TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE PYRENEES

In reviewing the literature on the Pyrenees, several points of agreement are evident while strong controversies still remain. Most authors agree with the geometry of the different units. The mode of emplacement, the age, the role, and the significance of the lherzolitic bodies and Hercynian granulitic rocks in the NPZ is still a debated question. The deep structure of the belt is also controversial even though the ECORS profile has provided new constraints. Because of equivocal magnetic anomaly patterns in the Bay of Biscay, the kinematics of the Iberian plate are not unanimously accepted. Nevertheless, hypotheses involving transform motion along the NPF, during preorogenic times, is favoured by those who consider compatibility with geological data. -from Author