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[Display omitted] • Large, quality-controlled data base was compiled for the TRU, formerly part of Adria. • The new Mesozoic APWP for Adria integrates data from TRU. • This APWP implies relative rotations between Adria and Africa from 170 to 120 Ma. • The paleomagnetic and main tectonic events in the Adriatic realm correlate well. Mesozoic paleomagnetic data from the Transdanubian Range Unit (TRU) of the Pannonian Basin has been revised and updated to enable its paleogeographic evolution within SE Europe to be evaluated. After a 30° declination correction, the TRU data are fully consistent with those for Adria which has an almost identical stratigraphic history. This enabled a revised Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) to be constructed for the combined data. Comparing this with the corresponding African and European APWP shows that Adria separated from Europe around 190 Ma, then moved independently southwards between 170–120 Ma (a 30° clockwise rotation changing to counter-clockwise around 155–145 Ma). After 155 Ma, there was a northward movement that brought Adria close to the stable European margin by 115 Ma. This latter may have been with or independently of Africa. After 100 Ma, Africa and Adria moved in coordination until the end of the Cretaceous. This sequence of events correlated well with geologically established tectonic events. These include the major extensional phases in the Alpine Tethys during the southward shift and large clockwise rotation (170–155/145 Ma). This was followed by ophiolite obduction in the Neotethys (West and East Vardar) around 155–145 Ma as a result of the dramatic reversal in the displacement of Adria. Finally, around 115 Ma, the TRU was emplaced over Austroalpine units as a thick nappe associated with the general uplift in the Adriatic realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plate kinematic reconstructions, the restoration of rifted margins and their fossil equivalents exposed in orogens remains challenging. Tight fit reconstructions rely on the mapping of margins rift domains, their restoration to their pre-rift crustal thickness, and the removal of the oceanic and exhumed mantle domains. At present-day margins, high-resolution wide-angle seismic imaging allows mapping and measurement of rift domains; however, restoring fossil margins is trickier because they are largely overprinted and partially lost during convergence. Here, we present a new kinematic model for the Mesozoic rifting along the Tethys–Atlantic junction, which relies on two assumptions: (1) the width of the fossil Alpine Tethys rift domains was comparable to that of their present-day analogs, and (2) the necking zones of the former tectonic plates can be mapped, dated and used as kinematic markers. This reproducible workflow allows us, for the first time, to restore the rifted margins of the Alpine Tethys. Our reconstruction shows: (1) a westward propagation of extension through the Ionian, Alpine Tethys and Pyrenean rift systems from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, (2) the segmentation of the Mesozoic Tethyan rifted margins by strike-slip corridors, (3) the opening of an oceanic gateway at 165 Ma as mantle was exhumed along the entire Alpine Tethys and (4) the subdivision of the Mesozoic oceanic domain into compartments that were later consumed during subduction. This new model is supported by published data from the Alps, the Ionian Sea, the Pyrenees and the southern North Atlantic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the results of the analyses of 56 stone samples from Roman and pre-Roman artifacts from the ancient town of Atria, currently preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Adria. The city is located in the eastern Veneto lowlands, close to the Po River delta, and far from the main rock outcrops of the region. The objective of this research is to determine the provenance of the stones used in ancient Atria and their trade networks. The analytical techniques adopted include polarized-light optical microscopy (PLM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and quantitative phase analysis by X-ray powder diffraction (QPA-XRPD). The results reveal a widespread use of imported stones from the central-western territories of Veneto, primarily comprising trachyte from the Euganean Hills and the soft limestone Vicenza Stone from the Berici Hills/eastern Lessini Mounts. Rosso Ammonitico, Maiolica (Biancone) and Scaglia Rossa limestones are also documented. From neighbouring regions, the imported stone types include Aurisina limestone from the Trieste Karst and Istrian Stone. Sandstone was uniquely recognized in G. Popillius’s milestone. Moreover, advanced geochemical and mineralogical analyses performed on the Euganean trachytes allow tracking accurately the quarry sites, revealing an extensive exploitation of the main historical quarries of M. Oliveto, Monselice and M. Merlo, although some provenances from outcrops less systematically exploited were also detected. Notably, the use of rhyolite for manufacturing a pre-Roman gravestone provides new insights regarding the exploitation of Euganean stone resources before the Roman era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lost Tethys Ocean was the favorite topic of Jean Dercourt’s research. The Tethys project and his 1986 paper displaying detailed reconstructions in 9 plates from the Triassic to the Present was the beginning of a series of projects organized around large consortia associating scientists from the academic and industrial worlds. The most recent evolutions of these reconstructions show unprecedented images of the evolving geology, including tectonics and paleoenvironments, through time of this complex puzzle. Central to Tethyan tectonics, Apulia, or Adria, has been drawn with different geometries and dimensions from the first concepts by Emile Argand, Kenneth Hsü or John Dewey, to the recent reconstructions by Douwe van Hinsbergen or Paul Angrand. We review here the main reconstructions published since 1924 and the evolution of concepts and methods. We finally discuss the importance of this type of syntheses for understanding large-scale geodynamic processes.

This paper focuses on two new, partially coeval Early Bronze Age settlements identified at Adria and at Este during excavations for the laying of methane pipelines. In Adria, a site with an impressive stratigraphy was investigated on the north-eastern edge of the Greek-Etruscan and present-day centre. The centre originated in the Middle Bronze Age with the characteristics of a wetland site of pile-dwelling type and developed in a dry environment between Recent Bronze Age 1 and 2. The plan of a hut has been investigated almost in its entirety, providing indications of the structural characteristics of the settlement. At Este, a site arose west to the Iron Age protourban centre, most probably at the edge of a lake and developed in the Recent Bronze Age 2. Structures of a dwelling character and infrastructures functional to the structuring of the shoreline, as well as wood and wicker remains, were revealed. The comparison of the materials found in the two centres makes it possible to specify the characteristics of the local facies, in particular for the numerous cups with lobed and rostral handles in their variants.

