Crustal deformation and submarine canyon incision in a Meso-Cenozoic first-order transfer zone (SW Iberia, North Atlantic Ocean)

Structural, stratigraphic and sedimentological characterisation of a wide rift system: The Triassic rift system of the Central Atlantic Domain

“…After 195 Ma, ocean opening jumped to the east in the Tethys domain and sea floor spreading occurred in the Alpine Tethys region (Frizon de Lamotte et al, 2011). In the Northern Segment (between Newfoundland and Iberia), another phase of rifting started during the Late Jurassic (Sinclair et al, 1994), possibly commencing as early as the Early Jurassic (Pereira & Alves, 2013) with break-up in general occurring during the Early Cretaceous (Ziegler, 1988;Mauffret et al, 1989) and more precisely from 128 Ma (Barremian) between Grand Banks and the Portuguese margin (e.g. Peron-Pinvidic et al, 2007).…”

“…The geometry and structural development of most Triassic basins in Newfoundland and Portugal had been largely overlooked until relatively recently (Azerêdo et al, 2003;Soares et al, 2012;Uphoff, 2005), however it seems clear that the Silves and Dagorda Formation in Portugal have a rather tabular geometry when considered at a regional/ seismic-scale (Alves et al, 2003;Alves et al, 2009;Pereira & Alves, 2011;Pereira et al, 2013). However, localised wedge geometries and thickening towards basin-bounding faults have occasionally been observed beneath the Jurassic (Alves et al, 2003;Pereira & Alves, 2013). Similar to Morocco, observations of depocenter shifting in the onshore Lusitanian Basin have been recorded from the Silves Formation (Matos et al, 2010).…”

Crustal seismic structure beneath Portugal and southern Galicia (Western Iberia) and the role of Variscan inheritance

“…The actual tectono-structural outline of the W edge of Iberian Peninsula (Portugal) is the result of three main orogenic events: Cadomian orogeny (660-540 My) (Linnemann et al, 2008;Ribeiro et al, 2009), Variscan Orogeny (380-280 My) (Arenas et al, 2016a;Simancas et al, 2013) and Alpine orogeny (125-37My) (Jeanniot et al, 2016;Pereira et al, 2016;Pereira and Alves, 2013). The main and most important orogenic event that delineates all the major faults of the territory and tectonic shape is the Variscan event.…”

Along-strike segmentation of the South China Sea margin imposed by inherited pre-rift basement structures

“…Rifted continental margins are formed when continental lithosphere is extended, thinned, fragmented and broken apart, eventually leading to the formation of oceanic crust (Piqué and Laville, 1996;Tommasi and Vauchez, 2001;Manatschal, 2004;Peron-Pinvidic et al, 2007;Franke et al, 2013;Petersen and Schiffer, 2016). Inherited structures in continental lithosphere, such as suture zones and young orogenic belts, tend to form crustal weaknesses that play an important role in controlling the location and duration of extension, the regional thermal structure, and the structural and depositional styles of rifted margins (Dunbar and Sawyer, 1989;Ring, 1994;Morley, 2010;Pereira and Alves, 2013;Philippon et al, 2015;Festa et al, 2019). In fact, field observations complemented by numerical and analogue models show that the nature, extent and orientation of pre-existing weakness zones in basement units are able to influence continental rifting and the post-rift evolution of continental margins, with deformation being localised in these same zones (Jackson et al, 1982;van Wijk, 2005;Corti et al, 2008;Morley, 2010;Philippon et al, 2015).…”

“…In fact, field observations complemented by numerical and analogue models show that the nature, extent and orientation of pre-existing weakness zones in basement units are able to influence continental rifting and the post-rift evolution of continental margins, with deformation being localised in these same zones (Jackson et al, 1982;van Wijk, 2005;Corti et al, 2008;Morley, 2010;Philippon et al, 2015). Furthermore, inherited crustal structures are capable of focusing later tectonic reactivation, seismicity and strain well after continental breakup is achieved (Corti et al, 2008;Pereira and Alves, 2013).…”