Abstract
Since the early 70's the majority of tectonic reconstructions of the western Mediterranean employ the Alboran domain notion as a migrating microcontinent or landmass mainly composed of Paleozoic-Triassic rocks affected by 'Alpine' HP-LT metamorphism. For nearly three decades, since the mid-80's, the Alboran domain was considered as a fragment of the Alpine chain that moved westward, colliding into Iberia and North Africa to produce the Gibraltar arc and Betic-Rif chain. In 2012, a new hypothesis for the evolution of the western Mediterranean was presented in which the Betic-Rif orogenic chain originates from rollback of an initially SE-dipping subduction of the westernmost segments of the Ligurian-Tethys under the Africa margin. This interpretation considers the metamorphic Alboran domain' rocks as crustal successions of the hyper-extended African and Iberian continental margins, which have undergone a complete subduction-exhumation cycle above a NW-to W-retreating subduction. A key outcome of this hypothesis is that the Alboran domain is not a fragment of the Alpine chain but a consequence of rollback dynamics.
In this contribution we try to elucidate the historical reasons behind the classical Alpine' interpretation of the Betic-Rif, by briefly describing key contributions, which appear linked in a logical sequence that traces the evolution of the Alboran domain concept since its original formulation by Andrieux and coauthors in 1971.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 371-384 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France |
Volume | 186 |
Issue number | 4-5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Betic-Rif orogenic system
- Gibraltar arc
- Apennines
- Historical overview
- Geodynamic evolution