Clockwise paleomagnetic rotations in the Alps in the light of the structural pattern of the Transdanubian Range (Hungary)

Abstract

In the northeastern Transdanubian Range the SW-NE trending structures bend towards the southeast resulting in a clockwise rotation. Clockwise rotation of paleomagnetic directions is known in the middle part of the Northern Calcareous Alps and is presumed in the Carnic Alps. Areas further west are characterized by a uniform anticlockwise paleomagnetic rotation. Based on the Norian facies pattern, the intra-Alpine position of the Transdanubian Range can be restored. In its restored form, the arched section of the range lies between the Alpine areas with clockwise paleomagnetic rotations. It is suggested that initial structural bends existed in both the Upper Austro-Alpine and the South Alpine domains which have subsequently been masked by new, Tertiary structures. The bend in the Transdanubian Range has been preserved since this domain had been removed from the Alpine realm before the Tertiary orogeny. This Alpine-Pannonian structural bend formed in the Middle Cretaceous. The recognition of this bending is recent and it influences the reconstruction of the Central Mediterranean.