mohamed najib zaghloul
Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Earth Siences, Department Member
Remote sensing has become more and more a reliable tool for mapping land cover and monitoring cropland. Much of the work done in this field uses optical remote sensing data. In Morocco, active remote sensing data remain... more
Remote sensing has become more and more a reliable tool for mapping land cover and monitoring cropland. Much of the work done in this field uses optical remote sensing data. In Morocco, active remote sensing data remain under-exploited despite their importance in monitoring spatial and temporal dynamics of land cover and crops even during cloudy weather. This study aims to explore the potential of C-band Sentinel-1 data in the production of a high-resolution land cover mapping and crop classification within the irrigated Loukkos watershed agricultural landscape in northern Morocco. The work was achieved by using 33 dual-polarized images in vertical-vertical (VV) and vertical-horizontal (VH) polarizations. The images were acquired in ascending orbits between April 16 and October 25, 2020, with the purpose to track the backscattering behavior of the main crops and other land cover classes in the study area. The results showed that the backscat...
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Limestone tuff deposits precipitated in fluvial environments are widespread in the northern Morocco and the S Portugal. These deposits represent environmental conditions prone for the carbonate precipitation mainly in areas of Mesozoic... more
Limestone tuff deposits precipitated in fluvial environments are widespread in the northern Morocco and the S Portugal. These deposits represent environmental conditions prone for the carbonate precipitation mainly in areas of Mesozoic limestone substratum with active water seepage from the aquifers. The mesoscopic and microscopic characteristics of tuff deposits from Tetouan (Morocco) and Loule and Tavira (Portugal) are very alike; namely on deposit types (e.g. phytoherm barriers; banded limestones with abundant vegetation macro-remains; carbonates precipitation as cement of some early alluvial conglomerates or interbedded alluvial deposits). The common textural features and macro-facies (e.g. banded calcite in regular layers ; moldic porosity; textures resulting from carbonate precipitation mediated by bacteriological activity) point to a similar origin of these limestone tuffs on both sides of Gibraltar Strait despite their slightly different climatic conditions that are influenc...
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Abstract Sandstone petrography and geochemistry (major, trace and rare earth elements) of the Aptian–Albian siliciclastic Massylian flysch from the Chouamat Nappe (central Rif Morocco) are used to highlight the chemical weathering... more
Abstract Sandstone petrography and geochemistry (major, trace and rare earth elements) of the Aptian–Albian siliciclastic Massylian flysch from the Chouamat Nappe (central Rif Morocco) are used to highlight the chemical weathering conditions in the source area and to infer their provenance. Petrographic studies show that the studied samples are mostly quartzarenite, sublitharenite and subarkose generally composed of quartz (up to 99%), K-feldspar (less than 5%) and scarce fragments of sedimentary rocks. The samples plot in the continental block provenance field of the QtFLt diagram. Thus, the compositional maturity of analyzed sandstones is typical of cratonic environments. The sandstone samples shows high SiO2 content (up to 96%) and strong depletion in mobile components such as Na2O, CaO as well as in ferromagnesian minerals, which are mainly related to intense chemical weathering processes in the source area, as confirmed by high Chemical Index of Alteration values (mean = 79.8). Recycling is shown by the Th/Sc vs. Zr/Sc plot, where the studied sandstones fall along a trend involving zircon addition and thus sediment recycling. Several geochemical ratios, such as La/Sc, Th/Sc, Th/Co and Th/Cr, of the studied samples are similar to those of Post-Archean Australian Shales and of the Upper Continental Crust, and suggest a provenance from source area(s) mainly composed of plutonic and felsic metasedimentary and sedimentary rocks, which were most probably the basement rocks of the adjacent African plate. These source rocks are related to a large cratonic source region of Eburnean and Pan-African belts, Precambrian (?) and/or Variscan basements of the southeastern margin of the African plate.
