# 3D Quantification of Subsidence During Pyrenean Retro-Wedge Initiation: Role of Structural and Thermal Inheritance on Hyperextended Margin Inversion (Aquitaine Basin)

Benoit Issautier, Nicolas Saspiturry, Paul Angrand, Eric Lasseur, Simon Andrieu, Cécile Robin

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Benoit Issautier, Nicolas Saspiturry, Paul Angrand, Eric Lasseur, Simon Andrieu, et al. 3D Quantification of Subsidence During Pyrenean Retro-Wedge Initiation: Role of Structural and Thermal Inheritance on Hyperextended Margin Inversion (Aquitaine Basin). Terra Nova, 2025, 10.1111/ter.70023. hal-05409011

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# 3D Quantification of Subsidence During Pyrenean Retro-Wedge Initiation: Role of Structural and Thermal Inheritance on Hyperextended Margin Inversion (Aquitaine Basin)

Benoit Issautier<fnref n="1" /> ID | Nicolas Saspiturry² ID | Paul Angrand³ | Eric Lasseur<fnref n="1" /> | Simon Andrieu⁴ | Cécile Robin⁵

**Correspondence:** Benoit Issautier (b.issautier@brgm.fr)

**Received:** 13 June 2025 | **Revised:** 14 November 2025 | **Accepted:** 23 November 2025

**Keywords:** flexural basins | inheritance | orogeny | Pyrenees | subsidence

## ABSTRACT

We present novel 3D subsidence data enabling vertical movements' quantification during the early formation of the Pyrenean retro-wedge. From Cenomanian to Turonian times, subsidence is relatively low (~26 ± 10 m/Myr), corresponding to a brief 10 Myr thermal re-equilibration of the European lithosphere following the hyperextended rift episode. The Coniacian–Santonian period marks a major subsidence reorganisation, with uplift or subsidence cessation on the former Early Cretaceous margin and a sudden acceleration in the necking domain (~300 ± 10 m/Myr). We interpret this episode as lithospheric buckling related to far-field deformation leading to superimposed flexural and thermal subsidence due to incomplete thermal re-equilibration. During Campanian–Maastrichtian time, subsidence decreases in the necking domain (~26 ± 10 m/Myr) and resumes on the margin (~26 ± 10 m/Myr), reflecting a homogenization of subsidence drivers across the Aquitaine Basin. This marks the progressive shift from post-rift thermal subsidence to flexural retro-foreland basin subsidence.

## 1 | Introduction

Continental lithosphere properties reflect successive geodynamic stages that modify its internal structure. Thermal re-equilibration, a long-term process often interrupted by inversion before reaching equilibrium, prevents the lithosphere from being treated as a homogeneous, thermally balanced layer (Burov and Watts 2006; Burov 2011; Manatschal et al. 2015). Rifting, in particular, strongly conditions crustal rheology and imparts a complex structural inheritance to the lithosphere (Manatschal et al. 2021). Structural inheritance refers to pre-existing weaknesses such as (i) shear zones that localise strain during inversion (Erdős et al. 2014; Mohn et al. 2011; Jourdon et al. 2020; Ruh et al. 2024) and (ii) abrupt margin edges acting as rigid buttresses that restrict strain propagation

(Reston and Manatschal 2011; Mohn et al. 2014). These features form an inherited structural grain (Asti et al. 2024) whose stratigraphic, geometric, and kinematic components govern crustal anisotropy during later deformation (Tavarnelli et al. 2004; Butler et al. 2006; Boutoux et al. 2014). Thermal inheritance is mainly linked to asthenospheric upwelling during continental lithosphere thinning. Under pure shear, the thermal anomaly is centered on the rift axis, whereas simple shear shifts it toward the upper plate due to low-angle detachments (Wernicke 1981, 1985), thereby shaping the system's pre-inversion thermal structure. It is also defined by inherited heat and heat production potential related to the composition, age, and thickness of the lithosphere and crust (e.g., Manatschal et al. 2015). Post-rift thermal subsidence allows lithospheric re-equilibration, a process that may take tens of millions

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2025 The Author(s). Terra Nova published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

<footnote n="1">¹BRGM, F-45060, Orléans, France | ²Géosciences Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France | ³TLS Geothermics, Toulouse, France | ⁴Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes et Environnement, CNRS, Ecole Normale supérieure de Lyon, Université de Lyon 1, Lyon, France | ⁵Géosciences Rennes, Université de Rennes 1, INSU, UMR 6118, Rennes, France</footnote>
of years and persist for ~100 Myr under hyperextended margins (Pérez-Gussinyé et al. 2023). The Pyrenean system is an ideal natural laboratory to study the effects of thermal inheritance since tectonic inversion took place only ~10 Myr after hyperextension, affecting a non-equilibrated lithosphere (Mouthereau et al. 2014; Mencos et al. 2015; Teixell et al. 2016; Angrand et al. 2018; Felipe Martín et al. 2018; Labaume and Teixell 2020; Pedrera et al. 2023; Muñoz et al. 2025). This study analyzes the three-dimensional Late Cretaceous subsidence history to better constrain the timing of convergence and assess the impact of thermal inheritance on lithospheric vertical movements during the early development of the Pyrenean retro-wedge.

