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Research Article
Crustal response to slab tearing and detachment: Inferences from the
kinematics of the Dinarides-Hellenides transition
Nikola Randjelovic
a,b,*
, Liviu Matenco
a,c
, Nemanja Krstekani´
c
a,b
, Maja Maleˇ
s
a,b,d
,
Uros Stojadinovi´
c
b
, Marinko Tolji´
c
b
, Ernst Willingshofer
a
, Branislav Trivi´
c
b
a
Utrecht University, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands
b
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade, Serbia
c
Doctoral School of Geology, University of Bucharest, Romania
d
IFP Energies Nouvelles, Rueil-Malmaison, France
ARTICLE INFO
Editor: Sun Jimin
Keywords:
Bi-directional extension
Indentation
Slab tearing
Extensional klippen
Dinarides
ABSTRACT
Complex slab tearing mechanisms are often associated with a lateral transition from continental indentation to
subduction of oceanic or thinned continental lithosphere. These geodynamic conditions lead to the formation of
crustal transfer zones associated with signicant strain partitioning. A key area to study such mechanisms is the
transition between the Dinarides and Hellenides mountain chains in southeastern Europe, affected by the
indentation of the Adriatic continental microplate. Similar to other Mediterranean orogens, the slab roll-back
was accompanied by a migration of the orogenic shortening towards the foreland and a coeval back-arc
extension that reactivated inherited orogenic nappe contacts. Along the strike of the orogen, the Dinarides
slab detached during Oligocene – early Miocene times, while the Hellenides subduction continued its evolution
up to the present day. The transfer of deformation takes place along various structures in the transition zone
between the Dinarides and Hellenides, from areas that underwent signicant Adriatic indentation following the
detachment of the subducted slab to the others where the retreat of the Aegean slab continues. We have per-
formed a eld kinematic and microstructural study in the less understood segment of the Dinarides-Hellenides
transition in northern Montenegro to analyse the mechanism of strain partitioning in the Dinarides nappe
stack related to along-strike changes in slab kinematics. The results demonstrate that the previously dened
scissor-mechanism of extensional deformation in the neighbouring Hellenides is transferred dominantly to a
newly documented large offset shear zone. This structure accommodates orogen-perpendicular extension by
reactivating inherited Cretaceous – Paleocene nappe contacts, forming a major post-Eocene detachment and
extensional klippens, which are cross-cut by late-stage brittle normal faults. When combined with the known
structure of the neighbouring Hellenides, these results infer that the Oligocene – early Miocene slab-detachment
of the Dinarides orogenic segment was accommodated at crustal levels by generalised bi-directional extension,
exhuming mid-crustal levels in the footwall of major structures and accommodating the transition from Adriatic
indentation to the continued subduction recorded by the Hellenides.
1. Introduction
Convergence zones are frequently characterised by substantial
lateral variations in subduction and collision dynamics (Cui and Li,
2022; Duretz et al., 2014; Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2003; Guillaume et al.,
2013; Kley et al., 1999). In particular, the indentation of continental
fragments creates frequently a lateral transition between continental
and oceanic subduction at one margin of the indenter that may have an
opposite subduction polarity when compared with other margins (Hall
and Spakman, 2015; Kufner et al., 2016; Lamb, 2011; Lin and Kuo, 2016;
Peral et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2022). Continental collision associated
with indentation, extrusion, and slab-retreat is a process observed in
many orogenic areas worldwide. Relevant examples are the northern
margin of Arabian indenter where shortening is accompanied with
extrusion and slab retreat in the Eastern Mediterranean (Faccenna et al.,
2013; Mantovani et al., 2006), the Indian plate indentation followed by
* Corresponding author at: Utrecht University, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
E-mail address: n.randelovic@uu.nl (N. Randjelovic).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Global and Planetary Change
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gloplacha
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.104837
Received 10 July 2024; Received in revised form 14 April 2025; Accepted 14 April 2025
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
Available online 19 April 2025
0921-8181/© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).
shortening and uplift of the Himalayas and Tibet and lateral extrusion
towards oceanic subduction in SE Asia (Cui et al., 2021; Li et al., 2015;
Royden et al., 2008; Sautter et al., 2019; Tapponnier et al., 2001), or the
Eastern Alps where the post-Oligocene shortening and indentation of
Adria is associated with extrusion towards the Carpathian slab roll-back
and back-arc extension in the Pannonian basin (Csontos et al., 1992;
Fodor et al., 1998; Ratschbacher et al., 1991; Rosenberg et al., 2018; van
Gelder et al., 2017). Such indentation dynamics creates segmentation of
subduction zones associated with slab tearing and subsequent detach-
ment faulting (Duretz et al., 2012; Woodcock, 1986). Trench-parallel
slab detachment and trench-perpendicular slab tearing (Hale et al.,
2010; Jolivet et al., 2021; Rosenbaum et al., 2008) occur at different
depths as a function of slab rheology and the presence of weakness zones
within the subducting plate (Govers and Wortel, 2005; Gurnis et al.,
2000). Slab detachment is associated with signicant exhumation and
extension (Buiter et al., 2002; Chatelain et al., 1992; England and
Molnar, 1990; Wortel and Spakman, 1992), while the retreat accelerates
towards the places where the slab is still attached (Bercovici et al., 2018;
Wortel and Spakman, 2000). The transition between continental colli-
sion and extension driven by slab retreat is also accompanied by sig-
nicant rotations, which can often lead to oroclinal bending (e.g., Carey,
1955), such as observed in the Carpathians (Bal´
azs et al., 2018; M´
arton
et al., 2016), the Betics-Rif system (Porkol´
ab et al., 2022; Verg´
es and
Fern`
andez, 2012), or at the transition between Eastern Himalaya to
Myanmar (Cao et al., 2009; Otofuji et al., 2010).
In instances where lateral displacement from indentation to sub-
duction is accompanied by rotation, complex crustal transfer zones are
formed, characterised by signicant strain partitioning, which are
frequently observed in the Mediterranean area (e.g., Jolivet et al., 2021).
The strain partitioning concept is employed to describe a multi-scale
distribution of the total strain in coeval structures whose kinematics
cannot be adequately represented by a homogenous stress eld (e.g.,
Cembrano et al., 2005; Jezek et al., 2002; Krstekani´
c et al., 2022a).
Some typical examples are the Circum-Moesian Fault System, which
accommodates deformation along the lateral margin of the Moesian
indenter (Krstekani´
c et al., 2020, 2022a, 2022b), the North Anatolian
Fault, which connects the Arabian indenter with the Aegean subduction
zone (Faccenna et al., 2006; Porkol´
ab et al., 2023), or the northward
indentation of the Adria microcontinent into the Dinarides orogen (van
Unen et al., 2019a).
Subduction segmentation and crustal rotations are frequently asso-
ciated with orogen-parallel and orogen-perpendicular extension
induced by slab retreat and detachment, which may act coevally (e.g.,
Jolivet et al., 2021; Matenco et al., 2016). The mechanisms that transfer
the lateral variations in slab evolution and deformation to the crustal
strain partitioning associated with tearing and rotation remain poorly
understood. One very good example of strain partitioning associated
with indentation, slab-detachment, slab tearing, and rapidly retreating
subduction is the Dinarides-Hellenides orogen in southeastern Europe
(Fig. 1). Following the Jurassic – Paleocene closure of the Neotethys
Ocean and the Late Cretaceous – early Oligocene Adria – Europe colli-
sion (Pami´
c, 2002; Schmid et al., 2020; Stojadinovic et al., 2022;
Ustaszewski et al., 2009), the transition zone between the Dinarides and
Hellenides has recorded signicant differential deformation. This
deformation was driven by the Oligocene (−early Miocene?) slab
detachment in the Dinarides segment of the slab (Andri´
c et al., 2018;
Handy et al., 2019; Schefer et al., 2011; van Unen et al., 2019a), while
the neighbouring Hellenides part of the slab continued to be attached
and created signicant SW-ward retreat until the present day, as inferred
by geophysical studies and tectonic reconstructions (Bennett et al.,
2008; Piromallo and Morelli, 2003; Van Hinsbergen et al., 2020; Wortel
and Spakman, 2000; Zhang et al., 2022). For the purpose of simplicity,
we combine the two names of the same orogenic structure, namely the
Albanides to the north and the Hellenides to the south and southeast,
into a single entity, the Hellenides (Fig. 1a). The Hellenides have
experienced a Neogene clockwise rotation with respect to the Dinarides,
rotating around a pole located in the vicinity of the Shkoder locality in
Albania (Fig. 2; Kissel et al., 1995; Schmid et al., 2020; Speranza et al.,
1995). The most signicant along-strike change in orogen orientation
coincides with the most prominent Scutari – Pe´
c (or Shkoder – Peja) fault
zone (SPF) located at the Dinarides-Hellenides junction (Aubouin and
Dercourt, 1975). Inherited from an older transfer zone or transformant
fault (Aubouin and Dercourt, 1975), recent studies have shown that the
late evolution of this SPF structure has accommodated signicant
scissor-type extensional deformation after Oligocene times, mostly as a
SE-dipping normal fault with increasing vertical offsets from zero in the
SW to several km towards NE (Handy et al., 2019), accommodating also
a signicant segmentation (Grund et al., 2023). These studies have also
shown that extension at the Dinarides-Hellenides junction was accom-
modated by continued W-vergent thrusting of more external units in the
Hellenides. Although the major SPF structure appears to partition strain
between the Dinarides and Hellenides, its N to NNE prolongation has not
been analysed and quantied. Its quantication is particularly impor-
tant due to the gradually increasing amounts of extension and offsets in
the same direction associated with the overall 30◦rotation and scissor
mechanics. In particular, the crustal effects of the slab segmentation and
the resulting kinematics in the Dinarides segment of the orogen are
critical to understand the driving mechanisms. However, these effects
are largely unknown.
