The Carpathians consist of a series of structural zones closely comparable to the following zones of island arc regions: ocean floor, trench, folded arc, magmatic arc, retroarc basin, and continental margin. The K2O and SiO2 ratio of the magmatic rocks suggests the dipping of a Benioff plane along which the floor with a crust of oceanic character was subduced and is replaced by the modern Carpathian marginal trench. Melting of part of the plate led to the formation of the Carpathian magmatic arc and to the crustal spreading of some retroarc basins (Pannonian basin, Transylvania basin). The Transylvania basin may be interpreted as an interarc basin according to Karig's hypothesis regarding the formation of the retroarc basins.
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