From obduction to continental collision: New data from Central Greece

The aim of this paper is to contribute to deciphering the evolutionary history of the Hellenides by the study of a large sector of the chain located between the front of the ophiolitic units and the external zones classically attributed to the continental margin of Adria. In particular, the tectonic units located in Boeotia – a key area located in Central Greece at the boundary between the Internal and External Hellenides – were studied from structural, stratigraphic and biostratigraphic points of view. Addressing the main debated aspects concerning the origin of the ophiolite nappe(s), the tectonic evolution of the Hellenic orogen was revised with a particular emphasis on the period between obduction and continental collision. New findings were compared with consolidated data concerning the main metamorphic events recorded in the more Internal Hellenides, geochemistry and age of the ophiolites and main stratigraphic constraints obtained in other sectors of the belt. Finally, a new reconstruction of the tectonic evolution of this area was introduced and, in the context of the dispute concerning the origin of the ‘ophiolitic belts’ as a possible record of multiple oceanic basins, we put forward for consideration a ‘single ocean’ tectonic model spanning from Triassic up to Tertiary times, and valid for the whole Hellenic–Albanian sector.