Neogene evolution of the Carpatho-Pannonian region: an interplay of subduction and back-arc diapiric uprise in the mantle

Abstract

Geodynamic evolution of the Carpathian arc and Pannonian basin during the Neogene times is presented as a set of palinspastic reconstructions. The structural evolution is modeled in terms of a coupled system of: (1) Alpine (Atype) subduction and compressive orogene belt development owing to compression by the Adriatic microplate, (2) lateral extrusion of Alcapa lithosphere from the Alpine collision assisted by transform faults, (3) Carpathian gravity driven (Btype) subduction of oceanic or suboceanic lithosphere underlying former flysch basins and (4) back arc extension associated with the diapiric uprise of asthenospheric mantle.