Research Interests: Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Provenance, Morocco, and 7 moreWeathering, Petrography, Zircon, Rif, Flysch, Sedimentary Rock, and felsic
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The sedimentological features of the analyzed sections reflect a palaeoenvironment evolution from a submerged beach-type to a high energy littoral depositional system, namely lower shoreface to beachface environment with a regressive... more
The sedimentological features of the analyzed sections reflect a palaeoenvironment evolution from a submerged beach-type to a high energy littoral depositional system, namely lower shoreface to beachface environment with a regressive trend to thickening-and coarsening-upward ...
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Research Interests: Geology, Geophysics, Paleontology, Provenance, Geodynamics, and 4 moreSubduction, Neogene, Sedimentation, and Flysch
ABSTRACT The Last Interglacial is considered the most suitable episode from which to infer patterns of rapid sea-level change since its climatic conditions were similar to those of the present interglacial. However, specifying the true... more
ABSTRACT The Last Interglacial is considered the most suitable episode from which to infer patterns of rapid sea-level change since its climatic conditions were similar to those of the present interglacial. However, specifying the true position of its sea level with high accuracy is very troublesome in the absence of sedimentological, erosional or even palaeontological markers. This study investigates the morphosedimentary evidence (beach deposits, cliff, notch and shore platform) of two highstands registered and dated during MIS 5 stage by U-series dating in the North of Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar). Bioerosive notches and mixed siliciclastic and carbonate deposits, high energy beaches with algal bioherms, were formed in coastal environments during MIS 5a. A sea-level height of + 10 m asl can be inferred for this substage. The record of MIS 5e substage is less defined in the geomorphological record, consisting of backshore/foreshore deposits located at + 13 to + 15 m asl. A tectonic uplift rate of ~ 0.1 mm/yr has been estimated for the last 130 kyr. These data are consistent with models of coastal uplifting calculated for the Strait of Gibraltar.
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We present new field evidence, geochemical and isotopic data, and age constraints on Lower Jurassic mafic rock suites within a 1200-km-long curvilinear belt in the Rif orogenic belt in northernMorocco and show that these rock assemblages... more
We present new field evidence, geochemical and isotopic data, and age constraints on Lower Jurassic mafic rock suites within a 1200-km-long curvilinear belt in the Rif orogenic belt in northernMorocco and show that these rock assemblages formed as part of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The CAMP represents a large igneous province that straddles the edges of the modern peri-Atlantic continents. It developed ~200 Ma, following the initiation of the breakup of Pangea. Main magmatic rocks in the Rif External Zone include basaltic lavas, massive dolerite, and isotropic and cumulate gabbros, all intruded by dolerite and trondhjemite dikes and sills. Available U-Pb zircon ages from dolerite, gabbro, and trondhjemite dike rocks are 20054, 19654, and 1925Ma, respectively. Based on their geochemical affinities and isotopic compositions, the analyzed rocks define basalt-dolerite and gabbro-cumulate gabbro-trondhjemite groups. The basalt-dolerite group samples are subalkaline in nature and have low TiO2 contents, whereas the gabbro-cumulate gabbro-trondhjemite group samples are alkaline and display high TiO2 values. Most samples are tholeiitic in character and show large-ion lithophile and light rare earth element enrichment and high field strength element depletion compared with normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). Samples of both groups display low 143Nd/144Nd201 Ma (0.51182–0.51262) and high 87Sr/86Sr(i) ratios with ɛNd values ranging from 21.51 to 14.85. The basalt-dolerite group rocks have enriched MORB compositions, compatible with the low-TiCAMP suites, whereas the gabbro-cumulate gabbro-trondhjemite group rocks have oceanic island basalt compositions reminiscent of high-TiCAMP suites in other continents.Magmas of the gabbrocumulate gabbro-trondhjemite group underwent differentiation through tholeiitic fractionation. Magmas of the rocks of both groups included melt components, originated from partial melting of a previously subduction-modified subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Our results indicate that the Early Jurassic CAMP magmatism in northern Morocco marked a major episode of continental magmatism before the opening of the Maghrebian Tethys between Africa and Iberia in the latest Jurassic.
