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<p>The geodynamic evolution of the southern Tethyan margin results from major tectonic events of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. These tectonic events are caused by the complex interaction between the African and Eurasian plates. The transition from a dominant Early Mesozoic extension/transtension to a compression/transpression tectonic regime since the Late Cretaceous has resulted in inverted edifices, forming intracontinental mountain belts. Tunisia is located at the southern margin of the Neo-Tethys, a critical region in which to investigate the tectonic influence on sedimentation. This region is significant because it marks the location of the final rifting stages of the Neo-Tethys and the early onset of the closure of this margin. In north-central Tunisia, five cross-sections covering the Cenomanian-Maastrichtian interval have been described and sampled in Jebel Bargou and Jebel Serj outcrops. This study investigated field data, high-resolution biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphic correlations of strata, which allowed constraining of the timing of unconformities and the history of the subsidence inversion of the basin. Three major unconformities during the Late Cretaceous deposition are identified in this study. These unconformities, located in the SW of Jebel Bargou, span from the Coniacian to Maastrichtian period and are marked by Paleocene marls (<i>Globorotalia trinidadensis</i> biozone) that unconformably overlie the Late Coniacian series (<i>Dicarinella concavata</i> biozone). A basin inversion is identified in the study area. This process started during the Turonian and continued through the Campanian–Maastrichtian, highlighting a high domain in the Jebel Bargou and a subsiding domain in the SW of Jebel Serj. Similar tectonic inversion events have already been identified in other areas of Tunisia and the surrounding regional context within the northern and southern Tethyan margin during the Late Cretaceous. This inversion could be explained by a Santonian compressional event that probably started earlier in the context of the tectonic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the convergence between the African and European plates. The tectonic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean is the result of multi-oceanic basin expansion, bidirectional subduction, and microplate collisions dominating the Mediterranean region, northward oceanic subduction, and diachronous continental collision across the Middle East.</p>

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Tectonic control of the Late Cretaceous sedimentation in north-central Tunisia: Insights from unconformities and early basin inversion

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月3日

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  • Mabrouk Bachari,
  • Mohamed Hèdi Negra,
  • Frank Harald Neumann,
  • Eugene W. Bergh,
  • Akrem Soltani,
  • Danièle Grosheny

摘要

The geodynamic evolution of the southern Tethyan margin results from major tectonic events of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. These tectonic events are caused by the complex interaction between the African and Eurasian plates. The transition from a dominant Early Mesozoic extension/transtension to a compression/transpression tectonic regime since the Late Cretaceous has resulted in inverted edifices, forming intracontinental mountain belts. Tunisia is located at the southern margin of the Neo-Tethys, a critical region in which to investigate the tectonic influence on sedimentation. This region is significant because it marks the location of the final rifting stages of the Neo-Tethys and the early onset of the closure of this margin. In north-central Tunisia, five cross-sections covering the Cenomanian-Maastrichtian interval have been described and sampled in Jebel Bargou and Jebel Serj outcrops. This study investigated field data, high-resolution biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphic correlations of strata, which allowed constraining of the timing of unconformities and the history of the subsidence inversion of the basin. Three major unconformities during the Late Cretaceous deposition are identified in this study. These unconformities, located in the SW of Jebel Bargou, span from the Coniacian to Maastrichtian period and are marked by Paleocene marls (Globorotalia trinidadensis biozone) that unconformably overlie the Late Coniacian series (Dicarinella concavata biozone). A basin inversion is identified in the study area. This process started during the Turonian and continued through the Campanian–Maastrichtian, highlighting a high domain in the Jebel Bargou and a subsiding domain in the SW of Jebel Serj. Similar tectonic inversion events have already been identified in other areas of Tunisia and the surrounding regional context within the northern and southern Tethyan margin during the Late Cretaceous. This inversion could be explained by a Santonian compressional event that probably started earlier in the context of the tectonic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the convergence between the African and European plates. The tectonic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean is the result of multi-oceanic basin expansion, bidirectional subduction, and microplate collisions dominating the Mediterranean region, northward oceanic subduction, and diachronous continental collision across the Middle East.