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Tectonophysics xxx (2008) xxxxxx
Tectonophysics
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / t e c t o
Univ Cergy-Pontoise, Dpartement des Sciences de la Terre, F-95 000 Cergy, France
Laboratoire Goressources, INRST, Bordj Cdria, 57 rue 7301, par av. Tahar-Ben-Ammar-Menzach 9B, 1013 Tunis, Tunisia
Univ Neuchtel, Geological Institute Emile Argand 11/CP 158 CH-2009 Neuchtel, Switzerland
d
Laboratoire de Godynamique et Thermochronologie, Facult des Sciences An Chock, BP 5366, Casablanca Maarif, Morocco
e
Univ Rennes 1 Geosciences-Rennes (UMR 6118); Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
f
10, rue des Jeneurs, 75002 Paris, France
b
c
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 25 March 2008
Received in revised form 18 September 2008
Accepted 16 October 2008
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)
Vertical movements
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
a b s t r a c t
The EW trending Atlas System of Maghreb consists of weakly shortened, intra-continental fold belts
associated with plateau areas (Mesetas), extending between the south-westernmost branch of the
Mediterranean Alpine Belt (Rif-Tell) and the Sahara Platform. Although the Atlas system has been erected
contemporaneously from Morocco to Algeria and Tunisia during the Middle Eocene to Recent, it displays a
conspicuous longitudinal asymmetry, with i) Paleozoic outcrops restricted to its western part; ii) highest
elevation occurring in the west, both in the Atlas System and its foreland (Anti-Atlas); iii) low elevation
corridors (e.g. Hodna) and depressed foreland (Tunisian Chotts and Sahel area) in the east. We analyse the
origin of these striking contrasts in relation with i) the Variscan heritage; ii) crustal vertical movements
during the Mesozoic; iii) crustal shortening during the Cenozoic and nally, iv) the occurrence of a Miocene
Quaternary hot mantle anomaly in the west. The Maghreb lithosphere was affected by the Variscan orogeny,
and thus thickened only in its western part. During the Late PermianTriassic, a paleo-high formed in the
west between the Central Atlantic and Alpine Tethys rift systems, giving birth to the emergent/poorly
subsident West Moroccan Arch. During the late Middle JurassicEarly Cretaceous, Morocco and western
Algeria were dominantly emergent whereas rifting lasted on in eastern Algeria and Tunisia. We ascribe the
uplift of the western regions to thermal doming, consistent with the Late Jurassic and Barremian gabbroic
magmatism observed there. After the widespread transgression of the high stand CenomanianTuronian
seas, the inversion of the Atlas System began during the Senonian as a consequence of the AfricaEurasia
convergence. Erosion affected three ENE-trending uplifted areas of NW Africa, which we consider as
lithospheric anticlines related to the incipient AfricaEurope convergence. In contrast, in eastern Algeria and
Tunisia a NW-trending rift system developed contemporaneously (Sirt rifting), normal to the general trend of
the Atlas System. The general inversion and orogenesis of the Atlas System occurred during two distinct
episodes, MiddleLate EoceneOligocene and Late MiocenePliocene, respectively, whereas during the
intervening period, the AfricaEurope convergence was mainly accommodated in the Rif-Tell system.
Inversion tectonics and crustal thickening may account for the moderate uplift of the eastern Atlas System,
not for the high elevation of the western mountain ranges (Middle Atlas, High Atlas, Anti-Atlas). In line with
previous authors, we ascribe part of the recent uplift of the latter regions to the occurrence of a NE-trending,
high-temperature mantle anomaly, here labelled the Moroccan Hot Line (MHL), which is also marked by a
strip of late MioceneQuaternary alkaline magmatism and signicant seismicity.
2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dfrizon@geol.u-cergy.fr (D.F. de Lamotte).
1
Now at: Univ Paris-Sud, Dpartement des Sciences de la Terre, Bat. 504, 91 405
Orsay Cedex, France.
