Impact of range-parallel sediment transport on 2D thermo-mechanical models of mountain belts: Application to the Kyrgyz Tien Shan

Evolving mountain belts dynamics is very sensitive to surface processes. The surface processes affect tectonics by enhancing crust exhumation and thermal weakening, and depositing soft yet cold sediments in surrounding basins. While 2D plane strain models approximate cylindrical tectonic structures well, simple 1D mass transfer cannot capture erosion–sedimentation complexity. The Eastern Kyrgyz Tien Shan, where structures, basins and exhumation rates are well constrained, is used here to illustrate this issue. Thermo‐mechanical models demonstrate that 1D transport cannot adjust both basin geometry and Apatite Fission Track exhumation ages. When out‐of‐plane sediment transfer is considered, the amount of evacuated sediment delays or accelerates the formation of new faults, affecting the relative timing of exhumation. For our case study, lateral drainage must evacuate 80% of the sediments to match the geological constraints, which is consistent with other source to sink analyses. This indicates that lateral drainage should not be neglected in regional 2D models.