Stratigraphic Record of the Early Mesozoic Breakup of Pangea in the Laurasia-Gondwana Rift System

Olsen, Paul E.

doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.25.1.337

Cited by 298 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 155 publications

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“…They developed firstly during the Upper Triassic at the same time as the rifting in Central Atlantic (Leleu et al, 2016;Olsen, 1997;Withjack et al, 1998 and references therein) and in the Alpine domain (Bertotti et al, 1993). Then, whereas slow oceanic accretion or mantle exhumation began in the Central Atlantic (Labails, 2007;Sibuet et al, 2012), they recorded a new rifting phase in the Lower Jurassic.…”

Section: Oceanization Steps In the Tethys Realmmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Leprêtre

Lamotte

Combier

et al. 2018

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

103

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-The Tell-Rif (Tell in Algeria and Tunisia; Rif in Morocco) is the orogenic system fringing to the south the West Mediterranean basins. This system comprises three major tectonic-palaeogeographic zones from north to south: (1) the internal zones (AlKaPeCa for Alboran, Kabylies, Peloritan, Calabria) originating from the former northern European margin of the Maghrebian Tethys, (2) the "Flyschs zone" regarded as the former cover of the oceanic domain and (3) the external zones, forming the former southern Maghrebian Tethys margin more or less inverted. The Tell-Rif is interpreted as the direct result of the progressive closure of the Maghrebian Tethys until the collision between AlKaPeCa and Africa and, subsequently, the propagation of the deformation within Africa. This gives a consistent explanation for the offshore Neogene geodynamics and most authors share this simple scenario. Nevertheless, the current geodynamic models do not completely integrate the Tell-Rif geology. Based on the analysis of surface and sub-surface data, we propose a reappraisal of its present-day geometry in terms of geodynamic evolution. We highlight its non-cylindrical nature resulting from both the Mesozoic inheritance and the conditions of the tectonic inversion. During the Early Jurassic, we emphasize the development of NE-SW basins preceding the establishment of an E-W transform corridor connecting the Central Atlantic Ocean with the Ligurian Tethys. The Maghrebian Tethys developed just after, as the result of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous left-lateral spreading between Africa and Iberia. By the Late Cretaceous, the occurrence of several tectonic events is related to the progressive convergence convergence between the two continents. A major pre-Oligocene (pre-35 Ma) compressional event is recorded in the Tell-Rif system. The existence of HP-LT metamorphic rocks associated with fragments of mantle in the External Metamorphic Massifs of the Eastern Rif and Western Tell shows that, at that time, the western part of the North-African margin was involved in a subduction below a deep basin belonging to the Maghrebian Tethys. At the same time, the closure of the West Ligurian Tethys through east-verging subduction led to a shift of the subduction, which jumped to the other side of AlKaPeCa involving both East Ligurian and Maghrebian Tethys. Slab rollback led to the development of the Oligo-Miocene back-arc basins of the West-Mediterranean, reworking the previous West Ligurian Tethys suture. The docking of AlKaPeCa against Africa occurred during the Late Burdigalian (17 Ma). Subsequently, the slab tearing triggered westward and eastward lateral movements that are responsible for the formation of the Gibraltar and Tyrrhenian Arcs respectively. The exhumation of the External Metamorphic Massifs occurred through tectonic underplating during the westward translation of the Alboran Domain. It resulted in the formation of both foredeep and wedge-top basins younger and younger westward. The lack of these elements in the eastern part ...

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Section: Oceanization Steps In the Tethys Realmmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Leprêtre

Lamotte

Combier

et al. 2018

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

103

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Section: Early Jurassic (235-190 Ma): the Central Atlantic Magmatic Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonmarine sediments and salt deposits accumulate in these rift basins (Olsen, 1997;Brownfield and Charpentier, 2003;Davison, 2005). The extent of these deposits may have been much wider originally, given the pervasive unconformity truncating the late synrift sediments (Olsen, 1997;Withjack et al, 1998). The Guinea-Liberia margin segment Ye et al | Evolution of northwestern Africa and its Atlantic margins GEOSPHERE | Volume 13 | Number 4 seems to experience crustal stretching at this time, given the accumulations of aeolian sediments interbedded with basaltic lava flows reported in South America Soares Júnior et al, 2011).…”

Section: Early Jurassic (235-190 Ma): the Central Atlantic Magmatic Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleogeographic and structural evolution of northwestern Africa and its Atlantic margins since the early Mesozoic

