Mesozoic rotation of Iberia: Subduction in the Pyrenees?

Following on paleomagnetic studies in the sixties showing ~ 35° counterclockwise rotation of Iberia during the Mesozoic, two classes of scenarios have been proposed for the motion history of Iberia which are currently competing. One class infers convergence in the Pyrenees in response to a scissor-type opening of the Bay of Biscay, described by a pole of rotation for Iberia with respect to Europe located within the Bay. The other class of scenarios assumes extensional or transtensional motions in the Pyrenees, compatible with opening of the Bay of Biscay described by a pole of rotation located in northern France. Although plate-kinematic studies over the last decade increasingly support the scissor-type model, geological studies in the Pyrenees have accumulated arguments in favour of an extensional or transtensional regime in the Pyrenean realm.We perform a detailed plate-kinematic analysis of the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous motion history of Iberia and surrounding plates with respect to Europe. A total of six sea-floor reconstructions in combination with paleomagnetic studies onland allow to recognize four distinct stages. (1) Early rifting and ultraslow spreading since the Kimmeridgean led to the development of an oceanic Neotethys domain north of Iberia. (2) This was followed by ~ 35° CCW rotation of Iberia during the Aptian, kinematically linked to progressive opening of the Bay of Biscay. (3) Motions in the Bay became stagnant during the Albian till Santonian, followed by the latest stages of spreading in the Bay, and (4) onset of largely Tertiary continental collision between Iberia and Europe eventually leading to the present day structure of the belt.Our analysis confirms the results of previous studies indicating that extensional or transtensional motions in the Pyrenean realm during opening of the Bay of Biscay and concurrent rotation of Iberia are incompatible with plate-kinematic reconstructions based on sea-floor anomalies. This invites a reappraisal of the geological data. Convergence in the Pyrenean realm during opening of the Bay and rotation of Iberia was accommodated by up to 300 km of subduction of mantle-dominated ocean floor exhumed during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous. The stagnant stage in the progressive opening of the Bay indicates that convergence in the Pyrenean realm virtually came to a halt during the Albian. We hypothesize that the lithosphere previously subducted during Aptian convergence became gravitationally unstable, leading to asthenospheric upwelling and consequent magmatism and high temperature metamorphism in the overlying European margin now exposed in the North Pyrenean Zone. Aside from these magmatic and thermal effects, an enhanced gravitational potential energy of the remaining lithosphere column underlain by shallow asthenosphere may have led to a stress state allowing belt-parallel extensional deformation. Such a detachment scenario, inspired by plate-kinematic results, may provide an alternative to explain many of the geological data commonly quoted to infer a transtensional or extensional tectonic regime in the Pyrenees during the rotation of Iberia.     

Cretaceous slab break-off in the Pyrenees: Iberian plate kinematics in paleomagnetic and mantle reference frames

The Pyrenees at the Iberia–Europe collision zone contain sediments showing Albian–Cenomanian high-temperature metamorphism, and coeval alkaline magmatic rocks. Stemming from different views on Jurassic–Cretaceous Iberian microplate kinematics, two schools of thought exist on the trigger of this thermal pulse: one invoking hyperextension of the Iberian and Eurasian margins, the other suggesting slab break-off. Competing scenarios for Mesozoic Iberian motion compatible with Pyrenean geology, comprise (1) transtensional eastward motion of Iberia versus Eurasia, or (2) strike-slip motion followed by orthogonal extension, both favoring hyperextension-related heating, and (3) scissor-style opening of the Bay of Biscay coupled with subduction in the Pyrenean realm, favoring the slab break-off hypothesis. We test these kinematic scenarios for Iberia against a newly compiled paleomagnetic dataset and conclude that the scissor-type scenario is the only one consistent with a well-defined ~ 35° counterclockwise rotation of Iberia during the Early Aptian. We proceed to show that when taking absolute plate motions into account, Aptian oceanic subduction in the Pyrenees followed by Late Aptian–Early Albian slab break-off should leave a slab remnant in the present-day mid-mantle below NW Africa. Mantle tomography shows the Reggane anomaly that matches the predicted position and dimension of such a slab remnant between 1900 and 1500 km depth below southern Algeria. Mantle tomography is therefore consistent with the scissor-type opening of the Bay of Biscay coupled with subduction in the Pyrenean realm. Slab break-off may thus explain high-temperature metamorphism and alkaline magmatism during the Albian–Cenomanian in the Pyrenees, whereas hyperextension that exhumed Pyrenean mantle bodies occurred much earlier, in the Jurassic.     

