Mesozoic Metasediments Research Articles

Schistes Lustrés in a hyper-extended continental margin setting and reinterpretation of the limit between the Mont Fort and Tsaté nappes (Middle and Upper Penninics, Western Swiss Alps)

The Schistes Lustrés form a large and complex unit at the top of the Penninic nappe stack of the Alpine belt. Calcschists, partly of Late Cretaceous age, constitute the dominant lithology. They are closely associated both with blueschist facies Piemont-Ligurian ophiolites and continent-derived Mesozoic metasediments. The question of whether the Schistes Lustrés originated on continental or oceanic crust has been extensively debated among Alpine geologists and is locally still controversial. We present here new structural and stratigraphic observations, as well as Raman graphite thermometry (RSCM) data, for the Schistes Lustrés complex of the Combin zone in the Hérens, Dix and Bagnes valleys. Our observations indicate that the basal part of this Schistes Lustrés complex (defined as the Série Rousse) is systematically devoid of ophiolitic material, and rests in stratigraphic contact on the underlying Triassic - Lower Cretaceous metasediments and Paleozoic basement of the Mont Fort nappe (Prepiemont paleogeographic domain). The unconformity at the base of the Schistes Lustrés complex is interpreted as resulting from the sedimentation of the Série Rousse on a paleorelief formed by remnants of Jurassic normal fault scarps, and not as an Alpine tectonic contact, as previously proposed. The lithostratigraphic comparison with the Breccia nappe in the Prealps, as well as a foraminifer discovery, allows us to better constrain the age of the Série Rousse. It extends from the middle of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian?) to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to earliest Maastrichtian?). In contrast, the upper contact of the Série Rousse with the ophiolite-bearing Schistes Lustrés clearly corresponds to an Alpine thrust. The thrust zone is underlined by thin and discontinuous slices of highly strained continental-margin derived Mesozoic metasediments (Frilihorn slices). RSCM data show that the recrystallization of the organic matter progressively increases on both sides towards this contact. This contact, internal to the Schistes Lustrés complex, is reinterpreted as the major tectonic contact separating the Middle Penninic Mont Fort nappe from the Upper Penninic Tsaté nappe (defined here as including only the ophiolite-bearing Schistes Lustrés and associated meta(ultra-)basites). This study clearly documents that the Schistes Lustrés consist of sediments either deposited on oceanic crust, showing locally preserved stratigraphic contacts with ophiolitic or serpentinized sub-continental mantle slivers, or sediments still resting stratigraphically on a former hyper-extended continental margin.

Exhumation of the Ronda Peridotite During Hyper‐Extension: New Structural and Thermal Constraints From the Nieves Unit (Western Betic Cordillera, Spain)

AbstractThe Ronda peridotite (Betic Cordillera, Southern Spain) is the largest alpine‐type peridotite massif worldwide. Yet, the emplacement mechanism of these mantle rocks is still a highly debated topic. In this study, we aim at better constraining their context of exhumation by focusing on the Nieves Unit, which is mostly composed of Mesozoic metasediments displaying HT metamorphism and deformation along the contact with peridotite. The topmost parts of the peridotites and the bottom parts of the Nieves Unit share the same planar/linear fabric parallel to the contact accompanied by component of sinistral kinematic indicators. Raman Spectroscopy on Carbonaceous Material geothermometry then shows a contraction of peak‐temperature conditions within metasediments of the Nieves Unit, as well as a north‐eastward decrease along strike, highlighting a strong thinning of the unit and a significant obliquity of the isograds to the contact with the peridotites. Local magnetite ores and ophicalcite bodies are finally observed nearby the contact, suggesting a hyper‐extension context for the mantle exhumation. Indeed, the Nieves Unit, the Ronda peridotite and the Jubrique Unit, where a strong thinning has also been documented, are all in contact at a triple junction between the western contact of the peridotite and the Nieves/Jubrique contact. Altogether, these features support the idea that the western shear zone limiting the peridotites from the Nieves and Jubrique units is a tilted large‐scale extensional detachment that has exhumed mantle rocks from beneath the continental basement (Jubrique Unit) and its Mesozoic cover (Nieves Unit) during an episode of hyper‐extension.

