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Foreland- and hinterland-verging structures in fold-and-thrust belt: an example from the Variscan foreland of Sardinia

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Abstract

In the Variscan foreland of SW-Sardinia (Western Mediterranean sea), close to the leading edge of the nappe zone, nappe emplacement caused folding and repetition of stratigraphic successions, km-scale offset of stratigraphic boundaries and an extensive brittle-ductile shear zone. Thrusts assumed a significant role, accommodating a progressive change of shortening direction and forming complicated thrust triangle zones. During thrust emplacement of the nappes, strong penetrative deformation affected rocks beneath the basal thrust of the nappe stack and produced coeval structures with both foreland-directed and hinterland-directed (backthrusting) shear sense. Cross-cutting and overprinting relationships clearly show that the shortening direction changed progressively from N–S to E–W, producing in sequence: (1) E–W trending open folds contemporaneous with early nappe emplacement in the nearby nappe zone; (2) recumbent, quasi-isoclinal folds with axial plane foliation and widespread, “top-towards-the-SW”, penetrative shearing; (3) N–S trending folds with axial plane foliation, contemporaneous with late nappe emplacement; (4) backthrusts and related asymmetrical folds developed during the final stages of shortening, postdating foreland-verging structures. Structures at (3) and (4) occurred during the same tectonic transport “top-towards-the-E” of the nappe zone over the foreland. The several generations of folds, thrusts, and foliations with different orientations developed, result in a complex finite structural architecture, not completely explicable by the theoretical model proposed up to date.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was provided by Italian Geological Survey-Regione Autonoma della Sardegna (Grant by CARG mapping project-L. 438/95) and by the University of Cagliari (ex 60% Grant). O. Vanderhaeghe is thanked for the review of a preliminary version of the paper; L. Carmignani and P. Conti are thanked for their insightful comments and criticism; the paper benefited from the fruitful comments of E. Tavarnelli and C. J. Northrup that, together with R. Cioni, improved the English form.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Via Trentino, 51, 09127, Cagliari, Italy

    Antonio Funedda

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Funedda, A. Foreland- and hinterland-verging structures in fold-and-thrust belt: an example from the Variscan foreland of Sardinia. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 98, 1625–1642 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-008-0327-y

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