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Sea strait geographies amplify tidal currents, which can result in the formation of tidal strait deposits with a symmetrical facies arrangement. It can be problematic to distinguish such confined tidal strait deposits from strait systems... more
Sea strait geographies amplify tidal currents, which can result in the formation of tidal strait deposits with a symmetrical facies arrangement. It can be problematic to distinguish such confined tidal strait deposits from strait systems that developed in less constricted settings. To push a more robust differentiation between the confined tidal strait model and a model for less constricted tidal deposits, this study presents an example of a strait-adjacent delta and compares it to the existing model of confined tidal straits. The strait-adjacent delta interpretations are based on an exposed succession in Northern Morocco, that formed in the Miocene Rifian Corridor. The multi-km, seismic-scale exposures at the Ben Allou locality, formed in a region with a largely unconstrained coastline. Clayey and silty portions dominate the distal offshore and prodelta facies, while the proximal delta front and delta plain are comprised of carbonate-rich sandstones. These sandstones exhibit comple...
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Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex in the southern Apennines.Aim of this paper is the structural and stratigraphic analyses of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex exposed in the Campania region (Italy) in... more
Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex in the southern Apennines.Aim of this paper is the structural and stratigraphic analyses of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex exposed in the Campania region (Italy) in order to unraveling the deformation pattern characterizing the transition from the final oceanic subduction stages to the early stages of deformation of the foreland continental margin. Our results outline a sequence of late Early Miocene (Burdigalian) shortening events, also involving buttressing of the accretionary wedge against the crustal ramp of the foreland continental margin. Emplacement of the overthickened accretionary complex onto the distal part of the continental margin was followed by horizontal extension and wedge thinning, aiding the development of wedge-top depocenters. Early Miocene NW-SE shortening recorded by Ligurian Accretionary Complex units is completely unrelated with later (Late Miocene to Pleistocene) NE-directed thrusting in ...
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The Rif Mountain located in Northern Morocco represents the westernmost extremity of the Peri-Mediterranean Alpine orogenic system. This belt is classically subdivided into: 1) Internal zones (or Internal Rif which is an allochthonous... more
The Rif Mountain located in Northern Morocco represents the westernmost extremity of the Peri-Mediterranean Alpine orogenic system. This belt is classically subdivided into: 1) Internal zones (or Internal Rif which is an allochthonous metamorphic domain known worldwide thanks to the presence of large peridotite outcrops); 2) flysch zones (sediments corresponding to the original cover of the Maghrebian Tethys); and 3) External zones (or External Rif representing the North African margin remnants). The External Rif is itself subdivided into Prerif, Mesorif and Intrarif domains from the South to the North and is composed by Upper Triassic to Cenozoic sediments structured in a nappe stack. Mafic rock intrusions were reported in this External Rif since the preliminary geological studies even if they were wrongly mapped as “granites”. Later careful fieldwork and mapping studies specified nevertheless their gabbroic nature. A more recent petrological and geochemical study of a few outcrops...
The Beni Ider Flysch (Rif, Morocco) belongs to the mauretanien successions (internal units of the Maghrebian Flysch Domain) and represents the upper part of the Beni Ider Nappe, about 1800 m thick. Together with the Algeciras Flysch... more
The Beni Ider Flysch (Rif, Morocco) belongs to the mauretanien successions (internal units of the Maghrebian Flysch Domain) and represents the upper part of the Beni Ider Nappe, about 1800 m thick. Together with the Algeciras Flysch (Betic Cordillera, Spain), it represents the start of the detritic syn-orogenic sedimentation (beginning of the foredeep stage) in the Betic-Rifian Arc during Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. New interdisciplinary data from four sections measured in the Tetouan area provide a new provisional stratigraphic reconstruction of its succession and a sedimentological, petrographic and biostratigraphic characterization. The Ain-ech-Chouka and Oued Chekkour Sections (not older than Late Oligocene in age) show coarse- to very coarse-grained facies referred to proximal areas (probably base of slope) and seem to represent the lower portion of the stratigraphic succession. Their provenance, characterized by conspicuous supply from crystalline sources, is related to hypo...