To advance the understanding of the Dinarides-Hellenides connec-
tion and its changes in oroclinal geometry, a eld kinematic and
microstructural study was performed in the less understood Dinarides
area of northern Montenegro. Together with the recently published
detailed kinematic data from the neighbouring Hellenides segment
(Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al., 2019) and at a farther distance in the
Dinarides (van Unen et al., 2019a, 2019b), we herewith analyse and
propose a new mechanism of post-Eocene strain partitioning from the
SPF into the Dinarides nappes system. The ndings are presented in the
context of deformation transfer and the strain partitioning observed in
the transition zone between these orogenic segments.
2. The geodynamic evolution of the Dinarides-Hellenides
transition
The Dinarides-Hellenides orogenic area is part of a broader Medi-
terranean system that generally share a common nappe structure and
pre-Cenozoic tectonic evolution (Fig. 1). Both orogens formed in
response to the Triassic opening and subsequent Jurassic – Paleogene
closure of the northern branch of the Neotethys Ocean (e.g., Gawlick
et al., 2017; Robertson et al., 2009; Schmid et al., 2008). The Neotethys
opening started with a Middle Triassic continental rifting that caused
magmatism and the formation of a wide Adriatic passive continental
margin (Bortolotti et al., 2013; Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997; Monjoie et al., 2008;
Pami´
c, 1984; Scherreiks et al., 2014). The closure of the Neotethys
Ocean was initiated by an Early – Middle Jurassic intra-oceanic sub-
duction stage followed by a Late Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous obduction
of the Neotethys ophiolites (the Western Vardar ophiolitic unit) over the
Adriatic passive continental margin (Bortolotti et al., 2013; Chiari et al.,
2011; Mafone and van Hinsbergen, 2018, Robertson et al., 2009;
Schmid et al., 2020). In the Dinarides, ophiolites were emplaced over
internal units (Jadar-Kopaonik, Drina-Ivanjica, and East Bosnian-
Durmitor, Fig. 1), while the neighbouring part of the Hellenides
segment recorded continued post-obduction thrusting of ophiolites and
ophiolitic m´
elange over more external units (Figs. 1 and 2). After the
nal closure of the oceanic domain and the formation of the Cretaceous
– Paleocene Sava suture zone between Europe- and Adria-derived units,
the Dinarides-Hellenides orogens were affected by continued SW-
vergent nappe stacking (Pami´
c, 2002; Schmid et al., 2008; Ustaszew-
ski et al., 2009, 2010). The Cretaceous – Paleogene shortening has
created thick-skinned thrusts in the internal parts of both orogens that
duplicate the previous Late Jurassic - earliest Cretaceous obduction
contact, resulting in the formation of composite units. As a result of the
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
2
Fig. 1. (a) Topographic map of Mediterranean Mesozoic–Cenozoic orogens, displaying suture zones, orogenic fronts, and retro-wedges (modied after Krstekani´
c
et al., 2020). The red polygon marks the position of Fig. 1b; (b) Regional tectonic map of the Dinarides-Hellenides orogenic system (modied after Schmid et al.,
2020, van Unen et al., 2019b). White lines represent the main Neogene basins. The yellow rectangle displays the position of Fig. 2. The black line shows the position
of the regional cross-section A-A’ displayed on Fig. 1c. OD – Othoni-Dhermi Transfer Fault, KF – Kefalonia Transfer Fault, SPF – Scutari-Pe´
c (or Shkoder – Peja) Fault,
NMF – Northern Montenegro Fault; (c) Cross-section across the Dinarides (modied after Matenco & Radivojevi´
c, 2012). Note the post-Eocene extensional features
(red lines) distributed across the entire Dinarides. The main fault ages are shown in the legend. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
3
gradual accretion migrating towards the foreland, most thrusting in both
orogenic segments becomes progressively younger in the same direc-
tion, although signicant out-of-sequence thrusting is locally observed
(Handy et al., 2019; Mazzoli et al., 2022; Nader et al., 2023; Schmid
et al., 2008; Tari, 2002; van Unen et al., 2019b; Vilasi et al., 2009). In
contrast, the presence of thick Triassic salt in the NW part of the
Dinarides has facilitated the formation of a basal decollement level and,
therefore, the structure in this orogenic segment is dominated by thin-
Fig. 2. Geological map of Montenegro showing the transition from the Dinarides into the Hellenides along the SPF. The map is compiled from the 1:100.000 maps of
former Yugoslavia and the 1:200.000 geological map of Albania, modied with the results of the previous (Handy et al., 2019; van Unen et al., 2019a; Grund et al.,
2023) and our study. Black lines show the position of cross-sections in Fig. 8. Note that the map geometry of the East Bosnian-Durmitor and Drina-Ivanjica composite
units follows the results of our study. Faults covered with Neogene sediments and faults with unclear prolongation are marked as dashed lines. NMF – Northern
Montenegro Fault, RF – Roˇ
zaje Fault, BF – Bjelasica Fault, SPF – Scutari-Pe´
c (or Shkoder – Peja) Fault, DD – Deˇ
cani Dome, CW – Cukali window.
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
4
skinned units (Balling et al., 2021).
The subsequent Oligocene (−early Miocene?) slab detachment
beneath the external Dinarides (Andri´
c et al., 2018) prevented further
shortening in Dinarides nappes and was followed by a Miocene exten-
sion associated with listric detachments reactivating inherited nappe
contacts (van Unen et al., 2019b). The exhumation in the footwall of
detachments has created antiformal geometries that locally folded these
inherited thrusts (Fig. 1c). The overall Dinarides evolution was associ-
ated with lateral slab tearing and rapid retreat of the Hellenides segment
of the slab (Brun et al., 2016; Handy et al., 2019; Jolivet and Brun,
2010), which caused their clockwise rotation (Handy et al., 2019; Kissel
et al., 1995; Speranza et al., 1995). The resulting change in oroclinal
geometry is observed in the transition zone between the Dinarides and
Hellenides orogens (Fig. 1), possibly reactivating an older NE-SW ori-
ented inherited rheologically weak zone along the SPF structure (i.e., the
transverse zone of Aubouin, 1975 or the transfer zone of Handy et al.,
2019; Grund et al., 2023) as a complex fault and strain partitioning
system that truncates the inherited nappe stack. The transition zone
across this structure also matches the lateral along-strike SE-ward
termination of the surface expression of the Adriatic carbonate platform
and an apparent pre-Neogene dextral displacement of the West Vardar
ophiolites (Figs. 1 and 2).
The present-day Dinarides kinematics is driven by the N- to NE-ward
Adriatic indentation that reactivated or truncated the pre-existing
Middle Triassic normal faults of the Budva graben and created
numerous post-9 Ma transpressive structures distributed obliquely
across the Dinarides (van Unen et al., 2019a). In contrast, the S- to SE-
movement and thrusting in the frontal part of the Hellenides was
accommodated by back-arc extension (Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al.,
2019).
2.1. The tectonic and depositional setting of the Dinarides in the vicinity
of the SPF
Previous kinematic studies (Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al., 2019)
have described the SPF as a SE-dipping normal fault that truncates the
Dinarides nappe stack (the High Karst, Pre-Karst, and East Bosnian-
Durmitor units in Fig. 2) and exhumed several dome-shaped structures
in its footwall, such as the Cukali Window (CW in Fig. 2), the previously
buried sediments of the Budva-Cukali unit, or the Deˇ
cani Dome (DD in
Fig. 2). The fault juxtaposes the Dinarides nappes in its footwall with the
Western Vardar Ophiolites of northern Albania (Mirdita ophiolites) in
the hanging-wall (Fig. 2). To the SW, the SPF roots in the same Budva-
Cukali decollement that accommodates the Western Vardar Ophiolites
thrusting more to the SE. Overall, the SPF and Budva-Cukali decollement
have a common scissor-rotational mechanics with a pole of rotation
located near the Shkoder city (Handy et al., 2019). In more detail, the
SPF comprises several distinct segments with varying durations of ac-
tivity and progressively increasing offsets, ranging from zero near
Shkoder city to over 2 km close to Bajram Curri and further northwards
(Grund et al., 2023). Handy et al. (2019) have suggested that the
increasing offsets of the SPF are transferred further by a series of
structures, such as a normal fault bounding the Middle Miocene –
earliest Pliocene Metohija Basin (Elezaj, 2009; Grund et al., 2023) or
others more NE-wards, thus connecting with the Miocene extension of
the Pannonian Basin. However, none of these structures and their con-
nections are kinematically sufciently well documented outside SPF,
besides the general observation of early-middle Miocene normal faults
across the entire Dinarides (Andri´
c et al., 2017, 2018; Chiari et al., 2011;
Porkol´
ab et al., 2019; van Unen et al., 2019b).
Typical for the external Dinarides nappes is the development of the
Lower Triassic – Upper Cretaceous shallow water, up to 2.2 km thick
Adriatic carbonate platform observed in the Dalmatian-Kruja, High-
Karst, and Pre-Karst units (Fig. 2; e.g., Korbar, 2009; Vlahovi´
c et al.,
2005 among others). This shallow-water deposition is interrupted in
map view by a tectonic unit composed of Triassic-Cretaceous deep-water
sediments, known as the Budva-Cukali unit (Goriˇ
can, 1994), which
crops out in a narrow band of highly deformed sediments in the external
parts of both orogenic segments, or in tectonic (half-) windows, such as
the Cukali window located at the orogenic transition between the
Dinarides and Hellenides (Fig. 2, Handy et al., 2019). The latter repre-
sents a NE-SW oriented antiform located in the footwall of the SPF and
its NW-dipping conjugate fault, developed during post-nappe exten-
sional unroong of the Budva-Cukali unit (Grund et al., 2023; Handy
et al., 2019; Schmid et al., 2020). While the Dalmatian-Kruja and Budva-
Cukali units crop out continuously in the frontal part of both orogens,
the High Karst and Pre-Karst units show no direct equivalents across the
SPF in the present-day orogenic geometry of the Hellenides (Figs. 1 and
2).
