Person: Sánchez Martínez, Sonia
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First Name
Sonia
Last Name
Sánchez Martínez
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Geológicas
Department
Mineralogía y Petrología
Area
Petrología y Geoquímica
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Item From Rodinia to Pangaea: Ophiolites from NW Iberia as witness for a long-lived continental margin(Special publication - Geological Society of London, 2009) Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Fernández Suárez, Javier; Jeffries, Teresa E.The ophiolites preserved in the Variscan suture of NW Iberia (Galicia) show a broad variability in lithology, geochemistry and chronology. This wide variety rules out the simplest plate tectonic scenario in which these ophiolites would have been exclusively related to the oceanic domain closed during the final Pangaea assembly, that is the Rheic Ocean. The ophiolitic units from Galicia also provide important data about the palaeogeography immediately preceding the opening of this ocean, and some information about pre-Gondwanan supercontinent cycles. Six different ophiolites can be distinguished in the allochthonous complexes of Galicia: the Purrido, Somozas, Bazar, Vila de Cruces, Moeche and Careón units. The Purrido Ophiolite is constituted by metagabbroic amphibolites with igneous protoliths dated at 1159 ± 39 Ma (Mesoproterozoic), and geochemical affinities typical of island-arc tholeiites. These mafic rocks can be interpreted as one of the scarce members of the pre-Rodinian ophiolites, and they were probably generated in a back-arc setting in the periphery of the West African Craton. The Somozas Ophiolitic Mélange consists of a mixing of submarine volcanic rocks (pillow-lavas, submarine breccias, pillow-breccias, hyaloclastites), diabases, gabbros, microgabbros, diorites and granitoids, surrounded by a matrix of serpentinites or, less frequently, phyllites. Two granitic samples from this mélange yield U-Pb ages ranging between c. 527 and 503 Ma (Cambrian), which together with the characteristic arc signatures obtained in all the studied igneous rocks suggest that this ophiolite was generated in a peri-Gondwanan volcanic arc. The Bazar Ophiolite is formed by different tectonic slices with high temperature amphibolites, granulites, metagabbros and ultramafic rocks. The amphibolites are the most abundant rock type and show typical N-MORB compositions with igneous protoliths dated at 498 ± 2 Ma (Cambrian). The high-temperature metamorphism affecting some parts of the unit has been dated at c. 480 Ma (lower Ordovician), and it is considered to be related to the development of an oceanic accretionary complex under the volcanic arc represented by the upper units of the allochthonous complexes of Galicia. Considering the most common palaeogeographic reconstructions for the Cambrian period, it is suggested that the oceanic lithosphere represented by the Bazar Ophiolite was formed into the peri-Gondwanan oceanic domain prior to the rifting of the Avalonian microcontinent, that is the Iapetus-Tornquist Ocean. According to current data about the Vila de Cruces Unit, it can be interpreted as a composite terrane, whose lithologies have U-Pb ages ranging from 1176-497 Ma, but constituted by metaigneous rocks with arc signatures. This dataset has been interpreted in relation to the development of a back-arc basin around the Cambrian-Ordovician limit, involving a Mesoproterozoic basement and the reactivation of a former suture. The opening of this back-arc basin can also be identified as the birth of the Rheic Ocean, and probably it would also include the lithological succession belonging to the Moeche Unit, although its basic rocks exhibit compositions with more oceanic character. Finally, the Careón Ophiolite includes remnants of an oceanic lithosphere generated in a supra-subduction zone setting at 395 ± 2 Ma (middle Devonian). This ophiolite was formed in a contractive Rheic Ocean, shortly preceding the closure of this ocean. This is the only ophiolite in Galicia that can be related to mature stages of the Rheic Ocean, although as it is commonly observed in other regions the N-MORB crust is not preserved. This common oceanic crust has disappeared during subduction, probably in an intra-oceanic setting and during the generation of the igneous section preserved in the Careón Ophiolite.Item Geochemistry of two associated ophiolites from the Cabo Ortegal Complex (Variscan belt of NW Spain)(4-D Framework of Continental Crust, 2007) Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del Pilar; Martínez Catalán, José Ramón; Pearce, Julian A.; Hatcher, Robert D.; Carlson, Marvin P.; McBride, John H.; Martínez Catalán, José RamónTwo Paleozoic ophiolites of different age mark the Variscan suture in the Cabo Ortegal Complex (northwestern Iberian Massif). The Moeche