On the post-25 Ma geodynamic evolution of the western Mediterranean

During the Neogene and Quaternary western Mediterranean geodynamics were dominated by the ‘eastward’ migration of the Apenninic arc and associated back-arc basins. The migration was controlled by retreat of the Apenninic slab and was associated with ‘boudinage’ of the lithosphere in the back-arc area. Palaeo-reconstruction of the kinematics of the arc suggests about 775 km of migration from the Late Oligocene to present along a transect from the Gulf of Lions to Calabria. A maximum of 135 km of N‐S converge occurred between Africa and Europe during the same time span. The western Mediterranean was thus mainly shaped by the migration of the slab related to west-directed subduction. It is hypothesized that minor N‐S convergence deformed the arc but was not the cause of its formation. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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