At the end of November 2021, a large area of Puglia (an administrative region in Southern Italy) was officially nominated as new aUGGp (aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark) by the Italian National Commission of UNESCO. This area comprises the northwestern part of the Murge territory, where a Cretaceous sector of the Apulia Carbonate Platform crops out, and part of the adjacent Premurge territory, where the southwestward lateral continuation of the same platform (being flexed toward the Southern Apennines Chain) is covered by thin Plio-Quaternary foredeep deposits. The worldwide geological uniqueness of the aspiring Geopark (Murge aUGGp) is that the area is the only in situ remnant of the Adria Plate, the old continental plate almost entirely squeezed between the Africa and Eurasia Plates. In such a context, the Murge area (part of the Apulia Foreland) is a virtually undeformed sector of Adria, while other territories of the plate are and/or were involved in the subduction/collision processes. In the aspiring Geopark, the crust of Adria is still rooted to its mantle, and the Cretaceous evolution of the continent is widely recorded in the Murge area thanks to the shallow-water carbonate succession of one of the largest peri-Tethys carbonate platforms (the Apulia Carbonate Platform). The aspiring Geopark also comprises the Premurge area, which represents the outer Southern Apennines foredeep, whose Plio-Quaternary evolution is spectacularly exposed thanks to an "anomalous" regional middle-late Quaternary uplift. Despite the presence of numerous geological singularities of international importance, it would be important, from a geotourist point of view, to propose a regional framework of the geology of the aUGGp before introducing visitors to the significance of the individual geosites, whose importance could be amplified if included in the geoevolutionary context of the Murge aUGGp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Western Alps, a first Late Cretaceous to Eocene “Pyrenean-Provençal” compressive phase accommodating N-S shortening resulting from the convergence between Africa and Eurasia is classically described. It is followed by the Neogene “Alpine phase” accommodating E-W shortening. Since this major tectonic change is not explained by a modification of the global Africa-Eurasia convergence, it should be explained instead by more local causes, possibly by the subduction of the Ligurian Ocean that initiated in the Oligocene beneath the European and Iberian plates. In this paper, we present analogue models simulating the Neogene evolution of this subduction zone, in order to understand how it impacted the regional tectonics. Although models do not include the lithospheric plate overriding the subduction zone, their surface deformations share many similarities with the Neogene tectonics of Western Europe and Iberia. We observe that the tectonic evolution is largely controlled by the roll-back of the slab, that occurred much faster than the Africa-Eurasia convergence. Models reproduce the opening of the Western Mediterranean Basins and the dispersion of the AlKaPeCa continental fragments (Alboran, Kabylian, Peloritan and Calabrian blocks). They also show that the subduction of the Ligurian Ocean favors the counterclockwise rotation of Adria. In more elaborated models, we introduced a pre-existing weakness along the Africa and Adria margins, to reproduce the break-off of the oceanic slab that followed the beginning of continental subduction both in Northern Africa and Adria. Slab break-off is followed by the exhumation of the subducted continent. We observe that the influence of subduction on the kinematics of Adria largely decreases following slab break-off. In the models, the total counterclockwise rotation of Adria varies between 7° and more than 30°, depending on the timing of slab break-off. Since the process of subduction modifies the displacement of Adria, it also impacts the tectonic evolution of surrounding regions, especially in the Alpine belt: Our models show that during slab-roll back and before the Ligurian slab break-off, the azimuth of convergence between Adria and Europe shifts from ∼N-S to ∼ENE-WSW. Hence, they suggest that the oceanic subduction in the Western Mediterranean may contribute to the “Oligocene revolution” described by Dumont et al. (2011), leading to E-W shortening in the Western Alps and to the activation of the Periadriatic right-lateral shear zones in the Central Alps. We conclude that the western Mediterranean region is a spectacular example showing how the tectonics of mountain ranges and plate boundaries may be controlled by distant subduction processes.

The Istra Pushed Area is a specifically deformed territory of the northwestern part of the External Dinarides. It formed due to the movement of the Istra block as part of the Adriatic Microplate (Adria) towards the Dinarides since the middle Miocene. The movement of the Istra block caused hereditary shifts along the old dislocations dating back to the early formation stage of the formation of the Dinarides at the end of the Eocene and their deformation. These deformations are reflected also in certain extreme gravitational phenomena along the boundary between the External Dinaric Imbricated Belt and the External Dinaric Thrust Belt, where Mesozoic carbonates are thrusted upon the Cenozoic flysch. The boundary zone between these two belts connects the Trnovo, Hrušica and Snežnik Thrust Fronts. Four specific gravitational phenomena that occurred in this boundary zone are presented here, as they are remarkable in terms of their size: Črna griža (Trnovo Nappe), Suhi vrh (Hrušica Nappe), Petelinje mlake and Ilirska Bistrica (both from the Snežnik Nappe). The phenomena at Suhi vrh is described in detail herein.

Seismic tomographic images of the mantle below the Hellenides indicate that the Vardar Ocean probably had a composite width of over 3000 km. From surface geology we know that this ocean was initially located between two passive margins: Pelagonian Adria in the west and Serbo-Macedonian-Eurasia in the east. Pelagonia was covered by a carbonate platform that accumulated, during Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous time, where highly diversified carbonate sedimentary environments evolved and reacted to the adjacent, converging Vardar Ocean plate. We conceive that on the east side of the Vardar Ocean, a Cretaceous carbonate platform evolved from the Aptian to the Maastrichtian time in the forearc basin of the Vardar supra-subduction volcanic arc complex. The closure of the Vardar Ocean occurred in one episode of ophiolite obduction and in two episodes of intra-oceanic subduction. 1. During the Middle Jurassic time a 1200-km slab of west Vardar lithosphere subducted beneath the supra-subduction, ‘Eohellenic’, arc, while a 200-km-wide slab obducted onto Pelagonia between the Callovian and Valanginian times. 2. During the Late Jurassic through to the Cretaceous time a 1700-km-wide slab subducted beneath the evolving east Vardar-zone arc-complex. Pelagonia, the trailing edge of the subducting east-Vardar Ocean slab, crashed and underthrust the Vardar arc complex during the Paleocene time and ultimately crashed with Serbo-Macedonia. Since the late Early Jurassic time, the Hellenides have moved about 3000 km toward the northeast while the Atlantic Ocean spread.

