Is there an active subduction beneath the Gibraltar orogenic arc? Constraints from Pliocene to present-day stress field

We present a new set of brittle microtectonic measurements carried out in the Pliocene and Quaternary rocks outcropping in several key sectors of the western Betic and Rif orogen, the so-called Gibraltar orogenic arc. This data set, along with available earthquake focal mechanisms and borehole breakouts, allowed us to compile the Pliocene and Quaternary stress map of this area. This map provides new constraints for tectonic models and the present-day tectonic activity of the proposed active eastward subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the Gibraltar Arc and roll-back. The horizontal maximum compressive stress (SHmax) is NW-SE in the Betic Orogen and N-S/NNW-SSE in the southern Rif Cordillera. There is a significant consistency between SHmax and the displacement field deduced from GPS measurements with respect to the African plate: both appear to reflect the NW-SE convergence between the African and the European plates that is perturbed in the Rif. We propose that part of the eastern Rif behaves as a quasi-rigid block welded to the stable African plate. This block is bounded by important faults that localized most of the deformation disturbing the stress and surface displacement field. Pliocene to Quaternary N-S to NW-SE Africa-Europe plate convergence seem to be associated to the reorganization of the remnant Early Miocene subduction system in a continental–continental collision framework. Three-dimensional reconstruction of available seismic tomography plotted against the intermediate seismicity shows that only part of the old subduction system, whose orientation ranges from N20°E to N100°E, remains active: the portion ranging from N30°E to N40°E, orthogonal to the regional convergence.

Research highlights
► We provide the Pliocene and Quaternary stress map of the Gibraltar orogenic arc.
► The NW-SE push between Eurasia and Africa explain most of the observed SHmax trend.
► However, part of the eastern Rif behaves as a quasi-rigid block disturbing the SHmax.
► NW-SE convergence caused the reorganization of the Early Miocene subduction system.
► The subduction evolved to a continental–continental collision and is almost inactive.