@article{WiederkehrBousquetZiemannetal.2011, author = {Wiederkehr, Michael and Bousquet, Romain and Ziemann, Martin Andreas and Berger, Alfons and Schmid, Stefan M.}, title = {3-D assessment of peak-metamorphic conditions by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material an example from the margin of the Lepontine dome (Swiss Central Alps)}, series = {International journal of earth sciences}, volume = {100}, journal = {International journal of earth sciences}, number = {5}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1437-3254}, doi = {10.1007/s00531-010-0622-2}, pages = {1029 -- 1063}, year = {2011}, abstract = {This study monitors regional changes in the crystallinity of carbonaceous matter (CM) by applying Micro-Raman spectroscopy to a total of 214 metasediment samples (largely so-called Bundnerschiefer) dominantly metamorphosed under blueschist- to amphibolite-facies conditions. They were collected within the northeastern margin of the Lepontine dome and easterly adjacent areas of the Swiss Central Alps. Three-dimensional mapping of isotemperature contours in map and profile views shows that the isotemperature contours associated with the Miocene Barrow-type Lepontine metamorphic event cut across refolded nappe contacts, both along and across strike within the northeastern margin of the Lepontine dome and adjacent areas. Further to the northeast, the isotemperature contours reflect temperatures reached during the Late Eocene subduction-related blueschist-facies event and/or during subsequent near-isothermal decompression; these contours appear folded by younger, large-scale post-nappe-stacking folds. A substantial jump in the recorded maximum temperatures across the tectonic contact between the frontal Adula nappe complex and surrounding metasediments indicates that this contact accommodated differential tectonic movement of the Adula nappe with respect to the enveloping Bundnerschiefer after maximum temperatures were reached within the northern Adula nappe, i.e. after Late Eocene time.}, language = {en} } @article{WiederkehrSudoBousquetetal.2009, author = {Wiederkehr, Michael and Sudo, Masafumi and Bousquet, Romain and Berger, Alfons and Schmid, Stefan M.}, title = {Alpine orogenic evolution from subduction to collisional thermal overprint : the Ar-40/Ar-39 age constraints from the Valaisan Ocean, central Alps}, issn = {0278-7407}, doi = {10.1029/2009tc002496}, year = {2009}, abstract = {The investigated HP/LT metasedimentary units of the Valaisan and adjacent European domains occupy a key position in the Alpine belt for understanding the transition from early subduction-related HP/LT metamorphism to collision-related Barrovian overprint and the evolution of mountain belts in general. The timing of high-pressure metamorphism, subsequent retrogression and following Barrow-type overprint was studied by Ar-40/Ar-39 dating of biotite and several white mica generations that are well characterized in terms of mineral chemistry, texture and associated mineral assemblages. Four distinct age populations of white mica record peak pressure conditions (42-40 Ma) and several stages of subsequent retrograde metamorphic evolution (36-25 Ma). Biotite isotopic analyses yield consistent apparent ages that cluster around 18-16 Ma for the Barrow-type thermal overprint. The recorded isotopic data reveal a significant time gap in the order of some 20 Ma between subduction-related HP/LT metamorphism and collision-related Barrovian overprint, supporting the notion of a polymetamorphic evolution associated with a bimodal P-T path.}, language = {en} } @article{ScharfHandySchmidetal.2016, author = {Scharf, Andreas and Handy, Mark R. and Schmid, Stefan M. and Favaro, Silvia and Sudo, Masafumi and Schuster, Ralf and Hammerschmidt, Konrad}, title = {Grain-size effects on the closure temperature of white mica in a crustal-scale extensional shear - zone - Implications of in-situ Ar-40/Ar-39 laser-ablation of white mica for dating shearing and cooling (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps)}, series = {Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth}, volume = {674}, journal = {Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0040-1951}, doi = {10.1016/j.tecto.2016.02.014}, pages = {210 -- 226}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In-situ Ar-40/Ar-39 laser ablation dating of white-mica grains was performed on samples from the footwall of a crustal-scale extensional fault (Katschberg Normal Fault; KNF) that accommodated eastward orogen-parallel displacement of Alpine orogenic crust in the eastern part of the Tauern Window. This dating yields predominantly cooling ages ranging from 31 to 13 Myr, with most ages clustering between 21 and 17 Myr. Folded white micas that predate the main Katschberg foliation yield, within error, the same ages as white-mica grains that overgrow this foliation. However, the absolute ages of both generations are older at the base (20 Myr) where their grain size is larger (300-500 mu m), than at the top and adjacent to the hangingwall (17 Myr) of this shear zone where grain size is smaller (<100-300 mu m). This fining-upward trend of white-mica grain size within the KNF is associated with a reduction of the closure temperature from the base (similar to 445 degrees C) to the top (<400 degrees C) and explains the counter-intuitive trend of downward-increasing age of cooling in the footwall. The new data show that rapid cooling within the KNF of the eastern Tauern Window started sometime before 21 Myr according to the Ar-40/Ar-39 white-mica cooling ages and between 25-21 Myr according to the new Rb/Sr white-mica ages, i.e., shortly after the attainment of the thermal peak in the Tauern Window at similar to 25 Myr ago. These new data, combined with literature data, support earlier cooling in the eastern part of then Tauem Window than in the western part by some 3-5 Myr. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{BergerSchmidEngietal.2011, author = {Berger, Alfons and Schmid, Stefan M. and Engi, Martin and Bousquet, Romain and Wiederkehr, Michael}, title = {Mechanisms of mass and heat transport during Barrovian metamorphism: A discussion based on field evidence from the Central Alps (Switzerland/northern Italy)}, series = {Tectonics}, volume = {30}, journal = {Tectonics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0278-7407}, doi = {10.1029/2009TC002622}, pages = {17}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Tectonic and metamorphic data for the Central Alps (Switzerland/Italy) are used to discuss this classic example of a Barrovian metamorphic terrain, notably the evolution of its thermal structure in space and time. Available P-T-t data indicate variable contributions of advective and conductive heat transport during collision and subsequent cooling and exhumation. Some areas experienced a prolonged period of partial melting while other areas, at the same time, show but moderate heating. The Barrow-type metamorphic field gradient observed in the final orogen is the result of two distinct tectonic processes, with their related advective and conductive heat transport processes. The two tectonic processes are (1) accretion of material within a subduction channel related to decompression and emplacement of high-pressure units in the middle crust and (2) wedging and related nappe formation in the continental lower plate. The second process postdates the first one. Wedging and underthrusting of continental lower plate material produces heat input into lower crustal levels, and this process is responsible for predominantly conductive heat transport in the overlying units. The interacting processes lead to different maximum temperatures at different times, producing the final Barrovian metamorphic field gradient. The south experienced rapid cooling, whereas the north shows moderate cooling rates. This discrepancy principally reflects differences in the temperature distribution in the deeper crust prior to cooling. Differences in the local thermal gradient that prevailed before the cooling also determined the relationships between cooling rate and exhumation rate in the different areas. Citation: Berger, A., S. M. Schmid, M. Engi, R. Bousquet, and M. Wiederkehr (2011), Mechanisms of mass and heat transport during Barrovian metamorphism: A discussion based on field evidence from the Central Alps (Switzerland/northern Italy), Tectonics, 30, TC1007, doi:10.1029/2009TC002622.}, language = {en} } @article{ScharfHandyZiemannetal.2013, author = {Scharf, Anke and Handy, Mark R. and Ziemann, Martin Andreas and Schmid, Stefan M.}, title = {Peak-temperature patterns of polyphase metamorphism resulting from accretion, subduction and collision (eastern Tauern Window, European Alps) - a study with Raman microspectroscopy on carbonaceous material (RSCM)}, series = {Journal of metamorphic geology}, volume = {31}, journal = {Journal of metamorphic geology}, number = {8}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0263-4929}, doi = {10.1111/jmg.12048}, pages = {863 -- 880}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Raman microspectroscopy on carbonaceous material (RSCM) from the eastern Tauern Window indicates contrasting peak-temperature patterns in three different fabric domains, each of which underwent a poly-metamorphic orogenic evolution: Domain 1 in the northeastern Tauern Window preserves oceanic units (Glockner Nappe System, Matrei Zone) that attained peak temperatures (T-p) of 350-480 degrees C following Late Cretaceous to Palaeogene nappe stacking in an accretionary wedge. Domain 2 in the central Tauern Window experienced T-p of 500-535 degrees C that was attained either within an exhumed Palaeogene subduction channel or during Oligocene Barrovian-type thermal overprinting within the Alpine collisional orogen. Domain 3 in the Eastern Tauern Subdome has a peak-temperature pattern that resulted from Eo-Oligocene nappe stacking of continental units derived from the distal European margin. This pattern acquired its presently concentric pattern in Miocene time due to post-nappe doming and extensional shearing along the Katschberg Shear Zone System (KSZS). T-p values in the largest (Hochalm) dome range from 612 degrees C in its core to 440 degrees C at its rim. The maximum peak-temperature gradient (70 degrees Ckm(-1)) occurs along the eastern margin of this dome where mylonitic shearing of the Katschberg Normal Fault (KNF) significantly thinned the Subpenninic- and Penninic nappe pile, including the pre-existing peak-temperature gradient.