Tectonic evolution of the Sicilian Thrust System (central Mediterranean)

Abstract

. (2012) -Tec tonic evo lu tion of the Si cil ian Thrust Sys tem (cen tral Med i ter ranean). Geol. Quart., 56 (4): 579-600, doi: 10.7306/gq.1043The Si cil ian Thrust Sys tem (STS) is a south-verg ing (Af rica-verg ing) fold-and-thrust belt in clud ing a Me so zoic-Paleogene sed i men tary se quence. This thrust stack owes its or i gin to the de for ma tion of pre-orogenic strata de pos ited in dif fer ent palaeogeographic do mains belong ing to pas sive mar gins of the Af ri can plate. The STS was de formed dur ing the Neo gene, fol low ing the clo sure of the Tethys Ocean and the con ti nen tal col li sion be tween the Sardo-Corso Block and the north Af rica mar gins. The thrust pile was de tached from the un derly ing base ment dur ing the Mio cene-Pleis to cene. The re gional-scale struc tural set ting rec og nized al lows us to re con struct the tec tonic evo lu tion of the STS as fol lows: I -piggy-back thrust ing from the Late Oligocene to the Langhian, in duc ing the build ing of the In ner Sicil ian Chain (ISC); II -piggy-back thrust ing from the Langhian to the Tortonian, in duc ing the for ma tion of the Mid dle Si cil ian Chain (MSC); III -gen er al ized extensional de for ma tion in the chain-foredeep-fore land sys tem from the Tortonian to the Early Plio cene; IV -a new on set of piggy-back thrust ing af ter the Early Plio cene al lowed the build ing of the Outer Si cil ian Chain and out-of-se quence thrust ing in the pre vi ously de vel oped ISC and MSC.