Controls on the location of compressional deformation on the NW European margin

Abstract

The distribution of Cenozoic compressional structures along the NW European margin has been compared with maps of the thickness of the crystalline crust derived from a compilation of seismic refraction interpretations and gravity modelling, and with the distribution of high-velocity lower crust and/or partially serpentinized upper mantle detected by seismic experiments. Only a subset of the mapped compressional structures coincide with areas susceptible to lithospheric weakening as a result of crustal hyperextension and partial serpentinization of the upper mantle. Notably, partially serpentinized upper mantle is well documented beneath the central part of the southern Rockall Basin, but compressional features are sparse in that area. Where compressional structures have formed but the upper mantle is not serpentinized, simple rheological modelling suggests an alternative weakening mechanism involving ductile lower crust and lithospheric decoupling. The presence of pre-existing weak zones (associated with the properties of the gouge and overpressure in fault zones) and local stress magnitude and orientation are important contributing factors.Gold Open Access: This article is published under the terms of the CC-BY 3.0 license.

Constraints Imposed by Rift Inheritance on the Compressional Reactivation of a Hyperextended Margin: Mapping Rift Domains in the North Iberian Margin and in the Cantabrian Mountains

“…We show that the mapping of rift domains is a useful tool to predict the initial locus of inversion within rift systems. Such inversion has been studied previously in areas where reactivation was minor (Kimbell et al, ; Péron‐Pinvidic et al, ; Thinon et al, ).The distinctive compressional overprint observed along the North Iberian margin makes this margin a remarkable setting to study the influence of rift structural inheritance on the subsequent compression. Although it has been proposed before that some of the lateral changes observed along the Pyrenean‐Cantabrian orogen could be related to the initial rift structure (Fernández‐Viejo et al, ; Roca et al, ), our work adds more insights into the role of rift inheritance on reactivation processes (Mohn et al, ; Tugend et al, ).…”

Break-up and seafloor spreading domains in the NE Atlantic

“…Doré & Lundin 1996;Japsen & Chalmers 2000;Lundin & Doré 2002;Ritchie et al 2003;Gomez & Verges 2005;Doré et al 2008;Stoker et al 2010;Tuitt et al 2010;Japsen et al 2012;Yamato et al 2013;Døss-ing et al 2016). Cenozoic compressional domes have been described on the Vøring, Faroe -Shetland and Hatton margins, in the Rockall Basin (for a short summary see Kimbell et al 2016), and in the NE Greenland margin (Price & Whitham 1997;Hamann et al 2005). Few distinct phases of compressional dome formation along the west European margin are identified for post-break-up times in the NE Atlantic: Early and Mid-Eocene, Mid-EoceneOligocene and Mid-Miocene (e.g.…”

“…Few distinct phases of compressional dome formation along the west European margin are identified for post-break-up times in the NE Atlantic: Early and Mid-Eocene, Mid-EoceneOligocene and Mid-Miocene (e.g. Doré et al 2008; and see the summary in Kimbell et al 2016). Previous studies have postulated a range of possible causes for post-break-up compression along the NE Atlantic margins, and they range from, for example, ridge-push and gravity potential forces, mantle convection (including small-scale convection along passive margins), far-field stresses, and differential compaction (for a comprehensive review see Doré et al 2008).…”

Structural inheritance in the North Atlantic

“…On the NE Atlantic margins, the widespread Cenozoic inversion structures (Stephenson et al this volume;Johnson et al 2005;Doré et al 2008;Pascal and Cloetingh 2009) also seem to track underlying extensional basin and lithospheric structure (Nielsen et al 2014). This, in turn, was probably inherited indirectly from basement fabric (Kimbell et al 2017;Reilly et al 2017).…”