Tectonophysics, 63 (1980) 31-61 0 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

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EASTERN EUROPEAN ALPINE SYSTEM AND THE CARPATHIAN OROCLINE AS AN EXAMPLE OF COLLISION TECTONICS

B.C. BURCHFIEL Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam bridge, Mass. 02139 (U.S.A.)

ABSTRACT Burchfiel, B.C., 1960. Eastern European Alpine system and the Carpathian orocline as an example of collision tectonics. In: M.R. Banks and D.H. Green (Editors), Orthodoxy and Creativity at the Frontiers of Earth Sciences (Carey Symposium). Tectonophysics, 63: 31-61. Although the two mountain belts of the Eastern European Alpine system (the Dinaric-Hellenic and Carpathian-Balkan belts) form two bifurcating but continuous mountain terranes their internal structural development is conspicuously diachronous and is dependent upon the relative motion of at least three fragments of continental crust which lay between the European and African plate. In Late Jurassic time the three fragments of continental crust were separated by narrow zones of oceanic crust and palinspastic reconstructions of the continental fragments indicate they were considerably larger than their present size and had different shapes. Convergence of continental fragments began in the Late Jurassic by subduction of oceanic crust, but upon complete disappearance of oceanic crust, convergence continued with subduction of small(?) amounts of lower continental crust. During continent--eontinent convergence, the upper lo-15 km of the continental crust were detached forming thrust sheets as the lower crust is thickened and in part(?) subducted. The Carpathian orocline formed by the complex suturing of continental fragments against an irregular European plate boundary and developed during diachronous collision of fragments which began in the Middle Cretaceous and continued to the Recent. Only one narrow fragment of continental crust is oroclinally bent; the European plate to the east and continental fragment to the west of the Eastern Carpathians are not bent. The continental fragments do not behave as rigid plates, but are strongly internally deformed. Thus, the motion of these small continental fragments cannot always be treated in the same way as large plates. During suturing the three primary plates were fragmented into more complex arrays of small fragments whose boundaries cross cut earlier boundaries. Furthermore, it is doubted whether meaningful plate boundaries can be identified between the fragments and the fragments may be more realistically described as continuously deformed fragments of continental crust. The interpretation presented here suggests that the geologic data that remains in the erogenic belts for determining the magnitude of convergence between fragments always yields a minimum value. Much of the evidence for the magnitude of convergence between fragments is lost during subduction and collision processes.

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The Alpine moun~n system of Eastern Europe, consisting of the Eastern Alps, Western, Eastern and Southern Carpathians, Balkan fountains, Dinaric and Hellenic Alps (Fig. l), forms two mountainous belts with very different trends. The Dinaric-Hellenic belt contains northwest-trending linear mountains whereas the Eastern Alps and the Carpathian-Balkan belt form a great

Fig. 1. Generalized tectonic map of the Eastern European Alpine system. Black = ophiolites; vertical lined zone = Pieniny Klippen zone. EA = Eastern Alps; WC = West Carpathian; PK = Pieniny Klippen zone; EC = Baatern Carpathians;A = Apuseni Mountains; SC = South Carpathians; BM = Balkan Mountains; ND = North Dobrogea; V = Vardar zone; HA = Hellenic Alps; DA = Dinaric Alps; SA = South Alps; AA = Adriatic Sea; BS = Black Sea; AS = Aegean Sea; M = Moesian plain; PB = Pannonian basin; TB = Transylvanian basin; PP = PO plain; RP = Russian platform; EP = European platform; RM = Rhodopian Mountains.

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double looped trend of mountains. Structures within these two belts generally follow the two mountainous belts, and superficially the structures appear more or less continuous, but nothing could be further from the truth. Structures within the two belts have formed diachronously over a period of nearly 150 m.y. and are the result of convergence and collision between several different fragments of continental crust as small regions of oceanic crust were eliminated between some of the fragments. None of the continental fragments, and presumably the now disappeared oceanic crust, behaved rigidly, thus it is difficult to call the fragments microplates in the same sense that the term is used for the large plates which make up the firstorder plate tectonic mosaic of the globe, In want of a better term, I will refer to these pieces of continental and continental plus oceanic crust as fragments, and not microplates, to emphasize that the fragments are severely deformed internally and their movement and deformation does not obey the same rules as relatively more rigid first-order plates. The characteristics of the movement and deformation of these fragments will become evident during the discussion of the evolution of the Eastern European Alpine system. Basic data to support the tectonic evolution presented here cannot be fully documented in this paper. However, several summary articles on various parts of the Eastern European Alpine belts are available, and provide overviews and extensive biblio~phies; the following references can be consulted: Eastern Alps - Tollman (1963, 1968) and Oxburgh (1968,1974); Carpathians - Andrusov (1965, 1968), Sandulescu (1974) and Burchfiel and Bleahu (1976); Balkan Mountains - Foose and Manheim (1975); Dinarides - Aubouin (1973) and Aubouin et al. (1970); Hellenides Aubouin (1973) and Smith and Moores (1974). The quality of geologic understanding in different parts of the belts is very uneven which means that any synthesis may be subject to considerable revision as new data becomes available.
THE ALPINE EPISODE

The time span of events regarded as Alpine ranges from Triassic to Recent. Continental configurations at the beginning of the Alpine episode are obtained by closing the Atlantic Ocean, and they show an eastward widening ocean terrane, co~espond~g to the Tethys of Seuss (1893), between Europe and Africa being approximately 1000 km wider at the longitude of Greece than at present. The width of this oceanic terrane varies depending upon which Atlantic reconstruction is favored. Throughout the Alpine system of the Mediterranean west of Turkey, no Triassic rocks of deep oceanic character and no remnants of oceanic crust older than late Middle Jurassic have been recognized. Early Mesozoic sedimentary rocks suggest that most of the western part of Tethys was underlain by continental and not oceanic crust. With the recognition that within the Alpine system of the M~ite~ean

34

there are several fragments of continental material which lie between Europe and Africa, attempts have been made to rearrange many of these fragments into a Triassic western Mediterranean area floored by continental crust (for example: Hsu, 1972, and Dewey et al., 1973). Much of the Tethyan seaway of the eastern Mediterranean probably also was underlain by continental crust, but the present extent of continental material in continental fragments within the Alpine system is insufficient to floor most of eastern Tethys with continental crust. However, from examination of the structure of the Eastern European Alpine system it is clear that not only has oceanic crust been subducted, but unknown amounts of the lower parts of the continental crust have been subducted whereas the upper parts have been imbricated and shortened. Unravelling of the convergence and shortening of continental fragments which has occurred in the Eastern European Alpine system leads to the conclusion that the present shape and mass of the fragments are not their original shapes and masses; they were much larger before collision and thus may have floored much of eastern Tethys. Remnants of oceanic crust (ophiolites) and sedimentary rocks that can be interpreted to have been deposited on oceanic crust are present in the Alpine system. None of these rocks, however, can be dated as older than late Middle Jurassic and most of them are Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous in age. This suggests that if the break-up of continental crust within Tethys began in Early Mesozoic time, no oceanic crust was formed until Middle or Late Jurassic time. The early extension and transform stage of the Alpine system will not be treated here. The focus of this paper will be on the convergence and collision of fragments which began in the Late Jurassic shortly after oceanic crust was formed in the eastern Mediterranean region.
IDENTIFICATION OF INTRA-ALPINE FRAGMENTS

