The Callovian-Tithonian period of the Atlantic and its connected oceans was tectonically intense. It was mainly marked by the opening of the Caribbean Seaway, the pursuance of the Atlantic and Tethyan spreading, as well as the North Atlantic rifting. This period is characterized by a general deepening of the oceans. At the same time, the sedimentation passed from largely siliceous to carbonaceous deposits within the Tethyan realm.
Callovian and Tithonian facies and environments were compiled and added to a plate tectonics model that constrains their arrangements. The elaboration of paleo-environmental maps at large scale hides various regional paleogeographic interpretations and many controversies. With the help of the plate tectonics model, different possibilities emerge and regional interpretations are reconciled at a larger scale. This leads to an alternative paleogeographic model for the Callovian and Tithonian age. These maps show the evolution of sedimentary deposits with their evolving associated tectonic context and may be considered as a useful tool for helping scientists of various disciplines in their research.
The tectonic reconstructions for the Callovian and Tithonian used within the present work are derivative from the 600–0 Ma Neftex Geodynamic Earth Model (© Neftex Petroleum Consultants Ltd.), which is based on the integration of dynamic plate boundaries, plate buoyancy factor, ocean spreading rates, subduction rates, past synthetic isochrones and global geometric constraints as, well as pluridisciplinary field and laboratory geological data. The methodology of plate tectonic modeling was introduced by Stampfli and Borel (2002) and technically detailed in Hochard (2008). The Mesozoic reconstructions were partly presented and discussed in Flores (2009) for the Pacific and Caribbean realms; in Stampfli and Borel (2002, 2004) for the Atlantic realm; and in Stampfli (2000, 2001), Stampfli et al. (2001a, 2001b, 2002, 2003), Stampfli and Borel (2004), Stampfli and Kozur (2006), Bagheri and Stampfli (2008), Bonev and Stampfli (2008, 2011), Moix et al. (2008), and Stampfli and Hochard (2009) for the Tethyan realm.
Key localities and linked references used for the elaboration of the Callovian and Tithonian maps are geographically presented in section B. The Dercourt et al. (1993, 2000) atlases were used as general references. The characteristics and development of the various Middle–Late Jurassic facies and environments of the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Tethyan realms are detailed in the latter works.