No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The nappe pile presently cropping out in the central sector of the Ligurian Alps, is represented by some principal groups of tectonic units. Starting from the foreland, the outer and lower, weakly metamorphic (up to 0.3 GPa) Brianc¸onnais units support the highpressure (up to 1.3 GPa) ensemble of inner Brianc¸onnais nappes, in turn overridden by the Prepiedmont units, sourced from the European continental margin. Prepiedmont units form two superposed groups. The lower is composed only of a pre-Namurian basement (Alpine metamorphism up to 0.6 GPa); and the upper is mainly composed of a slightly metamorphic (greenschist facies) post-Namurian cover. At the top lie the high-pressure metamorphosed (up to 0.8 GPa in the sector here considered) ophiolitic units. The group of the non-metamorphic Helminthoid Flysch nappes (original stratigraphic cover of the ophiolitic units) has travelled the greatest distance and is presently mainly set onto the outer part of the chain. Only events up to the stacking of the nappe pile are discussed, disregarding late-stage deformation. As the examined sector is located at a considerable distance from the collisional zone, late processes did not change the overall order of superposition formerly acquired. The model proposes the development of two major, subhorizontal detachment surfaces. The first, shallower one confines at the base a very thin-skinned set of nappes, nearly totally made up of Prepiedmont sedimentary covers that are bounded at their top by the Helminthoid Flysch units. Both these groups underwent a mainly horizontal outwards transport. In contrast, the underlying Prepiedmont crust and the adjoining Brianc¸onnais inner sector (separated by the second, deeper major detachment surface) were progressively dragged into the subduction zone under the ophiolitic units and duplexes were generated. Exhumation of the metamorphic units occurred along the subduction channel, as did stacking of the nappe pile.

[1] We analyze the tectono-sedimentary and thermochronometric constraints of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (TPB) and its adjoining orogen, the Ligurian Alps, providing new insights on the basin evolution in response to a changing geodynamic setting. The geometry of the post-metamorphic faults of the Ligurian belt as well as the fault network that controlled the Oligo-Miocene TPB deposition has been characterized through a detailed structural analysis. Three main faulting stages have been distinguished and dated thanks to the relationships among faults and basin stratigraphy and thermochronometric data. The first stage (F1, Rupelian-Early Chattian) is related to the development of extensional NNW-directed faults, which controlled the exhumation of the orogen and the deposition of nearshore clastics. During the Late Chattian, the basin drowning is marked by mudstones and turbidites, which deposition was influenced by the second faulting stage (F2). This phase was mainly characterized by NE-to ENE-striking faults developed within a transtensional zone. Since the Miocene, the whole area was dominated by transpressive tectonics. The sedimentation was represented by a condensed succession followed by a very thick, turbiditic complex. At the regional scale, this succession of events reflects the major geodynamic reorganization in the central Mediterranean region during the Oligo-Miocene times, induced by the late-collisional processes of the Alps, by the eastward migration of the Apennines subduction and by the opening of extensional basins (i. e., the Liguro-Provençal Ocean).

No abstract

12New zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) ages from a shallow (<6-7 km) thrust fault zone and 13 surrounding wall rocks in the Helminthoid Flysch of the Ligurian Alps were measured to test the 14 applicability of the thermochronometer for dating the brittle or brittle-ductile faults. The ages are 15 integrated with X-ray diffraction analysis of clay minerals and fluid inclusion microthermometry 16 on vein-filling minerals to constrain the temperature conditions of the damage zone and the wall 17 rocks during thrusting. 18The wall rocks yield pre-depositional inherited ZHe ages (125.3±15 to 312. Thermal modeling of the fault zone suggests that the shear heating associated with the 25 fault motion is an efficient mechanism for generating temperature increases of 50-70° during a 26 displacement of 10-25 km in 2-10 Ma. Our results underscore the validity of ZHe technique for 27 dating brittle or brittle-ductile faults characterized by relatively high strain rate. 28

No abstract