Within the Eastern European Alpine system during Late Jurassic time at least four fragments can be identified (Fig. 2) which are referred to here as the Apulian, Rhodopian, Moesian and North Dobrogean fragments. These fragments lay between first-order European and African plates and at various times during their history, the fragments were attached to the plates and moved with them. Remnants of Late Mesozoic oceanic rocks are present in many places between the fragments and the geologic evolution of the area indicates Late Mesozoic oceanic rocks were present between the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments, and between these fragments and the European plate. Late Mesozoic oceanic rocks were probably present between the Rhodopian fragment and the northern and western parts of the Moesian fragment. Whether oceanic rocks were present between the southern part of the Moesian fragment and the Rhodopian fragment is uncertain. My preference is that there was oceanic crust between the two, but the evidence in the present day Balkan Mountains is equivocal. No oceanic rocks were present along the boundaries of the North Dobrogean fragment. Rocks in North

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Fig. 2. Plates and fragments in the Eastern European Alpine system. E = European plate; R = Russian plate; A = Apulian fragment; ND = North Dobrogean fragment; M = Moesian fragment; R = Rhodopian fragment; OR = Oceanic remnants between the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments.

Dobrogea have a very different pre4enomania.n history from the rocks of the Moesian fragment and European-Russian plate and its boundaries are probably fault zones of large strike-slip displacement. These fragments involve the lithosphere and are bounded by zones of large displacement. For most of the fragments, the remnants of oceanic rocks between them represent boundaries along which narrow terranes (several hundred kilometers) of Late Mesozoic oceanic crust were subducted as fragments of continental crust converged and collided. During convergence the fragments probably moved as part of the lithosphere, but at times shallow parts of some fragments were detached from the rest of the lithosphere and formed imbricated thrust sheets. Thus in Late Jurassic time, the fragments, except North Dobrogea, consisted of both oceanic and continental crust and their boundaries were entirely within oceanic lithosphere. Times of deformation within and along the boundaries of the fragments are shown in Fig. 3. From this compilation it is evident that deformation was diachronous and shifted from one mountain belt to the other reflecting the shift from one fragment boundary to another. The shifting of tectonic activity from one boundary to another, or the changes in direction of motion alond boundaries, appear in the geologic record as episodes or phases of deformation. In order to reconstruct the structural evolution of the belts, the convergent, transcurrent and extensional displacements were reversed in sequence and by a magnitude thought to be consistent with the geologic evidence. The results, progressing from the oldest to the youngest events, are presented and discussed below; however, it should be kept in mind that the reconstructions were made in reverse order.

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Fig. 3. Times of deformation in the Eastern European Alpine system. I = Latest Jurassic to pre-AIbian time; 2 = Albian time; 3 = Cenomanian to Turonian time; 4 = Coniacian to Paleocene time; 5 = Eocene to Oligocene time; 6 = Miocene time; 7 = Pliocene time.

During convergence, oceanic crust was diacbronously subducted and continental collision occurred along different &agment boundaries at different times. As suturing took place between continental fragments, the &agments combined and enlarged, however, sometimes new boundaries developed within fragments to form smaller units. Thus, the number and identity of fragments changes temporally. In the following discussion the four fragments present in Late Jurassic time will be followed through to the Recent, although during various time periods different fragment nomenclature could be used.

37 LATEST JURASSIC TO ALBIAN EVENTS

The position of the fragments in Late Jurassic time is uncertain. A, guess as to their possible positions is shown in Fig. 4. The size and shape of continental crust in the fragments was considerably different than at present. By unrolling the intraplate deformation, a conservative estimate of the original configuration of continental crust is shown in Fig. 4. Boundaries of the fragments along the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Sea coasts have no structural significance as the fragments extend beyond these artificial boundaries. The first geologic evidence to suggest convergence of fragments is present in latest Jurassic rocks. Within what is now the Vardar zone (Fig. 1) separating the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments, is Late Jurassic flysch locally containing volcanic detritus that was deformed and intruded by a small granitic stock in latest Jurassic time. Metamorphism of the flysch under conditions of high pressure and low temperature may have taken place at that time, but the time of metamorphism is unclear. The Late Jurassic rocks in the Vardar zone suggest that convergence of fragments began by subduction of oceanic crust to a degree sufficient to produce volcanic rocks (perhaps 100-200 km). The polarity of subduction is uncertain, but eastward dipping imbricate thrusts in the Vardar zone suggest eastward subduction, however the east dip may be the result of later deformational events. If the volcanic rocks are related to subduction, volcanism must have taken place in an oceanic terrane, because Late Jurassic rocks resting on adjacent continental crust do not contain volcanic detritus. The position of subduction zones and volcanic islands relative to adjacent continental crust is unknown because later subduction and superposed deformation has greatly obscured the early history of these rocks. Geologic evidence for Early Cretaceous events (to Albian time) is more widespread. Calcalkaline volcanic rocks and their detritus are present in Early Cretaceous flysch along many parts of the oceanic terrane that lay southwest of the Rhodopian fragment. At least part of this volcanic activity may have been adjacent to the continental crust in the Rhodopian fragment as Early Cretaceous plutonism and metamorphism occurred within continental crust at the southern end of the Rhodopian fragment. If the igneous rocks are subduction derived, the polarity and number of the subduction zones is uncertain. Only along the southeastern part of the Rhodopian fragment, does the plutonism and high temperature metamorphism east of the high-pressure (glaucophane only) metamorphism in the flysch of the Vardar Zone suggest eastward subduction beneath the Rhodopian fragment. Convergent events of minor(?) significance are recorded by local underthrusting along the northeast side of Rhodopian continental crust by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (pre-Barremian) flysch and local folding of Early Cretaceous flysch along the southern part of the Moesian fragment. This folding may be related to earlier phases of continent to continent collision which continue into the Albian. Along the southwest side of the north end

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Latest

Jurassic - Atbion

Fig. 4. Sugge8ted position8 of fragments and location of structural deformation in the time period West Jurassic to pre-Albiin. As long as regions of oceanic crust separate the continental part8 of the plates their relative location is speculative. Heavy lines indicate areas of thrusting or folding documented from remnants preserved in the present day mountain system. Open barbs indicate B-type subduction (subduction of oceanic lithosphere) and closed barbs indicate A-type subduction (shortening and/or partial eubduction of continental crust). Triangles represent the suggested location of arc volcanism. S-shaped lines are areas of metamorphigm and black circke are locations of plutons. Dashed line at top of diagram is the present location of the Carpathian-Balkan front, solid linea are suggested extent of continental crust and dotted lines are the prerent size8 of fragment boundaries. Dashed lines dong boundaries of the fragments are present day boundaries along the Black, Aegean and Adriatic Seas and have no structural significance. Shaded area indicates possible extent of oceanic crust. E = European plate; R = Russian plate; ND = North Dobrogea; M = Moesian fragment; R = Rhodopean fragment; A = Apuhan fragment; TN = Transylvanian nappes; Oph. = Ophiolite nappe. LJ = dated Date Jurassic metamorphism.

