Post-spreading deformation and associated magmatism along the Iberia-Morocco Atlantic margins: Insight from submarine volcanoes of the Tore-Madeira Rise

International audienceA new high-resolution bathymetric map combined with a regional Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analysis reveal the modalities of occurrence and emplacement of post-spreading magmatism along the NNE-SSW oriented, 1000 km long Tore-Madeira Rise (TMR) as well as its relationship with the activity of major fault systems including the Estremadura Fault System (ESF) and the Azores-Gibraltar Fracture Zone (AGFZ). Morphological and structural analysis of the bathymetric map were performed to map volcanic features such as eruptive cones, vents and fissures together with faults along the TMR. The new bathymetric map shows that the main NNW-SSE seamount alignment is formed by three structurally distinct volcanic massifs, the Tore, the Josephine and the Southern Volcanic Groups. The majority of the volcanoes of each group emplaced within or along specific portion of pre-existing faults (ESF and AGFZ) including splay fault, releasing bend, fault tips and interaction zones between different segments. Magmas were channelled into sub-vertical pre-existing lithospheric faults that acted as preferential pathways for the vertical magma ascent. Migration and final eruption of magma are controlled by the local stress variation induced by complex fault geometries, change in plate kinematics as well as strong shear zone anisotropy as suggested by the emplacement within localised areas of transtension. We conclude that post-spreading magma emplacement in the southern part of the Iberia margin was related to the development of a transtensional plate boundary between the Iberian and African Plate during the Late Cretaceous. More generally, our findings emphasize that the distribution of volcanism as the expression of the interaction between shallow plate tectonic and mantle processes should be included in plate kinematic reconstruction. This study also demonstrates that the accurate mapping of oceanic seafloor is pivotal to better understand tectono-magmatic evolution of volcanic seamount chains and geological processes in oceanic domains