Geomorphology of the northern and southern continental margins of the Iberian Peninsula: Quaternary interplay of tectonics and sedimentation

IF 2.6 3区地球科学 Q2 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Marine Geology Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2024.107467

Gemma Ercilla , Jesús Galindo-Zaldívar , Carmen Juan , Ferran Estrada , Jorge Iglesias , Javier Valencia , Víctor Tendero-Salmerón , Elia d'Acremont , María del Carmen Fernández-Puga , Lourdes González-Castillo , Asier Madarieta-Txurruka , Desiree Palomino , Manuel Teixeira , Juan Tomás Vázquez

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Abstract

Through a comparison of the physiography and Quaternary deposits and features of three tectonically deformed Iberian continental margins by the NW–SE convergent Eurasia-Iberian-Africa plates, we attempt to address the influence of the interplay of tectonics and sedimentation on their geomorphology. The areas include the currently active southern Iberian Alboran and Gulf of Vera margins in the SW Mediterranean and the inactive northern Iberian Cantabrian margin in the Atlantic. The margin study comprises two major physiographic compartments, the continental shelf and the distal margin, where the latter also includes the adjacent bathyal water depths. Similarities and differences are highlighted in the tectonic influences and their signatures in the sedimentary geomorphology during the Quaternary. On the continental shelf, the active or inactive onshore uplift appears to have conditioned the seafloor gradients and the preservation of the Quaternary deposits, which subsequently influenced their width. In the distal continental margin, offshore regional structural features (whether active or inactive) govern the complex and oversteepened topography, overall geometry of the sea basin, along-margin intraslope basins and regional tectonic tilting, influencing all the downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes. Thus, Quaternary tectonic processes and/or inherited morphotectonic parameters have influenced the geomorphology of shelf regressive deposits, canyons, gullies, fans, mass movement deposits, and contourites. Two types of tectonic margins based on sedimentary geomorphology are characterised: dismantled (Gulf of Vera and Cantabrian margins) and constructional (Iberian Alboran margin). This study has relevance far beyond the Iberian regional scale because it provides insights into the tectonic signatures of sedimentary geomorphology. The categorised margin types may serve as analogues for contemporary marine sedimentary basins where tectonics plays a prominent role in sediment transport, deposition, erosion, and remobilisation via their influence on both active and inactive topography.

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伊比利亚半岛南北大陆边缘的地貌：第四纪构造与沉积的相互作用

通过对比欧亚-伊比利亚-非洲板块NW-SE辐合作用下三个构造变形的伊比利亚大陆边缘的地貌和第四纪沉积特征，探讨构造和沉积相互作用对其地貌的影响。这些地区包括地中海西南部目前活跃的南部伊比利亚阿尔博兰和维拉湾边缘，以及大西洋不活跃的北部伊比利亚坎塔布里亚边缘。边缘研究包括两个主要的地理区，大陆架和远缘，后者还包括邻近的深海水深。第四纪沉积地貌的构造影响及其特征有异同之处。在大陆架上，活跃或不活跃的陆上隆起似乎决定了海底梯度和第四纪沉积物的保存，从而影响了它们的宽度。在远端大陆边缘，近海区域构造特征（无论是活动的还是不活动的）控制着复杂而陡峭的地形、海盆的整体几何形状、沿缘坡内盆地和区域构造倾斜，影响着所有的下坡和沿坡沉积过程。因此，第四纪构造过程和/或继承的形态构造参数影响了陆架沉积、峡谷、沟壑、扇、块体运动沉积和等高线的地貌。根据沉积地貌特征，构造边缘有两种类型：解体边缘（维拉湾和坎塔布连边缘）和构造边缘（伊比利亚-阿尔博拉边缘）。这项研究的相关性远远超出了伊比利亚地区的范围，因为它提供了对沉积地貌构造特征的见解。分类的边缘类型可以作为当代海相沉积盆地的类似物，其中构造通过对活动和非活动地形的影响，在沉积物运输、沉积、侵蚀和再活化中起着突出作用。

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来源期刊

Marine Geology 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

6.90%

发文量

175

审稿时长

21.9 weeks

期刊介绍： Marine Geology is the premier international journal on marine geological processes in the broadest sense. We seek papers that are comprehensive, interdisciplinary and synthetic that will be lasting contributions to the field. Although most papers are based on regional studies, they must demonstrate new findings of international significance. We accept papers on subjects as diverse as seafloor hydrothermal systems, beach dynamics, early diagenesis, microbiological studies in sediments, palaeoclimate studies and geophysical studies of the seabed. We encourage papers that address emerging new fields, for example the influence of anthropogenic processes on coastal/marine geology and coastal/marine geoarchaeology. We insist that the papers are concerned with the marine realm and that they deal with geology: with rocks, sediments, and physical and chemical processes affecting them. Papers should address scientific hypotheses: highly descriptive data compilations or papers that deal only with marine management and risk assessment should be submitted to other journals. Papers on laboratory or modelling studies must demonstrate direct relevance to marine processes or deposits. The primary criteria for acceptance of papers is that the science is of high quality, novel, significant, and of broad international interest.