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Jurassic paleomagnetic data from North America have long been contentious, generating ambiguities in the shape of the global‐composite apparent polar wander path. Here we show from a restudy of two subdivisions of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation at the classic locality at Norwood on the Colorado Plateau that the derived paleopoles reflect variable overprinting probably in the Cretaceous and are of limited value for apparent polar wander determination. We instead assembled an updated set of Jurassic paleopoles from parauthocthonous Adria, the African promontory, using primary paleomagnetic component directions derived from stratigraphically superposed intervals and corrected for sedimentary inclination error. These paleopoles are found to be in superb agreement with independent igneous paleopoles from the literature across the so‐called Jurassic monster polar shift, which in North American coordinates is a jump of ~30° arc distance from the 190‐ to 160‐Ma stillstand pole at 79.5°N 104.8°E to a 148 ± 3.5‐Ma pole at 60.8°N 200.6°E defined by four Adria sedimentary paleopoles and the published Ithaca, Hinlopenstretet, and Swartsruggens‐Bumbeni igneous paleopoles. The implied high rate of polar motion of ~2.5°/Myr across the monster shift is compatible with maximum theoretical estimates for true polar wander. We include a critique of published Jurassic paleomagnetic data that have been variably used in reference APWPs but that as a result of their low quality muted the real magnitude of the Jurassic monster shift. Finally, we provide paleocontinental reconstructions to describe examples of the bold signature that the monster polar shift left in the distribution of climate‐sensitive sedimentary facies worldwide. Key Points: We review the status of the Jurassic apparent polar wander path, which has long been controversialWe show with new data that the widely used paleomagnetic poles from the Morrison Formation of the Colorado Plateau are overprintedWe provide paleomagnetic poles from Adria, promontory of Africa, that confirm the Jurassic monster shift, a major candidate for true polar wander [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been almost 60 years since the first results from the Early Permian Bolzano Quartz Porphyries from the Trento Plateau of northern Italy (Southern Alps) showed paleomagnetic inclinations steeper than inclinations from broadly coeval units from central Europe. This experimental discrepancy, confirmed ever since at varying levels of magnitude and certitude, implied that northern Italy had paleolatitudes too northerly relative to Europe to be considered part of the European continent. On the other hand, it became progressively more apparent that paleomagnetic data from northern Italy were more compatible with data from Africa than with data from Europe, and this observation revived and complemented Argand’s original concept of Adria as a promontory of Africa. But if Adria was part of Africa, then the paleolatitude anomaly of Adria relative to Europe translated into a huge crustal misfit of Gondwana relative to Laurasia when these landmasses were forced into a classic Wegenerian Pangea as typified by the Bullard fit of the circum-Atlantic continents. This crustal misfit between Gondwana and Laurasia was shown to persist in the ever-growing paleomagnetic database even when data from Adria were provisionally excluded as non-cratonic in nature. Various solutions were offered that ultimately involved placing Gondwana to the east (allowing it to be more northerly) relative to Laurasia and envisaging a dextral shear occurring in the Tethys (Mediterranean) realm between these supercontinental landmasses. This shear or transformation was initially thought to occur as a continuum over the course of the Mesozoic–Cenozoic (the so-called ‘Tethys Twist’) but soon afterwards when plate tectonics came into play and limited the younger extent, as a discrete event during the post-Triassic, Triassic or most probably – as in the latest and preferred reconstructions – the Permian between a configuration of Pangea termed B – with the northwestern margin of Africa against southern Europe – to a configuration termed Pangea A-2, with the northwestern margin of Africa against eastern North America, that is more proximal in shape to the classic Pangea A-1 that started fragmenting in the Jurassic with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The Permian timing and presumed locus of the ~2300 km dextral shear is supported by rotated tectonic domains in Sardinia and elsewhere along the interface between Lauarasia and Gondwana. The concept of Pangea B and its transformation into Pangea A developed therefore in close conjunction with the concept and paleomagnetic support of Adria as a promontory of Africa, and has ramifications to many aspects of tectonics, climate change and biogeography yet to be explored.