The sapphirine-bearing rocks in contact with the Lherz peridotite body: New mineralogical data, age and interpretation

Sapphirine-bearing rocks are described in the Aulus Basin (Ariège, France) in a contact zone between the Lherz peridotitic body and Mesozoic metasediments which underwent the Pyrenean Cretaceous high-temperature, low-pressure metamorphic event (Monchoux, 1970, 1972a, 1972b). Sapphirine crystals occur in layered clastic deposits characterized by an uncommon suite of Al-Mg-rich minerals. A detailed petrographic study of sixteen samples representative of the diversity of the Lherz sapphirine-bearing rocks is presented. These rocks include breccias and microbreccias with various compositions. Some samples are composed of polymineralic clasts and isolated minerals that derive from regionally well-known protoliths such as ultramafic rocks, meta-ophites, “micaceous hornfels”, and very scarce Paleozoic basement rocks. Nevertheless, a large portion of the sapphirine-bearing clastic suite is composed of mono- and polymineralic debris that derive from unknown protolith(s). We define a "sapphirine-bearing mineral suite” (SBMS) composed of monomineralic debris including: sapphirine + enstatite + aluminous spinel + Mg-amphiboles + Ca-amphiboles + kornerupine + accessory minerals (apatite, diopside, rutile, serpentine, smectite, tourmaline, vermiculite and a white mica). We highlight the dominance of metamorphic Keuper clastic materials in the studied rocks and the presence of inclusions of anhydrite and F-, Cl-, Sr-rich apatite in minerals of the Al-Mg-rich suite. The brecciated texture and the presence of unequivocal sedimentary features suggest that the sapphirine-bearing rocks were mechanically disaggregated and then experienced winnowing in underwater conditions with poor mixing between the different sources. We measured U-Pb rutile age data in order to provide constraints on the age of (one of) the protolith(s) of those clastic deposits. The obtained age (98.6 + 1.2 Ma) is interpreted as the age of metamorphism of this protolith of the SBMS. Previous works interpreted the Lherz sapphirine-bearing rocks as crustal protoliths modified at depth along the contact with the ultramafic rocks of the Lherz body during their ascent towards shallower depths. These new data imply: (i) an Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic origin for the main protolith of the sapphirine-bearing rocks; (ii) the metamorphism of this protolith along an active hot crust–mantle detachment during Cenomanian times with the involvement of metasomatic, brine-type fluids; and (iii) its brecciation during the exhumation of the material due to the evolution of the detachment, followed by subsequent sedimentary reworking of the metamorphic material.

Deciphering the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Nevado-Filábride complex (Betic Cordillera, Spain) – A petrochronological study

The Nevado-Filábride metamorphic complex (Betic Cordillera, Spain) exhibits a succession of Paleozoic and Mesozoic metasediments, orthogneisses and metabasites. The complex has been divided into three tectono-metamorphic units, from bottom to top: the Ragua, Calar-Alto and Bédar-Macael units. The petrochronological evolution of the complex is not well constrained as P-T-t conditions differ between authors mainly because of the investigated rock types and the thermobarometric and geochronological techniques applied. Five garnet-bearing mica-schists from various areas of the complex were investigated for constraining and comparing the shape of the P-T paths recorded by the three units. Quantitative compositional mapping of garnet and K-white mica was combined with iterative thermodynamic models. The resulting P-T trajectories suggest that the units experienced similar clockwise P-T trajectories during Alpine metamorphism. The three units reached high-pressure and low-temperature conditions of ~2.0 GPa and ~520 °C in the Bédar-Macael unit; ~2.0–2.2 GPa and ~470–490 °C in the Calar-Alto unit; and ~2.2 GPa and ~480 °C in the Ragua unit. All samples recorded a temperature increase of ~130 °C during exhumation as shown by the successive stages of white mica re-equilibrations. Heating during exhumation was probably triggered by the hot hanging wall over the Nevado-Filábride complex. The garnet rims reflect a high-temperature and low-pressure stage which was dated at ~13 Ma using allanite U-Th-Pb geochronology (LA-ICP-MS). Following the temperature peak, exhumation continued associated to cooling. Similarities in the shapes of P-T path throughout the units suggest a continuous metamorphic sequence rather a tectonically divided complex.