## 2 | Geological Setting

The Pyrenean Mountain belt formed during north-south Iberia-Eurasia convergence and collision from the Late Cretaceous to Miocene (Puigdefàbregas and Souquet 1986; Olivet 1996). It is flanked by two foreland basins (Vergés et al. 1995; Mouthereau et al. 2014; Teixell et al. 2016). The latter is overthrust by the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) via the North Pyrenean Frontal Thrust (NPFT, see Figure 1; Teixell et al. 2016; Labaume and Teixell 2020). The Pyrenean style of rift inversion is controlled by the reactivation of inherited extensional structures and the distribution of Triassic salt, which enabled basement-cover decoupling during inversion (Beaumont et al. 2000; Muñoz et al. 2018, 2025; Labaume and Teixell 2020; Jourdon et al. 2020; Manatschal et al. 2021; Saspiturry et al. 2022). Early Cretaceous inheritance is marked by extreme thinning in the NPZ leading to mantle exhumation (Jammes et al. 2009; Lagabrielle et al. 2010; Masini et al. 2014; Saspiturry et al. 2019; Asti et al. 2025). Lithospheric thinning was dominated by simple shear, with north-verging detachment faults developing toward the future retro-wedge (Jammes et al. 2009; Masini et al. 2014; Saspiturry et al. 2019). This shifted the rifting thermal anomaly toward the European upper plate (Lescoutre et al. 2019; Saspiturry et al. 2020; Ducoux et al. 2021), and produced HT-LP metamorphism: up to ~600°C at the NPZ sediment-basement interface (Golberg and Leyreloup 1990; Clerc and Lagabrielle 2014; Ducoux et al. 2019; Saspiturry et al. 2020) and 250°C-350°C at the base of the Arzacq Southern Fault (ASF) in the Arzacq Basin (Ducoux et al. 2022; Figure 1). From the Cenomanian onward, the Aquitaine Basin entered a post-rift thermal subsidence regime (Brunet 1991; Angrand et al. 2018).

The Arzacq Basin, located in the footwall of the NPFT and beneath thick syn-orogenic sediments of the Aquitaine Basin, represents the northern propagation of the Pyrenean Rift System (Masini et al. 2014; Tugend et al. 2015; Issautier et al. 2020; Ducoux et al. 2022). Extension in the Arzacq Basin was dominated by simple shear with the development of ASF (Issautier et al. 2020; Ducoux et al. 2022). It resulted in a structural subdivision: (i) the northern zone, where crustal thinning was limited, and (ii) the southern zone, where the ASF localized most of the crustal extension (Figure 1).

## 3 | Data and Methodology

This study analyzes 121 boreholes and builds upon previous work by Issautier et al. (2022), which reconstructed the Late

Cretaceous geometry of the Arzacq Basin using seismic reflection profiles. Boreholes were interpreted in terms of depositional environments and correlated using sequence stratigraphy principles (based on the biostratigraphy framework of Issautier et al. 2022). Three main depositional sequences were identified: (i) Cenomanian–Turonian, (ii) Coniacian–Santonian, and (iii) Campanian–Maastrichtian. Based on this, isopach maps were generated for each cycle (Data S1).

Total subsidence for each cycle was calculated in Move, assuming flexural isostasy. Petrophysical parameters were defined from a representative lithology (Data S2). Backstripping followed Steckler and Watts (1978) and Allen and Allen (2013); producing decompacted maps restored to 0 mbl under sediment-filled conditions.

Tectonic subsidence, integrating thermal and tectonic components, was calculated using Steckler and Watts' (1978) equation, integrating decompacted thicknesses, eustatic variations (Miller et al. 2005), and paleobathymetry (Data S3). Bathymetric estimates were derived from the interpretation of depositional environments. The specific parameters and uncertainties used to construct the subsidence maps are detailed in Data S2.

