Variscan geodynamic evolution of the Carnic Alps (Austria/Italy)

The South-Alpine Carnic Alps are part of the southern flank of the European Variscides and display a continuous sedimentary record from Late Ordovicia n to Devonian times followed by Carboniferous S-directed nappe stacking and Late Carboniferous to Early Permian post-collisional collapse. The tectono metamorphic and sedimentary evolution of the Carnic Alps resembles a contin uous process where pre- and syn-orogenic volcanism, syn-orogenic flysch sed imentation, deformation including nappe stacking, metamorphism and tectonic collapse shift in age from internal zones in the N towards external zones in the S. New structural, petrological and sedimentological data are presen ted concerning the tectonometamorphic history of the Carnic Alps. We distin guish three thrust sheets or tectonic nappes differing in their stratigraph ic, sedimentological, deformational and metamorphic histories which were th rust over each other in Carboniferous times. Our data lead to a new geodyna mic model showing an evolution from rifting or backarc spreading in the Lat e Ordovician to the establishment of a mature passive continental margin in the Late Devonian/Early Carboniferous, flysch sedimentation in an active c ontinental margin setting during the Visean/Namurian and finally collision during the Late Carboniferous between the northern margin of Gondwana and a microcontinent to the N.