The study of slab‐slab interactions has come to the front of geodynamics researches to explain geological and geophysical observations from tectonically complex areas. Here we aim to better understand the geodynamics of the Central Mediterranean, where the Adria plate subducts on its two opposite sides. Additionally, the slab below the Central South Apennines has been progressively breaking off during the last 3 Myr. The role of a slab window in a single slab or in an outward dipping double‐sided subduction system is addressed by analog models at the scale of the upper mantle, realized using glucose syrup and silicone putty, to model the interaction between the Earth's mantle and the lithosphere. Our results show that the presence of a slab window modifies the pattern of mantle circulation, as well as the trench geometry and kinematics. In particular, the opening of the slab window induces the formation of two arcs flanking the window, while the mantle flows through it and turns toward the arcs, creating a small‐scale toroidal flow. The effect of a slab window is more pronounced on double subduction systems, as the outflow through the window is amplified, while internal deformation is induced in the plate by the opposite slab pull force. These experimental results suggest that the origin of the Apenninic and the Calabrian arcs is the result of the formation of a slab window, providing a new interpretation of the surface deformation and the SKS shear wave splitting pattern of the Adria microplate. Plain Language Summary: The Adria microplate in the Central Mediterranean is an important part of the tectonic puzzle between the converging Africa and Eurasia plates. The heavy lithosphere sinks into the underlying mantle on two sides of the Adria plate, under the Apennines in the west and under the Dinarides in the east. During the most recent few millions of years, the lithosphere started to detach from the surface in the Central South Apennines while sinking into the mantle. This opened a slab window, an additional escape route for the mantle, which is squeezed by the two subducting lithospheres. We scaled down and simplified this setting in order to model and investigate the role of the dual subduction and the opening slab window in the evolution of the Central Mediterranean by means of analog models. Our results show that the two opposite subduction zones have a regional tectonics effect via the complex subduction‐induced mantle circulation. Furthermore, the detaching lithosphere modifies the geometry of the subduction zone, which results in a double‐arc geometry resembling the Northern Apennines and Calabria. Key Points: The combination of slab‐slab interactions and an opening slab window defines the recent tectonic evolution of the Central MediterraneanOutward dipping double‐sided subduction drives the mantle to flow from below the Adria plate toward the Alps and the Pannonian BasinThe opening of a slab window under the Central Apennines changes the trench geometry and the subduction‐induced mantle flow pattern [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NW-SE trending Udine-Buttrio Thrust is a partly blind fault that affects the Friulian plain southeast of Udine in NE Italy. It is part of a wider fault system that accommodates the northward motion of the Adriatic plate. Although seismic reflection data and morphological evidence show that the fault was active during the Quaternary, comparably little is known about its tectonic activity. We used high-resolution digital elevation models to investigate the surface expression of the fault. Measured vertical surface offsets show significant changes along strike with uplift rates varying between 0 and 0.5 mm/yr. We then analyze a topographic scarp near the village of Manzano in more detail. Field mapping and geophysical prospections (Georadar and Electrical Resistivity Tomography) were used to image the subsurface geometry of the fault. We found vertical offsets of 1−3 m in Natisone River terraces younger than 20 ka. The geophysical data allowed the identification of deformation of the fluvial sediments, supporting the idea that the topographic scarp is a tectonic feature and that the terraces have been uplifted systematically over time. Our findings fit the long-term behaviour of the Udine-Buttrio Thrust. We estimate a post-glacial vertical uplift rate of 0.08−0.17 mm/yr recorded by the offset terraces. Our results shed light on the Late Quaternary behaviour of this thrust fault in the complicated regional tectonic setting and inform about its hitherto overlooked possible seismic hazard.

Abstract: A new kinematic reconstruction that incorporates estimates of post‐20 Ma shortening and extension in the Apennines, Alps, Dinarides, and Sicily Channel Rift Zone (SCRZ) reveals that the Adriatic microplate (Adria) rotated counterclockwise as it subducted beneath the European Plate to the west and to the east, while indenting the Alps to the north. Minimum and maximum amounts of rotation are derived by using, respectively, estimates of crustal extension along the SCRZ (minimum of 30 km) combined with crustal shortening in the Eastern Alps (minimum of 115 km) and a maximum amount (140 km) of convergence between Adria and Moesia across the southern Dinarides and Carpatho‐Balkan orogens. When combined with Neogene convergence in the Western Alps, the best fit of available structural data constrains Adria to have moved 113 km to the NW (azimuth 325°) while rotating 5 ± 3° counterclockwise relative to Europe since 20 Ma. Amounts of plate convergence predicted by our new model exceed Neogene shortening estimates of several tens of kilometers in both the Apennines and Dinarides. We attribute this difference to crust‐mantle decoupling (delamination) during rollback in the Apennines and to distributed deformation related to the northward motion of the Dacia Unit between the southern Dinarides and Europe (Moesia). Neogene motion of Adria resulted from a combination of Africa pushing from the south, the Adriatic‐Hellenides slab pulling to the northeast, and crustal wedging in the Western Alps, which acted as a pivot and stopped farther northwestward motion of Adria relative to Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic anisotropy beneath the greater region of the Central and Southern External Dinarides is estimated from observations of SKS splitting. The area is located in the broad and complex Africa-Eurasia convergent plate boundary zone, where the Adriatic microplate interacts with the Dinarides. We analyzed recordings of 12 broadband seismic stations located in the Croatian coastal region. Evidence of seismic anisotropy was found beneath all stations. Fast axis directions are oriented approximately in the NE-SW to NNE-SSW direction, perpendicularly to the strike of the Dinarides. Average delay times range between 0.6 and 1.0 s. A counter-clockwise rotation in average fast axis directions was observed for the stations in the northern part with respect to the stations in the southern part of the studied area. Fast axis directions coincide with the assumed direction of asthenospheric flow through a slab-gap below the Northern and Central External Dinarides, with the maximum tectonic stress orientation in the crust, and with fast directions of Pg and Sg-waves in the crust. These observations suggest that the detected SKS birefringence is primarily caused by the preferred lattice orientation of mantle minerals generated by the asthenospheric flow directed SW-NE to SSW-NNE, with a possible contribution from the crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adriatic Sea and Balkan Peninsula were an important corridor for the spread of agriculture northwards and westwards from the Near East into Europe. Therefore, the pace and nature of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition along the Adriatic coastline has important implications for the movement of new peoples and/or ideas during one of the most eventful periods in European prehistory. We present new Early Neolithic radiocarbon and stable isotope evidence from humans and animals from the Zemunica cave site in Dalmatia, Croatia. The results show that these humans date to the earliest Neolithic in the region, and they have completely terrestrial diets, where the main protein source was most likely to have come from domesticated animals. Data are then compared to previous isotope and archaeological evidence to explore models for the spread of agriculture along the eastern Adriatic coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of an early life stage of the king of herrings, Regalecus glesne Ascanius, 1772, is reported for the first time from the Adriatic waters. A single larva (SL = 103.4 mm) was found alive in the waters of open Adriatic near a remote Island PalagruĹľa. Findings of early life stages of this species are very rare in the Mediterranean and have previously been reported only from the waters of the Strait of Sicily and Elba Island.

Jugo is a southerly or southeasterly warm and humid wind in the Adriatic sea customarily considered as scirocco wind which originates in the Sahara. In this paper we claim that jugo is not generally scirocco, although jugo of gale force may have synoptic characteristics of scirocco. Case studies show that severe jugo events are associated with a deep lee cyclone south of the Alps that may draw dry and dusty air from North Africa to the Mediterranean. However, a noteworthy feature is a mesoscale low in the northern Adriatic, which is not detected on synoptic charts. Employing the scale separation technique it is shown that the mesoscale orographic perturbation in the area of Dinaric Alps exhibits an antisymmetric dipolar structure in pressure and wind field, with the development of subsynoptic cyclonic vortex providing conditions favourable for strengthening of jugo and its maxima gusts.

