Hinterland-Verging Thrusting in the Northern Sicily Continental Margin: Evidences for a Late Collisional Stage of the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt?

Abstract

The Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt developed during Neogene-Quaternary times characterized by main African-wards tectonic transport direction. Recent investigations highlighted extensive hinterland-verging tectonic structures active during late Pliocene-Pleistocene time suggesting a late collisional stage of the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt that could be a precursor of a change in the subduction polarity in the central belt of Mediterranean.