Abstract
THE Alpine chain marks the collision zone between the European and African lithospheric plates. The Earth's crust below the Alps has been thickened by tectonic activity to form a 'root' of crustal material which extends to a depth of approximately 60 km. Here we present the initial results of three seismic reflection traverses across the Alps which show large-scale crustal indentations resulting from collision between continental plates, as well as the nappeforming style of deformation produced by compression of attenuated ocean crust. The data suggest that the gross structural deformation of the collision zone results from large-scale crustal indentations. The descending European crust is delaminated and deformed by wedges of the African crust protruding northwards below the Alps. The nappe-forming deformation seems to be restricted to the upper 10–20 km of the Penninic domain in the core of the Alps.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Finckh, P. et al. Bull. Ver. Schweiz, Petrol. Geol. u. -Ing. 53, 59–74 (1987).
Schweizerische Arbeitsgruppe für Reflexionsseismik, Bull. Ver. Schweiz. Petrol. Geol. u. -Ing. 54, 1–30 (1988).
Schweizerische Arbeitsgruppe für Reflexionsseismik Vjschr. naturf. Ges. Zürich 133, 61–98 (1988).
Pfiffner, A. et al. Geology 16, 987–990 (1988).
Argand, E. Eclog. geol. Helv. 14, 145–191 (1916).
Mueller, St. et al. Schweiz. miner. petrogr. Mitt. 56, 685–692 (1976).
Hsü, K. Am. J. Sci. 279, 353–366 (1979).
Mueller, St. et al. Eclog. geol. Helv. 73, 463–483 (1980).
Ménard, G. & Thouvenot, F. Bull. Soc. géol. Fr. 5, 147–156 (1984).
Trümpy, R. Neujahrsblatt No. 187 Naturf. Ges. Zürich 1–47 (1985).
Butler, R. et al. J. geol. Soc. Lond. 143, 857–873 (1986).
Laubscher, H. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 100, 1313–1328 (1988).
ECORS-CROP Nature 337, 249–251 (1989).
Mueller, St. & Banda, E. Terra cognita 3, 291–293 (1983).
Bortfeld, R. K. et al. J. geophys. Res. 57, 137–163 (1985).
Bayer, R. et al. C. r. hebd Seanc. Acad. Sci. Paris 305, 1461–1470 (1987).
Bois, C. & Courtillot, V. Eos 43, 977 (1988); 43, 988–989 (1988).
German Research Group for Explosion Seismology Schweiz. miner. petrogr. Mitt. 48, 235–246 (1968).
Mueller, St. Geol. Soc. (London) spec. Publ. 45, 303–328 (1989).
Meissner, R. Terra nova 1, 17–28 (1989).
Laubscher, H. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 96, 710–718 (1985).
Heitzmann, P. Geodyn. Acta 1, 183–192 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frei, W., Hertzmann, P., Lehner, P. et al. Geotraverses across the Swiss Alps. Nature 340, 544–548 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/340544a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/340544a0
This article is cited by
-
Deep structure of the Central Alps in the light of recent seismic data
Geologische Rundschau (1994)
-
East Avalonia, the third partner in the Caledonian collisions: evidence from deep seismic reflection data
Geologische Rundschau (1994)
-
Deep seismic profile across a Proterozoic collision zone: surprises at depth
Nature (1993)
-
Evidence for early Proterozoic plate tectonics from seismic reflection profiles in the Baltic shield
Nature (1990)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
