Quaternary uplift in the Eifel area

Abstract

The Rhenish Massif was affected by uplift since the Early Tertiary. The uplift velocity increased abruptly during the Pleistocene, just after the paleomagnetic Brunhes/Matuyama boundary, i.e. about 0.8 Ma BP. Since that time the rivers were forced to cut deep valleys into the uprising crustal block. The height difference (δh) between an 0.8 Ma old valley floor, the Younger Hauptterrasse (Main Terrace), and the bottoms of the recent valleys allows us to quantify the amount of the young strong uplift. While in the central and eastern part of the Rhenish Massif the amount of uplift is between 50 and 100 m on average, the Eifel and the north-eastern part of the Hunsrück area show uplift of more than 200 m. This area of intense uplift contains a distinct anomaly with nearly 300 m uplift, situated just east of the Quaternary West Eifel volcanic field. The strong uplift in the Rhenish Massif is synchronous with the young volcanism of the Eifel region. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.