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A Fossil Triple Junction in the NE Atlantic West of Biscay

Abstract

MARINE magnetic data in the Bay of Biscay1 reveal a fan shaped pattern of linear magnetic anomalies radiating from the SE corner of the Bay of Biscay. The trend direction of the lineations in southern Biscay is E-W, parallel to the northern Iberian continental margin, and it becomes NW-SE towards the French continental margin. An aeromagnetic survey2, with a regular network of 10 km space lines—considerably more than were available for the marine survey—confirmed the results of the marine work by revealing the same radiating pattern of magnetic anomalies. Matthews and Williams's lineations1 are shown superimposed over the aeromagnetic anomaly contours in Fig. 1 to illustrate the similarity between the two interpretations. The similarity appears although different regional magnetic gradients have been subtracted from the two data sets. The aeromagnetic anomalies are relative to the IGRF3, and the Bullard et al.4 regional gradient has been subtracted from the earlier marine work.

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WILLIAMS, C. A Fossil Triple Junction in the NE Atlantic West of Biscay. Nature 244, 86–88 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244086a0

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