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Emplacement of the Cuera and Picos de Europa imbricate system at the core of the Iberian-Armorican arc (Cantabrian zone, north Spain): New precisions concerning the timing of arc closure

2009; Geological Society of America; Volume: 121; Issue: 5-6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/b26366.1

1943-2674

Óscar Merino‐Tomé, Juan R. Bahamonde, Juan Ramón Colmenero, N. Heredia, E. Villa, Pedro Farías,

earthquake and tectonic studies

Research Article| May 01, 2009 Emplacement of the Cuera and Picos de Europa imbricate system at the core of the Iberian-Armorican arc (Cantabrian zone, north Spain): New precisions concerning the timing of arc closure Oscar A. Merino-Tomé; Oscar A. Merino-Tomé † 1Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Parque Científico de León, Avda. Real 1, Edificio 1, 24006 León, Spain †E-mail: o.merino@igme.es. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Juan R. Bahamonde; Juan R. Bahamonde 2Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33005 Oviedo, Spain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Juan R. Colmenero; Juan R. Colmenero 3Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nemesio Heredia; Nemesio Heredia 4Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, 33005 Oviedo, Spain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elisa Villa; Elisa Villa 2Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33005 Oviedo, Spain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Pedro Farias Pedro Farias 2Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33005 Oviedo, Spain Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2009) 121 (5-6): 729–751. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26366.1 Article history received: 13 Nov 2007 rev-recd: 04 Jun 2008 accepted: 04 Jun 2008 first online: 03 Oct 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Oscar A. Merino-Tomé, Juan R. Bahamonde, Juan R. Colmenero, Nemesio Heredia, Elisa Villa, Pedro Farias; Emplacement of the Cuera and Picos de Europa imbricate system at the core of the Iberian-Armorican arc (Cantabrian zone, north Spain): New precisions concerning the timing of arc closure. GSA Bulletin 2009;; 121 (5-6): 729–751. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B26366.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The final stages of the Variscan orogeny (mostly Carboniferous) in the Western European Variscan belt involved the development of the Iberian-Armorican arc, which is cored by the Cantabrian zone (NW Iberia). The Cantabrian zone is the foreland of the Western European Variscan belt, and it is interpreted to record the waning stages of the closure of the Rheic Ocean. The distalmost tectonic units within the Cantabrian zone (the Cuera Unit and the Picos de Europa Province) were the last tectonic units emplaced at the core of the Western European Variscan belt orocline. Together, they form an imbricate system and associated wedge-top basins that are key to understanding the development of the orocline. The emplacement of the Cuera Unit and the Picos de Europa Province occurred in the latest Pennsylvanian, between Moscovian and Gzhelian times. New detailed mapping together with stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and biostratigraphic data analysis of syntectonic successions and structural information constrain the timing and evolution of this imbricate system. Our analysis indicates that the thrust sheets were emplaced roughly perpendicular to previous tectonic units of the Cantabrian Variscan foreland fold-and-thrust belt, most probably during the oroclinal bending of the SW European Variscan belt that formed the Iberian-Armorican arc. The N-S–directed imbricate system was characterized by a shallow dip of the topographic surface (α < 1°), allowing for the development of wedge-top basins. The large amount of shortening (>150 ± 15 km) and complex structure of the orogenic wedge are thought to result from the progressive increase in the dip of the basal décollement during bending of the underlying Gondwana lithosphere and may reflect the closure of the Iberian-Armorican arc. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.