Carlos Sanz de Galdeano

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC- University of Granada)

La falla de Mecina se sitúa al SO de Sierra Nevada y allí afecta al contacto entre los complejos Nevado-Filábride y Alpujárride. Posteriormente su significado se extendió a todo este contacto, definiéndose entonces el detachment de Mecina, un despegue que, según se interpreta, separa ambos complejos, ampliamente fracturado el superior, el Alpujárri...

The mountainous karst massif in the Sierra de las Nieves (southern Spain) and the adjacent large outcrops of subcontinental mantle peridotites provide this area with a distinctive geodiversity that has contributed to the recent declaration of the zone as the new Sierra de las Nieves National Park. In addition, the Alpine tectonic interaction betwee...

En Sierra Elvira existen deslizamientos de masas coherentes de calizas. Su formación fue favorecida por la litología, la estructura del área (un anticlinal volcado vergente al sur y la presencia de fallas importantes). El núcleo del anticlinal quedó expuesto cuando la erosión le quitó su envoltura más friable. Esos deslizamientos fueron probablemen...

La Sierra de Alhama presenta una muy diferente evolución de sus laderas N y S. En la ladera sur hay un importante desarrollo de deslizamientos de masas coherentes que están ausentes en la norte. Estos se han producido por la diferente estructura de esa sierra en cada ladera, combinada con la erosión, y probablemente por la acción de importantes pal...

This study provides a temporal analysis of the seismicity occurring before three significant energetic earthquakes recorded in the Al Hoceima, Morocco, area: earthquakes in 1994 (Mw 6.0), 2004 (Mw 6.4), and 2016 (Mw 6.3). The analysis is based on the multifractal seismicity characteristics in the Trans-Alboran shear zone. For the computation of the...

The coexistence of shortening and extensional tectonic regimes is a common feature in orogenic belts. The westernmost end of the Western Mediterranean is an area undergoing shortening related to the 5 mm/yr NNW‒SSE convergence of the Nubia and Eurasia Plates. In this region, the Central Betic Cordillera shows a regional ENE‒WSW extension. Here, we...

El Complejo Alpujárride, situado en una posición media en los complejos tectónicos de la Zona Interna Bético-Rifeña, se divide en muchas unidades distribuidas en tres grupos superpuestos. Sin embargo, el significado e, incluso, la existencia de algunas de estas unidades es discutido. Este es el tema del presente artículo, en un intento de aclarar a...

In the western part of the Sierra de los Filabres area, there are fine-grained metamorphic rock bands, showing a field aspect simitar to slates, as previously described in the geological literature of the studied region. They are variable in thickness, from millimeters to tens of meters and appear intercalated in the schist succession. The geochemi...

Un nuevo estudio ha permitido la completa diferenciación de las unidades tectónicas alpujárrides de Almijara y Salobreña, a las que se les había atribuido una formación común de mármoles a pesar del cabalgamiento que las separa. Ambas unidades son totalmente independientes. Durante la etapa de cabalgamientos se produjeron enormes cizallamientos, pa...

The three aftershock sequences that occurred in Al Hoceima, Morocco, in May 1994 (Mw 6.0), February 2004 (Mw 6.4) and January 2016 (Mw 6.3) were stochastically modeled to investigate their temporal and energetic behavior. A form of the restricted trigger model known as the restricted epidemic type aftershock sequence (RETAS) was used for the tempor...

The Sierra Nevada constitutes one of the massifs in Europe where periglacial processes have been more extensively and thoroughly examined. Periglacial phenomena in the massif are distributed from the mountaintops at 3300–3400 m a.s.l. down to elevations of 1100–1200 m. Active periglacial dynamics prevail today above 2500 m with a variety of landfor...

Sierra NevadaSierra Nevada is the highest mountain range of the Iberian PeninsulaIberian Peninsula, and forms part of the Betic Cordillera, which is connected with the Rif Mountains through the Gibraltar Arc. This cordillera is divided into the External and the Internal zones, and also the so-called Flysch units, and Neogene basins are present. The...

