The Underground of the Western Alps
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The Structure of the Alps: an Overview 1 Institut Fiir Geologie Und Paläontologie, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
Carpathian-Balkan Geological pp. 7-24 Salzburg Association, XVI Con ress Wien, 1998 The structure of the Alps: an overview F. Neubauer Genser Handler and W. Kurz \ J. 1, R. 1 2 1 Institut fiir Geologie und Paläontologie, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria. 2 Institut fiir Geologie und Paläontologie, Heinrichstr. 26, A-80 10 Graz, Austria Abstract New data on the present structure and the Late Paleozoic to Recent geological evolution ofthe Eastem Alps are reviewed mainly in respect to the distribution of Alpidic, Cretaceous and Tertiary, metamorphic overprints and the corresponding structure. Following these data, the Alps as a whole, and the Eastem Alps in particular, are the result of two independent Alpidic collisional orogens: The Cretaceous orogeny fo rmed the present Austroalpine units sensu lato (including from fo otwall to hangingwall the Austroalpine s. str. unit, the Meliata-Hallstatt units, and the Upper Juvavic units), the Eocene-Oligocene orogeny resulted from continent continent collision and overriding of the stable European continental lithosphere by the Austroalpine continental microplate. Consequently, a fundamental difference in present-day structure of the Eastem and Centrai/Westem Alps resulted. Exhumation of metamorphic crust fo rmed during Cretaceous and Tertiary orogenies resulted from several processes including subvertical extrusion due to lithospheric indentation, tectonic unroofing and erosional denudation. Original paleogeographic relationships were destroyed and veiled by late Cretaceous sinistral shear, and Oligocene-Miocene sinistral wrenching within Austroalpine units, and subsequent eastward lateral escape of units exposed within the centrat axis of the Alps along the Periadriatic fault system due to the indentation ofthe rigid Southalpine indenter. -
Present-Day Uplift of the European Alps Evaluating Mechanisms And
Earth-Science Reviews 190 (2019) 589–604 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth-Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Invited review Present-day uplift of the European Alps: Evaluating mechanisms and models T of their relative contributions ⁎ Pietro Sternaia, ,1, Christian Sueb, Laurent Hussonc, Enrico Serpellonid, Thorsten W. Beckere, Sean D. Willettf, Claudio Faccennag, Andrea Di Giulioh, Giorgio Spadai, Laurent Jolivetj, Pierre Vallac,k, Carole Petitl, Jean-Mathieu Nocquetm, Andrea Walpersdorfc, Sébastien Castelltorta a Département de Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland b Chrono-Environnement, CNRS, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France c Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, IFSTAR, ISTERRE, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Grenoble 38000, France d Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Centro Nazionale Terremoti, Bologna, Italy e Institute for Geophysics, Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA f Erdwissenschaften, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland g Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma III, Rome, Italy h Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy i Università degli Studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Urbino, Italy j Sorbonne Université, Paris, France k Institute of Geological Sciences, Oeschger Center for Climate Research, University of Bern, Switzerland l Geoazur, IRD, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Valbonne, France m Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Recent measurements of surface vertical displacements of the European Alps show a correlation between vertical European Alps velocities and topographic features, with widespread uplift at rates of up to ~2–2.5 mm/a in the North-Western Vertical displacement rate and Central Alps, and ~1 mm/a across a continuous region from the Eastern to the South-Western Alps. -
The Tectonic and Rheological Evolution of An
