An outline of neotectonic structures and morphotectonics of the western and central Pannonian Basin

Abstract

Neotectonic deformation in the western and central part of the Pannonian Basin was investigated by means of surface and subsurface structural analyses, and geomorphologic observations. The applied methodology includes the study of outcrops, industrial seismic profiles, digital elevation models, topographic maps, and borehole data. Observations suggest that most of the neotectonic structures in the Pannonian Basin are related to the inverse reactivation of earlier faults formed mainly during the Miocene syn- and post-rift phases. Typical structures are folds, blind reverse faults, and transpressional strike-slip faults, although normal or oblique-normal faults are also present. These structures significantly controlled the evolution of landforms and the drainage pattern by inducing surface upwarping and river deflections. Our analyses do not support the postulated tectonic origin of some landforms, particularly that of the radial valley system in the western Pannonian Basin. The most important neotectonic strike-slip faults are trending to east-northeast and have dextral to sinistral kinematics in the south-western and central-eastern part of the studied area, respectively. The suggested along-strike change of kinematics within the same shear zones is in agreement with the fan-shaped recent stress trajectories and with the present-day motion of crustal blocks derived from GPS data.