A striking feature of the seismicity in the Ibero-Maghrebian region is a narrow band of intermediate-depth earthquakes (50 < h < 100 km) beneath the western part of the Alboran Sea, with epicenters following a NNE-SSW alignment. The origin and characteristics of this seismicity are debated, and an accurate analysis of this seismic scenario is provi...

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) is a remote sensing technique very effective for the measure of smalldisplacements of the Earth’s surface over large areas at a very low cost as compared with conventional geodetictechniques. Advanced InSAR time series algorithms for monitoring and investigating surface displacement on Earth arebased...

The Alboran Basin is a Neogene-Quaternary extensional basin located within the Betic-Rif alpine cordillera. The region where the current basin is located holds great oceanographic relevance, as it lies in the area of connection between the western (Atlantic Ocean basin) and eastern seas (ocean basins of the Ligurian Tethys and then Western Mediterr...

Conocer mejor las unidades tectónicas occidentales alpujárrides es importante para la comprensión de la evolución de las Béticas, particularmente de su frente orogénico alpino. Por ello se analiza la estratigrafía y el contexto geológico de la unidad de Yunquera. Esta unidad es una escama tectónica cabalgada por el Complejo Alpujárride del que form...

One of the most significant parameters for seismic hazard assessment analyses is the fault slip rate. The combination of both geological (long-term) and geodetic (short-term) data offers a more complete characterization of the seismic potential of active faults. Moreover, geodetic data are also a helpful tool for the analysis of geodynamic processe...

Salobreña consist of a touristic area with a typical Andalusian white town built on a hill and crowned with a Castle from the medieval era of Moors occupation. The urban area is bordered by fields of tropical crops and fruit trees that, together with its location by the sea, confer on Salobreña a beautiful postcard. These features, as a whole, are...

The reactivation of very large landslides may cause severe damage to society. Its prevention and management requires detailed information on the geometry and structure of these landslides, but the use of standard techniques (boreholes) may be prohibitive from an economic point of view. To overcome these difficulties, geophysical techniques are of s...

The Andalusian coast from the Cabo de Gata to Malaga has as a whole an E-W direction. The tectonic units are arranged obliquely along it, in general with the lower ones outcropping the in the eastern part and the upper ones in the western part. Since the continental shelf is narrow, this obliquity cannot be recovered before the slope, which suggest...

In the Betic Cordillera the faults correspond to thrusts forming tectonic units and to three important sets of vertical or quasi-vertical faults. In the Internal Zone the thrusts formed mainly during the Oligocene, under an approximately N-S compression. Later, in the Burdigalian, the Internal Zone collided with the External Zone, which underwent m...

The distribution of active faults in the Iberian Peninsula is not homogeneous, being mainly present, but not only, in areas affected by the Alpine Orogeny. They are located in several regions: (1) The Iberian Massif, including Portugal, and Galicia and Cantabrian Mountains in the North, (2) The Pyrenees, (3) The NE of Iberia, (4) The Iberian Cordil...

The Nevado-Filábride metamorphic complex (Betic Cordillera, Spain) exhibits a succession of Paleozoic and Mesozoic metasediments, orthogneisses and metabasites. The complex has been divided into three tectono-metamorphic units, from bottom to top: the Ragua, Calar-Alto and Bédar-Macael units. The petrochronological evolution of the complex is not w...

The Miocene is an essential period in the configuration of the present-day relief of the Betic Cordillera and the South Iberian continental margin, which determined the structure and evolution of the Neogene sedimentary basins (Fig. 3.1). The crustal thinning processes that occurred during the early and middle Miocene, after the main metamorphic ev...

Al NO de Sierra Tejeda solo se pueden diferenciar dos unidades tectónicas alpujárrides, la de Almijara y, sobre ella, la de Robledal, simplificando divisiones previas. Datos hidrogeológicos avalan esta interpretación ya que apuntan a la posible conexión hidráulica entre dos áreas ocupadas por mármoles (sectores de Tejeda y Rodaderos) que previament...

The terrains of the Western Costa del Sol in the westernmost Mediterranean represent an outstanding example of the influence of major tectonic and climatic factors in the development of the landscape. This region belongs to the Alboran domain, which is a small continental lithosphere fragment embedded between the large Eurasian and Africa n plates....