The tectonic and rheological evolution of an attenuated cross section of the continental crust: Ivrea crustal section, southern Alps, northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland M. R. HANDY Geologisches Institut, Universität Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1, 3012 Bern, Switzerland A. ZINGG Geologisches Institut, Universität Basel Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056 Basel Switzerland ABSTRACT The tectonic and rheological evolution of the southern Alpine The Ivrea crustal cross section in northwestern Italy and southern continental crust is reconstructed from structural, petrological, and Switzerland (Fig. 1) is an excellent area to test geophysical models of the radiometric studies in the Ivrea and Strona-Ceneri basement units. continental crust. The section actually consists of two basement units, the The deep crust of the southern Alps acquired its present compositional Ivrea zone and the Strona-Ceneri zone, which represent thinned lower to and metamorphic zonation during Paleozoic magmatism and amphib- intermediate continental crust of the southern Alps (reviews in Zingg, olite-to granulite-facies regional metamorphism. Inferred strength con- 1983; Boriani and Origoni Giobbi, 1984; Zingg and others, 1990). The trasts between lower crustal and upper mantle rocks in the Ivrea zone Permian-Mesozoic sedimentary cover of the Strona-Ceneri zone crops out are low at the high temperatures of regional metamorphism. Late to the south of the basement section (Fig. 1). The history of the Ivrea and Paleozoic transtension and basic to intermediate magmatism in all Strona-Ceneri zones is loosely subdivided into three tectonometamorphic crustal levels preceded extensional faulting associated with the forma- episodes (Fig. 2). Large-scale magmatism and regional metamorphism tion of a passive continental margin during early Mesozoic time. -
THE NORDEND of MONTE ROSA. T. Graham Brown
THE • VOL. LIII NOVEMBER I 942 NO. 265 THE NORDEND OF MONTE ROSA BY T. GRAHAM BROWN Substance of a lecture delivered before the Alpine Club, December g, 1941. T is curious to reflect that the ascent of the N ordend might have been one of the most popular in the Alps had the Dufourspitze been but 83 ft. lower. As things are, the mountain is relatively neglected. The usual route to its graceful summit lies off the beaten track, and more .often than not the N ordend is omitted during traverses of the Monte Rosa peaks ; parties from the Marinelli hut seem almost invariably to take the easier but more dangerous route to the Dufour spitze in preference to the more difficult ascent of the N ordend by its stupendous Macugnaga face ; the sensational Frontier arete, 1 which plunges to the Jagerjoch in vertical steps, has rarely been visited ; and (to the best of my knowledge) the wide and steep Weisstor (or N.E.) face of the N ordend has so far received attention from but a single climbing party. To these striking neglects may be added a fifth: on only one former occasion, and that was nearly thirty years ago, has the Nordend been the subject of a paper read before the Club.2 The event deserves to be recalled, because it was then that E. A. Broome described his expedition of 191 I, when, in the course of the day, he ascended the Macugnaga face from the Marinelli hut and descended by the ordinary route to the Riffelhaus the memorable achievement of a great climber who was in his sixty-seventh year at the time of the ascent. -
Lithostratigraphy and U-Pb Zircon Dating in the Overturned Limb of the Siviez-Mischabel Nappe: a New Key for Middle Penninic Nappe Geometry
1661-8726/08/020431-22 Swiss J. Geosci. 101 (2008) 431–452 DOI 10.1007/s00015-008-1261-5 Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2008 Lithostratigraphy and U-Pb zircon dating in the overturned limb of the Siviez-Mischabel nappe: a new key for Middle Penninic nappe geometry FLORIAN GENIER1, JEAN-LUC EPARD 1, FRANÇOIS BUSSY 2 & TOMAS MAGNA2 Key words: alps, Middle Penninic, Siviez-Mischabel nappe, Permo-Carboniferous, Randa orthogneiss, zircon typology, U-Pb geochronology ABSTRACT Detailed field work and zircon analysis have improved the knowledge of the This coherent overturned sequence can be observed from the St-Niklaus area to lithostratigraphy at the base of the Siviez-Mischabel nappe in the Mattertal the Moosalp pass to the north. Detailed mapping revealed that the St-Niklaus (St-Niklaus-Törbel area). They confirm the existence of an overturned