Extensional vs contractional Cenozoic deformation in Ibiza (Balearic Promontory, Spain): Integration in the West Mediterranean back-arc setting

Based on field work and seismic reflection data, we investigate the Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution offshore and onshore Ibiza allowing the proposal of a new tectonic agenda for the region and its integration in the geodynamic history of the West Mediterranean. The late Oligocene-early Miocene rifting event, which characterizes the Valencia Trough and the Algerian Basin, located north and south of the study area respectively, is also present in Ibiza and particularly well-expressed in the northern part of the island. Among these two rifted basins initiated in the frame of the European Cenozoic Rift System, the Valencia Trough failed rapidly while the Algerian Basin evolved after as a back-arc basin related to the subduction of the Alpine-Maghrebian Tethys. The subsequent middle Miocene compressional deformation was localized by the previous extensional faults, which were either inverted or passively translated depending on their initial orientation. Despite the lateral continuity between the External Betics and the Balearic Promontory, it appears from restored maps that this tectonic event cannot be directly related to the Betic orogen, but results from compressive stresses transmitted through the Algerian Basin. A still active back-arc asthenospheric rise likely explains the stiff behavior of this basin, which has remained poorly deformed up to recent time. During the late Miocene a new extensional episode reworked the southern part of the Balearic Promontory. It is suggested that this extensional deformation developed in a trans-tensional context related to the westward translation of the Alboran Domain and the coeval right-lateral strike-slip movement along the Emile Baudot Escarpment bounding the Algerian Basin to the north. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Extreme Mesozoic crustal thinning in the Eastern Iberia margin: The example of the Columbrets Basin (Valencia Trough)

Eastern Iberia preserves a complex succession of Mesozoic rifts partly or completely inverted during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic in relation with Africa-Eurasia convergence. Notably, the Valencia Trough, classically viewed as part of the Cenozoic West Mediterranean basins, preserves in its southwestern part a thick Mesozoic succession (locally ≈10 km thick) over a highly thinned continental basement (locally only ≈3.5 km thick). This subbasin, referred to as the Columbrets Basin, represents a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous hyperextended rift basin weakly overprinted by subsequent events. Its initial configuration is well preserved allowing us to unravel its 3-D architecture and tectonostratigraphic evolution in the frame of the Mesozoic evolution of eastern Iberia. The Columbrets Basin benefits from an extensive data set combining high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, drill holes, seismic refraction data, and expanding spread profiles. The interactions between halokinesis, involving the Upper Triassic salt, and extensional deformation controlled the architecture of the Mesozoic basin. The thick uppermost Triassic to Cretaceous succession displays a large-scale 'syncline' shape, progressively stretched and dismembered toward the basin borders. We propose that the SE border of the basin is characterized by a large extensional detachment fault acting at crustal scale and interacting locally with the Upper Triassic décollement. This extensional structure accommodates the exhumation of the continental basement and part of the crustal thinning. Eventually, our results highlight the complex interaction between extreme crustal thinning and occurrence of a prerift salt level for the deformation style and tectonostratigraphic evolution of hyperextended rift basins

Valencia basin at the boundary between the Iberian and Mediterranean domains : tectono-sedimentary evolution from the Mezoique to the Cenozoique