0040-1951/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 1. Topography and main structural domains of NW Africa. A: Topographic map (GTOPO30 data); the red doted lines indicate the position of the topographic proles (Fig. 2).
The numbers refer to the geological structures cited in the text: Anti-Atlas: 1 Aurs Massif: 2 Bahira Basin: 3 Cheliff Basin: 4 Chotts area: 5 Doukkala Gulf: 6 Essaouira
Basin: 7 Gabs Gulf: 8 Guercif Basin: 9 Hammamet Gulf: 10 High Atlas: 11 Hodna Basin: 12 Jebilet Massif; 13 Jeffara High: 14 Middle Atlas: 15 Missour Basin:
16 Ouarzazate Basin: 17 Ougarta Range: 18 Saghro Massif: 19 Saharan Atlas: 20 Sahel plain: 21 Sidi Toui High: 22 Siroua Massif: 23 Skoura Basin: 24 Souss
Basin: 25 Tadla Basin: 26 Talemzane High: 27 Tunisian Atlas: 28. B: Main structural domains (after Michard et al., 2008). The geological Maghreb essentially corresponds
to the Rif-Tell and Atlas orogenic domains. Also of interest in this paper are the close southern and eastern foreland areas of the Atlas system (from the Anti-Atlas to the Tunisian
Sahel area).
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 2. Topographic proles crossing the Maghreb (see location on Fig. 1A). A: Longitudinal proles in the Atlas system (black prole) and foreland (red prole). B: Transversal proles
through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (from top to bottom).
(Medina, 1995; El Arabi, 2007), this event is well studied along the
Atlantic coast and in the Marrakech High Atlas, west and east of the
West Moroccan Arch (WMA), respectively (Fig. 3A). The WMA,
previously called Terre des Almohades by Choubert and Faure
Muret (196062) and Dorsale du Massif Hercynien Central by
Du Dresnay (1971) and Michard (1976), is classically interpreted as
an emergent land corresponding to the shoulder of the proto-Atlantic
basin. However, recent apatite ssion track studies (Ghorbal et al.,
2008; Saddiqi et al., 2008-this issue) suggest that it was rather a
subsident (Ghorbal et al., 2008) or poorly subsident (Saddiqi et al.,
2008-this issue) domain during the Late TriassicEarly Jurassic, whose
cover was subsequently eroded (Fig. 3B). West of the WMA, the normal
faults are mainly NNE-trending and developed before the outpour of
the basaltic ows pertaining to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province
(CAMP), which covered virtually the whole area, 200 Ma ago (Verati
et al., 2007). Dikes and lava ows of the CAMP extended east and north
of the WMA in a very large area covering the western half of the
Maghreb (Fig. 4). In the eastern domain, Triassic rocks are buried
beneath a thick Meso-Cenozoic cover (more than 10 km thick in
some places). However, seismic data show that the Triassic rifting is
expressed as far as in the Ksour basin in the middle of the Saharan Atlas
(Yelles-Chaouche et al., 2001) where CAMP lava ows have also been
recognised (Meddah et al., 2007). On the other hand, dolerites associated with Upper Triassic evaporites are well known in the Rif-Tell
domain of the whole Maghreb indicating that rifting was also active
along the northern margin of Africa (Wildi, 1983).
A second rifting episode is related to the development of
the Maghrebian part of the Alpine Tethys (Fig. 4), resulting in an
outstanding example of a rift lled dominantly by carbonate rocks
(Du Dresnay, 1987; Warme, 1988). It was initiated after the Hettangian,
which corresponds to the development of a widespread shallow
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 3. The Triassic to Middle Jurassic West Moroccan Arch and surrounding areas. A: Paleogeography during the Late Triassic (modied from El Arabi, 2007). B: Paleogeography
during the Early and Middle Jurassic (modied from Jabour et al., 2004, in Frizon de Lamotte et al., 2008).
