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Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts

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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Geology and Tectonics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2022) | Viewed by 33739

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Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Carosi

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Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: tectonics; structural geology; collision tectonics; orogenic belts; shear zones; metamorphism; geochronology; Himalayan belt; Variscan belt; Ross Orogen; Alps; northern Apennines

Prof. Dr. Mario da Costa Campos Neto

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Departamento de Mineralogia e Geotectônica, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do lago, 562, CEP 05508-030 São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: tectonics; structural geology; metamorphism; geochronology; Brasiliano orogenic evolution

Prof. Dr. Haakon Fossen

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Department of Geoscience, University of Bergen, Box 7803 N-5020 Bergen, Norway
Interests: structural geology and tectonics, notably in the context of orogeny and orogenic collapse; core complex formation; rifting; shear zone evolution; transpression/transtension; fault growth and subseismic deformation

Prof. Dr. Chiara Montomoli

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Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: tectonics; structural geology; shear zone; fluids and deformation; shear zone and mineralizations; veins, petrochronology; Himalaya; Variscan belt; northern Apennines
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Dr. Matteo Simonetti

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Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: structural geology; microtectonics; geochronology; western Alps; Himalaya; Variscan belt

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The building of ancient and modern orogenic belts involves crustal thickening and often a journey of the lithosphere into the mantle and subsequent exhumation and uplift. In broad terms, plate tectonic theory has been able to explain the subduction process quite well since the sixties, while exhumation processes are still debated and in some tectonic settings still unclear. Regardless, both parts of the orogenic cycle deserve closer attention and a better understanding.

The architecture of mountain belts, the rheology of the crust, and the velocity of the processes affect the height and the width of the orogenies and their evolution. Localization of deformation and erosion could affect the tectonic history of wide portions of orogens.

In modern orogenic belts, we can observe active ongoing processes mainly at upper structural levels, whereas ancient orogenic belts represent windows into deeper parts of the crust. To formulate new and increasingly more complete models which can explain the whole evolution of orogens, it is therefore necessary to integrate data and observations obtained in both contexts. The complexity of geological processes through time, from the micro-scale to macro- or mega-scale, requires a multidisciplinary approach integrating modern analytical techniques and new ideas. In the last few years, the integration of data from different geological disciplines has unraveled a complex process in orogens and allowed us to better understand the evolution of different orogenic settings all around the world.

This Special Issue aims to integrate data and models from different disciplines. such as structural geology, numerical and physical modeling, isotope geochemistry, geophysics, tectonics, geochronology, petrology, and basin analysis, to better understand the processes and mechanisms governing the tectonic evolution of orogenic belts. Works that integrate different methods are particularly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Carosi
Prof. Dr. Mario da Costa Campos Neto
Prof. Dr. Haakon Fossen
Prof. Dr. Chiara Montomoli
Dr. Matteo Simonetti
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Orogens
Collisional tectonics
Subduction
Exhumation
Shear zones
Geochemistry
Magmatism
Metamorphism
Geochronology

Published Papers (9 papers)

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24 pages, 7543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Active Triclinic Transtension in a Volcanic Arc: A Case of the El Salvador Fault Zone in Central America

by Jorge Alonso-Henar, Carlos Fernández, José Antonio Álvarez-Gómez, Carolina Canora, Alejandra Staller, Manuel Díaz, Walter Hernández, Ángela Valeria García and José Jesús Martínez-Díaz

Geosciences 2022, 12(7), 266; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12070266 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1774

Abstract

The El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ) is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc and accommodates the oblique separation movement between the forearc sliver and the Chortis block (Caribbean Plate). In this work, a triclinic transtension model was applied to geological (fault-slip inversion, shape of volcanic calderas), seismic (focal mechanisms) and geodetic (GPS displacements) data to evaluate the characteristics of the last stages of the kinematic evolution of the arc. The El Salvador Fault Zone constitutes a large band of transtensional deformation whose direction varies between N90° E and N110° E. Its dip is about 70° S because it comes from the reactivation of a previous extensional stage. A protocol consisting of three successive steps was followed to compare the predictions of the model with the natural data. The results show a simple shear direction plunging between 20° and 50° W (triclinic flow) and a kinematic vorticity number that is mostly higher than 0.81 (simple-shearing-dominated flow). The direction of shortening of the coaxial component would be located according to the dip of the deformation band. It was concluded that this type of analytical model could be very useful in the kinematic study of active volcanic arcs, even though only information on small deformation increments is available. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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27 pages, 16002 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Constraining the Timing of Evolution of Shear Zones in Two Collisional Orogens: Fusing Structural Geology and Geochronology

by Rodolfo Carosi, Chiara Montomoli, Salvatore Iaccarino, Beatriz Benetti, Alessandro Petroccia and Matteo Simonetti

