The Karst Dinarides are Composed of Relics of a Single Mesozoic Platform: Facts and Consequences

Abstract

Croatian geological literature during the mid nineteen-eighties and nineties was marked by the appearance of a new geotectonic concept of the Dinarides proposing that the recent, very complex structural setting is a direct consequence of a specific palaeogeographic relationship during the Mesozoic, i.e. the proposed existence of two carbonate platforms separated by a long-lasting deep marine area (interplatform trough).
Although the idea was very interesting and provoked discussion, resulting in the questioning of formerly established concepts, detailed analysis of available data indicate that the Karst Dinarides (External Dinarides) were formed by the destruction of a single, although morphologically considerably variable shallow water  carbonate platform. This platform was in some periods very dynamic because of its palaeogeographic position during the Mesozoic, resulting in many periods of large-scale facies differentiation, especially during the Late
Cretaceous. The final disintegration of the platform area culminated in the formation of flysch trough(s) in the latest Cretaceous and Palaeogene and the subsequent uplift of the Dinarides. Recently there have been some misunderstandings resulting from the imprecise use of newly established terms, which are, by circular logic, used to connect recent geotectonic relationships with Mesozoic palaeogeography without adequate material proof. Therefore, the terms Dinaricum and Adriaticum should be redefined and used only for description of the
recent tectonic pattern, without implying a palaeogeographic component, since during the Mesozoic they represented a single entity. Additional confusion is added by different names used for the same shallow water carbonate platform. Probably the best, although not the ideal name is the most frequently used one: the Adriatic Carbonate Platform. Its duration may be estimated from the Late Lias to the Late Cretaceous, representing the most important part of a thick carbonate succession in the Karst Dinarides (ranging from Carboniferous to Eocene).