limb syncline is symmetrical and connects the overturned limb of the Siviez-Mischa- and clarify the structure of the St-Niklaus syncline. The following formations bel nappe to the normal series of the Upper Stalden zone. U-Pb zircon geo- can be observed: chronology on magmatic and detrital zircons allowed constraining ages of these formations. Detrital zircons display ages ranging from 2900 ± 50 to 520 ± 4 Ma • Polymetamorphic gneisses; composed of paragneisses, amphibolites and in the Törbel Formation, and from 514 ± 6 to 292 ± 9 Ma in the Moosalp Forma- micaschists (Bielen Unit, pre-Ordovician). tion. In addition, the Permian Randa orthogneiss is intrusive into the polymeta- • Fine-grained, greyish quartzite and graywacke with kerogen-rich hori- morphic gneisses and into the Permo-Carboniferous metasediments of the zons (Törbel Formation, presumed Carboniferous). -
A New Challenge for Spatial Planning: Light Pollution in Switzerland
A New Challenge for Spatial Planning: Light Pollution in Switzerland Dr. Liliana Schönberger Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Light pollution ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1.1 The origins of artificial light ................................................................................ 4 1.1.2 Can light be “pollution”? ...................................................................................... 4 1.1.3 Impacts of light pollution on nature and human health .................................... 6 1.1.4 The efforts to minimize light pollution ............................................................... 7 1.2 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................. 8 2 Methods ................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Literature review ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Spatial analyses ........................................................................................................ 10 3 Results ....................................................................................................................11 -
Tours À Ski St-Luc - Bella Tola - Borterpass - Massstafel - Senntum – Cab
Tours à ski St-Luc - Bella Tola - Borterpass - Massstafel - Senntum – Cab. de Tourtemagne (Chemin normal en hiver) Depuis St-Luc, prendre les remonte-pentes jusqu’à la Bella Tola à 3'000 m. De là suivre les pistes de ski et quitter ces dernières avant que celles-ci ne reconduisent en plaine par le Pas de Bœuf. De là, à peaux de phoque, traverser jusqu’au Borterpass 2'838 m (20 min). Redescendre ensuite par le Meidtälli jusqu’à environ 2'400 m puis traverser vers l’Augstolu jusqu’au premier marquage à 2'360 m (coord. 619'100/117'700). Depuis ce point, suivre les autres marquages jusqu’à Massstafel. Depuis Massstafel suivre la route forestière jusqu’à Haarnadelkurve à 2'041 m. Suivre encore 300 m la route puis tourner à droite dans la forêt et rejoindre Senntum. Suivre ensuite la route qui monte jusqu’au barrage, contourner le lac et le traverser pour rejoindre un peu plus loin le petit monte-charge. Suivre la moraine contre le sud puis monter à la cabane de Tourtemagne. Compter 4 heures depuis la Bella Tola. St-Luc - Gämsschwart - Gälushaupt - Massstafel - Senntum – Cabane de Tourtemagne (5-6h) Depuis l’hôtel Weisshorn ou la cabane Bella Tola monter par le lac de Cambevert au Gämsschwart à 2'794 m. Traverser en légère pente le col à l’est du Gälus Häupt. Depuis le col redescendre par l’Äugsttälli à Massstafel. Depuis Massstafel suivre la route forestière jusqu’à Haarnadelkurve à 2'041 m. Suivre encore 300 m la route puis tourner à droite dans la forêt et rejoindre Senntum. -
Alpine Exploratory Walker's Haute Route
