Detecting the stepwise propagation of the Eastern Sicily thrust belt (Italy): insight from thermal and thermochronological constraints

Paolo, Lea Di; Olivetti, Valerio; Corrado, Sveva; Aldega, Luca; Balestrieri, Maria Laura; Maniscalco, Rosanna

doi:10.1111/ter.12106

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…After a swing of the tectonic transport direction, it roughly corresponds to the continuation of the progressive subduction of the eastern part of the Maghebian-Ligurian Tethys and its African continental margin. It is characterized by the continuing eastward incorporation of more and more external units in the orogenic wedge and the coeval migration of the foredeep (Casero, 2004;Casero and Roure, 1994;Di Paolo et al, 2014). On the Mediterranean side of the system (Tyrrhenian Sea), a parallel eastward migration of the back-arc basin is observed at the rear of the Calabrian Arc (among others Faccenna et al, 2004).…”

Section: "Collision" and Lateral Slab Tearing Along The African Marginmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Leprêtre

Lamotte

Combier

et al. 2018

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

106

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-The Tell-Rif (Tell in Algeria and Tunisia; Rif in Morocco) is the orogenic system fringing to the south the West Mediterranean basins. This system comprises three major tectonic-palaeogeographic zones from north to south: (1) the internal zones (AlKaPeCa for Alboran, Kabylies, Peloritan, Calabria) originating from the former northern European margin of the Maghrebian Tethys, (2) the "Flyschs zone" regarded as the former cover of the oceanic domain and (3) the external zones, forming the former southern Maghrebian Tethys margin more or less inverted. The Tell-Rif is interpreted as the direct result of the progressive closure of the Maghrebian Tethys until the collision between AlKaPeCa and Africa and, subsequently, the propagation of the deformation within Africa. This gives a consistent explanation for the offshore Neogene geodynamics and most authors share this simple scenario. Nevertheless, the current geodynamic models do not completely integrate the Tell-Rif geology. Based on the analysis of surface and sub-surface data, we propose a reappraisal of its present-day geometry in terms of geodynamic evolution. We highlight its non-cylindrical nature resulting from both the Mesozoic inheritance and the conditions of the tectonic inversion. During the Early Jurassic, we emphasize the development of NE-SW basins preceding the establishment of an E-W transform corridor connecting the Central Atlantic Ocean with the Ligurian Tethys. The Maghrebian Tethys developed just after, as the result of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous left-lateral spreading between Africa and Iberia. By the Late Cretaceous, the occurrence of several tectonic events is related to the progressive convergence convergence between the two continents. A major pre-Oligocene (pre-35 Ma) compressional event is recorded in the Tell-Rif system. The existence of HP-LT metamorphic rocks associated with fragments of mantle in the External Metamorphic Massifs of the Eastern Rif and Western Tell shows that, at that time, the western part of the North-African margin was involved in a subduction below a deep basin belonging to the Maghrebian Tethys. At the same time, the closure of the West Ligurian Tethys through east-verging subduction led to a shift of the subduction, which jumped to the other side of AlKaPeCa involving both East Ligurian and Maghrebian Tethys. Slab rollback led to the development of the Oligo-Miocene back-arc basins of the West-Mediterranean, reworking the previous West Ligurian Tethys suture. The docking of AlKaPeCa against Africa occurred during the Late Burdigalian (17 Ma). Subsequently, the slab tearing triggered westward and eastward lateral movements that are responsible for the formation of the Gibraltar and Tyrrhenian Arcs respectively. The exhumation of the External Metamorphic Massifs occurred through tectonic underplating during the westward translation of the Alboran Domain. It resulted in the formation of both foredeep and wedge-top basins younger and younger westward. The lack of these elements in the eastern part ...

