The Balearic Basin in the West-Mediterranean - A Back-arc Basin or a Foreland-foredeep Basin?

In this paper we question the origin of the Balearic Bain, univocally described in literature as a back-arc basin, which opened during the Oligocene-Miocene rift. Our interpretation highlighted the presence of an extensive Mesozoic basin, re-shaped during the Paleogene compression and uplift. The deepest units show polyphasic folds and thrusts, characterized by different structural styles, active mostly during the Paleogene. In the Early Miocene (Burdigalian-Serravallian), the gradual decrease in tectonic activity developed the final bathymetric setting of this basin. We propose to reclassify the Balearic Basin as foreland-foredeep basin, deformed between the frontal thrusts of the Betic Cordillera and the Pyrenees. A preliminary regional kinematic model has been presented as an alternative to the back-arc model, rearranging the evolution of this basin with the regional tectonic of the circum-Mediterranean orogens.