Provenance of Mesozoic to Cenozoic circum-Mediterranean sandstones in relation to tectonic setting

The variable mosaic of source terranes within the Mediterranean region, offered the possibility to investigate provenance relations with a new plane of precision and sophistication, discriminating grain particles in clastic wedges using spatial (extrabasinal versus intrabasinal) and temporal (coeval versus noncoeval) distinction of detrital signals. The spatial/temporal approach in deciphering particles in clastic rocks has been widely used to detail the basinal dispersal pathways in different geotectonic settings, wherever mixed silicate and carbonate terranes act as the major source rocks, from rifted-continental margins to collisional orogens.