Tectonic Framework of the Alps

This map is the first at the scale of one million that covers a domain spanning from Corsica until the Vienna basin, compiling the knowledge accumulated on the different structural Alpine domains, their tectonic relationships and palaeogeograhpic origin. A set of complementary documents was associated to the main map in order to expand its context:

• an inset map of the Moho depth associated to the geological units;
• geological interpretations, at the lithospheric scale, of four Alpine seismic cross-sections (TRANSALP, NFP20 East, NFP20 West, ECORS-CROP);
• palaeographic reconstructions of the Western Mediterranean at 131, 94, 35 and 20 Ma.

Based on a vast collection of data on the Alps gathered all along more than a hundred years, this compilation also takes into account most recent works (e.g. Schmid et al., 2004; Ziegler and Dèzes, 2006; Handy et al., 2010).

This accomplishment, as well as that of the Metamorphic Framework of the Alps (2012), comes within the scope of a general synthesis of geological, petrological and geophysical knowledge acquired on the Alps. With this in mind, this work is representative of a state of the art at a given moment, giving cause to a number of questions, and constituting therefore only a fundamental element for future discussions. From this perspective, the Tectonic Framework of the Alps proposes a global approach of this mountain chain.

More information on these maps is available at: http://www.geodynalps.org