We integrate structural, geophysical, and geodetic studies showing that the Dinarides‐Hellenides orogen along the Adria‐Europe plate boundary in the Western Balkan peninsula has experienced clockwise ...oroclinal bending since Eocene‐Oligocene time. Rotation of the Hellenic segment of this orogen has accelerated since the middle Miocene and is associated with a north‐to‐south increase in shortening along the orogenic front. Within the Paleogene nappe pile, bending was accommodated by orogen‐parallel extension, clockwise block rotation, and thrusting in the hanging wall of the Skhoder‐Peja Normal Fault (SPNF). The SPNF and related faults cut the older Skhoder‐Peja Transfer Zone with its pre‐Neogene dextral offset of the West Vardar ophiolite nappe. Rotation of the SPNF hanging wall involved Miocene‐to‐recent, out‐of‐sequence thrusting that was transferred to the Hellenic orogenic front via lateral ramps on dextral transfer zones. Along strike of the Dinarides‐Hellenides and coincident with the southward increase in Neogene shortening, the depth of the Adriatic slab increases from ~160 km north of the SPNF to ~200 km just to the south thereof, to several hundreds of kilometers to the south of the Kefalonia Transfer Zone. The geodynamic driver of tectonics since the early Miocene has been enhanced rollback of the Hellenic segment of the Adriatic slab in the aftermath of Eocene‐Oligocene slab tearing and breakoff beneath the Dinarides, which focused slab pull in the south. The SW‐retreating Hellenic slab segment induced clockwise bending of the southern Dinarides and northern Hellenides, including their Adriatic foreland, about a rotation pole in the vicinity of the Mid‐Adriatic Ridge.
Key Points
The junction of the Dinarides and Hellenides is the site of a N‐to‐S increase in Neogene shortening and upper‐plate extension
This shortening reflects oroclinal bending about a pole near the Mid‐Adriatic Ridge that has been driven by Hellenic rollback subduction
The Shkoder‐Peja Normal Fault accommodated Neogene orogen‐parallel extension and clockwise rotation of shallower levels of the orogen
The large number and distribution of rollback systems in Mediterranean orogens infer the possibility of interacting extensional back‐arc deformation driven by different slabs. The formation of the ...Pannonian back‐arc basin is generally related to the rapid Miocene rollback of a slab attached to the European continent. A key area of the entire system that is neglected by kinematic studies is the connection between the South Carpathians and Dinarides. In order to derive an evolutionary model, we interpreted regional seismic lines traversing the entire Serbian part of the Pannonian Basin. The observed deformation is dominantly expressed by the formation of Miocene extensional detachments and (half) grabens. The extensional geometries and associated synkinematic sedimentation that migrated in time and space allow the definition of a continuous and essentially asymmetric early to late Miocene extensional evolution. This evolution was followed by the formation of few uplifted areas during the subsequent latest Miocene–Quaternary inversion. The present‐day extensional geometry changing the strike across the basin is an effect of the clockwise rotation of the South Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains in respect to the Dinarides. Our study infers that the Carpathian rollback is not the only mechanism responsible for the formation of the Pannonian Basin; an additional middle Miocene rollback of a Dinaridic slab is required to explain the observed structures. Furthermore, the study provides constraints for the pre‐Neogene orogenic evolution of this junction zone, including the affinity of major crustal blocks, obducted ophiolitic sequences and the Sava suture zone.
Key Points
Novel early to late Miocene extensional evolution
Migration in time and space of the normal faulting
Novel component of rollback of a Dinaridic slab
We present a map that correlates tectonic units between Alps and western Turkey accompanied by a text providing access to literature data, explaining the concepts used for defining the mapped ...tectonic units, and first-order paleogeographic inferences. Along-strike similarities and differences of the Alpine-Eastern Mediterranean orogenic system are discussed. The map allows (1) for superimposing additional information, such as e.g., post-tectonic sedimentary basins, manifestations of magmatic activity, onto a coherent tectonic framework and (2) for outlining the major features of the Alpine-Eastern Mediterranean orogen. Dinarides-Hellenides, Anatolides and Taurides are orogens of opposite subduction polarity and direction of major transport with respect to Alps and Carpathians, and polarity switches across the Mid-Hungarian fault zone. The Dinarides-Hellenides-Taurides (and Apennines) consist of nappes detached from the Greater Adriatic continental margin during Cretaceous and Cenozoic orogeny. Internal units form composite nappes that passively carry ophiolites obducted in the latest Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous or during the Late Cretaceous on top of the Greater Adriatic margin successions. The ophiolites on top of composite nappes do not represent oceanic sutures zones, but root in the suture zones of Neotethys that formed after obduction. Suturing between Greater Adria and the northern and eastern Neotethys margin occupied by the Tisza and Dacia mega-units and the Pontides occurred in the latest Cretaceous along the Sava-İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zones. The Rhodopian orogen is interpreted as a deep-crustal nappe stack formed in tandem with the Carpatho-Balkanides fold-thrust belt, now exposed in a giant core complex exhumed in late Eocene to Miocene times from below the Carpatho-Balkan orogen and the Circum-Rhodope unit. Its tectonic position is similar to that of the Sakarya unit of the Pontides. We infer that the Rhodope nappe stack formed due to north-directed thrusting. Both Rhodopes and Pontides are suspected to preserve the westernmost relics of the suture zone of Paleotethys.
