The Oligocene–Miocene tectonic evolution of the northern Outer Carpathian fold-and-thrust belt: insights from compression-and-rotation analogue modelling experiments

AbstractThis paper presents the different analogue scenarios of the tectonic evolution of the northern Outer Carpathians (i.e. the Western and northern Eastern Outer Carpathians) which formed as an accretionary wedge in front of the East Alpine–Carpathian–Pannonian (ALCAPA) block during Oligocene–Miocene times. Currently, this fold-and-thrust belt forms an arc which is asymmetrically convex to the north and wider in its eastern part. Palaeomagnetic investigations have suggested that the rocks of the arc underwent counter-clockwise rotation along almost the whole arc, which is difficult to explain as an effect of simple indentation of the triangular indenter. In this case two branches of the arc should be rotated in the opposite directions. The structural evolution of the Western Outer Carpathians is characterized by superposition of two successive tectonic shortening events directed N–S and NE–SW. The results of the presented analogue modelling suggest that two scenarios of the geodynamic evolution of the studied belt could explain the occurrence of such differently oriented shortening events: (1) two phases of differently directed indentation (first to the N, then to the NE) and (2) indenter movement to the NE with simultaneous counter-clockwise rotation. However, the experiment in which the moving indenter is simultaneously rotated produces the most suitable model. The counter-clockwise rotation of the material is only possible in front of both sides of the convex indenter in this model. The results of the analogue modelling also prove that rotation of the ALCAPA block started after formation of the Magura nappe (the innermost nappe of the Western Outer Carpathians).

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Structural Evolution of the Ainsa Deep-Water Fold and Thrust Belt in the Central Pyrenees and Syn-Tectonic Evolution of the Related Sedimentary Systems

10.1190/ice2015-2210180 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Josep Anton Muñoz* ◽

Pau Arbués ◽

Kenneth R. McClay ◽

Miguel López-Blanco ◽

Mireia Butillé

Keyword(s):

Deep Water ◽

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Thrust Belt ◽

Fold And Thrust Belt ◽

Central Pyrenees

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Strike-slip reactivation of a Paleogene to Miocene fold and thrust belt along the central part of the Mid-Hungarian Shear Zone

Geologica Carpathica ◽

10.2478/v10096-010-0030-3 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 61 (6) ◽

pp. 483-493 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Márton Palotai ◽

László Csontos

Keyword(s):

Shear Zone ◽

Seismic Data ◽

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Strike Slip ◽

3D Seismic ◽

Thrust Belt ◽

Clockwise Rotation ◽

Fold And Thrust Belt ◽

Detailed Interpretation ◽

3D Seismic Data

Strike-slip reactivation of a Paleogene to Miocene fold and thrust belt along the central part of the Mid-Hungarian Shear ZoneRecently shot 3D seismic data allowed for a detailed interpretation, aimed at the tectonic evolution of the central part of the Mid-Hungarian Shear Zone (MHZ). The MHZ acted as a NW vergent fold and thrust belt in the Late Oligocene. The intensity of shortening increased westwards, causing clockwise rotation of the western regions, relatively to the mildly deformed eastern areas. Blind thrusting and related folding in the MHZ continued in the Early Miocene. Thrusting and gentle folding in the MHZ partly continued in the earliest Pannonian, and was followed by sinistral movements in the whole MHZ, with maximal displacement along the Tóalmás zone. Late Pannonian inversion activated thrusts and generated transpressional movements along the Tóalmás zone.

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Integrated Cretaceous–Cenozoic plate tectonics and structural geology in southern Mexico

Geological Society London Special Publications ◽

10.1144/sp504-2020-70 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. SP504-2020-70

Author(s):

Rod Graham ◽

James Pindell ◽

Diego Villagómez ◽

Roberto Molina-Garza ◽

James Granath ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Plate Tectonics ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Thrust Belt ◽

