Late and post-collisional tectonic evolution of the Adria-Europe suture in the Vardar Zone

The Vardar Zone is a product of the Triassic-Jurassic opening of the Neotethys, Jurassic obduction, Late Cretaceous/Paleogene consumption of the oceanic crust and continental collision. During the last process, the Eastern Vardar Zone was thrust over the Central and eventually both onto the Western Vardar Zone. The present paleomagnetic and structural study provided new results from the first two zones in the Belgrade area. The younger set of data, together with published ones from the third zone, provide firm evidence for about 30 clockwise vertical axial rotation of the Vardar Zone between 23 and 18 Ma, connected to extension driven by the roll-back of the Carpathians lithosphere.& nbsp;Earlier, the Vardar Zone was affected by intensive compression generating a nappe pile, comprising the Eastern, Central and Western Vardar Zones. This assembly was eventually thrusted over CCW rotating Adriatic elements in the Paleogene. The rotation triggered a system of right lateral strike slip faults between different tectonic slices in the Vardar Zone. This tectonic model offers a plausible explanation for the paleomagnetic directions of post-folding age of the Upper Cretaceous flysch of the Central Vardar Zone. Nevertheless, the pos-sibility of remagnetization of the magnetite bearing flysch during Late Neogene uplift can not be excluded.

Automated summary

The Vardar Zone in the Balkans is formed by a series of geological processes, including the opening of the Neotethys, obduction, consumption of the oceanic crust, and continental collision. Recent studies have found that the Vardar Zone underwent a clockwise rotation of about 30 degrees between 23 and 18 million years ago, related to tectonic extension. The compression of the zone resulted in the formation of a nappe pile. This geological model provides a plausible explanation for the paleomagnetic directions observed in the Central Vardar Zone.