Two datasets were extracted from the tectonic subsidence maps: (i) incremental tectonic subsidence maps, depicting subsidence for each cycle, illustrating spatial patterns and inheritance effects (Figure 2a–c), and (ii) tectonic subsidence curves extracted from representative boreholes in the northern zone and southern zone illustrating subsidence evolution through time and space (Figure 3). Low and high subsidence domains follow Sinclair and Naylor (2012), who set 50 m/Ma as the threshold between them.

## 4 | Quantification, Distribution, and Evolution of Subsidence

### 4.1 | Cenomanian to Turonian (100–89 My)

The incremental tectonic subsidence map reveals a complex pattern of subsidence zones (Figure 2a). Inherited salt ridges, including the Antin-Maubourguet, Lacquy, and Pecorade structures (Issautier et al. 2020), experience low tectonic subsidence rates (5–20 m My⁻¹). The Audignon structure is associated with a localised subsiding area (up to 40 m My⁻¹). The Antin-Maubourguet structure serves as a key boundary, separating the poorly subsiding northern zone (eastern portion) from the more actively subsiding southern zone (Figure 2a). There, tectonic subsidence is unevenly distributed. Two subsiding troughs are observed in the Pau area and in the southeastern part of the study area, south of the Gensac anticline. They record maximum subsidence rates of ~80 m My⁻¹ and are separated by a low-subsidence zone corresponding to the inherited Early Cretaceous Tarbes Ridge (Debroas 1990).

Tectonic subsidence curves depict a wide range of trends (Figure 3). Boreholes in the southern zone can be grouped into two populations: (i) those with fast subsidence rates and (ii) those with low subsidence rates. Similar to Figure 2a, this trend highlights
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**FIGURE 1** | Legend on next page.</figcaption></figure>
**FIGURE 1** | (A) Geological map of the Pyrenees and Aquitaine Basin s. (B) Early Cretaceous inherited rift domains (modified from Tugend et al. 2015), boreholes database used in the study (white dots) and temperatures in Arzacq-Tartas basins (from Ducoux et al. 2022). The black line corresponds to cross-section in (A') which depicts a balanced cross-section depicting the current geometry of the South Pyrenees, Axial zone and north Pyrenees (Teixell et al. 2016), and (C) which represents the final structuration of the Early cretaceous rifting stage from the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) to the North Aquitaine Platform (NAP) (modified from Gómez-Romeu et al. 2019). [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

the heterogeneous subsidence distribution between highly subsiding areas (southern zone) and low-subsidence areas (northern zone and Tarbes Ridge, i.e., CET1, TRN1 and GDN1). Boreholes in the northern zone typically exhibit low subsidence rates (< 50 m My⁻¹), except for NAT2 and SRG1, which exceed this threshold. The lowest subsidence rates occur in the northernmost part of the area (CRB1 to LOS1), ranging between 5 and 20 m My⁻¹.

## 4.2 | Coniacian to Santonian (89–84 Myr)

The Coniacian-Santonian incremental tectonic subsidence distribution differs significantly from Cenomanian–Turonian times (Figure 2b). This reorganisation is marked by the westward expansion of low subsidence rates across the Garlin-Pecorade and Audignon diapiric ridges. The latter exhibits the most striking trend, with subsidence dropping dramatically from 40 m My⁻¹ in Cenomanian–Turonian times to uplift during the Coniacian-Santonian (0 to –20 m My⁻¹; Figure 2b). In contrast, an isolated subsiding domain emerges north of Montde-Marsan, with moderate subsidence rates of 30–40 m My⁻¹ among the poorly subsiding northern zone (Figure 2b). Similar to the Cenomanian–Turonian period (Figure 2a), the Antin-Maubourguet ridge delineates the transition between a weakly subsiding to uplifting northern zone and a strongly subsiding southern zone, where subsidence exceeds 300 m My⁻¹ in two depocenters: (i) Pau and (ii) Eastern Tarbes (Figure 2b).

This subsidence reorganisation is even more pronounced when examining the subsidence curves (Figure 3). The southern zone boreholes show a distinct knee point, with subsidence rates largely surpassing 50 m My⁻¹ by the end of the Santonian. Even areas that previously exhibited negligible subsidence during the Cenomanian–Turonian (Figure 3) display a sharp subsidence increase (GDN1, MTC1, TRN1, and CET1). In the northern zone, subsidence rates remain below the low-subsidence threshold, except for SRG1 and NAT2. The slowdown of subsidence during the Coniacian is recorded heterogeneously, with one set of curves continuing along the Cenomanian–Turonian trend and another displaying a gentle knee point (Figure 3). However, by the Santonian, the overall trend shifts toward a generalised decrease in subsidence rates, leading to uplift in the whole northern zone.

