Abstract. Back-arc extension superimposed on mountain belts leads to
distributed normal faults and shear zones interacting with magma emplacement
within the crust. The composition of granitic magmas emplaced at this stage
often involves a large component of crustal melting. The Miocene Aegean
granitoids were emplaced in metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) below
crustal-scale low-angle normal faults and ductile shear zones. Intrusion
processes interact with extension and shear along detachments, from the hot
magmatic flow within the pluton root zone to the colder ductile and brittle
deformation below and along the detachment. A comparison of the Aegean
plutons with the island of Elba MCC in the back-arc region of the Apennine
subduction shows that these processes are characteristic of
pluton–detachment interactions in general. We discuss a conceptual
emplacement model, tested by numerical models. Mafic injections within the
partially molten lower crust above the hot asthenosphere trigger the ascent
within the core of the MCC of felsic magmas, controlled by the strain
localization on persistent crustal-scale shear zones at the top that guide
the ascent until the brittle ductile transition. Once the system definitely
enters the brittle regime, the detachment and the upper crust are intruded,
while new detachments migrate upward and in the direction of shearing.