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Publications (122)
Recently, there has been increased interest in deep sedimentary systems such as along-slope bottom currents (contourite systems) and their interaction with gravitational sedimentary processes (mixed systems) due to the high reservoir potential of the resulting deposits. In particular, the Contourite Depositional System (CDS) of the Gulf of Cádiz in...
Bottom current deposits (contourites) form in association with modern-day or ancient oceanic gateways. A paucity of examples in the ancient record and the lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria for differentiating them from other deepwater deposits limit our understanding of how they may record past global oceanic circulation, tectonic events and...
Palaeoceanographic studies of abyssal bottom currents are often complicated by low current speeds and sedimentation rates, resulting in sediment condensation or erosion. However, increased rates of erosion and deposition may occur where bottom current velocities change as they pass through deep marine gaps and gateways. Despite this, the deposition...
Late Miocene contourite deposits related to the paleo-Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) were identified in the Betic and Rifian corridors prior to the restriction of the Mediterranean-Atlantic gateway during the latest Miocene. In this study, we identified for the first time their downstream continuation in the Gulf of Cádiz through seismic stratig...
The Mediterranean-Atlantic water-mass exchange provides the ideal setting for deciphering the role of gateway evolution in ocean circulation. However, the dynamics of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) during closure of the Late Miocene Mediterranean-Atlantic gateways are poorly understood. Here, we define the sedimentary evolution of Neogene basins...
The Sines Contourite Depositional System, located in the Southwest Portuguese Margin, is a central segment of the Iberian Contourite Depositional Complex, built under the influence of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). This work presents the onset and evolution of this system using multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic reflection lines, se...
Despite numerous efforts to properly differentiate between contourites and other deep-water deposits in cores and outcrops, reliable diagnostic criteria are still lacking. The co-occurrence of downslope and along-slope sedimen-tary processes makes it particularly difficult to differentiate these relatively homogeneous deposits. The main aim of this...
Interbedded contourites, turbidites and pelagites are commonplace in many deep‐water slope environments. However, the distinction between these different facies remains a source of controversy. This detailed study of calcareous contourites and associated deep‐marine facies from an Eocene–Miocene sedimentary succession on Cyprus clearly documents th...
This work uses seismic records to document and classify contourite features around the Iberian continental margin to determine their implications for depositional systems and petroleum exploration. Contourites include depositional features (separated, sheeted, plastered and confined drifts), erosional features (abraded surfaces, channels, furrows a...
Over the past decades, the northern Gulf of Cadiz has been the focus of a wide range of late Quaternary seismic and sequence stratigraphic studies, either addressing the slope contourite depositional system (CDS), or the development of the continental shelf. Yet, high-resolution seismic data bridging between these domains and age information have r...
Infilling of trace fossils can serve as a proxy for sediment otherwise missing from basin deposits. The Petra Tou Romiou section (southern Cyprus) includes calcilutite/calcarenite material that represents deep-marine deposits of Eocene age. Lateral and vertical variation indicates pelagic, gravitational, and bottom-current processes simultaneously...
The calcareous contourites from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene in the Petra Tou Romiou type section (southern Cyprus) have been studied in detail, being regarded as outstanding examples of fossil bioclastic contourites and representative of the standard facies model of contourite bigradational sequence. These bigradational sequences of sand-d...
The acoustic facies analyses have provided an important basis for sedimentary processes in the deep-sea environments. The echo-character mapping, through the interpretation and correlation of very high-resolution seismic profiles, is a very useful tool for the characterization of the recent sedimentary processes and their distribution. This work pr...
Tectonism has influenced the formation and evolution of the Neogene sedimentary basins in the Southwestern Iberian margin. The SW Iberia is located nearby the Eurasia–Africa plate boundary and has undergone convergence throughout the Late Cretaceous to present time. The inversion and further reactivation of Mesozoic rift faults in the Miocene have...
The offshore region of northwestern Iberia offers an opportunity to study the impacts of along-slope processes on the morphology of a glacially influenced continental margin, which has traditionally been conceptually characterised by predominant down-slope sedimentary processes. High-resolution multibeam bathymetry, acoustic backscatter and ultrahi...
