A revision of the Alboran Basin: its crustal configuration, tectono-sedimentary structure and implications for seismic and tsunamigenic potential

The Alboran Basin located at the western Mediterranean hosts the boundary between the European and African plates. Traditionally, it has been considered a wide deformation zone in which the plate convergence is absorbed by minor to moderate tectonic structures. However, the understanding of the crustal configuration and the evolution of this basin was limited due to the resolution of the images of the subsurface. Based on >3.000 km of new seismic images we have characterized 1) the crustal domains of the Alboran Basin, 2) the sedimentary infill and the basin evolution, and 3) the main active faults of the basin. The outcome of these successive surveys allows us to characterize with unprecedented detail the seismic parameters of the main active faults systems (i.e. Carboneras, Al-Idrissi, Yusuf and Alboran Ridge), and to reveal their seismogenic and tsunamigenic potential. Our results challenge the traditional diffuse deformation model, as slip estimations reveal that the contractive reorganization of the Alboran basin is focused on a few first-order structures that act as the plate boundary in this area. Zoom: https://cnrs.zoom.us/j/95628956257?pwd=Y1Q1blBFdVhjK080eENZTGFtRWlFZz09 Meeting ID: 956 2895 6257 Passcode: mT77K4