Northern Dobrogea and the Crimean Mountains: The Key Areas in the Tectonic Evolution of the Black Sea Basin

The work poses the question about the impact of inherited structures in the Black Sea back-arc basin (BAB) tectonic evolution. The new structural analysis of the Northern Dobrogea (ND) and the Crimean Mountains (CM) shows that the origins of structural patterns of both regions are in close relationship with deep faults/or fault zones. The comparative analyses of structures, of tectonic stages and their duration allow us to better understand the connections in time and space between the ND and the CM, against the back-ground of the long-living subduction. In particular during: (1) the Cimmerian orogeny; (2) the opening of the BS and (3) the inversion of the BS during the Cenozoic shortening.