Iberian plate kinematics: a jumping plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa

AbstractA review of the sequence stratigraphic development of the Tertiary basins of the North and West Alpine Foreland domains shows that their structural and depositional history was episodically affected by brief tectonic phases. These were associated with intermittent deformation events induced by the collisional convergence and compressional coupling of the Apulian and Iberian microplates with the European Plate. The plate kinematics-related episodicity was essentially isochronously recorded in the basin fills of the Alpine Foreland region. These are generally correlative with changes in eustatic sea level. The ensuing correlative successions of so-called Cenozoic Rift and Foredeep (CRF) sequences and phases can be traced throughout the European Cenozoic Rift System and Alpine Foreland Basin. Their temporal correlation indicates that, apparently, the changes in the plate collision-related stress regime of the Alpine Foreland were repeatedly accompanied by coeval changes in eustatic sea level. To test and substantiate the validity of this inferred causal relationship between intraplate deposition, plate kinematics and eustacy, the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the basins of the Mediterranean plate-boundary zone has been analysed in conjunction with a review of the plate-boundary events in the North Atlantic. Within the uncertainty range of available datings, synchroneity could thus be demonstrated for the punctuated tectonostratigraphic development of basins of the western Mediterranean (comprising the Liguro-Provençal Basin, Valencia Trough, Sardinia Rift and Tyrrhenian Basin), the Apenninic-Calabrian Arc, the Betic domain (including the Alboran Basin) and the North and West Alpine Foreland regions. Similar temporal correlations of plate tectonicsrelated events near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic and tectonostratigraphic sequences and phases of the Alpino-Pyrenean Foreland basins are further evidence of a common causal mechanism. The driving mechanisms appear to have been the northward drift of Africa and the resulting mechanical coupling of Apulia and Iberia with the southern passive margin of Europe, as well as the stepwise opening of the North Atlantic and accompanying episodic plate re-organisations of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

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Investigating the plate kinematics of continental blocks and their role on the deformation experienced along the Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary using deformable plate tectonic models

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1402 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael King ◽

Kim Welford ◽

Patricia Cadenas ◽

Julie Tugend

Keyword(s):

Plate Boundary ◽

Magnetic Anomalies ◽

Collective Impact ◽

Plate Tectonic ◽

Alpine Orogeny ◽

Tectonic Plates ◽

Plate Models ◽

Plate Reconstructions ◽

Kinematic Models ◽

Plate Kinematics

The kinematics of the Iberian plate during Mesozoic extension and subsequent Alpine compression and their implications on the partitioning of strain experienced across the Iberia-Europe plate boundary continue to be a subject of scientific interest, and debate. To date, the majority of plate tectonic models only consider the motion of rigid tectonic plates. In addition, the lack of consideration for the kinematics of intra-continental domains and intervening continental blocks in-between has led to numerous discrepancies between rigid plate kinematic models of Iberia, based mainly on tight-fit reconstruction of M-series magnetic anomalies, and their ability to reconcile geological and geophysical observations. To address these discrepancies, deformable plate tectonic models constrained by previous plate reconstructions, geological, and geophysical studies are built using the GPlates software to study the evolution of deformation experienced along the Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary from the Triassic to present day. These deformable plate models consider the kinematics of small intra-continental blocks such as the Landes High and Ebro Block situated between large tectonic plates, their interplay with pre-existing structural trends, and the collective impact of these phenomena on the deformation experienced during Mesozoic rifting and Alpine compressional re-activation along the Iberia-European plate boundary. Preliminary results suggest that the independent kinematics of the Landes High played a key role on the distribution of oblique extension between different rift arms and resultant deformation within the Bay of Biscay. Within the Pyrenean realm, deformation experienced prior to and during the Alpine Orogeny was more largely controlled by the interplay between the Ebro Block kinematics and rift segmentation induced by the orientation of inherited trends.

