Published: 2025-10-09
Tectonic control on magmatism at a continental junction: The Bukulja Mountains Pluton, Internal Dinarides, SE Europe
Authors: Ana Mladenović, Georg Löwe, Branislav Trivić, Vesna Cvetkov, Kamil Ustaszewski, Jin-Cheng Xie, Kristijan Sokol, Dejan Prelević
Abstract:
The Dinarides in SE Europe represent an orogen that resulted from convergence between the Adriatic and European plates since the Middle Jurassic. Located above the area of anomalously thin lithosphere due to delamination of the Adriatic slab, the area of the Dinaric orogen experienced multiple tectonic events during the Cenozoic. In this study, we focus on the Internal Dinarides and study the relationship between tectonic processes and magmatism near the junction of the Adriatic and European plates. The study area hosts two granitic intrusions: the Oligocene I-type Brajkovac intrusion and the Miocene S-type Bukulja two-mica granite. We integrate structural analyses, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), Usingle bondPb zircon geochronology and Lusingle bondHf isotopic data, and fission-track thermochronology to reconstruct the timing and mechanisms of deformation, magmatism, and exhumation of these intrusions. Based on our observations, we suggest that melting during the Oligocene was likely driven by post break-off delamination of the Adriatic lithospheric mantle. In contrast, the origin of the Miocene two-mica granite was associated with a more advanced stage of extension, which involved significant lithospheric thinning. Our findings provide a refined temporal and geodynamic framework for post-collisional extension in the Internal Dinarides. They further illustrate how tectonic reorganization controls granitoid generation, emplacement, and exhumation in a continental orogenic setting.
The Dinarides in SE Europe represent an orogen that resulted from convergence between the Adriatic and European plates since the Middle Jurassic. Located above the area of anomalously thin lithosphere due to delamination of the Adriatic slab, the area of the Dinaric orogen experienced multiple tectonic events during the Cenozoic. In this study, we focus on the Internal Dinarides and study the relationship between tectonic processes and magmatism near the junction of the Adriatic and European plates. The study area hosts two granitic intrusions: the Oligocene I-type Brajkovac intrusion and the Miocene S-type Bukulja two-mica granite. We integrate structural analyses, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), Usingle bondPb zircon geochronology and Lusingle bondHf isotopic data, and fission-track thermochronology to reconstruct the timing and mechanisms of deformation, magmatism, and exhumation of these intrusions. Based on our observations, we suggest that melting during the Oligocene was likely driven by post break-off delamination of the Adriatic lithospheric mantle. In contrast, the origin of the Miocene two-mica granite was associated with a more advanced stage of extension, which involved significant lithospheric thinning. Our findings provide a refined temporal and geodynamic framework for post-collisional extension in the Internal Dinarides. They further illustrate how tectonic reorganization controls granitoid generation, emplacement, and exhumation in a continental orogenic setting.
Read Publication: Here