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The Zoumi Basin was generated in a collisional tectonic setting during the Lower-Middle Miocene. The syn-orogenic flysch deposits of the basin have been well investigated by petrographic and geochemical studies to characterize the... more
The Zoumi Basin was generated in a collisional tectonic setting during the Lower-Middle Miocene. The syn-orogenic flysch deposits of the basin have been well investigated by petrographic and geochemical studies to characterize the composition, source to sink routing system, and tectonic setting of the Zoumi flysch. Forty-three sandstone samples and 45 mudstone samples have been gathered from six measured stratigraphic sections. These samples have been analyzed using XRD, XRF, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for mudrocks and petrographic investigation for sandstones. The Lower-Middle Miocene Zoumi flysch is defined as sublitharenites and quartzarenites according to mineralogical content. Detrital grains are commonly subangular to subrounded, poorly sorted, and rich in quartz grains. Point counting modal analysis leads to craton interior and recycled orogen provenance with significant first-cycle sediment supply and low sedimentary recycling. Several chemical ratios (Al2O3/TiO2, La/Th, Cr/Th, Th/Sc, Zr/Sc) as well as chondrite-normalized REE patterns with flat HREE, LREE enrichment, and negative Eu anomaly suggest a dominant felsic rock sources. However, V-Ni-La*4, V-Ni-Th*10, and Th/Sc vs. Cr/Th plots do not exclude a mafic supply source nature which is evidenced by numerous ophiolitic outcrops scattered throughout the Mesorifan Subdomain (Mesorifan Ophiolitic Suture Zone).
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This study focuses on the Lower-Middle Miocene syn-orogenic flysch deposits of the Zoumi basin to infer source area paleoclimatic conditions, the intensity of source rocks paleoweathering, and mechanical sorting and recycling effects. The... more
This study focuses on the Lower-Middle Miocene syn-orogenic flysch deposits of the Zoumi basin to infer source area paleoclimatic conditions, the intensity of source rocks paleoweathering, and mechanical sorting and recycling effects. The mudrocks are enriched in Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, and TiO2 relative to PAAS and depleted in the other mobile major elements. There are high positive correlations between SiO2, Al2O3, and TiO2 and negative correlations between SiO2 and CaO. Geochemically, the mudstones are mainly classified as shales, Fe-shales, and wackes. Various discriminant diagrams were used to reveal the inferred tectonics, source paleoweathering intensity, and paleoclimatic conditions. Chemical index of alteration (CIA) and chemical index of weathering (CIW) values for Lower-Middle Miocene vary from 50 to 80% indicating low to moderate degree of source area weathering compatible with non-steady-state weathering under wet and humid paleoclimatic conditions. Locally (Zoumi mid-section) CIA values are higher (> 80) reflecting intense source area weathering, which may be attributed to high tectonic impulses and more humid conditions during deposition. The combination of ICV-CIA, Al2O3-Zr-TiO2, and Th/Sc-Zr/Sc values suggests the bulk rock is chemically immature and has experienced modest physical sorting and recycling reflecting little transportation until the final deposition.