The more internal units of the studied area, the East Bosnian-
Durmitor and Drina-Ivanjica units, are equivalents in the Hellenides of
the Lower and Higher Pelagonian units, respectively. They both repre-
sent composite tectonic units that have recorded gradual deepening of
their Adriatic passive continental margin during the Upper Triassic –
Middle Jurassic and were ultimately overlain by ophiolites and ophio-
litic m´
elanges during the Late Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous obduction
(Schmid et al., 2020 and references therein).
The contacts between the Dinarides composite units are marked by
the presence of narrow belts of highly deformed syn-kinematic turbidites
(i.e., ysch deposits in a contractional basin) deposited in the footwall of
major thrusts, showing a gradual change in age towards the foreland,
from Cretaceous-Paleocene in the NE to Eocene in the SW (Schmid et al.,
2020; van Unen et al., 2019b). One of these highly deformed belts is the
Durmitor ysch (Fig. 2, Ugar ysch to the NW in Bosnia and Herzego-
vina and Vermoshi ysch to the SE outside Montenegro) that is generally
interpreted to be syn-kinematic to the Late Cretaceous thrusting of the
East Bosnian-Durmitor unit (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997; Hrvatovi´
c, 2006;
Hrvatovi´
c and Pami´
c, 2005; Marroni et al., 2009; Schmid et al., 2020).
We note the potential confusion between the name of the East Bosnian-
Durmitor unit and the name of the Durmitor ysch, which overlies the
uppermost part of the Pre-Karst unit in the footwall of the former unit.
Both the Durmitor ysch and the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit are
affected in outcrops by NW-SE and NE-SW oriented normal faults, pre-
viously interpreted to have formed during the Miocene extension (the bi-
directional extension of van Unen et al., 2019b, and Porkol´
ab et al.,
2019), although the regional expression of this extension is not quan-
tied in the Dinarides.
The East Bosnian-Durmitor unit is classically subdivided into several
sub-units (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997). The SE part of the unit (the Deˇ
cani Dome
of Grund et al., 2023, DD in Fig. 2) exposes lowermost Silurian-Permian
clastics and granites metamorphosed in greenschist facies, together with
a metamorphosed Triassic ophiolitic m´
elange (the Junik Knot of
Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997), re-interpreted recently as Late Jurassic (Grund
et al., 2023) in the footwall of the SPF. More to the NW, the East
Bosnian-Durmitor metamorphics are replaced by a Permian – Jurassic
generally shallow-water carbonate sequence, intercalated by Middle
Triassic basic to intermediate rifting-related volcanics, all overlain by
the Late Jurassic ophiolitic m´
elange and obducted ophiolites (Fig. 2).
The exceptions are the Bjelasica and Lim sub-units of ˇ
Zivaljevi´
c et al.
(1982) and Dimitrijevi´
c (1997) that are part of the East Bosnian-
Durmitor nappe stack. The Lim sub-unit (Fig. 2) was interpreted to be
in an uppermost structural position in this nappe stack, while the Bje-
lasica and its Mesozoic was thought to be in a lowermost structural
position (the Bjelasica Fault area west of Berane separated by thick red
lines in Fig. 2), beneath the Paleozoic of the Durmitor and ´
Cehotina sub-
units found NW-wards (NW of Bjelasica Fault in Fig. 2). In the Lim sub-
unit, Upper Triassic – Jurassic deep-water carbonates and radiolarite
sequence are observed ESE of Berane (Fig. 2), which were deposited in a
deeper sedimentological environment when compared with the shallow-
water facies observed in other sub-units of the East Bosnian-Durmitor
unit (Goriˇ
can et al., 2022; Kukoˇ
c et al., 2015). Elsewhere, the Bjela-
sica and Lim sub-units expose mostly the same type of continental to
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
5
shallow-water Triassic facies as observed in all other sub-units of the
East Bosnian-Durmitor unit (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997).
The next higher Drina-Ivanjica unit crops out to the NE and is made
up of a Paleozoic metamorphosed sequence (mostly meta-clastics) and
overlying sedimentary facies that are similar, but with several marked
differences when compared with the one of the East Bosnian-Durmitor
unit (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997; Ili´
c and Neubauer, 2005; Porkol´
ab et al.,
2019). The Paleozoic basement of Drina-Ivanjica (the Golija Zone of
Aubouin et al., 1970) is made up of greenschist facies metamorphic
rocks (Đokovic, 1985) covered by Lower to Middle Triassic continental
to shallow-water carbonates where deposition was interrupted by a
short late Anisian deep-water (or pelagic) deposition (e.g., the Bulog
Limestone of Rosso Ammonitico-type of Gawlick et al., 2017; Missoni
et al., 2012; Sudar et al., 2013) associated with late Anisian rifting
volcanics. The shallow-water carbonate deposition was subsequently re-
established until the local deposition of a poorly dated Upper Triassic –
Lower Jurassic deep-water sequence (the Grivska Formation of
Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997). The metamorphosed equivalents of the Grivska
Formation were exhumed during the Miocene extension in the footwall
of detachments in more internal parts of the Dinarides (the Kopaonik
Formation of Schefer et al., 2010; see also Stojadinovic et al., 2017;
Tolji´
c et al., 2013). Thick overlying sequences of often highly deformed
Jurassic deep-water carbonates and radiolarites are also observed in the
Drina-Ivanjica unit beneath the overlying Late Jurassic ophiolitic
m´
elange and ophiolites (e.g., Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997 among others;Ðeri´
c
et al., 2007; Djeri´
c et al., 2024; Schmid et al., 2008).
The main contact between the East Bosnian-Durmitor and the over-
lying Drina-Ivanjica units (NE of Roˇ
zaje – Bijelo Polje in Fig. 2) is a large
offset Early Cretaceous thrust. In more detail, the earlier late Jurassic –
earliest Cretaceous obduction contact that emplaced ophiolites and
ophiolitic m´
elange over the Adriatic passive margin was duplicated by
an Early Cretaceous thrust and has created the composite character of
both the Drina-Ivanjica and East Bosnian-Durmitor units (Fig. 1c, Djeri´
c
et al., 2024; Porkol´
ab et al., 2019; Schmid et al., 2008). The difculty in
mapping the Early Cretaceous contact comes from the thrust ramping up
in a at inside the ophiolitic m´
elange, which has an olistostrome char-
acter incorporating both hanging-wall and footwall blocks. This struc-
ture has been interpreted previously as gravitationally emplaced (the
olistoplaka of Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997). Similar to previous more regional
studies (Schmid et al., 2008), we consider the olistoplaka and the deep-
water Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic Grivska type and younger Jurassic
formations as the hanging-wall of Drina-Ivanjica overlying the thrusting
at in the map of Fig. 2. This contact was interpreted to have been
subsequently reactivated during the Miocene extension at its SE-most
termination (the Roˇ
zaje Fault of Grund et al., 2023), while a coherent
kinematic denition for the entire structure is not yet available.
In the central parts of the studied area, the late Oligocene – late
Miocene Berane Basin (Fig. 2) represents the youngest extensional
feature with sediments overlying the Permian – Jurassic shallow water
deposition of Bjelasica and Lim sub-units and overlying ophiolitic
m´
elange (Fig. 2). The thickness of the late Oligocene – late Miocene
clastics intercalated with coal layers in the Berane Basin (Đorđevi´
c-
Milutinovi´
c et al., 2018; Drobnjak et al., 1996) reaches up to 250 m
(ˇ
Zivaljevi´
c et al., 1982).
3. Methodology
We have performed a eld structural and kinematic study in the SE
Dinarides and their transition into the Hellenides (Figs. 2–6, see also the
dataset in the Supplementary Material). The focus of the study was to
characterize the kinematics of post-Eocene structures situated at or near
the contact between major units. This was achieved through a
comprehensive analysis of both outcrop- and micro-scale structural
observations. We identied major faults or fault zones by starting from a
re-interpretation of existing 1:100.000 scale geologic maps (Fig. 2, Basic
geological map of former Yugoslavia), which were also used for
identifying other major structures, such as km-scale folds, shear zones,
or uplifted and exhumed basement zones. These maps were also used for
correlations with neighbouring areas and for dening the timing of post-
Eocene tectonic phases by combining observations of stratigraphic off-
sets along faults and sealing post-kinematic deposits (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997;
Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al., 2019; Schmid et al., 2020; van Unen
et al., 2019b). We focussed on mapping both brittle and ductile kine-
matics of large-offset faults and shear zones along their strike, as well as
superposition criteria (cross-cutting relationships, tilting, rotations, and
truncation) in the Paleozoic basement, Mesozoic cover, ophiolitic
m´
elange, and obducted ophiolites. Field measurements include kine-
matics of folds, faults, and fault zones, ductile foliations and stretching
lineations within shear zones, foliated fault gouges and observations of
tilting and rotations. Kinematic indicators such as slickensides, slick-
enbers, grooves, Riedel shears, and quartz aggregates were used to
derive the sense of shear along faults and fault zones by considering
condence criteria and quality ranks (Angelier, 1994; Sim´
on, 2019;
Sperner and Zweigel, 2010). We have also measured foliations and folds
and determined the kinematics of shear zones and other ductile struc-
tures using kinematic indicators such as sigma-clasts or shear bands. As
often in dynamic metamorphism, many subsequent foliations overprint
the pre-existing sedimentary bedding, with stretching lineations that
may be difcult to discriminate locally in very low-grade metamorphism
in macroscopic observations. However, these structures are conrmed in
thin-sections, where microstructural observations have included folia-
tions, folds, and shearing with kinematic indicators while determining
mineral assemblages and gross metamorphic grade. Due to the relatively
simple mineral paragenesis indicating burial to sub- to lower greenschist
facies metamorphic conditions, no further advanced petrological PT
investigations (such as microprobe and associated calculations) were
necessary for the scope of our study. Some major structures are also
observed in areas with difcult accessibility (high altitude with steeply
inclined cliffs, such as parts of the Northern Montenegro Fault, Fig. 3),
limiting access and obtaining more extensive datasets.