Holiday Notes 2019 Walker’s Haute Route (Self-Guided) Please email us at [email protected] to chat about this holiday. You’ll find all the latest information at www.alpineexploratory.com/holidays/walkers-haute-route.html. Our approach is the entry to Switzerland, home for the rest of the trek. The climb is one of the easier ones on the Your route route. Auberge in Trient Our trip gives a complete journey on foot from Chamonix to Zermatt. No transport is needed and on Stage 3: Trient to Champex arriving in Zermatt’s town centre you’ll have (14km with 1380m ascent) completed the entire Haute Route under your own One of the most challenging passes comes on steam. Standardly our trip has 14 stages. The Haute today’s stage: the Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,665m). There Route is a loosely defined trail where map and are higher passes to come, but few as rocky and compass skills are needed to supplement any steep. Descend for a night in the quiet resort of waymarks on the ground. There are no ‘Haute Champex with its pretty lake. Hotel in Champex Route’ waymarks to follow. Where the trail splits we follow routes via Fenêtre d’Arpette, Col de la Chaux, Stage 4: Champex to Le Châble Cabane des Dix, Col de Tsate, the Forcletta and the (13km with 260m ascent and 930m descent) Europaweg, but our routecards describe alternative There follows a relaxing day’s walk through quiet routes too. Swiss countryside to Le Châble. Drop to Early Summer snow patches Sembrancher in the valley then walk steadily up to Routecards and maps Le Châble. -
Kinematics and Extent of the Piemont-Liguria Basin
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2020-161 Preprint. Discussion started: 8 October 2020 c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Kinematics and extent of the Piemont-Liguria Basin – implications for subduction processes in the Alps Eline Le Breton1, Sascha Brune2,3, Kamil Ustaszewski4, Sabin Zahirovic5, Maria Seton5, R. Dietmar Müller5 5 1Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany 2Geodynamic Modelling Section, German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ Potsdam, Germany 3Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany 4Institute for Geological Sciences, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany 10 5EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Correspondence to: Eline Le Breton ([email protected]) Abstract. Assessing the size of a former ocean, of which only remnants are found in mountain belts, is challenging but crucial to understand subduction and exhumation processes. Here we present new constraints on the opening and width of the Piemont- Liguria (PL) Ocean, known as the Alpine Tethys together with the Valais Basin. We use a regional tectonic reconstruction of 15 the Western Mediterranean-Alpine area, implemented into a global plate motion model with lithospheric deformation, and 2D thermo-mechanical modelling of the rifting phase to test our kinematic reconstructions for geodynamic consistency. Our model fits well with independent datasets (i.e. ages of syn-rift sediments, rift-related fault activity and mafic rocks) and shows that the PL Basin opened in four stages: (1) Rifting of the proximal continental margin in Early Jurassic (200-180 Ma), (2) Hyper- extension of the distal margin in Early-Middle Jurassic (180-165 Ma), (3) Ocean-Continent Transition (OCT) formation with 20 mantle exhumation and MORB-type magmatism in Middle-Late Jurassic (165-154 Ma), (4) Break-up and “mature” oceanic spreading mostly in Late Jurassic (154-145 Ma). -
Hiking the Haute Route
Hiking the Haute Route 11 Days Hiking the Haute Route Experience the Haute Route or "High Road" of the Alps on this challenging itinerary designed for serious trekkers. The Haute Route connects Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn on one of the most spectacular hikes in all the Alps, showcasing majestic mountain passes, alpine pastures, glorious glaciers, storybook hamlets, and delightful alpine huts. Embrace the thrill of summiting ten passes in ten days, guided by top professional guides, and enjoy the comfort of warm hospitality at night in a string of charming alpine towns and villages. Details Testimonials Arrive: Geneva, Switzerland "Around every turn, over every pass they view continuously moves from Depart: Geneva or Zermatt, Switzerlandincredible to never to be forgotten. It really made me think of the amazing Duration: 11 Days power of nature." Jeffrey S. Group Size: 4-16 Guests Minimum Age: 18 Years Old "The sense of accomplishment that came with this trip was matched by the Activity Level: Level 4 vistas, the trails, and the scope of the . experience." Owen W. REASON #01 REASON #02 REASON #03 No one knows the Alps like Professional MT Sobek guides Custom-designed for MT MT Sobek, with four decades are the best in the Alps, all well Sobek, our Haute Route trek of experience leading trips reputed for their indispensable combines strenuous all-day here and a regular following knowledge and skillsets. treks, with carefully chosen, of Alps-loving clients. comfortable lodgings in gorgeous alpine settings. ACTIVITIES LODGING CLIMATE High-altitude hikes, challenging Charming, first-class The days can change from hot summits that involve steep trails, accommodations in alpine to cold and wet. -