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This work deals with sedimentological, petrographic, and structural analyses of a middle Miocene late-orogenic sedimentary cycle, denoted Oued Dayr Formation, recognized in the Rifian sector of the Maghrebian Chain (Morocco). The analyzed... more
This work deals with sedimentological, petrographic, and structural analyses of a middle Miocene late-orogenic sedimentary cycle, denoted Oued Dayr Formation, recognized in the Rifian sector of the Maghrebian Chain (Morocco). The analyzed Formation (75 m thick) starts with 15–20 m of light colored polymict conglomerates, with minor sandstone beds, lying on the Paleozoic basement and Mesozoic cover of the Ghomaride Nappe. Facies analysis indicates a fining-upward deposition in a marine environment characterized by increasing deepening, reflecting a subsidence rate that exceeds sedimentary supply. Petrographic analysis points out that sandstones are represented by litharenites originated by erosion of recycled orogen. The conglomerates pebbles and cobbles consist of Alpine low- to high-grade metamorphic rocks as metarenites, phyllites, mylonitic quartzites, micaschists, augen gneisses deriving from the exhumed deep metamorphic basement, the overlying metasedimentary of the Sebtide Nappes and of sedimentary rocks as sandstones, jaspes, limestones, and shales deriving from the Ghomaride Nappes and their sedimentary cover. Data reveal mixed provenance indicating that the Oued Dayr Formation was fed by the Internal Nappes stack of the Maghrebian Chain. Structural analysis shows that the Oued Dayr Formation accumulated in a Thrust-Top basin, during an early extension (D0 phase), recorded by synsedimentary normal faults within middle Langhian deposits on the rear of the Internal Nappes stack. Subsequent ductile and brittle compressional (D1, D2, D3) and extensional (D4) deformation phases occurred during and/or after the stacking, exhumation, and early unroofing of Sebtide Complex coeval with the opening of the western Mediterranean back-arc basins since middle Miocene time.
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Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex in the southern Apennines.Aim of this paper is the structural and stratigraphic analyses of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex exposed in the Campania region (Italy) in... more
Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex in the southern Apennines.Aim of this paper is the structural and stratigraphic analyses of the Ligurian Accretionary Complex exposed in the Campania region (Italy) in order to unraveling the deformation pattern characterizing the transition from the final oceanic subduction stages to the early stages of deformation of the foreland continental margin. Our results outline a sequence of late Early Miocene (Burdigalian) shortening events, also involving buttressing of the accretionary wedge against the crustal ramp of the foreland continental margin. Emplacement of the overthickened accretionary complex onto the distal part of the continental margin was followed by horizontal extension and wedge thinning, aiding the development of wedge-top depocenters. Early Miocene NW-SE shortening recorded by Ligurian Accretionary Complex units is completely unrelated with later (Late Miocene to Pleistocene) NE-directed thrusting in ...
This paper provides a structural analysis of the Chefchaouen area, in the Northern Rif. Here the Dorsale Calcaire succession tectonically superpose the Predorsalian Unit. Both successions overthrust the Massylian Unit. The carbonates of... more
This paper provides a structural analysis of the Chefchaouen area, in the Northern Rif. Here the Dorsale Calcaire succession tectonically superpose the Predorsalian Unit. Both successions overthrust the Massylian Unit. The carbonates of the Dorsale Calcaire are characterized by pre-orogenic structures, such as normal faults, veins and fractures, resulting from extension related to the Liassic-Dogger rifting of the Neotethys domain. The successive inclusion of these rocks in the orogenic wedge, mainly occurred in the Miocene time, has deformed the most of pre-orogenic structures in a passive fashion, without an overall reverse reactivation. The Predorsalian Unit is characterized by a two hundred meters thick shear zone located close to the contact with the Dorsale Calcaire carbonates. Here the dominantly pelitic levels are highly deformed by (i) C’ type shear bands indicating a mean WSW tectonic transport and (ii) conjugate extensional shear planes marking an extension both orthogonal and parallel to the shear direction. Such as the previous succession, conjugate extensional shear bands and normal faults indicate a horizontal extension parallel to the thrust front synchronous with the mainly WSW-directed overthrusting. Also the Massylian succession shows a progressive deformation characterized by two superposed fold sets. The whole thrust sheet pile recorded a further shortening, characterized by a NW-SE direction, expressed by several reverse and thrust faults and related folds. Finally strike-slip and normal faults were the last deformation structures recorded in the analyzed rocks.
