Kinematics of retreating subduction along the Carpathian arc, Romania

Tomographic imaging of deep velocity structure beneath the Eastern and Southern Carpathians, Romania: Implications for continental collision

“…A reconstruction of plate motion and an evaluation of regional tectonism reveals the role of continent-continent collision. Many researchers believed that the intermediate-depth seismicity is related to continental subduction after oceanic fragments have been fully subducted [Burchfiel, 1980;Sclater et [Linzer, 1996]. This hypothesis is based on the analyzing of the kinematics of a retreating subducted plate.…”

“…This hypothesis is based on the analyzing of the kinematics of a retreating subducted plate. Neogene east-west transportation and subduction rollback along the Carpathian arc occurred because the rate of subduction exceeded the rate of the plate convergence [Royden and Burchfiel, 1989;Linzer, 1996]. The T axes of fault plane solutions of the intermediate-depth earthquakes are usually oriented in the downdip direction, suggesting that the gravitational sinking dominates the subduction process.…”

Earthquakes Precursors

“…Khain & Lobkosky (1994) suggest that the Vrancea zone results from delamination processes occurred during continental collision and lithosphere sinking into the mantle. Linzer (1996) explains the nearly vertical position of the Vrancea slab as the final rollback stage of a small fragment of oceanic crust. Stanica et al, 1999); green line is Peceneaga-Camena fault (P-C fault); pink arrows show the direction of the asthenospheric currents; red arrow shows the direction of the torsion process of the relic slab www.intechopen.com Sperner, B., the Collaborative Research Center [CRC] 461 Team, (2005), taking into consideration that the geometry of the subduction zone was not unequivocally defined, proposed four possible configurations for the Vrancea zone: (i) subduction beneath the suture zone; (ii) subduction beneath the fore deep area; (iii) two interacting subduction zones, and (iv) subduction beneath the suture, followed by delamination.…”

Modelling of Stress and Seismicity in the South-Eastern Carpathians

“…Oncescu [8] proposed that the intermediate-depth events are generated in a zone that separates the sinking slab from the neighbouring immobile part of the lithosphere rather than in the sinking slab itself. Linzer [9] explained the nearly vertical position of the Vrancea slab as the final rollback stage of a small fragment of oceanic lithosphere. Gibracea and Frisch [10] assumed the break-off of the slab to affect only its crustal portion followed by horizontal delamination of the lower portion of the slab.…”