B. Andeweg

Lithospheric folding in Iberia

Integration of stress indicator data, gravity data, crustal kinematics data, and analysis of topography and recent vertical motions demonstrates the occurrence of consistently oriented spatial patterns of large-scale Alpine to recent intraplate deformation in Iberia. The inferred upper crustal and lithospheric deformation patterns and the timing of the associated expressions at or near the surface support the existence of a close coupling with plate boundary processes operating at the margins of Iberia. Patterns of lithosphere and upper crustal folds are oriented perpendicular to the main axis of present-day intraplate compression in Iberia inferred from structural analysis of stress indicator data and focal mechanism solutions. These findings suggest the presence of lithospheric folds, with wavelengths compatible with theoretical predictions of folding wavelengths of Variscan lithosphere. Stress-induced intraplate deformation set up by plate interactions is compatible with indications for the absence of present-day deep mantle-lithosphere interactions inferred from seismic tomography.

Local stress fields and intraplate deformation of Iberia: variations in spatial and temporal interplay of regional stress sources

Tertiary to present deformation in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula reflects spatial and temporal variations of the activity of the plate boundaries. Local deformation patterns observed in many of the numerous intraplate Tertiary basins and their borders, such as the Madrid Basin and the Sierra de Altomira, are at first sight incompatible with the regional stress field under which they were formed. We demonstrate, however, that they can be explained as the effect of several stress fields that acted on the Iberian Peninsula from earliest Tertiary onward. Data on local deformation can constrain both magnitudes and directions of forces acting on the plate boundaries of Iberia, enabling us to estimate the relative importance of the different plate driving and deforming mechanisms providing further constraints on the tectonic evolution of Iberia.