The Lusitanian Basin (Portugal): stratigraphic analysis and geodynamic evolution

Abstract

This paper presents an interpretative synthesis of the stratigraphic analysis and geodynamic evolution of the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) based on research works developed by the Atlantis Project team. After some methodological considerations, the West European and North Atlantic regional geodynamic framework is presented. The stratigraphic analysis has been divided into several successive steps, describing for each one its sedimentary infill, its paleogeography and its meaning in the basin’s evolution. Some considerations on the basin’s magmatism and diapirism are also presented. The final part deals with the analysis of the subsidence related to the basin’s evolution, as well as to its uplift events. The conclusions present the main lines of the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the basin within its regional geodynamic framework.