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In this paper, a new approach is applied to test a proposed scenario for the tectonic evolution of the Western Carpathian fold-and-thrust beltforeland system. A N-S balanced section was constructed across the fold-and-thrust belt, from the Polish foreland to the Slovakia hinterland domain. Its sequential restoration allows us to delineate the tectonic evolution and to predict the cooling history along the section. In addition, the response of low-temperature thermochronometers (apatite fission-track and apatite [U-Th]/He) to the changes in the fold-and-thrust belt geometry produced by fault activity and topography evolution are tested. The effective integration of structural and thermochronometric methods provides, for the first time, a high-resolution thermo-kinematic model of the Western Carpathians from the Early Cretaceous onset of shortening to the present day. The interplay between thick-and thin-skinned thrusting exerts a discernible effect on the distribution of cooling ages along the profile. Our analysis unravels cooling of the Outer Carpathians since ca. 22 Ma. The combination of thrust-related hanging-wall uplift and erosion is interpreted as the dominant exhumation mechanism for the outer portion of the orogen. Younger cooling ages (13-4 Ma) obtained for the Inner Carpathian domain are mainly associated with a later, localized uplift, partly controlled by extensional faulting. These results, which help unravel the response of low-temperature thermochronometers to the sequence of tectonic events and topographic changes, allow us to constrain the tectonic scenario that best honors all available data.

Western Carpathian orogeny has been the subject of intense scientific debate due to the occurrence of enigmatic features, leading several authors to provide contrasting geological models. In this paper, a new interpretation for the tectonic evolution of the Western Carpathians is provided based on the following: (i) an analysis of the stratigraphy of the Mesozoic‐Tertiary successions across the thrust belt domains, (ii) a reappraisal of the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the “tectonic mélange” (i.e., the so‐called Pieniny Klippen Belt) marking the suture between the Inner and Outer Carpathians, and (iii) the construction of a series of balanced and restored cross sections, validated by 2‐D forward modeling. Our analysis provides a robust correlation of the stratigraphy from the Outer to the Inner Carpathians, independently of the occurrence of oceanic lithosphere in the area, and allows for the reinterpretation of the tectonic relationships among the Inner Carpathians, the Outer Carpathians, and the Pieniny Klippen Belt and the exhumation mechanisms affecting this orogenic belt. In order to constrain the evolution during the last 20 Ma, our model also integrates previously published and new apatite fission track and apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He data. These latter indicate a middle‐late Miocene exhumation of the Pieniny Klippen Belt. In this study, the recent regional uplift of the Pieniny Klippen Belt is described for the first time using a 2‐D kinematic model for the tectonic evolution of the Western Carpathians.

The Carpathian-Pannonian region is\ud made up of the wide extensional Pannonian\ud Basin surrounded by the Carpathian mountain\ud belt. The Pannonian Basin formed in the\ud Miocene by extension in a retro-wedge position\ud while thrusting was still active at the\ud Carpathian front. The Ukrainian region is\ud an ideal area to reconstruct the relationship\ud between the Pannonian Basin and the Carpathians,\ud due to the relatively simple structural\ud setting and to the progressive but neat\ud transition between the two domains. This\ud study uses low-temperature thermochronometry\ud and vitrinite refl ectance analysis to\ud investigate the effect of the opening of the\ud Pannonian Basin on the thermal and burialexhumation\ud histories of the Ukrainian Carpathians.\ud The results show heating and burial\ud maxima in the central units of the wedge (up\ud to ~170 °C and 6 km, respectively), tapering\ud out toward both the innermost and the outermost\ud thrust sheets. Cooling and exhumation\ud occurred by means of a fi rst rapid stage between\ud ca. 12 and 5 Ma (exhumation rates of\ud up to ~1 mm/yr), followed by a slower stage\ud from ca. 5 Ma to the present (exhumation\ud rates within 0.5 mm/yr). Timing and spatial\ud pattern of exhumation are compatible with\ud post-thrusting erosion enhanced by isostatic\ud uplift. The extent of exhumation progressively\ud decreases toward the Pannonian Basin,\ud characterized by a thinned crust. No further\ud signifi cant infl uence of the Pannonian Basin\ud opening on the thermal and burial history of\ud the Ukrainian Carpathians may be inferred\ud based on our results, whereas the comparison\ud of the tectonothermal evolution of the two domains\ud suggests that they are both controlled\ud by the same lithospheric processes

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