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Texture and composition of beach (154 samples) and fluvial (26 samples) sands collected between the Amsa and Amter villages (Rif Thrust-Belt, Morocco) are used to characterize the hinterland petrological provinces, their drainage patterns... more
Texture and composition of beach (154 samples) and fluvial (26 samples) sands collected between the Amsa and Amter villages (Rif Thrust-Belt, Morocco) are used to characterize the hinterland petrological provinces, their drainage patterns and dispersal pathways. Multivariate analytical techniques were carried out on the textural and compositional data. The analyzed sediments are usually coarse-grained, and locally medium to fine-grained sands, varying from well sorted and graded samples (Amsa river samples) to poorly sorted and graded samples (Oued Laou, Sidi Yahia Aarab and Kanar river samples). The relationships of the coarser one percentile (C) and the median value (M) on the C-M diagram suggest that transport processes are saltation and suspension for medium to fine grained sands, and bedload-traction and rolling for coarser sand and gravels. The morphology of quartz grains, mainly characterized by angular to sub-angular shapes with V-shaped cracks and conchoidal fractures, is the result of those transport processes. Two sand petrofacies were identified and reflect the main clastic contribution of source rocks belonging to the Internal Domain Units of the Rif Belt. Sands from beaches and related fluvial systems draining Ras Akaili, Tissouka, Dhar Nesk, and Beni Mezala Mountains, have a metamorphic-sedimenticlastic petrofacies (between the Amsa and Bouhmed area) and a metamorphic-ultramafic petrofacies (between the Bouhmed and Amter area), mainly derived from the Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Ghomaride and Sebtide complexes.
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ABSTRACT This study investigates the morpho-sedimentary evidence of two highstands registered and dated during MIS 5 stage by U-series dating in the North of Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar). Bioerosive notch and mixed siliciclastic and... more
ABSTRACT This study investigates the morpho-sedimentary evidence of two highstands registered and dated during MIS 5 stage by U-series dating in the North of Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar). Bioerosive notch and mixed siliciclastic and carbonate deposits, high energy beaches with algal bioherms, were formed in coastal environments during MIS 5a. A sea-level altitude of +10 m asl was inferred for this substage. The record of MIS 5e-2 substage is less complete, consisting in upper foreshore and storm deposits located some meters above the sea-level (+13-15 m asl). A tectonic uplift rate of ~0.1 mm/yr has been estimated for the last 130 ky. This data is consistent with models of coastal uplifts elaborated for the Gibraltar Strait
ABSTRACT In questo lavoro è presentata l'analisi strutturale delle successioni bacinali e di piattaforma calcarea affioranti nell'area di Chefchaouen (Rif settentrionale). L'analisi ha permesso la... more
ABSTRACT In questo lavoro è presentata l'analisi strutturale delle successioni bacinali e di piattaforma calcarea affioranti nell'area di Chefchaouen (Rif settentrionale). L'analisi ha permesso la ricostruzione della storia tettonica delle successioni studiate, caratterizzata dalla sovrapposizione di più fasi deformative. Le prime due fasi sono associate al sovrascorrimento, vergente a SW, della Dorsale Calcaire sulle unità Pre-Dorsalian e Massylian, registrata come deformazione progressiva nelle successioni poste a letto. La terza fase è contraddistinta da un raccorciamento diretto NW-SE, mentre le ultime due fasi sono caratterizzate da faglie trascorrenti e normali che deformano l'intera pila tettonica.