Along-strike shear-sense reversal in the Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone at the front of the Adula Nappe (Central Alps, Switzerland)

The Adula Nappe in the Central Alps comprises pre-Mesozoic basement and minor Mesozoic sediments, overprinted by Paleogene eclogite-facies metamorphism. Peak pressures increase southward from ca. 1.2 GPa to values over 3 GPa, which is interpreted to reflect exhumation from a south-dipping subduction zone. The over- and underlying nappes experienced much lower Alpine pressures. To the north, the Adula Nappe ends in a lobe surrounded by Mesozoic metasediments. The external shape of the lobe is simple but the internal structure highly complicated. The frontal boundary of the nappe represents a discontinuity in metamorphic peak temperatures, between higher T in the Adula Nappe and lower T outside. A shear zone with steeply dipping foliation and shallowly-plunging, WSW-ENE oriented, i.e. orogen-parallel stretching lineation overprinted the northernmost part of the Adula Nappe and the adjacent Mesozoic metasediments (Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone). It formed during the local Leis deformation phase. The shear sense in the Vals-Scaradra Shear Zone changes along strike; from sinistral in the W to dextral in the E. Quartz textures also vary along strike. In the W, they indicate sinistral shearing with a component of coaxial (flattening) strain. A texture from the middle part of the shear zone is symmetric and indicates coaxial flattening. Textures from the eastern part show strong, single c-axis maxima indicating dextral shearing. These relations reflect complex flow within the Adula Nappe during a late stage of its exhumation. The structures and reconstructed flow field indicate that the Adula basement protruded upward and northward into the surrounding metasediments, spread laterally, and expelled the metasediments in front towards west and east.

Very high geothermal gradient during mantle exhumation recorded in mylonitic marbles and carbonate breccias from a Mesozoic Pyrenean palaeomargin (Lherz area, North Pyrenean Zone, France)

Although they are famous among Earth scientists, the Lherz peridotites are exposed within geological formations of the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) still lacking detailed investigations. Our study focuses on the metasediments of the Aulus basin hosting the Lherz peridotite body and associated ultramafic fragments of smaller size. The new data set comprises of structural analysis and detailed geological mapping of the massive Mesozoic marbles that form the prerift sequence typical of the NPZ and of the ultramafic-rich clastic breccia formations surrounding the peridotite bodies. The massive marbles display an evolution from hot and ductile to cold and brittle deformation, indicative of an exhumation process ending with the sedimentary reworking of both the deformed Mesozoic metasediments and the exhumed ultramafic rocks. Crystal Preferred Orientations (CPO) measured in the marbles support a deformation mechanism by dislocation creep of calcite, which is dominant between 400°C and 600°C; these deformation temperatures are within the range determined earlier by Clerc et al. (2015), using RSCM (Raman Spectroscopy of Carbonaceous Material) geothermometry. As a consequence, we better describe the transition from ductile to brittle deformation in the prerift marbles and clarify the origin of the syn-rift breccias. Due to continuous exhumation along detachments’ faults, the brecciated metamorphic carbonates of the prerift NPZ sedimentary cover were passively uplifted towards shallower levels and progressively unroofed, while transported passively on the back of the exhumed ultramafic footwall. These results are consistent with the recent interpretations of the North Pyrenean peridotites as remnants of subcontinental mantle rocks exhumed within the pre-Pyrenean rift system. We emphasize the importance of tectonic decoupling between the Mesozoic sedimentary cover and the Palaeozoic basement, which leads to the juxtaposition of metamorphosed and deformed Mesozoic sediments directly on top of exhumed mantle rocks. We favor a model of tectonic denudation of the peridotites below prerift sediments metamorphosed during the extension of the basin floor under high temperatures and in a thermal regime characterized by a very high gradient.

