Europe from the Variscan to the Alpine cycles

Abstract

The time span between the Variscan and Alpine cycles is not devoid of any major tectonic activity, and corresponds to the Cimmerian cycle. Between the Early Permian and Late Triassic, the Eocimmerian cycle was marked by the closure of Palaeotethys and opening of Neotethys and of an array of south Eurasian back-arc basins. This was followed by the break-up of Pangaea and the Early Jurassic opening of the central Atlantic and Alpine Tethys. However, in the area of the Eocimmerian collision, the geodynamic evolution is relatively uninfluenced by this event, and a new cycle of Cimmerian deformation affected the Hellenides, Dinarides, Balkans and Pontides in Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times. The anti-clockwise rotation of Africa during the Late Cretaceous heralded the onset of Alpine orogenic processes, characterized first by major east-west shortening, and opening and closure of younger oceanic basins of back-arc type.

The transition from Pangea amalgamation to fragmentation: Constraints from detrital zircon geochronology on West Iberia paleogeography and sediment sources

“…Note that the regional relief and the formation of the depositional basins during the two periods are controlled by almost the same structural directions. Regional paleogeography based on Stampfli and Kozur (2006), Sibuet et al (2012) and Leleu et al (2016) …”

“…The zircon age data indicate that tectonothermal events were particularly active at the OMZ-SPZ boundary during the late Carboniferous to early Permian. At this time, the region was affected by the northward subduction of the western portion of the Paleotethys Ocean (Cocks and Torsvik, 2006;Stampfli and Kozur, 2006;Pereira et al, 2014). The absence of zircon grains coeval with the deposition in the Buçaco Basin, in contrast to the Santa Susana and Viar basins, may be partially due to the greater distance of the Buçaco Basin from this former subduction zone (Fig.…”

“…Location of Iberia between today's major continental masses at the transition from Pangea amalgamation to break-up. Distribution of continental blocks based on Stampfli and Kozur (2006), Golonka (2007) and Sibuet et al (2012). within the Variscan Belt (e.g., Arenas and Martínez Catalán, 2003;García-Navarro and Fernández, 2004;Martínez Catalán et al, 2009).…”

Age and microfacies of oceanic Upper Triassic radiolarite components from the Middle Jurassic ophiolitic mélange in the Zlatibor Mountains (Inner Dinarides, Serbia) and their provenance

“…Although there are contrasting models about the palaeogeography in Triassic-Jurassic times in the western Tethyan realm (e.g., Stampfli & Kozur 2006;Schmid et al 2008;Missoni & Gawlick 2011b;Robertson 2012;Gawlick et al 2016 a, b), there is progress in the reconstruction of the age of lost oceanic domains and in the understanding of geodynamic processes in the Tethyan realm. Many new biostratigraphic data on Triassic and Jurassic radiolarites in mélange areas have recently been obtained in the Dinarides, Albanides and Hellenides (e.g., Gawlick et al 2008Gawlick et al , 2016Vishnevskaya et al 2009;Djerić et al 2010Djerić et al , 2012Chiari et al 2011Chiari et al , 2013Ozsvárt et al 2012;Bragin et al 2014;Ferrière et al 2015Ferrière et al , 2016Gawlick & Missoni 2015), but still a lot of questions remain open.…”

Jurassic and Cretaceous radiolarian assemblages from the Bornova mélange in northern Karaburun Peninsula (western Turkey) and its connection to the İzmir–Ankara mélanges

“…In the Vardar domain, the amphibolites found at the base of the ophiolitic suite mark the inception of the intra-oceanic obduction process and are generally Dogger in age (160-170 Ma). This age is generally 20-30 Ma older than the final emplacement of the ophiolitic bodies onto the Pelagonian margin, which took place around 140-150 Ma (Stampfli & Kozur, 2006).…”