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Department of Geological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
The Mediterranean region has been one of the most intensely studied segments of the Alpine-Himalayan chain. Geological and geophysical studies have shown that the region represents a mosaic of microcontinental and ophiolitic terranes, resulting from a sequence of strike-slip and closure movements between the African and Eurasian margins of the Tethyan Ocean. Numerous early palaeomagnetic investigations suggested that many of these terranes underwent important tectonic rotations with respect to the major continents, e.g. the Iberian peninsula (Van der Voo 1969), Sardinia and Corsica (Westphal 1977), the Ionian Islands (Laj et al. 1982), and the Troodos ophiolite (Moores & Vine 1971). These rotations occur in a variety of geological settings, ranging from those active during oceanic crustal genesis to those associated with the late stages of continental deformation. More recent palaeo-magnetic studies have provided an increasingly detailed picture of rotational deformation from the Atlantic margin to eastern Turkey. Tectonic rotations are now recognized on all scales from that of microplates down to individual thrust sheets. The papers contained in this volume, cover the full range of tectonic, magnetostratigraphic and archaeomagnetic problems currently being addressed in the region. Together they form a comprehensive review of an exciting and challenging field of research. To increase the usefulness of the volume to non-palaeomagnetists, a full glossary of palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic terms is provided.
Since the tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean Tethyan belt has been controlled by the relative motion history of the African and Eurasian plates, this introduction begins with a brief examination
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