Geochemistry, provenance and stratigraphic age of metasedimentary rocks from the eastern Vardar suture zone, northern Greece

Abstract Uppermost Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sediments from the Vardar suture zone in northern Greece record a cycle of Neotethyan oceanic basin opening and closure and their analysis places tight constraints on the geotectonic evolution of the area. The oldest post-Carboniferous sedimentary unit in the study area is the Examili Formation, which comprises mainly metaarkoses and metaquartzites, and was deposited in an intracontinental rift-related sedimentary basin in proximity to the Vertiskos Terrane during the Permian–Triassic. The Melissochori Formation (former Svoula flysch) comprises predominantly metasandstones with significant carbonate content and was deposited in front of a Carbonife…