Nubia-Eurasia kinematics: an alternative interpretation from Mediterranean and North Atlantic evidence
Main Article Content
Abstract
It is argued that the Plio-Quaternary deformation pattern in the Mediterranean region is compatible with a SSWNNE
convergence between Africa (Nubia) and Eurasia and that the significant difference between this kinematics
and the one provided by global models (SSE-NNW convergence e.g., the NUVEL-1) may be due to the fact
that those models interpret North Atlantic data by adopting an oversimplified two-plate configuration, which
cannot account for the occurrence of significant seismotectonic activity inside the presumed Nubia and Eurasia
blocks. It is shown that the adoption of a new plate configuration involving the Iberia and Morocco microplates,
strongly suggested by geological and seismotectonic evidence, makes it possible to identify a kinematic model
compatible within errors with the constraints recognized in the Mediterranean region and with the NUVEL-1
North Atlantic data set. Some considerations are made about why the present-day Nubia-Eurasia kinematic models
inferred from geodetic observations are significantly different from long-term models, such as model NUVEL-
1 and the one proposed in this work.
convergence between Africa (Nubia) and Eurasia and that the significant difference between this kinematics
and the one provided by global models (SSE-NNW convergence e.g., the NUVEL-1) may be due to the fact
that those models interpret North Atlantic data by adopting an oversimplified two-plate configuration, which
cannot account for the occurrence of significant seismotectonic activity inside the presumed Nubia and Eurasia
blocks. It is shown that the adoption of a new plate configuration involving the Iberia and Morocco microplates,
strongly suggested by geological and seismotectonic evidence, makes it possible to identify a kinematic model
compatible within errors with the constraints recognized in the Mediterranean region and with the NUVEL-1
North Atlantic data set. Some considerations are made about why the present-day Nubia-Eurasia kinematic models
inferred from geodetic observations are significantly different from long-term models, such as model NUVEL-
1 and the one proposed in this work.
Article Details
How to Cite
Mantovani, E., Viti, M., Babbucci, D. and Albarello, D. (2007) “Nubia-Eurasia kinematics: an alternative interpretation from Mediterranean and North Atlantic evidence”, Annals of Geophysics, 50(3). doi: 10.4401/ag-3073.
Issue
Section
OLD
Open-Access License
No Permission Required
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCAL) to all works we publish.
Under the CCAL, authors retain ownership of the copyright for their article, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, so long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.
In most cases, appropriate attribution can be provided by simply citing the original article.
If the item you plan to reuse is not part of a published article (e.g., a featured issue image), then please indicate the originator of the work, and the volume, issue, and date of the journal in which the item appeared. For any reuse or redistribution of a work, you must also make clear the license terms under which the work was published.
This broad license was developed to facilitate open access to, and free use of, original works of all types. Applying this standard license to your own work will ensure your right to make your work freely and openly available. For queries about the license, please contact ann.geophys@ingv.it.