Geosciences 2022, 12(6), 231; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12060231 - 31 May 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2841

Abstract

In recent decades, constraining the timing of shear activity has been one of the main topics of research about the tectono-metamorphic evolution of orogenic belts. We present a review of a combined structural and geochronological approach to two major ductile regional shear zones, in two collisional orogens: the first one affecting the Variscan basement in northern Sardinia (Italy) and the External Crystalline Massifs of the Alps (East Variscan Shear Zone; EVSZ), and the second one deforming the medium- to high-grade rocks of the metamorphic core of the Himalaya (High Himalayan Discontinuity). High-resolution, texturally and chemically controlled monazite geochronology applied in separated shear zones of the Variscan belt allowed recognizing a similar timing of activity ranging between c. 340–330 and 300 Ma. This approach led to a better understanding of the evolution of the EVSZ, supporting a model where several branches were active according to a growth by linkage model. Following a similar approach, in situ U-Th-Pb analysis of monazite constrained the timing of top-to-the-S/SW shearing of a regional-scale High Himalayan Discontinuity in the Himalayan belt to between c. 28 Ma and 17 Ma. Earlier exhumation of the hanging wall was triggered by shear zone activity, whereas at the same time, the footwall was still experiencing burial with increasing P-T conditions. The timing of shearing of this shear zone fits with an in-sequence shearing tectonic model for the exhumation of the Himalayan mid-crust. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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29 pages, 15539 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Imbrication and Erosional Tectonics Recorded by Garnets in the Sikkim Himalayas

by Elizabeth J. Catlos, Chandra S. Dubey and Thomas M. Etzel

Geosciences 2022, 12(4), 146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12040146 - 24 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3660

Abstract

The Sikkim region of the Himalayas (NE India) may form an important microplate between Nepal and Bhutan. Here we report high-resolution pressure-temperature (P-T) paths taken from garnet-bearing rocks across the northern and eastern portion of the region’s Main Central Thrust (MCT) shear zone. The MCT separates units affiliated with the Greater Himalayan Crystallines (GHC) in its hanging wall from the Lesser Himalayan Formation (LHF). Late Miocene monazite ages are reported from the LHF (10–14 Ma), whereas those from the GHC are Miocene (18–20 Ma). Some paths from the LHF and GHC show a P decrease before burial, consistent with erosion before compression. MCT shear zone and GHC rocks show a P increase and then decrease over a short T interval. This hairpin P-T path is consistent with an imbrication model for the Himalayas. LHF P-T path conditions and those obtained using conventional thermobarometry are best in agreement. These paths also are consistent with observed mineral assemblages and garnet zoning. Although we have the most confidence in LHF results, MCT shear zone and GHC P-T path shapes suggest processes to establish imbrication tectonics may have occurred here as early as the Miocene. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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28 pages, 13971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Late Cenozoic Evolution and Present Tectonic Setting of the Aegean–Hellenic Arc

by Enzo Mantovani, Daniele Babbucci, Caterina Tamburelli and Marcello Viti

Geosciences 2022, 12(3), 104; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12030104 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3182

Abstract

The Aegean–Hellenic arc is a deformed sector of a long heterogeneous orogenic system (Tethyan belt), constituted by an inner old metamorphic crystalline core flanked by younger chains of European and African affinity, running from the Anatolian to the Pelagonian zones. Due to the convergence between the Arabian promontory and the Eurasian continental domain, the Anatolian sector of that belt has undergone a westward extrusion, accommodated by oroclinal bending, at the expense of the surrounding low buoyancy domains. Since the late Miocene, when the Aegean Tethyan belt collided with the Adriatic continental promontory, the southward bowing of the Aegean–Hellenic sector accelerated, leading to the consumption of the Levantine and Ionian oceanic domains and to the formation of the Mediterranean Ridge accretionary complex. The peculiar distribution of extensional and compressional deformation in the Aegean zone has mainly been influenced by the different rheological behaviours of the mainly ductile inner core (Cyclades arc) and of the mainly brittle outer belt (Hellenic arc). The bowing of the inner belt developed without involving any major fragmentation, whereas the outer brittle belt underwent a major break in its most curved sector, which led to the separation of the eastern (Crete–Rhodes) and western (Peloponnesus) Hellenic sectors. After separation, these structures underwent different shortening patterns, respectively driven by the convergence between southwestern Anatolia and the Libyan continental promontory (Crete–Rhodes) and by the convergence between the Cycladic Arc and the Adriatic continental domain (Peloponnesus). A discussion is given about the compatibility of the observed deformation pattern with the main alternative geodynamic interpretations and with the Nubia–Eurasia relative motions so far proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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29 pages, 80409 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Reconstructing the Variscan Terranes in the Alpine Basement: Facts and Arguments for an Alpidic Orocline

by Michel Faure and Jacky Ferrière

Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 65; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12020065 - 30 Jan 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6211

