Abstract
AbstractDespite considerable progress in restoring rifted margins, none of the current kinematic models can restore the Mesozoic motion of the Iberian block in full agreement with the circum‐Iberian geology. This conflict requires a revision of the kinematic description at the onset of divergence. The circum‐Iberian region has a unique geological dataset that allows calibration and testing of kinematic reconstructions and therefore it is an ideal candidate for testing intracontinental restoration approaches. Here we define intracontinental deforming regions, referred to as strike‐slip corridors, based on alignments of Mesozoic rift basins and/or transfer zones bordering rigid continental blocks. We use these strike‐slip corridors and data from the southern N‐Atlantic and Tethys to define the motion path of the Flemish Cap, Ebro and Iberia continental blocks. The resulting Mesozoic kinematic model for the Iberian block is compatible with recently published data and interpretations describing the Mesozoic circum‐Iberian geology. Large‐scale intracontinental strike‐slip corridors may offer a valid boundary condition for reconstructing continental block motion at the onset of divergence in intracontinental settings.
Highlights
Great efforts have been directed recently in the plate kinematic community to consider the pre-breakup evolution in kinematic reconstructions of divergent plate boundaries (Aslanian & Moulin, 2013; Barnett-Moore et al, 2016; Nirrengarten et al, 2018; Peace et al, 2019)
Despite considerable progress in restoring rifted margins, none of the current kinematic models can restore the Mesozoic motion of the Iberian block in full agreement with the circum-Iberian geology
The resulting Mesozoic kinematic model for the Iberian block is compatible with recently published data and interpretations describing the Mesozoic circum-Iberian geology
Summary
Great efforts have been directed recently in the plate kinematic community to consider the pre-breakup evolution in kinematic reconstructions of divergent plate boundaries (Aslanian & Moulin, 2013; Barnett-Moore et al, 2016; Nirrengarten et al, 2018; Peace et al, 2019). Kinematic restoration of divergent plate boundaries relies on a common procedure, which includes: (a) tight fit of seafloor magnetic anomalies, defining the position of diverging plates through time; (b) oceanic fracture zones, interpreted as flowlines, determining the direction of the motion; (c) necking zones, defining the tightest-fit solutions of reconstructions; and (d) paleomagnetic data from continental undeformed regions, outlining rotation and latitudinal shifts (Schettino & Turco, 2011). The motion of blocks is assumed to be perpendicular to necking lines at orthogonal intracontinental rifts or parallel to the dominant trend of strike-slip corridors Relying on these corridors as motion paths for kinematic restorations enable to build a new kinematic model for the southern N-Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay, and to reconstruct the kinematics of Iberia from 200 to 83 Ma, that is, from Late Triassic onset of rifting in the Central Atlantic to Anomaly C34, the first unambiguous oceanic magnetic anomaly in the southern N-Atlantic. The B-IR is here interpreted by the alignment of Late Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous basins from north of the Balearic Islands to the Asturian basin and the northern Bay of Biscay margin (Cadenas et al, 2020; Omodeo Salè et al, 2014; Sandoval et al, 2019; Thinon et al, 2002; Tugend et al, 2014)
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