The Eurasian-African NW-SE oblique plate convergence produces shortening and orthogonal extension in the Alboran Sea Basin (Westernmost Mediterranean), located between the Betic and Rif cordilleras. A NNE-SSW broad band of deformation and seismicity affects the Alboran central part. After the 1993-94 and 2004 seismic series, an earthquake sequence...

The central transect of the Alboran Sea is affected by an NNE-SSW seismic activity band and deformation zone. After the seismic series of 1993-94 and 2004, a new series has occurred in its southern sector during 2016-17 (main event Mw = 6.3, 01/25/2016), with epicenters grouped in two alignments. The northern one, WSW-ENE, is associated with focal...

Known seismic activity in the northern Algeria-Morocco region (Fig. 1), especially during the last 50 years, includes several damaging earthquakes. In particular, in the El Asnam region (nowadays Cheliff) have been located the most destructive and damaging earthquakes recorded in northern Algeria.

This research underlines the need to improve water management policies for areas linked to confined karstic aquifers subjected to intensive exploitation, and to develop additional efforts towards monitoring their subsidence evolution. We analyze subsidence related to intensive use of groundwater in a confined karstic aquifer, through the use of the...

U–Pb dating on inherited detrital zircons has been applied to obtain the probable maximum age of deposition of the detrital protolith of the Nevado–Filábride complex (Betic Cordillera, Spain). Five of eight samples correspond to the lower part of the lithologic sequence of this complex, where radiometric dating of metasediments has not been present...

In this paper we analyze the subsidence behavior of a coastal area in the province of Málaga (Costa del Sol), southern Spain, in the period 1992-2018 using C-band SAR interferometry. The area comprises several zones of interest where continuous deformation has happened during the analyzed period. Using SAR data from ESA’s ERS-1/2, Envisat, and Sent...

GPS survey campaign in Baza Fault network on September 2017

On 25 January 2016, an earthquake of magnitude Mw = 6.4 occurred at the southern part of the Alboran Sea, between southern Spain and northern Morocco. This shock was preceded by a foreshock (Mw = 5.1) and followed by a long aftershock sequence. Focal mechanism of main shock has been estimated from slip inversion of body waves at teleseismic distanc...

Main rivers have been traditionally linked with important human settlements through history. The increasing development of the cities and the dynamism of these media demand the use of multidisciplinary approaches to characterize the drainage network evolution in relation with urbanized areas. In this study, we report the vertical ground motion in t...

The Padul Fault is located in the Central Betic Cordillera, formed in the framework of the NW-SE Eurasian-African plate convergence. In the Internal Zone, large E-W to NE-SW folds of western Sierra Nevada accommodated the greatest NW-SE shortening and uplift of the cordillera. However, GPS networks reveal a present-day dominant E-W to NE-SW extensi...

In the valleys of Guadiaza and Verde (the latter in its area of Hoyo del Bote), the tectonic window of the Guadaiza unit has been previously defined based on the interpretation that a formation existing there was a dynamothermal aureole formed under thrusting Ronda peridotites, this being interpreted as having occurred during the early Miocene. Nev...

Zircon from two types of orthogneisses (inheritance-rich and inheritance-poor) from Sierra Nevada (Betic Cordillera, Spain) was investigated by integrating U-Pb geochronology, cathodoluminescence and backscattered SEM imaging, laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses and Raman spectroscopy to examine the conditions of ma...

The relief of the Betic Cordillera was formed since the late Serravallian inducing the development of intramontane basins. The Alhabia basin, situated in the central part of the Internal Zones, is located at the intersection of the Alpujarran Corridor, the Tabernas basin, both trending E–W, and the NW–SE oriented Gádor–Almería basin. The geometry o...

Major rivers have traditionally been linked with important human settlements throughout history. The growth of cities over recent river deposits makes necessary the use of multidisciplinary approaches to characterize the evolution of drainage networks in urbanized areas. Since under-consolidated fluvial sediments are especially sensitive to compact...