Cocos Plate ◽

Southern Mexico ◽

Arc Volcanism ◽

Fold And Thrust Belt

AbstractThe structural evolution of southern Mexico is described in the context of its plate tectonic evolution and illustrated by two restored crustal scale cross-sections through Cuicateco and the Veracruz Basin and a third across Chiapas. We interpret the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous opening of an oblique hyper-stretched intra-arc basin between the Cuicateco Belt and Oaxaca Block of southern Mexico where Lower Cretaceous deep-water sediments accumulated. These rocks, together with the hyper-stretched basement beneath them and the Oaxaca Block originally west of them, were thrust onto the Cretaceous platform of the Cuicateco region during a Late Cretaceous–Eocene orogenic event. The mylonitic complex of the Sierra de Juárez represents this hyper-stretched basement, perhaps itself an extensional allochthon. The Chiapas fold-and-thrust belt is mainly Neogene in age. Shallowing of the subduction angle of the Cocos Plate in the wake of the Chortis Block, suggested by seismicity and migrating arc volcanism, is thought to play an important role in the development of the Chiapas fold-and-thrust belt itself, helping to explain the structural dilemma of a vertical transcurrent plate boundary fault (the Tonalá Fault) at the back of an essentially dip-slip fold-and-thrust belt.

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Late Jurassic Structural Deformation and Late Cenozoic Reactivation of the Southern Junggar Fold-And-Thrust Belt, NW China

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.664092 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Delong Ma ◽

Jianying Yuan ◽

Yanpeng Sun ◽

Hongbin Wang ◽

Dengfa He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Jurassic ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Structural Deformation ◽

Thrust Belt ◽

Late Cenozoic ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

The North ◽

Fold And Thrust Belt ◽

Deformation Features ◽

Kinematic Analyses

Because of the influence of the far field effect of the collision between Euro-Asian and India plates during the Late Cenozoic, the Tian Shan orogenic belt underwent intense reactivation, forming the Southern Junggar fold-and-thrust belt (SJ-FTB) to the north and the Kuqa fold-and-thrust belt to the south. Most previous research focuses on the deformation features and mechanisms during the Late Cenozoic. However, little research has been done on deformation features and mechanisms during the Late Jurassic. In this paper, we conducted geometric and kinematic analyses of seismic profiles and outcrop data to reveal the Late Jurassic deformation characteristics in SJ-FTB. Furthermore, we carried out sandbox modeling experiments to reproduce the regional structural evolution since the Early Jurassic. Angular unconformity between the Cretaceous and Jurassic is well preserved in the Qigu anticline belt. This unconformity also exists in the Huoerguosi–Manasi–Tugulu (HMT) anticline belt, which is the second fold belt of the SJ-FTB, indicating that the HMT anticline belt started to become active during the Late Jurassic. The Qigu anticline belt reactivated intensively during the Late Cenozoic, and the displacement was transferred to the HMT anticline belt along the Paleogene Anjihaihe Formation mudstone detachment. Therefore, the present-day SJ-FTB forms because of the two-stage compressional deformation from both the Late Jurassic and Late Cenozoic (ca. 24 Ma).

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The structure of the northern Agrio fold and thrust belt (37°30’ S), Neuquén Basin, Argentina

Andean geology ◽

10.5027/andgeov45n2-3049 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 249 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fernando Lebinson ◽

Martín Turienzo ◽

Natalia Sánchez ◽

Vanesa Araujo ◽

María Celeste D’Annunzio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

Sedimentary Cover ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Normal Faults ◽

Suitable Model ◽

South American ◽

Thrust Belt ◽

Seismic Line ◽

Fold And Thrust Belt ◽

Fault Bend

The Agrio fold and thrust belt is a thick-skinned orogenic belt developed since Late Cretaceous in response to the convergence between the Nazca and South American plates. The integration of new structural field data and seismic line interpretation allowed us to create two balanced cross-sections, which help to analyse the geometry of both thick and thin-skinned structures, to calculate the tectonic shortenings and finally to discuss the main mechanisms that produced this fold and thrust belt. The predominantly NNW-SSE structures show varying wavelengths, and can be classified into kilometer-scale first order basement involved structures and smaller second, third and fourth order fault-related folds in cover rocks with shallower detachments. Thick-skinned structures comprise fault-bend folds moving into the sedimentary cover, mainly along Late Jurassic evaporites, which form basement wedges that transfer the deformation to the foreland. Thus, shortenings in both basement and cover rocks must be similar and consequently, by measuring the contraction accounted for thin-skinned structures, is possible to propose a suitable model for the thick skinned deformation. The balanced cross-sections indicate shortenings of 11.2 km (18%) for the northern section and 10.9 km (17.3%) for the southern section. These values are different from the shortenings established by previous works in the region, reflecting differences in the assumed model to explain the basement-involved structures. According to our interpretation, the structural evolution of this fold and thrust belt was controlled by major basement-involved thrust systems with subordinate influence of inversion along pre-existing normal faults during the Andean compression.

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