See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/43497219

Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan Orogen

Article  in  Journal of the Virtual Explorer · January 2002

DOI: 10.3809/jvirtex.2002.00051 · Source: OAI

CITATIONS READS

35 1,956

2 authors:

Gideon Rosenbaum Gordon Lister

The University of Queensland The Virtual Explorer
141 PUBLICATIONS   4,857 CITATIONS    227 PUBLICATIONS   18,015 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Seismotectonics View project

Thermal reconstruction of sedimentary basins View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Gideon Rosenbaum on 23 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Rosenbaum, G. and Lister, G. S. 2002. Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan orogen - an introduction. In: Rosenbaum, G.
and Lister, G. S. 2002. Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan Orogen. Journal of the Virtual Explorer, 8, 1-2.

Reconstruction of the evolution of the

Alpine-Himalayan orogen – an introduction
GIDEON ROSENBAUM AND GORDON S. LISTER

School of Geosciences Australian Crustal Research Centre, Monash University

Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia

Preface the Alpine-Himalayan orogen, the Gibraltar Arc. The

authors provide evidence for two episodes of orthogonal
The Alpine-Himalayan belt is a young orogen suturing extension in this region, and they discuss the significance
Gondwana-derived fragments with Eurasian continental of such events in terms of the regional kinematics and the
crust. Its general structure, as a continuous belt of evolution of the Alboran Sea. In the same region,
Mesozoic and Cenozoic deformation from Spain to Sánchez-Gómez et al. present structural and metamorphic
Southeast Asia is described in the pioneering work of analysis related to the emplacement of mantle peridotites
Argand (1924)(Figure 1). Further southeast, in the within the Rif-Betic orogen. The authors argue that these
southwest Pacific, the orogenic belt is partly submerged peridotites were emplaced as a single slab during an
but probably stretched as far as New Zealand (Figure 2). Oligocene/Early Miocene suturing.
The advent of plate tectonics thirty-five years ago Two contributions deal with the Pyrenean Mountains
provided an explanation for the large-scale plate that formed a collisional plate boundary between Iberia
kinematics associated with Alpine-Himalayan orogeny. and Europe until the Oligocene (Srivastava et al., 1990).
However, when it comes to details, plate tectonics has Schellart presents results of a structural and
proved to be insufficient to reconstruct this complex sedimentological study of the western termination of the
system. In reality, the Alpine-Himalayan orogen has been axial zone in the southern Pyrenees. These results provide
subjected to numerous processes involving motions of the means for the construction of balanced cross sections
smaller continental ribbons, retreating subduction and for crustal shortening calculations. Vergés et al.
systems, back-arc extension and accretion of magmatic provide a comprehensive review of the tectonism in the
arcs. In order to reconstruct the Alpine-Himalayan system, Pyrenees since the Cretaceous. The authors analyse
we need to analyse data derived from multidisciplinary stratigraphical cross sections and lithospheric-scale
sources and develop sets of spatio-temporal constraints. transects, and discuss transitions between crustal
We can then test these constraints against a set of possible shortening and extensional regimes.
alternative reconstructions. Examples are the works of A plate reconstruction of western Tethys is presented by
Dercourt et al. (1986; 1993; 2000) and Stampfli et al. Stampfli et al., with an emphasis on orogeny in the
(2001), which are extremely valuable to the reconstruction western Alps. The latter is probably the most studied
community. segment of the Alpine-Himalayan belt, but is still
This volume includes ten contributions on the controversial as far as tectonic reconstruction is
reconstruction of the tectonic evolution of the Alpine- concerned.
Himalayan orogen (see locations of study areas in Figure Three contributions present large-scale tectonic
3). The first paper by Martínez-Martínez & Azañon reconstructions of the Mediterranean Sea. Rosenbaum et
presents results of their study in the westernmost part of al. focus on the kinematics of the western Mediterranean

Figure 2. The Alpine-Himalayan orogen stretches from Spain to New

Figure 1. The tectonic map of Asia produced by Emile Argand (1924). Zealand (after Lister et al., 2001).

1
 Rosenbaum et al., 2002 Journal of the Virtual Explorer

Figure 3. Location map of areas discussed in this issue.

since the Oligocene as inferred from various spatio- References

temporal constraints. The resulting animation movie
emphasises the role of subduction rollback, back-arc Argand, E., 1924. La Tectonique de l'Asie, Compte-rendu du 13e
extension and accretion of allochthonous terranes. congrès Géologique International, Brussel, pp. 171-372.
Relationships between subduction systems and back-arc Dercourt, J., Gaetani, M., Vrielynck, B., Barrier, E., Biju Duval,
extension are also addressed by Mantovani et al., who B., Brunet, M.F., Cadet, J.P., Crasquin, S. & Sandulescu
propose an extrusion model driven by the convergence of (eds), 2000. Atlas Peri-Tethys, Palaeogeographical maps, 24
the confining plates to explain the occurrences of slab maps and explanatory notes: I-XX. CCGM/CGMW, Paris,
migration throughout the Mediterranean region. Schettino 269 pp.
& Scotese present a Jurassic-Cretaceous reconstruction Dercourt, J., Ricou, L.E. and Vrielynck, B. (Editors), 1993. Atlas
model for the Mediterranean region using constraints for Tethys palaeoenvironment maps, 14 maps, 1 pl. Gauthier-
the motion of the major plates. These authors make the Villars, Paris, 307 pp.
controversial suggestion that the kinematics of smaller Dercourt, J., Zonenshain, L.P., Ricou, L.E., Kazmin, V.G., Le
microplates involved in Mediterranean tectonics can be Pichon, X., Knipper, A.L., Grandjacquet, C., Sbortshikov,
determined from variations in the relative velocities of the I.M., Geyssant, J., Lepvrier, C., Pechersky, D.H., Boulin, J.,
larger plates. Sibuet, J.-C., Savostin, L.A., Sorokhtin, O., Westphal, M.,
The difficulty in applying rigid-body plate Bazhenov, M.L., Lauer, J.P. and Biju-Duval, B., 1986.
reconstructions in the eastern Mediterranean is discussed Geological evolution of the Tethys belt from the Atlantic to
in the paper of Doglioni et al.. The authors present the Pamirs since the Lias. Tectonophysics, 123: 241-315.
velocity fields of plate motions that show differential Lister, G.S., Forster, M.A. and Rawling, T., 2001. Episodicity
convergence rates of Africa with respect to Europe, which during orogenesis. In: J.A. Miller, R.E. Holdsworth, I.S.
may account for widespread extension in the Aegean Sea. Buick and M. Hand (Editors), Continental Reactivation and
Lastly, the contribution of Rolland provides an analysis Reworking. Geological Society, London, Special
of the tectonic evolution of the NW Himalaya. The author Publications, pp. 89-113.
uses structural, metamorphic, geochemical and Srivastava, S.P., Schouten, H., Roest, W.R., Klitgord, K.D.,
geochronological data to constrain a reconstruction model Kovacs, L.C., Verhoef, J. and Macnab, R., 1990. Iberian
of India-Asia convergence and accretion of the plate kinematics: a jumping plate boundary between Eurasia
Karakoram-Lhasa block onto the Asian margin. and Africa. Nature, 344: 756-759.
Interestingly, Rolland’s ‘ribbon accretion’ model is not Stampfli, G.M., Borel, G., Cavazza, W., Mosar, J. and Ziegler,
dissimilar to that proposed for convergence in the P.A. (Editors), 2001. The Paleotectonic Atlas of the
Mediterranean segment of the orogen. PeriTethyan Domain. European Geophysical Society.

View publication stats