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Plate kinematics of the Denali fault system

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e80-160 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 17 (11) ◽

pp. 1527-1537 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

James H. Stout ◽

Clement G. Chase

Keyword(s):

Plate Tectonics ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Gulf Of Alaska ◽

Fault System ◽

Time Interval ◽

Intrinsic Properties ◽

Denali Fault ◽

Tectonic Transport ◽

The Right ◽

Plate Kinematics

Two segments of the Denali fault system, the McKinley strand west of the Delta River and the Dalton–Shakwak fault east of the Delta River, have nearly perfect small circle geometries. This geometry permits interpretation of the right-lateral slip along these faults in terms of rigid plate tectonics. Their poles of rotation are in the Gulf of Alaska at 59.63°N, 147.38°W and 50.38°N, 154.02°W respectively. A model in which there has been simultaneous motion on both faults since 38 Ma ago predicts a third fault at their juncture which must act as a plate boundary with northwesterly thrust motion in this time interval. The Broxson Gulch thrust, which extends from near the Susitna River to its termination at the Delta River, meets these requirements. Paleozoic and Mesozoic volcanics, as well as Oligocene or younger strata, are thrust beneath sillimanite schists along this fault, and major pre-Tertiary fold structures are truncated by it. Given the direction of tectonic transport on all three faults and a displacement of 38 km on the McKinley strand, the minimum displacements on the Broxson Gulch and the Denali (Dalton–Shakwak) faults in the last 38 Ma are approximately 54 and 90 km respectively. The previously correlated Maclaren and Ruby Range metamorphic belts, however, indicate 300–400 km offset since about 55 Ma ago. Our results require that about 300 km of this be taken up west of the Maclaren belt, either on the McKinley strand or on thrust segments similar to the Broxson Gulch, or both. Our results further indicate that the arcuate shape of these segments of the Denali fault system are intrinsic properties of the faults themselves and that oroclinal bending need not be invoked to explain them.

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Iberian plate kinematics and Alpine collision in the Pyrenees

Earth-Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.001 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 114 (1-2) ◽

pp. 61-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

R.L.M. Vissers ◽

P.Th. Meijer

Keyword(s):

Plate Kinematics ◽

Iberian Plate

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Cretaceous slab break-off in the Pyrenees: Iberian plate kinematics in paleomagnetic and mantle reference frames

Gondwana Research ◽

10.1016/j.gr.2016.03.006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 49-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Reinoud L.M. Vissers ◽

Douwe J.J. van Hinsbergen ◽

Douwe G. van der Meer ◽

Wim Spakman

Keyword(s):

Reference Frames ◽

Plate Kinematics ◽

Iberian Plate

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Reanalysis of the 1761 transatlantic tsunami

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-19-337-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 337-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Martin Wronna ◽

Maria Ana Baptista ◽

Jorge Miguel Miranda

Keyword(s):

Tectonic Setting ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Source Area ◽

Macroseismic Data ◽

Strait Of Gibraltar ◽

Precise Location ◽

Data Set ◽

Rupture Mechanism ◽

Geological Source ◽

Plate Kinematics

Abstract. The segment of the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary between the Gloria Fault and the Strait of Gibraltar has been the setting of significant tsunamigenic earthquakes. However, their precise location and rupture mechanism remain poorly understood. The investigation of each event contributes to a better understanding of the structure of this diffuse plate boundary and ultimately leads to a better evaluation of the seismic and tsunami hazard. The 31 March 1761 event is one of the few known transatlantic tsunamis. Macroseismic data and tsunami travel times were used in previous studies to assess its source area. However, no one discussed the geological source of this event. In this study, we present a reappraisal of tsunami data to show that the observations data set is compatible with a geological source close to Coral Patch and Ampere seamounts. We constrain the rupture mechanism with plate kinematics and the tectonic setting of the area. This study favours the hypothesis that the 1761 event occurred in the southwest of the likely location of the 1 November 1755 earthquake in a slow deforming compressive regime driven by the dextral transpressive collision between Africa and Eurasia.

