Influence of a narrow strait connecting a large ocean and a small sea on magnetotelluric data: Gibraltar Strait

The Gibraltar Strait (southern Spain) connects the vast Atlantic Ocean with the irregular and relatively small Mediterranean Sea. Several 3D models have been developed in the region nearby the Strait, some featuring a roughly simplified geological structure, to show the influence of seawater on tipper and phase tensor. Here, detailed bathymetry (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans, GEBCO) including the coastline is considered in a model that enables us to analyze the influence of the Strait of Gibraltar on LMT data. We stress the significance of the Sea for LMT data interpretation and the development of 3D conductivity models, especially in regions involving complex coastline geometries and bathymetry near narrow straits. Forward modeling studies are essential to accurately appraise the sea influence, which may mask 3D geological structures.