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Tectonothermal analysis of a major unit of the Cantabrian Zone: the Ponga unit (Variscan belt, NW Spain)

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Abstract

The paleothermometric evolution of the Ponga unit at the core of the Cantabrian Zone, the arcuate foreland fold and thrust belt of the Variscan orogen in NW Spain, is analyzed using the conodont Color Alteration Index and the Kübler Index of illite. The results indicate that the distribution of the thermal maturity patterns is independent of the stratigraphy and the structure of the unit. These include the occurrence of dominant diagenetic values and very low-to-low-grade metamorphism in the southern area. The main thermal event is interpreted to be related to hydrothermal fluids ascending through late-Variscan extensional faults. The anomalous high heat flow in the southern sector of the Ponga unit is part of a previously identified large band in the Cantabrian Zone, where the common occurrence of low-grade metamorphic rocks, hydrothermal dolostones, and ore mineralizations is related to an extensional orogenic episode that started near the Carboniferous–Permian boundary, soon after the closure of the Asturian arc.

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Fig. 1

(modified from Julivert 1971) showing major Paleozoic thrust units and the location of the study area

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(modified from Álvarez-Marrón 1995)

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Acknowledgements

We profoundly appreciate Dr. María Luz Valín (University de Oviedo) for helping us with the KI data; she prepared and analyzed the samples. Dr. J. Álvarez Marrón (ICTJA-CSIC) is greatly appreciated for her critical review. G. Voldman thanks CONICET, the Universidad de Oviedo and Banco Santander for a visiting fellowship. The present paper has been supported by the CGL2015-66997-R project funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain.

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  1. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33005, Oviedo, Spain

    Susana García-López, Gustavo G. Voldman, Fernando Bastida & Jesús Aller

  2. CICTERRA (CONICET-UNC), CIGEA, X5016GCB, Córdoba, Argentina

    Gustavo G. Voldman

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  1. Susana García-López
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  3. Fernando Bastida
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Correspondence to Gustavo G. Voldman.

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García-López, S., Voldman, G.G., Bastida, F. et al. Tectonothermal analysis of a major unit of the Cantabrian Zone: the Ponga unit (Variscan belt, NW Spain). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 107, 2727–2740 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-018-1623-9

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