Cretaceous mantle exhumation in the central Pyrenees: New constraints from the peridotites in eastern Ariège (North Pyrenean zone, France)

We provide new constraints on the modes of mantle exhumation and denudation in the pre-orogenic Pyrenees by investigating the poorly known peridotites located east of the Lherz body, in eastern Ariège (Vicdessos, Urs, Bestiac, Caussou and Prades main peridotitic bodies). We show that: (1) numerous peridotite bodies, not described so far, are constituted by decametric to sub-metric outcrops scattered between and around the main outcrops identified by Monchoux (1970); (2) most of the peridotites form blocks and lenses of various sizes, from millimetric monocrystalline grains to hectometric olistoliths, embedded in debris flows involving mainly Mesozoic metasediments; these peridotites can therefore be linked to the S-type peridotites of Lagabrielle et al. (2010), and share similarities with the peridotites of Lherz region (Clerc et al., 2012). All originated from tectono-sedimentary processes associated with mantle exhumation in relation with extreme thinning and breakoff of the continental basement; (3) the various petrographic characters of these peridotites and their heterogeneity in serpentinisation degree imply a peculiar mode of exhumation, which merges mantle fragments inherited from different structural levels; (4) the lack of tectonic structures such as faults and shear planes associated with the ultramafic-rich breccia formation and the presence of neoformation of metamorphic minerals within the matrix preclude their origin as cataclasites related to the Latest Cretaceous and Tertiary Pyrenean contractional deformation. The peridotites of eastern Ariège are indisputable witnesses of the presence of an inverted hyper-extended Cretaceous passive margin forming the current North Pyrenean zone. The geometry of the extensional system was complex and probably associated with strike-slip faults and transcurrent motion.

Geology of the Scalaro valley – Sesia Zone (Italian Western Alps)

ABSTRACTIn the Sesia Zone (Italian Western Alps), slivers of continental crust characterised by an Alpine high-pressure imprint are intermingled with abundant mafic rocks and Mesozoic metasediments. An extensive study of the central Sesia Zone was undertaken to identify and reconstruct the lithological setting of the mono-cyclic sediments of the Scalaro Unit. A new geological map (1:5000) and schematic cross sections across the Scalaro Unit and the adjoining Eclogitic Micaschist Complex are presented here. In order to delimit the size and shape of the mono-metamorphic unit and understand its internal geometry with respect to the poly-metamorphic basement, an integrated approach was used. Linking observations and data across a range of scales, from kilometres in the field down to petrological and chronological data obtained at micrometre scale, we define for the first time the real size and internal geometry of the Scalaro Unit, as well as its large-scale structural context.

U–Th–Pb dating of collision in the external Alpine domains (Urseren zone, Switzerland) using low temperature allanite and monazite

