21 research outputs found
Structure and evolution of the ââOlistostromeââ complex of the Gibraltar Arc in the Gulf of CĂĄdiz (eastern Central Atlantic): evidence from two long seismic cross-sections
Reflection profiles characterize the structure and the upper Mesozoic to Cenozoic deposits of the Gulf of CaÂŽdiz region. Two
long ENEâWSW multichannel seismic lines (ca. 400â500 km long) are analyzed to study the evolution of the area from the
continental shelf to the Horseshoe and Seine abyssal plains. The huge allochthonous deposits emplaced in this region (the socalled
ââOlistostromeââ of the Gulf of Cadiz) are described in terms of three different domains on the basis of the seismic
architecture, the main tectonic features and the nature of the basement, oceanic or continental. The eastern domain extends
along the continental shelf and upper and middle slope and corresponds to the offshore extension of the BeticâRifean external
front. It is characterized by salt and shale nappes later affected by extensional collapses. The central domain develops along the
lower slope between the BeticâRifean front and the abyssal plains and is characterized by a change in dip of the allochthonous
basal surface and the basement. The allochthonous masses were emplaced by a combined gravitational and tectonic mechanism.
The northern boundary of this domain is marked by the occurrence of an outstanding WNWâESE-trending thrust fault with a
strike-slip component, termed here as the GorringeâHorseshoe fault. The westernmost domain corresponds to the abyssal
plains, where the distal emplacement of the allochthonous body takes place; it is characterized by thrust faults affecting both the
sedimentary cover and the oceanic basement. The allochthonous masses show a less chaotic character and the thickness
decreases notably. These domains represent different evolutionary steps in the mechanisms of emplacement of the
allochthonous units. The eastern domain of the allochthonous units was emplaced as part of the pre-Messinian orogenic wedge
related to the collision that gave rise to the BeticâRifean Belt, whereas the allochthonous wedge of the central and western
domains were emplaced later as a consequence of the NEâSW late Miocene compression that continues in present times