Lyell Collection
Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Lyell Centre  |   Lyell Collection  |   Subscriptions   |   Geological Society  |   Email alerts  |   Online bookshop  |   Help

Keywords:
Author:
Advanced search>>
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Young, T. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Geological Society, London, Memoirs; 1990; v. 12; p. 421-430;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.MEM.1990.012.01.39
© 1990 Geological Society of London

Palaeozoic Geography

Ordovician sedimentary facies and faunas of southwest Europe: palaeogeographic and tectonic implications

T. P. Young

Department of Geology, University of Wales College of Cardiff, PO Box 914, Cardiff CF1 3F1 3YE, UK

The term st European Platform is introduced for an Ordovician shelf now within the western Variscides. The geometry of the sedimentary facies belts and their faunal variation suggest that it formed a promontory on the Gondwanan margin. The palaeogeography of the platform is discussed with particular reference to the Centro-Iberian/Armorican area, especially central Portugal.

The sedimentary history of the Centro-Iberian/Armorican area was controlled by basement structures. Rapid local subsidence during Early Ordovician extension was followed by later differential subsidence along these early structures. The thin sequences indicate low overall rates of subsidence. The dominantly clastic shallow marine sediments show strong storm influence. Individual sediment packets occur over wide areas indicating little syndepositional relief. The linear nature of facies belts allows reconstruction of the relative orientation of some blocks within the Variscides, and indicates strike-slip faulting during early Variscan events, with subsequent (Carboniferous) rotation of most of Iberia.

Faunas from SW Europe from a homogeneous group related to those of the classic 'Mediterranean Province' areas of Bohemia and Morocco, and more distantly to those of the Avalonian terrane. Faunal migration into the West European Platform from Avalonia accompanied progressive northward drift of the platform, occuring particularly during periods of eustatic sea-level rise in the early Llanvirn, the early Caradoc and the early Ashgill




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
J. B. Murphy, G. Gutierrez-Alonso, R. D. Nance, J. Fernandez-Suarez, J. D. Keppie, C. Quesada, J. Dostal, and J. A. Braid
Rheic Ocean mafic complexes: overview and synthesis
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2009; 327: 343 - 369.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]