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of the Rhodopian fragment, wildflysch of Early Cretaceous age with basic volcanic detritus and numerous large olistoliths of exotic pre-Albian Mesozoic carbonate rocks is present resting on what was probably the western edge of Rhodopian continental crust. The tectonic significance of #is wildflysch event is uncertain. One of the most significant events in the history of the Dinaric-Hellenic belt, the emplacement of ophiolites onto the eastern edge of the Apulian continental crust, occurred during pre-Albian time. The exact time of emplacement is uncertain and may have been diachronous, but data from Yugoslavia suggests a very Early Cretaceous age whereas data from Greece suggest a Late Jurassie or Early Cretaceous age. The fact that these ophiolites are dated as having formed in Late Jurassic time indicates they were obducted very shortly after they were formed. No evidence of arc-type volcanic rocks are present at the top of the ophiolites suggesting eastward subduction was minimal before the ophiolites were abducted. Probably the initial magnitude of ophiolite emplacement was between 50 and 100 km. Their present structural positions have been greatly modified by later events. In summary, the earliest convergent events from Late Jurassic to Albian time recorded in the Eastern European Alpine system generated subduction within a largely oceanic terrane and produced small volcanic islands chains southwest of the Rhodopian fragment. During this time period, perhaps ZOO-300 km of oceanic crust was consumed to form the volcanic islands and another 100 km to abduct the ophiolites onto the Apulian plate. Convergence was probably more or less continuous and during this time period there was significant closing of the oceanic terrane southwest of the Rhodopian fragment. Although the other boundaries of the fragments were undoubtedly active as transform or accreting boundaries, no direct evidence for the nature of these boundaries remains. It is clear that at this time the fragments consisted of both continental and oceanic crust, but evidence for the position, polarity and convergence vector of subduction zones has been largely destroyed by later events. In the Eastern European Alpine system the geological evidence suggests that during convergent events, where fragments or plates consist of both oceanic and continental crust, subduction is first developed in the oceanic terrane, where subduction of oceanic lithosphere is the most favored process, and as convergence continues, much of the evidence for the structural history of the oceanic terrance is lost. During and after collision of continental crust, only very fra~ent~ evidence for earlier oceanic events remains, thus it is extremely difficult to reconstruct the earliest convergent events. Where convergent events affect continental crust, the record is more complete, because continental crust is not readily subducted.
ALBIAN EVENTS The first continent to continent collision occurred during Albian time, and is best documented in the Southern Carpathians where the Rhodopian

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and Moesian fragments collided along a west-dipping subduction zone (Fig. 5). Debris eroded from the Rhodopian continental crust and from oceanic rocks that had lain between the two fragments is present in the Albian and younger sedimentary rocks deposited on the Moesian fragment. If a major collisional event occurred to the south in the Balkan mountains, then the convergence must have occurred at about Albian time as Cenomanian sedimentary rocks rest on deformed and metamorphosed Mesozoic and older rocks. The Moesian continental crust may have under-thrust the Rhodopian continent crust by at least 100 km, as suggested by Tollmann (1968). Evidence for an event of this magnitude in the Balkan Mountains is weak, however most workers in the Balkan Mountains are prone to play down the role of thrusting in favor of deep faults, vertical tectonics and rhegmatic shears. Along its northern part, the continental crust of the Rhodopian fragment was narrowed by internal thrusting by as much as 60-100 km. Within what is now the inner crystalline zone of the Eastern Carpathians there are three

,r

--

----.\

Albian
Fig, 5. Suggested position of fragments and areas of thrusting and volcanism during Albian time. Stippled region is area of intra-cratonic A-type subduction. For explanation of used symbols see Fig. 4.

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east-directed thrust plates each involving pre-Mesozoic crystalline rocks and a fourth and highest thrust plate, probably emplaced by gravity sliding, which involves only Mesozoic cover rocks. This thrust complex. is itself underthrust along the eastern side by Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous flysch that was probably deposited on oceanic crust and partially subducted in Albian time. All of these thrust-faults and associated folds are overlapped by Cenomanian molasse. The amount of subduction along the eastern margin of the Rhodopian fragment is probably less than 100 km as no evidence of contemporaneous volcanism is present. Only the metamorphism in the eastern Balkan Mountains might suggest deep seated plutonism. Narrowing of continental crust, as in the northern Rhodopian fragment, is a characteristic for most fragments and plates in the Alpine system. The thrusts which involve pre-Mesozoic crystalline continental crust are commonly no more than lo-15 km thick and the Mesozoic rocks they carry range from shallow water or non-marine sedimentary rocks to deep water pelagic rocks. During deposition of these sediments, crustal thickness must have been about 30 km for the shallow water sediments and about 10 km or less for the pelagic sediments which were deposited on attenuated continental crust (Trumpy, 1975). None of the thrust sheets carrying crystalline rocks in the Eastern European Alpine system contain rocks of types characteristic of the lower continental crust (such as are present in some thrusts in the Western Alps [e.g., Giese, 19681). Thus in palinspastic reconstructions these thrust sheets must have had rocks of the lower continental crust beneath them over a width of from 60 to 100 km. Sedimentary rocks in the northern Rhodopian fragment were deposited mostly in shallow water suggesting normal crustal thickness in this area prior to thrusting. If all of these lower crustal rocks were still present below the Carpathians a crustal thickness of more than 60 km would be expected. Crustal thicknesses of between 25 and 47 km are now present in this area, suggesting that some lower continental crustal rocks have been subducted into the mantle by processes perhaps different from subduction of oceanic crust. Throughout succeeding episodes of convergence in the Eastern European Alpine system, this structural problem re-occurs: crystalline thrust sheets of 10-100 km displacement are detached from within the upper 15 km with the continental crust and the lower parts of the continental crust cannot be accommodated in the present crustal thicknesses. Helwig (1976) has argued that all continental crustal material can be accounted for by thickening during collision and deformation. He points out that much of the continental crust in the Eastern Alps may have been thin crust, attentuated during geosynclinal rifting, and thus the amount of lower crustal rocks that need to be accounted for in the root of the orogen is much less than normal crustal thickness. While the data are insufficient at present to prove subduction of lower continental crust along with the rest of the lithosphere, it is a process that must be considered and one that perhaps has occurred in the Eastern European Alpine system. Bally (1975) has proposed that subduction which involves underthrusting

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of oceanic crust be called B-type (or Benioff-type) subduction and subduction which involves the underthrusting of continental crust below continental crust be called A-type (or Alpine- or Ampferer-type). These terms are useful to distinguish the two types of subduction and will be used here. It can be seen from the discussion above that continental fragments, or plates for that matter, that have oceanic crust around them, begin convergence by B-type subduction and after collision continue convergence by A-type subduction with most of the structures formed during the earlier B-type subduction becoming strongly modified or subducted. All the thrusts within the northern part of the Rhodopian continental crust are of the A-type with continental crustal material carried under other continental crust (A-type subduction), but the mechanism for producing these thrusts is not clear because no collision of continental crust took place at this time in the northern part of the Rhodopian fragment. Three possible mechanisms can be proposed for thursting within continental crust: (1) continued convergence during and after collision of continental fragments at a subduction boundary; (2) partial subduction and imbrication of a continental fragment which was carried into a former B-type subduction zone; and (3) imbricate thrusting of continental crust above a B-type subduction zone. The first mechanism is easily visualized, because once all oceanic crust has been subducted between continental fragments, but convergence continues, yielding can only take place within continental crust. This mechanism does not appear applicable to the thrusts in the northern part of the Rhodopian fragment as this continental fragment was probably surrounded by oceanic crust at this time. It is possible, but unlikely, that other continental fragments, not shown in the reconstructions because they have been nearly wholly subducted, collided with the west coast of the Rhodopian continental crust along a west-dipping subduction zone. Remnants of these continental fragments might now be represented in the highest structural units of the Eastern Carpathians (i.e., the Tmnsylvanian Nappes). The second mechanism would suggest that a westward dipping B-type subduction zone was present west of the Rhodopian fragment into which the Rhodopian continental crust passed with the lower part of the continental crust becoming detached and being subducted as the upper part was deformed and imbricated but not subducted. This mechanism is supported by the fact that flysch sequences with rare volcanic rocks were present in the oceanic area west of the Rhodopian fragment. However under the proposed model, the abduction of oceanic crust into the Rhodopian continental crust would be expected but is not present. Thus, this mechanism is not completely supported by the evidence. The third mechanism is more complex but consistent with most of the geologic evidence. B-type subduction beneath continental crust may generate sufficient horizontal compression in the overriding plate to cause either synthetic (i.e., thrusting parallel to and in the same sense as the subduction) or antithetic (i.e. thrusting along faults dipping opposite to the dip of the subduction zone and whose sense is opposite to that of the subduc-