Palinspastic map reconstructions and plate motion studies reveal that switches in subduction polarity and the opening of slab gaps beneath the Alps and Dinarides were triggered by slab tearing and involved widespread intracrustal and crust-mantle decoupling during Adria-Europe collision. In particular, the switch from south-directed European subduction to north-directed 'wrong-way' Adriatic subduction beneath the Eastern Alps was preconditioned by two slab-tearing events that were continuous in Cenozoic time: (1) late Eocene to early Oligocene rupturing of the oppositely dipping European and Adriatic slabs; these ruptures nucleated along a trench-trench transfer fault connecting the Alps and Dinarides; (2) Oligocene to Miocene steepening and tearing of the remaining European slab under the Eastern Alps and western Carpathians, while subduction of European lithosphere continued beneath the Western and Central Alps. Following the first event, post-late Eocene NW motion of the Adriatic Plate with respect to Europe opened a gap along the Alps-Dinarides transfer fault which was filled with upwelling asthenosphere. The resulting thermal erosion of the lithosphere led to the present slab gap beneath the northern Dinarides. This upwelling also weakened the upper plate of the easternmost part of the Alpine orogen and induced widespread crust-mantle decoupling, thus facilitating Pannonian extension and roll-back subduction of the Carpathian oceanic embayment. The second slab-tearing event triggered uplift and peneplainization in the Eastern Alps while opening a second slab gap, still present between the Eastern and Central Alps, that was partly filled by northward counterclockwise subduction of previously unsubducted Adriatic continental lithosphere. In Miocene time, Adriatic subduction thus jumped westward from the Dinarides into the heart of the Alpine orogen, where northward indentation and wedging of Adriatic crust led to rapid exhumation and orogen-parallel escape of decoupled Eastern Alpine crust toward the Pannonian Basin. The plate reconstructions presented here suggest that Miocene subduction and indentation of Adriatic lithosphere in the Eastern Alps were driven primarily by the northward push of the African Plate and possibly enhanced by neutral buoyancy of the slab itself, which included dense lower crust of the Adriatic continental margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the crustal seismic structure of the Adria plate using teleseismic receiver functions (RF) recorded at 12 broadband seismic stations in the Apulia region. Detailed models of the Apulian crust, e.g. the structure of the Apulian Multi-layer Platform (AMP), are crucial for assessing the presence of potential décollements at different depth levels that may play a role in the evolution of the Apenninic orogen. We reconstruct S-wave velocity profiles applying a trans-dimensional Monte Carlo method for the inversion of RF data. Using this method, the resolution at the different depth level is completely dictated by the data and we avoid introducing artifacts in the crustal structure. We focus our study on three different key-elements: the Moho depth, the lower crust S-velocity, and the fine-structure of the AMP. We find a well defined and relatively flat Moho discontinuity below the region at 28–32 km depth, possibly indicating that the original Moho is still preserved in the area. The lower crust appears as a generally low velocity layer (average Vs = 3.7 km/s in the 15–26 km depth interval), likely suggestive of a felsic composition, with no significant velocity discontinuities except for its upper and lower boundaries where we find layering. Finally, for the shallow structure, the comparison of RF results with deep well stratigraphic and sonic log data allowed us to constrain the structure of the AMP and the presence of underlying Permo–Triassic (P–T) sediments. We find that the AMP structure displays small-scale heterogeneities in the region, with a thickness of the carbonates layers varying between 4 and 12 km, and is underlain by a thin, discontinuous layer of P–T terrigenous sediments, that are lacking in some areas. This fact may be due to the roughness in the original topography of the continental margins or to heterogeneities in its shallow structure due to the rifting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The geological record of the western and northern Mediterranean region (Apennines, Alps, Carpathians) contains relics of an ocean basin of Jurassic age known as the Piemonte–Ligurian (PL), Alpine or Alpine Tethys ocean. We here reconstruct the age, direction and amount of extension in the PL basin by analyzing the differences in spreading rates based on marine magnetic anomalies and fracture zones in the Central Atlantic ocean between Africa and North America, and the North Atlantic Ocean between Iberia and North America. The difference in spreading rate must have been accommodated between Iberia and Adria, which we assume to be rigidly attached to the African plate in the late Jurassic. We compute a maximum of ∼450 km of WSW-ENE extension between Iberia and Africa, largely between ∼170 and ∼150 Ma. Relative Adria (Africa)–Europe motion predicts up to 670 km of extension at the longitude of the western Alps – distributed over the PL and Valaisan basins – decreasing to ∼315 km along the easternmost boundary of the PL basin formed by the Tornquist–Tesseyre line. We note that the Africa–Europe plate boundary in the late Jurassic was probably not discretely localized along the Tornquist–Tesseyre line, but distributed over several fault zones including the Severin oceanic basin to the west of the Moesian platform; the 315 km of PL extension in the east should hence be considered a maximum. It is unknown to what extent PL extension was accommodated by genuine ocean spreading, but full spreading rates in the western PL basin were slow, no more than 20 mm/yr. This ultraslow spreading is consistent with characteristics of western Mediterranean ophiolites, including exposure of upper mantle rocks at the sea floor, the alternation of volcanic and avolcanic segments, and the petrologic features of the pertinent magmas and peridotites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The orogenic belts surrounding the undeformed Adriatic Sea represent the margins of an area known as Adria, the African promontory. We have undertaken a critical appraisal of paleomagnetic data from regions of Adria considered parautochthonous relative to Africa, obtained either from biostratigraphically dated sedimentary rocks, corrected for inclination shallowing, or from igneous rocks that are regarded as free from any inclination shallowing bias. Paleomagnetic directions were used to calculate paleomagnetic poles for comparison with coeval, and inclination flattening-free, paleomagnetic poles from stable Africa. Visual coherence of paleopoles for several time slices from the Early Permian to the Eocene supports the construction of a composite apparent polar wander path (APWP) valid for parautochthonous Adria and stable Africa. This composite APWP is compared to previous APWPs, finding good agreement with the global APWP of Kent and Irving (2010). Both APWPs show a remarkable and rapid polar shift of ~40° in the Jurassic that other APWPs tend to underestimate. We interpret this shift to represent a major episode of true polar wander (TPW), from ~183Ma in the Early Jurassic to ~151Ma in the Late Jurassic. Using a simple zonal climate model, the drift motion of Adria attached to Africa appears to be consistent with the distribution of Permian–Cretaceous sedimentary facies on Adria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Cretaceous syn-sedimentary extensional deformation in the Sorrento Peninsula. [•] Extensional faults are coeval with similar structures reported in southern Italy. [•] An Albian to Late Cretaceous extensional pulse occurred in southern Adria. [•] This pulse caused the drowning of the bridge linking Africa and Adria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present study, the first archaeometric data on an ample selection of intentionally coloured (or decoloured) Early Roman glass (1st–2nd centuries AD) from the Archaeological Museum of Adria (Rovigo, Italy) are reported. The analysed samples are 61 in total, both transparent and opaque, and were characterised from the textural (SEM-EDS), mineralogical (XRPD) and chemical (XRF, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS) points of view. This combined approach allowed us to identify the raw materials and production technologies employed in the manufacture of glassware. Results for the transparent samples show that they are all silica-soda-lime glasses. Most of them, independently of colour, have compositions close to those of typical Roman glass, produced with natron as flux. No relationships were identified among chemical compositions, types or production techniques, but a dependence on bulk composition was identified for some particular colours, revealing the careful and intentional selection of raw materials. This is the case of Sb-colourless glass, produced with sand of high purity, a group of intensely coloured objects, mainly emerald green and black, produced with soda ash as flux, and some blue examples produced with various sources of sand or soda ash as flux. Two main types of opacifiers were identified for the opaque samples: calcium antimonate for white, mauve and blue glasses, and lead antimonate for the yellow ones; in one case, a yellow lead-tin antimonate was also identified. As regards the opaque glasses, most of the samples opacified with calcium antimonate are silica-soda-lime in composition, similar to the typical Roman glass. Instead, samples opacified with lead and/or lead-tin antimonates are lead glasses, suggesting different production technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We review the most recent advances in research on the seismicity and seismotectonics of Adria. A large number of earthquakes associated with this lithospheric block occur near the Adria boundaries and seismicity has been perhaps the first dataset to allow its identification as a specific lithospheric block. Adria also hosts significant intraplate seismicity, mostly concentrated in specific zones of intraplate brittle deformation, the most important being a deformation belt located at the Central Adriatic latitude and including the Gargano promontory and the Tremiti islands. After a brief excursus on Adria seismicity, we address some relevant research points and open questions. Answers to such questions and, more in general, advances in research on Adria seismotectonics and seismicity will not only provide invaluable information for the seismic hazard assessment of this region, but also a precious tool to understand the current geodynamics of the Central Mediterranean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work the analytical results obtained by ICP-MS with laser ablation solid sampling and SEM-EDS for some polychrome glass vessels from the Iron Age are presented and discussed. The samples, coming from Etruscan sites near Adria (Northern Italy), belong to the so-called Mediterranean Groups I, II and III and are dated from the 5th, 3rd and 2nd century B.C., respectively. To date, analytical data for only two sets of vessels of the Iron Age have been discussed in the literature. In spite of the low number of available samples, this is the first time that vessels of all three periods are analytically compared. Elemental concentration data show that the samples can be classified as low-magnesia-low potash (LMLK) soda-lime-silica glasses, with low phosphorus and titanium contents, in agreement with data for similar samples of the same age. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of the contents of many elements characterizing the siliceous sands showed three distinct sets corresponding to the three periods. Since the sets indicate different provenances of the sands it seems rational to assume that different glassmaking locations were involved. Chromophores and opacifiers of the blue bodies and the yellow, white and turquoise decorations of the vessels were analytically identified, while the nature of the corresponding ores was hypothesized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The geodynamic evolution of the Dinaride Mountains of southeastern Europe is relatively poorly understood, especially in comparison with the neighboring Alps and Carpathians. Here, we construct a new chronostratigraphy for the post-orogenic intra-montane basins of the Central Dinarides based on paleomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar age data. A first phase of basin formation occurred in the late Oligocene. A second phase of basin formation took place between 18 and 13Ma, concurrent with profound extension in the neighboring Pannonian Basin. Our paleomagnetic results further indicate that the Dinarides have not experienced any significant tectonic rotation since the late Oligocene. This implies that the Dinarides were decoupled from the adjacent Adria and the Tisza–Dacia Mega-Units that both underwent major rotation during the Miocene. The Dinaride orogen must consequently have accommodated significant shortening. This is corroborated by our AMS data that indicate post-Middle Miocene shortening in the frontal zone, wrenching in the central part of the orogen, and compression in the hinterland. A review of paleomagnetic data from the Adria plate, which plays a major role in the evolution of the Dinarides as well as the Alps, constrains rotation since the Early Cretaceous to 48±10° counterclockwise and indicates 20° of this rotation took place since the Miocene. It also shows that Adria behaved as an independent plate from the Late Jurassic to the Eocene. From the Eocene onwards, coupling between Adria and Africa was stronger than between Adria and Europe. Adria continued to behave as an independent plate. The amount of rotation within the Adria-Dinarides collision zone increases with age and proximity of the sampled sediments to undeformed Adria. These results significantly improve our insight in the post-orogenic evolution of the Dinarides and resolve an apparent controversy between structural geological and paleomagnetic rotation estimates for the Dinarides as well as Adria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present the velocity field in Italy derived from over 300 continuous GPS stations operated in the 1998–2009 time span. The GPS network maps the whole country with a mean inter-site distance of about 50km and provides a valuable source of data to study the ongoing deformation processes in the central Mediterranean. The estimated horizontal and vertical velocity fields show major significant features and also less known second-order kinematic features. A general uplift characterizes the whole Apennines and Alpine belts that follow the topographic ridge, whereas the Po Plain shows a gradually increasing subsidence from west to east. The Apennines belt displays a distinctive extension (50–80 10−9 yr−1) while compressive tectonic regimes characterize northern Sicily, eastern Alps and the northeast front of the northern Apennines (25–50 10−9 yr−1). Second-order deformation patterns, on large scale wavelength (~100km) have been detected on the accretionary prism of central and southern Apennines that are highly correlated with other geophysical data (Vp anomalies, seismic anisotropy, etc.) and related to deep rooted sections (70–100km), marked by different subduction regimes. Apparently at this scale-length the observed deformations are governed by the lithosphere as a whole. We interpret these deformations as a result of different subduction mechanisms, such as variations of the subduction rollback velocity affecting different segments of the subduction zone and/or to mantle flows in proximity of the slab edges. Further south, in central-southern Sicily, we detect a contraction of (−1.1±0.2) mm/yr that probably accommodates part of the Africa–Eurasia convergence on the outer thrust front of the Apennines–Maghrebides belt. This hypothesis agrees with an independent analysis of the seismicity associated to the Sicilian Basal Thrust, thought to be still active. The ITRF2005 estimates of the new GPS velocity field are available also in SINEX format as supplementary file S1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: From the “undeformed” foreland of the Southern Alps Paleocene through Early Miocene rocks, mostly biostratigraphically well-dated sediments with sub-horizontal bed attitude were collected for a paleomagnetic study from 23 geographically distributed localities. The samples were subjected to standard paleomagnetic measurements and evaluation. While the Miocene samples are unstable, most of the older localities yielded statistically well-defined paleomagnetic directions. These are interpreted as primary for the compact marls, supported by positive between-locality tilt and reversal tests. This large group of localities is characterized by CCW rotated declinations with respect to the present north. Combined with paleomagnetic directions of corresponding age from stable Istria, these allow definition of the APW for stable Adria for the 61.6–33.9Ma interval, which is significantly displaced from the coeval segment of the African APW due to the decoupling of the former to the latter by a moderate CCW rotation. This post-Eocene final separation (exact age is not constrained directly, but estimated as end-of-Miocene) was preceded by a small CW rotation of Adria with respect to Africa, suggested by unchanged orientation of the former across the Cretaceous–Paleocene boundary, while the latter continued its CCW rotation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This volume builds on presentations made at two thematic sessions on “The Active Tectonics of the Circum-Adriatic Region” at the EGU 2007 and 2008 General Assemblies in Vienna. In both sessions, contributions were invited from workers incorporating structural, geophysical, seismological, remote sensing, geodetic and thermochronological methods to better understand the crustal evolution and ongoing development of one of Europe''s most interesting tectonic regions. The Adriatic region occupies a central position within the geodynamic framework of the Central Mediterranean. It is surrounded by actively deforming belts of diverse character including transpressional, contractional, strike-slip and extensional domains, collectively defining the structurally complex and kinematically varied boundaries of the Adria plate. Because many countries occupy the circum-Adriatic region, international collaborative research into the tectonic activity and associated natural hazards of the region is relevant and important to European society. In this context, the papers presented in this volume provide important new data that bear on various aspects of the active tectonics of the circum-Adriatic region. These contributions typically draw on multidisciplinary structural, geophysical and geochronological datasets to draw new conclusions concerning the spatial and temporal evolution of Adria''s bounding deformation zones, especially the southeastern and southern Italian regions and NE Adriatic region. In this overview, we provide a state-of-the-art summary of different aspects of present-day Adria geodynamics to provide a common background for the individual contributions that follow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The thin-skinned Jura fold/thrust belt is the frontal part of a thick-skinned late Miocene Alpine nappe. Important late Miocene structures in the Alps that help define this nappe are the External Massifs in the north, the Orobic thrusts and the Piemontese Southern Alps in the south, the Giudicarie–Brenner Line in the east and, more vaguely, the south end of the Belledonne Massif in the west. A bottom boundary compatible with the data is the Brittle–Ductile Transition (BDT). This Jura nappe is separated from the (latest Oligocene)–early Miocene Helvetic nappe system most obviously by the late Miocene Orobic–Giudicarie–Brenner fault complex. In contrast, the distinctive boundary of the early Miocene thick-skinned Helvetic nappe was the Iorio–Tonale Line (IT) in the south, merging into the Piemontese Southern Alps at what may be termed the “Locarno Singularity”–the point of minimum width of the thick-skinned Alps; the northern boundary passed through the Gotthard–and Montblanc Massifs. Motion along the southern boundary was dextrally transpressive, associated with complex strain partitioning patterns. One part of these patterns is the confusing entity comprising the Piemontese Southern Alps and the Lepontine “dome”. The slivers composing the Piemontese Southern Alps are dragged dextrally by the Iorio–Tonale strike–slip at the “Locarno Singularity” and thereby exhibit an important characteristic trait of “exotic terranes” — crustal slivers dragged along strike–slip faults. The Lepontine “dome” around the Locarno Singularity on the north side of the Iorio–Tonale Line displays the characteristics of a backstop in thrust systems as modeled in sandbox experiments. The special boundary functioning as a backstop, compatible with the transpressive kinematics, was the Ivrea body, a strong mafic–ultramafic–granulitic complex which in the early Miocene migrated dextrally along the Iorio–Tonale Line, forcing detachment to descend into the hot middle crust and producing an upsurge of the hot masses. In the late Miocene Jura phase this particular impediment had moved to the west, enabling décollement at the Brittle–Ductile Transition to propagate across the Insubric Line into the Lombardic domain. Large-scale strain partitioning manifestations resemble those of the equally dextrally transpressive southern boundary of the Caribbean plate, in spite of a difference in scales. The foremost of these manifestations are regional right-slip faults slicing through a broad band of contraction, accompanied by collapse basins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim To investigate the phylogeny of the genus Cyphophthalmus in the Balkan Peninsula and to test