Ivrea mantle wedge, arc of the Western Alps, and kinematic evolution of the Alps-Apennines orogenic system

The construction of five crustal-scale profiles across the Western Alps and the Ivrea mantle wedge integrates up-to-date geological and geophysical information and reveals important along strike changes in the overall structure of the crust of the Western Alpine arc. Tectonic analysis of the profiles, together with a review of the existing literature allows for proposing the following multistage evolution of the arc of the Western Alps: (1) exhumation of the mantle beneath the Ivrea Zone to shallow crustal depths during Mesozoic is a prerequisite for the formation of a strong Ivrea mantle wedge whose strength exceeds that of surrounding mostly quartz-bearing units, and consequently allows for indentation of the Ivrea mantle wedge and eastward back-thrusting of the western Alps during Alpine orogeny. (2) A first early stage (pre-35 Ma) of the West-Alpine orogenic evolution is characterized by top-NNW thrusting in sinistral transpression causing at least some 260 km displacement of internal Western Alps and E-W-striking Alps farther east, together with the Adria micro-plate, towards N to NNW with respect to stable Europe. (3) The second stage (35-25 Ma), further accentuating the arc, is associated with top-WNW thrusting in the external zones of the central portion of the arc and is related to the lateral indentation of the Ivrea mantle slice towards WNW by some 100-150 km. (4) The final stage of arc formation (25-0 Ma) is associated with orogeny in the Apennines leading to oroclinal bending in the southernmost Western Alps in connection with the 50 degrees counter-clockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia block and the Ligurian Alps. Analysis of existing literature data on the Alps-Apennines transition zone reveals that substantial parts of the Northern Apennines formerly suffered Alpine-type shortening associated with an E-dipping Alpine subduction zone and were backthrusted to the NE during Apenninic orogeny that commences in the Oligocene.