Syn- and post-collisional sedimentation and volcanic activity, Mesta half Graben, Bulgaria

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Tom McCann
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2006 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 19658174

The Mesta half-graben is an intra-orogenic basin that formed in response to the collision of minor lithospheric fragments within the Eurasian craton during Eocene times. This basin experienced successive stages of subsidence accompanied by intense post-collisional mafic to felsic volcanism. The volcano-sedimentary successions represent a complex interdigitating record of detrital material derived from the adjacent collisional belts and the locally-derived volcaniclastic units. The principal aim of this project is to combine sedimentological and volcanic facies studies with basin analysis in order to decipher the interplay of sedimentation, volcanism and tectonics. This requires detailed reconstructions of the depositional settings and the volcanic centres in the Mesta half-graben, their relative and absolute timing, correlation of time-equivalent units and definition of widespread marker horizons such as fall deposits. Linking this information with provenance studies, tectonic information and sequence analysis of the sedimentary units will provide a detailed picture of the evolution of intra-collisional units.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Holger Paulick