Inversion of moment tensor focal mechanisms for active stresses around the microcontinent Iberia: Tectonic implications

Abstract

The Iberian microcontinent and its connected oceanic crust are affected by deformations related to the Eurasian-African plate boundary. Active stress inversions from populations of moment tensor focal mechanisms have been performed around and inside the Iberian peninsula, using a total of 213 moment tensor estimates. Main results are as follows: (1) The tensorial solutions show better consistency and lower misfits compared to those obtained previously from first P arrival focal mechanisms. (2) Along the Eurasia-Africa western boundary, the type of active stresses progressively changes easternward from triaxial extension to uniaxial compression along the Terceira Ridge, the Gloria Fault zone, and the Gulf of Cadiz. (3) In the Betics-Alboran-Rif zone, uniaxial extension predominates with Shmax N155°E trending. (4) In northern Algeria, uniaxial compression reappears. (5) The Iberian foreland is currently under strike-slip to uniaxial extension tensorial conditions. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.