Lorca city (SE Spain) lies on the trace of the Alhama de Murcia fault, a NE-SW-oriented, left-lateral strike-slip transcurrent fault. Examination of old historical buildings and streets of this city showed horizontal displacements in facades not related to gravity slip or normal ruin processes. All studied facades are oriented approximately NW-SE a...

In the western part of Sierra de los Filabres (in the Nevado-Filábride Complex, within the Betic Internal Zone) several tectonic units have been described, in varying numbers depending on the author describing them. However, new cartographical data show that the limits of these units pass through the lithological formations without displacing them....

The present-day relief of the Betic Cordillera formed since the Late Miocene through the regional N-S to NW-SE Africa-Eurasia convergence that developed large folds. The Laujar Fault Zone is a south-dipping E-W oriented structure located at the northern boundary of the Alpujarran Corridor Neogene intramontane basin, which separates Sierra Nevada an...

En el área de Sierra Arana las fallas transcurrentes dextrorsas forman un conjunto de largas y estrechas bandas tectónicas de dirección E-O, varias de las cuales están rellenas por sedimentos oligo-aquitanienses y cretácicos encajados entre carbonatos jurásicos. Estas bandas forman una “estructura en flor”, en cuya parte superior, materiales cortad...

In this work, we have studied the correlation between locations of MW ≥ 5.0 earthquakes and locations of 5.0 > MW ≥ 4.0 events for Northern Algeria and Morocco. A preliminary study shows that it can be observed a relatively good agreement between locations for these two data sets, that is, minor earthquake locations could be used to forecast future...

Diamond inclusions have been found in apatite from a specific type of orthogneiss of a volcanosedimentary sequence from the deepest tectonic complex (Nevado-Filábride) of the Alpine Betic-Rif belt (Spain). This unusual finding led us to make a detailed petrographical and geochemical study, with the aim of characterizing ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) apa...

The age of the emplacement of the Ronda Peridotites has been widely debated during recent decades, and ages ranging from the Palaeozoic to the early Miocene have been proposed, although most of the current interpretations suggest an Oligocene-Miocene age. In this article, we describe two meta-sedimentary formations (the lower one formed by detrital...

This study uses the InSAR technique to analyse ground subsidence due to intensive exploitation of an aquifer for agricultural and urban purposes in the Montellano town (SW Spain). The detailed deformation maps clearly show that the spatial and temporal extent of subsidence is controlled by piezometric level fluctuations and the thickness of compres...

In the area situated between the localities of Cóbdar and Macael appears one of the best outcrops of the formation of schists and marbles situated in the upper part of the Nevado-Filábride lithological succession. In this sector, several tectonic units were defined, based in metamorphic differences, and also, this formation has been considered as f...

Using PERPLE-X and garnet isopleth thermobarometry we tested whether Permian metasediments, orthogneisses, and amphibolitized eclogites from the Nevado-Filábride Complex in the western Sierra Nevada (Betics, Spain) underwent the same high-pressure metamorphism, or whether the different lithologies were tectonically emplaced after metamorphism as is...

Westward motion of the Alboran Domain between the Eurasian and African plate boundaries determined crustal thickening along the southern border of the Gibraltar Arc, forming the Rif Cordillera. This process developed major sinistral NE-SW to ENE-WSW faults (such as the Nekor Fault), inactive since the Late Miocene. However, the Neogene-Quaternary B...

The Montesa earthquake of 23 March 1748 in southeast Spain caused heavy damage and was felt over a wide area. It occurred in a region considered of low seismic hazard where few large earthquakes have happened. The abundant contemporary documentation about the damage caused by the earthquake, especially to the castle of Montesa and the city of Játiv...

The Betic Cordillera is an Alpine belt formed in the western Mediterranean by the westward displacement of the Alboran Domain in between the Eurasian and African convergent plates. New CGPS data from the central and eastern Betic Cordillera and its foreland-obtained mainly from the Topo-Iberia project-allowed us to precisely determine the rate of t...

