Evolution of the tyrrhenian basin and surrounding regions as a result of the Africa-Eurasia convergence
1996; Elsevier BV; Volume: 21; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0264-3707(95)00011-9
ISSN1879-1670
AutoresEnzo Mantovani, Dario Albarello, Caterina Tamburelli, Daniele Babbucci,
Tópico(s)High-pressure geophysics and materials
ResumoIt is widely accepted that the northern, central and southernmost Tyrrhenian basins opened up during three extensional phases, clearly differentiated in time (upper Tortonian to Messinian, late Messinian to upper Pliocene, late Pliocene to Present) and characterized by rather different deformation patterns in the surrounding Appenninic belt and Adriatic-Ionian foreland. Here, it is argued that the peculiar evolution mentioned above and several other major post-Tortonian deformation events in the central Mediterranean region can be coherently explained as direct consequences or side effects of the shortening processes, which accommodated the Africa-Eurasia convergence. These processes mainly consisted in the eastward and SEward lateral escape of buoyant crustal wedges of the Apenninic belt, at the expense of the adjacent Adriatic-Ionian foreland, which sunk into the underlying mantle, after decoupling from its buoyant cover. The extensional episodes which formed the Tyrrhenian basins were connected with local block divergences in the framework of an overall compressional régime. The principal changes of deformation styles which occurred around the upper Tortonian, the Messinian and the late Pliocene are attributed to the occurrence of major tectonic events, which modified the distribution of resistive forces in the zone considered. The final stage of the proposed evolutionary pattern can provide plausible explanations for the main shallow and deep structural tectonic features evidenced by geophysical observations.
Referência(s)