Rift inheritance in a fold-and-thrust belt evolution: Central Apennine crustal balanced cross-section

The Apennines fold-and-thrust belt builds part of the Africa-Eurasia convergent plate boundary. It developed due to the Neogene subduction of the Alpine Tethys underneath Europe and to the subsequent involvement of the Adria microplate rifted margin into the collisional process. Since the Miocene, eastward retreat of the slab caused extensional deformation of the thrust pile, eventually leading to the opening of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. Multiple schools of thought exist about the structural style of the Apennines, each of which proposes rather irreconcilable models. The amount of shortening, the involvement of the crystalline basement, the architecture of the inherited rifted system with its degree of reactivation during convergence, and the role played by compressive inheritance during back-arc extension, are still under discussion.

In this contribution we focus on the crustal structure of the central Apennines, along a transect that stretches from the Sardinian shelf (West) to the center of the Adriatic Sea (Est). Our aim is to critically evaluate prior models and contextually to illuminate the deeper part of the belt, which is still seldom considered in modern-day Central Apennines solutions. Based on the most recent ideas on rift inheritance and thrust tectonics, we present a brand-new crustal balanced cross-section. We employ well-constrained surficial geological data from available public maps, as well as the most recent deep-reaching geophysical data (especially, tomography and seismological data), which are supplemented by thermochronological, biostratigraphic, and Sr-isotope datings. On top of that, data are encompassed in a coherent geodynamic framework that is supported by a geometrically balanced and consistent kinematic model. This way, we provide a comprehensive explanation for the regionally observed coupled forward migration of compressional and extensional domains, which is related to the slab pull/trench retreat system.

Our results point to a predominantly thin-skinned style for the orogen with a secondary basement involvement in the later collisional stage. Inherited extensional faults, developed during the Mesozoic rifting of Adria, were partially reactivated during convergence, and influence spacing and geometry of the compressional features. The main thrusts of the area are characterized by significant displacements, ranging from 10 to >50 km, and sole out into a basal décollement located at the base of the post-Variscan sedimentary sequence. Finally, post-thrusting back-arc extension is accommodated by faults that either displace the compressional décollement levels or reactivate them with an opposing kinematics.