Abstract This review of Mediterranean geodynamics highlights that the Mediterranean region captures at a fortuitous moment in time, a picture of the fate of foundering, old, cold oceanic lithosphere of limited area due to being landlocked in an all-but-stalled continental collision (Africa with Europe). We synthesize the geological spatial and temporal data for stretched crust as well as the 3D distribution of old abyssal plains and new oceanic lithosphere segments in concert with heat flow, palaeomagnetic data, geodetic velocity data, earthquake hypocentre distributions and seismic tomography. We use three Mediterranean subduction system settings (the western Mediterranean, the Hellenic and the Pannonian–Carpathian) that nicely reflect the slab instability and retreat. We assume that mantle slab dynamics best explains the observations. The dispersal and segmentation of the foundering landlocked ocean results in a series of discontinuous subduction zones whose individual lengths gradually diminish while retreat accelerates as slab progressively narrow and tear (i.e. along-strike laterally-propagating slab break-off) due to imminent total consumption of available oceanic lithosphere. We suggest that the Mediterranean region offers a lucid series of snapshots of accelerated slab retreat that, additionally, is globally unique as the only present day example of what we term intra-collisional landlocked ocean subduction.

Abstract We undertake kinematic modelling to explore the role of volume increase in a slab extruding from an orogenic wedge with constant or decreasing slab width. Using a dilatancy term, we modify the velocity gradient tensor dependent on the stretching-rate factor, kinematic dilatancy and vorticity number. We use this to explore the previously largely ignored role of volume change in kinematic evolution of extrusive flow, considering area change for non-isochoric flow types with no deformation in the intermediate direction. By keeping individual parameters constant for geologically simple scenarios (e.g. finite străin, steady-state flow) we examine the interdependence of the reciprocal parameters (kinematic vorticity and dilatancy number) and note model situations where degrees of freedom are limited. These interdependent parameters thereby provide a set of rules for integrating and modelling real field data. In particular we observe that for extrusion flow with a constant slab (or ‘channel’) width, degrees of freedom in kinematic vorticity and volume change at given finite strains are very restricted. We compare scenarios of low and high strain and low and high volume change on anatexis (related to partial melting of fertile sedimentary rocks and release of water upon crystallization) for different parts of the Himalaya.

Abstract Cylindrical structures, cross-cutting stratification at right angles, occur in the Muth Formation, representing Lower Devonian barrier island arenites of the North Indian Gondwana coast. These structures are up to 1.5 m in height and 0.8 m in diameter, with an internal structure comprising concentric, cylindrical laminae. The pipes, which probably represent water conduits for laminar upward flow of ground water, initiate from relatively thin horizons, with upper terminations formed by spring pits. Thus, the structures in the Muth Formation represent a rarely observed combined occurrence of spring pits and their conduits below. Their formation is explained by rising ground water seepage in a coastal depositional environment that produced a relatively high hydrostatic head, resulting in the formation of springs. The rise in relative sea level might be related to tectonic subsidence caused by tectonic activity linked to the formation of conjugate deformation bands in the Muth Formation. This means, if tectonic activity was involved, it did not form the cylindrical structures by seismic liquefaction directly, but might be responsible indirectly through ground water seepage rise resulting from tectonic subsidence. Due to the little relief in this environment, the sea level rise affected a relatively large area and fluidization structures can be found widespread in distant sections.