Interwedging and inversion structures around the trans-European suture zone in the Baltic Sea, a manifestation of compressive tectonic phases

Rolf Meissner*, Hans Thybo, T. Tanni Abramovitz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

During the evolution of continents, compressive tectonic phases can leave certain tectonic patterns in the lithosphere to be observed by reflection seismology. Also, in the area of the trans-European suture zone (TESZ) in the Baltic Sea, several relatively short, but occasionally strong, compressive phases have left their marks in the lithosphere in form of characteristic fault and thrust zones in the rigid parts of crust and mantle, especially clear and well investigated in some sediment troughs. At depth, interwedging processes seem to be generated by colliding tectonic units with different rheology, creating bi-vergent fault structures, possibly--but not necessarily--initiated by a previous subduction of intervening oceanic lithosphere. Near the surface, reactivation and inversion of previous faults are very selective. Transpressional processes and the reduced friction inside the faults are suggested to play a major role. It is assumed that the transfer of plate boundary stressed over long distances is performed mainly through the thick and rigid mantle lid, not through the thin, rigid, and heterogeneous upper crust. This assumption involves mechanisms of a vertical transfer of stresses from the mantle into the inversion area, and some signs of such a process are seen around the Tornquist Zone (TZ). Several examples of compressive transfer of stresses are shown.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)265-280
Number of pages16
JournalTectonophysics
Volume360
Issue number1-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2002
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Interwedging
  • Inversion structures
  • Reflection seismics
  • Stress transfer
  • TESZ area

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