Pliocene‐Quaternary orogenic systems in Central Mediterranean: The Apulia‐Southern Apennines‐Tyrrhenian Sea example

In the Central Mediterranean the Africa‐Eurasia convergence led to the development of complex orogenic systems and back‐arc basins. Throughout Pliocene‐Quaternary times the Southern Apennines accretionary prism migrated toward the Apulia foreland and, contemporaneously, the Tyrrhenian Sea back‐arc basin opened. In this study, we investigated the offshore of the southern Apulia foreland and the Southern Apennines. Using seismic reflection profiles and well data in a dedicated GIS software, we made a detailed stratigraphic analysis, reconstructed the structural pattern, and built 2‐D geological models of the main geological surfaces. The structure of the Apulia region formed during two main tectonic stages: lower Pleistocene complex extensional faulting developed in a transtensional regime and middle‐upper Pleistocene transpression/shortening. The Southern Apennines accretionary prism developed through the Pliocene‐early lower Pleistocene and was overprinted by late lower Pleistocene‐middle Pleistocene NW‐SE sinistral faults. Through linking new data from the accretionary prism and the foreland with previous information from the Tyrrhenian Sea back‐arc, we provide an original interpretation for the relationships between the various provinces that make the Central Mediterranean crustal puzzle and reconstruct the main phases of the evolution of its Pliocene‐Quaternary orogenic cycle. We recognized collisional stages of uncoupled plates, followed by late lower‐middle Pleistocene postcollisional stages of coupled continental plates. This Pleistocene plate reorganization of Central Mediterranean was probably due to the rupture of the Apulia/Ionian slab or to NNW intraplate shortening transmitted from Africa.