Campo de deformación cortical actual de la Península Ibérica estimado a partir de medidas GPS

Abstract

We present the crustal deformation field in the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, based on the analysis of the continuous GPS (CGPS) observations for the last five years, combined with the survey style observations (SGPS) of the CuaTeNeo network in eastern Betics. The analyzed CGPS stations come from several national and regional GNSS networks, with variable monument design and stability. Four CuaTeNeo campaigns were conducted with approximately a 4-year interval from 1997 to 2011. Although the calculated deformation field is complex, some expected features could be easily identified. Considering the Eurasia fixed frame, the highest velocities, as expected, are observed in Morocco, where the velocities reach 4.7±0.2 mm/yr. In southern Spain, stations located west of Almeria exhibit a westerly trend of motion, which reach 3.2±0.1 mm/yr at station SFER. The direction of these vectors makes us think that the main driving force behind the observed deformations cannot be solely attributed to the Africa-Eurasia convergence, but it should be due to the deeper geodynamic processes related to the subduction of the Betic-Alboran slab.

Four decades of geophysical research on Iberia and adjacent margins

“…This result was later confirmed by Rigo et al (2015), concluding that Iberia is nowadays attached to the Eurasian plate and that the continental collision that generated the Pyrenean range has waned. The data compiled by Khazaradze et al (2014) confirms the small to non-existent deformation in the northern and central parts of Iberia, increasing towards the south across the wide Africa/Eurasian plate boundary, where a relative motion of about 5 mm/y is accommodated. In this southern region, Koulali et al (2011) observed a relative west-southwest motion (2-3 mm/y) of sites located in the southwestern Betics with respect to the European plate and a clockwise rotation for stations in SW Betics and in Central Rif.…”