Abstract

The existence of pieces of the Variscan belt in the Alpine basement has been acknowledged for a long time but the correlation of these massifs to the litho-tectonic domains established in Western Europa outside the Alpine chain is still disputed. Due to their ubiquitous character, the abundant late Variscan migmatites and granites are useless to reconstruct the Variscan architecture in the Alpine basement. Ophiolitic sutures, high- and low-grade metamorphic units, and foreland basins provide a preliminary reconstruction of the Variscan orogen exposed in the Alpine basement. The longitudinal extension of the Armorican and Saxo-Thuringian microcontinents between Laurussia and Gondwana is proposed independently of the Intra-alpine and Galatian terranes. The litho-tectonic units of the Corsica-Sardinia segment are correlated to the Moldanubian, Armorican and Saxo-Thuringian Domains. In the Alpine Helvetic and Penninic Domains, the Chamrousse ophiolites are ascribed to the Tepla-Le Conquet suture, whereas the Lepontine, and Stubach ophiolites represent the Rheic suture. The south-directed nappe stack of the South Alpine Domain is similar to the Moldanubian French Massif Central. In the Austroalpine nappe stack, the Ritting ophiolites separate Saxo-Thuringia and Armorica continental blocks. Disentangling the Variscan belt in the Alpine basement suggests a concave-to-the-East arcuate structure called here the Variscan Alpidic orocline. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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36 pages, 14596 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Basic Role of Extrusion Processes in the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Western and Central Mediterranean Belts

by Marcello Viti, Enzo Mantovani, Daniele Babbucci, Caterina Tamburelli, Marcello Caggiati and Alberto Riva

Geosciences 2021, 11(12), 499; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences11120499 - 07 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3718

Abstract

Tectonic activity in the Mediterranean area (involving migrations of old orogenic belts, formation of basins and building of orogenic systems) has been determined by the convergence of the confining plates (Nubia, Arabia and Eurasia). Such convergence has been mainly accommodated by the consumption of oceanic and thinned continental domains, triggered by the lateral escapes of orogenic wedges. Here, we argue that the implications of the above basic concepts can allow plausible explanations for the very complex time-space distribution of tectonic processes in the study area, with particular regard to the development of Trench-Arc-Back Arc systems. In the late Oligocene and lower–middle Miocene, the consumption of the eastern Alpine Tethys oceanic domain was caused by the eastward to SE ward migration/bending of the Alpine–Iberian belt, driven by the Nubia–Eurasia convergence. The crustal stretching that developed in the wake of that migrating Arc led to formation of the Balearic basin, whereas accretionary activity along the trench zone formed the Apennine belt. Since the collision of the Anatolian–Aegean–Pelagonian system (extruding westward in response to the indentation of the Arabian promontory) with the Nubia-Adriatic continental domain, around the late Miocene–early Pliocene, the tectonic setting in the central Mediterranean area underwent a major reorganization, aimed at activating a less resisted shortening pattern, which led to the consumption of the remnant oceanic and thinned continental domains in the central Mediterranean area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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62 pages, 12132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tectonic Transport Directions, Shear Senses and Deformation Temperatures Indicated by Quartz c-Axis Fabrics and Microstructures in a NW-SE Transect across the Moine and Sgurr Beag Thrust Sheets, Caledonian Orogen of Northern Scotland

by Richard D. Law, J. Ryan Thigpen, Sarah E. Mazza, Calvin A. Mako, Maarten Krabbendam, Brandon M. Spencer, Kyle T. Ashley, Robin A. Strachan and Ella F. Davis

Geosciences 2021, 11(10), 411; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences11100411 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2870

