Pre-tertiary blueschist terrains in the Hellenides: Evidence from detrital minerals of flysch successions

Detrital blue amphiboles detected in flysch sandstones of the Hellenides of mainland Greece give important information on uplift and exhumation history of blueschist terrains. The occurrence of these HP/LT minerals in the terminal flysch of the Pindos zone as well as in the Othrys flysch of the Subpelagonian zone from late Maastrichtian/ Palaeocene time onwards proves a Pre-Tertiary (Eohellenic) stage of blueschist formation. Detrital blue amphiboles from flysch sequences of the Ionian zone indicate a further pulse of uplift of high-pressure rocks during the Palaeocene/Eocene. Blueschist rocks of this latter time range are radiometrically well documented in the Hellenides.