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Eustatic and tectonic controls on Quaternary Ras Leona marine terraces (Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Khalil El Kadiri ,
Carlos Sanz de Galdeano ,
Antonio Pedrera ,
Ahmed Chalouan ,
Jesús Galindo-Zaldívar ,
Ramón Julià ,
Mustafa Akil ,
Rachid Hlila  and
Mfedal Ahmamou
Khalil El Kadiri
Affiliation:
Département de Géologie, Fac. Sciences, Université Abdel Malek Essaâdi, BP 2121, Mhanech II, Tétouan, Morocco
Carlos Sanz de Galdeano*
Affiliation:
Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Univ. de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, 18071, Granada, Spain
Antonio Pedrera
Affiliation:
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Urb. Alcázar del Genil, 4, 18006, Granada, Spain
Ahmed Chalouan
Affiliation:
Université Mohammed V-Agdal, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences, Avenue Ibn Batouta, BP 1014, Rabat, Morocco
Jesús Galindo-Zaldívar
Affiliation:
Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Univ. de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, 18071, Granada, Spain Departamento de Geodinámica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Ramón Julià
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra Jaume Almera, CSIC Lluís Solé i Sabarís s/n. 08028, Barcelona, Spain
Mustafa Akil
Affiliation:
Université Mohammed V-Agdal, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences, Avenue Ibn Batouta, BP 1014, Rabat, Morocco
Rachid Hlila
Affiliation:
Département de Géologie, Fac. Sciences, Université Abdel Malek Essaâdi, BP 2121, Mhanech II, Tétouan, Morocco
Mfedal Ahmamou
Affiliation:
Université Mohammed V-Agdal, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences, Avenue Ibn Batouta, BP 1014, Rabat, Morocco
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: khalilelkadiri@yahoo.fr (K. El Kadiri), csanz@ugr.es (C.S. de Galdeano), a.pedrera@igme.es (A. Pedrera), chalouan@fsr.ac.ma (A. Chalouan), jgalindo@ugr.es (J. Galindo-Zaldívar), ramon.julia@ija.csic.es (R. Julià), mo_akil2@yahoo.fr (M. Akil), rhlila@yahoo.com (R. Hlila), ahmamou@fsr.ac.ma (M. Ahmamou).
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Abstract

Well-preserved Quaternary staircased marine terraces appear on Ras Leona limestone relief. This is a peculiar sector of the Betic-Rif Cordillera, lying in the four-way junction between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and Europe and Africa. The age and altitude correlation of the Ras Leona terraces with travertine-covered lateral equivalent terraces fashioned in the neighbouring Beni Younech area, and comparison with those along the Moroccan Atlantic coasts, would suggest that the Ras Leona terraces were mainly formed by eustatic factors. The importance of the eustasy is supported by further comparisons with Spanish and Moroccan Mediterranean terraces and with different marine terraces developed on passive-margin coasts around the world. A tectonic event occurred mainly during the period between the formation of the Maarifian and the Ouljian terraces (i.e., between 370 and 150 ka). The moderate Quaternary tectonic uplift deduced from the marine terraces and its comparison with uplifted marine terraces developed in active subduction setting disagrees with the model of an active eastwards subduction below the Gibraltar tectonic arc.

Keywords

Marine terracesTravertinesPassive coastsActive coastsEustasyStrait of Gibraltar
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 2 , September 2010 , pp. 277 - 288
Copyright
University of Washington

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