J. F. Simancas

The structure of a major suture zone in the SW Iberian Massif: the Ossa-Morena/Central Iberian contact

Abstract We have investigated the stratigraphy, structure and metamorphism of the boundary between the Ossa Morena Zone (OMZ) and the Central Iberian Zone (CIZ), two significant continental portions of the Variscan Iberian Massif. The OMZ/CIZ contact is marked by a strongly deformed and metamorphosed NW–SE trending narrow band, namely, the Central Unit, in which partially retrogressed eclogites are included. During the Middle-Late Devonian the CIZ overthrust the OMZ, and in the footwall km-scale recumbent folds and thrusts developed with decoupling and underplating of the lower crust. At the same time, in the hanging wall there took place intense though localized back-folding and back-shearing. In the Early Carboniferous a transtensional tectonic regime sank the overthrust block resulting in the exhumation of eclogites. These eclogites probably came from the underthrust OMZ lower crust, and they are at present included in the suture zone (Central Unit) of this continental collision. The extension is responsible for the origin of a basin and bimodal magmatism on the southern border of the CIZ. A late episode of folding and fracturing significantly contributed to the final complex picture of this suture boundary.

Imaging the crustal structure of the Central Iberian Zone (Variscan Belt): The ALCUDIA deep seismic reflection transect

ALCUDIA is a 230 km long, vertical incidence deep seismic reflection transect acquired in spring 2007 across the southern Central Iberian Zone (part of the pre-Mesozoic Gondwana paleocontinent) of the Variscan Orogen of Spain. The carefully designed acquisition parameters resulted in a 20 s TWTT deep, 60–90 fold, high-resolution seismic reflection transect. The processed image shows a weakly reflective upper crust (the scarce reflectivity matching structures identified at surface), a thick, highly reflective and laminated lower crust, and a flat Moho located at 10 s TWTT (30 km depth). The transect can be divided into three segments with different structural styles in the lower crust. In the central segment, the lower crust is imaged by regular, horizontal and parallel reflectors, whereas in the northern and southern segments it displays oblique reflectors interpreted as an important thrust (north) and tectonic wedging involving the mantle (south). The ALCUDIA seismic image shows that in an intracontinental orogenic crust, far from the suture zones, the upper and lower crust may react differently to shortening in different sectors, which is taken as evidence for decoupling. The interpreted structures, as deduced from surface geology and the seismic image, show that deformation was distributed homogeneously in the upper crust, whereas it was concentrated in wedge/thrust structures at specific sectors in the lower crust. The seismic image also shows the location of late Variscan faults in spatial association with the lower crustal thickened areas.

Metamorphic and deformational imprint of Cambrian -Lower Ordovician rifting in the Ossa-Morena Zone (Iberian Massif, Spain)

Abstract The high-temperature metamorphism recorded in the Valuengo and Monesterio areas constitutes a rare occurrence in the Ossa-Morena Zone of Southwest Iberia, where low-grade metamorphism dominates. The metamorphism of the Valuengo area has been previously considered either Cadomian or Variscan in age, whereas that of Monesterio has been interpreted as a Cadomian imprint. However, these areas share important metamorphic and structural features that point towards a common tectonometamorphic evolution. The metamorphism of the Valuengo and Monesterio areas affects Late Proterozoic and Early Cambrian rocks, and is syn-kinematic with a top-to-the-north mylonitic foliation, which was subsequently deformed by early Variscan folds and thrusts. The U–Pb zircon age (480±7 Ma) we have obtained for an undeformed granite of the Valuengo area is consistent with our geological observations constraining the age of the metamorphism. We propose that this high-temperature metamorphic imprint along a NW–SE ductile extensional shear zone is related to the crustal extension that occurred in the Ossa-Morena Zone during the Cambro-Ordovician rifting. In the same way, the tectonothermal effect of the preorogenic rifting stage may have been wrongly attributed to orogenic processes in other regions as well as in this one.

