Extensional collapse of thickened continental lithosphere: A working hypothesis for the Alboran Sea and Gibraltar arc

Platt, J. P.; Vissers, R. L. M.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0540:ecotcl>2.3.co;2

Cited by 762 publications

(483 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

475

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Consequently, the collisional thickening of the Alboran continental lithosphere (Platt & Vissers, 1989) occurred before the Late Oligocene onset of lithospheric extension. Most likely, the duration of this stress field…”

Section: General Stress Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extension of the continental crust due to convective removal of (cold and dense) lithosphere beneath a fixed depocentre (Platt & Vissers, 1989;Vissers et al, 1995) or by (asymmetric) delamination of the lithosphere beneath an eastwardmigrating depocentre (García-Dueñas et al, 1992;Docherty & Banda, 1995;Seber et al, 1996). This was associated with the simultaneous gravitational collapse of thickened continental crust as well as extension-driven thrusting.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was open to the North Algerian Basin in the east and closed to the west by the Gibraltar Arc, i.e. the Atlantic-facing collision front of the 'Alboran Block' (Platt & Vissers, 1989;García-Dueñas et al, 1992;Morley, 1993;Vissers et al, 1995;Lonergan & White, 1997;Rosenbaum & Lister, 2004; see Tandon et al (1998) for a discussion of later rifting in part of the basin, inferred to have been due to time-transgressive migration of delaminating lithosphere). After the late Aquitanian-early Burdigalian, the main period of migration, thinning and fragmentation of the 'Alboran Block', subduction-related magmatism occurred abundantly as testified by numerous post-Burdigalian seamounts (generally ~22-6 Ma; Hernández et al, 1987;Lonergan & White, 1997;Fernández-Soler, 2001) and the Alboran Ridge (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Punctuated Neogene tectonics and stratigraphy of the African-Iberian plate-boundary zone: concurrent development of Betic-Rif basins (southern Spain, northern Morocco)

Sissingh

2008

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The geological configuration of the present-day Mediterranean is characterized by a complex and extensive system of both interconnected and fragmented fold-and thrust belts that is associated with back-arc basins (e.g. Carminati et al., 1998;Rosenbaum & Lister, 2004). Their tectonic structure and setting are varied, and the compressional origin and growth of the different belts and the formation of the adjoining extensional basins also varies considerably in age. The different fold-andthrusts belts did not evolve during one single, uninterrupted cycle of Alpine orogenesis, but are the ultimate outcome of a prolonged, polyphase process of intermittent plate-tectonic interaction between the African-Arabian and Eurasian plates. This resulted in the creation and ultimate disappearance of two major oceanic basins, the Palaeotethys (mainly Palaeozoic) and the Neotethys (late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic). As in the preceding Jurassic and Cretaceous times, the motions of Africa-Arabia relative to Eurasia during the Tertiary were an important control on the geological evolution of the Alpine Tethys (late Mesozoic-Tertiary). Various kinematic frameworks for palaeotectonic and palaeogeographic reconstructions have been proposed for the region (e.g. Dewey et al., 1989;Rosenbaum et al., 2002). These were mostly based on analysis of rotation parameters (poles of rotation, rotation angles), which allowed to constrain past relative velocities between Africa and Eurasia. In addition, analysis of North Atlantic magnetic lineations helped to constrain the movement of Africa and Europe relative to North America. The consensus view is that during the Late Cretaceous Africa converged towards Europe in a S-N directed rotational mode. This was contemporaneous with spreading of the Azores part of the North Atlantic, the coeval opening of the Gulf of Biscay like a sphenochasm and the resulting anti-clockwise rotation of Iberia with respect to Eurasia. Sinistral motion occurred after an active plate boundary subject to left-lateral strike-slip faulting had been established at the northern margin of the Iberian block. Consequently, Iberia behaved like a promontory AbstractThis paper integrates the sequence stratigraphic and tectonic data related to the Neogene geodynamic and palaeogeographic development of the African-Iberian plate boundary zone between Spain and Morocco. Though the dating of individual tectonostratigraphic sequences and their delimiting sequence boundaries varies in accuracy and precision, their apparent correlation strongly suggests contemporaneous development of the Betic and Rif basins. This may likely be attributed to regional changes of the overall compressional intra-plate stress field. This, in turn, was governed by coeval plate-kinematic changes related to the ongoing collisional convergence of Africa and Iberia. The Neogene succession is characterised by brief tectonic pulses that governed the sequence stratigraphic development of the Betic-Rif basins (NBR phases). It broadly correlates with the coeval sequences in the ...

