Orogenic architecture of the Mediterranean region and kinematic reconstruction of its tectonic evolution since the Triassic

Hinsbergen, Douwe J.J. van; Torsvik, Trond H.; Schmid, Stefan M.; Maţenco, Liviu; Maffione, Marco; Vissers, R. L. M.; Gürer, Derya; Spakman, Wim

doi:10.1016/j.gr.2019.07.009

Cited by 389 publications

(405 citation statements)

References 1,278 publications

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“…The shown estimates of the counter-clockwise rotation of the Adriatic plate since 20 Ma, of 5° (Le Breton et al 2017) to 20° (Ustaszewski et al 2008), with a rotation pole close to the western Alps, are based on reconstructions of the plate motion history (Handy et al 2010;Van Hinsbergen et al 2019). However, the plate motion history is derived from geological and seismological evidence and therefore not completely independent of the shortening estimates or tomographic models discussed above.…”

Section: Other Constraints On Plate Motion and Slab Break-offsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slab break-offs in the Alpine subduction zone

Kästle

Rosenberg

Boschi

et al. 2020

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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After the onset of plate collision in the Alps, at 32-34 Ma, the deep structure of the orogen is inferred to have changed dramatically: European plate break-offs in various places of the Alpine arc, as well as a possible reversal of subduction polarity in the eastern Alps have been proposed. We review different high-resolution tomographic studies of the upper mantle and combine shear-and body-wave models to assess the most reliable geometries of the slabs. Several hypotheses for the tectonic evolution are presented and tested against the tomographic model interpretations and constraints from geologic and geodetic observations. We favor the interpretation of a recent European slab break-off under the western Alps. In the eastern Alps, we review three published scenarios for the subduction structure and propose a fourth one to reconcile the results from tomography and geology. We suggest that the fast slab anomalies are mainly due to European subduction; Adriatic subduction plays no or only a minor role along the Tauern window sections, possibly increasing towards the Dinarides. The apparent northward dip of the slab under the eastern Alps may be caused by imaging a combination of Adriatic slab, from the Dinaric subduction system, and a deeper lying European one, as well as by an overturned, retreating European slab.

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Section: Other Constraints On Plate Motion and Slab Break-offsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slab break-offs in the Alpine subduction zone

Kästle

Rosenberg

Boschi

et al. 2020

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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“…The Gibraltar slab did not originate in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar but more than 500 km to the east‐northeast, at a subduction zone situated below the Baleares Islands block (Figure a) that accommodated Africa‐Iberia convergence since Cretaceous‐Palaeocene time (Booth‐Rea, Ranero, Grevemeyer, & Martínez‐Martínez, ; Chertova, Spakman, Geenen, Berg, & Hinsbergen, ; Van Hinsbergen, Vissers, & Spakman, ; van Hinsbergen et al, ; Rosenbaum, Lister, & Duboz, ; Spakman & Wortel, ).…”

Section: The Gibraltar Slab and The Gibraltar Orogenic Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mantle resistance against Gibraltar slab dragging as a key cause of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

et al. 2019

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The Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97–5.33 Ma) was caused by the closure of the Atlantic‐Mediterranean gateways that cut through the Gibraltar orogenic system. The geodynamic drivers underlying gateway closure and re‐opening are still debated. Here, we interrogate the gateway successions to find the imprints of surface deformation, infer the timing and nature of associated geodynamic drivers, and test such inferences against numerical simulations of slab dynamics. We find that since the latest Miocene, a tectonic framework was established in the gateway region dominated simultaneously by (a) relative plate convergence, (b) slab tearing under the eastern Betic Cordillera and (c) mantle resistance against north‐northeastward dragging of the Gibraltar slab by the African plate's absolute motion. We propose that mantle‐resisted slab dragging and slab tearing operated in concert closing the gateways that caused the Messinian Salinity Crisis, whereas sinking of heavy oceanic lithosphere located between buoyant continental plates re‐opened the Strait of Gibraltar at 5.33 Ma.

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“…However, the complete consumption of oceanic lithosphere is common in subduction zones, which makes many orogenic sutures appear as cryptic (e.g.,Pérez‐Cáceres et al, 2015; Schulmann et al, 2014). In these cases, indirect lines of evidence (e.g., recognition of paleogeographically exotic terranes and presence of high‐pressure and/or intensely deformed belts) are usually employed to locate orogenic sutures and account for plate tectonic reconstructions (e.g., Franke et al, 2017; Matte, 2001; Romer & Kroner, 2019; Van Hinsbergen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tectonic Evolution of the Eastern Moroccan Meseta: From Late Devonian Forearc Sedimentation to Early Carboniferous Collision of an Avalonian Promontory

et al. 2020

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The deformed Paleozoic succession of the Eastern Moroccan Meseta crops out in relatively small and isolated inliers surrounded by Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. Two of the largest inliers (Mekkam and Debdou) are characterized by a monotonous succession of slates and greywackes affected by polyphasic folding that occurred at low‐ to very low grade metamorphic conditions. New U‐Pb ages on detrital zircon grains from the Debdou‐Mekkam metasediments constrain the maximal depositional age as Late Devonian, interpreted to be close to the true sedimentation age. Furthermore, the εHf values of the Devonian detrital zircons, together with the presence of a series of scattered zircon grains with ages between c. 0.9 and c. 1.9 Ga, suggest provenance from a subduction‐related magmatic arc located on the Avalonian margin. The Debdou‐Mekkam massif is characterized by an Early Carboniferous first deformational event (D1), which gave way to a pervasive cleavage (S1) associated with plurikilometric‐scale, tight to isoclinal, overturned to recumbent folds. Later events (Dc) occurred at Late Carboniferous time and generated variably developed crenulation cleavages (Sc) associated with variously oriented metric‐ to kilometric‐scale folds, which complicate the pattern of both D1 intersection lineations (L1) and axial traces. The restoration of this pronounced curved pattern yields originally SW‐NE‐oriented D1 fold axes with regional SE‐vergence. This important Early Carboniferous shortening and SE‐directed tectonic transport can be explained by closure of the Rheic Ocean and the first phases of the collision between the northern passive margin of Gondwana and an Avalonian promontory.

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Orogenic architecture of the Mediterranean region and kinematic reconstruction of its tectonic evolution since the Triassic

Cited by 389 publications

References 1,278 publications

Slab break-offs in the Alpine subduction zone

Slab break-offs in the Alpine subduction zone

Mantle resistance against Gibraltar slab dragging as a key cause of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Tectonic Evolution of the Eastern Moroccan Meseta: From Late Devonian Forearc Sedimentation to Early Carboniferous Collision of an Avalonian Promontory

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