Potential field constraints on the deep structure of the Lugo gneiss dome (NW Spain)

Abstract

The Lugo gneiss dome, in the NW Iberian Massif (Spain) is a Variscan structure developed during late stages of orogenic collapse. Crustal extension was mainly accomplished by two kilometre-scale conjugate extensional shear zones and by the late development of the dome and a huge normal fault. These structures overprint previous contractional recumbent folds and a thrust fault. The Lugo dome and its southward continuation, the Sanabria dome, are the site of the conspicuous Eastern Galicia Magnetic Anomaly (EGMA), a N–S band, 50 km wide and 190 km long, with a maximum amplitude of 190 nT. Integrated potential field modelling of the EGMA and its corresponding gravity signature have been carried out aided by constraints provided by the measurement of c. 900 magnetic susceptibilities and by previous geophysical data, mainly seismic refraction and reflection profiles. Results suggest that a large volume of low-density migmatites and associated inhomogeneous granites are the main source of the magnetic anomaly. Small massifs of basic and ultrabasic rocks inside the migmatites and high-susceptibility iron ore bodies sparsely distributed in low-grade Middle Ordovician slates are also thought to contribute to the anomaly but to a minor extent. Although otherwise similar to other gneiss domes, the Lugo dome is accompanied by a striking magnetic anomaly whose origin is discussed in terms of the tectonic evolution of this structure and the provenance of the magnetite-bearing migmatites and inhomogeneous granites that core it.