A newly dated Cretaceous hydrothermal event in the Iberian Ranges (Eastern Spain) and its significance within the Mesozoic thermal history in the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula hosts the world-class Hg mining district of Almadén. Besides pre-Hercynian ore bodies, alpine-cycle Hg-bearing veins are also present in the eastern Iberian Ranges (Espadán deposits). We present both the first absolute ages (84±4 and 85±3 Ma) for a post-Hercynian Hg deposit in Spain, obtained from primary muscovites, and a complete compilation of published Mesozoic radiometric absolute ages of the Iberian Peninsula. We deduce that there are three main thermal episodes that affected the Iberian Peninsula, which have been revealed after the comparison among the magmatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal ages. Moreover, the Espadán hydrothermal system was active when both the Cretaceous alkalic magmatism took place in Southern Portugal and in the Pyrenees, and during the opening of the Bay of Biscay.     

Jurassic extension and Cenozoic inversion tectonics in the Asturian Basin,NW Iberian Peninsula: 3D structural model and kinematic evolution

We constructed a geological map, a 3D model and cross-sections, carried out a structural analysis, determined the stress fields and tectonic transport vectors, restored a cross section and performed a subsidence analysis to unravel the kinematic evolution of the NE emerged portion of the Asturian Basin (NW Iberian Peninsula), where Jurassic rocks crop out. The major folds run NW-SE, normal faults exhibit three dominant orientations: NW-SE, NE-SW and E-W, and thrusts display E-W strikes. After Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic thermal subsidence, Middle Jurassic doming occurred, accompanied by normal faulting, high heat flow and basin uplift, followed by Upper Jurassic high-rate basin subsidence. Another extensional event, possibly during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, caused an increment in the normal faults displacement. A contractional event, probably of Cenozoic age, led to selective and irregularly distributed buttressing and fault reactivation as reverse or strike-slip faults, and folding and/or offset of some previous faults by new generation folds and thrusts. The Middle Jurassic event could be a precursor of the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic opening that occurred from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, whereas the Cenozoic event would be responsible for the Pyrenean and Cantabrian ranges and the partial closure of the Bay of Biscay.     

New evidence for the presence of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) on the Iberian Peninsula in the Pleistocene: an archaeopalaeontological and chronological reassessment

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) populations reached the Iberian Peninsula during the end of the Middle Pleistocene and there are numerous examples of this species from Late Pleistocene Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic sites. In this paper, new evidence of reindeer in the east Cantabrian region is presented that further supports the timing of this species’ first appearance, and previous assessments are updated. To date, the presence of this species has been identified at 55 sites in the Iberian Peninsula, nearly as many as those of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) combined. Most of the sites with presence of reindeer (50) are located in the Cantabrian region with a clear increase in the density of sites and remains towards the Pyrenees. The remaining five sites with evidence of reindeer are located on the other side of the Pyrenees in the NW corner of Catalonia. In contrast, archaeological evidence of reindeer in the form of art (both parietal and portable) is more scarce and scattered. Evidence for the representation of these animals has been found outside the northern fringe of the Iberian Peninsula, which could reflect either long‐distance cultural communication or the movement of human groups.     

