Subductions in the Eastern Alps

There is persistent debate on the direction and origin of subduction in the Eastern Alps: northward or southward, Adriatic or European plate. The most recent, high-resolution P-wave tomography shows the situation could be a subduction merger, with contribution of material from both sides. The idea is not new, as it has already been proposed 30 years ago, but the latest seismological data from the spatially dense AlpArray and EASI seismic networks allowed to create the sharpest images so far. Full details in our recent publication lead by Jarka Plomerová.

Tomogram along 13.3°E across the Alps and the Bohemian Massif. From Plomerová et al. 2022.