Neotectonics of the Roer Valley rift system; style and rate of crustal deformation inferred from syn-tectonic sedimentation

River sediments of the Meuse, Rhine and local Belgian systems have been preserved in various parts of the Roer Valley rift. Age-altitude positions of Meuse terraces provide a detailed record of neotectonic regional uplift. It shows accelerations and decelerations superimposed on a long-term average of 0.06 mm/a. These dynamics appear to be of plate-tectonic importance. Present-day uplift rates are an order of magnitude higher than the long-term average. Synsedimentary tectonics indicate periodic strike-slip movements along the graben-bounding faults. This points to punctuated changes in the stress field orientation related to the interplay of the Alpine and Ardennes-Rhenish Shield stress generators.