The western Iberian margin has a complex morphology controlled by both geological and oceanographic processes. Compared to the submarine canyons in the southern part of this margin (e.g. Nazaré and Setubal), the canyons in the northern part (e.g. Ferrol and A Coruña) have received little attention. This study maps the geomorphological features arou...
This work presents a detailed study of CONTOURIBER and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program 339 sediment data targeting sand-rich contourites in the Eastern Gulf of Cadiz. All of the collected sediments are interpreted as contourites (deposited or reworked by bottom currents) on the basis of oceanographic setting, seismic and morphometric features and...
The identification of recent major tectonic structures in the Galicia continental margin and adjacent abyssal plains was carried out by means of a quantitative analysis of the linear structures having bathymetric expression on the seabed. It was possible to identify about 5800 lineaments throughout the entire study area, of approximately 271,500 km...
The Sines Contourite Drift, located in the Southwest Portuguese margin, is a distal drift of the Contourite Depositional System of the Gulf of Cadiz, built by the influence of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). This drift is located between 1000 and 2000 m water depth on the Alentejo margin continental slope. The Sines Drift is bounded by four...
A seismic analysis of the Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy was conducted in the Alboran Sea (westernmost Mediterranean) using more than 1250 profiles consisting of single- and multi-channel seismic records. This allowed for the updating and renaming of the stratigraphic boundaries and the establishment of a new Pliocene and Quaternary seismic s...
Our understanding of bottom-currents and associated oceanographic processes (e.g., overflows, barotropic tidal currents) including intermittent processes (e.g., vertical eddies, deep sea storms, horizontal vortices, internal waves and tsunamis) is rapidly evolving. Many deep-water processes remain poorly understood due to limited direct observation...
Grain size analysis and physical properties of Sites U1388, U1389 and U1390 collected in the Contourite Depositional System of the Gulf of Cádiz during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 339 "Mediterranean Outflow" reveal relative changes in bottom current strength, a tracer of the dynamics of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (M...
The contourite depositional system (CDS) along the southwestern Iberian Margin (SIM), within the Gulf of Cadiz and offshore areas of western Portugal bear the unmistakable signal of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) exiting the Strait of Gibraltar. This locality records key information concerning the effects of tectonic activity on margin sedimenta...
Morphological features (escarpments, depressions and valleys) identified on the Guadalquivir Bank, within the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, have been investigated based on high- and mid-resolution geophysical datasets. Themorphological and seismic stratigraphic analyses allowed their interpretation as the result of the interaction between ocea...
The Diego Cao channel is located on the central-north middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz. It separates the Bartolomeu Dias and Faro sheeted drift plateaus to the north of the Guadalquivir Bank margin uplift. A striking linear series of circular depressions occur parallel to the channel on the Bartolomeu Dias sheeted drift (western channel flank), wh...
We present an interdisciplinary study of the geomorphology, sedimentology and physical oceanography of the Alboran Sea (south-western Mediterranean Sea) to evaluate the potential role of bottom currents in shaping the Spanish andMoroccan continental margins and adjacent basins. Bathymetric and seismic data have allowed the recognition of the contou...
We produced a composite depth scale and chronology for Site U1385 on the SW Iberian Margin. Using log(Ca/Ti) measured by core scanning XRF at 1-cm resolution in all holes, a composite section was constructed to 166.5 meter composite depth (mcd) that corrects for stretching and squeezing in each core. Oxygen isotopes of benthic foraminifera were cor...
The Iberian continental margins are mainly passive margins. Nevertheless, the northern sector of the margin was active during some stages of its geological evolution. The southern sector is considered as a transformed margin, which defines the boundary between the Iberian and African plates. This margin was also an active margin in the past. The di...
Our understanding of the role of bottom currents and associated oceanographic processes (e.g, overflows, barotropic tidal currents) including intermittent processes (e.g, vertical eddies, deep sea storms, horizontal vortices, internal waves and tsunamis) is rapidly evolving. Many deep-water processes remain poorly understood due to limited direct o...
The Iberian continental margins are mainly passive margins. Nevertheless, the northern sector of the margin was active during some stages of its geological evolution. The southern sector is considered as a transformed margin, which defines the boundary between the Iberian and African plates. This margin was also an active margin in the past. The di...
The products of bottom current circulation around the Iberian continental margin are characterised by large erosional and depositional features formed under a variety of geological and oceanographic contexts. The Iberian margins are influenced by several water masses that mainly interact along the upper and middle continental slopes, as well as alo...
Multidisciplinary work between oceanography, geomorphology and sedimentology has uncovered evidence explaining the uneven development of the turbidite systems (TSs) in the Alboran Sea. Nine TSs have been mapped in the Spanish margin, ranging from sandy to mixed sand-mud fans, and which become sandier towards the Strait of Gibraltar; in contrast TSs...
A multiple Contourite Depositional System has been defined in the Plio-Quaternary sedimentary register in the Alboran Sea. This multiple system formed by the Atlantic and the low density and high density Mediterranean Waters, which shaped the margins and basins since the opening of the Gibraltar Strait. Three different (paleo)circulation scenarios...
Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints
on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of
Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositio...
Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositio...
We characterize the eastern Gulf of Cadiz, proximal to the Strait of Gibraltar, using a multidisciplinary approach that combines oceanographic, morphosedimentary, and stratigraphic studies. Two terraces (upper and lower) were identified along the middle slope. They are composed of several associated morphologic elements, including two large erosive...
Nick Shackleton’s research on piston cores from the Iberian margin highlighted the importance of this region for providing high-fidelity records of millennial-scale climate variability, and for correlating climate events from the marine environment to polar ice cores and European terrestrial sequences. During the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (...
Characterization of trace fossils in marine core sediments is, most times, difficult due to the weak differ-entiation between biogenic structures and the host sedi-ment, especially in pelagic and hemipelagic facies. This problem is accentuated where a high degree of bioturbation is associated with composite ichnofabrics. Simple methods are presente...
A buried mixed contourite-turbidite system has been identified in the Pliocene succession of the Algarve basin in the northern Gulf of Cadiz. This margin is currently dominated by the Mediterranean Outflow Water and associated contourite deposition. Analysis of seismic data along with careful geographical and oceanographic reconstructions of the ma...
The Cadiz Contourite Channel is the largest and most prominent contourite channel in the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, and is known to channelise the southern branch of the Lower Core of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) as it flows westwards from the Gibraltar Gateway. The channel lies in water depth between 650 and 1500 m, is 150 km long, 2-...
IODP Expedition 339 drilled five sites in the Gulf of Cadiz and two off the west Iberian margin (November 2011 to January 2012), and recovered 5.5 km of sediment cores with an average recovery of 86.4 %. The Gulf of Cadiz was targeted for drilling as a key location for the investigation of Mediterranean outflow wa-ter (MOW) through the Gibraltar Ga...
An extensive terrace comprising sandy sheeted drifts characterises the proximal sector (close to the Straits of Gibraltar) of the Contourite Depositional System (CDS) of the Gulf of Cadiz and the western continental margin of Portugal. A novel morphosedimentary study over this terrace has been executed based on new multibeam echosounder data, seism...
Resumen: This paper presents a new view of recent sedimentation in the Alboran Sea, based on the analysis of the largest database of available seismic profiles in that sea. The results reveal that contourites represent the main morphosedimentary features that characterize the margins and basins. Several types of contourite features have been charac...
Several attempts for establishing a good Plio-Quaternary stratigraphy were proposed and disputed since the beginning of the studies in the Alboran Sea during the 80's. Now, we have reviewed all the available data with the purpose of improving the detail of the previous stratigraphy by adding new chronostratigraphic boundaries (Lower Pliocene Revolu...
This contribution to this special volume represents the first attempt to comprehensively describe regional contourite (along-slope)
processes and their sedimentary impacts around the Iberian margin, combining numerically simulated bottom currents with existing
knowledge of contourite depositional and erosional features. The circulation of water mas...
This study reports novel findings on the Pliocene–Quaternary history of the northern Gulf of Cadiz margin and the spatiotemporal
evolution of the associated contourite depositional system. Four major seismic units (P1, P2, QI and QII) were identified
in the Pliocene–Quaternary sedimentary record based on multichannel seismic profiles. These are bou...
