Plate tectonics of the Alpine realm

Abstract

New field data on the East Mediterranean domain suggest that this oceanic basin belonged to the larger Neotethyan oceanic system that opened in Permian times. A Greater Apulia domain existed in Mesozoic times, including the autochthonous units of Greece and SW Turkey. It also included a united Adria and Apulia microplate since Early Jurassic times. This key information implies that a new post-Variscan continental fit for the western Tethyan area is necessary, where the relationships between the Adriatic, Apulian and Iberian plates are defined with greater confidence. To construct a reliable palinspastic model of the Alpine realm, plate tectonic constraints must be taken into consideration in order to assess the magnitude of lateral displacements. For most of the plates and their different terranes, differential transport on the scale of thousands of kilometres can be demonstrated. This plate tectonic framework allows a better geodynamic scenario for the formation of the Alpine chain to be proposed, where the western and eastern transects have experienced contrasting geological evolutions. The eastern Alps–Carpathians domain evolved from the north-directed roll-back of the Maliac–Meliata slab and translation of the Meliata suture and Austroalpine domain into the Alpine domain. In the western Alps, the changing African plate boundary in space and time defined the interaction between the Iberian–Briançonnais plate and the Austroalpine accretionary wedge.

Kinematic reconstructions and magmatic evolution illuminating crustal and mantle dynamics of the eastern Mediterranean region since the late Cretaceous

“…These new kinematic reconstructions provide many details about the late Cretaceous-Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the eastern Mediterranean region that have not been considered in previous larger-scale reconstruction models [Dercourt et al, , 1993Ricou, 1994;Jolivet et al, 2003;Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008;Stampfli and Hochard, 2009]. The geodynamic scenario described above is subject to debate, especially for the late Cretaceous period, where the lack of geological constraints does not allow us to propose a tectonic evolution as accurately as for the Cenozoic period.…”

“…Several sets of kinematic and paleogeographic reconstructions have thus been proposed to constrain the geological evolution of the eastern Mediterranean region (figure 1) [Dercourt et al, , 1993Ricou, 1994;Jolivet et al, 2003;Barrier and Vrielynck, 2008;Stampfli and Hochard, 2009;van Hinsbergen and Schmid, 2012]. All these reconstructions show that the geodynamics of this region has been governed by the convergence between Africa and Eurasia and by the interactions between several oceanic domains belonging to the Neo-Tethys Ocean and continental blocks previously rifted from the African margin and belonging to the Apulian (or Adria) plate.…”

Role of the Allahyarlu ophiolite in the tectonic evolution of NW Iran and adjacent areas (Late Carboniferous — Recent)

“…It led to the separation of the Black Sea from the Caspian Sea (Inan et al 1997;Kopp and Shcherba 1998;Nikishin et al 2003;Kazmin and Tikhonova 2006). The Greater Caucasus basin rift was formed at this time (Adamia et al 1990;Benyamovsky and Shcherba 1999;Nikishin et al 2003;Stampfli and Hochard 2009;Rolland et al 2011). The ongoing closure of the inner basins in Central Iran which were formed during the Maastrichtian is reflected in widespread flysch-type deposits and calc-alkaline volcanic eruptions (Dercourt et al 1986).…”

Petrostratigraphic evolution of the Thrace Basin (Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey) within the context of Eocene-Oligocene post-collisional evolution of the Vardar-İzmir-Ankara suture zone

“…Scattered outcrops of the ophiolitic Çetmi mélange in the Biga peninsula have been interpreted as marking the Intra-Pontide suture between the Sakarya Zone to the southeast and terrains of Rhodopian affinity to the northwest (Beccaletto et al, 2005;Okay & Tüysüz, 1999;Şengör & Yılmaz, 1981;Siyako et al, 1989). Stampfli and Hochard (2009) Andronopoulos, 1978;Konak, 2002;Maratos et al, 1977;Okay et al, 2010;Papadopoulos, 1980). The smaller box (lower left) shows the position of Thrace Basin with respect to main tectonic domains.…”

“…Juxtaposition of the Sakarya and Anatolide-Tauride terranes occurred between the Late Cretaceous and the Paleogene following the closure of the Vardar Ocean and its continuation to the east, the İzmir-Ankara ocean (Okay & Tüysüz, 1999;Stampfli & Hochard, 2009). The transition between the collisional tectonic regime following the closure of these oceanic realms and the extensional regime characterizing the Neogene evolution of the Aegean and peri-Aegean regions is complex and relatively poorly known (e.g.…”