Magmatism from Mesozoic to Present: petrogenesis, time-space distribution and geodynamic implications

Abstract

During the 1970s the most commonly accepted hypothesis for the evolution of the Alpine orogenic cycle in both the Alps and Apennines chains took into consideration the existence of one oceanic domain (the Ligurian—Piedmont basin), which opened during the Jurassic and was consumed during the Cretaceous to early Tertiary; its closure allowed the continent—continent collision of Europe and Africa, which occurred during Paleocene to early Eocene times. Laubscher (1971), Dal Piaz (1974, 1995) and Scandone (1979, 1982) are among the leading authors who put forward this hypothesis.