and Purrido allochthonous ophiolites are structurally located between an exotic terrane of continental affinity (basal units), below, and another terrane with arc affinity (upper units), above. The mafic rocks of the Moeche unit are greenschist with a composition typical of tholeiitic basalt. Their rare earth element (REE) concentrations range from 12 to 31 times the chondritic abundances, with almost flat chondrite-normalized REE patterns ([LaN/YbN]avg = 0.83), and they have no significant Eu anomalies. According to their contents in some immobile trace elements, the geochemical composition of these metabasalts seems to be transitional between normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt (N-MORB) and island-arc tholeiites. Their abundances in the most immobile trace elements with the highest discriminating power (Th, Nb, Ce, Zr, Ti, and Y), normalized to an average tholeiitic N-MORB, depict quite flat patterns close to the average N-MORB concentrations, although they are slightly enriched. A small negative Nb anomaly points to an origin linked to a subduction zone. The Purrido unit consists of amphibolites with compositions also equivalent to tholeiitic basalt. REE compositions range from 6 to 22 times chondritic abundance, with essentially flat chondrite-normalized REE patterns ([LaN/YbN]avg = 0.99) and very small positive Eu anomalies ([Eu/Eu*]avg = 1.08). The abundance of some trace elements in these metabasites shows an affinity with island-arc tholeiites, but, unlike the greenschist of the Moeche unit, their N-MORB–normalized trace-element patterns are slightly depleted in Nb, Zr, Ti, and Y, with a somewhat steeper negative Nb anomaly. These features are found in basalts generated in some back-arc basins. Both ophiolites seem to represent oceanic lithosphere that developed in a supra-subduction zone context. The Moeche unit was probably formed during the opening of a back-arc basin at the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary, whereas the Purrido unit was generated later, during the Early Devonian, as a result of the intraoceanic subduction of the older oceanic lithosphere represented by the Moeche unit. The two ophiolites are representative of the Variscan suture in northwest Iberia, and they preserve a significant part of the history of the oceanic realms that closed during the final amalgamation of Pangea.Item A peri-Gondwanan arc in NW Iberia. II: Assessment of the intra-arc tectonothermal evolution through U–Pb SHRIMP dating of mafic dykes(Gondwana research, 2009) Díaz García, Florentino; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Castiñeiras García, Pedro; Fuenlabrada Pérez, José Manuel; Arenas Martín, RicardoThe arc-derived upper units of the Órdenes Complex, NW Iberia, are emplaced above the Variscan suture and contain a low-grade metasedimentary uppermost section, with a maximum depositional age of 510–530 Ma, intruded by a number of mafic dykes. Three deformational events affect the metasedimentary section. The youngest deformation event (D3) is of undifferentiated Variscan age and consists of metre- to decametre-scale, close upright folds with axes plunging gently towards N20°E. The most important D2 structure is a regional S2 foliation axial planar of minor foldswith dextral asymmetry. The presence of a stretching lineation parallel to the D2 fold axes is related to a top-to-the-north sense of shearing in a context of regional extension. The oldestmeterscale D1 folds are developed in suitable greywacke–pelite alternations and consist of tight folds with chevron and similarmorphologies, axes plunging gently toward N20°E, and a continuous S1 axial planar foliation. The essential characteristic of the D1 deformation event is depicted by a set of west-vergent folds with reverse limbs less than 2 kmin wavelength, that are affected in their lower part by the generalised presence of the regional S2 foliation. The age of D2 and D1 structures is notwell constrained. The diabase dykes intruding the low-grade turbidites cut the D1 folds and their field relationships suggest that they were emplaced at the end of the D2 shearing event and prior to the upright D3 Variscan folds. Zircon grains obtained from one of the diabase dykes were analysed for U–Pb at the SHRIMP-RG facility at Stanford University. An age of c. 510 Ma, based on the analysis of 31 individual zircon grains, is interpreted to date the crystallization of the Ares dyke. The tectonic and magmatic evolution of the top turbiditic series of the Órdenes Complex is tentatively related to the dynamics of a peri- Gondwanan arc developed during active subduction beneath Gondwana and suggests: (1) accretion beneath the arc during west-vergent (present coordinates) nappe development (D1); (2) extension of the arc during top-tothe- north shearing (D2); and (3) final intrusion of the diabasic dykes into an