Research shows Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe rotating clockwise: Report

ISTANBUL

The Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal, is rotating clockwise, a recent study based on an analysis of interactions between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates conducted by the University of the Basque Country (EHU) has revealed.

Asier Madarieta, a researcher at the EHU, said analyses of crustal compression and deformation at the Eurasian-African plate boundary in the western Mediterranean confirm that the Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwise.

According to Madarieta, data indicate that the Gibraltar Arc plays a key role along the Eurasia-Africa boundary, with its eastern crust absorbing collision-related deformation and shielding Iberia from stress, while to the west, a direct plate collision may be pushing Iberia from the southwest and driving its clockwise rotation.

"Every year, the Eurasian and African plates are moving 4-6 mm closer to each other. The boundary between the plates around the Atlantic Ocean and Algeria is very clear, whereas in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, the boundary is much more blurred and complex," he said in his research issued by EHU's magazine.

Madarieta explained how they found that crustal strain and surface deformation in the western Mediterranean are closely linked along the plate boundary separating the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa.

"We found out which sectors on the boundary are already under the dominance of the collision between Eurasia and Africa and which are still determined by the westward displacement of the Gibraltar Arc," he said.

Madarieta stressed that the new data help identify where active faults may be located in Iberia, guiding researchers to tectonic structures that shape deformation and determine the location and potential magnitude of earthquakes.

These findings only provide a glimpse into geological evolution. The majority of precise earthquake data go back only to 1980, and accurate satellite data go back to 1999, whereas geodynamic changes are measured in millions of years, he said. "So it is important to conduct unified analyses of the different data."

Madarieta also reaffirmed that the new data will allow researchers to calculate deformations in greater detail, even in places where there is limited information available.