The Betic Cordillera is an Alpine belt formed by the interaction of the Eurasian and African plates and the westward motion of the Alboran Domain. Long Period Magnetotelluric observations at 26 sites in its westernmost part provide induction arrows that have been compared with 3D forward models including bathymetry and major geological bodies. The...

During the Neogene three successive marine episodes took place in the present-day Malaga Basin. The first of these affected a wide area of the Betic International Zones and was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the westward displacement of these Zones. The two other marine episodes were clearly controlled by vertical movements of NW-SE and NE-SW f...

The quantification of low rate active tectonic structures is a major target of geodetic and geological studies to improve the knowledge of seismic hazards. The central Betic Cordillera (southern Spain) is affected by moderately active tectonic structures and seismicity. Part of this seismic activity is produced by several NW-SE normal faults locate...

In the axial zone of the Umbria-Marche Apennines, several fault-bounded intermontane basins (i.e.,Colfiorito, Norcia, Castelluccio and Leonessa) were generated at the end of Lower Pleistocene. The analysis of the master fault of the basins, the relicts of planation surfaces and the drainage network arrangements, allowed us the improvement of knowle...

The sierras of Maria and Maimon form part of the Internal Subbetic in the eastern part of the Betic Cordillera, in contact with the Internal Zone. Previous papers have interpreted the Internal Subbetic as being tectonically detached at its bottom, thrusting the Solana Fm., and moreover thrusting the Internal Zone. Nevertheless, the analysis of the...

The Tirinesse basin, filled mainly by lower Pliocene marine sediments, is a small tectonic graben bounded by two NE-SW normal faults, with the eastern one surpassing 500 m in throw. These faults proved to belong to a much longer system of faults that transversally cut the entire Rifian Internal Zone. The subsidence of this basin was controlled by a...

The Oued Laou area and the Tirinesse basin are filled with early Pliocene (Zanclean) marine sediments very slightly deformed but currently outcropping at different altitudes. In Tirinesse area Zanclean sediments reach high altitudes (+600 m), whereas coeval sediments appear near the coastal level in Oued Laou area and even more than 100 m under the...

The Veleta cirque is located at the foot of the Veleta peak, one of the highest summits of the Sierra Nevada National Park (southern Spain). This cirque was the source of a glacier valley during the Quaternary cold periods. During the Little Ice Age it sheltered a small glacier, the most southerly in Europe, about which we have possessed written re...

The Veleta cirque is located at the foot of the Veleta peak, one of the highest summits of the Sierra Nevada National Park (southern Spain). This cirque was the source of a glacier valley during the Quaternary cold periods. During the Little Ice Age it sheltered a small glacier, the most southerly in Europe, about which we have possessed written re...

Since October 2012 till now, more than 2200 low magnitude earthquakes have been located in the vicinity of the towns of Torreperogil and Sabiote (Jaén), in the easternmost part of Guadalquivir Basin, Spain, an area considered of low seismic hazard. Specific tectonic studies in the region are barely available due to the scarce deformation of Mesozoi...

On 11 May 2011, a M w = 5.1 earthquake shook the town of Lorca (SE Spain) causing a disproportionately large damage for its magnitude. In order to contribute to knowledge of the behavior of the active faults present in the region and define the parameters which control their motion, we made a detailed study of the rupture process of this earthquake...

La Sierra de Lújar constituye uno de los mejores ejemplos de superposición de pliegues de la Zona Interna Bética. Su estructura se ha determinado a partir del primer mapa en el que se han distinguido los diferentes tramos de su serie triásica carbonatada. Los pliegues NNE-SSO son los más abundantes y se superponen a otros de dirección E-O. Los bord...

The Ronda peridotite is a group of lherzolite slabs (1.5 to 2 km thick) in southern Spain. Despite clear evidence that pre-Alpine events affected pre-Permo-Triassic units from the Alborán domain (internal zone of the Betic-Rif Cordillera, Spain, and Morocco), numerous papers continue to emphasize Alpine metamorphic and structural evolution. Here, w...

The Oued Laou area and the Tirinesse basin are filled with early Pliocene (Zanclean) marine sediments very slightly deformed but currently outcropping at different altitudes. In Tirinesse area Zanclean sediments reach high altitudes (+600 m), whereas coeval sediments appear near the coastal level in Oued Laou area and even more than 100 m under the...