intra-arc turbiditic series. This evolution spans the end of volcanic arc activity and the onset of the opening of the Rheic Ocean.Item Careón ophiolite, NW Spain: Suprasubduction zone setting for the youngest Rheic Ocean fl oor(Geology (Boulder Colo.), 2007) Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Díaz García, Florentino; Martínez Catalán, José Ramón; Gómez Barreiro, Juan; Pearce, Julian A.The Careón ophiolite (Galicia, NW Iberian Massif) shows lithological and geochemical features suggestive of an origin in a suprasubduction zone setting. As with other Devonian ophiolites in the European Variscan belt, it was generated within a contracting Rheic Ocean. This setting and the general absence of large Silurian-Devonian volcanic arcs on both of the Rheic Ocean margins strongly suggest that this ocean was closed by intraoceanic subduction directed to the north. This subduction removed the older normal (N) mid-oceanic-ridge basalt (MORB) oceanic lithosphere and gave rise to a limited volume of new suprasubduction zone oceanic lithosphere. The Careón ophiolite is a key element in understanding the evolution of the Rheic Ocean, which was the main oceanic domain that closed during the Paleozoic convergence of Gondwana and Laurussia, preceding the assembly of PangeaItem A pre-Rodinian ophiolite involved in the Variscan suture of Galicia (Cabo Ortegal Complex, NW Spain)(Journal of the Geological Society, 2006) Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Jeffries, Teresa E.; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Fernández Suárez, Javier; García Sánchez, RaquelU–Pb dating of zircons from a metagabbro of the Purrido amphibolitic unit (Cabo Ortegal Complex, NW Iberian Massif) yielded an age of 1159 ± 39 Ma, interpreted to approximate the crystallization age of the gabbroic protolith. Considering the arc affinity of the metagabbroic rocks, the unit is interpreted as a pre-Rodinian ophiolite developed in a back-arc setting. It is suggested that the ophiolite was obducted over the West African terranes during the assembly of Rodinia. There, this terrane remained tectonically stable and facing an ocean for a long time, and eventually became part of the Gondwanan margin. The ophiolite was finally involved in the Variscan suture of Galicia where it is sandwiched between Palaeozoic rocks. The Purrido unit is so far the only example of a Mesoproterozoic ophiolite in the European Variscan belt, where pre-Neoproterozoic rocks are very scarce and restricted to small exposures.Item Paleozoic ophiolites in the Variscan suture of Galicia (northwest Spain): Distribution, characteristics, and meaning(4-D Framework of Continental Crust, 2007) Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Martínez Catalán, José Ramón; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Díaz García, Florentino; Abati Gómez, Jacobo; Fernández Suárez, Javier; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del Pilar; Gómez Barreiro, Juan; Hatcher, Robert D.; Carlson, Marvin P.; McBride, John H.; Martínez Catalán, José RamónAllochthonous ophiolitic units in the northwestern Iberian Massif are remnants of peri-Gondwanan Paleozoic oceans sandwiched among other exotic terranes of continental and volcanic-arc derivation. All these terranes defi ne an intricate suture zone that marks the convergence and collision between Laurussia and Gondwana. The suture is defi ned by three different ophiolitic ensembles: upper ophiolitic units, lower ophiolitic units, and the Somozas mélange. The lower ophiolitic units were derived from an alternation of basalts and sediments intruded by gabbros and scarce granitoids, and they formed during the opening of a marginal basin, the Galician ocean, during Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician time. This ocean was created as a back arc by the severance of a volcanic arc that had developed at the northern margin of Gondwana and formed part of the Rheic oceanic realm. The upper ophiolitic units formed during the Early Devonian from intraoceanic subduction in the early Paleozoic lithosphere of the Rheic Ocean. These suprasubduction ophiolites were formed just before the ocean closed, preceding the collision between Gondwana and Laurussia. The Somozas mélange appears in an anomalous position at the base of the Cabo Ortegal Complex. The ophiolites involved in this tectonic mélange represent an imbricate of highly dismembered oceanic lithosphere, slivers of subducted outer edge of the Gondwanan continental margin, and Paleozoic metasediments of the northern Gondwanan platform. The ophiolites might either record the development of a different peri-Gondwanan oceanic domain, or they might be equivalent to any of the other ophiolitic ensembles, and their anomalous structural position is simply a consequence of complex thrusting.Item The basal tectonic mélange of the Cabo Ortegal Complex (NW Iberian Massif): a key unit in the suture of Pangea(Journal of iberian geology, 2009) Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Castiñeiras García, Pedro; Jeffries, Teresa E.; Díez Fernández, Rubén; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del PilarRecent field work and mapping in the lower units of the Cabo Ortegal Complex provided new data about the tectonic mélange that appears in the lowest structural position: the Somozas Mélange. This mélange unit with average thickness of 1800 m is restricted to the eastern part of the complex, and is located at the advancing front of the allochthonous complexes of NW Iberia. Three rock units are involved in the mélange: 1) an ophiolitic mélange consisting of igneous rocks mixed with serpentinites; 2) a metasedimentary unit with phyllites and phyllonites, with scarce conglomerates, marbles and quartzites; 3) high-T metamorphic rocks with varied types of amphibolites and orthogneisses. Two granitic rocks within the ophiolitic mélange were dated using U-Pb zircon geochronology at 527 ± 2 Ma and 499 ± 1 Ma. Two different series of igneous rocks can be distinguished in this mélange. The first series consists of gabbros, diorites, granitoids and basalts-basaltic andesites with calc-alkaline affinities. The second series contains common basaltic rocks, diabasic dikes and gabbros with chemical compositions typical of island-arc tholeiites. Both igneous series shared a common geographic setting, but the island-arc tholeiites are younger than the calc-alkaline igneous rocks. The two igneous series were probably generated in a mature volcanic arc located along the periphery of Gondwana. In the metasedimentary unit, a conglomerate from a large tectonic block included in serpentinites yielded age populations of detrital zircons suggesting that the sediments were deposited along the periphery of the West-African Craton. This conglomerate contains a large number of zircons (n = 24) with ages ranging 630-464 Ma, probably representing the chronology of the Pan-African event, including the magmatic activity in the volcanic arc where the igneous lithologies involved in the mélange were generated. The maximum age of sedimentation for this conglomerate is estimated as latest Cambrian – earliest Ordovician, and constraints the end of the magmatic activity in the volcanic-arc. Within the unit of high-T rocks, an orthogneiss yields a U-Pb protolith age of 485 ± 6 Ma, which is similar to other ages of igneous rocks in the basal allochthonous terrane in NW Iberia. The three rock assemblages forming part of the Somozas Mélange may be linked to the evolution of a mature peri-Gondwanan volcanic arc. This volcanic arc was affected by pronounced extension which caused the opening of intra-arc basins, culminating the rifting and subsequent drift of the external parts of the arc during the opening of the Rheic Ocean. This opening started during a time interval constrained by the peak activity in a mature volcanic arc (c. 527-499 Ma) and the generation of intraarc basins around the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary. Tectonic mélanges including high-P rocks have been classically related to subduction zone environments. Regional relationships in NW Iberia and the nature of the rock units involved in the Somozas Mélange, suggest that two different subduction zones generated during oblique convergence and collision between Gondwana and Laurussia were active during the final stages of the assembly of Pangea. The first related to the underthrusting beneath Laurussia of the most external Gondwana margin (c. 370 Ma). The second subduction zone was a new one which accreted later remnants of a peri-Gondwanan arc and sediments of the continental margin below a layer of exhumed high pressure rocks. This oblique collision finished the closure of the Rheic Ocean and contributes to define the new oceanic domain located to the East of Pangea, the Palaeotethys. [RESUMEN] Nuevos datos de campo y cartográficos en las unidades inferiores del Complejo de Cabo Ortegal, han proporcionado información relevante sobre la mélange tectónica situada en la posición estructural inferior: la Mélange de Somozas. Esta unidad de mélange tiene una potencia media de unos 1800 m y su aparición está restringida a la parte oriental del complejo; representa por tanto una gran unidad de mezcla localizada en el frente de avance de los complejos alóctonos del NW de Iberia. Tres conjuntos litológicos diferentes se distinguen en la mélange: 1) un conjunto formado por rocas ígneas mezcladas con serpentinitas, formando una mélange ofiolítica típica; 2) un conjunto metasedimentario con filitas y filonitas, con escasos conglomerados, mármoles y cuarcitas; 3) rocas metamórficas de alta-T con tipos variados de anfibolitas y ortogneises. Dos rocas graníticas incluidas en la mélange ofiolítica han