Geo-Petro-Structural study of the Palmi shear zone: kinematic and rheological implications

Gaetano Ortolano (a), Rosolino Cirrincione (a), Antonio Pezzino (a) & Giovanni Puliatti (a)
(a) Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science of Catania University, Corso Italia, 57, 95129, Catania, Italy. E-mail: ortolano@unict.it

The kinematic and the rheological properties of an early-Alpine strikeslip mylonitic shear zone (i.e. Palmi Shear Zone) have been here investigated with the aim to contribute to constrain the former Alpine evolutionary stages of southern Calabrian geodynamics. Relics of these early-Alpine deep strike-slip tectonics are probably widespread distributed around the peri-Mediterranean chains as a consequence and/or as a precursor of the Alpine back-arc basin expansion. Nevertheless, these deep seated junction bands are resulted rarely preserved due to the pervasive activity of the following tectonics. For this reason the Palmi Shear Zone can be considered a witness survivor of the embryonic strike-slip movement that controlled the formation of the present-day arcuate shape of the internal sector of this southern Alpine chain segment, contributing at the same time to the present-day juxtaposition of differently evolved crystalline basement terranes. In this view, an integrated meso- micro-structural study accompanied by quartz c-axis orientation pattern analysis of mylonites have been carried out, in order to preliminarily constrain the temperature and the kinematic of the shearing activity.

Calabrian Peloritani Orogen, Mediterranean geodynamics, Mylonitic microstructure, Quartz c-axis orientation pattern