NEOGENE EVOLUTION OF THE CAMPO-DE-DALIAS AND THE SURROUNDING OFFSHOREAREAS - (NORTHEASTERN ALBORAN SEA)

The Campo de Dalias is an emerged portion of the Alboran Sea, located on its northeastern margin. The study of this basin and its surroundin g offshore areas reveals the structure on the region, whose outstandin g feature is the N70-80E anticline extending from Guardias Viejas to R oquetas and continuing eastward under the sea. The other parts of the structure are characterized by several fault sets, the most important of which are those of N70-9OE, N120E and N45E direction. Some of these fault sets of originally different ages later replayed throughout the late Miocene up to the Quaternary. These replays seem to have occurre d in approximately N-S compressive situations. The main compressive ev ents took place in the latest Tortonian and early Pleistocene. Between these two events a stage of considerable subsidence in the Pliocene b asin can be detected, which caused the accumulation of sediments over a thousand metres thick in some places. Equally, we can detect an impo rtant uplift of the surrounding reliefs coeval with subsidence. Two tr ansgressive situations are recorded and two important eustatic falls a nd partial emersion of the basin margin, mainly during the Messinian.