Comparative review of the Variscan granitoids of Morocco and Iberia: proposal of a broad zonation

The present paper takes the Variscan granitoids of Morocco as the starting point for the discussion of broad correlations of magmatism along the Variscan orogenic belt. Remarkable differences stand out between the Western Moroccan Meseta (peraluminous granites) and the Eastern Moroccan Meseta (potassic to shoshonitic, calc-alkaline granitoids). In Iberia, the Variscan magmatism can be arranged into distinctive zones too, which have been compared with those in Morocco. Although two of these zones mimic the I-type and S-type subduction paired belts, the intrusion of the granitoids was mostly late-collisional. Calc-alkaline, metaluminous (I-type) potassic granitoids of the southern zone may reflect a source of enriched mantle (such an enrichment taking place during Devonian Variscan subduction or latest Precambrian subduction) and different degrees of crustal contamination. Considerable volumes of peraluminous S-type granites in the central magmatic zone reflect a widespread melting of fertile levels in the crust. The third magmatic zone is characterized by the precocity (Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous) of its magmatism with respect to the two other zones and the abundance of basic rocks. For the latter zone, we suggest that most of the magmas were generated in the context of an intra-orogenic continental rifting, while others may be subduction-related.

Prestack and poststack migration of crooked-line seismic reflection data: A case study from the South Portuguese Zone fold belt, southwestern Iberia

Crooked-line 2D seismic reflection survey geometries violate underlying assumptions of 2D imaging routines, affecting our ability to resolve the subsurface reliably. We compare three crooked-line ...

Transpressional collision tectonics and mantle plume dynamics: the Variscides of southwestern Iberia

Abstract In southwestern Iberia, three continental domains (the South Portuguese Zone (SPZ), Ossa-Morena Zone (OMZ) and Central Iberian Zone (CIZ) collided in Devonian-Carboniferous time. The collision was transpressional, with left-lateral kinematics, and was interrupted by extensional tectonics during the earliest Carboniferous, when bimodal magmatism (with associated mineral deposits) and basin development were the dominant orogenic features. Transpression was renewed in Visean time, and persisted until the end of the Carboniferous. The IBERSEIS deep seismic reflection profile helps to define the 3D geometry of transpressional structures: out-of-section displacements concentrate in bands, which bound wedges of upper crust; this crustal wedging strongly modifies the geometry of the sutures between continental blocks. A mid-crustal strongly reflective thick band (the Iberseis Reflective Body, IRB) is interpreted as a huge body of basic rocks. The IRB magma trapped in the middle crust was linked to the Early Carboniferous mantle-derived magmatism that crops out in the SPZ, OMZ and CIZ. Magmatism at the surface and trapped in the crust, high thermal gradients and basin development reflect a thermal anomaly in the underlying mantle, influencing both the thermal and the stress state of the orogen at that time. A mantle plume is inferred to have existed in the Early Carboniferous, the transpressional tectonic regime dominating again after its decay.

Shear wave modeling and Poisson's ratio in the Variscan Belt of SW Iberia

In 2003 two wide-angle reflection/refraction seismic transects were acquired in the Variscan Belt of SW Iberia. The approximately 250 and 300 km long, dense trace spacing transects revealed clear S wave arrivals in the shot gathers recorded by vertical component sensors in both transects. First S wave arrivals (Sg) and Moho reflections (SmS) are the most prominent phases that can be correlated from shot to shot. Sg is observed up to relatively large offsets and constrains the upper and middle crust S wave velocities. The SmS is seen from offset 0 (18 s twtt) to 150 km offset, where it intercepts first S wave arrivals (Sg). The upper mantle refracted phase (Sn) is difficult to recognize, although PmS/SmP converted phases can be identified. Using a 2-D ray tracing approach, two S wave velocity models for the crust of SW Iberia were obtained. These S wave velocity models complement the previous P wave velocity models and provide us with relatively well resolved Poissons ratio crustal sections for SW Iberia. The resulting Poissons ratio models present differences between tectonic zones at upper and middle crustal depths, thus supporting the existence of different tectonic zones prior to the Variscan collision. The most noteworthy feature is the high Poissons ratio value (over 0.28) coincident with high P wave velocity areas (over 6.8 km/s) at midcrustal depths. In order to constrain the possible crustal composition, P wave velocities and Poissons ratios have been compared with published laboratory measurements on different crustal rock types. This comparison indicates that the high P wave velocity and Poissons ratios are compatible with a mixture of mafic to ultramafic rock types alternating with felsic ones. This result is consistent with the existence of mafic layered bodies in the middle crust, in the same way that has been suggested by previous works in this area.