Measurements were separated based on the overprinting criteria,
types, and orientation of structures and plotted in the Win-Tensor soft-
ware (Delvaux and Sperner, 2003). This allowed a separation in
different deformation phases. Stereoplots are separated into several
groups by following the kinematics of major map-scale structures. We
specically note that some ductile and brittle extensional structures are
interpreted to have formed during one single tectonic phase. Moreover,
structures with different kinematics and mutual cross-cutting relations
were interpreted as coeval (e.g., normal faults accommodating two di-
rections of extension). Such observations demonstrate a signicant
amount of strain partitioning created by large-offset structures and
cannot be used to derive paleostress directions because of inherent
limitations (Angelier, 1994; Gephart, 1990; Michael, 1984; Zoback and
Beroza, 1993), as described with details in previous studies (Sim´
on,
2019; Sperner and Zweigel, 2010; Krstekani´
c et al., 2022a). When
combined with the previous studies (Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al.,
2019; van Unen et al., 2019a) and existing geological maps, our dataset
allowed the construction of three orogen-perpendicular or orogen-
parallel regional cross-sections by projecting the surface kinematics at
depth. This approach quantied the kinematics of major map-scale
structures in the Dinarides-Hellenides transition zone.
4. Kinematic observations in the Dinarides in the vicinity of the
SPF
4.1. Northern Montenegro Fault (NMF)
The largest amount of deformation is observed in the study area
along a WNW-ESE oriented map-scale structure previously not dened
and herewith dened as the Northern Montenegro Fault zone (NMF,
Fig. 2). Along this structure, a 500 m wide shear zone consisting of a
high-strained core and a damage zone is observed between overlying
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
6
Fig. 3. Lower hemisphere stereoplots of the observed structures with their location in the geological map of the studied area. Numbers in white circles represent the
studied points on the map. Red arrows on the map are kinematic senses of ductile shear. Observed outcrop-scale structures were grouped into four critical areas. a –
Northern Montenegro Fault, b – Margin of Berane Basin, c – Roˇ
zaje fault, d – Bjelasica Fault. Green rectangles contain stereoplots with older Variscan structures. Grey
rectangles represent contractional structures formed during Cretaceous-Paleocene thrusting. White elds show the youngest post-Eocene extensional structures.
Foliation planes are shown as projections of foliation poles. Each stereonet is marked with a structure type in the upper left corner (black colour), and the number of
the observation point on the map (light blue colour). Stereonet legend: f1 – isoclinal fold, S1 – metamorphic foliation, S2 – crenulation, f2 – asymmetric SSW- to SW-
vergent fold with NNW-SSE to NW-SE oriented hinges, Fr1 – NW-SE and WNW-ESE oriented low-angle thrust indicating NE-SW to NNE-SSW direction of shortening,
f3 – recumbent collapse folds with (sub)horizontal axial planes, S3 – shear planes accompanied by L1 stretching lineation or sigmoidal layers, L1 – stretching
lineation, Fn2 – normal faults accommodating orogen-perpendicular extension, Ft1 – strike-slip and oblique-slip faults accompanying Fn2 normal faults, Fn3 –
normal faults that accommodated orogen-parallel extension, Ft2 – strike-slip and oblique-slip faults associated with Fn3 normal faults. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
7
Fig. 4. Interpreted eld photos of structures associated with the Northern Montenegro Fault shear zone and Roˇ
zaje fault in both metamorphosed Silurian-
Carboniferous sediments metamorphosed under greenschist facies conditions in the footwall and hanging-wall carbonates of Middle Triassic age. Structures are
plotted on the stereoplots of each photo in the lower right corner. The locations of photos are displayed in the lower left corner of each photo. Green lines
demonstrate S1 foliation planes, and dotted green lines illustrate axial planes of f1 isoclinal folds, while the red lines and arrows represent kinematics of subsequent
extensional structures such as f3 collapse folds, S3 foliation, or Fn2 and Fn3 brittle normal faults. a) Isoclinal metre-scale f1 fold with W-vergence and N-dipping
hinge, refolded by the younger f3 collapse folds with NNE-SSW oriented fold axis in Silurian-Carboniferous rocks metamorphosed in a greenschist facies (point 1,
Fig. 3 map); b) Northern Montenegro Fault shear zone characterised by well-developed low-angle S3 foliation in greenschist facies metamorphics with a stretching
lineation with NNE sense of shear (red arrows) formed generally by chlorite and mica (point 1, Fig. 3); c) Cm- to dm-scale brittle shear bands in greenschist facies
rocks of Northern Montenegro Fault shear zone indicating top-NNE sense of shearing (point 1, Fig. 3). On stereonets, S3 planes are marked as red lines, sense of
shearing with red arrows, and S1 planes as green lines; d) Fault-propagation fold with WNW-ESE oriented fold axis and SSW-vergence in the hanging-wall of the
Roˇ
zaje fault (point 8, Fig. 3); e) Large-scale f3 collapse folds with ESE-dipping hinges and subhorizontal axial planes in slightly metamorphosed sediments of Silurian
- Carboniferous age (point 7, Fig. 3). Note the insert showing small-scale f2 folds refolded by f3 structures; f) Metre-scale recumbent f3 collapse folds cross-cut by
subsequent NE-dipping listric normal fault accommodating orogen-perpendicular extension. Structures are observed in non-metamorphosed Permian clastics located
in the footwall of the Roˇ
zaje fault (point 6, Fig. 3); g) SW-dipping brittle normal faults (Fn2) in Middle Triassic limestones located in the immediate vicinity of the
Roˇ
zaje fault, illustrating deformation associated with orogen-perpendicular extension. Inset shows well-developed slickensides indicating top-SW movements (point
10, Fig. 3); h) Metre-scale SE-dipping Fn3 normal faults exposed in middle Triassic limestones near the contact zone with underlying Silurian - Carboniferous
greenschist facies rocks. These structures are associated with metre-scale drag folds and f3 collapse folds that indicate orogen-parallel extension (point 9, Fig. 3). (For
interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
8
Triassic shallow-water limestones and rifting-related magmatics and
Upper Triassic-Middle Jurassic shallow to deep-water carbonates to
radiolarites in the hanging-wall and a Silurian – Permian lower
greenschist facies succession in the footwall (Fig. 2). The core of the
shear zone is made up of lower greenschist facies mylonites derived
dominantly from clastic sediments that are affected by numerous brittle
faults in the core and in the wider damage zone. The Paleozoic meta-
morphosed footwall was affected by multiple generations of folding.
Isoclinal folds with roughly N-S trending fold axes are dominant (f1 in
point 1, Fig. 3a). These folds transpose the original bedding into a pri-
mary S1 metamorphic foliation overprinted locally by a foliation asso-
ciated with crenulation cleavage (S2 in point 1, Fig. 3a). In the proximity
of the Northern Montenegro Fault, a number of isoclinal folds also have
asymmetric geometry, but the shearing associated with co-axial at-
tening prevented an accurate identication of f2 asymmetric folds
observed elsewhere. The f1 isoclinal folds and S2 crenulations are
pervasive within the entire sequence of greenschist facies rocks,
regardless of proximity to the Northern Montenegro Fault structure, but
they are not observed in the Northern Montenegro Fault hanging-wall.
This hanging-wall exposes the subsequent generation of asymmetric
folds that are NW-SE oriented and have a SSW-ward vergence (f2 in
point 3, Fig. 3a). In or near the Northern Montenegro Fault, the next
generation of folds observed in Paleozoic greenschist facies rocks of the
footwall are dm- to m-scale open folds with (sub)horizontal axial planes
and N-S to NNE-SSW oriented axes (f3 in point 1, Fig. 3a) that refold
inherited sub-vertical S1 foliations, including previous f1 isoclinal folds
(Fig. 4a) and S2 crenulations. They have a striking resemblance and are
herewith interpreted as f3 collapse folds (sensu Froitzheim, 1992;
Froitzheim et al., 1997). The dominant feature that we observed in the
metamorphic Paleozoic is large-scale shearing that takes place along N-
to NNE-dipping S3 foliations (S3 in point 1, Fig. 3a). In outcrops, low
metamorphic grade carbonate schists and meta-sandstones show clear
stretching lineations well visible by chlorite and sericite minerals
(Fig. 4b) with associated kinematic indicators such as mm- to dm-scale
C-type shear bands (Fig. 4c) indicating top-N to NNE sense of shearing
(L1 in point 1, Fig. 3a). The gently N- to NNE-dipping S3 shear planes are
parallel with the axial planes of collapse folds. Two systems of normal
faults with small offsets and clear kinematic indicators (e.g., slicken-
sides) were observed, NW-SE to E-W oriented Fn2 normal faults (Fn2 in
point 1, Fig. 3a) and roughly N-S oriented Fn3 normal faults (Fn3 in
Fig. 5. Oriented thin-sections taken in the immediate vicinity of the Northern Montenegro Fault shear zone made up of East Bosnian-Durmitor Paleozoic rocks
metamorphosed in a greenschist facies. The thin-sections are made parallel to the stretching lineation, perpendicular to the foliation. Green lines illustrate preserved
S1 foliation and S2 crenulation. Red arrows indicate extensional structures, while black arrows indicate rarely preserved sense of top-SW shearing. The locations of
photos are displayed in the lower left corner of each photo. a) S1 foliation folded and truncated by S2 crenulations (point 1, Fig. 3). Image in transmitted light. b and
c) Shear bands indicating a top-NNE sense of shearing (point 1, Fig. 3). Image in transmitted light. S3 planes are marked as red lines and S1 planes as green lines. d)
Quarter folds indicating top-NNE shearing (point 1, Fig. 3). Image in polarised light. e) δ-type clast with preserved top-SSW sense of shearing (point 1, Fig. 3). Image
in polarised light. f) Mica sh with a top-SSW sense of shearing (point 1, Fig. 3). Image in polarised light. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
9
Fig. 6. Interpreted eld photos of structures located in the vicinity of the Bjelasica Fault. Structures are plotted on stereoplots in each photo in the lower right corner.
