Geophysical Evidence of a Mantle Plume Derived Intrusion Complex

Deep seismic reflection data acquired as part of the SW-Iberia EUROPROBE project across the transpressional Variscan orogen sample three tectonic terranes: the South Portuguese Zone, the Ossa-Morena Zone, and the Central Iberian Zone. The seismic data reveal the existence of a mid-crustal reflective body 140 km long and of variable thickness (up to 5 km), the Iberian Reflective body. The conductivity image provided by coincident MT soundings, the amplitude characteristics of the seismics, mineralization studies related to magmatic ore deposits, and the surface geology suggest that the IRB is a mantle-derived mafic intrusion. The geophysical, geological and petrological data suggest that the IRB is most probably an Early Carboniferous (approximately at 350–340 Ma) mantle-derived intrusion possibly linked to plume activity that took place in Europe in the Carboniferous and Permian.