Syn-orogenic extension in the Peloritani Alpine Thrust Belt (NE Sicily, Italy): evidence from the Ali Unit

Structural and petrological analyses oil the All Unit. in the Peloritani Thrust Belt, document the first evidence for Alpine exhumation associated with syn-orogenic extension in this part of the Calabria-Peloritani Are. The All Unit displays ductile structures Occurred during three Alpine deformation phases (D-a1 D-a2, D-a3). D-a1 and D-a3 developed in a contactractional context, whereas Da2 was generated in an extensional regime. The present-day tectonic contact between the All Unit and the overlying Mandanici Unit is interpreted as a low-angle extensional detachment responsible for the metamorphic break between the two units. Structural overprinting relationships indicate that the development of D-a2 structures and related tectonic exhumation occurred during syn-convergence extension, and were followed by further nappe stacking in the Peloritani Belt.