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Stress and deformation analysis in the Norwegian Barents Sea in relation to Paleogene transpression along the Greenland-Eurasia plate boundary

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17894 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sebastien Gac ◽

Alexander Minakov ◽

Grace E. Shephard ◽

Jan Inge Faleide ◽

Sverre Planke

Keyword(s):

Barents Sea ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Deformation Analysis ◽

Small Scale ◽

Time Model ◽

The North ◽

Basement Faults ◽

Kinematic Models ◽

Stress And Deformation ◽

Plate Kinematics

Cenozoic small-scale contractional structures are widespread in the Norwegian (west) and Russian (east) Barents Sea. While the exact dating of the deformation is unclear, it can only be inferred that the contraction is younger than the early Cretaceous. One likely contractional mechanism is related to Greenland plate kinematics at Paleogene times. We use a thin plate finite element modelling approach to compute stresses and deformation within the Norwegian Barents Sea in response to the Greenland-Eurasia relative motions at Paleogene times. The analytical solution for the 3-D folding of sediments above basement faults is used to assess possibilities for folding. Two existing Greenland plate kinematic models, differing slightly in the timing, magnitude and direction of motion, are tested. Results show that the Greenland plate&#8217;s general northward motion promotes growing anticlines in the Norwegian Barents shelf. Folding is more likely in the northern Norwegian Barents Sea than in the south. Folding is correlated with the Greenland plate kinematics through time: model M2 predicts a main phase of contraction at earliest Eocene while model M1 predicts contraction a bit later in the Eocene. Both models successfully explain folding above NW-SW Timanian trended faults in the southern Norwegian Barents Sea and above SSW-NNE Caledonian-trended faults in the north. We conclude that Paleogene Greenland plate kinematics are a likely candidate to explain contractional structures in the Norwegian Barents Sea.

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Lithospheric-scale anisotropies control first-order stress orientation during Cretaceous-Cenozoic plate kinematics in Western-Central Europe

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-106 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tobias Stephan ◽

Uwe Kroner ◽

Saskia Köhler ◽

Daniel Koehn ◽

Wolfgang Bauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Europe ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Shear Zones ◽

Boundary Zone ◽

Complex Deformation ◽

Late Mesozoic ◽

First Order ◽

Order Stress ◽

Plate Boundary Zone ◽

Plate Kinematics

Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic plate convergence led to widespread intraplate deformation in Western-Central Europe during the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene and the Miocene until today reflecting the collision of Eurasia with Iberia-Africa and Adria, respectively. The resulting complex deformation pattern inside the plate boundary zone contrasts with a rather uniform orientation adjacent to the north. Although there is broad consensus that the orientation of the first-order stress is controlled by plate kinematics, there is no sufficient explanation for the variation of the stress field across the plate boundary. We model plate kinematic trajectories and analyze the spatial distribution of paleostress data from fault-slip inversion and tectonic stylolites. The comparison reveals the coexistence of two contrasting stress provinces in Europe throughout the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Inside the diffuse plate boundary zone, trajectories of plate motion fit deformation patterns. Outside of that zone, however, there is significant deviation. Here deformation is mainly accommodated by the reactivation of Paleozoic shear zones. Thus, we argue that lithospheric-scale structural inheritance from the Pangea assemblage controls the stress-strain pattern of Western-Central Europe between the active plate boundary zone and the East European Craton since the Late Mesozoic.

