The Western Carpathians - record of 180 Myr lasting orogenic progradation and its drivers

The Meso-Cenozoic Western Carpathian orogenic wedge nucleated by development of the Meliatic-Turnaic accretionary complex in the course of subduction and suturing of the Tethys-related Meliata Ocean during the Middle-Late Jurassic. This Tethyan orogenic cycle passed gradually into the Cretaceous Austroalpine cycle with stacking of the Central Carpathian basement and cover nappe systems, whereby shortening was driven by the subcrustal subduction of the lower Austroalpine lithosphere pulled by the downgoing Meliatic slab. The subsequent Pennine cycle (Senonian-Eocene) generated the forward propagating accretionary wedge of the Pieniny Klippen and Flysch belts by subduction of the two branches of Pennine oceans and intervening Oravic continental fragment. The ongoing Oligocene-Neogene convergence was related to NE-ward extrusion of the Western Carpathian domain from the Alpine collision enhanced by the subduction retreat of the remnant oceanic lithosphere in the Carpathian embayment. (authors)