Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Iberian plate kinematics: a jumping plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa

Abstract

THE rotation of Iberia and its relation to the formation of the Pyrenees has been difficult to decipher because of the lack of detailed sea-floor spreading data, although several models have been proposed1–7. Here we use detailed aeromagnetic measurements from the sea floor offshore of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to show that Iberia moved as part of the African plate from late Cretaceous to mid-Eocene time, with a plate boundary extending westward from the Bay of Biscay. When motion along this boundary ceased, a boundary linking extension in the King's Trough to compression along the Pyrenees came into existence. Finally, since the late Oligocene, Iberia has been part of the Eurasian plate, with the boundary between Eurasia and Africa situated along the Azores–Gibraltar fracture zone.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Le Pichon, X. & Sibuet, J. C. Earth planet Sci. Lett. 12, 83–88 (1971).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Le Pichon, X., Sibuet, J. C. & Francheteau, J. Tectonophysics 38, 169–209 (1977).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Sclater, J. G., Hellinger, S. & Tapscott, C. R. J. Geol. 85, 509–552 (1977).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Grimaud, S. et al. Mar. Geol. 45, 63–77 (1982); Mar. Geol. 53, 237–239 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Olivet, J. L., Bonnin, J., Beuzart, P. & Auzende, J. M. in Publication du Centre National pour I'Exploitation des Ocean, Paris, 1–108 (Centre Oceanologique de Bretagne, Brest, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Schouten, H., Srivastava, S. P. & Klitgord, K. Trans. Am. geophys. Un. 65, 190 (1984).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Savostovin, L. A., Sibuet, J. C., Zonenshain, L. P., LePichon, X. & Roulet, M. J. Tectonophysics 123, 1–35 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Srivastava, S. P. & Tapscott, C. R. in The Geology of North America Vol. M (eds Vogt, P. R. & Tucholke, B. E.) 379–404 (Geol. Soc. Am., 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Roberts, D. G., Jones, M. T. & Hunter, P. Inst. Ocean Sci. Rep. 207 (Wormley, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Verhoef, J. et al. Mar. geophys. Res. 8, 1–25 (1986).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Klitgord, K. & Schouten, H. in The Geology of North America Vol. M (eds Vogt, P. R. & Tucholke, B. E.) 351–378 (Geol. Soc. Am., 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Srivastava, S. P., Verhoef, J. & Macnab, R. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 5, 306–337 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kristoffersen, Y. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 38, 273–290 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kidd, R. & Ramsay, A. T. S. Init. Rep. DSDP. Leg. 94, 1245–1261 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Smith, A. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 82, 2039–2070 (1971).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Van der Voo, R. Tectonophysics 7, 5–56 (1969).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Van den Berg, J. & Zijderveld, J. D. A. AGU Geodynamics Ser. 7, 83–112 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Roest, W. R. thesis. Univ. Utrecht (1987).

  19. Srivastava, S. P. & Roest, W. R. East Coast Basin Atlas Series: Labrador; Atlantic Geoscience Centre, Geol. Surv. Canada, 100–109 (Dartmouth, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Galdeano, A., Moreau, M. G., Pozzi, J. P., Berthou, P. Y. & Malod, J. A. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 92, 95–106 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Horvath, F. & Berckhemer, H. AGU Geodynamics Ser. 7, 141–173 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Argus, D. F., Gordon, R. G., DeMets, C. & Stein, S. J. geophys. Res. 94, 5585–5602 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. McKenzie, D. P. Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc. 30, 109–185 (1972).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Montadert, L., Roberts, D. G., de Charpal, O. & Guennoc, P. Init. Rep. DSDP. Leg 48, 1025–1060 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Mattauer, M. & Henry, J. Publ. geol. Soc. Lond. 4, 3–22 (1974).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Pindell, J. L. & Dewey, J. F. Tectonics 1, 179–211 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Burke, K., Cooper, C., Dewey, J. F., Mann, P. & Pindell, J. L. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 162, 31–63 (1984).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Atwater, T. The Geology of North America (Geol. Soc. Am., in the press)

  29. Kent, D. V. & Gradstein, F. M. in The Geology of North America Vol. M (eds Vogt, P. R. & Tucholke, B. E.) 45–50 (Geol. Soc. Am., 1986).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Srivastava, S., Schouten, H., Roest, W. et al. Iberian plate kinematics: a jumping plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa. Nature 344, 756–759 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344756a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344756a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing