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Geodynamic evolution of ophiolites from Albania and Greece (Dinaric-Hellenic belt): one, two, or more oceanic basins?

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Abstract

All the geological constraints for an exhaustive reconstruction of the Triassic to Tertiary tectonic history of the southern Dinaric-Hellenic belt can be found in Albania and Greece. This article aims to schematically reconstruct this long tectonic evolution primarily based on a detailed analysis of the tectonic setting, the stratigraphy, the geochemistry, and the age of the ophiolites. In contrast to what was previously reported in the literature, we propose a new subdivision on a regional scale of the ophiolite complexes cropping out in Albania and Greece. This new subdivision includes six types of ophiolite occurrences, each corresponding to different tectonic units derived from a single obducted sheet. These units are represented by: (1) sub-ophiolite mélange, (2) Triassic ocean-floor ophiolites, (3) metamorphic soles, (4) Jurassic fore-arc ophiolites, (5) Jurassic intra-oceanic-arc ophiolites, and (6) Jurassic back-arc basin ophiolites. The overall features of these ophiolites are coherent with the existence of a single, though composite, oceanic basin located east of the Adria/Pelagonian continental margin. This oceanic basin was originated during the Middle Triassic and was subsequently (Early Jurassic) affected by an east-dipping intra-oceanic subduction. This subduction was responsible for the birth of intra-oceanic-arc and back-arc oceanic basins separated by a continental volcanic arc during the Early to Middle Jurassic. From the uppermost Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, an obduction developed, during which the ophiolites were thrust westwards firstly onto the neighboring oceanic lithosphere and then onto the Adria margin.

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Acknowledgments

This research was carried out with grants from M.I.U.R (Project PRIN 2006, “Structural evolution and stratigraphic setting of the Ibar/Kopaonik and Guevgueli ophiolite sequences (Republic of Serbia-Montenegro and Greece) and comparison with Albanian ophiolites”), C.N.R (Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse) and Ferrara, Firenze and Pisa Universities. This research was supported by the M.A.E. Project of Scientific & Technological Cooperation Programme between the Republic of Italy and the Republic of Albania (2005–2007). The authors would like to thank Alaudin Kodra, Farouk Mustafa, and Kujtim Onuzi in Albania and Nicolas Carras and Adonis Photiades in Greece for fieldwork assistance and stimulating discussions. All the authors are indebted to Stephan Schmid and Jackie Ferrière for their careful review and their useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria, 53, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Michele Marroni & Luca Pandolfi

  2. Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Michele Marroni & Luca Pandolfi

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira, 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Valerio Bortolotti & Gianfranco Principi

  4. Istitutito di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Via La Pira, 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Marco Chiari

  5. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44100, Ferrara, Italy

    Emilio Saccani

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Correspondence to Luca Pandolfi.

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Bortolotti, V., Chiari, M., Marroni, M. et al. Geodynamic evolution of ophiolites from Albania and Greece (Dinaric-Hellenic belt): one, two, or more oceanic basins?. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 102, 783–811 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-012-0835-7

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