The Late Cretaceous Alkaline Igneous Province in the Iberian Peninsula,and its tectonic significance

The Iberian Province consists of the following: the three subvolcanic, syenitic, major intrusive complexes of Monchique, Sines and Sintra in W. and SW Portugal, together with their basanitic/lamprophyric minor intrusive suites; basanitic volcanic complexes around Lisbon; at least some of a widespread suite of basanitic to theralitic minor intrusives in west central Portugal; about 80 small basanitic/lamprophyric to nepheline syenitic intrusions scattered through the Pyrenees, NE Spain, the French Corbières, and off the coast of NW Spain; and the Ormonde Seamount of the Gorringe Bank off the SW coast of Portugal. Most of these occurrences have been dated isotopically or from field evidence as Late Cretaceous. Geological and petrological details of the various occurrences are compiled and reviewed. Primary basanitic magmas were probably parental to the entire Province, and generated syenitic magmas by differentiation processes; oversaturated rocks were produced by alkali loss and perhaps also by crustal involvement. The Iberian Province is related to the opening of the N. Atlantic, specifically that of the Bay of Biscay.     

Tertiary compressional deformation of the Iberian plate

The Tertiary deformation of the Iberian plate is here interpreted as the result of changes in the coupling between the Iberian–African plates. During the early stages of the Africa/Iberia subduction (Palaeocene), deformation was confined at the Betic plate boundary. From the Eocene, during the collision in the southern plate margin, compressional deformation delocalized and distributed throughout the Iberian plate. First, in the Pyrenees, where the main stage of thrusting occurred during the Late Eocene – Early Oligocene. Then (mainly Oligocene – Late Miocene), in the inner part of the Iberian plate, forming basement uplifts in the Iberian Chain and the Central System, in correspondence of pre-existing (Mesozoic and Variscan) structures. Finally, during the decay of compression inside the Iberian plate, extension took place the Mediterranean margin and the Alboran Sea.     

Palaeomagnetic and structural constraints on 90° anticlockwise rotation in SW Mongolia during the Permo–Triassic: Implications for Altaid oroclinal bending. Preliminary palaeomagnetic results

New and published paleomagnetic measurements from Trans Altai and South Gobi zones in south Mongolia document large tectonic motions in between Late Carboniferous and Triassic. Magnetic inclinations confirm equatorial position of south Mongolian terranes in Late Carboniferous–Permian times. The evolution of magnetic declinations indicates 90° anticlockwise rotation in between latest Carboniferous and Early Triassic of all studied tectonic units around the Eulerian pole located close to axis of Mongolian orocline. The anticlockwise rotation continues in Triassic being accompanied by a major drift to the north. The structural and published geochronological data suggest Carboniferous E–W shortening of the whole region resulting in N–S trend of all continental and oceanic geological units followed by orthogonal N–S shortening during Late Permian to Early Jurassic. Both paleomagnetic and geological data converge in a tectonic model of oroclinal bending of Mongolian ribbon continent, westerly back arc oceanic domain and Mongol–Okhotsk subduction zone to the east. The oroclinal bending model is consistent with the coincidence of the Eulerian pole of rotation with the structural axis of Mongolian orocline. In addition, the Mesozoic collisional tectonics is reflected by late remagnetizations due to formation of wide deformation fronts and hydrothermal activity.     

Southern dispersal and Palaeoecological implications of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis): review of the Iberian occurrences

Cold-adapted large mammal populations spread southward during the coldest and driest phases of the Late Pleistocene reaching the Iberian Peninsula. Presence of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) can be identified from 23 Iberian sites, which is compiled and analyzed herein, and the fossil specimens from seven of these sites are described here for first time.Morphological and biometrical analyses demonstrate that the Iberian woolly rhinoceros did not significantly differ from individuals of other European populations, but represent the westernmost part of a continuous Eurasian belt of distribution.The first presence of woolly rhino in the Iberian Peninsula has been identified during the late Middle Pleistocene and early Late Pleistocene. However, the highest abundance of this species is recorded during MIS 3 and 2. The latest Iberian occurrences can be dated around 20 ka BP. The presence of woolly rhinoceros in the Iberian Peninsula correlates with periods of extreme dry and cold climatic conditions documented in Iberian terrestrial and marine sediment sequences.From a palaeobiogeographic point of view, the maximum southern spread of C. antiquitatis on the Iberian Peninsula was registered during the late Middle Pleistocene or early Late Pleistocene, reaching the latitude of Madrid (about 40°N). Subsequently, during MIS 3 and 2, all Iberian finds were restricted to the Northern regions of Iberia (Cantabrian area and Catalonia). The southern expansion of C. antiquitatis during the Late Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula reached similar latitudes to other Eurasian regions.The ecological composition of fossil assemblages with presence of woolly rhinoceros was statistically analyzed. Results show that temperate ungulate species are predominant at Iberian assemblages, resulting in a particular mixture of temperate and cold elements different of the typical Eurasian cold-adapted faunal associations. This particular situation suggests two possible explanations: a) Eventual migrations during the coldest time spans, resulting in a mixing of cold and temperate faunas, instead a faunal replacing; b) Persistence of woolly rhinoceros populations in the Iberian Peninsula during interglacial episodes confined at cryptic southern refugia.     

