Plio-pleistocene fault movement as evidence for mega-block kinematics within the Hyblean—Malta Plateau, Central Mediterranean

Abstract

This paper examines the structural kinematics from the late Miocene to recent across the Hyblean—Malta Platform. Seismic data show that the E—W trending North Gozo Graben formed by right-lateral transtension during the Upper Pliocene. Structural mapping on the top of the Miocene in the western half of the Malta Platform shows both compressional and extensional features. The compressional features are generally right-stepping, with en echelon ridges and positive flower structures, all of which support a zone of dextral strike-slip fault movement north of the island of Gozo. This recent episode of transtension has reactivated the older ENE-WSW and NW-SE trending normal faults to create a series of small pull-apart grabens near the islands of Gozo and Malta. By mapping the orientation of these regional faults and timing their relative movement, we have developed a schematic fault block model that attempts to provide a tectonic framework for the Hyblean—Malta Plateau.