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Stress field changes in Central Europe from Late Miocene to Quaternary as determined from volcanic rocks in the Bohemian Massif
  • Jakub Stemberk,
  • Miroslav Coubal,
  • Petra Štěpančíková
Jakub Stemberk
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Miroslav Coubal
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
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Petra Štěpančíková
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
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Abstract

This work presents the results of a paleostress investigation in dated Mio-Pliocene volcanic rocks in the vicinity of the town of Lądek Zdrój in the Rychlebské hory Mts., as a part of the central Sudetic Mts. in the NE Bohemian Massif. Six different paleostress field regimes from the Late Miocene to Quaternary were distinguished. Each stress regime is characterized by the orientation of the principal parameters and is discussed in relation to the known paleostress regimes within the surrounding regions of the Sudetic Mts., Fore-Sudetic block, and European Alpine foreland in Central Europe. The results show switching of tectonic phases with dominant compression, transtension or extension. Moreover, the orientation of theoretical planes with maximum shear stress and with a high tendency to dilate for individual paleostress regimes is defined and compared with the orientation of known faults within the study area suggesting their possible kinematics. The timing of the derived regimes is determined more accurately and is in good accordance with the data reported from different regions in Central Europe, which suggests their broader validity. In addition, one event or shorter events interrupting the main Plio-Quaternary extensional regime and one differently oriented Plio-Quaternary extension regime were discovered and constrained based on several dated phases of the volcanism of the faulted rocks.