Chardon

Rouby

et al. 2017

Geosphere

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The geological evolution of northwestern Africa and its continental margins is investigated in the light of nine Meso-Cenozoic paleogeological maps, which integrate original minimal extent of sedimentary deposits beyond their present-day erosional limits. Mapping is based on a compilation of published original data on the stratigraphy and depositional environments of sediments, structures, magmatism, and low-temperature thermochonology, as well as on the interpretation of industrial seismic and borehole data.We show that rifting of the equatorial domain propagated eastward from the Central Atlantic between the Valanginian (ca. 140 Ma) and the Aptian (ca. 112 Ma) as an en echelon strike-slip and rift system connected to an inland rift network. This network defines a six-microplate synrift kinematic model for the African continental domain. We document persistent, long-wavelength eroding marginal upwarps that supplied clastic sediments to the offshore margin basins and a large intracratonic basin. The latter acted as a transient sediment reservoir because the products of its erosion were transferred both to the Tethys (to the north) and the Atlantic Ocean. This paired marginal upwarpintra cratonic basin source-to-sink system was perturbed by the growth of the late Paleogene Hoggar hotspot swell that fragmented the intracratonic basins into five residual depocenters. By linking the evolution of the continental margins to that of their African hinterland, this study bears important implications for the interplay of long-wavelength deformation and sediment transfers over paired shield-continental margin systems.

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“…Sediment may have also come from eastward flowing rivers, but later erosion has removed any such strata (Hubert et al 1992). As extension waned in the Pleinsbachian, the rate of subsidence decreased and sediments filled the basin to the outlet, resulting in an open basin in which the mainly fluvial upper Portland Formation was deposited (Olsen et al 1989(Olsen et al , 2005Olsen 1997;Hubert et al 1992).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into an Early Jurassic dinosaur habitat: ichnofacies and enigmatic structures from the Portland Formation, Hoover Quarry, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Collette

Getty²,

Hagadorn

2011

atgeol

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Jurassic sandstones of the Hartford Basin are well known for their dinosaur trackways, but few studies have characterized their invertebrate ichnofaunas. A notable Portland Formation exposure in this area is the Hoover Quarry in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where vertebrate skeletal material (the type specimen of the crocodilian Stegomosuchus longipes) occurs in association with a diverse ichnofauna. Hoover Quarry ichnogenera include Eubrontes cf. gracilis, Planolites beverleyensis, Planolites montanus, probable Scoyenia burrows, and Skolithos isp. Also preserved at the site is Palaeophycus tortuosus, a sinusoidal burrow that had been previously synonymized with Palaeophycus tubularis. A probable Skolithos burrow termination with an unusual pattern of scratches also occurs, along with several problematic stellate structures. At this site, primary sedimentary structures on trace bearing surfaces are consistent with deposition in a shallow aquatic environment that was periodically emergent. Viewed in the context of nearby sections of the Portland Formation, Hoover Quarry exposures could have been deposited in fluvial, ephemeral lacustrine, or playa environments. Traces in the Hoover Quarry indicate Scoyenia-Skolithos-composite ichnofacies, elements of which are commonly produced in continental firmground environments. RÉSUMÉLes grès du Jurassique dans le bassin de Hartford sont reconnus pour la présence d'empreintes de dinosaures. Mais peu d'études ont permis de caractériser l'ichnofaune invertébrée qu'on peut également y observer. Un affleurement notable de la Formation Portland dans la région est présent dans la carrière Hoover, à East Longmeadow, au Massachusetts, où des matériaux de squelettes de vertébrés (le spécimen type du crocodilien Stegomosuchus longipes) et une ichnofaune diversifiée sont présents. L'ichnofaune de la carrière Hoover comprend les espèces comme Eubrontes cf. gracilis, Planolites beverleyensis, Planolites montanus, vraisemblablement des terriers de Scoyenia, et Skolithos. Il y a également sur le site l'espèce Palaeophycus tortuosus, un terrier sinusoïdal qui a déjà été nommé Palaeophycus tubularis. L'extrémité d'un terrier de l'espèce probable Skolithos accompagnée d'une série inusitée de stries ou d'éraflures est en outre présente, tout comme plusieurs structures étoilées dont l'origine demeure mystérieuse. Sur le site, des structures primaires sur des surfaces marquées de traces correspondraient à une sédimentation dans un milieu aquatique peu profond qui a émergé à intervalles périodiques. Considéré dans le contexte des sections de la Formation Portland, situées à proximité, le dépôt des affleurements de la carrière Hoover pourrait être survenu dans un milieu fluvial, lacustre éphémère ou en présence d'un lac temporaire. Les traces relevées dans la carrière Hoover indiquent la présence d'un ichnofaciès composite de type Scoyenia-Skolithos, dont les éléments sont couramment produits dans un milieu de sol continental à cohésion moyenne.[Traduit par la redaction]

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Stratigraphic Record of the Early Mesozoic Breakup of Pangea in the Laurasia-Gondwana Rift System

Cited by 298 publications

References 155 publications

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

The Tell-Rif orogenic system (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the structural heritage of the southern Tethys margin

Paleogeographic and structural evolution of northwestern Africa and its Atlantic margins since the early Mesozoic

Insights into an Early Jurassic dinosaur habitat: ichnofacies and enigmatic structures from the Portland Formation, Hoover Quarry, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

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