}, language = {en} } @article{HandySchmidBousquetetal.2010, author = {Handy, Mark R. and Schmid, Stefan M. and Bousquet, Romain and Kissling, Eduard and Bernoulli, Daniel}, title = {Reconciling plate-tectonic reconstructions of Alpine Tethys with the geological-geophysical record of spreading and subduction in the Alps}, issn = {0012-8252}, doi = {10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.06.002}, year = {2010}, abstract = {A new reconstruction of Alpine Tethys combines plate-kinematic modelling with a wealth of geological data and seismic tomography to shed light on its evolution, from sea-floor spreading through subduction to collision in the Alps. Unlike previous models, which relate the fate of Alpine Tethys solely to relative motions of Africa, Iberia and Europe during opening of the Atlantic, our reconstruction additionally invokes independent microplates whose motions are constrained primarily by the geological record. The motions of these microplates (Adria, Iberia, Alcapia, Alkapecia, and Tiszia) relative to both Africa and Europe during Late Cretaceous to Cenozoic time involved the subduction of remnant Tethyan basins during the following three stages that are characterized by contrasting plate motions and driving forces: (1) 131-84 Ma intra-oceanic subduction of the Ligurian part of Alpine Tethys attached to Iberia coincided with Eo-alpine orogenesis in the Alcapia microplate, north of Africa. These events were triggered primarily by foundering of the older (170-131 Ma) Neotethyan subduction slab along the NE margin of the composite African-Adriatic plate; subduction was linked by a sinistral transform system to E-W opening of the Valais part of Alpine Tethys; (2) 84-35 Ma subduction of primarily the Piemont and Valais parts of Alpine Tethys which were then attached to the European plate beneath the overriding African and later Adriatic plates. NW translation of Adria with respect to Africa was accommodated primarily by slow widening of the Ionian Sea; (3) 35 Ma-Recent rollback subduction of the Ligurian part of Alpine Tethys coincided with Western Alpine orogenesis and involved the formation of the Gibraltar and Calabrian arcs. Rapid subduction and arc formation were driven primarily by the pull of the gravitationally unstable, retreating Adriatic and African slabs during slow convergence of Africa and Europe. The upper European-Iberian plate stretched to accommodate this slab retreat in a very mobile fashion, while the continental core of the Adriatic microplate acted as a rigid indenter within the Alpine collisional zone. The subducted lithosphere in this reconstruction can be correlated with slab material imaged by seismic tomography beneath the Alps and Apennines, as well as beneath parts of the Pannonian Basin, the Adriatic Sea, the Ligurian Sea, and the Western Mediterranean. The predicted amount of subducted lithosphere exceeds the estimated volume of slab material residing at depth by some 10-30\%, indicating that parts of slabs may be superposed within the mantle transition zone and/or that some of this subducted lithosphere became seismically transparent.}, language = {en} } @article{LoprienoBousquetBucheretal.2011, author = {Loprieno, Andrea and Bousquet, Romain and Bucher, Stefan and Ceriani, Stefano and Dalla Torre, Florian H. and F{\"u}genschuh, Bernhard and Schmid, Stefan M.}, title = {The valais units in Savoy (France) a key area for understanding the palaeogeography and the tectonic evolution of the Western Alps}, series = {International journal of earth sciences}, volume = {100}, journal = {International journal of earth sciences}, number = {5}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1437-3254}, doi = {10.1007/s00531-010-0595-1}, pages = {963 -- 992}, year = {2011}, abstract = {The Valais units in Savoy (Zone des BrSches de Tarentaise) have been re-mapped in great detail and are subject of combined stratigraphic, structural and petrological investigations summarized in this contribution. The sediments and rare relics of basement, together with Cretaceous age mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Valais palaeogeographical domain, represent the heavily deformed relics of the former distal European margin (External Valais units) and an ocean-continent transition (Internal Valais unit or Versoyen unit) that formed during rifting. This rifting led to the opening of the Valais ocean, a northern branch of the Alpine Tethys. Post-rift sediments referred to as "Valais trilogy" stratigraphically overlie both External and Internal Valais successions above an angular unconformity formed in Barremian to Aptian times, providing robust evidence for the timing of the opening of the Valais ocean. The Valais units in Savoy are part of a second and more external mid-Eocene high-pressure belt in the Alps that sutured the Brian double dagger onnais microcontinent to Europe. Top-N D1-deformation led to the formation of a nappe stack that emplaced the largely eclogite-facies Internal Valais unit (Versoyen) onto blueschist-facies External Valais units. The latter originally consisted of, from internal to external, the Petit St. Bernard unit, the Roc de l'Enfer unit, the MoA >> tiers unit and the Quermoz unit. Ongoing top-N D2-thrusting and folding substantially modified this nappe stack. Post 35 Ma D3 folding led to relatively minor modifications of the nappe stack within the Valais units but was associated with substantial top-WNW thrusting of the Valais units over the Dauphinois units along the Roselend thrust during W-directed indentation of the Adria block contributing to the formation of the arc of the Western Alps.}, language = {en} }