Metamorphic Framework of the Alps

From Corsica to the Vienna basin (Austria), the Metamorphic Framework of the Alps, proposes a synthesis at one million scale of the different metamorphic conditions recorded in the course of the Alpine orogenesis since the Cretaceous. This synthesis is both an update and a reworking of the Metamorphic Structure of the Alps published in 2004 by R. Oberhänsli et al. Associated to the main map, a set of additional documents provides supplementary information:

- on the different stages of the building of the Alpine range with a map at the 1:2 500 000 scale of the tectono-metamorphic age framework;
- on the depth distribution of the metamorphic units, on the four seismic Alpine cross-sections (TRANSALP, NFP20 East, NFP20 West, ECORS-CROP);
- on the interpretations, in terms of the tectono-metamorphic ages, of these four cross-sections;
- on the metamorphic facies recognized in the Alps, with a description of the different mineralogical associations according to the chemistry of the rocks.

This accomplishment, as well as that of the Tectonic 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 reflects a state of the art at a given moment, giving rise to a number of questions, and therefore constitutes only a fundamental element for future discussions. From this perspective, the Metamorphic Framework of the Alps, like the map published in 2004, proposes a global approach of this mountain range.

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