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tion zone) thrusting. In the Eastern European Alpine system both types are present. Detachment of upper from lower continental crust is probably facilitated by intrusion of magma into the overriding plate raising the level of the brittle-ductile transition within the crust. Detachment of thrusts is localized near the brittlelluctile~transition and the lower parts of the continental crust are partially or wholly subducted with the remainder of the lithosphere. Geologic evidence supports westward subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the Rhodopian fragment as flysch sequences were underthrust westward beneath Rhodopian continental crust at this time, and elevated temperatures are suggested by low-grade Alpine metamorphism at the base of some crystalline thrust sheets which in this case are synthetic to the main B-type subduction. The key question is whether intracratonic crustal shortening (Atype subduction) requires continent-continent collision, or sufficient stress can be generated in the subduction process itself to cause thrusting. The latter is supported by the geologic relations in the northern part of the Rhodopian fragment; however, the problem re-occurs again during later convergent events. Within the oceanic terrane southwest of the Rhodopian fragment, structural events are recorded, but are of unknown significance. Minor volcanic activity suggests subduction, but of lesser magnitude than in pre-Albian times, and an unconformity between Cenomanian and Early Cretaceous rocks is widespread. Along the northern boundary of the Apulian fragment Albian deformation is recorded locally. Flysch units in the Eastern Alps contain detrital chromite which suggests erosion of ultramafic rocks that might have been exposed during subduction. The significance of these data is unclear and is still being examined, for example see the discussions in Trumpy (1975), Tollmann (1963) and Oxburgh (1974). The data suggest convergence was active for the first time along the northern boundary of the Apulian fragment, and the motion between Apulian fragment and the European plate may have changed to a more northerly (convergent) direction and increased the importance of transform relative to subduction motion along the boundary in the oceanic terrane to the east. This seems to be clearly the case in Cenomanian to Coniacian time (see below). In post-Tithonian pre-Cenomanian time folding and thrusting occurred in North Dobrogea and the Moesian fragment was joined to North Dobrogea: the steep northwest trending fault that separates these two units is overlapped by Cenomanian molasse. Deformation may be Albian or as old as latest Jurassic and is the westernmost continuation of deformation in the Caucasus Mountains. No oceanic crust appears to have been present adjacent to North Dobrogea and the structural development is intracratonic. The North Dobrogean deformed zone is a foreland belt, external to the main Alpine erogenic belt, and the amount of deformation in North Dobrogea is small and perhaps negligible compared to the deformation within the main part of the orogen. The deformation is, however, a result of movement between the Moesian and North Dobrogean fragments and the Russian plate,

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and probably was the result of dextral(?) transform motion with a compressional component. In summary, the major events during Albian time are: (1) the collision of the Rhodopian and Moesian fragments accompanied by considerable internal deformation, bending and narrowing of the Rhodopian continental crust; and (2) the deformation and final movement between the Moesian and North Dobrogean fragments. Convergent activity continued from pre-Albian times in the oceanic terrane southwest of the Rhodopian fragment although the rate of convergence may have lessened as the Apulian fragment began to move in a more northerly direction, with respect to Europe. The evidence indicates that significant convergence shifted from areas southwest to areas northeast of the Rhodopian fragment during Albian time.
CENOMANIAN TO CONIACIAN EVENTS

Following the collision between the Rhodopian and Moesian fragments the rate of convergence apparently declined in this part of the Carpathians, but increased along the northern margin of the Apulian fragment (Fig, 6). From centraI Romania (Apuseni Mountains) westward through the Western Carpathians and into the central Eastern Alps, a major north-directed thrust complex developed within the northern part of the Apulian fragment. All the thrusts are intracratonic and formed by A-type subduction. Total magnitude of displacement is loo-150 km which narrowed the northern part of the Apulian continental crust by nearly that amount as only a small part of this displacement can be accounted for by gravity sliding. Geologic evidence indicates that the A-type subduction within the Apulian fragments was accompanied by southward dipping B-type subduction along its northern margin. Evidence from central Austria (Tauren window) and the Western Alps suggests the earliest phases of high-pressure, low temperature metamorphism began at this time as oceanic rocks were subducted southward beneath Apulia. In the Western Carpathians, where thrusting is best developed, evidence for south-dipping B-type subduction is largely lacking as the location of the proposed subduction zone would he beneath younger Cretaceous and Tertiary flysch. Rare small plutons in the Carpathians, one of which has been dated at 90 m-y., may be the only surface manifestation of subduction. If southward-dipping B-type subduction was present, the thrust faults within the Apulian fragment are synthetic to this subduction, and only two of the mechanisms for A-type subduction presented above are applicable: (1) cont~ent~ont~ent collision; or (2) synthetic detachment of thrust faults related to stresses within the overriding plate. In the first mechanism, the colliding fragment of continental crust may have been the terrane, now largely subducted, represented by the Pieniny Klippen belt (Fig. 1). This would place another fragment (or fragments) of continental material north

45
E

,A---\

Cenomanian-Turonion
Fig. 6. Suggested location of fragments and areas of thrusting during CenomanianTuronian time. Stippled region is area of intra-cratonic A-type subduction which modifies the northeastern boundary of continental crust of the Apulian fragment. Arrows indicate change in position of the boundary. For explanation of used symbols see Fig. 4.

of the Apulian fragment and south of the European plate. An additional continental fragment is not strongly supported by the geology. In the second mechanism, synthetic thrusting within continental crust in northern Apulia would have been related to differential stress difference generated by B-type subduction large enough to produce intracratonic shortening and A-type subduction in an overriding plate, Detachment near the b~~l~uct~e transition is suggested by recent age dates on synkinematic metamorphic minerals near thrust planes in Austria. The large magnitude of the thrusts (100-150 km) and present crustal thickness strongly suggests lower parts of the continental crust were subducted. The geologic relations suggest the second mechanism may be the correct one. Significant tectonic activity in other areas is not obvious, however during collisional processes in the Alpine system evidence for the plate boundary