The locations of photos are displayed in the lower left corner of each photo. Yellow lines represent original sedimentary layers in Triassic sediments (S
0
). Black lines
illustrate open to isoclinal f2 folds well exposed in Triassic carbonates of the Bjelasica sub-unit. Red arrows and lines demonstrate subsequent extensional structures
and their kinematics, such as S3 foliation or normal faults. On stereonets, shear planes are marked as red lines, sense of shearing as red arrows, and preserved bedding
planes as yellow lines. a) Metre-scale f2 overturned asymmetric SSW-vergent folds in Middle Triassic limestones near the contact zone with Permian clastics. The
inset illustrates tight asymmetric f2 fold with the same orientation of fold axis and associated calcite veins (point 12, Fig. 3); b) Asymmetric SSW-vergent f2 folds
accompanied by dm- to m-scale hinge collapse structures in less competent layers of Middle Triassic limestones near the main Bjelasica Fault (BF) contact with
Permian sediments. Note that f2 folds are overprinted by subsequent top-NNE shearing as observed by sigmoidal shear layers (point 12, Fig. 3); c and d) Sigmoidal
shears with a top-NNE normal sense of shearing in Middle Triassic limestones (point 12, Fig. 3); e) Recumbent f3 collapse folds in Permian sediments located in the
immediate vicinity of Bjelasica Fault (BF), characterised by sub-horizontal axial planes and NW-SE trending hinges (point 11, Fig. 3 map). f) Fn2 normal faults in
Middle Triassic limestones accompanied with drag folds that cross-cut asymmetric overturned f2 folds (point 12, Fig. 3); g) Conjugate set of NW-SE oriented normal
faults in Middle Triassic limestones with large fault planes and well-developed slickenlines indicating orogen-perpendicular extension (point 12, Fig. 3); h) NE-SW
oriented normal faults in Middle Triassic carbonates with large fault surfaces and striations accommodating orogen-parallel extension and truncated asymmetric f2
folds (point 13, Fig. 3). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
10
point 1, Fig. 3a). These normal faults cross-cut all other structures
observed. Westwards, the ductile shearing along the Northern
Montenegro Fault changes slightly to top-NE, for instance, visible in the
main shear zone in the Permian limestones with rare conglomerate
layers and overlying Triassic SSE of Berane (S3 and L1 in point 3,
Fig. 3a). While the footwall shows normal faults with dominant Fn2 top-
S to top-SSW and Fn3 top-ESE kinematic sense of shear and often listric
geometry, the hanging-wall shows more distributed top-NE and top-SW
senses of shear along the Fn2 NW-SE oriented normal faults (Fn2 in point
3, Fig. 3a) and top-NW and top-SE along the Fn3 NE-SW oriented normal
faults (Fn3 in point 3, Fig. 3a). No clear superposition of deformation
between these two sets of normal faults could have been derived in the
vicinity of the Northern Montenegro Fault. The normal faults are often
truncated or change along their strike into highly oblique normal faults
that develop as a conjugate Ft1 system of NNW-SSE oriented oblique-
sinistral and NE-SW oriented oblique-dextral faults (Ft1 in point 3,
Fig. 3a). We specically note that in outcrops, ductile structures are
always truncated by brittle normal faults, often with the same direction
of shearing, which infers structurally controlled exhumation during
cooling.
Outcrop observations were complemented by microstructural ob-
servations in the Northern Montenegro Fault footwall (Fig. 5). The
mineralogical association of the Silurian-Carboniferous metamorphosed
clastics is generally made up of quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, mica,
sericite, and chlorite, with zircon grains as accessory minerals (see also
Table 1 in the Supplementary Material), which was affected by lower
greenschist facies conditions with a dynamic recrystallization observed
in quartz grains with undulose extinction, subgrain formation, bulging
recrystallisation, and local sub-grain rotation. Often, the primary S1
foliation associated with isoclinal folds is affected by a secondary S2
crenulation (Fig. 5a). Interesting are kinematic features associated with
shearing in meta-clastics, although not extensively developed due to the
low degree of metamorphism. A clear top-NNE shearing is demonstrated
by often C-type shear bands and locally observed stretching lineations
(Figs. 5b and c) in quartz-mica layering where shearing develops along a
chlorite-sericite-quartz S3 foliation and by asymmetric folds associated
with shear planes (Fig. 5d) (quarter folds, sensu Passchier and Trouw,
2005). This shearing is associated with grain-size reduction in quartz
and micas. Just a couple of observed shearing microstructures appear to
be associated with prograde mineral growth with a top-SW shearing
direction, such as one delta-clast (Fig. 5e) or one mica-sh (Fig. 5f).
However, their low number and quality prevent the denition of a clear
event of dynamic recrystallization in prograde metamorphic growth
conditions.
4.2. The area surrounding the late Oligocene – Late Miocene Berane basin
The Berane Basin is poorly exposed in terms of deformation struc-
ture, and the ones visible are compatible with what is observed along the
margins. The basin margins, made up of the Triassic-Jurassic sequence
and overlying ophiolitic m´
elange, display numerous brittle deformation
features, especially along its western and southeastern anks (Fig. 3b).
The Mesozoic sequence does not display the oldest f1 isoclinal folds and
S2 crenulations found elsewhere in the Paleozoic sequences, while f2
asymmetric folds are rare but still show a NW-SE orientation (f2 in point
4, Fig. 3b). The NW margin of the basin shows numerous normal faults in
Triassic shallow-water carbonates, both Fn2 NNW-SSE and Fn3 NE-SW
striking (point 3 in Fig. 3 map and 3b). Mainly SW-dipping Fn2 normal
faults accommodating NE-SW oriented (orogen-perpendicular) exten-
sion (Fn2 in point 4, Fig. 3b) are often truncated or change their
orientation along strike to NW-SE oriented sinistral Ft1 strike-slip faults
(Ft1 in point 4, Fig. 3b). The Fn3 normal faults accommodating NW-SE
oriented (orogen-parallel) extension by the formation of NE-SW trend-
ing structures (Fn3 in point 4, Fig. 3b) are often truncated by or con-
nected to a set of Ft2 conjugate strike-slip faults, NNW-SSE trending
dextral and NE-SW oriented sinistral faults (Ft2 in point 4, Fig. 3b). A
similar pattern of normal and highly oblique faulting is observed along
the SE margin of the Berane Basin, although less faults with more var-
iable and oblique orientations were observed in the eld (Ft1 and Fn3 in
point 5, Fig. 3b). Both cross-cutting relationships were observed in the
eld, Ft1 cross-cutting Fn3 and Fn3 cross-cutting Ft1, in agreement with
the bi-directional character of extension inferred by previous studies
(van Unen et al., 2019b; Porkol´
ab et al., 2019).
4.3. Roˇ
zaje Fault (RF)
A signicant amount of deformation features was measured along
the NW-SE oriented Roˇ
zaje fault (RF in Fig. 3), which separates two
zones in our interpretation (Figs. 2 and 3 map). In the SE, the fault
truncates the often large, up to 30 km in map length, blocks of middle
Triassic carbonates associated with rifting magmatites and more deep-
water or pelagic Upper Triassic-Jurassic sequences with patches of
ophiolitic m´
elange and ophiolites. These Triassic sediments and mag-
matics, together with patches of ophiolites and m´
elange, are part of the
“olistoplaka” of Dimitrijevi´
c (1997). We reinterpreted this sequence as a
part of the structurally upper Drina-Ivanjica composite unit thrust over
the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit in Early Cretaceous times. To the NW,
the same fault truncates the ophiolitic m´
elange and overlying ophiolites
of the structurally lower carbonates of the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit.
The footwall displays mostly lower greenschist facies Silurian-Permian
clastics and carbonates of East Bosnian-Durmitor unit, but small
patches of Triassic carbonates were also observed.
Similar to the footwall of the Northern Montenegro Fault, Paleozoic
greenschist facies rocks in the footwall of the Roˇ
zaje Fault show cm- to
m-scale f1 NNE-SSW oriented isoclinal folds with slightly NNE-plunging
hinges (f1 in point 7, Fig. 3c). These folds are absent in the hanging-wall
Mesozoic sediments. In both the footwall and the hanging-wall of the
Roˇ
zaje Fault, WNW-ESE oriented m-scale f2 asymmetric folds with both
SSW- and less observed NNE-vergence (f2 in points 7 and 8, Fig. 3c).
