Structure and Evolution of the Mediterranean Basins

Abstract

In this paper we attempt to reconstruct the general history of the Alpine-Mediterranean realm on the basis of geological crosssections onland and offshore, general mapping of the basins and the main structural units of the Mediterranean area, and geophysical data. The history of the Alpine-Mediterranean realm is related to the plate movements of Europe and Africa and associated with the opening of the Atlantic. After a first stage with a broad oceanic domain (Tethys), the opening of a proto-eastern Mediterranean and the formation of active margins south of Europe modified the physiography until the stage of continental collision. The western and eastern Mediterranean basins differ. The western basins are very young: Oligocene-Miocene episutural and intracontinental marginal basins, recently rejuvenated (Tyrrhenian Sea) and always part of the Alpine orogenic belt. The eastern basins are remnants of a former much larger Mesozoic basin south of the still active Alpine belt. The Cyprus, Aegean, and Calabrian arcs are described successively. Diagrammatic sections and schematic maps show this Cenozoic evolution and a speculative history is presented.