THRUST uses the Generic Mapping Tools package software (Wessel and Smith, 1991) as its underlying graphical engine to create high-resolution vector images in the postscript page description language and portable document format. Image files can be further processed with Image Magic (www.imagemagick.org) and FFmpeg (ffmpeg.org) to create accurate computer animations of the development of fold and thrust belts and the timing and progress of sedimentation in the foreland basin system.