Morphostructure of the Galicia continental margin and adjacent deep ocean floor: From hyperextended rifted to convergent margin styles

• Published in: Marine Geology
• Main Authors: Somoza, L., Medialdea, T., González, F.J., León, R., Palomino, D., Rengel, J., Fernández-Salas, L.M., Vázquez, J.T.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019
• Subjects: Newfoundland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/51787/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/51787/1/Somoza.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.11.011

A joint study and mapping of the morphological features and architecture of the Galicia margin based on high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data and multichannel seismic profiles, provides new insights of the margin morphostructure. Tectonic processes are the major control of the margin's morphology, where the imprint of the North Atlantic rifting and opening and later subduction of the Bay of Biscay and compressional events are still well preserved. The West Galicia margin, which is up to 350 km wide, is composed from east to the west of inner, transitional and outer sectors. The inner sector shows a graded upper slope strongly dissected by a system of submarine canyons and valleys that flow into the 170 km long and 40–60 km wide NW-SE Valle Inclán Valley. The transitional sector, which is up to 75 km wide, displays a smooth relief dominated by landslides and giant craters. Finally, the outer sector is characterised by several banks, N-S sub-parallel ridges and elongated valleys that project seaward over 200 km (i.e., Galicia Bank, Half-Graben, Deep Galicia margin and Peridotite Ridge domains). The North Galicia margin is characterised by a system of terraces up to 30 km wide, that form a stepped slope followed by an abrupt lower slope affected by large-scale rotational failures. The Galicia margin constitutes an exceptional area within the Atlantic margins for identifying different morphostructure styles that characterised the main stages of the margin's evolution along the Wilson cycle. The Galicia margin hosts the transition between two end-members of continental margin styles: a western hyperextended rifted margin (being the conjugate with the Newfoundland margin during the Late Jurassic) and a northern convergent margin (now fossilised) associated with the partial subduction of the southern sector of the Bay of Biscay underneath the North Iberian margin, which occurred in Paleocene-Eocene times. Thus, the morphostructure of the West Galicia margin still reflects the detached fault systems and tilted ...