## 4.3 | Campanian to Maastrichtian (84–66 Myr)

Subsidence rates return to a more consistent pattern, displaying a less fragmented distribution along a N110-oriented trend parallel to the Pyrenean belt (Figure 2c). A north-to-south increase in subsidence is obvious, ranging from very low rates in the northern zone (5 m My⁻¹) north of the Flexure Celtaquitaine to over 200 m My⁻¹ in the southern zone. Moreover, the subsiding

area expands northward, shifting 20 km further north relative to the previous Coniacian–Santonian cycle. However, with the exception of the Lacquy ridge in the north, salt ridges appear to have little influence on subsidence.

The return to a homogeneous subsidence over the whole Arzacq Basin is clearly illustrated in Figure 3, where a knee point marks the transition from the Coniacian–Santonian cycle to the Campanian–Maastrichtian cycle in all the boreholes. In the southern zone, although subsidence decreases compared to the Coniacian–Santonian trend, it remains significantly high. Following the Santonian uplift, subsidence resumes in all the northern zone boreholes with rates lower than 50 m My⁻¹, indicating relatively low subsidence.

# 5 | Discussion and Implications

## 5.1 | Post-Rift Thermal Subsidence

During the Cenomanian–Turonian, subsidence rates are relatively low and driven by post-rift thermal subsidence as demonstrated by previous studies (Brunet 1984, 1994, 1997; Desegaulx et al. 1991; Angrand and Mouthereau 2021). However, boreholes in the southern zone reveal distinct subsidence patterns, with relatively localised depocentres in the Pau and Saint-Gaudens areas. There, maximum subsidence rates are recorded, aligned with the ASF hanging wall (Issautier et al. 2020; Ducoux et al. 2022). Post-rift subsidence distribution is thus consistent with the role of the ASF in locating the Arzacq Early-Cretaceous lithospheric thinning.

## 5.2 | Lithosphere Buckling Stage Related to Far-Field Deformation

The singularity of the Pyrenean domain lies in its substantial pre-rift evaporite deposits, which call for caution when analyzing subsidence patterns. In analogous settings, subsidence can be decomposed into tectonic, thermal, and halokinetic components (Strauss et al. 2021, 2023). The latter may dominate when differential subsidence associated with post-rift thermal relaxation permits the basinward gliding of the detached sedimentary (margin collapse, see Granado et al. 2023), leading to overestimation of ‘tectonic–thermal’ subsidence rates (Pindell et al. 2014).

In the NPZ and the Aquitaine basin, margin collapse occurred during the syn-rift stage (e.g., Ducasse et al. 1986; Lagabrielle et al. 2010, 2020; Issautier et al. 2020; Ducoux et al. 2022). Large-scale halokinesis can only occur later, when a topographic gradient allows remobilization of the evaporites. This is supported by existing work, which shows the only post-rift halokinesis
a

CENOMANIAN-TURONIAN SUBSIDENCE MAP

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

b

Tectonic subsidence (m/Myr)

CONIACIAN - SANTONIAN SUBSIDENCE MAP

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**FIGURE 2** | Tectonic subsidence rates maps for the (a) Cenomanian–Turonian stage, (b) Coniacian–Santonian stage, and (c) Campanian–Maastrichtian stage. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]</figcaption></figure>
C

CAMPANIAN - MAASTRICHTIAN SUBSIDENCE MAP

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>FIGURE 2 | (Continued)</figcaption></figure>

developed in the Aquitaine Basin corresponds to marginal and localized diapirs (Issautier et al. 2020; Fillon et al. 2021), incompatible with the subsidence wavelength discussed here.

The Coniacian–Santonian period is characterised not only by differential subsidence, but more importantly by uplift of the inherited margins separated by more than 100 km. However, synchronous margin-collapse is recorded in the axial zone in an area unaffected by syn-rift cover gliding such as the Cotiella basin (López-Mir et al. 2014, 2015). Although differential subsidence may trigger it (McClay et al. 2004), it fails to explain the uplift observed on the Iberian and Eurasian proximal domains, which had already undergone isostatic rebound and several onlap episodes over nearly 10 Myr. A tectonic cause must therefore be invoked to explain these vertical movements.

