Structure and dynamics of the Eurasian-African/Arabian plate boundary system: Objectives, tasks and resources of the WEGENER group

Abstract

The Mediterranean-Alpine region marks the broad transition zone between the African/Arabian and Eurasian plates. In a generalized scheme, the recent major tectonic processes there can be understood as a direct consequence of active sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden and NW Indian Ocean spreading centres. The higher spreading rate in the South Atlantic compared to that in the North Atlantic leads to a gradual counterclockwise rotation of the African plate resulting in a north-northwestward directed push against Eurasia, which in turn leads to a lithospheric shortening of about 5 mm/a increasing to 40 mm/a in active subduction zones. With northwest-southeastward oriented spreading in the North Atlantic the zone of Eurasian/African plate contact is, therefore, to a large extent under compression thus providing the framework for mountain building processes accompanied by active rifting in preconditioned zones of lithospheric weakness.