Break-up of Pangaea and Tectonic History of the Adria Microplate

Details Break-up of Pangaea and Tectonic History of the Adria Microplate Break-up of Pangaea and Tectonic History of the Adria Microplate

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.t11b1873s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #T11B-1873

Mathematics

Logic

8108 Continental Tectonics: Compressional, 8109 Continental Tectonics: Extensional (0905), 8157 Plate Motions: Past (3040)

Scientific paper

A new kinematic model is proposed for the tectonic evolution of the western Tethys and the Adria microplate, constrained by the Atlantic plate kinematics and on land geologic evidences. The model defines thirteen tectonic phases, spanning the time interval from the late Ladinian (230 Ma) to the present. During the first phase, from the late Ladinian (230 Ma) to the latest Rhaetian (200 Ma), rifting proceeded along the eastern margin of North America, the northwest African margin, the High, Saharan and Tunisian Atlas, determining the formation of a separate Moroccan microplate at the interface between Gondwana and Laurasia. To the East, the break-up of Pangaea proceeded through a new phase of spreading in the central Mediterranean (Lagonegro basin) and the Tethys Ocean, while Adria remained attached to the southern Eurasian margin. During the second phase, from the latest Rhaetian (200 Ma) to the late Pliensbachian (185 Ma), oceanic crust started forming between the East Coast and Blake Spur magnetic anomalies, while the Morrocan Meseta simply continued to rift away from North America. During this time interval the Atlas rift reached its maximum extent. In the western Tethys region, cessation of spreading in the Lagonegro and Ionian Basins was accompanied by the formation of a new plate boundary which rifted Adria from Eurasia. The third phase, from the late Pliensbachian (185 Ma) to chron M21 (147.7 Ma), was triggered by the northward jump of the main plate boundary connecting the central Atlantic with the Tethys area. Therefore, as soon as rifting in the Atlas zone ceased, plate motion started along complex fault systems between Morocco and Iberia, while a rift/drift transition occurred in the northern segment of the central Atlantic, between Morocco and the conjugate margin of Nova Scotia. Sea floor spreading also started in the Mediterranean area, forming the Ligurian and Alpine Tethys oceans. The next two phases, from chron M21 (147.7 Ma) to chron M0 (120.4) describe the process of formation of an independent Iberian plate and the opening of the Valais oceanic seaway. The sixth phase, from chron M0 (120.4) to the Albian-Cenomanian boundary ("î100 Ma), is associated with the early Alpine collision. During the seventh phase, from the Albian-Cenomanian boundary ("î100 Ma) to chron C34ny (83.5 Ma), a relatively large block comprising Adria, Greece, and Turkey separated from Africa, determining a new spreading event in the eastern Mediterranean and further East in the Tethys. The next four phases, from chron C34ny (83.5 Ma) to chron C13 (33.1 Ma), describe the Pyrenean and Alpine collisions, the subduction of the Ligurian and Valais oceans, the progressive internal deformation of Adria, and the assembly of the modern Anatolian block. In phase 12, from chron C13 (33.1 Ma) to chron C6n (19 Ma), are included the formation of the Atlas mountain belt and the onset of rifting and sea-floor spreading in the western Mediterranean. During this time interval Morocco was an independent plate with a distinct spreading rate with respect to North America. Finally, during the last phase passive subduction of the last remains of southern Liguride, Ionian, and Pennine oceans determined the opening of the Alboran, Tyrrhenian, and Pannonian basins, accompanied by trench retreat. Thirteen plate tectonic reconstructions and a computer animation are proposed to illustrate the major phases of plate motions in the western Tethys region during and after the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent.

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