Intraplate deformation of the Al Qarqaf Arch and the southern sector of the Ghadames Basin (SW Libya)

•Al Qarqaf Arch and Ghadames Basins were studied by remote sensing and seismic data.•Unconformities, deformations and tectonic lineaments were recognised and analysed.•Intracratonic deformations are connected to the arch uplift and basin development.•Extensional tectonic lasted until the Devonian.•Structural inversion took place during the Hercynian and Alpine events.

The structural evolution of the Al Qarqaf Arch (Libya) and the southern sector of the Ghadames Basin were reconstructed by the integration of remote sensing analysis, 2D seismic lines, well log data and geological maps. The Al Qarqaf Arch (Libya) is a wide, gentle warping of pre-Cambrian and Palaeozoic rocks that forms the southern boundary of the Ghadames Basin, a large Palaeozoic intracratonic basin of the Saharan Platform.Surface and subsurface analyses revealed the presence of different phases of intracratonic deformations, related to the Al Qarqaf Arch uplift and Ghadames Basin development. Extensional tectonic phases prevailed in the study area up until the Devonian, while compressional folding and structural inversion affected the region during Late Carboniferous and Mesozoic, indicating that compressional horizontal stresses affected the plate interior, giving rise to intraplate tectonics.Three major unconformities (Intra-Silurian, Silurian–Devonian transition and Upper Carboniferous unconformities) outline these tectonic events related to the upwarping of the arch and the downwarping of the basin.