These folds are associated with low-angle Fr1 NW-SE oriented thrusts
with SW-ward transport and less frequent backthrusts with NE-ward
transport, indicating NE-SW shortening direction (Fr1 in point 8,
Fig. 3c). The association is rather clear in outcrops, for instance, by the
formation of fold-propagation fold geometries (Fig. 4d). In the Roˇ
zaje
Table 1
Sampling and mineralogy information about the thin-sections.
Sample Point Latitude Longitude Foliation dip
direction-dip
Stretching
lineation
trend/plunge
Mineral assemblage Metamorphic
conditions
Deformation event
NR14–1 1 42◦41
′
15.35”N 19◦57
′
36.55
″
E 328/10◦034/22◦muscovite, sericite,
quartz, chlorite
greenschist facies Younger - top-NNE sense of tectonic
transport. Older? - top- SSW tectonic
transport
NR15–1 1 42◦41
′
15.07”N 19◦57
′
37.42
″
E 334/5◦020/12◦quartz, plagioclase,
muscovite, chlorite, K-
feldspars
greenschist facies Younger - top NNE-sense of tectonic
transport.
Older? - top-SSW tectonic transport
NR16–1 1 42◦40
′
32.27”N 19◦58
′
40.61
″
E N/A N/A chlorite, quartz,
sericite
greenschist facies Variscan deformation
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
11
Fault footwall, f2 folds are subsequently refolded by f3 open NW-SE
oriented collapse folds with sub-horizontal axial planes (f3 in point 7,
Figs. 3c, 4e). This re-folding involves cm- to large-scale f3 folds refolding
the anks of metre-scale asymmetric f2 folds (Fig. 4e). f2 and f3 folds are
observed only in the immediate vicinity of the Roˇ
zaje Fault. The contact
zone between low-grade Paleozoic rocks and overlying Triassic car-
bonates in the hanging-wall crops out near Roˇ
zaje, where intense ductile
deformation in the footwall can be observed (location 10 on Fig. 3 map).
A well-developed S3 foliation (S3 in point 10, Fig. 3c) contains NE-SW
trending stretching lineation (L1 in point 10, Fig. 3c), where the top-
NE sense of shear is documented by kinematic indicators, such as C-
type shear bands. The shear structures are overprinted by normal faults
that accommodate NE-SW oriented (orogen-perpendicular) extension
with a top-NE sense of shear (Fn2 in point 6, Fig. 3c), which also cut
across m-scale f3 recumbent collapse folds with sub-horizontal axial
planes in the footwall of the Roˇ
zaje Fault (Fig. 4f). In the immediate
hanging-wall of the Roˇ
zaje Fault, asymmetric f2 folds and Fr1 thrusts are
also cross-cut by a large number of brittle normal faults that can be
grouped in the same type of normal fault sets. The rst group of Fn2
structures accommodated orogen-perpendicular extension observed in
Triassic limestones that generally follow the strike of the Roˇ
zaje Fault
(Fn2, Fig. 3c). In SE parts of the Roˇ
zaje Fault, Fn2 normal faults are
generally SW-dipping (Fn2 in point 10, Fig. 3c). They have NNW-SSE
orientations with well-developed large-scale striations and quartz ag-
gregates indicating top-SW direction of tectonic transport (Fig. 4g). NW-
wards along the Roˇ
zaje Fault, Fn2 faults are more E-W oriented with
oblique slip normal faulting that exhibit the same top-SW sense of
movement (Fn2 in points 8 and 9, Fig. 3c). The second set of NE-SW
oriented Fn3 normal faults (Fn3 in points 8 and 9 on Fig. 3c) with an
orientation accommodating the orogen parallel extension is observed in
the same Triassic limestones, mostly SE-dipping, and are often associ-
ated with m-scale drag folds (Fig. 4h). In general, Fn2 and Fn3 normal
faults truncate each other, inferring a bi-directional character of the
extension.
4.4. Bjelasica Fault (BF)
In the western part of the studied area, the contact zone between the
Paleozoic (Silurian-Carboniferous metamorphics and Permian meta-
sediments) and Triassic continental to shallow water clastics and car-
bonates intruded locally by Middle Triassic rifting-related magmatic
rocks (the Bjelasica sub-unit of Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997, Fig. 2) is a shear zone
that shows multiple phases of ductile and brittle deformation (between
points 2, 11, 12, and 13 in Fig. 3 map). At farther distances from the
shear zone, the Paleozoic sub- to lower greenschist facies metamorphics
display the same type of f1 isoclinal folds and associated transposed S1
primary foliation as in other areas (f1 in point 2, Fig. 3d). In the shear
zone, Triassic carbonates near the contact with the Permian clastic se-
quences show m-scale WNW-ESE oriented and SSW-vergent f2 asym-
metric folds attened to almost isoclinal (f2 in point 12, Fig. 3d and
Fig. 6a) that are displaced and truncated by faults with 2-5 m thick
reverse-sense shear zones with sigmoidal layers that indicate a top-SSW
direction of Fr1 thrusting (Fr1 in point 12, Fig. 3d). The attening often
created cm- to m-scale hinge collapse structures between more compe-
tent carbonate layers (Fig. 6b). In the shear zone, f2 folds are associated
locally with well-developed veins perpendicular to the bedding planes
and lled with calcite (Fig. 6a).
These metre-scale thrusts and folds were subsequently reactivated or
overprinted by the formation of ductile and brittle top-NE to NNE
shearing structures. This shearing is particularly well visible in the
Triassic sequence located near the main Bjelasica Fault tectonic contact.
The shear sense is documented by stretching lineations and numerous
kinematic indicators in the form of C-type shear bands, which are
developed within thinly bedded sequences in Triassic limestones (Fig. 6c
and d) and Middle Triassic magmatic rocks, and indicate a top-NNE
sense of shearing. Due to the very low-grade of metamorphism,
stretching lineations were not always visible in outcrop observations,
particularly in meta-pelites or meta‑carbonates, but shearing is
conrmed in thin-sections. Therefore, we calculated the shearing di-
rection and sense of shear from S
–
C planes intersections (e.g., S3 in
point 12, Fig. 3d). The ductile shearing overprints the previously formed
f2 asymmetric folds (Fig. 6b), while being truncated by subsequent
brittle structures, i.e., normal faults. On the eastern ank of the Bjelasica
sub-unit, Permian sediments expose metre-scale f3 open collapse folds
with NW-SE oriented hinges (Fig. 6e) near the contact with Triassic
carbonates (f3 in point 11, Fig. 3d). The shear zones are truncated in
outcrops by normal faults that are also observed in all stratigraphic units
at farther distances from the main tectonic contacts (Fig. 3 map). In
outcrops, they are mostly visible in Triassic limestones on the western
and southwestern anks of the Bjelasica sub-unit. In general, normal
faults can be grouped in the same two sub-sets that are observed else-
where. The most frequent structures are NW-SE oriented NE-dipping
normal faults (Fn2 in points 12 and 13, Fig. 3d) that are locally associ-
ated with decimetre-scale drag folds that truncate earlier f2 asymmetric
folds (Fig. 6f). Conjugate NW-SE oriented SW-dipping normal fault
planes with well-developed slickensides can also be locally observed
(Fig. 6g). The Fn2 normal faults indicate orogen-perpendicular exten-
sion. These normal faults often change along their strike or are truncated
by normal faults with a similar top-NE sense of shear, but the slip is more
obliquely oriented along sub-vertical NNE-SSW oriented planes. We kept
such faults in the same kinematic set (Fn2 in point 13, Fig. 3d), although
they can also be interpreted as oblique-slip faults. N-S to NNE-SSW
oriented normal faults accommodating orogen-parallel extension have
often very large, up to few tens of metres fault surfaces, with clear
striations (Fn3 in point 13, Fig. 3d). These normal faults also cross-cut
older f2 asymmetric folds (Fig. 6h). All observed normal faults accom-
modating both orogen-perpendicular and orogen-parallel show mutual
cross-cutting relationships, inferring a bi-directional character of the
extensional episode.
4.5. Integration of kinematic data
The overall deformation observed in the study area of northern
Montenegro shows a complex poly-phase tectonic evolution that can be
grouped into two contractional and one extensional deformation phase.
4.5.1. Contractional kinematics (D1, D2)
The oldest structures, interpreted as a rst D1 deformation phase, are
observed only in the lower greenschist facies metamorphic rocks
affecting Silurian-Carboniferous strata, particularly well expressed in
the footwall of major map-scale structures. This phase created the
widespread NNE-SSW to N-S oriented f1 burial folds and associated S1
primary metamorphic foliation affected by the S2 crenulation folding
(Fig. 7a), as observed in outcrops and microstructures. The absence of
these structures in Triassic and younger units suggests that this defor-
mation phase is an effect of a pre-Triassic deformation, widely observed
elsewhere in the internal units of the Dinarides (Trivi´
c et al., 2010,
among others).