The Tirinesse basin, filled mainly by lower Pliocene marine sediments, is a small tectonic graben bounded by two NE-SW normal faults, with the east-ern one surpassing 500 m in throw. These faults proved to belong to a much longer system of faults that transversally cut the entire Rifian Internal Zone. The subsidence of this basin was controlled by...

A seismic series occurred among Torreperogil and Sabiote towns (Jaén, Spain), with more than 2100 earthquakes located and more than 200 events felt. The series has alarmed the population and caused perplexity, because the area was considered little or no tectonically and seismically active. The hypocentres were located at the basement of the Guadal...

In the peripheral basins of the Alboran Sea, five stratigraphic units (latest Messinian-Pliocene) separated by discontinuities and representing transgressive-regressive cycles have been recognized. The first unit (LM) is latest Messinian in age and precisely characterizes the Lago-Mare event at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, i.e. just be...

El sector de las sierras de Abdalajís y de Huma forma parte del Penibético y su estructura corresponde a fallas dextrorsas de dirección aproximada N70ºE. Son verticales o fuertemente buzantes, con componente inversa y vergencia predominante hacia el norte. Existen también grandes pliegues anticlinales y sinclinales, de varios kilómetros de longitud...

Microdiamond inclusions in garnet have been identified in pre-Triassic schists of unknown age from the Torrox unit in the Alpujárride complex, Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera, Spain. Prior to this, ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) phases have been identified in granulites and gneisses associated with peridotites in the western zone of the Cordillera...

Garnet from diamondiferous granulites of Ceuta (Betic-Rif cordillera, Spain and Morocco) contains a variety of inclusion types. To better understand the evolution of these rocks during the ultrahigh pressure event, two samples (1 and 2) were selected for the detailed study of garnet. Primary inclusions of apatite, quartz, coesite, rutile and retrog...

The Zafarraya Polje is situated in the Subbetic (Betic External Zone), near the contact with the Betic Internal Zone. This is a small tectonic basin delimited by faults of which the main component is normal, but located among folds and reverse and dextral-reverse faults formed in a compressive context. One N–S fault marks the western border of the...

La falla de Alhama de Murcia presenta diversas superficies que forman una amplia zona de falla. Incluso a distancias de varios kilometros hay otras fallas paralelas que pertenecen al mismo juego. Estas fallas crearon estrcturas subsidiarias, algunas de tamanos kilometricos. Asi, en el sector de Lorca se levanto progresivamente, desde finales del Mi...

The Volubilis Basin is located between two structural arcs formed by the Prerif Ridges that developed during and after sedimentation. The arcs correspond with W- to WSW-verging anticline culminations, limited, to the north by a NE-SW strike-slip lateral ramp. Sedimentary infill took place during two stages of ridge formation and propagation. The fi...

One of the most destructive earthquakes on the Iberian Peninsula (Ms 6.7) occurred in 1884 along the Ventas de Zafarraya Fault (VZF, southern Spain). New paleoseismological data based on trenching and radiometric dating allow the faulting history in the last 10 ky to be characterized. Four major events (Ms around 6.5 ± 0.5) are revealed, which are...

The Granada and Guadix-Baza Basins, the largest Neogene-Quaternary intramontane basins of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain), undergo active deformation with an associated moderate level of seismic activity. This deformation is controlled by a NNW-SSE compressive regime and an approximate orthogonal tensional regime. The compression produced N70...

Wrench faults include both conjugate strike-slip faults and transfer or tear faults, which have different attitudes with respect to regional stresses and structures. The kinematic and paleostress field analysis of these fault zones are key observations to reveal their evolution and analyze reactivation and inversion processes. The Jebha–Chrafate fa...

The Torcal de Antequera is situated in the Penibetic (part of the Betic External Zone) very near of the contact with the Internal Zone. It has an E-W fusiform shape and corresponds to a monocline structure, surrounded and uplifted by large scale dextral strike-slip faults. Its interior includes a large number of map-scale fractures, most of which c...