A Review of the Bentong-Raub Suture vis-à-vis New Insight of the Tectonic Evolution of Malay Peninsula,South East Asia

Genesis of the so‐called Bentong‐Raub Suture of Malay Peninsula does not fit to the model of subduction‐related collision. It has evolved from transpression tectonics resulting closure and exhumation of the inland basin which underwent extensive back‐arc extension during Triassic. Crust having similar thickness (average ～35 km) below entire Malay Peninsula nagate collision of two separate continental blocks rather supports single continental block that collided with South China continental block during Permo‐Triassic. Westward subduction of intervening sea (Proto South China Sea) below Malay Peninsula resulted in widespread I‐ and S‐Type granitization and volcanism in the back‐arc basins during Triassic. Extensive occurrence of Permo‐Triassic Pahang volcanics of predominantly rhyolitic tuff suggest its derivation from back‐arc extension. Back‐arc extension, basin development and sedimentation of the central belt of the peninsula continued until Cretaceous. A‐Type granite of metaluminous to peraluminous character indicates their emplacement in an intraplate tectonic setting. Malay Peninsula suffered an anticlockwise rotation due to the rifting of Luconia–Dangerous Grounds from the east Asia in the Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary. Extensive ductile and brittle deformation including crustal segmentation, pull‐apart fracturing and faulting occurred during the closure and exhumation of the basins developed in the peninsula during Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary. Crustal shortening in the central belt of the peninsula has been accomodated through strike‐slip displacement, shearing and uplift.     

Plate tectonics and volcanism in the gibraltar arc

Late Tertiary and Quaternary volcanism of southeastern Spain can be fitted in a platetectonics model, taking into account the post-Paleozoic evolution of the stable and semimobile Iberian areas and the new orogenic belts bordering the Mediterranean between Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.The occurrence and distribution of calc-alkaline and potassic volcanism suggest an oceanic crust sinking downwards from the Iberian plate. This active margin is causally related to the convergence and collision of Iberia and Africa during Late Cretaceous—Early Miocene time span.A pre-collision distensive phase is inferred from the stratigraphie and tectonic record between the Triassic and Late Cretaceous, while since the Late Miocene another distensive phase is related to the actualistic features.     