Dating metamorphism in external domains of orogenic belts is a challenging task due to the few chronometers available and common inheritance or disturbance of the isotopic systems at low-temperature metamorphic conditions. In the external domains of the Central Alps (Urseren zone), the occurrence of distinct populations of monazite and allanite in one single outcrop offers a unique chance to evaluate the potential of these two REE-minerals to date successive metamorphic stages within a collisional cycle. The studied outcrop (locality of Garvera) exposes Mesozoic metasediments that were metamorphosed under greenschist facies conditions (T<450°C). Under these conditions, REE-mineral grains (or domains) are typically small (~5–50μm), and in this case also occur as porphyroblast in pelites at the contact with carbonate layers or veins (allanite grains >200μm). Based on the texture and mineral assemblages, REE-mineral growth conditions were attributed to be detrital (Mnz1), syn-kinematic (Mnz2 and Aln1), post-kinematic at the thermal peak (Aln2) and retrograde during late-stage deformation (Mnz3). To constrain temporally the successive crystallisation conditions, REE-minerals have been dated using SHRIMP ion microprobe. U–Th–Pb analyses show that the Alpine REE-minerals have a high Th/U and while most of the 206Pb is non-radiogenic (f206 that can reach up to 99% for allanite), Th–Pb ages can be obtained using 206Pbc-corrected Th–Pb isochron. The age of different generations of allanite and monazite constrains the timing of successive collisional stages: for the prograde accretion at 22.5±1.5Ma (Mnz1 and Aln1), thermal peak at 19.3±2.0Ma (Aln2) and late stage hydrothermal veining at 13.6±1.4Ma (Mnz3). These novel geochronological data confirm the regional diachroneity through the Central Alps with younger ages (burial, thermal peak and exhumation) toward the external domains. The similarity between metamorphic ages of samples taken in the Urseren zone and the nearby crystalline massifs suggests that the metasedimentary cover of the Urseren zone remained closely juxtaposed to the external crystalline basement during the Alpine collision cycle. The monazite age of the late stage vein testifies for active tectonic deformation at 13.6±1.5Ma, which likely played a crucial control on the exhumation of the external massifs in the Middle Miocene.

Structures, microfabrics and textures of the Cordilleran-type Rechnitz metamorphic core complex, Eastern Alps.

Rechnitz window group represents a Cordilleran-style metamorphic core complex, which is almost entirely located within nearly contemporaneous Neogene sediments at the transition zone between the Eastern Alps and the Neogene Pannonian basin. Two tectonic units are distinguished within the Rechnitz metamorphic core complex (RMCC): (1) a lower unit mainly composed of Mesozoic metasediments, and (2) an upper unit mainly composed of ophiolite remnants. Both units are metamorphosed within greenschist facies conditions during earliest Miocene followed by exhumation and cooling. The internal structure of the RMCC is characterized by the following succession of structure-forming events: (1) blueschist relics of Paleocene/Eocene age formed as a result of subduction (D1), (2) ductile nappe stacking (D2) of an ophiolite nappe over a distant passive margin succession (ca. E–W to WNW–ESE oriented stretching lineation), (3) greenschist facies-grade metamorphism annealing dominant in the lower unit, and (4) ductile low-angle normal faulting (D3) (with mainly NE–SW oriented stretching lineation), and (5) ca. E to NE-vergent folding (D4). The microfabrics are related to mostly ductile nappe stacking to ductile low-angle normal faulting. Paleopiezometry in conjunction with P–T estimates yield high strain rates of 10− 11 to 10− 13 s− 1, depending on the temperature (400–350 °C) and choice of piezometer and flow law calibration. Progressive microstructures and texture analysis indicate an overprint of the high-temperature fabrics (D2) by the low-temperature deformation (D3). Phengitic mica from the Paleocene/Eocene high-pressure metamorphism remained stable during D2 ductile deformation as well as preserved within late stages of final sub-greenschist facies shearing. Chlorite geothermometry yields two temperature groups, 376–328 °C, and 306–132 °C. Chlorite is seemingly accessible to late-stage resetting. The RMCC underwent an earlier large-scale coaxial deformation accommodated by a late non-coaxial shear with ductile low-angle normal faulting, resulting in subvertical thinning in the extensional deformation regime. The RMCC was rapidly exhumed during ca. 23–18 Ma.

Reply to comment by P. Olivier on “Preorogenic exhumation of the North Pyrenean Agly Massif (Eastern Pyrenees, France)”

We make this reply to Philippe Oliver's comments on the deformation of the Mesozoic cover of the northern Agly massif.