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Section: "Collision" and Lateral Slab Tearing Along The African Marginmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Leprêtre

Lamotte

Combier

et al. 2018

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

106

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“…Based on the long history of the studies, geologists have defined a great variety of curve‐forming processes in FTB. The processes can be affected by many factors, such as the along‐strike variations in the predeformational sedimentary thickness (Hatcher, ; Lawton et al, ; Macedo & Marshak, ; Marshak & Wilkerson, ; Thomas, ), the along‐strike changes in strength of the detachment (Calassou et al, ; Davis & Engelder, ; Jaumé & Lillie, ), different substrata and stratigraphy in the foreland, and basal friction (Lickorish et al, ; di Paolo et al, ; Platt, , and references therein). Macedo and Marshak () suggested that curves in FTBs develop in response to the along‐strike variations in predeformational sedimentary thickness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Cenozoic Clockwise Rotations in the Westernmost Part of the Arcuate Qiulitage Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt of Southern Tian Shan Foreland and Its Tectonic Implications

et al. 2019

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Curvature of fold‐and‐thrust belts (FTBs) is a rather common feature in foreland basins. The problem of how curves in FTBs originate is essential for understanding the propagation of deformation and tectonic history of orogens. In this study, we carried out systematic paleomagnetic studies in the westernmost part of the Qiulitage FTB, southern Tian Shan foreland, where thrusting, strike‐slip fault, and tectonic boundary coexist. Our new results suggest that the study area has been subjected to ~20° clockwise rotations after ~5 Ma. Oroclinal test of the paleomagnetic data across the FTB suggests that oroclinal bending caused by the formation of the curved Qiulitage FTB is the dominate reason for these tectonic rotations. The Kalayuergun dextral strike‐slip transfer fault delimiting the western boundary of the Qiulitage FTB is a thin‐skinned structure accommodating the discrepancy in horizontal displacement on both sides of it. These results also suggest that the formation of the curved Qiulitage FTB should not be older than ~5 Ma, indicating that the southern Tian Shan foreland has experienced significant tectonic shortening since the latest Miocene to early Pliocene. Our new results, together with previous studies on deformation history, estimates of crustal shortening, GPS observations and earthquake records, suggest that the southern Tian Shan foreland has been subjected to significant deformation during the past ~5 million years, and the crustal shortening is still ongoing.

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“…120–45 °C (Reiners & Brandon, ). Coupling indicators of maximum burial and thermochronometers is important to substantially reduce the number of acceptable thermal and burial histories for the basin (Aldega et al ., ; Carlini et al ., ; Caricchi et al ., ; di Paolo et al ., ; Invernizzi et al ., ; Corrado et al ., , ,b; Schito et al ., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burial and exhumation of the western border of the Ukrainian Shield (Podolia): a multi‐disciplinary approach

et al. 2017

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The Podolia region is located along the western border of the Eastern European Craton, which is also known as Ukrainian Shield. From the Ordovician to the Miocene, this area formed part of an epicontinental basin system. In order to investigate the effects of orogenic cycles occurring along the plate margin, a multi-disciplinary approach was used in this study. Paleotemperature analysis and lowtemperature thermochronometry were combined with stratigraphic data to obtain a burial model for the Paleozoic succession exposed in the study area. Maximum burial for Silurian and Devonian rocks occurred during the Devonian and Early Carboniferous at depths of 4-5 km, as constrained by vitrinite reflectance and illite content in mixed illite-smectite layers. Thermochronometric data indicate that exhumation through the 45-120°C temperature range took place between the Late Triassic and the Early Jurassic, and that no significant burial occurred afterwards (temperatures characterising the stratigraphically lowermost units remaining below ca. 60°C). These results point to a major exhumation event coeval with the Cimmerian orogenesis, which took place a few hundreds of kilometres away from the study area. On the other hand, no significant effect of the Alpine orogenesis was recorded, although the collisional front was located <100 km from the Podolia region. This work shows how paleothermal and thermochronometric analyses can be successfully integrated with stratigraphic data to reconstruct the burial history, and how the burial history of a basin located on a plate margin can, in some cases, be independent from the distance of the margin from the collisional fronts.

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Detecting the stepwise propagation of the Eastern Sicily thrust belt (Italy): insight from thermal and thermochronological constraints

Cited by 21 publications

References 35 publications

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Late Cenozoic Clockwise Rotations in the Westernmost Part of the Arcuate Qiulitage Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt of Southern Tian Shan Foreland and Its Tectonic Implications

Burial and exhumation of the western border of the Ukrainian Shield (Podolia): a multi‐disciplinary approach

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