Lithosphere Structure, Processes, and Physical State of the Alpine‐Apennine System

Abstract

AbstractTomographic images of the lithosphere are the first step to constrain the evolution of mountain belts and their interaction. By inverting new high‐quality P‐ and S‐wave arrivals that sample the entire lithosphere, we determined Vp and Vp/Vs models with reliable resolution in the critical depth range (40–80 km) where plates of the central Mediterranean area interact. This data set yields homogeneous representation of the 3D structure over a critical area at a regional scale. Here, we show that the Alps derive from a laterally continuous underthrusting of the European plate and that the Adria lithosphere was delaminated after the collision. Tomograms resolve the lateral changes of the continental versus oceanic subduction along the Alpine belt and identify original evidence of fluids beneath the orogens able to facilitate the current deformation.