Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts
Tectonic activity in the Mediterranean area (involving migrations of old orogenic belts, formation of basins and building of orogenic systems) has been determined by the convergence of the confining plates (Nubia, Arabia and Eurasia). Such convergence has been mainly accommodated by the consumption...
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/12/499 |
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| author | Marcello Viti Enzo Mantovani Daniele Babbucci Caterina Tamburelli Marcello Caggiati Alberto Riva |
| author_facet | Marcello Viti Enzo Mantovani Daniele Babbucci Caterina Tamburelli Marcello Caggiati Alberto Riva |
| author_sort | Marcello Viti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tectonic activity in the Mediterranean area (involving migrations of old orogenic belts, formation of basins and building of orogenic systems) has been determined by the convergence of the confining plates (Nubia, Arabia and Eurasia). Such convergence has been mainly accommodated by the consumption of oceanic and thinned continental domains, triggered by the lateral escapes of orogenic wedges. Here, we argue that the implications of the above basic concepts can allow plausible explanations for the very complex time-space distribution of tectonic processes in the study area, with particular regard to the development of Trench-Arc-Back Arc systems. In the late Oligocene and lower–middle Miocene, the consumption of the eastern Alpine Tethys oceanic domain was caused by the eastward to SE ward migration/bending of the Alpine–Iberian belt, driven by the Nubia–Eurasia convergence. The crustal stretching that developed in the wake of that migrating Arc led to formation of the Balearic basin, whereas accretionary activity along the trench zone formed the Apennine belt. Since the collision of the Anatolian–Aegean–Pelagonian system (extruding westward in response to the indentation of the Arabian promontory) with the Nubia-Adriatic continental domain, around the late Miocene–early Pliocene, the tectonic setting in the central Mediterranean area underwent a major reorganization, aimed at activating a less resisted shortening pattern, which led to the consumption of the remnant oceanic and thinned continental domains in the central Mediterranean area. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:01:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a4a9d75ffafc4efb9181fc75d039fe5a2023-11-23T08:32:23ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632021-12-01111249910.3390/geosciences11120499Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean BeltsMarcello Viti0Enzo Mantovani1Daniele Babbucci2Caterina Tamburelli3Marcello Caggiati4Alberto Riva5Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Siena, 53100 Siena, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyTectonic activity in the Mediterranean area (involving migrations of old orogenic belts, formation of basins and building of orogenic systems) has been determined by the convergence of the confining plates (Nubia, Arabia and Eurasia). Such convergence has been mainly accommodated by the consumption of oceanic and thinned continental domains, triggered by the lateral escapes of orogenic wedges. Here, we argue that the implications of the above basic concepts can allow plausible explanations for the very complex time-space distribution of tectonic processes in the study area, with particular regard to the development of Trench-Arc-Back Arc systems. In the late Oligocene and lower–middle Miocene, the consumption of the eastern Alpine Tethys oceanic domain was caused by the eastward to SE ward migration/bending of the Alpine–Iberian belt, driven by the Nubia–Eurasia convergence. The crustal stretching that developed in the wake of that migrating Arc led to formation of the Balearic basin, whereas accretionary activity along the trench zone formed the Apennine belt. Since the collision of the Anatolian–Aegean–Pelagonian system (extruding westward in response to the indentation of the Arabian promontory) with the Nubia-Adriatic continental domain, around the late Miocene–early Pliocene, the tectonic setting in the central Mediterranean area underwent a major reorganization, aimed at activating a less resisted shortening pattern, which led to the consumption of the remnant oceanic and thinned continental domains in the central Mediterranean area.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/12/499Mediterranean tectonicsextrusiontrench-arc-back arc systems |
| spellingShingle | Marcello Viti Enzo Mantovani Daniele Babbucci Caterina Tamburelli Marcello Caggiati Alberto Riva Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts Geosciences Mediterranean tectonics extrusion trench-arc-back arc systems |
| title | Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts |
| title_full | Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts |
| title_fullStr | Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts |
| title_short | Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts |
| title_sort | basic role of extrusion processes in the late cenozoic evolution of the western and central mediterranean belts |
| topic | Mediterranean tectonics extrusion trench-arc-back arc systems |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/12/499 |
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