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Comments on the Evolution of the North-East Atlantic

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Abstract

IT has been proposed1–3 that the opening of the Bay of Biscay occurred by rotation about a pole situated near Paris (50.0° N, 3.3° E) and not about the pole proposed by Bullard et al.4 (43.6° N, 1.0° E). The rotation about the first pole results in strike-slip motion along the North Pyrenean Fault during the pre-Upper-Cretaceous opening, while the rotation about the second pole results in compression there. The second rotation is not compatible with geological data5 which indicates extension prior to Upper Cretaceous in the Pyrenean region.

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References

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  3. Le Pichon, X., and Sibuet, J. C., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. (in the press).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Océanologique de Bretagne, BP 337, 29N, Brest

    XAVIER LE PICHON & JEAN-CLAUDE SIBUET

Authors
  1. XAVIER LE PICHON
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  2. JEAN-CLAUDE SIBUET
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LE PICHON, X., SIBUET, JC. Comments on the Evolution of the North-East Atlantic. Nature 233, 257–258 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233257a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233257a0

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