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•Tectonic map correlates tectonic units between Alps and western Turkey.•Profiles visualize architecture of Alpine-eastern Mediterranean orogens.•Review provides overview of Alpine-type orogens across national boundaries.
Abstract
The lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary and mid‐lithospheric discontinuities are primary attributes of the upper mantle. The Pannonian region is an extensional sedimentary basin enclosed by ...collisional orogens. Here, we estimate the negative phase depth of S‐to‐P receiver functions to image the lithospheric thickness and other discontinuities with high resolution, based on the recent dense seismological broadband networks. The lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary is relatively shallow (<90 km) in the Pannonian Basin system, and deeper (∼90–140 km) in the surrounding orogens, where average surface heat flow values are higher (120 mW/m
2
) and lower (50–70 mW/m
2
), respectively. The 1D and 2D common conversion point migration with 3D velocity model provide comparable but different resolution images beneath the wider region of the Pannonian Basin. We obtained deeper values in the Western (∼120 km) and Southern‐Carpathians orogens (∼135 km). Furthermore, we provide new information on the lithospheric thickness and its seismic properties in the eastern part of the study region (e.g., Apuseni Mountains (∼95 km), Eastern‐Carpathians (∼120 km), Moesian Platform (∼90 km) and Transylvanian Basin (∼85 km). The shallower negative phase depth can be interpreted as the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary beneath the Pannonian Basin system in agreement with its high heat flow values. In contrast, the deeper negative phase depth estimates in the colder surroundings can be interpreted as intra‐ or mid‐lithospheric discontinuities, when compared with local seismic tomography models. In this region, the correlation with heat flow implies that the observed negative phase depth is of thermo‐chemical or rheological nature.
Plain Language Summary
We conducted a detailed analysis of seismic waves beneath the Eastern Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, and the Pannonian Basin to understand the structure of the Earth’s deep interior and outermost tectonic shell, that is, its lithosphere in these regions. The most recent geophysical data available for this region are more than 20 years old. The thickness of the lithosphere in this area was not well known, and there were many open questions that were connected to its thermal properties and dynamic evolution. To address this, we collected data from permanent and temporary seismic stations in the study area between January 2002 and February 2022. This extensive data set, comprising 389 broadband seismological stations, allowed us to provide new information on the lithospheric structure and the geological evolution of this region.
Key Points
Detailed S‐to‐P receiver function analysis in the circum‐Pannonian region with unprecedented station density
1D and 2D migration of the S‐to‐P receiver function based on first negative phase
Geological interpretation and comparison of the lithospheric discontinuities with migrated cross‐sections and maps
In the southeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Berkovići earthquake sequence started with the mainshock on 22 April 2022 21:07 UTC at focal depth 22 km with magnitude ML = 6.0 (Mw = 5.7). Our ...preliminary estimation of the mainshock's maximum intensity is VII EMS for Berkovići where 29% of buildings were damaged. We analysed the first nine months of this sequence, 22 April 2022–22 January 2023. The earthquakes were located using a guided grid-search algorithm with source-specific station corrections as a mean of solutions for 54 combinations of velocity models and program control parameters. The analysis of aleatory variation and epistemic uncertainty showed that they are very dependent on the station coverage, especially for focal depth. The event catalogue consists of 7217 earthquakes and can be considered complete for ML ≥ 1.3. Focal depths (15–30 km) are considerably larger than average for the Dinarides, but consistent within the zone of mid-crustal events where the earthquakes occurred. Focal mechanisms were determined with the first-motion polarity method for eight earthquakes: five of them, including the mainshock, were due to reverse faulting on faults striking in the Dinaric direction, with the preferred main fault gently dipping to the northeast. However, three events were due to normal faulting, unexpected for this area. We constructed a regional seismotectonic cross-section to delineate a potential seismogenic source of the mainshock, and it suggests that the mainshock occurred on the NE-dipping blind ramp of the basal thrust of the Dalmatian tectonic unit. Moreover, another NE-dipping and blind ramp of this basal thrust could be responsible for the Ston–Slano 1996 earthquake, located to the SW of the Berkovići mainshock hypocentre at the horizontal distance of c. 35 km.
•The Berkovići earthquake sequence started with the mainshock on 22 Apr 2022 (21:07, ML = 6.0) at the focal depth of 22 km.•The earthquake catalogue (22 Apr 2022–22 Jan 2023) contains 7217 events with a completeness magnitude of 1.3.•Focal depths (15–30 km) are considerably larger than average for the Dinarides.•Focal mechanisms for three (of eight) earthquakes were due to normal faulting that is unexpected in this area.•Seismotectonic analysis hints the mainshock occurred on the blind ramp of the basal thrust of the Dalmatian tectonic unit.