Alps the Role of the Periadriatic Line in the Tectonic Evolution of The
Geological Society, London, Special Publications The role of the Periadriatic Line in the tectonic evolution of the Alps S. M. Schmid, H. R. Aebli, F. Heller and A. Zingg Geological Society, London, Special Publications 1989; v. 45; p. 153-171 doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1989.045.01.08 Email alerting click here to receive free email alerts when new articles cite this service article Permission click here to seek permission to re-use all or part of this article request Subscribe click here to subscribe to Geological Society, London, Special Publications or the Lyell Collection Notes Downloaded by on 30 May 2007 © 1989 Geological Society of London The role of the Periadriatic Line in the tectonic evolution of the Alps S. M. Schmid, H. R. Aebli, F. Heller & A. Zingg SUMMARY: The Periadriatic Line and related lineaments formed as a result of post- collisional deformations which severely modified the Alpine chain. This post-late Oligocene deformation is the result of dextral transpression between the Adriatic sub-plate and the European foreland. Indentation of the western edge of the southern Alps caused uplift, related to backthrusting and associated deformations of the Lepontine region combined with E-directed escape of the central Alps. In the eastern Alps the response to dextral transpression is mainly by lateral escape along conjugate strike slip zones with minor or no vertical movements. Older deformations along this essentially late Alpine lineament can still be inferred locally and include: extension and transfer faulting in the late Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic, Cretaceous deformations, and Tertiary phases of compression (Eocene) and possibly extension (Oligocene). -
The Deep Structure of the Engadine Window : Evidence from Deep Seismic Data
The deep structure of the Engadine window : evidence from deep seismic data Autor(en): Hitz, Luzi Objekttyp: Article Zeitschrift: Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae Band (Jahr): 89 (1996) Heft 2 PDF erstellt am: 06.10.2021 Persistenter Link: http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-167919 Nutzungsbedingungen Die ETH-Bibliothek ist Anbieterin der digitalisierten Zeitschriften. Sie besitzt keine Urheberrechte an den Inhalten der Zeitschriften. Die Rechte liegen in der Regel bei den Herausgebern. Die auf der Plattform e-periodica veröffentlichten Dokumente stehen für nicht-kommerzielle Zwecke in Lehre und Forschung sowie für die private Nutzung frei zur Verfügung. Einzelne Dateien oder Ausdrucke aus diesem Angebot können zusammen mit diesen Nutzungsbedingungen und den korrekten Herkunftsbezeichnungen weitergegeben werden. Das Veröffentlichen von Bildern in Print- und Online-Publikationen ist nur mit vorheriger Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber erlaubt. Die systematische Speicherung von Teilen des elektronischen Angebots auf anderen Servern bedarf ebenfalls des schriftlichen Einverständnisses der Rechteinhaber. Haftungsausschluss Alle Angaben erfolgen ohne Gewähr für Vollständigkeit oder Richtigkeit. Es wird keine Haftung übernommen für Schäden durch die Verwendung von Informationen aus diesem Online-Angebot oder durch das Fehlen von Informationen. Dies gilt auch für Inhalte Dritter, die über dieses Angebot zugänglich sind. Ein Dienst der ETH-Bibliothek ETH Zürich, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, Schweiz, www.library.ethz.ch http://www.e-periodica.ch Eclogae geol. Helv. 89/2: 657-675 (1996) 0012-9402/96/020657-19 $1.50 + 0.20/0 Birkhäuser Verlag. Basel The deep structure of the Engadine Window: Evidence from deep seismic data Luzi Hitz1 Key words: Seismic reflection, deep structure. Engadine Window ABSTRACT A deep seismic reflection profile through the Engadine Window provides a first detailed image ofthe Window's deep crustal structure.