Major tectonic structures of the Eastern Alps seen from the International Space Station ISS

Regional tectonics

Our regional tectonic studies in the Alps, the Dinarides, the Pannonian Basin, around the Adriatic Sea, as well as in intraplate settings aim at a better understanding of mountain and basin-forming processes. A detailed knowledge of the temporal succession of deformation events and displacements is a prerequisite for viable geological restorations and for an understanding of lithosphere-scale processes.
Major tectonic structures of the Eastern Alps seen from the International Space Station ISS
Image: @nasa / Kepler ISS. Annotationen: Kamil Ustaszewski

Selected publications

Handy, M.R., Ustaszewski, K., Kissling, E. (2015): Reconstructing the Alps-Carpathians-Dinarides as a key to understanding switches in subduction polarity, slab gaps and surface motion. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 104, 1-26External link. OPEN ACCESS!

Handy, M.R., Giese, J., Pleuger, J., Schmid, S.M., Spakman, W., Onuzi, K. & Ustaszewski, K. (2019), Coupled crust-mantle response to slab tearing, bending and rollback along the Dinaride-Hellenide orogen. Tectonics, 38(8), 2803-2828, doi: 10.1029/2019TC005524External link.

Le Breton, E., Handy, M.R., Molli, G., Ustaszewski, K. (2017). Post-20 Ma motion of the Adriatic plate - new constraints from surrounding orogens and implications for crust-mantle decoupling, Tectonics, 36, 3135-3154. doi: 10.1002/2016TC004443.External link

Navabpour, P., Malz., A., Kley, J., Siegburg, M., Kasch, N., Ustaszewski, K. (2017). Intraplate brittle deformation and states of paleostress constrained by fault kinematics in the central German platform, Tectonophysics, 694, 146-163. doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2016.11.033External link.

Schmid, S.M., Fügenschuh, B., Kounov A., Matenco, L., Nievergelt, P., Oberhänsli, R., Pleuger, J., Schefer, S., Schuster, R., Tomljenović, B., Ustaszewski, K., van Hinsbergen, D. (2020): Tectonic units of the Alpine collision zone between Eastern Alps and western Turkey, Gondwana Research, 78, 308-374, doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2019.07.005External link.