Structural analysis of low-grade rocks highlights the allochthonous
character of Mesozoic schists in southeastern Rhodope, Bulgaria. The
deformation can be related to the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
thrusting and Tertiary detachment faulting. Petrologic and geochemical
data show a volcanic arc origin of the greenschists and basaltic rocks.
These results are interpreted as representing an island arc-accretionary
complex related to the southward subduction of the Meliata-Maliac Ocean
under the supra-subduction back-arc Vardar ocean/island arc system. This
arc-trench system collided with the Rhodope in Late Jurassic times. (C)
2003 Academie des sciences. Published by Editions scientifiques et
medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.