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The opening of the Tyrrhenian basin and the Apennine chain formation in the kinematic context of Africa - Europe collision

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9727 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Eugenio Turco ◽

Chiara Macchiavelli ◽

Pietro Paolo Pierantoni ◽

Giulia Penza ◽

Antonio Schettino

Keyword(s):

Velocity Ratio ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Central Mediterranean ◽

Slip Vector ◽

Complex Deformation ◽

The Individual ◽

Plate Kinematics ◽

Apennine Chain ◽

Tyrrhenian Basin

The Africa Europe collision, which produces the formation of the Alpine arc, in the Mediterranean area is accompanied by passive subduction processes, resulting from the sinking of the remnant Alpine Tethys and the Ionian lithosphere, and from the fragmentation of the Adriatic plate. In this complex deformation, back-arc basins (Alboran, Balearic, Tyrrhenian and Hellenic) and circum - Mediterranean mountain ranges are formed.In this work we focus our attention on the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin and the contemporary formation of the Apennine chain.In order to describe the evolution of the geodynamic processes that guided the formation of the Tyrrhenian basin and the Apennine chain we used the plate kinematics technique. Through careful observation of the regional structures we have divided the area of the Apennine Chain and the Tyrrhenian basin into polygons (crustal blocks or microplates) distinguished on the basis of the direction of the Tyrrhenian extension. The boundary between the polygons has been placed coinciding with the large structures that characterize the Tyrrhenian-Apennine area. The rotation poles of the individual polygons, in the frame of reference of the Sardo-Corso block, are based on the Tyrrhenian extension directions that characterize them. The velocity ratio between the polygons was determined by the slip vector of the structure (plate boundary) that separates them. To determine the rotation time of the polygons we used the stratigraphic records of the syn-rift sequences, while the rotation angle of the polygons is obtained comparing the crustal balance with the speed ratios.Finally, the kinematic framework obtained, included in the global rotation model, allowed us to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the central Mediterranean during the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin.Key Words: Tyrrhenian-Apennine System, Non-rigid plate kinematics.

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Kinematic restoration of the southern North Atlantic and the Alpine Tethys during the Mesozoic

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9977 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gianluca Frasca ◽

Gianreto Manatschal ◽

Patricia Cadenas Martínez

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Large Scale ◽

Plate Boundary ◽

Boundary Region ◽

Plate Boundaries ◽

European Alps ◽

Variable Degree ◽

Kinematic Evolution ◽

Tethys Realm ◽

Iberian Plate

Continental rifting preceding stable seafloor spreading is characterized by a multistage evolution during lithosphere extension. Wide regions of exhumed mantle contain linear magnetic anomalies with a strongly debated nature and origin. Contrasting information used to set up dynamic plate models has resulted in a plethora of alternative interpretations. Structural and stratigraphic records at plate boundaries show indeed variable degree of discrepancies with what expected from computed plate motions during rifting stages. The definition of robust spatial and temporal kinematic constraints using combined offshore and onshore approaches represents a major challenge to unravel rifted margins evolution. &#160;&#160; &#160; In this study, we address the problem outlined above using the Mesozoic southern North Atlantic and the Alpine Tethys, west and east of the Iberian plate, as a natural laboratory. The two systems are part of the same Africa-Europe kinematic framework and record distinctive Mesozoic rift events and a subsequent Tertiary compression. While in the southern North Atlantic the kinematic framework is still preserved, in the Alpine Tethys, subsequent subduction/collision erased the paleogeographic framework. The study area is among the best investigated but also most debated geological domains on the globe.In our analysis we (1) integrate rift domains in plate kinematic models and re-consider the nature of the magnetic anomaly J in the southern N-Atlantic; (2) discuss the results of recent studies in the northern part of the Iberian plate; and (3) show new data from the Alpine Tethys realm (Central European Alps and Southern Apennines). We discuss the implications of these observations for the geometry of the rift systems developed around Iberia.Our robust data network radically reduces the range of possible kinematic solutions. We reconstruct thus the position of Iberia and Adria relative to Europe and Africa and we evaluate the kinematic evolution and the width of the southern North Atlantic and the Alpine Tethys domains during the Mesozoic. The analysis emphasizes (1) the stepping geometry of the plate boundary for the Atlantic-Tethys interaction, (2) the strong partitioning of deformation in time and space, and (3) the large-scale pattern of coeval compression and extension along the Africa-Europe diffuse plate boundary region.

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