Although far-field deformation related to the convergence between Eurasian and African plates has long been documented in central and western Europe, only a few outcrops clearly document the corresponding compressive structures. In northern France, the Opal Coast gives access to the Upper Jurassic strata of the northeastern border of the Weald–Boulonnais inverted basin. They are affected by (1) east–west-trending normal faults related to early and late phases of syn-rift extension, and (2) east–west-trending folds and associated reverse faults very similar to those in southern England. Using calcite U–Pb geochronology, we show that folding and associated brittle structures formed during the Middle–Late Eocene to Oligocene period. U–Pb ages of compression-related structures span between 49.4 ± 3.6 Ma and 26.0 ± 2.0 Ma. Our data thus give an estimate of the period of basin inversion and uplift of the Weald–Boulonnais anticline, as well as that of the related denudation phases. At a larger scale, they emphasize the synchronicity of basin inversion with the most prominent phase of the Iberia–Europe convergence, mainly accommodated by shortening within the Pyrenean orogenic system. Other east–west to northwest–southeast regional folds in the Paris Basin are suggested to have formed during this period.
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May 07, 2025
Timing of inversion of the Weald–Boulonnais basin inferred from calcite U–Pb geochronology of brittle structures along the Opal Coast, northern France Available to Purchase
Thomas Blaise;
Thomas Blaise
*
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
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Olivier Averbuch;
Olivier Averbuch
2
LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géoscience
, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187
, Lille, France
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Yves Missenard;
Yves Missenard
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
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Clémence Roy;
Clémence Roy
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
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Agathe Jullien-Sicre;
Agathe Jullien-Sicre
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
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Aboubacar Dibousse;
Aboubacar Dibousse
2
LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géoscience
, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187
, Lille, France
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Romain Augier;
Romain Augier
3
Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans
, UMR 7327, Univ. Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, OSUC
, Orléans, France
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Olivier Bruguier;
Olivier Bruguier
4
Géosciences Montpellier
, Université de Montpellier, UMR CNRS 5243, Université des Antilles
, Montpellier, France
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Frédéric Haurine
Frédéric Haurine
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
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Thomas Blaise
*
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
Olivier Averbuch
2
LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géoscience
, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187
, Lille, France
Yves Missenard
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
Clémence Roy
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
Agathe Jullien-Sicre
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
Aboubacar Dibousse
2
LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géoscience
, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, UMR 8187
, Lille, France
Romain Augier
3
Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans
, UMR 7327, Univ. Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, OSUC
, Orléans, France
Olivier Bruguier
4
Géosciences Montpellier
, Université de Montpellier, UMR CNRS 5243, Université des Antilles
, Montpellier, France
Frédéric Haurine
1
GEOPS
, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS
, 91405 Orsay, France
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Received:
15 Oct 2024
Revision Received:
19 Mar 2025
Accepted:
21 Mar 2025
First Online:
02 Apr 2025
Online ISSN: 2041-479X
Print ISSN: 0016-7649
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics
© 2025 The Author(s)
Journal of the Geological Society (2025) 182 (4): jgs2024-222.
Article history
Received:
15 Oct 2024
Revision Received:
19 Mar 2025
Accepted:
21 Mar 2025
First Online:
02 Apr 2025
Citation
Thomas Blaise, Olivier Averbuch, Yves Missenard, Clémence Roy, Agathe Jullien-Sicre, Aboubacar Dibousse, Romain Augier, Olivier Bruguier, Frédéric Haurine; Timing of inversion of the Weald–Boulonnais basin inferred from calcite U–Pb geochronology of brittle structures along the Opal Coast, northern France. Journal of the Geological Society 2025;; 182 (4): jgs2024–222. doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2024-222
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- absolute age
- anticlines
- basin inversion
- basins
- Boulonnais
- brittle deformation
- calcite
- carbonates
- compression
- Cretaceous
- deformation
- denudation
- Europe
- extension
- faults
- folds
- France
- Jurassic
- Mesozoic
- Paleozoic
- Paris Basin
- Pas-de-Calais France
- sedimentary basins
- tectonics
- U/Pb
- uplifts
- Western Europe
- Cote d'Opale France
- Weald-Boulonnais Basin
Latitude & Longitude
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