The overprinting D2 deformation phase is a NE-SW to NNE-SSW
oriented contraction that affected the entire studied area, but particu-
larly larger effects are observed near the main tectonic contacts of the
frontal East Bosnian-Durmitor thrusting, Bjelasica Fault, Northern
Montenegro Fault, and Roˇ
zaje Fault in places where this latter structure
is in proximity or coincides with the frontal Drina-Ivanjica thrusting
(Fig. 3 map). This phase affected all stratigraphic units in the study area,
except the Miocene in the Berane Basin. In other words, the contraction
affected both the hanging-wall and footwall of all major map-scale
tectonic contacts. Deformation is particularly intense in the more
densely stratied parts of the overlying Triassic and Jurassic sequences
(e.g., Fig. 6). Outside the main tectonic contacts, asymmetric f2 folds are
more open, while in the main shear zones they are often tight to almost
isoclinal (Fig. 7a). The top-SW to SSW thrusting along the main tectonic
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
12
contacts is associated with the same dominant vergence of asymmetric
folds. Rarely observed kinematic indicators in the footwall of the
Northern Montenegro Fault suggest that deformation was associated
with dynamic metamorphism (Fig. 5e and f), although their geometry
has been almost completely obliterated by the subsequent extensional
reactivation. They seem to indicate locally the same top-SW sense of
shear, although we prefer avoiding deriving regional ductile senses of
shear from the few observations available. This contractional phase is
associated with thrusting along the main tectonic contacts, creating the
Drina-Ivanjica and East Bosnian-Durmitor composite units, including
the Bjelasica sub-unit. By correlation with previous studies (e.g., Ili´
c and
Neubauer, 2005; Ili´
c et al., 2005; Porkol´
ab et al., 2019; Schmid et al.,
2008; Schmid et al., 2020; van Unen et al., 2019a, 2019b among others),
we interpret this deformation to be Cretaceous-Paleocene in age,
migrating in time from Early Cretaceous at the frontal Drina-Ivanjica
thrusting to Late Cretaceous-Paleocene at the frontal East Bosnian-
Durmitor contact.
4.5.2. Extensional kinematics (D3)
The extensional D3 deformation phase observed in our dataset doc-
uments a combination of multiple types of effects in our studied area
formed in ductile and brittle conditions (Fig. 3). The ductile deformation
(S3 foliation and L1 stretching lineation) is documented in the shear
zone or the Paleozoic footwall of the Northern Montenegro Fault with
top-NNE and Roˇ
zaje Fault with top-NE senses of shear (Figs. 3 and 7b).
These ductile shears are truncated or overprinted by Fn2 NE-SW to
WNW-ESE oriented normal faults with dominant top-NE to NNE senses
of shear (Fig. 7b). Our observations demonstrate that these types of
outcrop-scale structures have to be grouped in the same deformation
phase by interpreting a gradual transition from ductile to brittle defor-
mation during extension-driven exhumation. Given the available over-
printing criteria, the f3 collapse folds (Fig. 7b) must have developed by
vertical attening of an inherited steeply dipping and foliated sequence
during the horizontal elongation associated with extension (e.g.,
Froitzheim, 1992). In areas with a large amount of shearing, such as the
Northern Montenegro Fault footwall, the axes of these folds are parallel
with the top-NE to NNE shearing direction. While the footwall of these
structures recorded the entire ductile to brittle transition, their hanging-
wall recorded only a brittle deformation that is more intense in close
proximity of tectonic contacts. Because deformation is mainly focussed
on the same major contacts, all arguments point to a clear interpretation
that extension was controlled by the formation of a major detachment
with top-NE to NNE kinematics reactivating the inherited Cretaceous
contact of the Drina-Ivanjica and East Bosnian-Durmitor units. This
observation is clearly valid for the Northern Montenegro Fault and the
Bjelasica Fault that are obviously connected by the same detachment
structure reactivating a thrusting contact at its base (Figs. 2 and 3 map).
Our data demonstrate that the Bjelasica sub-unit is always in a high
structural position, thrust over the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit, which is
different from the previous lowermost inferred position inside the stack
of East Bosnian-Durmitor sub-units (Dimitrijevi´
c, 1997; ˇ
Zivaljevi´
c et al.,
1982). In fact, the Bjelasica sub-unit and the hanging-wall of the
Northern Montenegro Fault were connected in a large tectonic klippe,
affected initially by thrusting and whose klippen geometry in map view
was established by the subsequent detachment and brittle normal
faulting followed by erosion (Fig. 7c). The Roˇ
zaje Fault is also a major
detachment, well documented by the same observations as the Northern
Montenegro Fault and Bjelasica Fault.
The NNE-SSW to NE-SW oriented Fn3 normal faults documenting the
orogen-parallel direction of extension cannot be directly related to
regional tectonic structures in the observed Montenegro Dinarides area.
However, they are compatible with the kinematics previously dened
for the various SPF segments (Fig. 2), inferred to be the main structure
accommodating the orogen-parallel extension with a scissor-type me-
chanics (Handy et al., 2019). Our eld kinematic observations indicate a
mutual cross-cutting relationship of the brittle structures associated with
extension that truncate in all situations both our observed top-NE to
NNE and the top-SE to ESE SPF ductile shearing (see also Grund et al.,
2023). These observations imply that our newly dened major exten-
sional structures and SPF formed during the same D3 extensional phase
with a bi-directional character of extension (Fig. 7c). The age of the
extensional deposition in the Berane Basin, combined with ages of
deformation dened by previous studies (e.g., Grund et al., 2023; van
Unen et al., 2019a, 2019b), suggests that this extensional phase took
place during Miocene times. However, an earlier onset during Paleogene
cannot be excluded. The bi-directional character of the extension is also
Fig. 7. Idealised NNE-SSW oriented block-diagram showing the interpreted
superposition of deformation at the Drina-Ivanjica – East Bosnian-Durmitor
nappe contact. The black arrow in the right corner indicates the orientation
of the block-diagram. Light brown blocks represent the Drina-Ivanjica unit,
while darker brown blocks show the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit. a) Simplied
model of pre-extensional deformation associated with Paleozoic deformation
(green colour) and Cretaceous – Paleogene thrusting of Drina-Ivanjica over East
Bosnian-Durmitor unit (black colour). Note that Variscan deformation is pre-
sent only in Silurian – Carboniferous of the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit; b)
Onset of the post-Eocene extension associated with the exhumation of previ-
ously buried Paleozoic sequences. An initial stage of deformation was accom-
modated by orogen-perpendicular and orogen-parallel extension that
reactivated the frontal parts of the Drina-Ivanjica – East Bosnian-Durmitor
nappe as an extensional detachment. During the earlier stages of extension,
most of the deformation was localised in the footwall of the detachment. Note
that the detachment reactivates the former thrust only in its frontal part; c)
Late-stage extension characterised by continued exhumation and frequent
normal faulting with associated strike-slip and tear faults that accommodated
the bi-directional extension. The main extensional detachment is overprinted
and segmented by late-stage faults, causing the formation of extensional klip-
pen in its hanging-wall and a further exhumation of Paleozoic units in its
footwall. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
13
in agreement with what has been observed elsewhere in the Dinarides
(Andri´
c et al., 2017; Porkol´
ab et al., 2019).
5. Discussion
5.1. Connecting the regional major tectonic contacts
The kinematic analysis and regional cross-sections (Figs. 8a and b)
show that the Northern Montenegro Fault and Bjelasica Fault were
primarily formed as a continuous thrust. Due to the higher structural
position and deeper-water Late Triassic-Jurassic character of the
hanging-wall units in comparison with other sediments from the East
Bosnian-Durmitor unit, we consider the Bjelasica sub-unit (Fig. 8a) and
the Northern Montenegro Fault hanging-wall (Fig. 8b) as parts of the
same Drina-Ivanjica composite unit that were, together with olistoplaka
blocks of Dimitrijevi´
c (1997), emplaced over the East Bosnian-Durmitor
unit. In other words, we interpret this contact as the frontal-most part of
the Early Cretaceous Drina-Ivanjica thrust subsequently reactivated as
an extensional detachment (Figs. 8a and b).
Due to the similar kinematics when compared with the extensional
detachment, we also consider the Roˇ
zaje Fault to be the northern pro-
longation of the same detachment (Figs. 8a and b). Although these two
segments share the same pattern of deformation, the main difference
between them is that the Northern Montenegro Fault – Bjelasica Fault
structures reactivate the Drina-Ivanjica – East Bosnian-Durmitor nappe
contact, while the Roˇ
zaje Fault truncates it. The apparent coincidence
between the Early Cretaceous thrust and the Roˇ
zaje Fault in the present-
day geometry (Fig. 8b) is just an effect of the subsequent extension that
exhumes Paleozoic sequences of East Bosnian-Durmitor in the footwall
of the Roˇ
zaje Fault and juxtaposes them with Triassic and younger
hanging-wall sediments. Moreover, the formation of the extensional
detachment was associated with the formation of extensional klippen (e.
g., BF in Fig. 8a) and intense normal faulting. The cross-sections (Fig. 8a
and b) show that the main detachment is cross-cut by larger offset
synthetic and antithetic normal faults, which created a differential
exhumation pattern resulting in the formation of klippen geometries
(Fig. 7c and Fig. 8b). In other words, although the detachment itself is
segmented in several structures in the present-day geometry, it initially
formed as one structure, cross-cut and separated in later stages by
normal faults and subsequent erosion.
Our data generally demonstrates that the post-Eocene extension is, in
the studied area, mostly localised along the newly discovered NE- to
NNE-dipping detachment, exhuming in its footwall the previously
buried greenschist facies rocks of the East Bosnian-Durmitor unit. A
correlation with previous studies from neighbouring area in the North-
ern Montenegro Fault vicinity (Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al., 2019;
Schmid et al., 2008; Schmid et al., 2020) implies a similar character of
deformation along the SE-dipping SPF with increasing vertical offsets
Fig. 8. Geological cross-sections over the studied area, twice vertically exaggerated. The locations of cross-sections are shown in Fig. 2. The depth prolongation
reects kinematic mechanisms projections of structures observed in outcrops. The colours for structures and geological/tectonic units are the same as in Figs. 2 and 3.
EBD – East Bosnian-Durmitor unit, DI – Drina-Ivanjica unit, DF & PK – Durmitor ysch and Pre-Karst, UP – Upper Pelagonian unit.
