Abstract
Abstract. The western European kinematic evolution results from the opening of the western Neotethys and the Atlantic oceans since the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic. Geological evidence shows that the Iberian domain recorded the propagation of these two oceanic systems well and is therefore a key to significantly advancing our understanding of the regional plate reconstructions. The late-Permian–Triassic Iberian rift basins have accommodated extension, but this tectonic stage is often neglected in most plate kinematic models, leading to the overestimation of the movements between Iberia and Europe during the subsequent Mesozoic (Early Cretaceous) rift phase. By compiling existing seismic profiles and geological constraints along the North Atlantic margins, including well data over Iberia, as well as recently published kinematic and paleogeographic reconstructions, we propose a coherent kinematic model of Iberia that accounts for both the Neotethyan and Atlantic evolutions. Our model shows that the Europe–Iberia plate boundary was a domain of distributed and oblique extension made of two rift systems in the Pyrenees and in the Iberian intra-continental basins. It differs from standard models that consider left-lateral strike-slip movement localized only in the northern Pyrenees in introducing a significant strike-slip movement south of the Ebro block. At a larger scale it emphasizes the role played by the late-Permian–Triassic rift and magmatism, as well as strike-slip faulting in the evolution of the western Neotethys Ocean and their control on the development of the Atlantic rift.
Highlights
Global plate tectonic reconstructions are mostly based on the knowledge and reliability of magnetic anomalies that record age, rate, and direction of sea-floor spreading (Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Müller et al, 2008; Seton et al, 2012)
Our model shows that the Europe–Iberia plate boundary was a domain of distributed and oblique extension made of two rift systems in the Pyrenees and in the Iberian intra-continental basins
A well-known example of this problem is illustrated by the contrasting Mesozoic plate kinematic models proposed for the Iberian plate relative to Europe with significant implications for the reconstructions of the Alpine Tethys and Atlantic oceans (Olivet, 1996; Handy et al, 2010; Sibuet et al, 2004; Vissers and Meijer, 2012; Barnett-Moore et al, 2016; Nirrengarten et al, 2018)
Summary
Global plate tectonic reconstructions are mostly based on the knowledge and reliability of magnetic anomalies that record age, rate, and direction of sea-floor spreading (Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Müller et al, 2008; Seton et al, 2012). The tectonic and thermal evolution of the “Iberian buffer” between Africa and Europe at the Permian–Triassic boundary reflects the complex post-Variscan evolution of the Iberian lithosphere This domain has experienced significant Permian crustal thinning in relation to the post-orogenic collapse of the Variscan belt (De Saint Blanquat et al, 1990; de Saint Blanquat, 1993; Vissers, 1992; Saspiturry et al, 2019) and the fragmentation of the Gondwana margin more broadly (Schettino and Turco, 2011; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Ziegler, 1989, 1990). As a consequence of the Pangea breakup and magmatic emission at the Triassic– Jurassic boundary, the lithospheric mantle started to cool and thicken, causing isostatic subsidence of the thinned Iberian crust and resulting in topographic drop This argues for a protracted period of ∼ 100 Myr (late Carboniferous to Late Triassic) of continental lithosphere thinning and magmatism prior to Early Cretaceous breakup of the North Atlantic but contemporaneous with the Tethyan evolution. The long-lasting rift evolution, shows an average low stretching factor of about 1.2
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