Geochronological and geochemical studies on crystalline rocks from the central Serbo-Macedonian massif with implications on its pre-Alpine evolution

Abstract

The Serbo-Macedonian Massif (SMM) represents a composite crystalline terrane situated between the two diverging branches of the Eastern Mediterranean Alpine orogenic system, the northeast-vergent Carpatho- Balkanides and the southwest-vergent Dinarides and the Hellenides. It is outcropping from the Pannonian basin in the north, to the Aegean Sea in the south, along the central and southeastern Serbia, southwestern Bulgaria, eastern Macedonia and central Greece. Its affiliation to European and/or African plate basement is still questionable due to the lack of reliable geochronological data and a detailed structural investigations. The SMM is the key area for understanding the bipolarity of the Alpine orogenic system, as well as the interaction of the Pannonian and Aegean backarc extension during the Cenozoic time.