Tectonic shortening and topography in the central High Atlas (Morocco)
TL;DR: In this paper, three cross sections of the Moroccan High Atlas illustrate the structural geometry and relationship between tectonic shortening and topography in this Cenozoic intracontinental mountain range.
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Abstract: [1] Three cross sections of the Moroccan High Atlas illustrate the structural geometry and relationship between tectonic shortening and topography in this Cenozoic intracontinental mountain range. The structure is dominated by thick-skinned thrusting and folding, essentially by inversion of Mesozoic extensional faults and by buckling of both pre-Mesozoic basement and its sedimentary cover. Detached, thin-skinned thrusting is limited and apparently related to basement underthrusting, which did not always create structural relief. Despite the high topography, tectonic shortening is moderate, with faults and folds being spaced and separated by broad tabular areas. Section restoration indicates that shortening decreases along strike from east to west in the High Atlas, while topographic elevation generally increases. This inverse correlation suggests that crustal thickening does not fully explain the observed topography and suggests a mantle contribution to uplift. This is supported by geophysical indications of a thin lithosphere and by alkaline volcanism in the vicinity. Mantle-related uplift, which occurs in a broad region, may also explain the scarce foreland basin record adjacent to the High Atlas. The relief of the Atlas Mountains is interpreted as a combination of isostatic and dynamic topography.
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Citations
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D.J.J. van Hinsbergen,Trond H. Torsvik,Stefan M. Schmid,Liviu Matenco,Marco Maffione,Reinoud L.M. Vissers,Derya Gürer,Wim Spakman +7 more
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296
References
The two main steps of the Atlas building and geodynamics of the western Mediterranean
TL;DR: The Atlas system (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) constitutes an important morphologic barrier fringing the Sahara platform as mentioned in this paper and its structural style changes along strike from a thick-skinned style in Morocco to a thin-skinned one in Algeria and Tunisia.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a distinction between collision-related and anorogenic compressional/transpressional intra-plate deformations, and propose that the stratigraphic record of collisionrelated intraplate compressional deformations can contribute to the dating of orogenic events affecting the margin of the respective craton.
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TL;DR: In this article, a large, sheet-like region of upwelling in the upper mantle which extends from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to central Europe and the western Mediterranean is identified.
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Inversion tectonics and the evolution of the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, based on a geological-geophysical transect
Weldon Beauchamp,Richard W. Allmendinger,Muawia Barazangi,Ahmed Demnati,Mohamed El Alji,Mohammed Dahmani +5 more
TL;DR: An edited version of this paper was published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Copyright 1998, AGU as discussed by the authors, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, USA.
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