Fig. 6: Gibraltar slab rotation and tearing beneath the Iberian margin in a 3D magnified view. | Communications Earth & Environment

Fig. 6: Gibraltar slab rotation and tearing beneath the Iberian margin in a 3D magnified view.

From: Upright emplacement of the Gibraltar slab and the origin of rifting in adjacent foreland and Backarc Basins

Fig. 6

The red areas represent the dismembered AlKaPeCa Domain crust, whereas the blue surfaces represent the envelope surface of the lithospheric mantle. The yellow arrows indicate slab rotation and lithospheric extension. The geological age is shown in the lower left corner of each subfigure. All the data are derived from Case 1-1. a Initiation of the subduction process occurred as the continental lithosphere of the Baleares margin entered the Gibraltar subduction zone. b The extension of the Valencia Trough inhibited immediate slab tear propagation along the Balearic margin. The imbalance of forces facilitated a unique slab rotational rollback. c The westward propagation of tearing altered the manner in which the slab underwent rollback. d The tear propagated through the central segment of the southern Iberian margin, resulting in the slab standing above the 660 km discontinuity in the upper mantle. The Alboran Domain separated from the other parts of the AlKaPeCa Domain and migrated westward above the retreating Gibraltar slab between the continents.

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