Spatial and temporal relationships between Tethyan ophiolites and metamorphic soles

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Ophiolites are fragments of oceanic lithosphere that are exhumed onto the continental crust during collision. Thin sheets of high-grade metamorphic rocks, called metamorphic soles, are found beneath many ophiolites. These metamorphic soles are regarded as a clue to understanding the emplacement processes of the ophiolite complexes, since they apparently formed at the initiation of intra-oceanic subduction and because their age can be radiometrically dated. This proposal intends to study the spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolites and their associated metamorphic soles in the Dinaric-Hellenic ophiolite belt, with the Mesozoic Zlatibor Ophiolite in Serbia as the main locality. The aims of this project is to find out by means of microstructural, geochemical, and geochronological analysis whether the apparent forearc setting of the ophiolites is (1) a reflection of both their igneous environment of formation and subsequent emplacement or (2) a tectonic artifact of their postmagmatic emplacement in a forearc setting following changes in the regional tectonic regime and plate interactions.