Pyrenean shortening only began during the latest Santonian (Puigdefàbregas and Souquet 1986; Berástegui et al. 1990; Puigdefàbregas et al. 1992; Bond and McClay 1995; Arbués et al. 1996; Ardèvol et al. 2000; Beaumont et al. 2000; Vergés and García-Senz 2001; Vergés et al. 2019; Filleaudeau et al. 2012), making it unlikely that the post-rift Coniacian–Santonian phase was related to an early orogenic event. On a broader scale, the Western European and Alpine domains at that time experienced significant lithospheric deformation, whether flexural or fold-related (North Aquitaine Basin, Paris Basin, Provence or Sub-Alps; Issautier et al. 2022 for a synthesis of these events). The widespread deformation occurrences, while part of the Alpine domain were entering subduction, support the hypothesis of a Europe–Africa convergence driver.

We therefore propose that during the Coniacian–Santonian, lithospheric buckling occurred, associated with a change in the Europe–Africa convergence regime, prefiguring the shift to Late Cretaceous oblique convergence (Andrieu et al. 2021; Angrand and Mouthereau 2021). It results in the onset of stress affecting the rigid (inherited margin) domains and inducing flexural deformation within rheologically weaker and thermally non-reequilibrated domains.

This interpretation is consistent with the established control of the elastic thickness of the lithosphere on deformation style (Stockmal et al. 1986; Sinclair et al. 1991; Watts 1992), whereby a hot lithosphere flexes over shorter wavelengths, while a cooler and more rigid lithosphere bends over broader domains. Indeed, the elastic thickness of the lithosphere, governed by its thermal and structural state (Burov and Diament 1995; Hyndman et al. 2009; Mouthereau et al. 2013; Tesauro et al. 2018), is considered a key factor controlling the transition from extensional to flexural basins during inversion, as demonstrated in multiple settings (Watts 1992; Haddad and Watts 1999; Lin and Watts 2002; Horton et al. 2016).

## 5.3 | Flexural Subsidence in the Proto Retro-Wedge

During Campanian-Maastrichtian time, subsidence decreases in the southern zone (~200 m My⁻¹) and resumes in the northern zone (5–50 m My⁻¹). By this time, subsidence deviates from the structural framework inherited from Early Cretaceous rifting. Thinned crustal domains cease to control subsidence,
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**FIGURE 3** | Legend on next page.</figcaption></figure>
**FIGURE 3** | Tectonic subsidence curves for several wells representative of the Southern Zone (i.e., Arzacq Necking zone: Southern zone) and Northern Zone (i.e., Arzacq-Tartas proximal domain: Northern zone). This plot notably depicts a very different pattern between these two domains, the southern zone being marked by severe subsidence acceleration in Coniacian–Santonian times while the northern zone records uplift or subsidence decrease. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /></figure>

**FIGURE 4** | Tectono-sedimentary and tectonic subsidence evolution throughout Late Cretaceous. The Cenomanian–Turonian interval (A) is marked by a post-rift stage where subsidence is dominated by thermal drivers and a differentiation between the former necking zone and margins. The Coniacian–Santonian interval (B) corresponds to a major subsidence reorganisation with a complex segmentation between the former necking zone where subsidence dramatically increases and the former margin which overcomes uplift or where subsidence decreases. Finally, the Campanian–Maastrichtian interval (C) spans subsidence related to the Late Cretaceous orogenic stage. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

marking the transition from post-rift thermal subsidence to flexural foreland basin subsidence. The organisation of subsidence areas becomes parallel to the axis of the future orogenic belt, indicating the establishment of a fully developed flexural and compressional regime. The decrease in subsidence magnitude is interpreted as a significant reduction in the thermal component, linked to lithospheric thermal re-equilibration (Figure 4). While not entirely negligible, thermal subsidence becomes a minor factor in Campanian-Maastrichtian tectonic subsidence. Our study underscores the importance of considering thermal inheritance and the time since rifting when analysing reactivated rifted margins. These findings have broad implications for other orogenic systems worldwide where convergence closely follows lithospheric extension.

## Acknowledgements

This work results from several projects on the Aquitaine Basin and Pyrenean belt (GAIA, CONVERGENCE and RGF Pyrenees) as well as the ANR PYRAMID project. We would like to thank the Orogen project managers Isabelle Thinon (BRGM) Sylvain Calassou (Total), Emmanuel Masini (former Total; M&U), Olivier Vidal (CNRS). We also warmly thank the anonymous reviewer and Pablo Grando for their precious help in reviewing and helping to structure this paper.

## Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
## Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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## Supporting Information

Additional supporting information can be found online in the Supporting Information section. **Data S1:** ter70023-sup-0001-Supinfo1.docx. **Data S2:** ter70023-sup-0002-Supinfo2.docx. **Data S3:** ter70023-sup-0003-Supinfo3.docx.