Tectonic Development Of The Eastern Mediterranean Region

The Eastern Mediterranean region is a classic area for the study of tectonic processes and settings related to the development of the Tethyan orogenic belt. The present set of research and synthesis papers by earth scientists from countries in this region and others provides an up-to-date, interdisciplinary overview of the tectonic development of the Eastern Mediterranean region from Precambrian to Recent. Key topics include continental rifting, ophiolite genesis and emplacement, continental collision, extensional tectonics, crustal exhumation and intra-plate deformation (e.g. active faulting). Alternative tectonic reconstructions of the Tethyan orogen are presented and discussed, with important implications for other regions of the world. The book will be an essential source of information and interpretation for academic researchers (geologists and geophysicists), advanced undergraduates and also for industry professionals, including those concerned with hydrocarbons, minerals and geological hazards (e.g. earthquakes).

"The Mediterranean region and Asia provide a natural laboratory to investigate the driving forces of continental tectonics in an ongoing collisional orogen and the crustal and mantle response to various modes of deformation associated with plate boundary processes. The multidisciplinary research efforts in this region over the last fifteen years have produced a wealth of new data to better understand the interplay and feedback mechanisms between crustal and mantle processes and the dynamic landscape evolution in a complexly deforming area. A number of discrete collisional events between the Gondwana-derived continental fragments (i.e., Adria, Pelagonia, Arabia, India) and Eurasia controlled the geodynamics of the Mediterranean region and Asia during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. This book is a collection of research papers, presenting new data, interpretations, and syntheses on various aspects of the collision-induced tectonic, magmatic, metamorphic, and geomorphic processes that have affected the evolution of this orogenic belt. It should help us better understand the mode and nature of tectonic and magmatic processes and crustal evolution in active collision zones, and the distribution and causes of seismic and volcanic events and their impact on landscape evolution."--Publisher's website.

The Mediterranean and northern Arabian regions provide a unique natural laboratory to constrain geodynamics associated with arc-continent and continent-continent collision and subsequent orogenic collapse by analysing regional and temporal distributions of the various elements in the geological archive. This book combines thirteen new contributions that highlight timing and distribution of the Cretaceous to Recent evolution of the Calabrian, Carpathian, Aegean and Anatolian segments of the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia subduction zone. These are subdivided into five papers documenting the timing and kinematics of Cretaceous arc-continent collision, and Eocene and Miocene continent-continent collision in Anatolia, with westward extrusion of Anatolia as a result. Eight papers provide an overview and new data from stratigraphy, structure, metamorphism and magmatism, covering the geological consequences of the largely Neogene collapse that characterizes the segments of interest, in response to late stage reorganization of the subduction zone, and the roll-back and break-off of (segments of) the subducting slab.

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.

Of Volume 4A.- 1. Mediterranean and Tethys.- I. Introduction.- II. The Overall Situation.- III. Tethyan Faunas and Paleotectonics.- IV. Paleotectonic and Paleogeographic Evolution.- A. Permian and Triassic: Paleotethys and Early Rifting.- B. Jurassic: The Oceanic Tethys.- C. Cretaceous to Recent: Alpine Orogeny and Mediterranean.- V. Conclusions.- Acknowledgments.- References.- 2. Tectonic Evolution of the Mediterranean Basins.- I. Introduction.- A. Statement of Three Hypotheses.- B. Physiographic Provinces of the Mediterranean.- II. Balearic Basin.- A. Crustal Structure and Age.- B. Origin.-

Anatolia and the easternmost Mediterranean region, especially Turkey, Cyprus and northern Syria, represent an excellent natural laboratory for the study of fundamental geological processes (e.g. rifting, seafloor spreading, ophiolite genesis and emplacement, subduction, exhumation and collision). Their interaction has created an intriguing array of deep-sea basins, microcontinents and suture zones.The volume's 22 papers include a large amount of new field-based information (much of it multidisciplinary and the product of teamwork). After an overview, the volume is divided into four sections: Late Palaeozoic--Early Cenozoic of the Pontides (northern Turkey); Late Palaeozoic--Early Cenozoic of the Taurides--Anatolides (central and southern Turkey); Late Cretaceous--Pliocene sedimentary basins and structural development (central Anatolia to the Mediterranean); Late Miocene--Recent Neotectonics (southern Turkey, Cyprus and northern Syria). The volume will interest numerous academic researchers, those concerned with resources (e.g. hydrocarbons; mineral deposits) and also hazards (e.g. earthquakes), as well as advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students -- P. 4 of cover.