It coincides with the boundary of the complete Bouguer gravity anomaly, which
dominates the middle and eastern Alboran Basin. This appoints to the AS maxima
lineations are related to a magnetization contrast between the Argelian-Balearic
Basin oceanic crust and the northern Iberia and southern African continental crusts
(WNW-ESE magnetic anomaly).
In summary, gravity and magnetic anomalies mark three crustal domains: East
1
W denotes amplitude values corresponding to the very thin continental crustal
Iberian and African domains, surrounding oceanic areas, or the Algero-Provenzal
Basin. From 1
W to 4
W the continental crust has an ENE-WSW magmatic
thinning axis. Finally, westward of 4
W, according to the AS map and gravity
anomaly values, lies a continental domain. Such a cortical configuration is similar to
that proposed by Gomez de la Peña et al. (2018) based on the reflective character of
the crust studied by deep seismic reflection profiles; yet these authors discern a
continental crust thinned to the north and west of the Alboran Ridge that would
correspond to the Alborán Domain, plus a segment of northern Africa crust to the
south and east of this morphological elevation.
5.4.2 Basement Configuration and Major Structure
The basement paleotopography and main structures are derived from seismic reflection profiles obtained from academia and industry (Bourgois et al. 1992; Comas et al.
1992; Maldonado et al. 1992; Watts et al. 1993; Docherty and Banda 1995;
Chalouan et al. 1997; Vázquez 2001; Soto et al. 2010, 2012; Martínez-García
Fig. 5.9 Analytical signal map of the magnetic anomalies of the Alboran Basin. Total Bouguer
gravity anomalies are displayed as thick black contour lines. Thick white lines delineate the Alboran
Ridge topography. CG: Cabo de Gata
128
J.-T. Vázquez et al.
dominates the middle and eastern Alboran Basin. This appoints to the AS maxima
lineations are related to a magnetization contrast between the Argelian-Balearic
Basin oceanic crust and the northern Iberia and southern African continental crusts
(WNW-ESE magnetic anomaly).
In summary, gravity and magnetic anomalies mark three crustal domains: East
1
W denotes amplitude values corresponding to the very thin continental crustal
Iberian and African domains, surrounding oceanic areas, or the Algero-Provenzal
Basin. From 1
W to 4
W the continental crust has an ENE-WSW magmatic
thinning axis. Finally, westward of 4
W, according to the AS map and gravity
anomaly values, lies a continental domain. Such a cortical configuration is similar to
that proposed by Gomez de la Peña et al. (2018) based on the reflective character of
the crust studied by deep seismic reflection profiles; yet these authors discern a
continental crust thinned to the north and west of the Alboran Ridge that would
correspond to the Alborán Domain, plus a segment of northern Africa crust to the
south and east of this morphological elevation.
5.4.2 Basement Configuration and Major Structure
The basement paleotopography and main structures are derived from seismic reflection profiles obtained from academia and industry (Bourgois et al. 1992; Comas et al.
1992; Maldonado et al. 1992; Watts et al. 1993; Docherty and Banda 1995;
Chalouan et al. 1997; Vázquez 2001; Soto et al. 2010, 2012; Martínez-García
Fig. 5.9 Analytical signal map of the magnetic anomalies of the Alboran Basin. Total Bouguer
gravity anomalies are displayed as thick black contour lines. Thick white lines delineate the Alboran
Ridge topography. CG: Cabo de Gata
128
J.-T. Vázquez et al.