The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) front of Morocco - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue International Journal of Earth Sciences Année : 2007

The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) front of Morocco

Résumé

The South Middle Atlas front constitutes a northeast-trending shear zone, located north of the Neogene Missour basin adn east of the Taza Guercif basin. This paper analyses the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) deformation since the Pliocene. The set of structures observed suggests that reverse and thrust faulting along the central part of the SMARZ are combined with left-lateral slip along N-S striking faults of its south-western termination and right-lateral faulting along E-NE striking faults of the east-northeast termination. Thrust and oblique trust-related anticlines of the two lateral ramps partly accommodate north-west directed motion of the Afican plate. The Thrusts probably resulted from rejuvenation of Jurassic normal fault ; they were active durin the Upper Miocene-Pliocene and the Pleistocene. The géometries of positive inversion structures and buttressing effects are clearly dependent on the geometry and sedimentology of the original basin-controlling fault system and on the presence of a décollement level. Field mapping is integrated with Landsat imagery and a digital elevation model to investigate the morphotectonic evolution of the south-eastern range front of the Middle Atlas. Geomorphological features provide significant information on the processes that govern lateral propagation of active anticlines. Both suggest the deformation front may have been active since Pliocene.

Dates et versions

hal-00324335 , version 1 (24-09-2008)

Identifiants

Citer

E. Laville, Bernard Delcaillau, Olivier Dugué, M. Charroud, L. Ait Brahim, et al.. The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Southern Middle Atlas Fault Zone (SMAFZ) front of Morocco. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 2007, 96, pp.497-515. ⟨10.1007/s00531-006-0113-7⟩. ⟨hal-00324335⟩
82 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More