Deep-Time Source-to-Sink in Continental Basins
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 693
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sedimentology; tectonic-climatic event; seismic interpretation
Interests: sediment routings; detrital zircons; volcanism
Interests: sequence stratigraphy; sedimentology; basin analysis
Interests: sequence stratigraphy; seismic sedimentology; source-to-sink
Interests: sedimentology; seismic sedimentology; sequence stratigraphy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The deep-time source-to-sink system in continental basins is a cutting-edge research topic in sedimentology and has been attempted by building on the research experience of the Quaternary ocean land margins. The multifactor configuration link between provenance signals, geomorphological elements, and sedimentary records is mostly described in terms of weathering, denudation, transportation, and the accumulation of detrital particles. Key geologic issues are then raised, namely, the research scale or level of the source-to-sink system, geomorphologic evolution and sediment output in the catchment, signal propagation and modification through the sediment routing system, and multifactorial joint control of sedimentary-stratigraphic development in the basin.
In light of these issues, it is proposed that potential innovations might emerge from the research fields of tectonism–climate-regulated weathering efficacy, the relationship between catchment geomorphology and sediment supply, the prediction of sediment routing system interaction models, paleo-water depth-hydrodynamics constraints on sandstone dispersal, forward modeling to restore source-to-sink processes, and so on. By doing so, it is hoped that the problems of sediment flux pickup and balance restoration under the influence of multiple driving factors and interacting media in the deep-time continental basins can be effectively solved.
This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of the latest research, methodologies, and case studies on the deep-time continental source-to-sink systems. We welcome the submission of high-quality, original research papers that address the following topics:
- Section 1: source-to-sink systems of continental basin—case studies of drainage basin geomorphological analysis, sediment flux variation, and coupling of sedimentary responses in source-to-sink systems in different types of continental basins (including rift, foreland, or cratonic basin).
- Section 2: sediment routing reconstruction—qualitative/quantitative methods and case studies of sediment routing analysis, using petrological, mineralogical, geochronology, geochemical, forward modeling, machine learning techniques, etc.
- Section 3: paleoclimate and aquatic environment reconstruction—to investigate how palaeoclimate and signals from aquatic environments (including chemical solution) affect the effectiveness of sediment weathering and dispersal mechanisms.
Dr. Qianghu Liu
Dr. Hehe Chen
Dr. Mingxuan Tan
Prof. Dr. Hongtao Zhu
Prof. Dr. Xiaomin Zhu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- deep-time source-to-sink system
- catchment geomorphology
- sediment routings
- sediment flux
- sedimentary response
- detrital zircons
- forward modeling
- deep-time digital earth
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