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Tectonic Evolution of the Tyrrhenian Sea

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Geological Evolution of the Mediterranean Basin

Abstract

The tectonic evolution of the Tyrrhenian area is related to the progressive approach and the collision between the Western Mediterranean and Adria microplates from the Upper Cretaceous to the middle Pliocene. During this time span the Tyrrhenian Alps and Apennines were formed. From the Tortonian until the present a process of oceanization by mantle diapirism took place in the Tyrrhenian area associated with an extensional tectonic regime oriented east-west. The consequent isostatic foundering produced the Tyrrhenian Sea and governed its progressive deepening.

The editors assumed the responsibility of completing and editing the chapter after Professor R. Selli’s illness, and thus also accept the responsibility for mistakes that they may have introduced.

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  1. Raimondo Selli
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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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Selli, R. (1985). Tectonic Evolution of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 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_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8572-1_7

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