The Valaisan controversy revisited: Multi-stage folding of a Mesozoic hyper-extended margin in the Petit St. Bernard pass area (Western Alps)

The Valaisan units, in the Alps, sample remnants of a Mesozoic basin located along the distal margin of the European plate. The extent and timing of crustal thinning and the presence/absence of rift-related magmatism in this basin have been investigated in the newly defined Punta Rossa unit, at the Petit St. Bernard pass (Western Alps). The Punta Rossa unit consists of laterally discontinuous slivers of Paleozoic basement, rare meta-pillow lavas and abundant metasedimentary breccias. These rock types are located along the multiply folded interface between serpentinized ultramafics and radiolaria-bearing garnet–chloritoid micaschists. Fault breccias pre-dating Alpine metamorphism are common at the top of the ultramafics and throughout the continental basement slivers, but they are absent in all other lithologies. These observations suggest that subcontinental mantle and Paleozoic basement were juxtaposed by brittle faulting before the overlying sediments were deposited. Rift-related thinning was probably accompanied by minor mafic magmatism, as indicated by pillow lavas directly in contact with garnet–chloritoid micaschists.The Punta Rossa unit preserves evidence of a multi-stage Alpine evolution. Post-high pressure isoclinal folding (Fctd) is associated with a pervasive axial planar cleavage (Sctd), defined by chloritoid and white mica. Following re-heating to ~400°C, Sctd was statically overgrown by garnet and chloritoid, prior to large-scale recumbent folding at greenschist facies conditions (Frec). Interference between Fctd and Frec is responsible for the regional occurrence of basement rocks resting upon Mesozoic metasediments. Following Frec, shear zones with top-to-the-south kinematics dissected the tectonic pile, prior to the formation of upright folds with NNE–SSW trending fold axes.Therefore, the Punta Rossa unit preserves evidence of complete crustal excision in the Valaisan basin, with exhumation of ultramafics and minor mafic magmatism. Multi-stage deformation and a laterally discontinuous pre-Alpine architecture, typical of hyper extended rifted margins, are responsible for the complex outcrop pattern observed in the field.

Petrology of high-grade crustal xenoliths in the Chalcatzingo Miocene subvolcanic field, southern Mexico: buried basement of the Guerrero-Morelos platform and tectonostratigraphic implications

The Miocene Chalcatzingo trondhjemitic volcanic field, sited along the southern margin of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, is a newly discovered locality with deep-seated crustal xenoliths that provide fundamental petrologic information on the nature of the unexposed metamorphic basement. The volcanic field lies along the eastern edge of the Cretaceous Guerrero-Morelos platform, which juxtaposes the Guerrero and Mixteco terranes of southern Mexico. Xenoliths consist of high temperature to ultra-high temperature metapelites as well as mafic and quartzofeldspathic gneisses, all of which show evidence of multiple granulite to amphibolite facies metamorphism and ductile deformation. A detailed petrologic study of representative xenoliths indicates a metamorphic evolution that apparently followed a clockwise pressure–temperature path leading from biotite-sillimanite1/kyanite(?)-quartz assemblages (M1) to the assemblage plagioclase-garnet-sillimanite2-rutile/ilmenite (M2) with a peak at ∼9–11 kbar and >870°C. These conditions were followed by rapid uplift to <6 kbar and >800°C, which produced the decompression assemblage spinel-cordierite-sillimanite3-corundum ± orthopyroxene ± quartz (M3) before shallow emplacement of the xenolith-bearing trondhjemitic magma. Three possible sources for the xenoliths are considered: (1) early Mesozoic metasediments buried in the middle crust; (2) Precambrian lower crust; and (3) subducted Cenozoic sediments trapped in the mantle wedge. Based on the deep-seated, polymetamorphic nature of the xenoliths, the Nd depleted mantle model age of an orthogneissic xenolith, and on regional tectonostratigraphic considerations, we suggest that the xenolith source was Proterozoic continental crust. Although old zircon inheritance in the host trondhjemite is minimal, it may be explained by a lack of interaction of the magma with the traversed lithosphere. Studies of Palaeogene shallow intrusions exposed 140 km west of Chalcatzingo in the Guerrero terrane (Pepechuca plug) and 80 km southeast of that place in the Mixteco terrane (Puente Negro dikes) reveal the presence of similar very high-grade aluminous xenoliths. However, these magmas were probably generated by partial melting of Triassic–Jurassic metasediments of the Guerrero terrane underplated by basaltic magmas in Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous times or from Precambrian crust assimilated by underplated mafic magmas of Oligocene age, respectively.

