Lithospheric structure in NW of Africa: Case of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains

The origin of the low-velocity anomalies beneath the rootless Atlas Mountains: an insight gained from modeling of anisotropy developed by the travel of Canary Plume

“…Previous studies suggested no deep crustal root (Ayarza et al, 2005;Missenard et al, 2006;Sandvol et al, 1998) and thinned lithosphere beneath the mountains (Anahnah et al, 2011;Ayarza et al, 2005;Missenard et al, 2006;Sun et al, 2014;Teixell et al, 2003Teixell et al, , 2005Timoulali et al, 2019;Zeyen et al, 2005). Detailed geophysical investigations further found a conduit of the low-velocity anomalies below the mountains (Bezada et al, 2014;Calvert et al, 2000;Fullea et al, 2010;Miller et al, 2015;Palomeras et al, 2014;Seber et al, 1996;Timoulali et al, 2015). These investigations conclusively interpret that the buoyancy, which comes from the hot mantle, is supporting the high topography of the mountains instead of a crustal root.…”

The Origin of the Low‐Velocity Anomalies Beneath the Rootless Atlas Mountains: Insights Gained From Modeling of Anisotropy Developed by the Travel of Canary Plume

“…Previous studies have suggested (a) the absence of a deep crustal root (Ayarza et al., 2005; Miller & Becker, 2014; Missenard et al., 2006; Sandvol et al., 1998) or (b) thinned lithosphere beneath mountains (Anahnah et al., 2011; Ayarza et al., 2005; Civiero et al., 2018; Miller & Becker, 2014; Missenard et al., 2006; Sun et al., 2014; Teixell et al., 2003, 2005; Timoulali et al., 2019; Zeyen et al., 2005). Detailed geophysical investigations have revealed low‐velocity anomalies in the upper mantle below the mountains (e.g., Bezada et al., 2014; Calvert et al., 2000; Civiero et al., 2018, 2019; Fullea et al., 2010; Miller et al., 2015; Palomeras et al., 2014; Seber et al., 1996; Timoulali et al., 2015). These investigations conclude that buoyancy of the underlying hot mantle supports the high topography of the mountains rather than a crustal root.…”