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Geophysical Contribution to Knowledge of the Mediterranean Crust

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Geological Evolution of the Mediterranean Basin

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Miniere e Geofisica Applicata, Università di Trieste, 34123, Trieste, Italy

    Carlo Morelli

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  1. Carlo Morelli
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sedimentology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20560, USA

    Daniel Jean Stanley

  2. Istituto di Geologia, Università degli Studi, 61029, Urbino, Italy

    Forese-Carlo Wezel

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© 1985 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Morelli, C. (1985). Geophysical Contribution to Knowledge of the Mediterranean Crust. In: Stanley, D.J., Wezel, FC. (eds) Geological Evolution of the Mediterranean Basin. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8572-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8572-1_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-8574-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-8572-1

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