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activity in oceanic areas is largely destroyed. As will become obvious as the evolution of the Eastern European Alpine system is discussed further, the significant tectonic events are those for which evidence remains after collision and most of these are within continental rocks. Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests little or no subduction occurred in the oceanic terrane east of the Apulian fragment at this time, as only rare volcanic detritus appears in flysch of this age. Thus, it is inferred that the motion of the Apulian fragment was more northward relative to Europe than in earlier deformations and that right-slip transform motion took place in the oceanic terrane to the east.
CONIACIAN TO PALEOCENE EVENTS

Exceedingly complex events that resulted in collision of the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments took place during latest Cretaeeous time. Timing of events during this period is not easily determined, because rocks of the proper age are not present over broad areas, particularly in the eastern part of the Dinaric belt. Convergent structures are present along the eastern margin of the Rhodopian fragment and along the eastern and northern parts of the Apulian fragment (Fig. 7). In addition considerable rotational strain took place within the central part of the Rhodopian fragment as the eastern Carpathian loop began to take shape. The most significant displacements of Late Cretaceous age were the result of convergence between the Apulian and Rhodopi~ fragments. A well developed Late Cretaceous volcanic and plutonic belt is present throughout the Balkan Mountains and Southern Carpathians largely within the Rhodopian fragment, and contemporaneous east-dipping thrust faults are present in the Vardar zone which together indicate eastward subduction in the Vardar zone. Probably throughout the early part of this period most of the subduction was B-type, but collision occurred between the two continental fragments during the latter part of this time period and subduction changed to A-type. The greater volume of igneous rocks and longer period of igneous activity in the southeastern part of this magmatic belt suggests increasing amounts of subduction to the southeast and probable counterclockwise rotation of the Apulian fragment relative to the Rhodopian fragment, Following continental collision, the eastern parts of the Apulian fragment were imbricated on east-dipping faults, first in the Vardar zone then progressively westward. The progressive collision and imbrication of continental sedi. mentary and crystalline rocks in the eastern part of the Apulian ment is very similar to convergent events presently shaping the modern Zagros (Bird and Toksiiz, 1975). East of the Vardar zone, the Rhodopian fragment was thrust e&ward over the Moesian fragment along a fault in a position similar to those developed in mid-Cretaceous time. Remnants of the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous oceanic rocks were carried more than 60 km eastward below this

47

/
I \ .. . .

c
t i

\ \ ,
\

< \ \
\

3--.

-_

_I

Coni&&

- Paleocene

Fig. 7. Suggested location of fragments and areas of deformation, magmatism and intracratonic A-type subduction during Coniacian-Paleocene time. Pz = Pieniny Klippen zone, For explanation of used symbols see Fig. 4.

thrust of largely crystalline rocks. Like all the other thrust faults which involve crystallinerocks, only the upper 10-15 km of the crust was involved suggestingA-type subduction. Magnitudesof Late Cretaceousdisplacements appear to increase northward from the Balkan Mountainsinto the Southern Carpathians, indicating the Rhodopian continental fragment was rotated clockwise as it was moulded around the western end of the Moesian fragment. The position and polarity of the thrustingin the Southern Carpathians indicates this thrust belt developed antithetically to first B-type then Atype subduction in the Vardar zone. Furthermore, igneous activity both precedes and follows thrustingsuggestingthat de~c~ent of the crystalline thrust faults was controlled by a shallow brittle-ductile transition zone in the crust. North of the Vardar zone, in the northeast part of the Apulian fragment, no major Late Cretaceousdisruption of the fragmenttook place. Insteadthe convergence of the two Eragments after collision appearsto have been taken up east of the Rhodopian fragment where flysch units were imbricated in a west-dipping B-type subduction zone. Becausethese flysch units were imbricated on west-dipping thrust planes, the geometry of convergent displace-

48

ments was that of two subduction zones of opposing polarity connected by a diffuse transform zone which displaced the northeastern part of Apulian fragment eastward as the Rhodopian fragment was deformed into a large dextral arc. The Apuseni Mountains and fragments of the Vardar zone were transformed eastward and juxtaposed against the Southern Carpathians. Thus the apparent anomalous relation of north and south vergent crystalline thrust sheets rooting in an oceanic terrane in this part of the C~pathians is explained as the result of transform juxtaposition of thrusted terranes of different ages which were not formed in their present relative positions. Furthermore, this collisional event is responsible for the eastward limit, within the Apuseni Mountains, of the Mesozoic paleogeographic element and early Late Cretaceous deformational zone of the northern Apulian fragment and its nearly right-angle juxtaposition with the late Early Cretaceous deformational zone in the Eastern Carpathians. Dextral coupling of subduction in the Vardar zone and the flysch terrane of the Eastern Carpathians was probably facilitated by the oceanic terrane present north of the Moesian fragment. The geometry of thrust faults along the east side of the Rhodopi~ fragment is the result of west-dipping, antithetic A-type subduction changing to west-dipping B-type subduction in the Eastern Carpathians. Much of the dextral bending of the Rhodopian fragment, its moulding around the Moesian fragment and the eastward motion of the Apuseni Mountains was completed by Early Tertiary time as the youngest (Danian and Paleocene) igneous rocks of the Late Cretaceous m~atic arc form a belt that trends across the zone of dextral bending without major displacement. Crossing of the zone of dextral displacement by these igneous rocks indicates a change to a more northerly direction of subduction in the Dinarides (continued counterclockwise rotation) so that subduction occurred beneath the former dextral transform zone. This change in motion continued into the Early Tertiary (see below). Along the northern border of the Apulian fragment, B-type subduction accompanied by minor synthetic thrusting took place. Along the eastern part of this border synthetic imbrication and narrowing of the Apulian fragment took place within the Pieniny Klippen belt (Fig. 1 and 7). Parts of the Klippen belt may represent exotic fragments underlain by continent crust, but its more southerly parts are clearly part of the Apulian continental crust. Further west, B-type subduction was present, but the evidence for subduction is less clear. In summary, the collision of the continental parts of the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments, antithetic thrusting of the Rhodopian fragment in the Southern C~ath~s and east movement of the northern part of Apulia causing dextral bending of the Rhodopian fragment were the major structural events at this time. Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary igneous rocks crossed all the structural elements of the Southern Carpathians and the Apuseni Mountains, and demonstrates that the concave-east part of the

49

Carpathian orocline, moulded around the Moesian fragment, was developed by Early Tertiary time. Furthermore, these events clearly show the non-rigid behavior of the fragments.
EOCENE AND OLIGOCENE EVENTS

During Eocene and Oligocene time coun~rclo~k~se rotation of parts of the Apulian fragment continued and the motion of Apulia with respect to Europe changed to a more northwesterly direction (Fig. 8). There was also a shift in tectonic activity from the Carpathian to the Dinaric-Hellenic belt. Whereas in Late Cretaceous time some imbrication and probable narrowing of the Apulian fragment took place, in Eocene and Oligocene time massive intracratonic thrusting and narrowing occurred. Although thrusting in the external (western) parts of the belt are reasonably well dated those in the inner (eastern) parts, particularly in Yugoslavia, are very poorly dated and some thrusts shown in Fig. 8 may be latest Cretaceous in age. Enough data are present however to demonstrate that the thrusts developed earlier in the east than in the west. Proven magnitudes of thrusting appear to increase

Eocene - Oligocene
Fig. 8. Suggested location of fragments and regions of deformation, intra-cratonic A-type subduction, magmatism and metamo~h~m during Eocene-Oligocene time. SV-Strimon valley. For explanation of used symbols see Fig. 4.

