Transtension or transpression? Tectono-metamorphic constraints on the formation of the Monte Grighini dome (Sardinia, Italy) and implications for the Southern European Variscan belt

Abstract

This work presents an integrated structural, kinematic, and petrochronological study of the Monte Grighini dome within the Variscan hinterland–foreland transition zone of Sardinia (Italy). The area is characterised by dextral transpressive deformation partitioned into low- and high-strain zones (Monte Grighini shear zone, MGSZ). Geothermobarometry of one sample of sillimanite-bearing mylonitic metapelite indicates that the Monte Grighini shear zone developed under high-temperature (~ 625 °C) and low-pressure (~ 0.4–0.6 GPa) conditions. In situ U–(Th)–Pb monazite geochronology reveals that the deformation in the shear zone initiated at ca. 315 Ma. Although previous studies have interpreted the Monte Grighini shear zone to have formed in a transtensional regime, our structural and kinematic results integrated with constraints on the relative timing of deformation indicate that it shows similarities with other dextral ductile transpressive shear zones in the Southern European Variscan belt (i.e., the East Variscan Shear Zone, EVSZ). However, dextral transpression in the Monte Grighini shear zone started later than in other portions of the EVSZ within the framework of the Southern European Variscan Belt due to the progressive migration and rejuvenation of deformation from the core to the external sectors of the belt.

Graphical abstract