The short-lasted latest Oligocene–early Miocene “Circum Rhodope” compression and its relation to the main Late Alpine tectonic events on Balkan peninsula

Abstract

The short lasting compressional to transpressional tectonic event between the latest Oligocene and Middle Miocene is an important element of the Late Alpine evolution of the Balkan peninsula and the Aegean area. It is well recorded by the termination of the sedimentation in a relatively short period of 6–7 Ma (between 20.5 Ma and ~13 Ma). This crustal shortening represents a stage of the Late Alpine tectonic evolution of the area separating the late Paleogene extensional regime from the Aegean extension that took place from ~13 Ma on and finally shaped this branch of the orogen.