The Pyrenees resulted from the collision between the Iberian Peninsula and France. The main phase of the Pyrenean orogeny in northern Spain is characterized by the successive emplacement of large thrust sheets into the south Pyrenean foredeep primarily during the early Tertiary. In the zone ahead of the thrusts,s deformation of existing sediments, deposition of syntectonic conglomerates and formation of progressive unconformities in proximal sediments accompany thrust advancement. This project will attempt to date thrust movement and to determine rates of thrusting by accurately dating these features. Paleomagnetic stratigraphy techniques will be applied to date the syntectonic sediments and determine the extent of tectonic rotations that may have occurred. These results, in combination with structural and biostratigraphic information, will be used to improve the synthesis of the development of the Pyrenean orogeny.
