Low‐temperature thermochronology as a control on vertical movements for semi‐quantitative source‐to‐sink analysis: A case study for the Permian to Neogene of Morocco and surroundings

Abstract

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Integrated multi-proxy source-to-sink analysis of the Lower Cretaceous of the Essaouira-Agadir Basin.

“…Depth-converted LTT data in the MAM and Western Meseta (Charton et al, 2020) indicates the presence of an unpreserved overburden (see method section for details) covering both regions during the Barremian-Aptian transition (Figure 13). At that time, both regions are at the end of a burial/exhumation cycle during which sediments were deposited above the Palaeozoic and Precambrian basement (Figure 13).…”

“…Recent studies have documented major exhumation events in all these areas during the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Barbero et al, 2011(Barbero et al, , 2007Bertotti and Gouiza, 2012;Charton et al, 2020;Ghorbal et al, 2008;Saddiqi et al, 2009). Areas between the Precambrian Reguibat Shield (located south of the Tindouf Basin) and the Meseta in the north (Figure 2) were affected by km-scale burial/exhumation events, largely contrasting with the post-rift thermal evolution expected along passive margins (Bertotti and Gouiza, 2012).…”

“…A large amount of thermochronology analysis conducted in the hinterland region (see Charton et al, 2020 for a summary) was reviewed and incorporated into this study. Charton et al (2020) highlighted that all but two of the time-temperature studies compiled in his meta-analysis recorded erosional exhumation (i.e., variation of temperature being due to exhumation or burial of the rock sample).…”

Syn-depositional Mesozoic siliciclastic pathways on the Moroccan Atlantic margin linked to evaporite mobilisation

“…The EAB evolution is dominated by rifting events, near complete Mesozoic sedimentation, and localized to regional erosion surfaces (Ambroggi, 1963;Ager, 1974;Ellouz et al, 2003;Michard et al, 2008;Luber, 2017). Its suspected Mesozoic hinterlands -the Meseta massif to the northeast, High Atlas Massif ancient directly adjacent to the east, and the Anti-Atlas to the south and southeast -show important variations in their exhumation and burial histories (e.g., Frizon de Lamotte et al, 2009;Domenech, 2015;Ghorbal et al, 2008;Saddiqi et al, 2009; reviewed and synthetised in Charton et al, 2020). The former basin developed at the junction between the Central Atlantic and Atlasic riftings during the Triassic to Early Jurassic, and was exhumed during Alpine shortening (e.g., Michard et al, 2008).…”

“…Presently part of the Western High Atlas after the Cenozoic Alpine-related exhumation, the basin exposes tens of km-long evaporite-cored anticlines roughly perpendicular to the coast line (Michard et al, 2008). It is unclear if Jurassic to Cretaceous km-scale exhumation events of the massifs surrounding the EAB (Charton et al, 2020) contributed to evaporite mobilisation and/or led to topographic growth of the anticlines (namely Tidsi, Amsittène, Imouzzer, Cap Rhir, Anklout, and Lgouz; Fig. 1c), thereby modulating former fluvial pathways delivering sediments from the Meseta, High Atlas, and Anti-Atlas domains (Luber, 2017).…”