Neogene To Recent Tectonic Evolution Of The Central Mediterranean

This book provides an updated insight into the overall tectonic evolution of the Western Mediterranean region and North Africa. The tectonic setting of the region reflects a long-lived and complex evolution, mainly related to the Alpine Orogeny. This inheritance is expressed by an intricate pattern of arc-shaped mountain chains, the Alps, the Betic-Rif Cordilleras and the Apennine-Maghrebian belt, whose southern branches mark the present limit between the African and Eurasian plates. The volume covers the Maghrebian chains in North Africa, from Tunisia to Morocco and the Western and Central Mediterranean, from Spain to Italy from the pre-orogenic phases (Palaeozoic-Mesozoic) to the post-collisional neotectonic and Quaternary development. It includes both original research papers and syntheses dealing with the aspects of structural, sedimentary, metamorphic, marine geology.

The Mediterranean is one of the most studied regions of the world. In spite of this, a considerable spread of opinions exists about the geodynamic evolution and the present tectonic setting of this zone. The difficulty in recognizing the driving mechanisms of deformation is due to a large extent to the complex distribution in space and time of tectonic events, to the high number of parameters involved in this problem and to the scarce possibility of carrying out quantitative estimates of the deformation implied by the various geodynamic hypotheses. However, we think that a great deal of the present ambiguity could be removed if there were more frequent and open discussions among the scientists who are working on this problem. The meeting ofERICE was organized to provide an opportunity in this sense. In making this effort, we were prompted by the conviction that each step towards the understanding of the Mediterranean evolution is of basic importance both for its scientific consequences and for the possibleimplicationsfor society. It is well known, for instance, that the knowledge ofongoing tectonic processes in a given region and of their connection with seismic activity may lead to the recognition of middle long term precursors of strong earthquakes. The few cases of tentative earthquake prediction in the world occurred where information on large scale seismotectonic behavior was available. This led to identify the zones prone to dangerous shocks, where observations of short-term earthquake precursors were then concentrated.

The Alboran Sea represents a regional Mediterranean space where North and South worlds merges, creating a geopolitical region where marine resources and maritime activities should be managed from a national and international perspectives. It is widely known, that currently the planet is suffering a global change, and it is also affecting the Alboran Sea, its ecosystems and populations. An important first step to update a paramount vision on this region is to understand the climatic, geologic and oceanographic, including biochemical cycles, process which shapes the rich geodiversity, biodiversity, the productivity, and the sustainable use of the marine resources from Alboran Sea. The fisheries management system should take into account marine environmental variability to achieve biological sustainability of marine resources. Well-funded policy-makers’ decisions require a sound science based knowledge of the interaction between the marine environment and commercial stocks. This is because the role of marine environment in the evolution of fish stocks is sometimes even more important than the one played by fishers in the commercial exploitation of them. Finally, we should analyze the different aspects of political context that could affect the management of the resources from Alboran Sea in the context of climate change. This book reviews different aspects of the Alboran Sea to help understand the current situation from the original Tethis Ocean. The book is divided into four blocks: (i) Oceanographic, geological and ecological context (chapters 2 to 7), (ii) biodiversity and ecosystems distribution (chapters 8 to 12), (iii) fisheries resources and aquaculture (chapters 13 to 20), and (iv) conservation, management and marine polices (chapters 21 to 25).

The Mediterranean Sea, nestled between Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East, may be envisioned as a complex picture-puzzle comprising numerous intricate pieces, many of which are already in place. A general image, in terms of science, has emerged, although at this time large gaps are noted and some areas of the picture remain fuzzy and indistinct. In recent years this fascinating, mind-teasing puzzle image has become clearer with individual pieces more easily recognized and rapidly emplaced, largely by means of multidisciplinary and multinational team efforts. In this respect, the Special Program Panel on Marine Sciences of the NATO Scientific Af fairs Division considered the merits of initiating four conferences bearing on the Mediterranean ecosystem. It was suggested that the first, emphasizing geology, should dovetail with subsequent seminars on physical oceanogra phy, marine biology, and ecology and man's influence on the natural Medi terranean regime. At a conference held in Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, in August 1979, Profes sor Raimondo Selli was urged by some panel members to initiate an Ad vanced Research Institute (ARI) that would focus primarily on the geologi cally recent evolution of the Mediterranean Sea and serve as a logical base for future NATO conferences on the Mediterranean.