New article of BIOGEOMED-UIB "Geological structure and evolution of Majorca"

Today I share with all of you an interesting research paper published by the prestigious journal Tectonophysics, written by some of the memberships of BIOGEOMED-UIB research group of the University of Balearic Islands. It deals about the geological evolution of Mallorca and its implication for the origin of the Western mediterranean. Without doubt, it is a very interesting paper for all of those interesting in this topic.

Abstract:

The island of Majorca forms part of the NE–SW continental Balearic Promontory, which is surrounded by continental and oceanic extensional basins. Majorca has a basin and range physiography mainly resulting from Late Neogene extension. The basins and ranges strike NE–SW. The structure of the ranges consists of thrust faults and associated folds involving Mesozoic series. Paleogene series are also involved in the compressional structures located in the southeast, whereas a stratigraphic hiatus embracing Late Cretaceous and Paleogene is present in the rest of the island. The age of syncompressive rocks and sediments is Chattian to Aquitanian in the SE Llevant Ranges, Aquitanian to Burdigalian in the Central Ranges and Burdigalian to Langhian in the NW Tramuntana Range. Thus compressive deformation progressed from southeast to northwest. The thrust fault hangingwall displacement is to the northwest and shortening is large (44%). Seismic reflection sections reveal the presence of compressive structures in the substratum of the basins. Moreover, normal faults due to WNW–ESE extension occurred during the Serravallian and Tortonian, producing additional subsidence in the basins. Minor compression could have occurred since the onset of the Pleistocene. Majorca was shortened when the extensional basins surrounding the island originated. Available models for the origin and evolution of extensional basins of the Western Mediterranean do not consider the structure observed in Majorca

Link to download:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004019511100285X#

Reference:

Sàbat, F., Gelabert, B., Rodríguez-Perea, A., Giménez, J. (2011). "Geological structure and evolution of Majorca: Implications for the origin of the Western mediterranean". Tectonophysics, 510 (1-2): 217-238. 

Miquel Mir Gual