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Article 7 - Volume 24/1 - 2014

Paper title:

Assessment of recent tectonic evolution and geomorphic response in SE Carpathians (Romania) using hypsometric analysis

Author(s):

1Ştefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania

DOI:

10.4316/GEOREVIEW.2014.24.1.265

Pages:

76 - 88

Abstract:

The study investigates correlations between the recent tectonic evolution of the external South-Eastern Carpathians and the characteristics of the hypsometric curves, derived for various HortonStrahler basin orders. The analysis focuses on an area of about 8000 km2 , delineated by the Trotuş Fault in the north, the southern limit of the Buzău River catchment, Braşov and Focşani Basins in the west, respectively, east, known to conserve the youngest topography in the Romanian Carpathians. Considering the effects of the Quaternary uplift, these limits include the less elevated region of Subcarpathians. Spatial distribution of the hypsometrical integrals (HI) values was evaluated taking into account basin order, main lithological features and distance from major structural lines as well as some local indices of spatial autocorrelation. The results show that HI reflects both the specificity of regional tectonic evolution and denudation. However this is better sustained for the higher order basins (>3).

Keywords:

hypsometric integral, SE Carpathians, spatial analysis, neotectonics