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The quest for the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary west of the Strait of Gibraltar

The quest for the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary west of the Strait of Gibraltar
The quest for the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary west of the Strait of Gibraltar
The missing link in the plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa in the central Atlantic is presented and discussed. A set of almost linear and sub parallel dextral strike–slip faults, the SWIM1 Faults, that form a narrow band of deformation over a length of 600 km coincident with a small circle centred on the pole of rotation of Africa with respect to Eurasia, was mapped using a new swath bathymetry compilation available in the area offshore SW Portugal. These faults connect the Gloria Fault to the Rif–Tell Fault Zone, two segments of the plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia. The SWIM faults cut across the Gulf of Cadiz, in the Atlantic Ocean, where the 1755 Great Lisbon earthquake, M ~ 8.5–8.7, and tsunami were generated, providing a new insight on its source location.
Africa–Eurasia plate boundary, Nubia, Iberia, Great Lisbon Earthquake, Gulf of Cadiz
0012-821X
13-50
Zitellini, N.
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Gràcia, E.
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Matias, L.
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Terrinha, P.
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Abreu, M.A.
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DeAlteriis, G.
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Henriet, J.P.
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Dañobeitia, J.J.
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Masson, D.G.
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Mulder, T.
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Ramella, R.
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Somoza, L.
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Diez, S.
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Zitellini, N.
736c80af-c845-438f-80cc-5acd58dfa673
Gràcia, E.
9f23d47f-159f-4619-a997-ee59e8b3edc4
Matias, L.
a5fbf1ef-3a81-47cd-a672-2ec70205e7f8
Terrinha, P.
e7a8cad1-3f89-4257-88d0-8d661cf476a5
Abreu, M.A.
cfad77fa-c2cb-45cd-973f-5270cfcaf615
DeAlteriis, G.
dfaac496-8f78-411b-8302-955558026afa
Henriet, J.P.
afa4730b-bdb3-4074-9942-ff6ab3b68489
Dañobeitia, J.J.
0f764b38-4ac6-4065-a73c-620da9b969d6
Masson, D.G.
edd44c8b-38ca-45fb-8d0d-ac8365748a45
Mulder, T.
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Ramella, R.
de21600d-b139-4f1a-b5a1-8e7ddbaf8c4f
Somoza, L.
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Diez, S.
fecc40b4-833d-4127-83d4-cd3539f78142

Zitellini, N., Gràcia, E., Matias, L., Terrinha, P., Abreu, M.A., DeAlteriis, G., Henriet, J.P., Dañobeitia, J.J., Masson, D.G., Mulder, T., Ramella, R., Somoza, L. and Diez, S. (2009) The quest for the Africa–Eurasia plate boundary west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 280 (1-4), 13-50. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.005).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The missing link in the plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa in the central Atlantic is presented and discussed. A set of almost linear and sub parallel dextral strike–slip faults, the SWIM1 Faults, that form a narrow band of deformation over a length of 600 km coincident with a small circle centred on the pole of rotation of Africa with respect to Eurasia, was mapped using a new swath bathymetry compilation available in the area offshore SW Portugal. These faults connect the Gloria Fault to the Rif–Tell Fault Zone, two segments of the plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia. The SWIM faults cut across the Gulf of Cadiz, in the Atlantic Ocean, where the 1755 Great Lisbon earthquake, M ~ 8.5–8.7, and tsunami were generated, providing a new insight on its source location.

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Published date: 15 April 2009
Keywords: Africa–Eurasia plate boundary, Nubia, Iberia, Great Lisbon Earthquake, Gulf of Cadiz

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 66187
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/66187
ISSN: 0012-821X
PURE UUID: 5aca15d0-1223-4352-b10f-ec7b05760e06

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Date deposited: 11 May 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 18:11

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Contributors

Author: N. Zitellini
Author: E. Gràcia
Author: L. Matias
Author: P. Terrinha
Author: M.A. Abreu
Author: G. DeAlteriis
Author: J.P. Henriet
Author: J.J. Dañobeitia
Author: D.G. Masson
Author: T. Mulder
Author: R. Ramella
Author: L. Somoza
Author: S. Diez

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