Middle-Late Alpine thermotectonic evolution of the southern Rhodope Massif,Greece |
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| Authors: | Andor LW Lips Stanley H White Jan R Wijbrans |
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| Institution: | 1. Vening Meinesz Research School of Geodynamics (VMSG), Faculty of Earth Sciences, PO Box 80021, 3508 TA Utrecht, the Netherlandsalips@geo.uu.nl;3. Vening Meinesz Research School of Geodynamics (VMSG), Faculty of Earth Sciences, PO Box 80021, 3508 TA Utrecht, the Netherlands;4. Netherlands Research School of Sedimentary Geology (NSG), Faculty of Earth Sciences, Free University of Amsterdam de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amterdam, the Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | AbstractThe transition from the Alpine tectonic assembly to the exhumation of the units in the Rhodope metamorphic province in northernmost Greece has been refined by 40Ar/39Ar laserprobe mica analyses. Preservation of pre-Alpine (~ 280 Ma and 145 Ma) muscovite cooling ages at the western margin of the Rhodope indicate that subsequent events failed to reset the argon system thermally in white mica in the outcropping basement of this region. The central and eastern Rhodope are characterized by white mica cooling ages of 40–35 Ma with ages gradually decreasing to ca. 15 Ma near the eastern margin of the Strymon Valley. The Eo-Oligocene ages reflect the regional exhumation of the metamorphosed units to shallow crustal levels, with corresponding temperatures below ca. 350 °C, by 40–35 Ma. The younger cooling ages are attributed to the initiation and subsequent operation of the Strymon-Thasos detachment system since ca. 30 Ma. This study provides a crucial contribution to future regional tectonic models for the Rhodope region as it recognizes an early stage of development of the Strymon-Thasos detachment system, and has constrained the regional exhumation of the Rhodope metamorphic province since 40 Ma indicating that the regionally observed amphibolite facies metamorphism had terminated by this time. © 2000 Editions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS |
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| Keywords: | geochronology deformation Alpine tectonics Greece Rhodope Massif |
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