A new look at old debates about the Corbières (NE-Pyrenees) geology: salt tectonics and gravity gliding

Abstract

In the Corbières area, a large-scale nappe has been identified at the beginning of the 20th century: the “Nappe des Corbières Orientales” (NCO) resting over a thick Triassic sole. This geological object is located at the NE of the Pyrenees, close to the Gulf of Lions. At this place, the chain changes in orientation from E-W to NE-SW and presents in detail, a great complexity. The existence of the nappe itself has never been contested. However, due to its overall complexity, several controversies exist regarding the style and chronology of deformation of its substratum in the so-called the “Pinède de Durban” in particular. We show that the new concepts of salt tectonics can clarify these old debates. Indeed, the rise of the Triassic salt during Mesozoic rifting episodes results in the development of characteristic sedimentary sequences (halokinetic sequences) on top of salt walls. It is along one of these, coinciding with the prolongation of the Cévenole Fault System, that the NCO has been individualized. During its Cenozoic emplacement, a gravity-gliding component, explaining the importance of the observed translation, could result from an uplift preceding the rifting at the origin of the Gulf of Lions.