Native hydrogen (H₂) generated by the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks represents a promising clean energy resource, creating significant interest in the exploration of the Balkan ophiolite belts. However, the assessment and quantification of the H₂ potential are limited by the high variability and complexity of the Balkan ophiolites. Conflicting geodynamic models shifting between scenarios of isolated multiple basins and a single Neo-Tethyan ocean with hyperextended margins result in persistent uncertainties in the evaluation of the H2 potential. Since mantle fertility, fracturing, and hydration styles vary considerably among different scenarios, understanding the primary geodynamic context, i.e., the “tectonic kitchen”, is essential for predicting H₂ potential.
The aim of our study is to establish an integrated tectono-stratigraphic and petrological framework using the Vardar and Pindos ophiolite systems in Albania as key case study. A complete multi-criteria discrimination matrix was therefore developed, incorporating sedimentary budgets, basement architectures, magmatic systems and hydration types. This matrix allows for the distinction of ophiolitic environments by discriminating between Ocean-Continent Transitions (OCT), Mid-Ocean Ridges (MOR), Supra-Subduction Zones (SSZ), and Back-Arc Basins (BAB) using raw field data rather than pre-existing models.
These preliminary results help resolve local paleogeographic uncertainties and define the system’s initial conditions, setting the foundation for a thesis project dedicated to the characterization of mantle fertility, fracturing, and serpentinization dynamics. It will use these provenance data to decipher the variability of Tethyan ophiolites and thus establish a precise link between the characteristics of the mantle source rock, its geodynamic context allowing for the prediction and quantification of the potential for natural hydrogen.
How to cite: Blin, C., Ducoux, M., Masini, E., Domenighini, G., Mangenot, X., Ulrich, M., and Manatschal, G.: An integrated tectono-stratigraphic and petrological reassessment of the Vardar and Pindos ophiolite system and its significance for H2 exploration, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-42, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-42, 2026.
The geochemical signatures of serpentinites inform on the provenance and composition of interacting fluids across various environments, from shallow seafloor to deep subduction zones. However, in obducted ophiolitic terranes, where multiple stages of fluid-rock interactions can take place, determining the timing of serpentinization and the different fluid sources remains challenging. The Mirdita ophiolite in Albania formed in a suprasubduction-zone setting during the lower- to middle-Jurassic and was then obducted onto the Adriatic Margin. It preserves oceanic lithosphere formed in an inferred Oceanic Core Complex (OCC) as well as a forearc setting with basal contacts that contain slices of the metamorphic sole.
We sampled serpentinized peridotites from the Puka OCC, that were largely unaffected by metamorphic overprinting during obduction, and two basal tectonic contacts with contrasting metamorphic soles (mafic amphibolite to the west, metasediment-rich to the east), allowing direct comparison of oceanic and forearc serpentinization within a single ophiolitic body. We combine oxygen and deuterium stable-isotope analyses within situ trace-element analyses of serpentine using LA-ICP-MS to constrain fluid sources and serpentinization conditions with the aim to infer the hydrothermal and geodynamic evolution of this ophiolite sequence.
Within the OCC of the Puka massif, the analyzed sample is a weakly serpentinized peridotite. The δ¹⁸Oserp composition is near primary mantle composition, whereas the δDserp composition is comparatively lower than primary mantle. The OCC peridotite exhibits enrichment in Sr, Li, Sb, and slight B enrichment relative to primitive mantle, with no Cs enrichment, resulting in a Rb/Cs ratio greater than 1. These results suggest low degrees of serpentinization along the OCC shear zone that involved seawater. Serpentinite mineral separates at both basal contacts exhibit similar high δ¹⁸Oserp and low δDserp signatures, within the range of ophiolitic serpentines and consistent with fluids derived from the downgoing plate. Both samples from the two contacts show high boron concentrations. Serpentinites from the eastern basal contact are enriched in Cs, Rb, and U, with a low Rb/Cs ratio (<1), suggesting Cs influx. In contrast, serpentinites from the western contact have higher Ba, Pb, and As concentrations, coupled with lower Nb, La, and Ce. These variations indicate fluids that equilibrate with different lithologies: the western contact reflects a mafic (AOC) source, whereas the eastern contact rather records a sedimentary influence with enrichment in LILE and low Rb/Cs.
This study demonstrates that serpentine δ¹⁸O compositions and trace-element signatures jointly provide ideal constraints on serpentinization conditions and fluid sources, thereby constraining their hydrothermal evolution and geodynamic setting.
How to cite: Lecacheur, K., Schwarzenbach, E., Pleuger, J., Putlitz, B., Pettke, T., and Onuzi, K.: From seafloor spreading to subduction initiation: Oceanic Core Complex vs. forearc serpentinization in the Mirdita ophiolite (Albania), 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-17, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-17, 2026.
The outcrops of the Argolis Peninsula reveal a multiphase orogen consisting of Upper Jurassic Pelagonian and Upper Cretaceous Sava type, W-Vardar, nappe stacks included in Paleogene composite nappes.
During the early Middle Triassic, the Pelagonian realm became a microcontinent between the opening branches of Neotethys, the Pindos (SW) and the Maliac (NE) ocean basins. Carbonate Platforms encroached on Middle Triassic Pietra Verde and persisted, up to the Early Jurassic. During the Middle Jurassic the Pelagonian/Maliac margin and adjacent parts of the Maliac ocean became the lower plate of the intraoceanic subduction that in turn reached the Pelagonian. The Pelagonian carbonate platforms drowned and during the late Middle Jurassic the first ophiolitic detritus derived from the approaching accretionary prism and the associated island arc reached the site of radiolarite deposition on the Maliac margin. During the Late Jurassic the emplacement of large-scale thrust nappes affected the entire Pelagonian.
1-2. The Jurassic nappe stack includes from W to E: 1a. Externally, the Marathia and Vivari Units contain Upper Jurassic pelagites and deep-water syn-orogenic breccias without ophiolitic detritus, probably formed along the slope towards the Pindos basin. 1b. The Adhami Basal Series, thrust over 1a., contain eastward increasing ophiolite detritus. 1c. The Didhimi-Trapezona Basal Series, thrust over 1b. (Vourlias), contain much coarser Upper Jurassic ophiolite detritus culminating in megabreccias. 1d. The Asklipion Nappe represents the Pelagonian-Maliac margin. It includes Middle Triassic to Upper Jurassic deep-water sediments. 1d. is overthrust by 2. the Migdhalitsa Unit, interpreted as the Middle Jurassic accretionary prism containing Middle-Late Triassic basalt and radiolarite, covered by Middle Jurassic radiolarites.
3. Meso-autochthonous Series unconformably overlie the Jurassic nappe edifice: Albian–Cenomanian deep-water calciturbidites (Ermioni) and Turonian to lower Paleocene pelagites, overlain by flysch.
4. The Akros Nappe, internalmost Pelagonian, contains latest Jurassic to Cenomanian continental/paralic conglomerates and shallow-water carbonates encroaching on ophiolites, overlain by pelagites. Flysch sedimentation started in early Paleocene or Campanian–Maastrichtian in the internalmost series (Dokos).
5-6. The Upper Cretaceous nappe stack records the closure of the Vardar remnant ocean in the Sava, W-Vardar-type units. 5. The Poros Units represent a stack of imbricates with basal serpentinite overlain by Upper Cretaceous proximal to distal deep-water terigenous and carbonate resdiments. The imbricates formed during the Campanian–Maastrichtian but were emplaced on 4. during the Paleogene. 6. The Adheres Unit represents an accretionary prism containing exclusively Upper Cretaceous pelagic and redeposited shallow- carbonates in a flysch matrix. It rests on the Upper Cretaceous arc remnant (Cambrorosso) and associated pelagic limestones that grade upsection into the Adheres flysch.
The Paleogene nappe stack incudes the Adhami and Didhimi-Trapezeona Composite Units (1.–3.), the Akros Nappe (4.), and the Poros-Adheres nappe stack (5.–6.).
Two Cenozoic tectonic phases assembled the Jurassic and Cretaceous nappe stacks into composite Units. A first, SW-vergent phase emplaced the Akros Unit (4.) and the Poros-Adheres stack (5-6.) on the Pelagonian Meso-autochthonous (3.). A second, S-vergent phase of thrusting affected the Palaeogene nappe edifice, producing km-scale recumbent folds. Finally, Aegean extensional faults dissected the Alpine nappe edifice.
How to cite: Baumgartner, P. O. and Bernoulli, D.: Tecctonostratigraphy of the Argolis Peninsula (Peloponnesus, Greece) – A multiphase telescoped transect of Pelagonia, Maliac and Vardar oceanic realms, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-51, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-51, 2026.
It is known that foreign geologists had important role in the birth of Serbian geological science. Renown scientist from France, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Germany were coming to this country in the early 19th century (i.e., during our pre-university times), bringing critical knowledge that was later of great help to the real fathers of Serbian geology. In the years that followed, our geoscience became progressively more independent, which made the personal influence of geologists from abroad less prominent. Having all this in mind, I feel free to say that the recent contribution of Swiss Professor Stefan M. Schmid (hereafter Stefan) to our better understanding of Balkan tectonic architecture, is in the line of those of Ami Boué, Franz Toula, Auguste Viquesnel and only a few others.
Stefan made his first research visits to Serbia in the early 2000s, in the post-war time in the Balkans. The Serbian geologists just came out of a decade-long scientific isolation and, at the same time, were facing a serious succession of generations. Both facts made this geoscientific community unfavorable for accepting new ideas, which makes the Stefan’s brainstorming influence even greater.
Stefan had crucial role in paradigm shift regarding the Mesozoic geodynamics of the Balkan region. Coming from the Alps and having already considerable experience in the Carpathians, he was logically aimed at extendeding his research interests to the Dinarides. He did it in a most appropriate way, first by establishing fair contacts with local geologists and then by organizing serious field campaigns supported by solid-funded research projects. All this, eventually resulted in the organization of 13th Alpshop (September 2017, Zlatibor, Serbia), as the first Émile Argand Conference held well outside the Alpine realm.
By his research in the Dinarides, Stefan tackled one of the longest debates related to one- vs multiocean hypothesis. Stefan and his PhD/Post-Doc candidates preferred the one-ocean scenario, arguing that, albeit geographically separated, all Balkan ophiolite belts represent remnants of a single ocean – Neotethys or Vardar Tethys. One of their main arguments was that all pre-Mesozoic units correspond to progressively more distal (or proximal) parts of Adria, rather than representing microcontinents (terranes). Furthermore, Stefan was first – at least to the author’s knowledge – who differentiated between the large(plate)-scale tectonic structures in the Dinarides and those that result from so-called out-of-sequence trusting, emphasizing that the latter may easily be the only structures observable in the field.
Today, the majority of Balkan geologists agree that all Jurassic ophiolites in this region came from a single (Mesozoic) ocean and, alone for this, Stefan’s elegant documentation of an earlier proposed interpretation is regarded truly groundbreaking.
Herewith, I wish to thank him sincerely, not only for helping us in dealing with conflicting hypotheses but also for his unconditional and supportive friendship that we have enjoyed all these years.
How to cite: Cvetković, V.: Stefan M. Schmid as a great contributor to Serbian geology: A personal view, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-60, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-60, 2026.
Cretaceous geodynamics in the present-day Balkan Peninsula has long remained unconstrained, with the central issue being the evolution of the final stages of the Vardar branch of the Neotethys. The onset of the intra-oceanic subduction is well constrained by the Middle Jurassic metamorphic soles. The same is true for the timing of latest ophiolite obduction events dated to Latest Jurassic – Earliest Cretaceous. Nonetheless, it remained unclear whether the emplacement of the Vardar zone ophiolites also marked the final closure of the last Tethyan realm in the Balkans. The main arguments for the persistence of the ocean throughout Cretaceous draw from the existence of the basalts in the Sava-Vardar suture zone (SVZ), and the 90-75 Ma old Timok magmatic complex (TMC); the former were initially considered parts of Upper Cretaceous ophiolites, whereas the latter is part of the wider Apuseni-Banat-Timok-Sredniegorie (ABTS) belt, known for its subduction-related geochemistry and metallogeny. In light of these considerations, many authors envisioned an open ocean with an active subduction in the post-obduction stages, spanning most of the Cretaceous, with the Oman case being the closest present-day analogue. However, recent studies have shown that SVZ basalts are not ophiolites, and that the existence of an open oceanic basin in the Cretaceous times is not supported by geological evidence, leaving the geochemical signature of the TMC magmatic products as the sole argument for the subduction until the end of the Cretaceous.
In this contribution, we present our recent 2D and 3D numerical modelling results aimed at investigating the geodynamic context for the Upper Cretaceous magmatism in the TMC and SVZ, by analyzing the scenario in which Vardar Neotethys had closed in the uppermost Jurassic, roughly contemporaneously with the emplacement of its ophiolites. To this end we use numerical forward modelling techniques to solve the continuity, Stokes and energy conservation equations, utilized in I2VIS and I3VIS codes for 2D and 3D, respectively. We develop a 2D model of intra-oceanic subduction. The model reproduces the closure of Vardar Neotethys alongside the obduction of Vardar ophiolites. We investigate the subsequent post-obduction slab dynamics. We simulate slab detachment at ca. 400 km depth, followed by subsequent rebound of its still attached (shallower) part. The hydrated mantle of the subducted slab undergoes delayed partial melting providing the geochemically adequate source for the TMC “subduction-like” magmatism. Regarding the Upper Cretaceous SVZ basalts and particularly taking into account that at least some of them are found intruding Cretaceous pull-apart basins, we adopt the interpretation that these magmatic bodies are products of post-collisional transtension tectonics. We present 3D model results showing how strike-slip motions can reactivate the suture and how inherited lithospheric-scale weak structures control the timing of partial melting as well as the volume and spatial distribution of the generated magma.
How to cite: Stanković, N., Cvetković, V., Balázs, A., Prelević, D., Mladenović, A., Cvetkov, V., and Gerya, T.: Cretaceous Geodynamics and Magmatism in the Balkans: Contributions from Numerical Modelling, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-32, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-32, 2026.
The Sava Zone (SZ) forms a major tectonic boundary between Europe-derived and Adria-derived continental units in the central Balkans, hosting a discontinuous belt of Late Cretaceous volcanic and plutonic rocks. The origin and geodynamic significance of this magmatism remain controversial. Initially, these rocks were interpreted as the youngest remnants of the Neotethyan Ocean, leading to the proposal of the Late Cretaceous Sava Ocean. However, an increasing body of evidence challenges this interpretation, suggesting that much of the Sava Zone magmatism developed within an intracontinental tectonic setting.
We present new zircon U - Pb ages from the Bela Reka basalts (90.60 ± 0.40 Ma; n = 77), the Jelica basalts (87.30 ± 0.80 Ma; n = 11), the Resnik trachyandesites (85.57 ± 0.49 Ma, n = 62; 84.18 ± 0.53 Ma, n = 35), the Karađorđevo Formation andesites (76.34 ± 0.93 Ma; n = 14), and the Struganik tuff (80.33 ± 0.40 Ma; n = 20). Importantly, the 87.30 ± 0.80 Ma age for the Jelica basalts represents the first robust U - Pb zircon age from Adria-affinity magmatism, demonstrating that Late Cretaceous magmatism was contemporaneous on both the Europe and the Adria margins of the Balkans.
The magmatism encompasses tholeiitic to alkaline basalts together with compositionally diverse felsic rocks. Two contrasting magmatic domains can be recognized. Adria-affinity localities are dominated by tholeiitic to transitional basalts with N- to E-MORB geochemical characteristics derived from relatively depleted spinel-bearing mantle sources, whereas the associated felsic rocks are predominantly restricted to A2-type rocks. In contrast, Europe-derived terranes contain enriched within-plate basalts, lamprophyres, and compositionally diverse felsic rocks, including A1-, A2-, and S-type granitoids, consistent with contributions from metasomatized lithospheric mantle extending into the garnet-spinel transition zone.
New whole-rock Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data further distinguish these domains. Trachyandesites yield 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70744-0.70746, 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51243-0.51245, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.80-18.83, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.65-15.66, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.90-39.05. Europe-affinity basalts are characterized by 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70670-0.70761, 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51222-0.51266, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.59-18.96, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.62-15.73, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.69-39.37, whereas Adria-affinity basalts display 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70568-0.70932, 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51256-0.51293, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.49-19.15, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.59-15.67, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.44-38.77.
Available geochronological, geochemical, and isotopic evidence indicates that Sava Zone magmatism developed between ca. 91 and 76 Ma within an intracontinental tectonic setting rather than in an active Late Cretaceous oceanic basin. The systematic differences between the suites are best explained by contrasting lithospheric architecture and mantle source characteristics rather than fundamentally different tectonic environments. Because our data demonstrate that a significant portion of this magmatic activity occurred outside the spatial limits of the Sava Zone sensu stricto, we propose redefining this system as the Central Balkan Upper Cretaceous Magmatic Province. This new nomenclature replaces the restrictive "Sava Zone magmatism" concept, properly reflecting a regionally extensive magmatic system that transcends the boundaries of the suture zone, originating from shared intracontinental processes.
How to cite: Sokol, K., Prelević, D., Cvetković, V., Mladenović, A., and Romer, R.: Late Cretaceous magmatism in the Balkans: geochronological and isotopic constraints on the newly defined Central Balkan Upper Cretaceous Magmatic Province , 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-76, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-76, 2026.
The Upper Cretaceous igneous rocks of the Sava Zone consist of tholeiitic and alkaline basalts, rhyolites and minor A-type granites, S-type granites and lamprophyres. Although less voluminous and less significant in terms of economic geology than the contemporaneous Apuseni-Banat-Timok-Srednogorie belt (ABTS), the Sava Zone is crucial for understanding of the geodynamic evolution of southern Europe. Several conflicting scenarios, both intraoceanic and intracontinental, have been evoked to explain this magmatism, resulting in a discussion about the timing of the Neotethys closure in the region. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Sava Zone is largely covered by deposits of the Pannonian Basin. This study focuses on the Late Cretaceous igneous rocks from the Drava and Slavonia-Srijem Depressions in eastern Croatia. The cores from deep hydrocarbon exploration boreholes were subjected to geochemical, in situ zircon U-Pb dating and Hf in zircon isotope analysis. The basement of the Drava Depression is part of the Tisia megaunit, and the orthogneiss with Late Permian A-type granitic protolith (257±2.6 Ma, εHf(i)=+2.4 to -3.1) indicates that the studied part of the Slavonia-Srijem Depression belongs to the same unit. The Drava Depression hosts calc-alkaline to high-K calc-alkaline I-type granodiorite-monzodiorite (77.3±1.1 Ma, εHf(i)= +3.3 to -3.2), with microgranular mafic enclaves, and hybrid quartz-monzodioritic rocks originating from magma mixing. The I-type granodiorite-monzodiorite is characterized by LILE/HFSE enrichment, but less evolved members display lower LILE/HFSE, with relatively high TiO2 and Nb/Y. The Slavonia-Srijem Depression hosts A-type alkali-feldspar granites and quartz-alkali-feldspar syenite (83.7±0.6 to 78.8±0.7 Ma; εHf(i)= +9.7 to -0.8). They are characterized by a ferroan character, high alkali content and relatively low LILE/HFSE. While zircons from the Drava I-type granodiorite-monzodiorite contain numerous inherited cores, this is not the case for the Slavonia-Srijem A-type rocks. Both suites were generated by mixing of mantle and continental crust-derived melts, but distinctions arise from a lower crustal thickness in the Slavonia-Srijem area. High-temperature melting and efficient hybridization beneath a thinner lithosphere generated A-type magmas with minimal zircon inheritance. Thicker crustal domains enabled longer-lived magma-crust interaction, extensive assimilation of heterogeneous basement, and the production of lower-temperature I-type granitoids with abundant inherited zircon. This study points to an intracontinental origin of the Sava Zone magmatism, caused by asthenosphere uprise, and indicating complex (post-)collisional processes in the Late Cretaceous as a trigger for magmatism. The presented work is supported by the Croatian Science Foundation project SECret (HRZZ IPS-2023-02-2683).
How to cite: Šuica, S., Prelević, D., Dunkl, I., Xie, J.-C., Garašić, V., Woodland, A. B., Trinajstić, N., and Brlek, M.: Late Cretaceous granitic magmatism of the Sava Zone: Geochemical and geochronological insights from the subsurface of the Pannonian Basin in eastern Croatia , 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-79, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-79, 2026.
The Kostajnica area (Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina boundary) presents the westernmost known exposure of the Sava Suture Zone (SSZ), i.e., tectonic boundary between the European and the Adria plates formed by Late Cretaceous collision. The sedimentary succession records a transition from Scaglia-type pelagic limestones which progressed to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic deposits and turbidites, reflecting progressive and increasing terrigenous input. Sandstones are dominated by volcanic lithic fragments compositionally similar to the associated basalts, indicating local derivation and syn-volcanic sedimentation. Planktonic foraminifera associations assign the carbonate succession to the Dicarinella asymetrica Zone, indicating a middle Santonian to possibly earliest Campanian age. The volcanic rocks comprise hydrothermally altered spilitic basalts that preserve skeletal, dendritic, and intersertal igneous textures indicative of rapid (under)cooling. Subsequent alterations are reflected by extensive albitization, saussuritization, chloritization, and element mobility (e.g., Cs, Rb, Ba, and U). Despite these effects, geochemical data indicate an E-MORB affinity with tholeiitic characteristics. Trace element systematics suggests partial melting of an initially enriched mantle source near the spinel–garnet transition, predominantly occurring within the spinel stability field. The Kostajnica basalts closely resemble coeval E-MORB-type basalts from the western SSZ (e.g., North Kozara and Požeška Gora), while volcanic rocks from the central SSZ (e.g., Ripanj and Klepa) display more enriched, alkaline to transitional compositions. This regional geochemical variability indicates Santonian–Campanian tectono-magmatic activity which occurred within a broadly extensional regime but involved heterogeneous magma sources and lithospheric controls. The precise geodynamic setting, however, remains uncertain, with the Kostajnica magmatism potentially associated to the active convergent system or post-collisional transtension.
The presented work is supported by the Croatian Science Foundation project SECret (HRZZ IPS-2023-02-2683) and by Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia project Recon Tethys (7744807).
How to cite: Olić Peco, I., Matoš, B., Prelević, D., Petrinec, Z., Sokol, K., Kocjančič, A., Moro, A., and Lužar-Oberiter, B.: Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary complex of the westernmost Sava Suture Zone: Evidence from the Kostajnica area , 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-72, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-72, 2026.
The Dinarides constitute an orogenic belt produced by convergence between the Adriatic microplate and Europe following the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous closure of the Neotethys. Concurrently, the area between the Adriatic microplate and the European margin were dominated by the development of sedimentary basin(s), that accommodated increased erosion due to progressive convergence between the two continents and nappe stacking of the internal Dinaric units during the latest Cretaceous - Early Paleogene.
One of such basins is located at the very contact between the two most internal units of the Dinarides: Jadar - Kopaonik and Drina - Ivanjica units. The remnants of this basin are now exposed as a narrow but continuous imbricated belt of volcano-sedimentary rocks, previously termed as the Upper Cretaceous “olistostrome mélange”. Position of this sedimentary unit is closely related to the existence of Zvornik fault, one of the major strike-slip fault structures in the Dinarides, representing the major tectonic contact between the Jadar - Kopaonik and the Drina - Ivanjica units.
In this contribution, we focus on several areas along the Zvornik fault where this volcano-sedimentary formation is exposed (from NW - SE: Rujevac-Zvornik, Debelo brdo, Jelica Mts., Kopaonik Mts. and Klepa Mts). We study basement rocks, sedimentary units, magmatic rocks and deformation structures, in order to investigate the complex convergent processes between Adria and Europe during the Late Cretaceous. The studied formation comprises a heterogeneous succession dominated by basaltic breccia embedded in a high-density debris-flow matrix, intercalated with coarse-grained mass-transport deposits and minor fine-grained intervals, and deposited within a strongly asymmetric basin linked to activity on the principal Jadar-Kopaonik thrust. Syndepositional deformation, growth strata, and kinematic indicators record basin subsidence coeval with contraction and transcurrent motion.
Our results indicate significant dextral slip along the Zvornik fault already by the Late Cretaceous. Given the fault’s orogen-scale role, its motion likely localized limited extensional domains within the evolving wedge, facilitating partial melting and basalt generation. We interpret Upper Cretaceous sedimentation to have occurred in a wedge-top basin developed atop the advancing Jadar-Kopaonik thrust during Adria-Europe collision, providing new constraints on the timing and kinematics of thrust-sheet stacking, strike-slip partitioning, and magma generation within the internal Dinarides.
How to cite: Mladenović, A., Prelević, D., Cvetković, V., Sokol, K., and Gajić, V.: Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary formation of the Internal Dinarides: Another piece of evidence for Adria - Europe oblique convergence, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-74, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-74, 2026.
The Tisza Unit represents a continental microplate of European affinity, today sandwiched between the European and Adriatic plates. Its southwesternmost exposures crop out in the Slavonian Mountains of Croatia, where they occur in close proximity to rocks of the Adriatic Plate and the Sava Suture Zone separating them. Papuk Mountain consists of a Variscan crystalline basement and an overlying Permo–Mesozoic sedimentary cover and is considered as part of the Bihor Nappe within the Tisza nappe stack. We present structural and stratigraphic evidence constraining E-vergent structures, possibly related to the Early Cretaceous nappe stacking within the Tisza and Dacia Mega-Units.
Shallow-marine Permian to Upper Triassic siliciclastic sandstones and carbonates were deposited on top of Variscan high-grade metamorphic series and granites. These deposits are continuously overlain by Lower Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous (Berriasian) pelagic carbonates, marking the onset of the separation of Tisza from European plate. Structural mapping of the study area revealed a meter to kilometer scale superposed folding that is particularly well expressed within the Permian to lowermost Cretaceous succession. Older E-vergent tight overturned folds were subsequently refolded by a younger folding phase with a compression axis subparallel to the fold axes of the older folds, resulting in a characteristic arrowhead interference pattern. Considering that Upper Miocene strata are involved in the younger deformation, the age of younger folding event is constrained to the Late Miocene to Recent. Until recently, the age of the older folding event was only broadly constrained between the earliest Cretaceous and the Late Miocene. However, our recent discovery of an Upper Cretaceous Gosau-type transgressive succession unconformably overlaying the deformed Permian to lowermost Cretaceous sequence significantly refines this constraint. The unconformity indicates that folding occurred within a relatively short time interval between the deposition of the youngest pre-deformation sediments (Berriasian) and the deposition of transgressive post-deformation Gosau-type sediments (late Santonian).
This Early Cretaceous folding and thrusting(?) event coincides with an Early Cretaceous metamorphic overprint previously recognized in Papuk Mountain (commonly referred to as “Alpine metamorphism”), recorded under conditions of 340–460 °C and 3.5–6.0 kbar in the Paleozoic units and 250–300 °C in the Mesozoic sedimentary succession. It also overlaps with zircon fission-track ages of 135 ± 8 Ma obtained from Variscan basement granites. The short time interval between the deposition of Berriasian pelagic limestones and their subsequent folding and metamorphic overprint, followed by rapid exhumation to the surface levels, indicates rapid and intense Early Cretaceous crustal shortening. We corelate this compressional deformation with Early Cretaceous “Austrian” phase documented in the Eastern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains, and broadly coeval Eoalpine orogenic stage in the Eastern Alps.
Presented research was conducted in the scope of the internal research project PAPUKRON at the Croatian Geological Survey, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021–2026 of the European Union – NextGenerationEU, and monitored by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia.
How to cite: Vukovski, M., Ivanišević, D., Mišur, I., Horvat, M., and Tomljenović, B.: Early Cretaceous contraction in the SW Tisza as a result of Adria-Europe collision? Structural and stratigraphic evidence from Papuk Mt. in East Croatia, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-37, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-37, 2026.
The Cretaceous Period is notable for numerous occurences of organic-rich muds (Usman et al. 2025). These mudrocks are often termed „black shales“, due to the dark colour imparted by organic matter and sulphides, and often present fissility. Black shales of the Rogozna Mt. were deposited during the upper levels of the Maastrichtian Age (Urošević et al. 1973), representing the background pelagic sedimentation often intersected by turbiditic calcareous clastics, as well as debris flow breccias. They are thus considered the lower, mud-rich part of the rapidly advancing flysch complex (Anđelković 2026). These sediments were subsequently heavily deformed by the Alpine orogenesis.
Rogozna is being explored by Zlatna Reka Resources (a subsidiary of Strickland Metals) for skarn-hosted and porphyry deposits, completing a large number of drillholes in the eastern parts of the mountain. Extensive laboratory assaying performed on all core proved a rich source of data for geochemical modelling. Several drillholes with high shale thickness were selected in order to illustrate properties of different prospects, and thus positions within the basin.
The calculated Index of Compositional Variability (after Cox et al, 1995) shows high values, signifying first-cycle deposition in a highly active tectonic regime. This is in accord with current understanding of the basin evolution (Schmid et al. 2020, Anđelković 2026). The values drop westward and with time, mostly the effect of the constant decrease in Ca content. It must be noted that within this lithofacial unit, Ca is mostly connected with turbiditic sandstones, but this distinction is masked by the fact that assay samples include both lithologies in bulk. K/Al ratios are higher in the older units as well, with Gradina North being especially enriched in K, and thus detrital feldspar. The mid-low ratios in younger levels indicate strong muscovite and illite mineralogy. Ti content in shales generally is considerably higher than in the underlying marly carbonates, and is stable within the unit. Lithogeochemical classification performed after the methodology of Ordóñez-Calderón et al. (2017) mostly puts the shales in the Siliciclastic-Crystalline category.
These results confirm that the transition from dominantly carbonate to dominantly sicliciclastic deposition was highly gradual, with the Ca decrease still ongoing after the change in lithofacies from marlstone to black shale with distal turbidites. Another implication is provenance: the sediment composition and depositional mode change coincides with the progressive erosion at the western fringe of the basin, where first Triassic carbonates, then Triassic mixed sediments, Permian clastics, and finally Paleozoic low-grade metamorphics were successively removed. This confirms the western basin edge as the main source area, and composition of the derived sediments is directly linked to the source material composition.
How to cite: Anđelković, F.: Geochemical traits of Maastrichtian black shales with turbidites from Rogozna Mt. (SW Serbia): composition and provenance, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-54, 2026.
The Timok Magmatic Complex (TMC), part of the Late Cretaceous Apuseni–Banat–Timok–Srednogorie (ABTS) volcano-sedimentary belt in the Carpatho-Balkanides, represents a well-exposed case study of a basin that developed within the overriding plate above two adjacent subduction systems of opposite polarity, the NE-dipping Neotethys and the W-dipping Ceahlău–Severin. This study reconstructs the tectonic evolution of the TMC basin through field-based structural and kinematic analysis, with the aim of constraining the controlling mechanisms of deformation in a multi-slab setting. The results define three successive deformation phases. The oldest phase records Late Cretaceous extension and asymmetric basin formation, characterized by strong strain localization along upper-crustal normal faults. This phase was controlled by rollback of the Neotethyan slab, enabling efficient transfer of deformation into the upper crust and direct coupling between active faulting and calc-alkaline magmatism. At the scale of the ABTS belt, this coupling was not uniformly developed, but is most clearly expressed through the development of the TMC basin. The subsequent phase corresponds to the latest Cretaceous–earliest Paleogene basin inversion, expressed by a progressive transition from contractional to transpressional deformation. This stage was controlled by the closure of the Ceahlău–Severin Ocean and Carpathian collision, with shortening localized along inherited extensional basin structures. The youngest phase reflects Oligocene–Middle Miocene post-orogenic deformation. It is characterized by strain partitioning and strike-slip faulting related to oroclinal bending of the Carpatho-Balkanides, which controlled segmentation and sedimentary reorganization of the TMC basin and the broader ABTS belt.
How to cite: Randjelovic, N., Toljić, M., Trivić, B., Maleš, M., Grujovski-Stanisavljević, M., and Stojadinovic, U.: Tectonic evolution of the Timok Magmatic Complex in the Serbian Carpathians: Insights from basin-scale field kinematic study, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-2, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-2, 2026.
Mountain building can strongly influence regional climate by modifying atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns. While such interactions are well documented in major mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and the Andes, their significance in lower ranges remains less well constrained. This work is focused on testing whether the Dinarides modified the regional climate and caused an orographic rain-shadow effect in the Miocene. Previous studies have suggested the existence of contrasting humid and arid environments across the mountain range during this time, accompanied by marked differences in lake development and faunal distribution. However, limited geochronological constraints from the eastern flank of the Dinarides have hindered regional correlations between intramontane basins and mechanisms driving paleoenvironmental variations. Here, we integrate sedimentological, geochronological and paleontological observations from Miocene lacustrine successions across the Dinarides to reconstruct paleoclimatic patterns and their relationship with regional tectonics.
Field investigations were conducted at key successions in western Serbia, focusing on reconstruction of depositional environments through sedimentological observations, and sampling of intercalated volcanic ash layers. From these, zircons were extracted and U-Pb dating was performed by means of LA-ICP-MS. Our results reveal the coeval development of contrasting lake systems during the Middle Miocene. Freshwater lakes dominated the western flank of the Dinarides, facing the Adriatic Sea, whereas saline-type lakes characterized the eastern flank.
We interpret these observations as evidence for a pronounced climatic gradient across the Dinarides during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. The results support the hypothesis that the Dinarides topography acted as an orographic barrier that intercepted moisture-bearing westerly air masses, resulting in enhanced humidity on the windward side and increased aridity on the lee side of the range. At the same time, the magnitude and persistence of these climatic contrasts may have been modulated by global climate change, changes in regional land vs sea distribution, and hydrological changes. Our findings suggest that even relatively modest mountain belts can exert a significant influence on regional climatic development, comparable to patterns observed in larger orogenic systems.
How to cite: Šamarija, R., Andrić-Tomašević, N., Mandic, O., and Zeh, A.: Revealing Miocene tectonic-climate interactions in the Dinarides, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-27, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-27, 2026.
Authigenic 10Be/9Be dating is increasingly used to constrain the depositional ages of marine and continental sedimentary successions that lack suitable material for conventional geochronology. Cosmogenic 10Be is produced in the atmosphere through cosmic-ray interactions with nitrogen and oxygen and is subsequently delivered to the Earth’s surface by wet and dry deposition, whereas stable 9Be is released primarily by continental weathering and transported to depositional basins by rivers. Following their delivery to the basin, both isotopes are scavenged from the water column and incorporated into authigenic Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides and other reactive sedimentary phases. The depositional age is calculated from the radioactive decay of authigenic 10Be relative to 9Be, requiring an independently constrained initial authigenic 10Be/9Be ratio representative of the sediment at the time of deposition. However, variations in sediment provenance, depositional processes, beryllium sources, reworking of older successions, and post-depositional redistribution may modify either the initial ratio or its subsequent preservation, complicating the application of the method in epicontinental basins. The determination of initial ratio is therefore a crucial aspect of the method application.
The Pannonian Basin has been extensively studied using authigenic 10Be/9Be dating over the past 13 years, with hundreds of samples processed. This research has also focused on determining the initial ratio, with analyses of Holocene river-floodplain sediments providing reasonable estimates. A dataset of 55 samples revealed minor but clear variation in initial ratios between ∼3-6 x 10-9. In this approach, the palaeoriver responsible for deposition of the dated succession is identified, and the initial ratio of the corresponding present-day stream is applied in the age calculation. Although empirical and unable to account for temporal changes in provenance and denudation rates, this approach yields ages consistent with independent geochronological constraints where available.
This contribution presents newly acquired results from the southern Pannonian Basin and the Fruska Gora Mts. The region experienced a complex evolution during the Late Miocene-Pliocene, as the normal regression of Lake Pannon, recorded by prograding shelf-slope systems from several directions, was complicated by the onset of basin inversion. This caused uplift of the basin margins synchronously with subsidence in the central depocentres. Moreover, another lacustrine water body, termed Lake Slavonia or Lake Paludina, developed after the regression of Lake Pannon and was associated with deposition of the Viviparus Beds. The relationship between Lake Pannon and Lake Slavonia or Paludina remains unresolved.
The first set of dating results comes from borehole cores penetrating the regressive succession above shelf-slope clinoforms in the Szeged Basin, yielding an age of ∼5 Ma. A fluvial succession exposed on the flanks of the Fruska Gora Mts. at Čerević yielded ages of ∼4.5 Ma and probably represents channels that fed Lake Pannon. The succession representing Lake Paludina in the Sremski Karlovci clay pit yielded an age of ∼3.8 Ma. Interestingly, a comparable age was obtained from a fluvial succession exposed farther west at Ilok, which probably represents channels that drained towards Lake Slavonia.
The study was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contracts APVV-20-120 and APVV-23-0227.
How to cite: Šujan, M., Radivojević, D., Špelić, M., Pavičić, I., and Aherwar, K.: Authigenic 10Be/9Be as a tool for epicontinental basin chronostratigraphy: Refining the Late Miocene-Pliocene history of the southern Pannonian Basin and Fruška Gora Mts., 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-62, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-62, 2026.
The junction of the Dinarides and Hellenides has been the site of repeated motion since Mesozoic time. Today, it is marked by the Shkoder-Peja Normal Fault (SPNF) that downthrows and rotates the Hellenic segment in its hangingwall clockwise with respect to the Dinaric segment in its footwall. The SPNF overprints an older transcurrent fault of uncertain (presumably Mesozoic) age, referred to as the Shkoder-Peja Transverse Zone (SPTZ), that dextrally offsets the Dinaric and Hellenic nappes, especially the front of the West Vardar Ophiolite (WVO), by some 80 km. The SPTZ is not treated further below.
Here, we combine thermometry by Raman spectroscopy on carbonaceous matter (RCSM) with low-T thermochronology (apatite and zircon fission track, respectively, AFT, ZFT; zircon U-Th/He or ZHe) to gain insight into the thermal history of the SPNF and adjacent units. Accretion of the Adriatic margin involved SW-directed Dinaric nappe stacking and post-nappe ductile folding at peak temperatures (Tp) of 180-220°C between 46-49 Ma as constrained by ZHe cooling ages. Higher Tp (300-460°C) are restricted to Middle Triassic granitoids in one of these nappes (East Bosnian Durmitor Nappe) and yield broadly scattered Cretaceous ZFT and ZHe ages. These may reflect shearing and/or the precipitation of carbonaceous matter during post-intrusive fluid activity, and have nothing to do with the later Dinaric temperature field.
Orogen-parallel extension along the SPNF was accompanied in its footwall by doming and mylonitic overprinting of the Dinaric folds. ZHe and AFT ages mostly in the footwall of the SPNF bracket its age at between 48 and 21 Ma. Within this range, a late Oligo-to-Miocene age is favored on stratigraphic grounds. Continued extension involved cataclastic overprinting along the SPNF and mid-Miocene to Pliocene (16-5 Ma) sedimentation in the Metohia-Dukagjini Basin. Subsequent extension in Plio-Pleistocene time (5-3 Ma) migrated into the southern part of this basin.