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 4. Map of the main Triassic-Lower Jurassic faults at the scale of the Maghrebian Atlas system (modied after Frizon de Lamotte et al., 2000). CAMP = Central Atlantic Magmatic
Province (200 Ma).
trend and was likely connected with the Peri-Tethyan seas. The
southern gulf developed northeastward starting from the Atlantic
margin (Essaouira basin) up to the Central Atlas border. These converging gulfs did not connect one to each other, being separated by
continental deposits in the south Middle Atlas area. At the same time,
the West Moroccan Arch was also disrupted by the Doukkala Gulf
extending from the Atlantic toward the Meseta axis (Fig. 7A).
During the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, Eastern Algeria and
Tunisia received mostly pelagic sediments reaching a thickness of
2500 m for the Lower Cretaceous alone in the Tunisian Atlas southwest of Tunis (Jauzein, 1967; Turki, 1985; Ben Ferjani et al., 1990;
Herkat and Delfaud, 2000). This evolution does not result only from a
post-rift thermal subsidence: north of the Jeffara fault systems,
widespread thickness and facies variation indicate that the inherited
EW fault system continued to be active dening paleo-highs characterized by stratigraphic omissions or condensed sequences, and
elongated basins receiving several kilometres of sediments (Soussi
and Ben Ismail, 2000; Bouaziz et al., 2002) (Fig. 7B). This extensional
Fig. 5. Maghreb paleogeography during the Late Jurassic (modied after Feddan in Zizi, 2002). Note the widening of the WMA.
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 6. Map showing the displacement of the shoreline from Toarcian to Bajocian (data from Elmi, 1999) and the location of the Moroccan JurassicLower Cretaceous Magmatic
Province. A link between the widening of the WMA and the emplacement of the magmatic bodies is suggested.
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 7. Paleogeography during the Barremian and Aptian. A: Paleogeography during the Aptian in the western Maghreb (from Charrire in Frizon de Lamotte et al., 2008). B: Restored cross-section through Tunisia at the end of Aptian times
[modied from Busson (1971) and Soussi (2000)].
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 8. Cross-section through the Hamada du Draa and Tindouf Basin [from Gevin (unpublished, 1974) in Fabre, 2005] showing the Upper Eocene(?)-Miocene unconformity onto the
CenomanianTuronian series. Location: on Fig. 9.
Fig. 9. Sketch map of the CretaceousEocene plateaus of western Maghreb (after Zouhri et al., 2008) with indication of the inferred lithosphere folds, i.e. from north to south: (1) between
the Rif and Atlas Domains;(2) on the site of the Anti-Atlas and (3) on the site of the Reguibat Shield. Red dashed lines: contours of the lithosphere anticlines; green dashed lines: contours
of the lithosphere synclines. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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noting that this NWSE rift system is oblique to the Tethyan rifting,
which developed mainly EW normal faults (Figs. 4 and 7B).
Convergence is expressed by NESW trending folds, which are well
depicted on seismic proles from the Sahel area and Hammamet Gulf
in Eastern Tunisia (Bdir et al., 1992; Patriat et al., 2003). On these lines
(Fig. 11), growth strata show that the folding-related uplift remained
lower than subsidence during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene.
In Eastern Algeria and Tunisia, the existence of lithospheric folds
cannot be displayed due to the persistence of subsidence in this domain.
However, the existence of basement highs (namely Talemzane, Sidi Toui
and Jeffara Highs) are well known by the petroleum geologists just south
of the eastern South Atlas Front (Ben Ferjani et al., 1990).
5. The Middle Eocene to Present inversion and uplift episodes in
the whole Atlas system
By the Middle Eocene began the orogenic relief building, which
contributes to the present topography (Fig. 1A). From this age until
now, the deformation is discontinuous, in spite of the continuous plate
convergence, and occurred in two distincts steps separated by a period
of subsidence and relative tectonic quiescence. It is worth noting that
the episodes of shortening appear quite synchronous at the scale of the
whole Maghreb. Contrasting with this common evolution, a thermal
component is superimposed in the western Maghreb, explaining the
present asymmetry of the relief (Fig. 1A).