sido datadas mediante geocronología U-Pb en 527 ± 2 Ma y 499 ± 1 Ma. La mélange ofiolítica contiene dos series diferentes de rocas ígneas. Una primera serie está formada por gabros, dioritas, granitoides y basaltos-andesitas basálticas con afinidades calcoalcalinas. La segunda serie contiene diques diabásicos, gabros y rocas basálticas comunes con composiciones químicas típicas de toleitas de arco-isla. Ambas series compartieron un marco geográfico común, pero las toleitas de arco-isla son más jóvenes que las rocas ígneas calcoalcalinas, y fueron generadas en un arco volcánico maduro situado en la periferia de Gondwana. Dentro del conjunto de rocas metasedimentarias, un conglomerado procedente de un gran bloque tectónico incluido en serpentinitas ha proporcionado poblaciones de edades de circones detríticos que indican que su sedimentación se produjo en la periferia del Cratón del Oeste de África. Este conglomerado contiene una población principal de circones (24 cristales) con edades que oscilan entre 630-464 Ma, que reflejan la cronología del evento Pan-Africano y también la actividad magmática en el arco volcánico donde se generaron las dos series ígneas existentes en la mélange ofiolítica. La edad máxima de sedimentación de este conglomerado se sitúa en el límite Cámbrico-Ordovícico, y puede considerarse también una edad de referencia para la terminación de la actividad magmática principal en el arco volcánico. Dentro del conjunto de rocas de alta-T, un ortogneis ha proporcionado una edad U-Pb del protolito de 485 ± 6 Ma. Esta edad es similar a otras edades de rocas ígneas pertenecientes al terreno alóctono basal del NW de Iberia. Los tres conjuntos de rocas que forman parte de la Mélange de Somozas pueden relacionarse con la evolución de un arco volcánico peri-Gondwánico maduro. Este arco volcánico acabó siendo afectado por una extensión pronunciada que favoreció la apertura de cuencas de intra-arco, y finalmente la separación y posterior deriva de las partes externas del arco durante la apertura del Océano Rheico. En concreto, el comienzo de la apertura se produjo en algún momento situado entre el episodio de actividad magmática principal en el arco volcánico maduro (c. 527-499 Ma), y la generación de cuencas de intra-arco hacia el límite Cámbrico-Ordovícico. Las mélanges tectónicas que incluyen rocas de alta-P se han relacionado clásicamente con contextos de subducción. Las relaciones regionales en el NW de Iberia y la naturaleza de las litologías que aparecen en la Mélange de Somozas, sugieren que dos zonas de subducción diferentes, generadas durante la convergencia y colisión oblicuas entre Gondwana y Laurussia, fueron activas durante los estadios finales del ensamblado de Pangea. La primera relacionada con el enterramiento bajo Laurussia del margen más externo de Gondwana (c. 370 Ma). La segunda zona de subducción fue diferente y responsable de la acreción poco después de los restos de un arco peri-Gondwánico y sedimentos del margen continental, bajo una lámina de rocas de alta presión exhumadas. Esta colisión oblicua culminó el cierre del Océano Rheico, contribuyendo a definir el nuevo dominio oceánico situado al Este de Pangea, el Paleotethys.Item Space and time in the tectonic evolution of the northwestern Iberian Massif: Implications for the Variscan belt.(4-D Framework of Continental Crust, 2007) Martínez Catalán, José Ramón; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Díaz García, Florentino; González Cuadra, Pablo; Gómez Barreiro, Juan; Abati Gómez, Jacobo; Castiñeiras García, Pedro; Fernández Suárez, Javier; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del Pilar; González Clavijo, Emilio; Díez Montes, Alejandro; Rubio Pascual, Francisco J.; Valle Aguado, Beatriz; Hatcher, Robert D.; Carlson, Marvin P.; McBride, John H.; Martínez Catalán, José RamónRecent advances in geochemical studies of igneous rocks, isotopic age data for magmatism and metamorphism, quantitative pressure-temperature (P-T) estimates of metamorphic evolution, and structural geology in the northwestern Iberian Massif are integrated into a synthesis of the tectonic evolution that places the autochthonous and allochthonous terranes in the framework of Paleozoic plate tectonics. Because northwestern Iberia is free from strike-slip faults of continental scale, it is retrodeformable and preserves valuable information about the orthogonal component of convergence of Gondwana with Laurentia and/or Baltica, and the opening and closure of the Rheic Ocean. The evolution deduced for northwest Iberia is extended to the rest of the Variscan belt in an attempt to develop a three-dimensional interpretation that assigns great importance to the transcurrent components of convergence. Dominant Carboniferous dextral transpression following large Devonian and Early Carboniferous thrusting and recumbent folding is invoked to