- 1State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr (SGUDS), Mlynská dolina 1, 817 04 Bratislava 11, Slovakia; zoltan.nemeth@geology.sk
- 2Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany; Kristine.Asch@bgr.de
- 3GeoSphere, Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Wien, Austria; Hans-Georg.Krenmayr@geosphere.at
- 4Ecole Normale Supérieure, Sorbonne University, Paris, France; manupub.pubellier@gmail.com
- 5Geological Survey of Belgium, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Jennerstreet 13, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; kpiessens@naturalsciences.be
- 6IGME-CSIC, Calle del Dr. Severo Ochoa, 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain; f.rubio@igme.es
- 7BRGM, 3 Avenue Claude Guillemin, 45100 Orléans, France; M.Padel@brgm.fr
- 8Geological Survey of Sweden, Dpt. of Mineral resources, Uppsala, Sweden; Stefan.Luth@sgu.se
- 9State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr (SGUDS), Mlynská dolina 1, 817 04 Bratislava 11, Slovakia; ondrej.pelech@geology.sk
- 10Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany; Paul.Heckmann@bgr.de
Since the defining of plate tectonics in the 1960s the knowledge on geodynamics of European territory registered a remarkable progress in understanding of the multiple – polyorogenic overprints within individual lithotectonic zones and units of Europe, becoming by this way an etalon for orogenic interpretations to the rest of the world.
According to the classification by Neuendorf et al. (2011) and in a slightly modified form by the INSPIRE Geology data specifications (http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/codelist/GeologicUnitTypeValue/lithotectonicUnit), a Lithotectonic unit is a geologic unit defined on basis of structural or deformation features, mutual relations, origin or historical evolution. Contained material may be igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic.
The Lithotectonic map of Europe will represent a combination of a lithological and a tectonic map, showing a collage of lithotectonic units and their boundaries, highlighting the geodynamic aspects of more than 2.5 billion years of crustal evolution.
This novel type of map provides a wealth of information through annotated data, contributing to the development of applied research, including raw materials exploration, environmental geology, geo-energy, etc. The evolution of lithotectonic units can be placed in that of orogenic cycles, which include the Svecokarelian, Sveconorwegian, Cadomian, Caledonian, Variscan, Alpine and Hellenic cycles. Different orogenic phases will be discriminated in these orogenic cycles. For the lithotectonic framework it is sensible to emphasize those orogenic phases which differ from the standard orogenic (Wilson) cycle of the 1960s: the post-orogenic phases of unroofing, intraplate stress elimination and regional extension.
The Lithotectonic map of Europe that is currently being compiled will be based on International Geological map of Europe and Adjacent Areas (IGME 5000; Asch, 2005, BGR, Hannover). Co-funding is provided by the EC – CINEA HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-D2 project 101075609 Geological Service for Europe (GSEU), led by EuroGeoSurveys and its Geological Mapping and Modelling Expert Group, Work Package WP6 – Geological framework for the European geological data & information system.
Reference
Neuendorf, K.K.E., Mehl Jr., J.P. & Jackson, J.A., 2011: Glossary of Geology. Fifth Edition. American Geosciences Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, 1–779.
How to cite: Németh, Z., Asch, K., Krenmayr, H.-G., Pubellier, M., Piessens, K., Pascual, F. J. R., Padel, M., Luth, S., Pelech, O., and Heckmann, P.: Lithotectonic map of Europe – methodology, contribution to geosciences and further inspiration for territories outside Europe, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13479, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13479, 2025.