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEOGENE BASINS IN THE SE BETIC CORDILLERA (SE SPAIN): A CASE STUDY OF THE TABERNAS‐SORBAS AND HUERCAL OVERA BASINS

Neogene— Quaternary sedimentary basins in SE Spain contain a record of the geodynamic evolution of the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera. The basement of the Internal Zone is composed of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic metasediments which have undergone variable degrees of metamorphism. The External Zones consist of largely unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks which were deposited on the SE margin of the Iberian Plate during the Mesozoic and Early Cenozoic. Westward tectonic emplacement of these terranes onto the Iberian Plate took place between the end of the Palaeogene and the middle Miocene. In this paper, we investigate the late Miocene (Tortonian‐Messinian) stratigraphy of two basins in the Internal Zone — the Tabernas‐Sorbas and Huercal Overa Basins. We also consider some recently‐acquired structural data.The Tabernas‐Sorbas and Huercal Overa Basins are east‐west trending depressions bounded to north and south by sierras in which basement rocks are exposed. The basins contain very similar sedimentary successions in which planktonic foraminifera have been preserved. However, the faunal composition is very variable, and the observed sporadic and abrupt changes in foraminiferal populations imply palaeo‐ecologic and palaeo‐oceanographic instabilities which may be associated with local tectonism. Stratigraphic markers were affected by these changes, making precise dating difficult near the Tortonian‐Messinian boundary.Our data indicate that Messinian rocks are more widely distributed than has hitherto been suspected. A Messinian age for the prominent coral limestones in the Tabernas‐Sorbas Basin has long been accepted; similar coral limestones in the Huercal Overa Basin have previously been dated as Tortonian. However, our data show that these carbonates are of Messinian age in both basins.The origin and development of the Tabernas‐Sorbas and Huercal Overa Basins have previously been interpreted in a number of ways. Many (but not all) models favour strike‐slip movement on NE‐SW or east‐west trending basin‐bounding faults. The formation and deformation of the basins occurred during the Tortonian and Messinian, at the same time as the uplift of the sierras. The sierras are here interpreted to represent structural culminations above westward‐verging, deep‐seated thrust faults, and the basins to be lateral folds (or lateral ramps, i.e. oriented parallel to the thrust transport direction). The east‐west trending strike‐slip faults at the margin of the Sorbas‐ Tabernas Basin may be compatible with such a model.Major NE‐SW trending, left‐lateral wrench faults have been described in this area. These faults cut through late Miocene and Pliocene deposits, and are still active at the present day. Although these faults were initiated during the late Miocene, they do not appear to have influenced the development of the Tabernas‐Sorbas and Huercal Overa Basins during the early Tortonian.

Events in alpine deformation and metamorphism in the Northern Pennine Zone and Southern Gotthard massif regions, Switzerland

The Pennine nappes consist of broad subrounded anticlinal cores of crystalline basement enveloped by a relatively thin cover of Mesozoic metasediments. They have been subsequently refolded by two more phases of deformation, F 2 and F 3, on a regional scale. The imprint of these deformations, F 2 and F 3, also occur in the southern part of the Gotthard massif and its Mesozoic cover. The main episode of Alpine metamorphism, producing principal porphyroblasts, has occurred after the formation of Pennine nappes as a result of heat emanating from the “thermic dome” of the Lepontine Alps. The study of metamorphic fabrics suggests that the Alpine metamorphism probably had a higher grade during the time of the rise of “thermic dome” than during the formation of Pennine nappes.