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Abstract This paper provides the structural analysis of the Chefchaouen area in the northern Rif. Here the Dorsale Calcaire superposes, by means of an excellently exposed thrust fault, onto the Predorsalian succession in turn tectonically... more
Abstract This paper provides the structural analysis of the Chefchaouen area in the northern Rif. Here the Dorsale Calcaire superposes, by means of an excellently exposed thrust fault, onto the Predorsalian succession in turn tectonically covering the Massylian Unit. Hanging wall carbonates of the Dorsale Calcaire Unit form a WSW-verging regional fold with several parasitic structures, deformed by late reverse faults in places indicating an ENE vergence. A 200 m thick shear zone characterizes the upper part of the Predorsalian succession, located at footwall of the Dorsale Calcaire Unit. Here the dominantly pelitic levels are highly deformed by (i) C′ type shear bands indicating a mean WSW tectonic transport and (ii) conjugate extensional shear planes marking an extension both orthogonal and parallel to the shear direction. The Massylian Unit is characterized by a strain gradient increasing toward the tectonic contact with the overlying Predorsalian succession, where the dominantly pelitic levels are so highly deformed so as appearing as a broken formation. Such as the previous succession, conjugate extensional shear bands and normal faults indicate a horizontal extension parallel to the thrust front synchronous with the mainly WSW-directed overthrusting. The whole thrust sheet pile recorded a further shortening, characterized by a NW–SE direction, expressed by several reverse and thrust faults and related folds. Finally strike-slip and normal faults were the last deformation structures recorded in the analyzed rocks. A possible tectonic evolution for these successions is provided. In the late Burdigalian, the Dorsale Calcaire Unit tectonically covered the Predorsalian succession and together the Massylian Unit. The latter two successions were completely detached from their basement and accreted in the orogenic wedge within a general NE–SW shortening for the analyzed sector of the northern Rif. At lithosphere scale the thrust front migration was driven by roll back and slab tear mechanisms producing a synchronous arching and related counterclockwise rotation of the tectonic prism along the African margin. Radial displacement involved extension parallel to the thrust front well-recorded in the analyzed rocks. The NE–SW shortening, probably acting in the Tortonian–Pliocene interval, was related to the final compression of the Rif Chain resulting in out-of-sequence thrusts affecting the whole orogenic belt.
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The southern side of Gibraltar and the Western Alboran Sea of the northern Rif coasts and rivers provide a natural field laboratory for sampling modern sand at different scales: small catchment basins (first order) and rivers draining... more
The southern side of Gibraltar and the Western Alboran Sea of the northern Rif coasts and rivers provide a natural field laboratory for sampling modern sand at different scales: small catchment basins (first order) and rivers draining mountain belts (second order). The Rifian chain represents a deformed and uplifted thrust-belt and related forelands composed of Palaeozoic nappes, metamorphic and plutonic
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The Anisian-Carnian Verrucano Group of the Tuscan Metamorphic Units and the Triassic-Hettangian Pseudoverrucano Formation of the homonymous unit are mainly continental redbeds occurring in Tuscany at the base of the Alpine orogenic cycle.... more
The Anisian-Carnian Verrucano Group of the Tuscan Metamorphic Units and the Triassic-Hettangian Pseudoverrucano Formation of the homonymous unit are mainly continental redbeds occurring in Tuscany at the base of the Alpine orogenic cycle. A study carried out throughout the Apennine, Maghrebian and Betic Chains emphasized the presence in all these orogenic belts of deposits more or less coeval and similar both to the metamorphic Verrucano and to the unmetamorphosed Pseudoverrucano. Thus, the distinction of Verrucano and Pseudoverrucano successions has a palaeogeographical and geodynamic importance at the scale of the Western Mediterranean. Both successions developed during the continental rift stage of Pangaea, which led to later break-up at the edges of a future microplate, interposed between the Europe, Africa and Adria-Apulia plates, but they are characterized by different tectonometamorphic evolution. Pseudoverrucano-like deposits, devoid of Alpine metamorphism, characterize the ...
