Low-temperature constraints on the Alpine thermal evolution of the Western Carpathian basement rock complexes

• Published in: Journal of structural geology Vol. 91; pp. 144 - 160
• Main Authors: Králiková, Silvia, Vojtko, Rastislav, Hók, Jozef, Fügenschuh, Bernhard, Kováč, Michal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2016
• Subjects: Fission track analysis; Low-thermal evolution; Tatric-Veporic-Gemeric units; Western Carpathians; Low-thermal evolution; Tatric-Veporic-Gemeric units; Fission track analysis; Western Carpathians
• ISSN: 0191-8141; 1873-1201
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2016.09.006

The Cretaceous to Palaeogene Alpine exhumation of previously buried Variscan basements is recorded in the southern portion of the Western Carpathians in the Gemeric and Veporic units. The Meso-Cenozoic collisional processes resulted in basement exhumation of the Tatric Unit from Palaeogene to Neogene times. According to zircon and apatite fission track data, the Gemeric Unit, an uppermost thick-skinned thrust sheet, cooled from depth levels of ∼10 up to 2.5 km (temperature interval of ∼250–60 °C) about 88–64 Ma ago, after the collapse of overlying Meliata-Turňa-Silica Mesozoic accretionary prism. The middle and lower thick-skinned thrust sheets, Veporic and Tatric units, cooled from the depths of ∼10 up to 2.5 km ∼110–40 Ma ago. The process was controlled by unroofing of footwall from beneath the Gemeric Unit. About 50–20 Ma ago, the internal zone of Tatric Unit gradually exhumed to depth of <2 km and some parts of the unit appeared at the surface level. However, the external zone of Tatric Unit was buried beneath the Eocene to Lower Miocene sedimentary successions and exhumed to the subsurface level at ∼21–8 Ma ago, as a result of oblique collision of the Western Carpathians with the European Platform. •Early Cretaceous is characterized by burial beneath the Eo-Alpine nappe stack.•Exhumation processes of the Gemeric Unit started in the Late Cretaceous.•Exhumation of Veporic and Tatric units was during the Late Cretaceous-early Eocene.•External zone of the Tatric Unit was buried beneath the Palaeogene forearc basin.•Final exhumation of the most external Tatric massifs took place during the Miocene.