Geology of the
Geological
Facts enabling the Catastrophe of Atlantis II
By seismic examination of the sea floor in the
The layers of salt and clay sedimented
between have the effect of lubricant to the solid masses, which are dammed in
the coast area at strong obstacles forming zones of compression which cause
upward and downward movement. Further outside they form extended slopes of
gliding, upon which masses of the coast can slip as far as 400 Km slowly or
suddenly into the ocean.
When the movement happens suddenly it can cause a
tsunami (a big wave in the sea ) which can grow to
several meters in the coast area and create considerable destruction. In the
area of compression at the coast can happen long-term or, in the case of sudden
release of dammed tensions, caused by earthquakes of extern origin or by
getting out of hand of own tensions, raising or lowering at short notice of
separate regions of the coast.
Altogether proves the examination made in the 90th of
the past century that raising and lowering of the land as catastrophic waves
can happen in this area suddenly or in long-term. At long -term change they
appear as raising or lowering of the level of the sea.
With this the geological precondition for the possible
validity of the Atlantis-story of Platon is given for
the
In the following the geological report:
The Betic-Rifian accretionary prism
Mass wasting, from blocks to turbidites, has occurred along the Atlantic-facing Iberian
and Moroccan continental margins over a down-dip distance up to 300 km. Salt
and clays within the migration blocks and stacked thrusts serve as lubricants.
The juxtaposition of varying lithologies due to mass
wasting tectonics could provide boundaries for complex compartments.
"The
Salt-floored gravity-driven ramps along low-angle detachments link
extensional structures (roll-over anticlines, listric
growth faults and counter-regional growth faults) in the shelf to downdip folding , thrusting and
salt sheets along the outer slope and upper slope of the
The term "Olistostrome":
Mediterranean mega allochthons towards the oceanic
crust
The westward Gibraltar arc migration oversteepened
the Atlantic facing Iberian-Moroccan continental margins (Fig. 1) , which initiated farther westward migration of
gravity-driven continental and salt-floored blocks whose ultimate emplacement
was over oceanic crust as the continental blocks migrated, normal listric faulting along the present continental shelf of the
Gulf of Cadiz developed, providing accomodation space
for upper Miocene (past 19 Ma) tectonics and deposition.
Advancing salt sheets along the frontal imbricate
thrusting of the Betic-Rifian accretionary
wedge (Iberian-Moroccan Atlantic continental margin) trigger down-slope
movement of giant allochthonous masses (Fig.1) . These are detached from the front of accretionary
wedge by extensional low-angle normal faults (Fig. 2). These faults initiate
salt tectonics, including diapirism and withdrawal,
and large mass-wasting from the shelf and upper slope as far west as to the
Eastern Horseshoe and Seine abyssal plains.
Mega submarine
slumps, earthquakes and tsunamis?
A tsunami is a series of very
long wavelength ocean waves caused by the sudden displacement of water by
earthquakes, landslides, or submarine slumps. Ordinarily, tsunamis are produced
only by earthquakes exceeding magnitude 7.5. In the open ocean, tsunami waves
travel at speeds of 600-800 kilometers per hour, but
their wave heights are usually only a few centimeters.
As they approach shallow water near a coast, tsunami waves travel more slowly,
but their wave heights may increase to many meters,
and thus they can become very destructive.
From: Noson, Qamar, and Thorsen, Washington
State Earthquake Hazards, 1988, Washington Division of Geology and Earth
Resources Information Circular 85, p. 11, p.66.
High-resolution stratigraphy of the shelf wedges
The stratal
architecture of the
From Somoza. L. et al. 1997. Continental-Shelf
Architecture and Sea-Level Cycles - Late Quaternary High-Resolution Stratigraphy of the Gulf-of-Cadiz,
Full source: GEO-MARINE LETTERS 1997, Vol 17, Iss 2, pp 133-139
All information from:
http://tierra.rediris.es/TASYO/area.html
With these geological facts the Atlantian catastrophe, described by Platon and others, seems to be really possible for the area
of