Journal
GEOSCIENCES
Volume 12, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/geosciences12020065
Keywords
Variscan belt; Alpine basement; orocline; Paleozoic ophiolites; Western Alps; South Alpine; Austroalpine
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The existence of the Variscan belt in the Alpine basement has been acknowledged, but its correlation to the litho-tectonic domains outside of the Alpine chain is still disputed. By studying various geological units, a preliminary reconstruction of the Variscan orogen in the Alpine basement can be made.
The existence of pieces of the Variscan belt in the Alpine basement has been acknowledged for a long time but the correlation of these massifs to the litho-tectonic domains established in Western Europa outside the Alpine chain is still disputed. Due to their ubiquitous character, the abundant late Variscan migmatites and granites are useless to reconstruct the Variscan architecture in the Alpine basement. Ophiolitic sutures, high- and low-grade metamorphic units, and foreland basins provide a preliminary reconstruction of the Variscan orogen exposed in the Alpine basement. The longitudinal extension of the Armorican and Saxo-Thuringian microcontinents between Laurussia and Gondwana is proposed independently of the Intra-alpine and Galatian terranes. The litho-tectonic units of the Corsica-Sardinia segment are correlated to the Moldanubian, Armorican and Saxo-Thuringian Domains. In the Alpine Helvetic and Penninic Domains, the Chamrousse ophiolites are ascribed to the Tepla-Le Conquet suture, whereas the Lepontine, and Stubach ophiolites represent the Rheic suture. The south-directed nappe stack of the South Alpine Domain is similar to the Moldanubian French Massif Central. In the Austroalpine nappe stack, the Ritting ophiolites separate Saxo-Thuringia and Armorica continental blocks. Disentangling the Variscan belt in the Alpine basement suggests a concave-to-the-East arcuate structure called here the Variscan Alpidic orocline.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available