explain the complexity of the belt without requiring a large number of peri-Gondwanan terranes, and its ophiolites and highpressure allochthonous units are related to a single oceanic closure. Palinspastic reconstruction of the Variscan massifs and zones cannot be achieved without restoration of terrane transport along the colliding plate margins. A schematic reconstruction is proposed that involves postcollisional strike-slip displacement of ~3000 km between Laurussia and Gondwana during the Carboniferous.Item The Vila de Cruces Ophiolite: A Remnant of the Early Rheic Ocean in the Variscan Suture of Galicia (Northwest Iberian Massif)(The Journal of geology, 2007) Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Martínez Catalán, José Ramón; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Fernández Suárez, Javier; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del Pilar; Pearce, Julian A.; Corfu, FernandoThe Vila de Cruces ophiolite is one of the ophiolitic units involved in the Variscan suture of the northwest Iberian Massif. This ophiolite consists of a tectonically repeated succession of greenschist facies volcanic rocks, common alternations of metasediments of pelitic or siliceous character, and scarce orthogneisses, metagabbros, and serpentinites. The protolith age of a granitic orthogneiss that intruded the mafic rocks is dated at 497±4 Ma (U-Pb in zircons). This age can be considered a reference for the generation of the ophiolite. According to their contents of some of the most immobile trace elements, the greenschist and the metagabbros are derived from basaltic magmas with compositions similar to those of island-arc tholeiites. The influence of a subduction zone in the generation of the original basaltic magmas can be deduced from the marked negative Nb anomaly observed in all the metabasic rocks of this ophiolite. The granitic orthogneisses can also be genetically related to the basic rocks because they are similar to granitic rocks generated in volcanic arcs. The Vila de Cruces ophiolite is interpreted as a suprasubduction zone ophiolite generated in Late Cambrian times, during the early stages of the opening of the Rheic Ocean. The ophiolite was probably generated in a back-arc basin developed during the first stages of the pulling apart and later drift of one or more peri-Gondwanan terranes, one of them represented by the upper allochthon of the northwest Iberian Massif.Item A rootless suture and the loss of the roots of a mountain chain: The Variscan belt of NW Iberia(Comptes rendus. Géoscience, 2009) Martínez Catalán, José R.; Arenas Martín, Ricardo; Abati Gómez, Jacobo; Sánchez Martínez, Sonia; Díaz García, Florentino; Fernández Suárez, Javier; González Cuadra, Pablo; Castiñeiras García, Pedro; Gómez Barreiro, Juan; Díez Montes, Alejandro; González Clavijo, Emilio; Rubio Pascual, Francisco J.; Andonaegui Moreno, María Del Pilar; Jeffries, Teresa E.; Alcock, James E.; Díez Fernández, Rubén; López Carmona, AliciaOphiolites of different Paleozoic ages occur in North-West (NW) Iberia in a rootless suture representing the remnants of the Rheic Ocean. Associated allochthonous terranes in the hanging- and foot-walls of the suture derive from the former margins, whereas the relative autochthon corresponds to the Paleozoic passive margin of northern Gondwana. The Paleozoic tectonic evolution of this part of the circum-Atlantic region is deduced from the stratigraphical, petrological, structural and metamorphic evolution of the different units and their ages. The tectonic reconstruction covers from Cambro-Ordovician continental rifting and the opening of the Rheic Ocean to its Middle to Upper Devonian closure. Then, the Variscan Laurussia–Gondwana convergence and collision is briefly described, from its onset to the late stages of collapse associated with the demise of the orogenic roots. [RÉSUMÉ] Une suture sans racines et la perte des racines d’une chaîne montagneuse : la chaîne varisque du Nord-Ouest de l’Ibérie. Des ophiolites d’âges différents affleurent dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Ibérie dans une suture sans racines, témoin de l’océan Rhéïque. Les terrains allochtones sur et sous la suture dérivent de ses deux marges, tandis que l’autochtone relatif appartient à la marge passive du Nord de Gondwana. On peut déduire l’évolution des plaques dans cette partie de la région circum-Atlantique à partir des données stratigraphiques, pétrologiques, structurales, métamorphiques et géochronologiques. Cette évolution inclut le développement d’un rift continental et l’ouverture de l’océan Rhéïque pendant le Cambro-Ordovicien ainsi que sa fermeture au Dévonien moyen à supérieur. On décrit aussi l’évolution de la convergence et collision varisque entre Laurussia et Gondwana, du début jusqu’aux derniers stades d’un effondrement associé à la perte des racines orogéniques.