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
14
towards NE (Fig. 8c). Although this fault accommodates exhumation of
several domes, such as the Cukali window (Fig. 8c), the highest amount
of up to 7 km vertical offsets are observed in the Deˇ
cani Dome of Grund
et al. (2023), where SPF exhumes the same greenschist facies rocks that
we observed. According to their interpretation, SPF here changes its
strike from NE-SW to WNW-ESE at the ESE margin of our studied area
and abruptly roots in contact between Paleozoic meta-sediments and
overlying Triassic carbonates that we observed as the Northern
Montenegro Fault.
Such observations suggest that the SPF fault system could have
experienced partitioning of deformation from a generally SE-dipping
structure that accommodates orogen-parallel extension to the NE- to
NNE-dipping Northern Montenegro Fault that accommodated orogen-
perpendicular extension. Therefore, we interpret the Northern
Montenegro Fault and SPF kinematics as the result of the same defor-
mation phase, although they could be either coeval or formed in suc-
cession during the post-Eocene extension.
5.2. Mechanism of deformation transfer
Following the previous kinematic and paleomagnetic studies (Kissel
et al., 1995; Speranza et al., 1995) and the present-day position of slabs
(Bennett et al., 2008; Piromallo and Morelli, 2003; Wortel and Spakman,
2000; Zhang et al., 2022), our study conrms that the clockwise rotation
of the Hellenides with respect to the Dinarides orogen was triggered by a
segmentation and differential evolution of the subducted slab. This
segmentation included the Oligocene – early Miocene slab detachment
restricted to its Dinarides segment (Andri´
c et al., 2018) and at least
partly coeval slab tearing accommodated along the pre-existing weak-
ness zone at the Dinarides-Hellenides junction (Handy et al., 2019). To
the SE, subduction below the Hellenides remained active with the
accelerated pulling of the retreating Aegean slab (Fig. 9).
The kinematics demonstrates that the main mechanism transferring
deformation from segmented slabs to the crust was a clockwise rotation
of Hellenides with respect to Dinarides associated with up to several
kilometres of exhumation of Dinarides mid-crustal levels at the transi-
tion between the two orogenic segments. Such dynamics was followed
by the formation of a complex crustal transfer zone associated with
signicant strain partitioning. The main deformation was distributed
along the large-offset SPF and Northern Montenegro Fault structures,
accommodating extensional exhumation, which was gradually accom-
modated towards the external Hellenides by uninterrupted top-W
thrusting (Handy et al., 2019). This means that the previously dened
scissor-like extension observed along SPF was gradually partitioned
along the Northern Montenegro Fault, which exhumed East Bosnian-
Durmitor greenschist facies rocks coevally from the footwall of both
structures. In other words, the further continuation of SPF was trans-
ferred from a NE-SW oriented structure into the WNW-ESE oriented
Fig. 9. a) 3D sketch of the Dinarides-Hellenides junction showing the lateral transition between the already detached Adriatic slab and still retreating Aegean slab
segment. The sketch displays a complex SPF – Northern Montenegro Fault – Bjelasica Fault – Roˇ
zaje Fault detachment that accommodated the orogen-parallel and
orogen-perpendicular extension. The directions of extension are displayed by red arrows. Metohija and Berane basins are indicated by yellow polygons; b) Map-view
of the main fault structures and associated domes and basins. Note that exhumed content of the domes is marked with a darker grey colour. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
15
Dinarides nappes, while reactivating and truncating the frontalmost
parts of the Drina-Ivanjica thrust sheet and creating the extensional
klippens observed in the present-day geometry. Such kinematics was
presumably coeval with the reactivation of the East Bosnian-Durmitor
thrust over the Bosnian ysch as a NE-dipping low-angle system of
normal faults (van Unen et al., 2019b). Furthermore, we note that the
normal faulting that accommodated the bi-directional extension and the
formation of a relatively small Berane Basin are likely coeval with the
opening of a much larger Middle Miocene – Pliocene Metohija basin
(Elezaj, 2009; Marovi´
c et al., 2007; Marroni et al., 2009).
The Dinarides-Hellenides orogen represents one of many worldwide
examples of segmented convergence zones where slab tearing accom-
modates an along-strike transition from slab detachment and subsequent
continental indentation to ongoing subduction and slab retreat. This
mechanism is well documented at a crustal scale in many places
worldwide by the presence of tear faults, such as the ones on the edges of
the Calabrian (Faccenna et al., 2004; Gallais et al., 2013) or Caribbean
arcs (Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al., 2009), Caldas tear fault in South
America (Vargas and Mann, 2013), Hunter Fracture Zone in North Fiji
Basin (Schellart et al., 2002), Palu Fault on the island of Sulawesi
(Govers and Wortel, 2005), or Tan-Lu Fault in East China (Zhao et al.,
2016). In contrast to these worldwide examples, the Dinarides-
Hellenides transition represents a part of a segmented convergence
zone where slab tearing associated with a different along-strike evolu-
tion of two continental slabs does not result in regional tear faults with
strike-slip deformation at crustal levels or slab tear-related magmatism
(Caprarelli and Leitch, 2001; Hoernle et al., 2006; Karao˘
glu and Helvacı,
2014; Portnyagin et al., 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2008; Seghedi et al.,
2004), but is more compatible, although different in kinematics, with
Subduction-Transform Edge-Propagators (the STEP of Govers and
Wortel, 2005). Differently, this process is accommodated at a crustal
scale by signicant partitioning of extensional deformation located
above the transition between detached slab and still-retreating conti-
nental slab. Our results show that in such domains, strain partitioning
can form several detachments that can be connected in one complex
crustal structure with variable strike at the orogen’s junction accom-
modating coeval orogen-parallel and orogen-perpendicular extension.
Moreover, bi-directional extension is partitioned and replaced further by
shortening in the external parts of the orogenic segment with the still
attached slab. The main detachment represents a highly oblique struc-
ture that consists of two connected segments perpendicular to each
other, which overprint the older inherited weakness zones. One segment
is a reactivated orogen-perpendicular transfer zone related to pre-
collisional events, while the orogen-parallel one represents a low-
angle detachment that overprints the frontal-most parts of the earlier
orogenic nappe stack and then steepens while truncating the footwall
units of an older thrust. Furthermore, the latter creates extensional
klippen geometries as a result of progressive exhumation of its footwall
and erosion triggered by slab detachment. Both segments show scissor-
like mechanics with zero offsets at the end of each segment and grad-
ually increasing displacements along the strike, reaching its maximum at
the point where detachments connect to each other. Such kinematics
around the connecting point of two fault segments appears to be
responsible for the exhumation of mid-crustal levels in the footwall of
both segments and the opening of relatively large sedimentary basins in
their hanging-wall (Fig. 9).
6. Conclusions
To advance the understanding of the crustal effects of slab segmen-
tation during indentation and transition from continental collision and
slab detachment to ongoing subduction, we have analysed the natural
situation of the post-Eocene deformation observed at the Dinarides-
Hellenides transition by the means of a eld structural and kinematic
study in the less understood area of northern Montenegro. We correlate
and couple our kinematic data with the previous studies of Dinarides-
Hellenides orogenic systems (Grund et al., 2023; Handy et al., 2019;
van Unen et al., 2019a, 2019b). This approach allowed us to dene the
distribution of deformation from the already known structures of the
Hellenides to the nappe stack of the Dinarides and quantify the kine-
matics of the junction area.
The results demonstrated that following the Cretaceous-Paleocene
thrusting, the study area has been affected by a period of extension
responsible for the formation of a main detachment, truncated by
normal faults and erosion, and therefore exposed in the number of
segments in the SE Dinarides. These segments are presently observed in
the Northern Montenegro Fault, Bjelasica Fault, and Roˇ
zaje Fault, which
are in fact the same detachment eroded or cross-cut by secondary
normal faults. Therefore, we demonstrate that what was previously
thought to be overthrust klippen and tectonic windows are in fact
extensional klippens. The overall extensional detachments connect
directly with the main structure of the Dinarides-Hellenides transition
active during the Miocene, which is the previously dened SPF. All
extensional deformation observed in the Dinarides-Hellenides junction
area, including the SPF segment, can be connected in one complex non-
cylindrical structure that accommodates coeval bi-directional extension
that exhumed mid-crustal levels in the orogenic structure.
Our study also demonstrates that slab tearing that accommodates
different motions of subducted slabs along the orogen can result in
coeval bi-directional extension at crustal levels, creating a complex
curved normal fault with variable strike and different vertical offsets
along its strike. This is a rather novel mechanism when compared to the
formation of strike-slip faults or slab tearing associated with magmatism
as frequently observed elsewhere.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Nikola Randjelovic: Writing – original draft. Liviu Matenco:
Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Nemanja Krstekani´
c: Writing
– review & editing. Maja Maleˇ
s: Writing – review & editing. Uros
Stojadinovi´
c: Writing – review & editing. Marinko Tolji´
c: Writing –
review & editing. Ernst Willingshofer: Writing – review & editing.
Branislav Trivi´
c: Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing nancial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to inuence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This paper is part of a collaboration between the Department of Earth
Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and the Faculty of
Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, during the PhD of
Nikola Randjelovic. It is funded by the Netherlands Research Centre for
Integrated Solid Earth Science (ISES) and the Ministry of Education,
Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia
(Contract no. 451-03-136/2025-03/200126). We thank Editor Jimin
Sun, Franz Neubauer, L´
aszl´
o Fodor, and an anonymous reviewer for
their constructive comments and suggestions, which have signicantly
improved the original version of the manuscript.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.104837.
Data availability
Data is shared in the Supplementary Material
N. Randjelovic et al.
Global and Planetary Change 252 (2025) 104837
16
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