Browsing by Subject "Recent tectonics"

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    El registro Pleistoceno y Holoceno de la cuenca de Mazarrón (sureste de España)
    (Universidad de Murcia, 2026-06-03) Torres, Trinidad; Ortiz, José E.; Sánchez-Palencia, Yolanda; Ros Sala, Milagros; Navarro Hervás, Francisca; López-Cilla, Ignacio; Galán, Luis A.; Ramallo Asensio, Sebastián Federico; Rodríguez-Estrella, Tomás; Blázquez, Ana; Sin departamento asociado; Cutillas Victoria, Benjamín; Ramallo Asensio, Sebastián Federico
    The evolution of the Mazarrón Basin during the Pleistocene and Holocene is reconstructed. Nine core samples drilled by the University of Murcia were studied with the objectives of: 1) defining the chronological framework; 2) reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental conditions; and 3) establishing its relationship with recent tectonics. A total of 158 samples were recovered for amino acid racemization dating, 4 for radiocarbon dating, 332 for sedimentological and paleontological analysis, and 110 for mineralogical analysis. These data allowed for the elucidation of the evolutionary phases of the Mazarrón Basin paleolandscape, a fault-controlled graben affected by several faults, primarily the Las Moreras and Rella faults. The ages of the sedimentary record and facies correlation indicate that the Las Moreras Fault controlled sedimentation during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7, while the Rella Fault was highly active during the Middle Holocene. During MIS 7, a brackish lagoon developed in the western area, overlying alluvial fan deposits. Subsequently, the area was uplifted, becoming exposed to erosion. Activity along the Rella Fault allowed sedimentation in the western part of the Mazarrón Basin during the Middle Holocene, while in the Late Holocene, sedimentation occurred in the eastern part. The Holocene transgression resulted in a temporarily floodable marshland inland, with varying salinity levels, from brackish to euhaline. Along the seafront, marine influence was evident but not dominant. Thus, during the Holocene, the Mazarrón Basin ranged from brackish to highly euhaline, with variable biological diversity linked to a close and probably discontinuous connection with the sea, restricted circulation, and long renewal times, reflected in the significant presence of halite. The record ended with recent alluvial/anthropogenic sediments.