Abstract

Moine metasedimentary rocks of northern Scotland are characterized by arcuate map patterns of mineral lineations that swing progressively clockwise from orogen-perpendicular E-trending lineations in greenschist facies mylonites above the Moine thrust on the foreland edge of the Caledonian Orogen, to S-trending lineations at higher structural levels and metamorphic grades in the hinterland. Quartz c-axis fabrics measured on a west to east coast transect demonstrate that the lineations developed parallel to the maximum principal extension direction and therefore track the local tectonic transport direction. Microstructures and c-axis fabrics document a progressive change from top to the N shearing in the hinterland to top to the W shearing on the foreland edge. Field relationships indicate that the domain of top to the N shearing was at least 55 km wide before later horizontal shortening on km-scale W-vergent folds that detach on the underlying Moine thrust. Previously published data from the Moine thrust mylonites demonstrate that top to the W shearing had largely ceased by 430 Ma, while preliminary isotopic age data suggest top to the N shearing occurred at ~470–450 Ma. In addition, data from the east coast end of our transect indicate normal-sense top down-SE shearing at close to peak temperatures at ~420 Ma that may be related to the closing stages of Scandian deformation, metamorphism and cooling/exhumation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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25 pages, 7926 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Record of Crustal Thickening and Synconvergent Extension from the Dajiamang Tso Rift, Southern Tibet

by William B. Burke, Andrew K. Laskowski, Devon A. Orme, Kurt E. Sundell, Michael H. Taylor, Xudong Guo and Lin Ding

Geosciences 2021, 11(5), 209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences11050209 - 12 May 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3683

Abstract

North-trending rifts throughout south-central Tibet provide an opportunity to study the dynamics of synconvergent extension in contractional orogenic belts. In this study, we present new data from the Dajiamang Tso rift, including quantitative crustal thickness estimates calculated from trace/rare earth element zircon data, U-Pb geochronology, and zircon-He thermochronology. These data constrain the timing and rates of exhumation in the Dajiamang Tso rift and provide a basis for evaluating dynamic models of synconvergent extension. Our results also provide a semi-continuous record of Mid-Cretaceous to Miocene evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogenic belt along the India-Asia suture zone. We report igneous zircon U-Pb ages of ~103 Ma and 70–42 Ma for samples collected from the Xigaze forearc basin and Gangdese Batholith/Linzizong Formation, respectively. Zircon-He cooling ages of forearc rocks in the hanging wall of the Great Counter thrust are ~28 Ma, while Gangdese arc samples in the footwalls of the Dajiamang Tso rift are 16–8 Ma. These data reveal the approximate timing of the switch from contraction to extension along the India-Asia suture zone (minimum 16 Ma). Crustal-thickness trends from zircon geochemistry reveal possible crustal thinning (to ~40 km) immediately prior to India-Eurasia collision onset (58 Ma). Following initial collision, crustal thickness increases to 50 km by 40 Ma with continued thickening until the early Miocene supported by regional data from the Tibetan Magmatism Database. Current crustal thickness estimates based on geophysical observations show no evidence for crustal thinning following the onset of E–W extension (~16 Ma), suggesting that modern crustal thickness is likely facilitated by an underthrusting Indian lithosphere balanced by upper plate extension. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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24 pages, 2991 KiB

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Vestiges of the Pre-Caledonian Passive Margin of Baltica in the Scandinavian Caledonides: Overview, Revisions and Control on the Structure of the Mountain Belt

by Torgeir B. Andersen, Johannes Jakob, Hans Jørgen Kjøll and Christian Tegner

Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 57; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences12020057 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3031

Abstract

The Pre-Caledonian margin of Baltica has been outlined as a tapering wedge with increasing magmatism towards the ocean–continent transition. It is, however, well known that margins are complex, with different and diachronous evolution along and across strike. Baltica’s vestiges in the Scandes have complexities akin to modern margins. It included a microcontinent and magma-poor hyperextended and magma-rich segments. It was probably up to 1500 km wide before distal parts were affected by plate convergence. Characteristic features are exhumed mantle peridotites and their detrital equivalents, some exposed to the seafloor by the pre-orogenic hyperextension. A major change in the architecture of the mountain belt occurred across the NW–SE trending Sveconorwegian front in the Baltican basement. This coincided with the NE termination of the Jotun-Lindås-Dalsfjord basement nappes, the remains of the Jotun Microcontinent (JMC) formed by hyperextension prior to the orogeny. Mantle with ophicalcite breccias exhumed by hyperextension are covered by deep-marine sediments and local conglomerates. Baltican basement slivers are common in the transitional crust basins. Outboard the JMC, the margin was magma-rich. The main break-up magmatism at 605 ± 10 Ma was part of the vast Central Iapetus Magmatic Province. The along-strike heterogeneity of the margin controlled diachronous and contrasting tectonic evolution during the later Caledonian plate convergence and collision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution of Modern and Ancient Orogenic Belts)

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