M. Vilà

• Institut Cartogràfic i Geologic de Catalunya

Cartografia geomorfologica e inventario de los efectos del temporal Gloria en la dinámica fluvial en Cataluña

A summary of the available information concerning the Paleozoic rocks of Barcelona is presented, obtained from outcrops outside the town center (Vallvidrera, Montcada, El Papiol or Santa Creu d’Olorda), from ephemeral outcrops originated by work inside the city and of previous information of already disappeared outcrops. Within the municipality of...

Surface electrical resistivity tomography is a non-invasive and highly competitive technique that can be used to effectively characterize subsurface sediments for different purposes: geological, geotechnical, hydrogeological or subsidence problems. However, due to the strong effect of salinity on resistivity, sediments characterization in deltas (c...

The lower structural levels of the Variscan orogen exposed in the Eastern Pyrenees reveal three genetically associated magmatic suites: (i) a batholitic sized calc-alkaline granitoid (Sant Llorenç – La Jonquera, SL–LJ); (ii) minor mafic intrusions with local ultramafic cumulates (Ceret and Mas Claret mafic complexes); and (iii) peraluminous leucogr...

Anthropization is the transformation that human actions exert on the environment. Artificial interventions modify the morphology of the ground and affect physical and chemical properties of natural terrain. Therefore, providing information on the distribution of artificial ground throughout the territory is necessary for land management, developmen...

The storm Gloria was an exceptional episode of east storm occurred in the north and east of Spain from Sunday 19 th to Thursday 23 rd of January 2020. The impact was especially strong in the Mediterranean coast, causing the overflow of some rivers, abundant slope movements, cuts in the road and rail network, isolation of populations, and huge damag...

The strom Gloria was an exceptional episode of wind, rain, snow, and sea storm that occurred in the north and east of Spain, which took place between January 19 and 23, 2020. The impact was especially strong in the Mediterranean coast, causing the overflow of some rivers, abundant slope movements, cuts in the road and rail network, isolation of pop...

The Ebro Delta is a highly vulnerable Mediterranean coastal ecosystems located on the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Determining its subsidence rate and sources is a key issue for the present and future management of this area. Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) compared with the contribution to subsidence of the...

Resum La història geològica de la xarxa fluvial al Penedès s'inicia al Miocè inferior quan aquesta seguia una di-recció ENE-WSW, paral·lela a l'eix de la depressió, i desembocava a la Mediterrània pel sector del Vendrell. La geometria actual, en canvi, mostra que alguns rius (Foix, riera de Ribes) busquen un camí més curt i travessen directament la...

The Urban Geological Map of Catalonia Project focuses on the geological characterisation of county capitals and towns with a population larger than 10 000. This represents 131 municipalities hosting ~6.2 million inhabitants and a study area of 2200 km 2 . To address the underground geological structure and properties of the geological units it has...

The current work shows the Mesozoic stratigraphy of the southwestern part of the Garraf Massif and reports for the first time an Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) cephalopod assemblage from the surroundings of the town of el Vendrell. The Mesozoic outcrops to the east of el Vendrell primarily consist of carbonate rocks of Kimmeridgian-Berriasian age, which...

The Ebro Delta (Spain) faces anthropogenic and climate changes that can cause a significant decrease on its subaerial surface. One of the causes of this reduction is subsidence that take place due to the compacting of the sediments. In order to identify zones vulnerable to subsidence, we have defined several targets such as: characterization of Hol...

A detailed and systematic geological characterization of the urban area of Tarragona has been conducted under the project ‘1:5000 scale Urban geological map of Catalonia’ of the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya. The results of this characterization are organized into: (1) a geological information system that includes all the information...

The Collserola Range includes a representative stratigraphic succession of the Palaeozoic of the central part of the Catalan Coastal Ranges, ranging from Cambro-Ordovician to Carboniferous times. In this paper we present an up-to-date review of the stratigraphy and structure of the Palaeozoic of the Collserola Range, and provide geochemical and Sm–...

In the last two decades, the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio of seismic noise technique has been widely used for site-effect estimation and geophysical exploration through the soil fundamental frequency. Usually, only one peak is observed in the H/V spectral ratio, but in some cases, a second peak can also be obtained. Nevertheless, to...

Geochemical reference levels are necessary preliminary steps for appropriate environmental legislation, especially in the assessment of management of soil pollution and protection measures. The problem of establishing reference levels in areas with variable basic geology and anthropogenic pressure is addressed by characterising the geochemistry of...

Since 2007, the Institut Geologic de Catalunya (IGC) runs an urban geological mapping project to provide accurate geologic information of county capitals and towns with population larger than 10 000 inhabitants in Catalonia (NE Spain). This represents 131 towns that host 6 million inhabitants and cover 2200 km(2). 30 % of the area of interest belon...

Urban geological mapping is a key to assist management of new developed areas, conversion of current urban areas or assessment of urban geological hazards. Geophysics can have a pivotal role to yield subsurface information in urban areas provided that geophysical methods are capable of dealing with challenges related to these scenarios (e.g., low s...

We present a geophysical study where different geophysical techniques are combined to support an urban geological mapping project in NE of Spain. The study has been carried out at two different scales. Seismic and electrical resistivity tomography methods have provided a subsoil image up to 30/40 m depth supported by surface-wave and H/V microtremo...

New geochronological data from the Albera Massif confirm the presence of an Early - Mid Ordovician igneous event (472 - 465Ma) recorded in the pre-Variscan rocks of the Pyrenees. This event resulted in the emplacement of a large granitic body in the lower part of the pre-Upper Ordovician metasedimentary succession and in the intrusion of a series o...

Determining the temperature distribution within the lithosphere requires the knowledge of the radiogenic heat production (RHP) distribution within the crust and the lithospheric mantle. RHP of crustal rocks varies considerably at different scales as a result of the petrogenetic processes responsible for their formation and therefore RHP depends on...

The ground features of urban areas and the geologic processes that operate on them are, in general, strongly altered from their natural original condition as a result of anthropogenic activities. Assessing the stability of the ground, the flooding areas, and, the health risk as a consequence of soil pollution, are, among others, fundamental topics...

Determining the temperature distribution within the lithosphere requires the knowledge of the radiogenic heat production (RHP) distribution within the crust and the lithospheric mantle. RHP of crustal rocks varies considerably at different scales as a result of the petrogenetic processes responsible for their formation and therefore RHP depends on...

Spatial distributions of fifteen trace elements (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, Tl, U, V, and Zn) potentially harmful for the human health and the ecosystem have been studied in the soils of Catalonia. Geographic Information Systems were used together with the cartographic information available in sampling design. Descriptive statistic...

During the Late Palaeozoic Variscan Orogeny, Cambro-Ordovician and/or Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Albera Massif (Eastern Pyrenees) were subject to low-pressure/high-temperature (LPHT) regional metamorphism, with the development of a sequence of prograde metamorphic zones (chlorite-muscovite, biotite, andalusite-cordierite, sillimani...

The petrogenesis of the Hercynian magmatic rocks of the Albera Massif (eastern Pyrenees) is investigated in this work, in order to establish spatial and temporal relationships between deformation episodes, high temperature–low pressure metamorphism and igneous activity, by using fieldwork together with petrological and geochemical methods.Hercynian...