Abstract

Tectonic evolution of the Paleoproterozoic Vaasa migmatitic complex (VMC) in the central part of the Svecofennian accretionary orogen is deciphered using aeromagnetic and gravity maps, deep seismic and magnetotelluric profiles, and structural and metamorphic data. The VMC is a semicircular structure with migmatitic rim and granitic core composed of several subdomes. It evolved in three main tectonic events (D1–D3). The D1 event (ca. 1.89–1.88 Ga) corresponds to the stacking of supracrustal rocks and the formation of an inverted metamorphic gradient. Anatexis at LP‐HT metamorphic conditions enabled the material to flow. The D2 event (ca. 1.88–1.87 Ga) corresponds to large‐scale folding of the partially molten crust within an orocline. It is marked by folds with an E‐W vertical axial planar foliation. The late D3 event resulted from mass redistribution owing to mechanical instabilities within the hinge of the orocline. It is marked by vertical shearing (ca. 1.87–1.85 Ga) in the marginal parts of the complex and along the granitoid subdomes. The seismic reflection profile (FIRE 3a) and magnetotelluric profiles (MT‐PE and MT‐B2) image large‐scale D1 stacking structures within an accretionary prism. Near vertical breaks in crustal‐scale reflectivity and conductivity models are interpreted as D3 shear zones. The VMC is an example of early mass and heat transfer within a collage of hot supracrustal rocks in an accretionary belt. Partial melting enhanced the flow of material, the production, and rise of magma as well as exhumation, marked by magmatic domes in the hinge of the orocline.