On the tectonic origin of Iberian topography

The present-day topography of the Iberian peninsula can be considered as the result of the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Iberian plate (including rifting and basin formation during the Mesozoic and compression and mountain building processes at the borders and inner part of the plate, during the Tertiary, followed by Neogene rifting on the Mediterranean side) and surface processes acting during the Quaternary. The northern-central part of Iberia (corresponding to the geological units of the Duero Basin, the Iberian Chain, and the Central System) shows a mean elevation close to one thousand meters above sea level in average, some hundreds of meters higher than the southern half of the Iberian plate. This elevated area corresponds to (i) the top of sedimentation in Tertiary terrestrial endorheic sedimentary basins (Paleogene and Neogene) and (ii) planation surfaces developed on Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks of the mountain chains surrounding the Tertiary sedimentary basins. Both types of surfaces can be found in continuity along the margins of some of the Tertiary basins. The Bouguer anomaly map of the Iberian peninsula indicates negative anomalies related to thickening of the continental crust. Correlations of elevation to crustal thickness and elevation to Bouguer anomalies indicate that the different landscape units within the Iberian plate can be ascribed to different patterns: (1) The negative Bouguer anomaly in the Iberian plate shows a rough correlation with elevation, the most important gravity anomalies being linked to the Iberian Chain. (2) Most part of the so-called Iberian Meseta is linked to intermediate-elevation areas with crustal thickening; this pattern can be applied to the two main intraplate mountain chains (Iberian Chain and Central System) (3) The main mountain chains (Pyrenees and Betics) show a direct correlation between crustal thickness and elevation, with higher elevation/crustal thickness ratio for the Central System vs. the Betics and the Pyrenees. Other features of the Iberian topography, namely the longitudinal profile of the main rivers in the Iberian peninsula and the distribution of present-day endorheic areas, are consistent with the Tertiary tectonic evolution and the change from an endorheic to an exorheic regime during the Late Neogene and the Quaternary. Some of the problems involving the timing and development of the Iberian Meseta can be analysed considering the youngest reference level, constituted by the shallow marine Upper Cretaceous limestones, that indicates strong differences induced by (i) the overall Tertiary and recent compression in the Iberian plate, responsible for differences in elevation of the reference level of more than 6 km between the mountain chains and the endorheic basins and (ii) the effect of Neogene extension in the Mediterranean margin, responsible for lowering several thousands of meters toward the East and uplift of rift shoulders. A part of the recent uplift within the Iberian plate can be attributed of isostatic uplift in zones of crustal thickening.     

Triassic paleomagnetism from the Western Pyrenees revisited: implications for the Iberian–Eurasian Mesozoic plate boundary

Since the pioneering studies of Van der Voo [Tectonophysics 7 (1969) 5] and Van der Voo and Boessenkool [J. Geophys. Res. 78 (1973) 5118], paleomagnetism of Permo-Triassic redbeds and volcanics from the Western Pyrenees has furnished important contributions for delineating the Mesozoic boundary between the Iberian and Eurasian plates. In this paper, we present a new paleomagnetic study focussed on Triassic red beds (23 sites) of the Paleozoic Basque Massifs (PBM). The aim of this study is to complement previous studies done in those massifs to better constrain the complex kinematics of the Western Pyrenees. Two stable magnetic components have been isolated: (1) a dual polarity, pre-folding magnetisation carried by specular hematite; and (2) a secondary, normal polarity component also carried by hematite. Our data confirm both the origin and the rotation pattern of the primary remanence described in previous works. Nevertheless, field tests performed on the secondary component do not confirm the earlier interpretations by Schott and Peres [Tectonophysics 156 (1988) 75] as they indicate a synfolding nature of the remagnetisation instead of a post-folding origin. We consider that the secondary component is better explained if a Cretaceous age is considered. The presence of such remagnetisation in the western Pyrenees strengthens the widespread occurrence of similar remagnetisation events reported in northern Iberia in connection with the extensional tectonic events that occurred during Cretaceous times. A comparison of the rotations recorded by the Triassic component and by the remagnetisation indicate that the Paleozoic units underwent variable tectonic rotations before the remagnetisation was acquired, most likely in connection with the counterclockwise rotation of Iberia with respect to Eurasia. These results favour that the Mesozoic plate boundary between the Iberian and Eurasian plates was a wide domain of distributed deformation and therefore contradict previous interpretations claiming for a discrete plate boundary.     

Paleoclimatic inference of the mid-Holocene record of monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Cantabrian Coast

The mid-Holocene has been widely used to test the performance of the numerical models that are commonly employed to estimate the future evolution of world climate. This period, as the pollen record shows, was characterized by higher temperatures than present in northern and Central Europe, while cooler conditions occurred in the south of the continent. This pattern is challenging numeric algorithms that widely fail to replicate the paleoclimate data of southern Europe. Here we report the discovery of a fragmented bone of a temperate water phocid (Monachus monachus) dated to 5540 ± 40 BP that was hunted and consumed on the Cantabrian Coast during that period. This find implies a hitherto unnoted phase of warm conditions associated with strengthened advention of subtropical waters to the region. As a consequence, the possibility that the oceanographic regime from that time in the Bay of Biscay was similar to the current one is reinforced, a fact that could modify our view of mid-Holocene climate in the Iberian Peninsula and have important implications in climate change studies.     