The SPNF is part of a system of Neogene normal faults that continues to accommodate clockwise arcuation and attenuation of the Dinaric-Hellenic chain in response to slab tearing and Hellenic roll-back subduction. It accommodated only ~10° of clockwise rotation of the Albanian segment of the Hellenic orogen with respect to the Dinarides and Europe. The pole for this modest intracrustal rotation is situated near the Albanian town of Shkoder. SE of Shkoder, Neogene normal faulting gives way to coeval top-WSW thrusting. Most post-40 Ma clockwise bending (50-70°) of the Dinaric-Hellenic chain is interpreted to have occurred about the Adria-Apulia plate rotational pole located in the southern Dinarides between 42 and 43°N latitude, possibly offshore of Dalmatia in Croatia (e.g., near the Mid-Adriatic Ridge, Handy et al. 2019) or inland within the southern Dinarides (Ferriozzi et al. 2025, Lesić et al. 2026).
Feriozzi, F, Siravo G, Speranza F (2025) Tectonics, 44, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024TC008743
Handy MR, Giese J, Pleuger J, Schmid SM, Spakman W, Onuzi K, Ustaszewski K (2019), Tectonics, DOI: 10.1029/2019TC005524
Lesić V, Màrton E., Đaković M, Ćosović V, Gàbor I, Radusinović S (2025) Int. Journal of Earth Sciences, 114, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-026-02596-5
How to cite: Handy, M. R., Pleuger, J., Gemigani, L., Giese, J., Gross, P., Grund, M., Onuzi, K., Pomella, H., Schmid, S. M., Sobel, E., and Zertani, S.: Motion at the junction of the Dinarides and Hellenides in light of new thermochronological ages (northern Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro), 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-56, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-56, 2026.
The Dinaride-Albanide-Hellenides form a remarkably continuous chain facing the E margin of Adria and the Ionian oceanic basin. Paleogeography and nappe assemblage change significantly from Dinarides to Albano-Hellenides, as well as age and magnitude of nappe rotation synchronous with thrust emplacement since Miocene times. Although it is well-established that the external zones of the Albano-Hellenides underwent a ~40° post-Oligocene clockwise (CW) rotation relative to Africa/Adria, the rotation timing remains debated. Previous models mainly suggested either two Miocene and Plio–Pleistocene rotation episodes, or a single post mid-Miocene rotation accelerating along time. Uncertainties reflect the contribution from local thrust tectonics and/or strike-slip faults biasing the regional rotational trend. Here we present new paleomagnetic data from 41 sites in the continuous Eocene-Upper Pliocene sedimentary sequence of the Tragjasi thrust sheet (Ionian zone, SW Albania). Sampled layers lie on the backlimb of a 50 km-long anticline subparallel to the regional orogenic trend and away from major strike-slip faults. Twenty-eight sites yielded reliable paleomagnetic directions carried by magnetite. The dataset includes 15 normal, 11 reverse and 2 mixed-polarity sites, yielding positive fold and reversal tests. Eocene to Lower Pliocene sediments consistently record a 37°±9° CW rotation, demonstrating that rotation in the external Albanides began not earlier than the late Early Pliocene (~4 Ma). By assuming rigid orogen rotations, we get post-4 Ma displacements reaching ~100 km at Vlore and ~150 km in Crete, corresponding to trench-retreat rates of ~3 to ~4 cm/yr. We interpret this rapid, recent rotation as driven by enhanced Ionian slab pull, slab tearing beneath the Albanides, crust coupling across the Kefalonia-Lefkada Transform Fault, and ultimately westward propagation of the North Anatolian Fault. The boundary between Dinarides and Albano-Hellenides is traditionally acknowledged to occur along the Shkoder‐Peja transverse zone (SPTZ) of Northern Albania, characterized by a ∼100 km SW‐ward shift of the ophiolitic nappe front. The SPTZ has been variably interpreted as a paleogeographic inheritance, a dextral strike‐slip fault, the hinge of the clockwise (CW) rotating Albano‐Hellenides, and a Miocene normal fault. We studied the paleomagnetism of 23 Triassic‐Cretaceous sites from the Krasta‐Cukali and Albanian Alps domains, located both within and north of the SPTZ. We found both pre‐and post‐tilt paleomagnetic directions that consistently yielded a∼70° CW rotation with respect to Adria/Africa, except 9 sites from the Koman zone at the boundary with the ophiolitic nappe, which record a 38°±15° CW rotation. Thus, the well‐known regional CW rotation of the Albano‐Hellenides extends northward in the southern Dinarides, and the SPTZ is not a rotation boundary as previously assumed. The∼70° CW rotation is interpreted as the sum of a 30° rotation associated with Late Oligocene‐Aquitanian thrusting of the Krasta‐Cukali nappe over the Kruja zone, plus the 40° post-4 Ma rotation that we have now constrained in the external Ionian zone of Albania. We suggest that the SPTZ is the heritage of a Lower‐Middle Triassic transform fault of the Maliac Tethyan Ocean, later overprinted by the Lower Cretaceous obduction of the Vardar Ocean that rejuvenated Maliac Ocean since the Middle Jurassic.
How to cite: Speranza, F., Feriozzi, F., and Siravo, G.: Meso-Cenozoic evolution of the external Dinaride-Albanide-Hellenide orogen and the role of the Shkoder-Peja transverse zone: An updated paleomagnetic perspective, 17th EGU Émile Argand Conference on Alpine Geological Studies, Fruška Gora, Serbia, 14–16 Sep 2026, alpshop2026-10, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-alpshop2026-10, 2026.
