The Main Pelagonian Detachment (MPD): extensional reactivation of the frontal thrust of the Internal Zones of the Hellenides (Greece)

During the orogenic development of the Hellenides, the “Frontal Thrust of Internal Zones” (FTIZ) localised tectonic superposition of the Internal Zones over the External Zones. The belt was subsequently subject to a major extensional deformation responsible for a negative tectonic inversion of the FTIZ, along a major detachment called here “Main Pelagonian Detachment” (MPD). The along-strike changes in the geometry and the kinematics of the MPD suggest different tectonic configurations largely inherited from the flat–ramp–flat initial geometry of the thrust. The distribution of the recent basins, mainly located within the Internal Zones, illustrates the major role of the FTIZ reactivation in the overall collapse of Internal Hellenides.