Displaced South Alpine and Dinaridic elements in the mid-Hungarian zone

Abstract

The Mid-Hungarian Zone is a WSW-ENE trending composite structural unit in the basement of the Pannonian Basin that is made up of displaced crustal fragments (terranes) of South Alpine and Dinaridic origin. In the early stage of the Alpine evolution these fragments were located in various sectors of the NW Neotethys region, representing different paleogeographic settings from passive margin through continental slope to oceanic basement. Middle to Late Jurassic closure of the Neotethys led to the development of a suture zone made up of subduction-related complexes that can be followed all along the strike of the Dinarides. During the Cretaceous compressional stages, nappe stacks were formed from the accretionary complex and the fragments of the previously disrupted passive margin. Eastward extrusion (escape) of the ALCAPA Mega-unit during the Oligocene to Early Miocene led to large-scale displacement of fragments of this nappe stack, transporting them to their present-day position, and resulted in dispersal of the northwestern segment of the suture zone. The paper summarizes the basic characteristics of the dislocated blocks, evaluates their relationships and determines their original setting.