Le Bassin de Valence, situé à l’est de l’Ibérie et séparé du Bassin Algérien par le Promontoire Baléares, résulte d’une évolution polyphasée dans l’espace et dans le temps. Son histoire cénozoïque, celle d’un bassin d’arrière-arc Oligo-Miocène, est à présent reconnue. Toutefois cette extension se surimpose à plusieurs phases de rift observées à terre du Permien au Crétacé inférieur. Cette histoire plus ancienne demeure méconnue en mer malgré son importance dans l’héritage structural du bassin. Au sud du Bassin de Valence, le Bassin de Columbrets en témoigne en révélant d’épaisses séquences mésozoïques jusqu’alors incluses dans un « socle acoustique » indifférencié. Ce domaine permet donc le déchiffrage du mécanisme des évènements tectoniques qui se sont succédé du Mésozoïque à l’Est de l’Ibérie d’une part, au Cénozoïque en Méditerranée occidentale d’autre part.Basé sur une stratégie d’étude terre-mer, ce travail vise une meilleure compréhension (1) des processus tectoniques tertiaires modelant le sud du Bassin de Valence et la Méditerranée occidentale (2) de la réponse sédimentaire à des processus d’extension et d’hyper-extension au Mésozoïque (3) de l’importance de l’halocinèse lors la mise en place des structures sédimentaires et tectoniques.L’étude structurale d’Ibiza, l’île la plus méridionale du Promontoire Baléare, reconsidère le calendrier tectonique de la région ainsi que son intégration dans l’histoire géodynamique de la Méditerranée occidentale. Le rift Oligo-Miocène décrit dans le Bassin de Valence et initié par le Système de Rifts Cénozoïques Européens a été observé sur Ibiza. Cet évènement est suivi au Miocène Moyen d’une déformation compressive localisée par les failles normales précédemment formées. La comparaison avec le calendrier tectonique des Kabylies en Algérie montre que cette déformation compressive, qui épargne le Bassin Algérien, résulte de la convergence Europe-Afrique. Des cartes rétro-tectoniques intègrent ces évènements dans le contexte géodynamique de la Méditerranée occidentale depuis l’Oligocène.L’étude des séries Mésozoïques effectuées à terre et en mer (grâce à l’interprétation de données sismiques et de forages) révèle plusieurs phases de rifting du Permien au Crétacé inférieur. Un épisode majeur Jurassique supérieur à Crétacé inférieur est à l’origine de l’épaisse séquence sédimentaire du Bassin de Columbrets. Documentée à terre, cette phase ayant conduit à l’ouverture de la partie sud de l’Atlantique Nord est à l’origine de bassins ibériques ou péri-ibériques tels Maestrat, Caméros ou Parentis.Un amincissement majeur de la croûte est visible sous l’épaisse séquence mésozoïque, la réduisant à 5km. Le mécanisme d’extension voire d’hyper-extension proposé invoque une faille de détachement à pendage NW qui s’enracine dans la croûte inférieure litée. Une représentation des structures en 3D a été réalisée afin de comprendre l’évolution du Bassin de Columbrets.L’architecture sédimentaire du Bassin de Columbrets est également contrôlée par le mouvement des séries salifères depuis leur dépôt au Trias supérieur jusqu’à l’actuel. La partie septentrionale du bassin se caractérise par une halocinèse surtout lié aux déformations extensives de la région. En revanche au sud du front chevauchant des Bétiques, le sel est aussi remobilisé en compression. La géométrie et la répartition des structures salifères décrites à terre et en mer dépendent fortement de l’épaisseur initiale de la couche de sel dans le bassin; cette observation apporte des éléments de réponse sur la paléogéographie des séries du Keuper au sud du Bassin de Valence.Au final cette étude aborde d’une part des thèmes liés au mécanisme de formation des bassins intracontinentaux et plus particulièrement la relation entre hyper-extension, signature sédimentaire et halocinèse. D’autre, elle permet une meilleure intégration du sud du Promontoire Baléare et du Bassin de Valence dans la géodynamique Ouest- Méditerranéenne.The Valencia Basin, located east of Iberia and separated from the Algerian Basin by the Balearic promontory, underwent a poly-phased tectonic evolution in space and time. The Cenozoic evolution of the basin has been widely discussed, the most classical interpretation being an Oligo-Miocene aborted back-arc basin. However, this extensional tectonic regime postdated several rifting events from the Permian to the Lower Cretaceous. This older evolution remains poorly understood offshore, despite its influence on the tectonic inheritance of the basin. The Columbrets Basin, in the southernmost part of the Valencia Basin, exhibits a thick Mesozoic sequence that was considered to belong to an undifferentiated “acoustic basement”. Hence, the Columbrets Basin is a key study area to unravel the successive Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectonic events in Eastern Iberia and Western Mediterranean.Our study integrates onshore and offshore data to better constrain (1) the Cenozoic tectonic processes that led to the current morphology of the southern Valencia Basin and the Western Mediterranean (2) the sedimentary records Mesozoic extensional to hyper-extensional processes and (3) the importance of the halokinesis in the sedimentary and tectonic architectures.Ibiza Island, located on the southernmost part of the Balearic Promontory, questions the standard tectonic agenda of the area and its integration in the Western Mediterranean geodynamic frame. The Oligo-Miocene rifting phase described in the Valencia basin is initiated by the European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS) and has been observed in Ibiza. This event is followed by a Middle Miocene contractional phase reactivating the inherited normal faults. The comparison with the tectonic history of the Kabylies in Algeria shows that this stage that does not affect the Algeria basin, results from the convergence between Europe and Africa. A set of retro-tectonic maps integrates these events in the geodynamic context of West Mediterranean.The Mesozoic units were studied onshore and offshore (using drilling and seismic data); it reveals several rifting phases from the Permian to the Lower Cretaceous. A major Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous event was responsible for the deposition of the thick sequence present in the Columbrets Basin. This tectonic event led to the opening of the southern part of the north Atlantic but is also at the origin of several Iberian or peri-iberian basins such as Maestrat, Cameros, or Parentis basins.A major crustal thinning has been observed underneath the thick Mesozoic sequence, reducing the crustal thickness to 5 km. The proposed extensional and even hyper-extensional mechanism used a NW dipping detachment fault rooting deeply into the layered lower crust. A 3D geometrical model of the structures illustrates the evolution of the Columbrets Basin.The sedimentary architecture of this basin is also controlled by salt movements from their deposition during the Late Triassic to current times. The northern part of the Basin is characterized by salt movements mainly linked to the extensional deformations of the area. South of the Betics Front, the salt is remobilized by compressional deformations. The geometry and the location of the salt structures described onshore and offshore depend on the initial thickness of the salt in the basin; this observation gives evidence for the paleogeography of the Keuper sequences in the south of Valencia Basin.Finally, this study documents the mechanisms leading to the formation of intracontinental basins and especially the relationships between hyperextension, sedimentary filling and halokinesis. On the other hand, our study allows a better integration of the southern part of the Balearic Promontory and Valencia Basin in the geodynamic frame of the West Mediterranean

