Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Geophysics of the Canary Islands pp 113–127Cite as

Gravity analysis offshore the Canary Islands from a systematic survey

  • Chapter

Abstract

As part of a systematic mapping program of the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Research Plan for the Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), gravity surveys were carried out offshore the Canary Islands. Using the gravity data collected during cruises between 1998 and 2000 aboard the RV Hesperides and satellite and land data, we construct free air and Bouguer anomaly maps and discuss the geodynamic implications.

Using maps of Bouguer anomaly, free air anomaly, vertical derivative, long wavelength Bouguer anomaly and short wavelength anomaly, a detailed description of the gravity characteristics of the archipelago is presented, describing gravity anomalies from a geologic point of view. The character of the crust throughout the studied area has been defined, as well as high gradient zones that limit crustal blocks of different density. High gradient zones have been mapped for the first time and interpreted as fracture zones, taking into account geophysical and geological information. Gravity highs and lows have been studied and related to crustal, mantle and volcanic effects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ablay, G.J. and Kearey, P., 2000. Gravity constraints on the structure and volcanic evolution of Tenerife, Canary Islands, J. Geophys. Res. 105(B3): 5783–5796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acosta, J., Palomo, C., Uchupi, E., Muñoz, A., Escartin, J., Herranz, P. and Sanz, J.L., 1997. Morphology and seismic character of north slope of Tenerife, Canary Island. Evidence for episodic massive landslides, J. Geophys. Res. 102: 20325–20342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acosta, J., Uchupi, E., Muñoz, A., Herranz, P., Palomo, C., Ballesteros, M. and EEZWorking Group, this issue. Geologic evolution of the Older Canary Islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and La Gomera, with a Brief description of the avalanches on the Younger Islands: Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro, Mar. Geophys. Res..

    Google Scholar 

  • Ancochea, E., Fúster, J.M., Ibarrola, E., Cendrero, A., Coello, J., Hernan, F., Cantagrel, J.M. and Jamond, C., 1990. Volcanic evolution of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands) in the light of new K-Ar data, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 44: 231–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ancochea, E., Brändle, J.L., Huertas, M.J., Cubas, C.R. and Hernán, F., 2003. The felsic dikes of La Gomera (Canary Islands): identification of cone sheet and radial dike swarms, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 120: 197–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anguita, F. and Hernán, F., 2000. The Canary Islands origin: a unifying model, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 103(1–4): 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Araña, V., Camacho, A.G., García, A., Montesinos, F.G., Blanco, I., Vieira, R. and Felpeto, A., 2000. Internal structure of Tenerife (Canary Islands) based on gravity, aeromagnetic and volcanological data, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 103(1–4): 4364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banda, E., Dañobeitia, J.J., Surinach, E. and Ansorge, J., 1981. Features of crustal structure under the Canary Islands, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 55: 11–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendat, J.S. and Piersol, A.G., 1986. Random data, 2nd revised ed., John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blakely, R.J., Potential theory in gravity and magnetic applications, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1–441, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bosshard, E. and MacFarlane, D.J., 1970. Crustal structure of the western Canary Islands from seismic refraction and gravity data, J. Geophys. Res. 75: 4901–4918.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bravo, T., 1952. Aportación al estudio geomorfológico y geológico de la costa de la fosa tectónica del valle de la Orotava, Bol. R. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., Tomo L, 1–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camacho, A.G., Montesinos, F.G., Vieira, R. and Arnoso, J., 2001. Modelling of crustal anomalies of Lanzarote (Canary Islands) in light of gravity data, Geophys. J. Int. 147: 403–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canales, J.P. and Dañobeitia, J.J., 1998. The Canary Islands swell: a coherence analysis of bathymetry and gravity, Geophys. J. Int. 132: 479–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carracedo, J.C., Day, S.J., Guillou, H., Rodriguez Badiola, E., Canas, J.A. and Pérez Torrado, F.J., 1998. Hotspot volcanism close to a passive continental margin: the Canary Islands, Geol. Mag. 135(5): 591–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dañobeitia, J.J., Canales, J.P. and Dehghani, G.A., 1994. An estimation of the elastic thickness of the lithosphere in the Canary Archipelago using admittance function, Geophys. Res. Lett. 21: 2649–2652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danés, Z.F., 1982. Short note: An analityc method for the determination of distant terrain corrections, Geophysics 47(10): 1453–1455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dañobeitia, J.J. and Canales, J.P., 2000. Magmatic underplating in the Canary Archipelago, J. Volc. Geother. Res. 103: 27–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dash, B.P. and Bosshard, E., 1969. Seismic and gravity investigations around the Western Canary Islands, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 7: 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dziewoinski, A.M., Chou, T.A. and Woodhouse, J.H., 1981. Determination of earthquakes source parameters from waveform data for studies of global and regional seismicity, J. Geophys. Res. 86: 2825–2852.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hausen H., 1962. New contributions to the geology of Gran Canary (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands), Soc. Sci. Finnica, Comment. Phys.-Math. 27(1): 418.

