Search

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the application of geophysical methods to reconstruct the palaeo‐landscapes of sites of special historical interest in support of the planning of archaeological researches. Given the extent of the surface to be investigated, electromagnetic methods have proven to be very suitable for their speed, resolution and versatility for this objective. In particular, coastal areas of the Mediterranean have undergone significant changes in the position of the coastline, because of changes in sea level and sediment inputs that have covered natural harbours used for the establishing colonies. In this paper, we present the results of a geophysical survey conducted using frequency‐domain electromagnetic (FDEM) method carried out to get the geometry of a coastal area near to Emporiae (NE, Spain), which was supposed to form a natural port that was used by Greeks and Romans for its first colonial settlements on the Iberian Peninsula. The results obtained from a dense network of apparent conductivity measurements, supported punctually by other geophysical data (VES and ERT) and boreholes, has allowed us to define the geometry of the basin and confirm the hypotheses of the existence of harbour buried under the coastal and alluvial sediments in the bay close to the remains from Greek and Roman times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The La Trocha fault zone acted as a major left-lateral transfer zone and is bounded by the La Trocha (LTF), Zaza-Tuinicú (ZTF), Cristales (CTF) and Taguasco (TGF) faults. These faults were consistent with the clockwise rotation of convergence and shortening in central Cuba. From the Paleocene to the Early Eocene (65-48 Ma), a SSW-NNE shortening produced transtension in the LTF and transpression in the ZTF. Subsequently, during the Middle Eocene (48-37 Ma), shortening shifted to a SW-NE direction, resulting in the normal component of the LTF and transpression in the ZTF and CTF. Since the Late Eocene (37 Ma), central Cuba has been welded to the North American Plate. The post-welding deformation gave rise to transtension of the LTF and TGF. This deformation is consistent with a WSW-ENE shortening and reflects activity in the transform boundary of the Cayman Trough. Both the normal and thrust displacements of these previous faults are corroborated by structural data whereas left-lateral displacement is deduced from the concordance between oblique collision and structural features. Plate-kinematics and the structural evolution of the La Trocha fault zone indicate that the related Central Basin is a strike-slip polygenetic basin and that the formation of this system (i.e., fault zone - strike-slip basin) was a consequence of the Paleogene oblique collision between the Caribbean Volcanic Arc and the Bahamas Borderland (North American plate). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]