Active Shortening Simultaneous to Normal Faulting Based on GNSS, Geophysical, and Geological Data: The Seismogenic Ventas de Zafarraya Fault (Betic Cordillera, Southern Spain)

The central Betic Cordillera, southern Spain, is affected by an uplift related to the NNW–SSE Eurasia-Nubia convergence and shallow ENE–WSW orthogonal extension accommodated by the extensional system of the Granada Basin. The combination of geophysical, geodetic, and geological data reveals that the...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Madarieta Txurruka, Asier, González Castillo, María Lourdes, Peláez, José A., Galindo Zaldivar, Jesús, Borque Arancón, María Jesús, Lacy de, María Clara, Ruiz Armenteros, Antonio, Henares, Jesús, Ruano, Patricia, Sánchez Alzola, Alberto, Avilés, Manuel, Rodríguez Caderot, Gracia, Martínez Moreno, Francisco José, Tendero Salmerón, Victor, Vinardell Peña, Raquel, Gil, Antonio José
Format: article
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/101852
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101852
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:551.24(460)
Sismología (Geología)
Geodinámica
2507.07 Tectónica
2506.20 Geología Estructural
Description
Summary:The central Betic Cordillera, southern Spain, is affected by an uplift related to the NNW–SSE Eurasia-Nubia convergence and shallow ENE–WSW orthogonal extension accommodated by the extensional system of the Granada Basin. The combination of geophysical, geodetic, and geological data reveals that the southwestern boundary of this extensional system is a seismically active compressional front extending from the W to the SW of the Granada Basin. The near-field Global Navigation Satellite System data determine NNE–SSW shortening of up to 2 mm/yr of the compressional front in the Zafarraya Polje. In this setting, the normal Ventas de Zafarraya Fault developed as a result of the bending-moment extension of the Sierra de Alhama antiform and was last reactivated during the 1884 Andalusian earthquake (Mw 6.5). The uplift in the central Betic Cordillera together with the subsidence in the Western Alborán Basin may facilitate a westward to southwestward gravitational collapse through the extensional detachment of the Granada Basin. The heterogeneous crust of the Betic Cordillera would generate the compressional front, which is divided into two sectors: thrusting to the west, and folding associated with buttressing to the south. Our results evidence that basal detachments, linking extensional fault activity with compressional fronts, may determine the activity of local surface structures and the geological hazard in densely populated regions.

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