5.1. The rst Atlastectonic event (Middle and Late Eocene)
The timing of the Cenozoic inversion events in the Atlas system
remains a matter of study and debate. We have shown that until the
Middle Eocene, the Atlas system was rather in a depression relative to
Fig. 10. Main structures linked to the Late Cretaceous Sirt rifting from Lybia to Eastern Tunisia. Data from the International Structural Map of Africa (in prep.) and from Casero and
Roure (1994), Rusk (2001), Chamot-Rooke et al. (2005), Abadi et al. (2008).
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 11. NS interpreted seismic line through the Tunisian Atlas foreland. (Sahel coastal plain) showing the Paleogene syn-sedimentary folding (from Khomsi et al. 2008-this issue).
the adjacent areas. It seems that the rst general inversion of the
TriassicJurassic normal faults and associated basins occurred during
the MiddleUpper Eocene. Evidence for an Eocene tectonic event has
been put forward rstly by Laftte (1939) in the Aurs Mountains
(Algeria). For this author it was a major event, and he called it the
Atlas event. The unconformity described by Laftte is unquestionable and has been recognized by subsequent studies in the Aurs
Mountains (Ghandriche, 1911; Frizon de Lamotte et al., 1998) as well as
in the Hodna Basin (Guiraud, 1975; Merikeche et al., 1998; Bracne and
Frizon de Lamotte, 2002).
In the Saharan Atlas (Western Algeria) as well as in the Moroccan
Atlas, such an event is difcult to identify because of the scarcity of
well-dated OligoceneLower Miocene sediments. In fact, in Morocco,
the so-called Mio-Pliocene continental molasses rest unconformably everywhere on already folded strata (see Fraissinet et al., 1988;
El Har et al., 2001; Missenard et al., 2007). More precisely, in the
Ouarzazate basin the earliest record of the Atlas uplift corresponds to
the onset of continental sedimentation, sourced in the uprising belt,
during the Late Eocene (Hadida Fm) (Teson et al., 2008-this issue) The
onlap of Oligocene? Lower Miocene deposits (Ait Ouglif Fm) above the
folded and eroded MesozoicEocene beds allow the rst signicant
folding event of the Sub-Atlas Zone to be dated as Late EoceneEarly
Miocene. These fundamental new data validate the speculations by
Frizon de Lamotte et al. (2000) emphasising the importance of a late
Eocene event in the Atlas system of Morocco.
In Tunisia, a MiddleLate Eocene event is recognized offshore in the
foreland of the Atlas system (Patriat et al., 2003; El Euchi et al., 2004)
and has been extended to the whole Tunisian Atlas by Khomsi et al.
(2006a,b). Thus, in line with Frizon de Lamotte et al. (2000, 2006) and
Khomsi et al. (2006a,b), we assume that a MiddleLate Eocene compressive event (Atlas event) is general at the scale of the whole Maghreb.
The crustal thickening and relief building related to this event are
difcult to appraise. However, they are high enough to furnish coarse
conglomerates and to trigger the sinking of foreland basins in front of the
Aurs and Tunisian Atlas as well as on both sides of the High Atlas.
5.2. Oligo-Miocene general subsidence
After this rst generalized tectonic event and related inversion, the
whole Atlas system suffered a general subsidence phase recorded by
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 12. Map of the present outcrops of Oligo-Neogene deposits in the Maghreb. This map suggests that the whole Maghreb was at that time completely covered by detritic sediments.
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
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Fig. 13. Field examples showing the existence of important deformation before (rst Atlas event) and after (second Atlas event) the deposition of the Oligo-Miocene molasses.
