Origin of the Eastern Galicia Magnetic Anomaly (NW Spain). Implications for the Origin of Magnetic Anomalies in the Central Iberian Arc

Abstract:

The aeromagnetic map of Iberia features outstanding anomalies that have been key to define the Central Iberian Arc, a late-orogenic orocline in the western part of the Variscan belt. The most studied of them is the EGMA (Eastern Galicia Magnetic Anomaly), which follows the Lugo-Sanabria extensional dome and is probably associated with it. Among the existing models of this anomaly, those relating it with magnetite-rich inhomogeneous granites and migmatites formed during late-Variscan extension seem to be more plausible ones. However, this and other interpretations involving deep-seated mafic/ultramafic bodies lack resolution as they are based on the aeromagnetic dataset. New ground magnetic data have been acquired in the northern part of the Xistral Tectonic Window, at the core of the Lugo dome where its deepest rocks crop out. The resulting maps show that the anomaly ranges ~1000 nT (vs. 190 nT on the aeromagnetic map) and that the most important maxima lie on top of extensional detachments located on high-grade metasediments or inhomogeneous granites. 2D forward modeling indicates that the magnetization is carried by upper Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian metasediments, partially melted during late-Variscan high-T and low-P metamorphic event linked to the extensional collapse. Furthermore, the anomaly maxima are spatially related with detachments, where the metasediments were strongly sheared. Therefore, the P-T, redox and fluid pressure conditions necessary for the formation of magnetite seem related with the extensional process and the dynamics of its structures. Many magnetic anomalies of the Central Iberian Arc lie on top of Variscan extensional domes and accordingly may have a similar origin. Special attention is paid to the Gredos Magnetic Anomaly, coincident with the batholith of the same name. Preliminary magnetic mapping and modeling indicate that the anomaly is previous to the intrusion of the Jurassic Alentejo-Plasencia dyke and to the tardi-Variscan faults along which it intruded. Even though migmatites and inhomogeneous granites outcropping in the area are not the source of the anomaly, deeper magnetite-bearing facies as those developed in a high-T and low-P context in the Xistral Tectonic Window may occur at depth in the neighborhood of sub-horizontal extensional detachments.