The elusive nature of the Rheic Ocean suture in SW Iberia

The Rheic Ocean suture resulted from pre-Carboniferous oceanic subduction followed by Late Devonian-Carboniferous Variscan collision. In SW Iberia, this suture has been classically located along the boundary between the Ossa-Morena and South Portuguese Zones based on the presence of three units: (i) a conspicuous metamafic unit (Beja-Acebuches) that crops out along this boundary and has been interpreted as a pre-Carboniferous Rheic Ocean ophiolite; (ii) a low-grade metasedimentary unit with minor mid-ocean ridge basalt-like lithologies (Pulo do Lobo unit), thought to represent a Rheic Ocean subduction-related accretionary prism; and (iii) the allochthonous Cubito-Moura unit that contains high-pressure and ophiolitic-like rocks. We report new structural and geochronological data that allow us to reinterpret the origin and internal structure of the Beja-Acebuches and the Pulo do Lobo units. Thus, both the Beja-Acebuches protoliths and the Pulo do Lobo metabasalts would have been formed in the context of an intracollisional extensional stage that interrupted the Variscan collision at early Carboniferous time, after the Rheic Ocean consumption, and the first continental collision. Later on, collision was resumed in an oblique left-lateral regime that gave way to coeval frontal (folds and thrusts) and lateral (shear zones and strike-slip faults) structures, with variable pressure-temperature conditions and space distribution along time. As a consequence of the superposition of transtension and complex transpression, the Rheic suture in SW Iberia has an obscure nearly cryptic appearance.

Lithospheric velocity model across the Southern Central Iberian Zone (Variscan Iberian Massif): The ALCUDIA wide‐angle seismic reflection transect

A P wave seismic velocity model has been obtained for the Central Iberian Zone, the largest continental fragment of the Iberian Variscan Belt. The spatially dense, high-resolution, wide-angle seismic reflection experiment, ALCUDIA-WA, was acquired in 2012 across central Iberia, aiming to constrain the lithospheric structure and resolve the physical properties of the crust and upper mantle. The seismic transect, ~310 km long, crossed the Central Iberian Zone from its suture with the Ossa-Morena Zone to the southern limit of the Central System mountain range. The energy generated by five shots was recorded by ~900 seismic stations. High-amplitude phases were identified in every shot gather for the upper crust (Pg and PiP) and Moho (PmP and Pn). In the upper crust, the P wave velocities increase beneath the Cenozoic Tajo Basin. The base of the upper crust varies from ~13 km to ~20 km between the southernmost Central Iberian Zone and the Tajo Basin. Lower crustal velocities are more homogeneous. From SW-NE, the traveltime of PmP arrivals varies from ~10.5 s to ~11.8 s, indicating lateral variations in the P wave velocity and the crustal thickness, reflecting an increase toward the north related with alpine tectonics and the isostatic response of the crust to the orogenic load. The results suggest that the high velocities of the upper crust near the Central System might correspond to igneous rocks and/or high-grade metamorphic rocks. The contrasting lithologies and the increase in the Moho depth to the north evidence differences in the Variscan evolution.

La estructura sísmica de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena y su interpretación geológica

El experimento de sismica de reflexion profunda IBERSEIS ha proporcionado una imagen de la corteza del Orogeno Varisco en el sudoeste de Iberia. Este articulo se centra en la descripcion de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena (OMZ), que esta claramente dividida en una corteza superior, con reflectividad de buzamiento al NE, y una corteza inferior de pobre reflectividad. Las estructuras geologicas cartografiadas en superficie se correlacionan bien con la reflectividad de la corteza superior, y en la imagen sismica se ven enraizar en la corteza media. Esta esta constituida por un cuerpo muy reflectivo, interpretado como una gran intrusion de rocas basicas. La imagen de las suturas que limitan la OMZ muestra el caracter fuertemente transpresivo de la colision orogenica varisca registrada en el sudoeste de Iberia. La Moho actual es plana y, en consecuencia, no se observa la raiz del orogeno.