The drawings underline the unconformity of the molasses and the subsequent deformation A Tunisia, Tell Mountains [from Khomsi et al. (2008-this issue)]; B Algeria, Aurs Mountains
(after Frizon de Lamotte et al., 1998); the Aurs is the location where Laftte (1939) dened the Atlas event; C Morocco, northern front of the High Atlas (from Missenard et al., 2007).
which we propose to call the Morocco Hot Line (MHL). The MHL
crosses the Anti Atlas, cuts the South Atlas Front in the Siroua region,
crosses the central High Atlas, follows the Middle Atlas and nally cuts
the Rif front in the Eastern Rif (Fig. 14). It is worth noting that the MHL
transects not only the Liassic rift system but also the area of the High
Atlas where the crust is thickest (Fullea Urchulutegui et al., 2006),
suggesting a sort of crust mantle decoupling during lithosphere
thinning. The MHL is underlined by a diffuse seismicity and by an
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
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Fig. 14. Map of the Morocco Hot Line showing the relationships with the TriassicLiassic rift systems and the Upper JurassicLower Cretaceous West Moroccan Arch (modied after
Missenard, 2006).
5.4.2. Estimating the effects on the relief of lithosphere thinning along the
MHL
Using four modelled lithospheric cross-sections, Missenard et al.
(2006) made a rst attempt to quantify the effect of this lithosphere
thinning on the topography of Morocco. Each cros-section is modelled
on the basis of gravity (Bouguer and Free Air anomaly), geoid,
topography and heat ow data. In order to evaluate the effect of this
thermal anomaly, we removed the lithosphere thinning by dening a
lithosphere/astenosphere boundary gently dipping from 125 km at
the Atlantic margin to 145 km below the Sahara domain, thus maintaining the difference between oceanic and continental lithosphere of
our model. All other parameters of the model remain the same. This
assumption minimizes the effect of the lithosphere thinning, as we
could consider a small thickening under the thrust belt. The difference
between the modeled topography and the present one therefore corresponds to the minimum thermal topography. We have extrapolated the thermal topography along the four lithospheric proles
crossing the Atlas belt using a minimum curvature interpolator to
obtain a 3D map. It is therefore possible to present a map of what
should be the relief of Moroccan Atlas system without the inuence of
the lithosphere thinning (Fig. 15).
From this map (Fig. 15) it is now possible to discuss the
consequences of the thermal topography removal. In the Atlas domain, the Central High Atlas and the Middle Atlas loose up to 1000 m
of elevation. The areas above 2500 m in the inner part of the present
belt almost disappear when removing the thermal part of the relief,
and their altitudes become similar to the one of the Saharan Atlas
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
An overview, Tectonophysics (2008), doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.024
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Fig. 15. The effects of the Morocco Hot Line on the Moroccan topography (after Missenard, 2006). A topographic map of Morocco (the black lines locate the lithospheric transects used for the modelling). B the same map after subtraction of
the thermal component of the relief.
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
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Fig. 16. Schematic kinematic scenario for the Maghreb and West Mediterranean since the Upper Cretaceous (modied from Missenard, 2006). A: Initiation of the subduction of the
Alpine Tethys and development of lithospheric folds in the Maghreb area; B: First general inversion of the Atlas basin (rst Atlas event) followed by the initiation of the slab roll-back
in the Mediterranean area; C and D: Slab roll-back, development of the Tell-Rif accretionary prism, formation of the West Mediterranean basin (violet color) as an oceanic (or with
thinned continental crust) basin and possibly initiation of the Morocco Hot Line (MHL) the southern termination of the European Cenozoic Rift System.(ECRIS) is indicated. E and
F: docking of the Kabylies (pertaining to the AlKaPeCa domain, Fig. 1) on the African margin, tearing of the lithosphere along the North-African margin and development of the MHL.
G: second inversion of the Atlas system (second Atlas Event). At that time, the slab is almost completely detached.
Morocco as well as along the Atlas front in southern and eastern Tunisia.
In Morocco the inversion developed within the formerly formed
lithospheric syncline north of the Anti-Atlas (Fig. 9).
