The resulting stretched and thinned lithosphere sinks, causing tectonic subsidence. Stretching occurs in several types of sedimentary basins including rifts, aulacogens, backarc basins, and cratonic basins. As continental lithosphere cools, it becomes denser and subsides. Cooling subsidence decreases exponentially with time yet can cause a significant amount of subsidence hundreds of millions of years following initial cooling. Cooling subsidence is especially important on passive margins and in cratonic basins.
Tectonic loading can also produce subsidence.
The additional weight of tectonic loads such as accretionary wedges or fold and thrust belts causes continental lithosphere to sink, leading to tectonic subsidence. Because the lithosphere responds flexurally, the subsidence occurs not only immediately underneath the load, but in broad region surrounding the load. Tectonic loading is particularly important in orogenic regions such as foreland basins. Next . . .