Contrasting Styles of Salt‐Tectonic Processes in the Ionian Zone (Greece and Albania): Integrating Surface Geology, Subsurface Data, and Experimental Models

Contrasting Styles of Salt‐Tectonic Processes in the Ionian Zone (Greece and Albania): Integrating Surface Geology, Subsurface Data, and Experimental Models

The Ionian Zone (IZ) is one of the key elements of the fold and thrust belt (FTB) of the Albanian and Hellenides orogen and contains large outcrops of Triassic evaporites. The IZ consists of various thrust sheets with a general westward vergence, stacking over the Apulian and Pre‐Apulian zones, and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tectonics (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 43; no. 1
Main Authors: Soto, J. I., Tranos, M. D., Bega, Z., Dooley, T. P., Hernández, P., Hudec, M. R., Konstantopoulos, P. A., Lula, E., Nikolaou, K., Pérez, R., Pita, J. P., Titos, J. A., Tzimeas, C., Herra Sánchez de Movellán, A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-01-2024
Subjects:
Albanides
Boreholes
Carbonates
Diapirs
Eocene
Evaporites
Evolution
fold and thrust belts
Geology
Hellenides
Kinematics
Mesozoic
Oligocene
Outcrops
Pliocene
salt tectonics
Salts
Seismic data
seismic interpretation
Seismological data
Sequencing
Tectonic processes
Tectonics
Triassic
Greece
Albania
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Ionian Zone (IZ) is one of the key elements of the fold and thrust belt (FTB) of the Albanian and Hellenides orogen and contains large outcrops of Triassic evaporites. The IZ consists of various thrust sheets with a general westward vergence, stacking over the Apulian and Pre‐Apulian zones, and repeating a thick carbonate sequence of Upper Triassic to Eocene age. Thrusting becomes younger toward the west with a piggyback sequence, starting during the latest Oligocene Epoch in the Internal Ionian and ending in the Pliocene in the External Ionian. We have studied the IZ in southern Albania and northwestern Greece using field observations and borehole data and by fully interpreting a recently acquired 2D seismic data set. Our objectives are to establish the geometry and nature of the contacts associated with the major Triassic outcrops, to unravel precursor salt diapirs, and to assess their role during the Alpine contraction. Salt structures include gentle salt pillows, isolated salt plugs and diapirs, thrust welds, and salt walls. Combining these observations with experimental modeling results, we show how these structures control the geometry and kinematics of the Alpine thrusts or the location and kinematics of recent strike‐slip faults. Salt minibasins have also been identified, demonstrating salt mobility conditioned Mesozoic sedimentation in the Ionian Basin. The use of salt‐tectonics principles to evaluate the structural style and evolution of the IZ FTB also opens new directions for interpreting the subsurface structure and evolution of the region. Key Points The Ionian Zone in Greece and Albania is studied with surface geology, borehole data, and the interpretation of new seismic profiles Triassic salt pillows, isolated thick diapirs, and elongated salt walls condition the style of this Alpine fold and thrust belt The role of pre‐existing diapirs is compared with experimental models
ISSN:0278-7407
1944-9194
DOI:10.1029/2023TC008104