The theme we have chosen for this conference, “Alpine folded belts and extensional basins” refer to the unique position of the Mediterranean area as it has been the locus of mountain building and collapse processes since the Mesozoic. Due to the varied plate kinematics between the bounding plates of Africa and Eurasia, contraction in folded belts like the Betics and Rif, Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Hellenides and Carpathians, was accompanied by extensional collapse and hyperextension processes shaping deep sedimentary basins like those occurring actually throughout the Mediterranean area (e.g., Alboran, Tyrrhenian, Pannonian, Aegean).
Our main interest is collecting contributions from the academia and the industry, joining efforts and initiatives to extend the knowledge on how folded belts and sedimentary basins have been formed and evolved, and to re-evaluate the hydrocarbon potential in the peri-Mediterranean folded belts and basins.