    Google Scholar 

  • I.G.N. (Instituto Geográfico Nacional de España), 1996. Banco de datos gravimétricos de España. Ministerio de Fomento. Internal Repport.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jachens, R.C., Simpson, R.W. and Blakely, R.J., 1989. Isostatic residual gravity and crustal geology of the United States, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 172: 405–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jin, Y., McNutt, M.K. and Zhu, Y., 1994. Evidence from gravity and topography data for folding of Tibet, Nature 371: 669–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karner, G.D. and Watts, A.B., 1983. Gravity anomalies and flexure of the lithosphere at Mountain Ranges, J. Geophys. Res. 88(B-12), 10449–10477.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J., Purdy, G.M., Schouten, H., Sempere, J.C. and Zervas, C., 1990. Evidence from gravity data for focused magmatic accretion along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Nature 344: 627–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llanes, P., 2000. Análisis morfoestructural basado en técnicas geofísicas del margen submarino centro-oriental del archipiélago Canario, Bachelor Thesis, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 133 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacFarlane, D.J. and Ridley, W.I., 1968. An interpretation of gravity data for Tenerife, Canary Islands, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 4: 481–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacFarlane, D.J. and Ridley, W.I., 1969. An interpretation of gravity data for Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 6: 431–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mezcua, J., Buforn, E., Udías, A. and Rueda, J., 1992. Short note: Seismotectonics of the Canary Islands, Tectonophysics 208: 447–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nettleton, L.L., 1976. Gravity and magnetics in oil exploration. New York, Mac Graw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plouff, D., 1976. Gravity and magnetic fields of polygonal prisms and application to magnetic terrain corrections, Geophysics 41: 727–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranero, C.R., Torné, M. and Banda, E., 1995. Gravity and multichannel seismic reflection constraints on the lithospheric structure of the Canary swell, Mar. Geophys. Res. 17, 519–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, R.M. and Speed, R.C., 1994. Spectral analysis of gravity anomalies and the architecture of tectonic wedging, NE Venezuela and Trinidad, Tectonics 13(3): 613–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roest, W.R., Dañobeitia, J.J., Verhoef, J. and Collete, B.J., 1992. Magnetic anomalies in the Canary Basin and the Mesozoic evolution of the Central North Atlantic, Mar. Geophys. Res. 14: 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothe, P. and Schmincke, H.V., 1968. Contrasting origins of the eastern and western islands of the Canarian Archipelago, Nature 218: 1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandwell, D.T. and Smith, W.H.F., 1997. Marine gravity anomaly form Geosat and ERS 1 satellite altimetry, J. Geophys. Res. 102(B-5), 10039–10054.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W.H.F. and Sandwell, D.T., 1997. Global seafloor topography from satellite altimetry and ship depth soundings, Science 277: 1957–1962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson R.W., Jachens, R.C. and Blakely, R.J., 1986. A new isostatic residual gravity map of the Conterminous United States with a discussion on the significance of isostatic residual anomalies, J. Geophys. Res. 91(B-8), 8348–8372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stillman, C.J., Fuster, J.M., Bennell-Baker, M.J., Muñoz, M., Smewing, J.D. and Sagredo, J., 1975. Basal complex of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) is an oceanic intrusive complex with rift-system affinities, Nature 257: 469–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talwani, M., Le Pichon, X. and Ewing, M., 1965. Crustal structure of the mid-ocean ridges 2. Computed from gravity and seismic refraction data, J. Geophys. Res. 70: 341–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talwani, M., 1971. Gravity in the Sea, 4(1), edited by A. Maxwell, 251–297, John Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vieira, R., Toro, C. and Araña, V., 1986. Microgravimetric survey in the Caldera of Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Tectonophysics 130: 249–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, A.B., 1994. Crustal structure, gravity anomalies and flexure of the lithosphere in the vicinity of the Canary Islands, Geophys. J. Int. 119: 648–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, A.B. and Talwani, M., 1975. Gravity Field of the Northwest Pacific Ocean Basin and its Margin: Hawaii and Vicinity, The Geological Society of America, Inc., Map and Chart Series MC-9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, A.B. and Marr, C., 1995. Gravity anomalies and the thermal and mechanical structure of rifted continental margins, in Rifted Ocean-Continent Boundaries, NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, 463, edited by E. Banda et al., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 65–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, A.B., Pierce, C., Collier, J., Dalwood, R., Canales, J.P. and Henstock, T.J., 1997. A seismic study of lithosphere flexure in the vicinity of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 146: 431–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, P.D., 1967. The use of Fast Fourier Transform for the estimation of power spectra: a method based on time averaging over short, modified peridograms, IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics, vol. AU-15, 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wessel, P. and Watts, A.B., 1988. On the Accuracy of Marine Gravity Measurements, J. Geophys. Res. 93(B-1): 393–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wessel P. and Smith, W.H.F., 1995. New Version of the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), http:/www.agu.org/eos_els, American Geophysical Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yale, M.M., Sandwell, D.T. and Smith, W.H.F., 1995. Comparison of along-track resolution of stacked Geosat, ERS 1, and TOPEX satellite altimeters, J. Geophys. Res. 100(B-8), 15117–15127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye, S., Canales, J.P., Rihm, R., Dañobeitia, J.J. and Gallart, J., 1999. A crustal transect through the northern and northeastern part of the volcanic edifice of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, J. Geodyn. 28: 3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geodinámica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    A. Carbó, A. Muñoz-Martín, P. Llanes & J. Álvarez

Authors
  1. A. Carbó
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Muñoz-Martín
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. Llanes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Álvarez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

EEZ Working Group

Editor information

Peter Clift Juan Acosta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Carbó, A., Muñoz-Martín, A., Llanes, P., Álvarez, J., EEZ Working Group. (2005). Gravity analysis offshore the Canary Islands from a systematic survey. In: Clift, P., Acosta, J. (eds) Geophysics of the Canary Islands. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4352-X_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation