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The new tectonic map of the Alps is based on the combination of purely structural data with criteria regarding paleogeographical affiliation and/or tectonometamorphic evolution. The orogenic evolution of the Alps is discussed using a combination of maps and paleogeographical reconstructions. It is proposed that the Alps are the product of two orogenies, a Cretaceous followed by a Tertiary one. While the former is related to the closure of an embayment of the Meliata ocean into Apulia, the latter is due to the closure of the Alpine Tethys between Apulia and Europe. The along-strike changes in the overall architecture, as for example revealed by geophysical-geological transects, are by far more substantial than hitherto believed. It appears that the Alps are still far from being over-investigated, as is demonstrated by many surprising recent findings based on field geology, laboratory results and geophysical methods of deep sounding. ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDie neue tektonische Karte der Alpen basiert auf einer Kombination von strukturellen Daten mit Kriterien der paläogeographischen Zugehörigkeit und/oder der tektono-metamorphen Entwicklung. Die Orogen-Entwicklung der Alpen wird anhand einer Kombination von Karten und paläogeographi-schen Rekonstruktionen diskutiert. Hierbei wird vorgeschlagen, dass die Alpen das Produkt von zwei Orogenesen sind: einer kretazischen, gefolgt von einer tertiären. Während erstere auf die Schliessung des Meliata-Ozeans zurückgeführt wird, ist letztere das Produkt der Schliessung der Alpinen Tethys zwischen Apulia und Europa. Die Änderungen in der Architektur der Alpen entlang dem Streichen sind weit wichtiger als bisher angenommen, wie am Beispiel geologisch-geophysikalischer Querschnitte illustriert wird. Es scheint, dass die Alpenforschung immer noch für Überraschungen gut ist. Dies zeigen neue Ergebnisse, die auf Feldforschung, Labormethoden und neue Methoden der geophysikalischen Tiefenerkundung abgestützt sind.

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A map-view palinspastic restoration of tectonic units in the Alps, carpathians and Dinarides reveals the plate tectonic configuration before the onset of Miocene to recent deformations. Estimates of shortening and extension from the entire orogenic system allow for a semi-quantitative restoration of translations and rotations of tectonic units during the last 20 Ma. Our restoration yielded the following results: (1) the balaton Fault and its eastern extension along the northern margin of the Mid-Hungarian Fault Zone align with the Periadriatic Fault, a geometry that allows for the eastward lateral extrusion of the Alpine-carpathian-Pannonian (ALcAPA) Mega-Unit. the Mid-Hungarian Fault Zone accommodated simultaneous strike-perpendicular shortening and strike-slip movements, concomitant with strike-parallel extension. (2) the Mid-Hungarian Fault Zone is also the locus of a former plate boundary transforming opposed subduction polarities between Alps (including Western carpathians) and Dinarides. (3) the ALcAPA Mega-Unit was affected by 290 km extension and fits into an area W of present-day budapest in its restored position, while the tisza-Dacia Mega-Unit was affected by up to 180 km extension during its emplacement into the carpathian embayment. the displacement of the Adriatic Plate indenter led to a change in subduction polarity along a transect through the easternmost Alps and to substantial Neogene shortening in the eastern southern Alps and external Dinarides. While we confirm that slab-pull and rollback of oceanic lithosphere subducted beneath the carpathians triggered back-arc extension in the Pannonian basin and much of the concomitant folding and thrusting in the carpathians, we propose that the rotational displacement of this indenter provided a second important driving force for the severe Neogene modifications of the Alpinecarpathian-Dinaridic orogenic system.