Spain and Portugal are slowly rotating clockwise around Africa, according to scientists
The Iberian Peninsula, on which Spain and Portugal are located, is gradually rotating clockwise under the influence of the tectonic forces of the African Plate. The speed of this movement is only a few millimeters per year. At the same time, this rotation is opposite to the direction characteristic of the previous stage of the region’s geological history.
In their study, the researchers analyzed satellite geodetic measurements and earthquake data. They examined the movement of the Earth’s crust and the stresses acting upon it to reconstruct the current picture of tectonic deformations in the region.
The Mediterranean is located at the junction of several lithospheric plates that have been interacting with one another for tens of millions of years. Much of the modern landscape was shaped by the Alpine orogeny, which began approximately 90 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. At that time, the Mediterranean Sea as we know it today did not yet exist, and part of the region was occupied by the Tethys Ocean.
“As the North Atlantic opened up, the African Plate changed its direction of movement and began to converge with Eurasia. The oceanic crust subducted into subduction zones, gradually closing off the Tethys Ocean. Eventually, 30 million years ago, this process led to the collision of Africa and Europe and the formation of the Alps,” the article states.
These tectonic changes affected not only the formation of the Alps but also the territory of the modern Iberian Peninsula. Before the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, the lands where Spain and Portugal are now located were connected to the part of the mainland that is today the western coast of France.
When the North Atlantic began to open, the Iberian block gradually separated from Eurasia. The formation of a system of oceanic spreading along the modern continental margin of France contributed to the formation of the Bay of Biscay.
Subsequently, the newly formed Iberian microplate began moving southwestward while rotating counterclockwise. Further interaction with neighboring plates shifted it approximately 200 kilometers to the east, bringing it closer to its current position.
Later, the process of Alpine orogeny pressed the Iberian block against the European continent. This contributed to the formation of the Pyrenees—the mountain range that now separates Spain from France.
Although the main features of the modern tectonic landscape have already taken shape, movements of the Earth’s crust continue. According to Asier Madarieta, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country, the African and Eurasian plates continue to converge at a rate of approximately 4–6 millimeters per year.
At the same time, it is not easy to determine exactly how this process affects the Iberian Peninsula. The boundary between Africa and Eurasia is quite clearly visible in the Atlantic Ocean and near Algeria. However, south of Spain and Portugal, it becomes significantly more complex.
The Gibraltar Arc—a curved geological structure stretching around the Strait of Gibraltar—is particularly difficult to study. It is located in a zone of complex deformation between the African and Eurasian plates.
To investigate the processes along this boundary, scientists combined satellite geodetic measurements with earthquake data. Analysis of crustal movements and stresses within the crust made it possible to identify the current patterns of deformation in the region.
The study’s results indicate that the Iberian Peninsula is slowly rotating clockwise. This movement is most pronounced in the western and southwestern parts of the peninsula. This is the opposite direction from that which characterized the previous stage of its geological history.
The cause of these changes is the continued convergence of Africa and Eurasia. West of the Strait of Gibraltar, the African Plate transmits compressional forces to the periphery of the Iberian Block. Further to the east, part of this deformation is compensated by the Earth’s crust of the Gibraltar Arc and the adjacent Alboran region.
According to the study’s authors, the results obtained help to better understand the active tectonic structures at the boundary between Europe and Africa.
In addition, these data may serve as a basis for further study of active faults and a more accurate assessment of seismic hazard in the region, particularly in the Pyrenees.
Thus, although the movement of the Iberian Peninsula is almost imperceptible in everyday life, it reflects the long-term processes of lithospheric plate interaction that continue to reshape the geological structure of Europe.
Futura-sciences reports on this, citing a study by an international team of scientists published in the journal *Gondwana Research*.
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