The South Portuguese Zone 1/200 000 and 1/400 000 LNEG-IGME cross-border map program. A contribution to the SW Iberian stratigraphy

Resumo alargadoSUMMARY: The South Portuguese Zone (SPZ) 1/200 000 and 1/400 000 scale maps and stratigraphic program in SW Iberia is presented by a LNEG-IGME consortium and funded by GEO_FPI/Interreg-POCTEP. The 1/200 000 mapped area corresponds to the border area and is based on previous work (Folha 8 and Sevilla-Puebla de Guzmán maps). The 1/400 000 map covered a larger area, from Lisbon to Seville. The following domains of SPZ were considered: Pulo do Lobo (early Frasnian-late Famennian), Iberian Pyrite Belt (late Famennian-late Visean) and Baixo Alentejo Flysch Group (late Visean-late Moscovian). The maps include the Mesozoic Algarve basin and the Cenozoic Guadalquivir/Algarve basins. Field surveys were done using standard stratigraphic and GIS database methodologies. Palynological studies of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and U/Pb zircon geochronology of plutonic and volcanic rocks were essential to refine and update the Paleozoic stratigraphy. The new data allowed new knowledge and the validation of the geological models.