By the Oligocene, the uplift ceased and the whole system suffered a
general subsidence (Fig. 16C and D). The net consequence is that the
Eocene chain and foreland basins have been ooded below siliciclastic
molasses, which are mainly marine in the eastern Maghreb but mainly
continental in the western Maghreb. In Morocco, where the question
is more controversial, we have shown that the existence of remnants
of Oligo-Miocene molasses in the core of the chain militated in favour
of a sinking of the whole chain in agreement with the young AFT ages
(924 Ma) found by Missenard et al. (2008). How to explain such a
Please cite this article as: de Lamotte, D.F., et al., Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertical movements in the Atlas system (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia):
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17
MHL and the Mediterranean geodynamics. Given on the one hand the
size of the western branch of the CiMACI province from Canaries to
Germany (Lustrino and Wilson, 2007) and on the other hand the
importance of lithospheric movements in the Mediterranean region, it is
necessary to couple the two aspects. The MHL exists independently from
the Mediterranean regions but its development is probably enhanced by
lithosphere tearing along the Maghrebian margin. Finally, it is worth
noting that the vertical movement related to the MHL was probably the
major cause of the closure of the South-Rif marine seaway, which
triggered the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean.
At the other extremity of the system, the Tunisian Atlas and the
adjacent central Mediterranean basin have been the site of recurrent
(quasi-permanent) rifting: (1) the Tethyan rifting, which began during
the Upper Triassic and lasted up to the Lower Cretaceous in the area,
developed EW faults; (2) the Sirt rifting during the Upper CretaceousPaleocene and nally (3) a Plio-Quaternary rifting, already active
at the moment (Casero and Roure, 1994). This last rifting as well as the
Sirt rifting developed NWSE trending faults, which are at right angle
to the convergence direction between the Africa and Europe plate. The
permanent subsidence in the Central Mediterranean basin is responsible for the huge thickness of the sedimentary cover (more than
18 km in some places). A magmatic activity is associated to these rifts
during the Mesozoic (Laridhi Ouazaa and Bdir, 2004) the Cenozoic
(Lustrino and Wilson, 2007). However, the model explaining the
origin of this magmatism requires lithospheric extension to induce
decompression melting and passive upraise of asthenospheric and
lithospheric melts. This model is very different from the one proposed
in Morocco, which requires an active upraise of asthenospheric
mantle. Moreover few relief is associated with the Cenozoic volcanoes
present in Western Lybia (Fig. 1A).
A last and puzzling question is to understand why is the Africa
Europe plate convergence differently accommodated through time,
either by lithospheric buckling (Upper Cretaceous (?) and Paleocene) or
by inversion along the inherited rifts (Fig. 16)? A discussion on the
mechanical reasons of this alternation is out of the purpose of our
paper. Frizon de Lamotte et al. (2000) proposed that the periods of
inversion in the Atlas system should correspond to periods of strong
coupling between the Africa and Eurasia plates whereas the periods of
relative tectonic quiescence, in fact periods of buckling, should be
signicant of a low coupling between the two plates. Low coupling
means that the convergence is mainly accommodated by subduction
and we can expect in the adjacent continents quite constant horizontal
tectonic forces triggering the development of large-scale compressive
instabilities. Strong coupling means that the convergence is partly
accommodated in the subduction zone, but also within the continents
themselves. During such periods, typically the MiddleLate Eocene and
the Plio-Quaternary, we can expect that the amount of deformation is
directly under the control of plate kinematics. Lithospheric buckling
then becomes insufcient to accommodate shortening, and faulting
(inversion) develops in the weaker zones (i.e. in the former rifts).
Acknowledgements
The reviews by two anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. We greatly beneted from the discussion in the eld or in the lab
with L. Baidder and E.H. El Arabi (Univ Casablanca An Chock, G. Bertotti
and B. Ghorbal (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam), A. Teixell, M.L. Arboleya
and J. Babault (Univ. Autonoma de Barcelona), M. Bedir (CRTE, Tunis),
M. Had (Univ Kenitra).
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