the current recognition of ‘phyletic lines’ and phylogenetic groups proposed in previous studies in order to elucidate the biogeographical history of the region. Location Europe, Balkan Peninsula, Adria microplate. Methods Two mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA) and two nuclear (28S rRNA and 18S rRNA) markers were used to infer the phylogenetic history of the group. Molecular dating with relaxed molecular clocks was used to elucidate the relative time of diversification within the genus Cyphophthalmus and its constituent lineages. Results Our analyses confirm the monophyly of the genus Cyphophthalmus, and that of the Aegean and gjorgjevici lineages, whereas the ‘Dinaric lineage’ appears paraphyletic. Main conclusions We show that the genus Cyphophthalmus is an old endemic from the Balkan biogeographical region, which gave origin to at least three main lineages. Those lineages have diversified within overlapping ranges. According to our molecular dating, they have also diversified within the same timeframe. The Dinaric Alps, although presenting a large number of species, cannot be inferred as the centre of origin of the group. Instead, the biogeographical evolution of the genus could be related to the palaeogeographic history of the Adria microplate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We computed a new 120 to 100 Ma high-resolution Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) for Adria from magnetostratigraphic studies in the Northern Apennines (Italy). We analyzed 274 cores from three Early Aptian–Late Albian sections of the Marne a Fucoidi Fm., belonging to the sedimentary succession deposited above the Adria passive margin during Meso-Cenozoic time. To solve the problem of tectonic rotations induced during the Apennine orogenesis, we computed relative rotations between sections and realigned them into a common declination reference frame (Bosso, Italy). These new data were added to the previous 150–125 Ma segment computed from the same region [Satolli, S., Besse, J., Speranza, F., Calamita, F., 2007. New 125–150 Ma high-resolution Apparent Polar Wander Path for Adria from magnetostratigraphic sections in Umbria-Marche (Northern Apennines, Italy): Timing and duration of the global Jurassic–Cretaceous hairpin turn. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 329–342. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.009.] to get a very high-resolution 100 to 150 Ma APWP for Adria. The comparison of our APWP with the African APWP segment of Besse and Courtillot computed with 10 Myr sliding window [Besse, J., Courtillot, V., 2002. Apparent and true polar wander and the geometry of the geomagnetic field over the last 200 Myr. J. Geophys. Res. 107. doi:10.1029/2000JB000050.] leads to the following conclusions: 1) our segment (after a 25° clockwise rotation of the Bosso reference frame) is in very good agreement with the African APWP, as shown by a very similar time evolution of inclinations and declinations, most often statistically indistinct; 2) this agreement vindicates our previous model of structural unit rotation for older periods [Satolli, S., Besse, J., Speranza, F., Calamita, F., 2007. New 125–150 Ma high-resolution Apparent Polar Wander Path for Adria from magnetostratigraphic sections in Umbria-Marche (Northern Apennines, Italy): Timing and duration of the global Jurassic–Cretaceous hairpin turn. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 329–342. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.009.] 3) the concept of “synthetic” APWP construction is strongly validated; 4) the good agreement found strengthens the fact that Adria has been a promontory of Africa at the lithospheric level during Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous (150–100 Ma), affected by tectonic rotations linked to the Apennines orogenic phases during Neogene; 5) our data evidence a possible ca. 105 Ma southward motion of Adria undetected from classical African APWPs. Finally, we have not found evidence for reversals interrupting the long normal Cretaceous superchron in our sections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Palaeoenvironmental data and vegetation histories derived from local datasets are examined in the light of Early Neolithic agro-pastoral activities and resource exploitation in the southeastern Adriatic Sea. Palynological evidence is summarized from three locations within the study area and compared to contemporaneous archaeological evidence. Coastal marine archaeological assemblages in the study area indicate that Early Neolithic inhabitants expended significant energy on terrestrial and marine hunting and gathering, and long distance maritime travel, well after the regional introduction of agro-pastoralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the proposition that the archaeological record of small, remote islands with scarce resources reflects the intensity of long-distance interaction in prehistory, taking as an example the Adriatic offshore islands. The best represented periods, the early Neolithic and the end of the Copper Age, correspond to the times of large-scale stylistic unity, the former, of the Mediterranean Impressed Wares, and the latter, of Bell Beakers. During those periods, radical innovations were introduced over vast areas of Europe, first, a new subsistence economy, and second, a different kind of social organization. In both cases, long-distance interaction would have played a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The motion of Adria, the largest lithospheric fragment in the Central Mediterranean region, has played an important role in the tectonic development of the surrounding mountain chains and even of distant areas, like the Eastern Alps or the Pannonian basin. The available paleomagnetic data were insufficient to constrain this motion, except in a general way. In this paper, new paleomagnetic results are presented from one of the stable parts of Adria which emerge from the Adriatic Sea. The results were obtained on weakly magnetic platform carbonates of the mud-supported type, collected from 21 geographically distributed localities. The results, combined with mean paleomagnetic directions from selected localities from a pioneer study in Istria that were chosen using statistical criteria, were divided into three age groups (Tithonian–Aptian, Albian–Cenomanian, Turonian–Coniacian). The paleomagnetic poles calculated for each of them (Tithonian–Aptian): λ(N)=47°, ϕ(E)=275°, k =67, α 95 =9.4°, N =5; Albian-Cenomanian: λ(N)=58°, ϕ(E)=253°, k =145, α 95 =4.3°, N =9; Turonian–Coniacian: λ(N)=63°, ϕ(E)=261°, k =50, α 95 =7.3°, N =9) reveal a moderate shift during the Cretataceous, which is comparable with that calculated from the African reference poles. However, the Istrian apparent polar wander path is slightly displaced from the African curve, as a consequence of about 10° counterclockwise rotation of Istria, with respect to Africa. This rotation angle is more that 10° smaller than the difference measured for the Mid-Late Eocene between the paleomagnetic direction of platform carbonates from Istria and the African reference direction. This difference may be the consequence of a small clockwise rotation of Istria, with respect to Africa, most probably at the end of Cretaceous. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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