show abstract

Section: General Stress Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Punctuated Neogene tectonics and stratigraphy of the African-Iberian plate-boundary zone: concurrent development of Betic-Rif basins (southern Spain, northern Morocco)

Sissingh

2008

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Different processes have been proposed to explain this evolution and the thinning of the crust: westward displacement due to the opening of the Algero-Provenc;al Basin (Sanz de Galdeano, 1990); subduction of Africa under Iberia, being the Alboran Basin a back-arc basin (Morley, 1993); subduction of Iberia under the Betic Cordillera and the Alboran Basin (Morales et al, 1999); east dipping subduction of the Atlantic, Iberia and Africa under the Alboran domain (Royden, 1993;lonergan and White, 1997); and thinning of the crust due to convection processes in the mantle (Weijermars, 1985;Doblas and Oyarzun. 1989;Platt and Vissers, 1989;Vissers et al, 1995). In addition to these hypotheses to explain the shallow tectonics, there are also a number of hypotheses to explain the intermediate and deep focus earthquakes that take place in the area, divided into delamination processes (Garcia-Duefias et al" 1992;Watts et aI., 1993;Docherty and Banda, 1995;Seber et al, 1996;Buforn et al, 1997;Mezcua and Rueda, 1997;Morales et al, 1997) and subducted slab processes (Royden, 1993;Gutscher et aI., 2002;Thiebot and Gutscher, 2006); maybe being both active for deep and intermediate earthquakes respectively (Bufom et aI., 1991;L6pez Dsado et aI., 2001).…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scenarios for earthquake-generated tsunamis on a complex tectonic area of diffuse deformation and low velocity: The Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Hoernle et al 1995); and convective removal or gravitational collapse of thickened continental lithosphere (e.g. Platt & Visser 1989);…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal thickness and images of the lithospheric discontinuities in the Gibraltar arc and surrounding areas

Mancilla

Stich

Morales

et al. 2015

Geophysical Journal International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

S U M M A R YThe Gibraltar arc and surrounding areas are a complex tectonic region and its tectonic evolution since Miocene is still under debate. Knowledge of its lithospheric structure will help to understand the mechanisms that produced extension and westward motion of the Alboran domain, simultaneously with NW-SE compression driven by Africa-Europe plates convergence. We perform a P-wave receiver function analysis in which we analyse new data recorded at 83 permanent and temporary seismic broad-band stations located in the South of the Iberian peninsula. These data are stacked and combined with data from a previous study in northern Morocco to build maps of thickness and average v P /v S ratio for the crust, and cross-sections to image the lithospheric discontinuities beneath the Gibraltar arc, the Betic and Rif Ranges and their Iberian and Moroccan forelands. Crustal thickness values show strong lateral variations in the southern Iberia peninsula, ranging from ∼19 to ∼46 km. The Variscan foreland is characterized by a relatively flat Moho at ∼31 km depth, and an average v P /v S ratio of ∼1.72, similar to other Variscan terranes, which may indicate that part of the lower crustal orogenic root was lost. The thickest crust is found at the contact between the Alboran domain and the External Zones of the Betic Range, while crustal thinning is observed southeastern Iberia (down to 19 km) and in the Guadalquivir basin where the thinning at the Iberian paleomargin could be still preserved. In the cross-sections, we see a strong change between the eastern Betics, where the Iberian crust underthrusts and couples to the Alboran crust, and the western Betics, where the underthrusting Iberian crust becomes partially delaminated and enters into the mantle. The structures largely mirror those on the Moroccan side where a similar detachment was observed in northern Morocco. We attribute a relatively shallow strong negativepolarity discontinuity to the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. This means relatively thin lithosphere ranging from ∼50 km thickness in southeastern Iberia and northeastern Morocco to ∼90-100 km beneath the western Betics and the Rif, with abrupt changes of ∼30 km under the central Betics and northern Morocco. Our observations support a geodynamic scenario where in western Betics oceanic subduction has developed into ongoing continental subduction/delamination while in eastern Betics this process is inactive.

show abstract

Extensional collapse of thickened continental lithosphere: A working hypothesis for the Alboran Sea and Gibraltar arc

Cited by 762 publications

References 0 publications

Punctuated Neogene tectonics and stratigraphy of the African-Iberian plate-boundary zone: concurrent development of Betic-Rif basins (southern Spain, northern Morocco)

Punctuated Neogene tectonics and stratigraphy of the African-Iberian plate-boundary zone: concurrent development of Betic-Rif basins (southern Spain, northern Morocco)

Scenarios for earthquake-generated tsunamis on a complex tectonic area of diffuse deformation and low velocity: The Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean

Crustal thickness and images of the lithospheric discontinuities in the Gibraltar arc and surrounding areas

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About