Investigating the role of the Galicia Bank on the formation of the North West Iberian margin using deformable plate tectonic models

Formation of Continental Microplates Through Rift Linkage: Numerical Modeling and Its Application to the Flemish Cap and Sao Paulo Plateau

“…Other continental promontories that likely formed as microplates via overlapping rift segments can be found in the Atlantic Ocean: The Galicia Bank, Porcupine Bank, Rockall Bank offshore Western Europe, and the Faroes/Fugloy ridge north of Scotland (King et al., 2020; Peace et al., 2019; Scotchman et al., 2010; Yang & Welford, 2021), the NE Brazilian Sergipe Microplate that is bordered by the failed Tucano and Jatoba Rifts (Heine et al., 2013; Szatmari & Milani, 1999), as well as the Falkland Islands microcontinent (Stanca et al., 2019). A prominent example in the Indian Ocean is Sri Lanka (Gibbons et al., 2013; Premarathne et al., 2016), and a perhaps less obvious one is the Exmouth Plateau on the Australian NW Shelf which operated briefly in the late Jurassic (Heine & Müller, 2005; Longley et al., 2002).…”

Investigating the Plate Kinematics of the Bay of Biscay Using Deformable Plate Tectonic Models

“…The independent motion of relatively undeformed continental blocks and their significant role in shaping the present-day crustal architecture of rifted margins throughout the southern North Atlantic have been highlighted in previous deformable plate modeling studies (King et al, 2020;Peace et al, 2019). In the Bay of Biscay, the Landes High, Le Danois High, and Ebro Block are continental blocks of different sizes defined in previous potential field, rigid plate reconstruction, and seismic studies, and are considered to have played an important role in partitioning/distributing transtensional and extensional deformation during rifting and the short-lived opening of this region (Cadenas et al, 2018;Nirrengarten et al, 2018;Tugend et al, 2015a).…”

“…To study the plate kinematic evolution of the Bay of Biscay, the deformable plate tectonic modeling methodology introduced by Gurnis et al. (2018), and applied in other studies (Flament et al., 2014; Gurnis et al., 2018; King et al., 2020; Müller et al., 2019; Peace et al., 2019b; Welford et al., 2018), was implemented using the GPlates software, version 2.2 (Müller et al., 2019). Using this approach (Figure 2), deformable plate tectonic models were constructed to analyze the plate kinematics of continental blocks within the Bay of Biscay, and resultant present‐day crustal thickness estimates within deformable regions.…”

“…With respect to uncertainties such as those associated with the Bay of Biscay plate kinematics, results calculated via deformable plate models often provide a better method of comparison with independent observations such as gravity inversion crustal thickness and the timing and styles of deformation derived from interpretations made from seismic and well data. Thus, previous studies focused on investigating the present-day structure within the Bay of Biscay through analysis of seismic, potential field, and well data (e.g., Bois et al, 1997;Jammes et al, 2010c;Thinon et al, 2003;Tugend et al, 2014Tugend et al, , 2015aTugend et al, , 2015b) provide an excellent source of compar-ison for assessing the validity of results produced by deformable plate models as demonstrated elsewhere (King et al, 2020;Peace et al, 2019b;Welford et al, 2018).…”

“…Crustal thickness estimates calculated from gravity inversion provide valuable insight into the present-day crustal architecture of rifted margins (Gozzard et al, 2019;Kusznir et al, 2020;Tugend et al, 2014;Welford et al, 2010Welford et al, , 2012 and offer a good method of comparison to assess the validity of crustal thicknesses calculated by deformable plate models (King et al, 2020;Peace et al, 2019b;Welford et al, 2018). In this study, three different gravity inversion crustal thickness calculations are considered to examine the present-day architecture of the Bay of Biscay and to compare with crustal thicknesses calculated in the Bay of Biscay by deformable plate models.…”