Geophysical Contribution to Knowledge of the Mediterranean Crust

Abstract

Very thin crust (7–9 km) is revealed by DSS and wide-angle DRS in the deep plains of the Algéro-Provençal, Ligurian, and Tyrrhenian basins. The experimental data are few, but their meaning can be extended areally using gravity anomalies. Although constituting different geologic settings, all these basins are relatively young or rejuvenated; their collapse is revealed by strong vertical or subvertical faults systems, and subsidence is continuing. Extension of the crystalline basement away from the coasts can be followed by DRS and aeromagnetism. The crust-to-mantle transition is not always evident, and can be a progressive one; prevailing tension fractured the crust and fostered magmatic intrusions and effusions as revealed by magnetic anomalies.