The local effects of large plate convergence: Africa-Europe movements and the recent escape tectonic of the Malta Graben in the Sicily Channel (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The Malta Graben in the Sicily Channel represents a key structure for understanding how continental forelands accommodate regional convergence, as it is situated across the converging and colliding boundary between the African and Eurasian plates in the Central Mediterranean. Through a multidisciplinary analysis of seismic reflection profiles combined with bathymetric, seismological, and geodetic datasets, we show that the Malta Graben evolved from a dextral transtensional basin during the Lower Pliocene into a complex kinematic junction characterized by the coexistence of transtension and localized positive inversion in recent times. This inversion is expressed as a prominent seabed bulge, driven by the large-scale NW-directed African Plate push as well as by the regional stress field partitioned between the Capo Granitola-Sciacca and Scicli-Ragusa left-lateral strike-slip zones. We suggest that this complex configuration promotes tectonic partitioning, driving the lateral escape of crustal blocks eastward toward the Ionian domain. This lateral migration is facilitated by the rollback of the Ionian slab, which reduces lateral confinement and creates the necessary accommodation space for deformation. Our findings also demonstrate that the Sicily Channel is not merely a simple rifted foreland zone but is characterized by recurrent extensional and contractional phases during the late Neogene/Plio Quaternary. This evidence indicates that distinct tectonic regimes can coexist within a foreland area, reinforcing the idea that foreland zones actively record dynamic processes driven by lithospheric plate movement and are prone to tectonic reactivation.