Abstract
AbstractThe Apennines is a well‐studied orogeny formed by the accretion of continental slivers during the subduction of the Adriatic plate, but its deep structure is still a topic of controversy. Here we illuminated the deep structure of the Northern Apennines belt by combining results from the analysis of active seismic (CROP03) and receiver function data. The result from combining these two approaches provides a new robust view of the structure of the deep crust/upper mantle, from the back‐arc region to the Adriatic subduction zone. Our analysis confirms the shallow Moho depth beneath the back‐arc region and defines the top of the downgoing plate, showing that the two plates separate at depth about 40 km closer to the trench than reported in previous reconstructions. This spatial relationship has profound implications for the geometry of the shallow subduction zone and of the mantle wedge, by the amount of crustal material consumed at trench.
Highlights
Subduction of continental lithosphere produces orogenic wedge, scraping off slices of crustal material from the downgoing plate and transferring them to the upper plate (Dewey & Burke, 1973; Royden, 1993)
We illuminated the deep structure of the Northern Apennines belt by combining results from the analysis of active seismic (CROP03) and receiver function data
The structure of the subduction orogeny differs from Cordillera-type orogeny as they are constituted by material coming from the downgoing plate and they may represent an immature phase of a collisional orogeny
Summary
Subduction of continental lithosphere produces orogenic wedge, scraping off slices of crustal material from the downgoing plate and transferring them to the upper plate (Dewey & Burke, 1973; Royden, 1993). The interpretation of deep crustal seismic profiles shows a shallow Moho beneath Tuscany merging with the top of the Adriatic plate, that is, S point, as west as the Trasimeno lake (Figure 1), that is, beneath the internal domain of the NA orogeny (Pauselli et al, 2006). Passive seismic data suggest that the S point is positioned about 30–50 km east of the Trasimeno lake, close to easternmost extensional basins (Di Stefano et al, 2009; Piana Agostinetti, 2015; Roselli et al, 2008) This difference has profound implications on the structure and rheology of the orogeny and on models. The joint interpretation of the active and passive seismic data helps to shed light on the position of the crust-mantle interface along the entire profile, allowing us to precisely locate the S point and the mantle wedge geometry
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