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Palinspastic Reconstruction of the Pre-Triassic Basement Units in the Alps: The Eastern Alps

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Pre-Mesozoic Geology in the Alps

Abstract

The pre-orogenic palaeogeographic zonation in the Eastern Alps is reconstructed by inversion of intraorogenic displacements. We use palaeomagnetic data to constrain rigid block rotations around vertical axes and strain trajectories to elicit the orientations of horizontal displacements of Alpine nappes. The restoration uses a factorization into stages of orogenic wedge evolution: (1) a stacking-imbrication stage, which formed the Alpine wedge; (2) an unroofing stage, which caused wedge extension due to gravitational instability; and (3) a lateral extrusion stage, in which material moved from the compressed wedge toward a weakly constrained lateral margin.

Restoration of lateral extrusion deformation compensates for most of the 30° of post-Palaeogene rotations, rearranges the Southern Alps until the Periadriatic line becomes a straight line, and displaces the Austro-Alpine units E of the Tauern window westward until the presently exposed rocks in the Tauern window are covered by two thirds. All Miocene rifts in eastern Austria are closed. A minimum of 40% (ca. 150 km) E-W extension (parallel to the orogenic strike), 50% (ca. 100 km) N-S shortening at the position of the Tauern window, and 30% (ca. 70 km) N-S shortening along the eastern end of the Alps were recorded. Reconstruction of unroofing tectonics compensates for E-W extension portrayed by gravitational spreading-gliding nappes, core complexes, zones of sinistral wrenching, and the formation of the Gosau basins. Speculative minimum total E-W extension during this stage was 65% (ca. 80 km) in eastern Austria. Stacking-imbrication stage deformation shortened the Austro-Alpine basement units of the Eastern Alps by a minimum of 50% (ca. 385 km) in an E-W and 40% (ca. 185 km) in a N-S direction during transpressive convergence. The cumulative amount of contraction within the Austro-Alpine basement units is compatible with the amount of shortening determined by section balancing in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austro-Alpine cover).

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Authors
  1. L. Ratschbacher
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  2. W. Frisch
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Universität Pérolles, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    J. F. von Raumer

  2. Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Karl-Franzens-Universität, Heinrichstraße 26, A-8010, Graz, Austria

    Franz Neubauer

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Ratschbacher, L., Frisch, W. (1993). Palinspastic Reconstruction of the Pre-Triassic Basement Units in the Alps: The Eastern Alps. In: von Raumer, J.F., Neubauer, F. (eds) Pre-Mesozoic Geology in the Alps. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84640-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84640-3_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-84642-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-84640-3

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