50

southward along the chain and they may reach more then ZOO-300 km in southern Greece but appear to die out in northern Italy. All of the thrust faults involve continental rock sequences including either crystalline or sedimentary pre-Mesozoic rocks or Mesozoic carbonate and flysch terranes. Ophiolites and associated oceanic rocks are involved, but these terranes were initially abducted in pre-Albian time and were carried with or were overridden by thrust faults of Eocene and Oligocene age. The thrusts have greatly imbricated pre-existing paleogeographic units. In the Dinarides, ophiolites emplaced in pre-Albian time have been overridden by carbonate rocks that were initially structurally below the ophiolites. Furthermore, some ophiolites lay within the upper plates of thrust faults so that locally they rest on Eocene rocks although their initial emplacement was pre-Albian. Thrusting within the Din~ic-Hellenic belt was A-type subduction and involved mainly sedimentary rocks as old as Paleozoic in the Dinarides and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and pre-Mesozoic crystalline rocks in the Hellenides. Palinspastic reconstruction requires that continental crust that underlay the thrusted terranes was partly incorporated into the sialic root of the orogen, but because of the magnitude of thrusting, also partly subducted. If greater subduction took place in the south, it follows that counterclockwise rotation of the Apulian fragment which began in Late Cretaceous continued into Eocene or Oligocene time. From geologic evidence a rotation of at least 20 degrees is suggested during Eocene and Oligocene time. During this time period, the rotation was absorbed in the disruption and narrowing of eastern part of the Apulian fragment. The amount of Atype subduction indicated by thrusting is indeed large and palinspastic reconstructions seem to demand large volumes of continental crust which cannot be accounted for in the present volume of crustal rocks beneath the Eastern European Alpine system. Associated temporally and spatially with thrust faulting was a belt of volcanic and plutonic rocks which trends parallel to the thrust belt and partially overlaps it in Yugoslavia and Greece. Not all the igneous rocks are dated, however rocks of Eocene, Oligocene and Early Miocene age are known. If this magmatic belt was genetically related to A-type eastward subduction, its spatial relations are not obvioulsy explained as igneous rocks were intruded very near to what would have been the surficial position of the subduction zone. This relationship may be a function of A-type subduction where continental crust rather than oceanic crust is being melted to form igneous rocks. Not enough data are presently available to determine if this volcanic belt differs geochemically from other belts derived from melting of subducted oceanic crust. East of the Vardar zone suture, parts of the Rhodopian and Moesian fragments (now combined) were disrupted and absorbed some of the convergent motion. The Rhodopian continental crust was thrust eastward at least 25 km along the Strimon valley (Fig. 8). Age dates on metamorphic minerals from crystalline rocks west of the Strimon thrust fault suggest amphibolite grade

51

metamorphism of Eocene-Oligocene age. The Strimon thrust thus formed antithetically to the main A-type subduction and its localization was probably related to an increase in ductility of continental crust caused by magmatic intrusion. The Strimon thrust is used by some workers to divide the Rhodopian fragment into two parts: the Rhodopian and Serbo-Macedonian massifs to the east and west respectively. It does not however mark a major boundary between fragments but a second-order break. Father east along the northern part of the Balkan Mountains northeast thrusting of crystalline rocks took place and flysch of Cretaceous and Early Tertiary age north of the thrusts was folded with north vergence. Thrusting appears to be localized just north of the Cretaceous suture between the Rhodopian and Moesian fragments and was antithetic to the main subduction in the Hellenides. Thrust faults of small(?) magnitude are present between the deformed zone in the Balkan Mountains and the Strimon thrust fault and they are vergent both to the northeast and southwest. This suggests the crust in this area was under horizontal compression, but contained no significant anisotropy which controlled the direction of thrusting. Total shortening of the terrane east of the Vardar Zone may be of the order of 50-75 km and is completely intracratonic . The second major event that occurred during this period was the collision of the northwest part of the Apulian fragment with the European plate (Fig. 8). The northward vergence of thrust faults, overriding of ophiolites by the Apulian continental crust and a weakly developed magmatic belt suggest the following sequence of events: (1) initial south-dipping B-type subduction continued from Late Cretaceous time; (2) collision; and (3) south-dipping Atype subduction, which imbricated continental crust of both the Apulian fragment and European plate. Development of thrust faults during this period was complex, as southwestern, western, northern and northeastern vergences are documented. The variable vergence of thrusts may be the result of collision along an irregular front and rotation of the Apulian fragment. Both the Apulian fragment and European plate were narrowed by at least 50-100 km and the upper part of the Apulian continental crust overrode the European plate by more than 100 km. Lower parts of the continental crust are missing in the Eastern Alps (although they are locally present in the Western Alps) indicating substantial A-type subduction. In fact, the Eastern Alps is the area where the concept of subduction was developed by Ampferer (1906), and Ampferer and Hammer (1911) which they called verschluckung and describes only what is called here A-type subduction. A few small plutons along the southern part of the Eastern Alps define a poorly developed magmatic belt. In general these plutons are post-thrusting and intruded the southern parts of the thrusts. Metamorphism of about the same age affected the emplaced thrust faults, and was accompanied by folding during Eocene-Oligocene time. Deep-seated magmatism was the probable cause of metamorphism, and the exposed plutons represent plutons intruded to higher levels or uplifted by later faulting. Because of the late

52

development of the magmatic belt and the superposition of it and metamorphism on the thrust faults, a northward migration, by lower plate imbrication, of south-dipping A-type subduction zones is suggested. Although the igneous rocks of the Eastern Alps appear to be a continuation of the Dinaric magmatic belt, they are the result of southward subduction not northeast subduction as in the Dinarides. East of the Eastern Alps evidence for Eocene---Oligocene events is poorly developed, largely because rocks of the proper age are not present in the areas of deformation. Minor closing of the oceanic terrane in the Carpathians is suggested during this time interval but cannot be demonstrated. In summary, large-scale northeast-dipping A-type subduction took place in the Dinaric-Hellenic belt during Eocene--Oligocene time following diachronous collision of the Apulian and Rhodopian fragments in Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary time. A-type subduction caused narrowing and disruption of the eastern part of the Apulian fragment. Stress generated through the combined fragments was sufficient to cause deformation within the combined Rhodopian-Moesian fragment. As the magnitude of A-type subduction decreased northward in the Dinarides, the convergent motion of Apulian fragment with respect to Europe increased from east to west along the north margin of the Apulian fragment and led to collision with the European plate. These opposed directions of subduction suggest considerable internal strain that must be accommodated within the Apulian fragment. Unfortunately, evidence .for structures related to t,his strain may be largely covered in the western part of the Pannonian basin.
MIOCENE EVENTS

Thrust faults vergent toward the European plate and affecting only the external flysch zones of the Eastern Alps and Carpathians were the most prominent structures developed during Miocene time (Fig. 9). Southward subduction is suggested by vergence of thrust faults and a well-developed Miocene volcanic belt which lies south of the thrusts in the Carpathians. In the Eastern Alps the subduction was A-type, however, in the Carpathians the subduction began as B-type and ended as A-type following collision of the continental crust of Europe and Russia with a disrupted Apulian fragment. Magnitude of subduction was probably greater in the Carpathians than in the Eastern Alps which favored the development of a well-defined volcanic arc in the Carpathians. In the Eastern Alps, thrust faults along the northern margin of the orogen formed as a result of A-type subduction which caused imbrication of the European plate, but these structures are mostly hidden beneath the allochthonous mass of the Northern Calcareous Alps. At least part of this zone of imbrication is exposed along strike in the Urseren zone of the Western Alps. In the Carpathians, the European-Russian plate underthrust a combined Apulian-Rhodopian fragment such that the original crust (oceanic internally and continental externally) below the flysch thrust sheets has been largely subducted.

