Slab in the wrong place: Lower lithospheric mantle delamination in the last stage of the Eastern Carpathian subduction retreat

Research Article| July 01, 1998 Slab in the wrong place: Lower lithospheric mantle delamination in the last stage of the Eastern Carpathian subduction retreat Radu Gîrbacea; Radu Gîrbacea 1Institut für Geologie, Sigwartstrasse 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Wolfgang Frisch Wolfgang Frisch 1Institut für Geologie, Sigwartstrasse 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Radu Gîrbacea 1Institut für Geologie, Sigwartstrasse 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany Wolfgang Frisch 1Institut für Geologie, Sigwartstrasse 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1998) 26 (7): 611–614. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0611:SITWPL>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Radu Gîrbacea, Wolfgang Frisch; Slab in the wrong place: Lower lithospheric mantle delamination in the last stage of the Eastern Carpathian subduction retreat. Geology 1998;; 26 (7): 611–614. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0611:SITWPL>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A model with a new type of delamination of the lower lithospheric mantle is proposed to explain the Pliocene to recent tectonic evolution of the Eastern Carpathians. We suggest that, after the continental collision in middle Miocene time, break-off of the west-dipping subducting slab occurred at a depth of 70 km. Slab break-off propagated horizontally toward the east, inducing lithospheric delamination and movement of the Vrancea slab into its present position. Delamination was followed by rapid asthenospheric rise, resulting in magma generation and the explosive alkaline basaltic magmatism of the Persani Mountains. Contamination of the former subduction-related magmatic reservoirs with the alkalic basaltic material and differentiation processes produced the Harghita calc-alkaline and shoshonitic rocks. The asthenospheric rise induced crustal uplift, which is the triggering mechanism for extension and formation of the Brasov-Gheorghieni hinterland basins. The extension was accommodated by shortening and folding in the foreland. The vertical Vrancea slab appears in our model as a segment of delaminated lower lithospheric mantle that is seismically active due to the ongoing pull of the eclogitized oceanic crust. The model explains the displaced and shallow position of the slab relative to the Eastern Carpathian suture zone. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.