Quaternary fractures and stress fiekds in the central Ebro Basin (EN Spain)

Abstract

Deformation in the Quaternary deposits of the Central Ebro basin is commonly related to diapirism and karst processes in the underlying Tertiary gypsum. However, it is possible to identify tectonic fractures in Quaternary materials. They belong to two regional sets of extensional fractures. one of them is composed by NW-SE trending fractures, the second one by N-S fractures. The N-S trending fractures relate to the N-S compressional stress field created by the Africa-Iberia-Europe plates collision and the E to ESE extension linked to the Valencia rifting. The NE-SW extension relates to the isostatic rebound of the Pyrenees and resulting vertical displacements in the foreland basin.