Crustal thinning and mafic underplating beneath the Neogene Volcanic Province (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain): evidence from crustal xenoliths

Three metapelitic xenolith suites in the Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) of SE Spain (from SW to NE: El Hoyazo, Mazarron and Mar Menor) originated by partial melting at different crustal depths, decreasing from 20-25 km in the SW to 9-12 km in the NE. Peak temperatures reached c. 900 degrees C. The xenolith source level is equated with the base of a felsic upper crust of high melting potential ('fertility'). At El Hoyazo, this matches a thin, intracrustal low-velocity zone recently inferred from seismic studies. Isostatic calculations indicate that this zone increases in thickness from SW to NE. A model of increasing upper crustal thinning from SW to NE in the NVP, accompanied by mafic underplating, is consistent with the 9 Ma petrological data, with current heat flow, seismic data and gravimetry. It is concluded that significant crustal extension occurred in the NVP in the late Miocene, i.e. after the main phase of widespread extension, exhumation of high-pressure rocks and formation of the Alboran Sea.

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Alvarez-Valero A.M. y Kriegsman L.M. Crustal thinning and mafic underplating beneath the Neogene Volcanic Province (Betic Cordillera SE Spain): evidence from crustal xenoliths. Jhon Wiley & Sons, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2007.00745.x

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Resource type Article
Date of creation 2024-11-05
Date of last revision 2025-01-19
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Metadata identifier 1cbf60aa-a511-5aa1-a93c-628350685dd0
Metadata language Spanish
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High-value dataset category Earth observation and environment
ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator Alvarez-Valero, A.M. y Kriegsman, L.M.
Name of the dataset editor Jhon Wiley & Sons
Other identifier DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2007.00745.x
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Email of the dataset creator aav@usal.es
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