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This work deals with the first evidence in the Rifian Maghrebids of a Miocene clastic succession, named Oued Dayr Fm, uncorformably resting on the Ghomaride Complex. The formation starts with polymictic conglomerates, consisting of clasts... more
This work deals with the first evidence in the Rifian Maghrebids of a Miocene clastic succession, named Oued Dayr Fm, uncorformably resting on the Ghomaride Complex. The formation starts with polymictic conglomerates, consisting of clasts coming from all the Rifian Internal Units, sharply or gradationally evolving to graded and stratified calcareous sandstones, siltstones and massive marls.The occurrence of nannofossils starting
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Research Interests: Geology, Stratigraphy, Recycling, Tectonics, Transport, and 15 moreCorrelation, Petrography, Plankton, Deformation, Delta, Neogene, Cenozoic, Tertiary, Phanerozoic, Deltas, Marl, Folds, Sedimentary Rocks, Arenite, and Plancton
In the Gibraltar Arc, the age of the turbiditic formations capping the Mauretanian successions, deposited in the internal side of the Maghrebian Flysch Basin Domain and testifying to the foredeep stage of the basin occurring immediately... more
In the Gibraltar Arc, the age of the turbiditic formations capping the Mauretanian successions, deposited in the internal side of the Maghrebian Flysch Basin Domain and testifying to the foredeep stage of the basin occurring immediately before its deformation, has been re-examined using the calcareous nannoplankton. The base of the successions resulted to be not older than Chattian or Early
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New lithostratigraphic data have been collected from stratigraphic sections in Quaternary marine terraces located along the northern Atlantic and southern Gibraltar Strait coasts (Morocco). The sections usually start with conglomeratic... more
New lithostratigraphic data have been collected from stratigraphic sections in Quaternary marine terraces located along the northern Atlantic and southern Gibraltar Strait coasts (Morocco). The sections usually start with conglomeratic lenses and large scale cross-stratification mainly ...
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The Anisian-Carnian Verrucano Group of the Tuscan Metamorphic Units and the Triassic-Hettangian Pseudoverrucano Formation of the homonymous unit are mainly continental redbeds occurring in Tuscany at the base of the Alpine orogenic cycle.... more
The Anisian-Carnian Verrucano Group of the Tuscan Metamorphic Units and the Triassic-Hettangian Pseudoverrucano Formation of the homonymous unit are mainly continental redbeds occurring in Tuscany at the base of the Alpine orogenic cycle. A study ...
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The Last Interglacial is considered the most suitable episode from which to infer patterns of rapid sea-level change since its climatic conditions were similar to those of the present interglacial. However, specifying the true position of... more
The Last Interglacial is considered the most suitable episode from which to infer patterns of rapid sea-level change since its climatic conditions were similar to those of the present interglacial. However, specifying the true position of its sea level with high accuracy is very troublesome in the absence of sedimentological, erosional or even palaeontological markers. This study investigates the morphosedimentary evidence (beach deposits, cliff, notch and shore platform) of two highstands registered and dated during MIS 5 stage by U-series dating in the North of Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar). Bioerosive notches and mixed siliciclastic and carbonate deposits, high energy beaches with algal bioherms, were formed in coastal environments during MIS 5a. A sea-level height of + 10 m asl can be inferred for this substage. The record of MIS 5e substage is less defined in the geomorphological record, consisting of backshore/foreshore deposits located at + 13 to + 15 m asl. A tectonic uplift rate of ~ 0.1 mm/yr has been estimated for the last 130 kyr. These data are consistent with models of coastal uplifting calculated for the Strait of Gibraltar.► Morphosedimentary evidence of MIS 5 highstands are recorded in the North of Morocco. ► Bioerosive features and high-energy beach facies were formed during MIS 5e and MIS 5a. ► A low tectonic uplift rate of 0.1 mm/yr has been estimated for the last 130 kyr. ► A phase of hydro-isostatic subsidence at the end of highstands cannot be rejected. ► Our data are consistent with models of coastal uplifting elaborated for the Strait of Gibraltar.