Extreme Mesozoic Crustal Thinning in the Eastern Iberia Margin: The Example of the Columbrets Basin (Valencia Trough)

International audienceEastern Iberia preserves a complex succession of Mesozoic rifts partly or completely inverted during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic in relation with Africa-Eurasia convergence. Notably, the Valencia Trough, classically viewed as part of the Cenozoic West Mediterranean basins, preserves in its southwestern part a thick Mesozoic succession (locally ≈10 km thick) over a highly thinned continental basement (locally only ≈3.5 km thick). This subbasin, referred to as the Columbrets Basin, represents a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous hyperextended rift basin weakly overprinted by subsequent events. Its initial configuration is well preserved allowing us to unravel its 3-D architecture and tectonostratigraphic evolution in the frame of the Mesozoic evolution of eastern Iberia. The Columbrets Basin benefits from an extensive data set combining high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, drill holes, seismic refraction data, and expanding spread profiles. The interactions between halokinesis, involving the Upper Triassic salt, and extensional deformation controlled the architecture of the Mesozoic basin. The thick uppermost Triassic to Cretaceous succession displays a large-scale "syncline" shape, progressively stretched and dismembered toward the basin borders. We propose that the SE border of the basin is characterized by a large extensional detachment fault acting at crustal scale and interacting locally with the Upper Triassic décollement. This extensional structure accommodates the exhumation of the continental basement and part of the crustal thinning. Eventually, our results highlight the complex interaction between extreme crustal thinning and occurrence of a prerift salt level for the deformation style and tectonostratigraphic evolution of hyperextended rift basins

Extreme Mesozoic Crustal Thinning in the Eastern Iberia Margin: The Example of the Columbrets Basin (Valencia Trough)

International audienceEastern Iberia preserves a complex succession of Mesozoic rifts partly or completely inverted during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic in relation with Africa-Eurasia convergence. Notably, the Valencia Trough, classically viewed as part of the Cenozoic West Mediterranean basins, preserves in its southwestern part a thick Mesozoic succession (locally ≈10 km thick) over a highly thinned continental basement (locally only ≈3.5 km thick). This subbasin, referred to as the Columbrets Basin, represents a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous hyperextended rift basin weakly overprinted by subsequent events. Its initial configuration is well preserved allowing us to unravel its 3-D architecture and tectonostratigraphic evolution in the frame of the Mesozoic evolution of eastern Iberia. The Columbrets Basin benefits from an extensive data set combining high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, drill holes, seismic refraction data, and expanding spread profiles. The interactions between halokinesis, involving the Upper Triassic salt, and extensional deformation controlled the architecture of the Mesozoic basin. The thick uppermost Triassic to Cretaceous succession displays a large-scale "syncline" shape, progressively stretched and dismembered toward the basin borders. We propose that the SE border of the basin is characterized by a large extensional detachment fault acting at crustal scale and interacting locally with the Upper Triassic décollement. This extensional structure accommodates the exhumation of the continental basement and part of the crustal thinning. Eventually, our results highlight the complex interaction between extreme crustal thinning and occurrence of a prerift salt level for the deformation style and tectonostratigraphic evolution of hyperextended rift basins

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