53

Miocene
B

Pig. 9. Structures developed during Miocene and Early Pliocene time. Double shanked arrows indicate areas of spreading in the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins. Triangles indicate areas of Miocene volcanism. For explanation of symbols used see Fig. 4.

One of the most difficult aspects of Miocene subduction to explain is the nearly radial pattern of thrusting in the Carpathians. The magnitude of subduction between Europe and a combined, but disrupted, Apulian-Rhodopian fragment appears greatest in the Carpathians where the external flysch belt was probably underlain in its inner parts by oceanic crust and is backed up by the Miocene volcanic belt. Subduction probably died out rapidly at the Southern Carpathian bend where the external part of the flysch belt and major belt of Tertiary thrust faults end. The volcanic belt ends before reaching the Southern Carpathian bend. Together with the fact that A-type subduction of Miocene age continues westward around the convex westward arc of the Western Alps the following model is proposed to explain the radial pattern of subduction. Motion of a combined Apulian-RhodopianMoesian fragment relative to the European plate was north or northwest. The eastern part of the combined fragments, however, were welded to the European-Russian plate, and had been since the latest Cretaceous or Early Tertiary. Continued relative motion was accomplished by disruption of the

54

combined fragments and only their western part moved north or northwest. The boundary along which relative motion occurred was a broad zone of faults that trend north or northwest through eastern Greece and Yugoslavia, western Bulgaria and southwest Romania cutting across former fragment boundaries. Collision had already occurred along the northwest and part of the northern margin of the former Apulian fragment, however convergence continued disrupting the new fragment into several second-order units by fracture zones along the Insubric-Pusteria line, and perhaps other zones now hidden beneath the Pannonian basin. The crowding of the northern part of the fragment against the possibly uneven edge of the European plate, combined with a small oceanic terrane in the area of the Carpathians, caused the northern part of the plate to move to the east relative to the southern part. This dextral shear thus produced a northeasterly motion of the northern part of the fragment relative to Europe. The dextral motion in the area of the South Carpathian bend did not manifest itself by the development of through-going fractures but was accomplished by distributed faulting and by considerable dextral bending and rotation within the Eastern and Southern Carpathians. The Miocene motions hypothesized here are similar to those indicated by the focal mechanism studies of Mackenzie (1972) in the eastern Mediterranean region. The present hypothesis and the study of Mackenzies suggest that fragment boundaries within continental areas are much more diffuse and less continuous than those in oceanic areas; in fact it can be questioned whether they are really boundaries at all, or simply the most prominent faults in a continuously deforming crust. Further distortion of the northern part of the combined Apulian-Rhodopian fragment was caused by extension and high-angle faulting in the Vienna, Pannonian and Transylvanian basins. The extension may be caused by penetrative fracturing and graben formation as this part of the fragment was driven northeastward into the last remaining recess in the European-Russian plate. Part of the extension may also have been the result of an intracratonic back arc spreading associated with the Miocene volcanic arc. Extension was great enough to thin the crust beneath the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins to less than 20 km locally. Extension was probably of the order of 50-100 km and probably resulted in additional override of flysch nappes over the European-Russian plate and accentuated the northward and eastward bulges in the Western and Eastern Carpathians, respectively. Tectonic activity in other parts of the Eastern European Alpine system was relatively minor during Miocene time. Folding of the Dinaric-Hellenic foreland is partly of Miocene age and probably represents the final stage of Early Tertiary intercratonic convergence. However, in the southern Hellenides thrust faulting in the external part of the thrust belt is of Miocene age and appears to increase in magnitude eastward into Crete and Turkey. The thrust faulting was within the disrupted Apulian fragment and represented the end phase of A-type subduction inherited from Eocene-Oligocene time.

55

In summ~, during Miocene time continued convergence disrupted a combined Apu~~-Rhodopi~-Moes~ fragment that had become partly welded to the European plate. Convergence was such that diachronous collision broke the combined fragment into smaller structural units which caused its western part to move north or northwest and its northern part to move eastward relative to its southern part. Dextral shear yielded a northwest movement of the northern part of the fragment relative to Europe. It was during Miocene time that the main development of the convex-east loop of the Eastern Carpathian orocline was completed.
PLIOCENE AND RECENT EVENTS

Near the end of Miocene time, all former oceanic terranes were subducts, and collision of a combined but disrupted Apul~n-Rhodopian-Moesi~ fragment with the European plate was completed. Convergence between Africa and Europe continued, but the locus of plate boundary activity shifted or is in its final stages of shifting south of the Eastern European Alpine system (Fig. 10). Only Pliocene-Early Pleistocene(?) folding in the Southern Carpathian bend along the former boundary between the Moesian and Rhodopian fragments represented the final stages of formation of the convex-east Carpathian loop of the orocline. These folds represent the final eastward movement of northern part of the disrupted Apulian-Rhodopian fragment. Below the Southern Carpathian bend is the only area of deep earthquake foci in the Eastern European Alpine system (Roman, 1970). These foci probably mark a fragment of lithosphere, sinking after the termination of Pliocene-Early Pleistocene(?) underthrusting. In the southeastern part of the Eastern European Alpine system, subduction shifted to the southern boundary of the former Apulian fragment where eastern Mediterranean lithosphere is being consumed. Modern seismicity indicates that complex fracturing of the combined fragments of the Eastern European Alpine system is in progress. Mackenzie (1972) has suggested that modem seismicity defines several microplates whose boundaries cut across the former Rhodopian, Apulian and Moesian fragments (Fig. 10). However, several boundaries defined by MacKenzie have no obvious surface expression, and continued convergence niay be absorbed by diffuse zones of deformation or semicont~uous deformation similar to that described for older structural zones above. In fact it is questioned that meaningful boundaries can be defined. Modem seismicity indicates subduction is active only south and west of Greece, and subducted lithosphere has reached a depth of 200 km, deep enough to produce igneous rocks and extension in the Aegean Sea. The present tectonic and magmatic events in the Aegean area are probably analogous to the early stages of Tertiary development in the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins.

56

_ -

-.

