Deciphering the Cenozoic evolution of circum-Mediterranean fold-and-thrust belts through the integration of structural and thermal maturity studies of sedimentary basins

In recent decades, reconstructing the geometric and kinematic evolution of fold-and-thrust belts around the Mediterranean region has been one of the priority goals of the scientific community, also with the aim of energy resource retrieval. However, the frequent poor quality of subsurface constraints has sometimes led to the production of even very different geometric-kinematic evolutionary models, characterized by different amounts of shortening and deformation timing, with important implications on the kinematic reconstructions of the Africa-Europe convergence process. In this talk, I intend to propose a journey through a series of fold-and thrust belts around this region, that in recent years have been studied by the team of the Academic Lab of Basin Analysis or Roma Tre, in collaboration with many colleagues around the Mediterranean, through the integration of classical stratigraphic and structural data with the reconstruction of the paleo-thermal evolution of these structures. Particular attention will be paid to thermal modeling, constrained through different parameters of thermal and thermo-chronological evolution of both pre-orogenic and syn-orogenic sedimentary successions.