Apparent polar wandering for the Atlantic-bordering continents: Late Carboniferous to Eocene

We present a compilation of reliable paleomagnetic pole positions from five continental plates (North America, Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, Africa, and South America) for ten time intervals ranging from Late Carboniferous to Eocene. Only well-dated results obtained by demagnetization techniques have been used. Paleomagnetic poles are plotted with respect to the paleo-positions of the continents, as reconstructed from correlations of marine magnetic anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean by Pitman and Talwani and from the fit by Bullard et al. The poles from North America, Europe and the younger poles from Africa show a very good grouping for most of the ten intervals considered, and a continuous apparent polar wandering path is obtained. These data have been used to construct paleolatitude maps for most intervals; thus the relative positions of the continents were established from sea-floor spreading data and their absolute positions on the globe were determined from paleomagnetic data. The older data from South America and the other Gondwana continents show a systematic deviation from those of the northern continents for Late Paleozoic and Early Triassic time periods. An explanation is offered in a different continental reconstruction between Laurasia and Gondwanaland before Middle Triassic times.     

Crustal structure in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula

Seismic investigations to determine the crustal structure in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula have been initiated in 1970. First experiments were carried out during July 1970, when a series of ten shots was fired off Cabo de Sines (Portugal) in shallow water and recorded up to distances of 185 km along a SE-profile towards Huelva (Spain). The profile was reversed in December 1970, when a series of twelve shots was fired off the south coast near Fuzeta (east of Faro) and recorded up to distances of about 260 km along a NW-profile towards Cabo da Roca west of Lisboa. A considerable increase in the seismic efficiency of the explosions could be achieved by generating standing waves in the water.

The structure deduced exhibits some peculiar features. Below the Palaeozoic sediments a fairly high velocity of 6.4 km/sec is found for the dome-shaped basement in that area. The lower crust, which is separated from the upper crust by a distinct velocity inversion (with a minimum velocity of about 5.3–5.6 km/sec), is characterized by a velocity of 7.1 km/sec. From the geological evidence and the sequence of seismic velocities it must be concluded that the upper crustal block in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula has been uplifted by about 2–5 km since Permo-Triassic time, thus emphasizing the significance of vertical movement in tectonic activity.

The top of the upper mantle (8.15 km/sec) was detected at a depth of 30 km close to the Atlantic coast in the west, while near the Algarve coast in the south the depth to the M-discontinuity is about 34–35 km. This result in conjunction with studies of earthquake focal mechanisms confirms the suggestion that the Iberian block is being underthrust under the African plate.     

Magnitude of lateral displacement on the Crevillente Fault Zone (Betic Cordillera,SE Spain): stratigraphical and sedimentological considerations

The Crevillente Fault Zone (CFZ) comprises a system of northeast to southwest oriented dextral faults that extend for some 600 km in the External Zones of the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain). The magnitude of lateral displacement related to this fault zone is not well constrained, and it is considered to be between 20 and 400 km. The stratigraphical and sedimentological criteria used in this work have proven effective in quantifying the magnitude of the displacement along this structure. We have analysed an oolitic turbidite facies in the Middle Jurassic of the Sierra de Ricote (Median Subbetic of Murcia Province). A detailed revision of ooidal limestone outcrops has revealed that the source area of these deposits was to the Internal Subbetic zone, north of Vélez Rubio (Almería Province). These two tectonic units, the Median and Internal Subbetic, are currently 75 km from each other and separated by the CFZ. The conclusions arising from our stratigraphical, petrological and sedimentological studies favour interpretation of a 75–100 km lateral displacement. After restoring the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous anticlockwise rotation of Iberia, the CFZ appears to belong to the E–W palaeofault system that is related to the extension of the South Iberian Continental Margin (SICM). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paleomagnetic study of the Messejana Plasencia dyke (Portugal and Spain): A lower Jurassic paleopole for the Iberian plate

The only Iberian lower Jurassic paleomagnetic pole come from the “Central Atlantic Magmatic Province”-related Messejana Plasencia dyke, but the age and origin of its remanence have been a matter of discussion. With the aim of solving this uncertainty, and to go further into a better understanding of its emplacement and other possible tectonic features, a systematic paleomagnetic investigation of 40 sites (625 specimens) distributed all along the 530 km of the Messejana Plasencia dyke has been carried out. Rock magnetic experiments indicate PSD low Ti-titanomagnetite and magnetite as the minerals carrying the NRM. The samples were mostly thermally demagnetized. Most sites exhibit a characteristic remanent component of normal polarity with the exception of two sites, where samples with reversed polarities have been observed. The paleomagnetic pole derived from a total of 35 valid sites is representative of the whole structure of the dyke, and statistically well defined, with values of PLa = 70.4°N, PLo = 237.6°E, K = 47.9 and A₉₅ = 3.5°. Paleomagnetic data indicates that: (i) there is no evidence of a Cretaceous remagnetization in the dyke, as it was suggested; (ii) most of the dyke had a brief emplacement time; furthermore, two dyke intrusion events separated in time from it by at least 10,000 y have been detected; (iii) the high grouping of the VGPs directions suggests no important tectonic perturbations of the whole structure of the dyke since its intrusion time; (iv) the pole derived from this study is a good quality lower Jurassic paleopole for the Iberian plate; and (v) the Messejana Plasencia dyke paleopole for the Iberian plate is also in agreement with quality-selected European and North American lower Jurassic paleopoles and the magnetic anomalies data sets that are available for rotate them to Iberia.     

Paleomagnetism of Permo-Triassic Redbeds from the Asturias and Cantabric Chain (northern Spain): evidence for strong lower Tertiary remagnetizations

The paleomagnetic analysis of the Permo-Triassic redbeds outcropping in the western part of the Cantabric Chain and the small Mesozoic basin from the Asturias shows that these formations have a history of complex magnetization. Only a few sites did not experience the remagnetization processes and retained original directions. The most reliable results yield a paleomagnetic pole located at: lat. 49° N, long. 217° E (n = 11, ₉₅ = 3.7°), which is suggested as reliable Permo-Triassic data for the Iberian plate. Two remagnetization phases are recognized: a moderate phase predating the folding gave rise to a first overprinting. It is connected with the distension which occurred in the Pyreneo-Cantabrian region during the upper Jurassic-lower Cretaceous. The main remagnetization phase which occurred after the folding is dated from the lower Tertiary, and can be related to the compression induced on the northern boundary of Iberia from upper Cretaceous onwards. In some cases this phase led to a complete replacement of the primary magnetization.

Previously published data, which were at the time interpreted as being European-like in direction, are attributed to this phase. Hence, our results do not support the hypothesis of a micro-plate called “le Danois block”, which was suggested in order to explain these results. We believe that there is no paleomagnetic evidence supporting the existence of a complicated boundary between Europe and Iberia during the mid-Cretaceous opening of the Bay of Biscay.     

Large‐scale horizontal displacements in Southern Australia — Contrary evidence from Palaeomagnetism

Palaeomagnetic results from 40 dykes sampled on Eyre Peninsula and Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, are inconsistent with the clockwise rotation of the ‘foot’ of Yorke Peninsula by fault‐drag during the Early Ordovician. A reinterpretation of earlier data from Tasmania also indicates that the east‐west structural trends in the Mount Reed volcanic arc and Dundas Trough are primary. The effects of shearing were probably restricted to linear displacements without causing rotation of adjacent structural elements. Late Precambrian and Cambrian palaeomagnetic data from Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island have also been analysed. They do not clarify the pattern of structural evolution in the southern part of the Adelaide Orogen because the magnetic remanence was probably acquired syntectonically.