Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan orogen

Volume 08, 2002

The Alpine-Himalayan belt is a young orogen, a continuous belt of Mesozoic and Cenozoic deformation stretching from Spain to New Zealand.

The advent of plate tectonics 35 years ago provided an explanation for the large-scale plate kinematics associated with Alpine-Himalayan orogeny. However, when it comes to details, plate tectonics has proved to be insufficient to reconstruct this complex system. In reality, the Alpine-Himalayan orogen has been subjected to numerous processes involving motions of smaller continental ribbons, retreating subduction systems, back-arc extension and accretion of magmatic arcs.

In order to reconstruct the Alpine-Himalayan system, we need to analyse data derived from multidisciplinary sources and develop sets of spatio-temporal constraints. We can then test these constraints against a set of possible alternative reconstructions.

On the extension in western Anatolia and the Aegean sea

C. Doglioni, S. Agostini, M. Crespi, F. Innocenti, P. Manetti, F. Riguzzi, and Y. Savasci

Arc-trench-back arc systems in the Mediterranean area: examples of extrusion tectonics

Enzo Mantovani, Dario Albarello, Daniele Babbucci, Caterina Tamburelli, and Marcello Viti