tectonostratigraphy

Tectonostratigraphy is a geological discipline that studies how tectonic forces shape sedimentary sequences. It analyzes the interaction between plate tectonics, basin evolution, and stratigraphic records to reconstruct past crustal movements and basin histories. The approach combines stratigraphy, structural geology, sedimentology, and geochronology to link vertical motions, deformation, and sedimentation.

Key concepts include accommodation space, subsidence and uplift, sequence boundaries, and tectonic unconformities. In active regions, tectonics creates spatial and temporal changes in sediment supply and subsidence rate, producing characteristic architectures such as rift basins, foreland basins, retroarc basins, and transform-margin basins. Tectonostratigraphic analyses often identify and date sequences, correlate strata across faults, and interpret paleogeography and tectonic regimes (extension, compression, strike-slip).

Methods commonly used are outcrop mapping, well and seismic data, lithofacies analysis, biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and radiometric dating. The resulting tectonostratigraphic framework helps reconstruct uplift histories, subsidence trajectories, depocenter migration, and the timing of deformation events.

Applications include petroleum and mineral resource exploration, groundwater studies, and palaeogeographic reconstructions. By providing a time-structured view of how crustal tectonics governs sedimentation, tectonostratigraphy offers insights into basin architecture, petroleum system development, and the response of landscapes to tectonic forcing.