Piiocene

Pig. 10. Location Pliocene time.

of zones of deformation

and intra-cratonic

A-type subduction

during

CONCLUSIONS

The picture of fragment interaction in the Eastern European Alpine system presented here is very preliminary, however a number of conclusions concerning collisional events in general and the Alpine system in particular can be deduced. Although the two belts of the Eastern European Alpine system form two bifurcating but continuous mountain chains their internal structural development is conspicuously diachronous and discontinuous. Examination of geologic data indicate the initial structural development of the belts was dependent upon the relative motions of at least three fragments, and that convergence first took place diachronously along fragment boundaries until collision of continental crust occurred at which time the fragments became disrupted into new fragment arrays. During most of Jurassic time pieces of continental crust were rifted from the European and African plates and oceanic crust developed between them. The original posi-

57

tions and genesis of the fragments is poorly understood and were not discussed here, however by Late Jurassic time the fragments consisted of both oceanic and continental crust. Early convergent motion was taken up by subduction within oceanic terranes as B-type subduction, sometimes associated with antithetic or synthetic A-type subduction in adjacent continental crust. It is evident that following collision, most of the structures which remain preserved in the mountain belts are those developed by A-type subduction or rarely those developed by transform and extensional faulting either along the boundaries or within the fragments. Thus, the record of similar structures in oceanic terrane has been largely lost by subduction, or altered beyond recognition by changes in plate boundary motion or collision of continental fragments. Only fragmentary evidence of plate motion in the oceanic terranes remains in abducted ophioli~s, melange, blueschist belts and volcanic belts. Therefore, within a collisional belt, most of the critical evidence for deciphering fragment motion is lost and must be deduced by other evidence. Even though, as suggested here, some volume of the lower continental crust was subducted, most of the upper lo-15 km was not and preserves the record of tectonic events. The time periods chosen to describe the convergent evolution in the Eastern European Alpine system reflect the emphasis on significant events recorded in continental crust. From the timing of events at different fragment boundaries, changes in fragment motion were not generally controlled by collision of continental crust. For example, following collision of the Apulian and Rhodopian continental fragments in the Late Cretaceous, considerable A-type subduction, at times associated with antithetic thrusting to the east, continued to Miocene time, whereas large tracts of oceanic crust remained to be subducted in the Carpathians, by the presumably mechanically easier process of B-type subduction. Comparing the finite motion path of Africa relative to Europe as viewed from a point on the European plate in the position of the present Western Carpathians (from Dewey et al., 1973) with fragment motions deduced from geology alone (shown in Figs. 3-10) only minor co~espondence is noted. Jurassic extension, the onset of Late Jurassic convergence and general convergence from Late Jurassic to Recent time are reflected in the fragment motions. However, most of the events cannot be read in more detail, and some events such as the ~oun~r~lock~se rotation of the Apulian fragment in Late Cretaceous through Oligocene time, are opposite to the suggested dextral movement of Africa relative to Europe during that time. Clearly the evidence suggests that complex triple-junctions were present throughout the region, and that the motion of the fragments was only loosely connected or sometimes unconnected to that of the two major plates. Many of the fragment boundaries have functioned as different types of boundaries at different times. Structures along some former fragment boundaries are exceedingly complex. For example, the Vardar zone probably contains structures related to Jurassic extension, Jurassic and Early Cretace-

58

---. /-/ /

\ \

Recent

Fig. 11. Recent microplate boundaries as defined by McKenzie (1972) from fault solutions. Barbed lines = subduction zones; double lines = spreading zones;single fracture zones. Triangles locate recent volcanoes and crosses locate recent thermal ity. The nature of the boundaries along coastal Jugoslavia and through southern slavia and Romania could not be resolved by McKenzie with available data.

plane lines = activJugo-

146 M. Kimmsriqion

Fig. 12. The finite motion path of Africa relative to Europe viewed from a point on the European plate located approximately in the Western Carpathian (from Dewey et al., 1973). Numbers are time in millione of years before the present and co rreaponding series or stage names are shown.

59

ous convergence, early Late Cretaceous transform movement, Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary subduction and Late Tertiary transform movement and extension. Furthermore, structures formed during a particular event were probably not formed in their present relative positions. For example, the position of Apulian fragment during pre-Albian ophiolite abduction, was probably not directly west of Rhodopian fragment, but may have been far to the south of it. Structures formed during different events and in relative positions different from today, may be juxtaposed during later events. For example, in the Apuseni Mountains and the Southern Carpathians, north and south directed thrust faults carrying pre-Mesozoic crystalline rocks formed at two different times and now apparently root in a zone occupied by Late Mesozoic oceanic rocks. These thrusts developed in early Late and Late Cretaceous time, respectively, and were juxtaposed by latest Cretaceous transform motion (Figs. 1,6, 7 and 9). Belts of igneous rocks developed during convergent events are related to both B- and A-type subduction. Volcanic rocks present among the oceanic rocks along the Vardar zone suture were probably developed above B-type subduction zones as were the Late Cretaceous and Miocene volcanic arcs of the Balkan Mountains-Southern Carpathians and Western and Eastern Carpathians respectively. The Eocene--Oligocene age volcanic arc of the Dinaric-Hellenic belt, however, may have developed from A-type subduction and may be geochemically different. These belts of igneous rocks added
heat to the crust, increased ductility at shallow depth and controlled the location and detachment of thrust faults either antithetic or synthetic to the

main subduction. Fragments of continental crust in the Eastern European Alpine system were not rigid pieces of lithosphere, and during collisions they were shortened, reduced in areal extent by A-type subduction, broken by the transform and extensional faults and differentially rotated. During and following collision, the fragments were cut by new boundaries which broke through older boundaries dividing combined fragments into new arrays. Many of the boundaries are broad diffuse zones of faults, and it can be questioned if they represent boundaries at all, or just major faults in a continuously deforming anisotropic continental crust. Present fragment size and shape cannot be used for paleogeographic reconst~ctions because of their earlier history of deformation. During their formation, their margins were extended by crustal attenuation and during convergence their margins and interiors were extensively shortened by thrusting which involved not only the detachment of sedimentary cover rocks but often the detachment of the upper part of the crystalline continental crust. Magnitude of thrusting is so large in some cases it does not appear
as if all the continental crust originally below the thrust sheets can be accom-

modated in a thickened sialic root. Some continental material may have been subducted with the lithosphere. Distinct phases of deformation within the Eastern European Alpine sys-

60

tern may represent changes in the relative motion of the fragments and shifting of deformation from one boundary to another. The overall convergent system may be in continuous motion. The Carpathian orocline is formed by the diachronous moulding of the Rhodopian fragment around an irregular European-Russian plate margin. The southern convex-west loop formed from Albian to Late Cretaceous time by collision of the Rhodopi~ and Moesian fragments. The northern convexeast loop formed from latest Cretaceous to Piio-Pleistocene time by moulding of northern part of the Rhodopian fragment against the European-Russian plate which also included the Moesian and North Dobrogean fragments at that time. The disrupted Apulian fragment to the west of the orocline and the European-Russian plate to the east are not oroclinally bent, The Rhodopian fragment which forms the orocline has been detached by thrusting from the lower crust and mantfe and the entire orocline may be only 60 km wide and 15-20 km thick. The geologically relevant problem in the Alpine system is to work backwards from the geology alone and attempt to deduce the large plate motions. Unfortunately, geologic structures that remain preserved provide only minimum values for the magnitude of convergent, transform and extensional displacements. Because most of the relevant data from the oceanic areas is lost, and those data which are preserved are a result of nonrigid behavior it seems very unlikely that we may be able to deduce the large plate motions in the near future. This remains, however, one of the significant challenges of the Alpine system, for it is the only mountain system which has developed over the period of time for which the spreading history of an ocean (the Atlantic) permits us to check the geologically derived motions of Africa and Europe against those derived from the Atlantic spreading history.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work has developed through study largely supported by the Eastern European Exchange Program of the National Academy of Science of the United States and the National Academies of Yugoslavia and Romania. Additional support was supplied by the Walter B. Sharp Fund, Rice University. The manuscript was reviewed by Dr. A.W. Bally whose help is here acknowledged.
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