Deep-water circulation is a critical part of the global conveyor belt that regulates Earth's climate. The bottom (contour)-current component of this circulation is of key significance in shaping the deep seafloor through erosion, transport, and deposition. As a result, there exists a high variety of large-scale erosional and depositional features (...
Una revisión de la base de perfiles sísmicos existente en el sector septentrional de la plataforma continental del Golfo de Cádiz ha permitido identificar y caracterizar una serie de fallas normales que afectan a las unidades sedimentarias del Cuaternario superior. En el margen Bético, zona comprendida entre las localidades de Chipiona y Conil de l...
The Le Danois Contourite Depositional System (CDS), located in an intraslope basin along the Cantabrian margin, is unique with respect to the known sedimentary systems along the upper slope of the Biscay margin. Whereas the steep Biscay slopes are dominated by downslope processes, the Le Danois CDS has been generated by alongslope processes and has...
Deception Island shows the most recent active volcanism, evidence of
several eruptions since the late 18th century, and well-known eruptions
in 1967, 1969, and 1970 at the western end of the volcanic ridge of the
Bransfield Trough, between the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic
Peninsula. The recent tectonic activity of the Bransfield Trough...
This contribution aims to illustrate the Ortegal Cape Contourite Depositional System (OCCDS), a new example of contourites located on the northern Galicia margin generated by the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) influence. This work is based on several datasets collected during two multidisciplinary cruises, including: single echosounder and swath...
A wide variety of bedforms, both depositional and erosional in origin, has been recognized on the deep seafloor and attributed to the influence of bottom currents. These range in scale from those visible in bottom photographs (centimeter to decimeter), to those recorded with seafloor bathymetric imaging (meter to kilometer). In many cases it has be...
Contourite depositional systems have been the focus of much recent research, but still relatively little is known about contourite erosive features and their associated processes. Based on multibeam bathymetry, side-scan imagery and different resolution seismic records, a detailed description and classification of the major erosive submarine valley...
Contourite systems are common on many slopes and show both depositional and erosional features. This chapter summarizes key case studies in different slope settings and discusses general and specific characteristics of different types of slope contourites. The continental slope is considered to be the steepest part of the continental margin, having...
An echo-character analysis of the oil tanker Prestige wreck area was undertaken using high-resolution marine geophysical methods (TOPAS and airgun seismic-reflection profiles, multibeam echosounder and TOBI sidescan sonar). Integration and comparison of the results using all these methods is presented given some practical applications for indirect...
This study is focused on the potential of using the multibeam acoustic backscatter both for sea-floor characterization of the Galicia Bank and for identification of sea-bottom oil spills. An extended multibeam data set was acquired during the RG-1 and RG-2 surveys aboard RV Hespérides in 2003 for the geological and geophysical characterization of t...
Morphological analysis was carried out on the SW flank of the Galicia Bank, as part of detailed geological studies of the half-graben where the Prestige oil tanker wreckage is located. Broad multibeam echosounder (SIMRAD EM-12S-120) and seismic reflection (Airgun) data were collected on board RV Hespérides. Three groups of morphological features we...
This contribution aims to illustrate the Le Danois Contourite Depositional System (DCDS), an impressive example of a contourite system located on the Cantabrian margin. A description of main morphosedimentary features is presented. This work is based on several datasets, including: swath bathymetry data and high and middle resolution reflection sei...
Contourite deposits in the central sector of the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz have been studied using a comprehensive
acoustic, seismic and core database. Buried, mounded, elongated and separated drifts developed under the influence of the
lower core of the Mediterranean Outflow Water are preserved in the sedimentary record. These are characte...
This paper provides for the first time a detailed vertical and spatial representation of Quaternary evolution of the contourite depositional system (CDS) in the Gulf of Cadiz, based on the results of careful morphological, structural and stratigraphic analyses using high-resolution seismic reflection profiles as well as oil company borehole data, a...
A detailed, high-resolution stratigraphic analysis of the Mediterranean Outflow contourite system at the continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz has been carried out through the correlation between a dense network of seismic reflection profiles (sparker, airgun, 3.75 kHz and parametric echosounder — TOPAS), Calypso giant piston and standard gravity...
