Tectonic map and overall architecture of the Alpine orogen

The new tectonic map of the Alps is based on the combination of purely structural data with criteria regarding paleogeographical affiliation and/or tectono-metamorphic evolution. The orogenic evolution of the Alps is discussed using a combination of maps and paleogeographical reconstructions. It is proposed that the Alps are the product of two orogenies, a Cretaceous followed by a Tertiary one. While the former is related to the closure of an embayment of the Meliata ocean into Apulia, the latter is due to the closure of the Alpine Tethys between Apulia and Europe. The along-strike changes in the overall architecture, as for example revealed by geophysical-geological transects, are by far more substantial than…

• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

  Awards: 55559, 49558, 61814, 42132, 63391
• AS
  Austrian Science Fund
• AD
  Akademie der Naturwissenschaften