Unraveling the age and kinematics of low temperature deformation events is crucial in understanding the late‐stage evolution of orogens. However, accurate age constraints can often be challenging to ...obtain due to unideal outcrop conditions, large sedimentary hiatuses or the lack of well‐defined thermal events. In this study, we show on the example of the Nekézseny Thrust, a poorly exposed late orogenic thrust in the southern Western Carpathians, that a combined approach of structural analysis and multi‐method thermochronology can provide the necessary temporal, kinematic and thermal constraints for a detailed reconstruction of the deformation history. While structural mapping revealed that the Late Cretaceous Uppony Gosau Basin in the footwall of the Nekézseny Thrust underwent a significant post‐Campanian and pre‐Miocene shortening, K/Ar dating of fault gouge samples from the main fault zone constrained the primary thrusting event to the Maastrichtian. Based on the acquired apatite fission‐track and (U‐Th)/He ages, subsequent heating of the Upper Cretaceous sediments due to tectonic burial was limited to 75–100°C, followed by deformation‐related and gradual cooling between the Eocene and Early Miocene. Considering the reconstructed deformation history, as well as the large‐scale tectonic affinity of the displaced units in its footwall and hanging wall, the Nekézseny Thrust is a far‐traveled (ca. 600 km) segment of the Late Cretaceous Alps‐Dinarides contact zone, whose development was linked to the switch from lower plate to upper plate position with respect to the Sava Zone and Alpine Tethys sutures, respectively.
Key Points
Detailed structural analysis is combined with three thermochronological methods to reconstruct low temperature deformation events
K/Ar age of fault gouges date the fault activity directly, while apatite fission‐track and (U‐Th)/He data constrain the exhumation history
The Maastrichtian age of the Nekézseny Thrust is interpreted in lights of the late‐stage Alpine‐Carpathian‐Dinaric tectonic evolution
Abstract
In this paper we studied the diet in four allopatric populations of alpine salamanders in the Dinarides (Salamandra atra prenjensis). Food consumption was assessed by stomach flushing while ...food availability by pitfall traps and netting. We aimed to: (i) assess the realized dietary niche, (ii) investigate prey preferences, (ii) explore individual specialization, clustering and nestedness. All populations have an equally wide dietary span that is among the largest reported for terrestrial salamanders. On the other hand, the amount of ingested prey is rather low compared to other salamander species; the quantity of consumed prey did not differ among populations but younger individuals fed more than adults. Food composition somewhat differed among populations but not among sex/age classes. In all four populations, the bulk of diet consisted of beetles, spiders, snails and millipedes; except for beetles, such prey was also preffered together with centipedes and isopods. For most of the prey categories, the direction of the electivity indices was the same across populations. In none of the populations a nested pattern in the interindividual subdivision of dietary resources was registered. However, indications for individual specialization and modularity were observed disclosing that the broad niche of populations is composed of smaller individual niches that cluster along the dietary axis. Overall, the four populations have very similar structural characteristics of the dietary niche and there is little evidence for local dietary differentiation probably due to the absence of drivers for change.
The Inner Dinarides, a part of the Alpine-Dinaride mountain chain in south-eastern Europe, are known for extended ophiolite-derived ultramafic massifs. The sampled rocks from the metamorphic sole of ...such a massif, the Jurassic Krivaja-Konjuh ultramafic massif in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, are mainly garnet amphibolites, with large grains of pyrope-almandine garnet commonly surrounded by kelyphite coronae, and pargasite amphibolites. The bulk-rock geochemistry points to mantle peridotite as the protolith for pargasite amphibolite and N-MORB for garnet amphibolite. Pressure-temperature (P-T) pseudosections were constructed in the MnNCKFMASHTO system and contoured by isopleths for the modal and chemical composition of minerals. On this basis, a counterclockwise P-T path with maximum P-T conditions of 1.2 GPa and 960 °C was deduced for pargasite amphibolite as a bottom part of an overriding plate. This part was cooled by subducting oceanic crust. In addition, the Jurassic intra-oceanic subduction enabled infiltration of hydrous fluid necessary to form the pargasite amphibolites. A clockwise P-T path with maximum pressure conditions at ca. 2.1 GPa (ca. 65–70 km depth) and temperatures of 810 °C was reconstructed for garnet amphibolite from an upper part of the subducting plate which was exhumed in a subduction channel and came in contact with the pargasite amphibolite. Thus, these amphibolites formed before they were involved in a metamorphic sole at the interface between continental crust and obducting ophiolite.
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•Pargasite amphibolite (mantle peridotite protolith) originates from a bottom part of an overriding plate.•Garnet amphibolite (N-MORB protolith) originates from an upper part of a subducting plate.•Pargasite amphibolite reached max. P = 1.2 GPa and T = 960 °C during CCW P-T path.•Garnet amphibolite reached max. P = 2.1 GPa and T = 810 °C during CW P-T path.
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