Orogenic evolution of the Hellenides: new aspects

This progress report is based on investigations of the tectonometamorphic development of crystalline complexes and is restricted to a few key problems of the Hellenides:

1. ‘Hinterland’. Rhodopia is strongly affected by Alpidic metamorphism, granitoid intrusions, orogenic deformation and intracrustal delamination. Therefore, close relations between the Balkanides and Hellenides have to be considered.
2. External zones. The Phyllite-Quartzite Series probably originated in a Late Palaeozoic rift within Apulia. In Middle Triassic times rifting stopped and the area became the basement on an extended carbonate platform (Late Triassic-Liassic). From the Dogger to Palaeocene, parts of that platform subsided, forming the Ionian pelagic basin. The Eocene orogenesis within the central Hellenides then caused an inversion of the buried Phyllite-Quartzite rift zone, whereas from the Late Oligocene onwards the previous rift zone underwent continental (A-) subduction. Finally, uplift of the Phyllite-Quartzite Series and nappe emplacement started in Miocene times.
3. Late orogenic intracrustal shearing. Structural analyses of crystalline complexes of Attica have shown that neotectonic extension and the large vertical displacement of the Aegean region were caused by low angle faulting and large-scale shearing within the deeper crust, probably along former overthrust planes.

These results reveal the mechanisms of intracratonic tectonics, remobilization of continental crust and intracrustal detachment throughout the evolution of the Hellenides.