
M.C. Fernández-PugaUniversidad de Cádiz | UCA · Department of Earth Sciences
M.C. Fernández-Puga
Marine Science
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94
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Introduction
M.C. Fernández-Puga currently works at the Department of Earth Sciences , Universidad de Cádiz. M.C. does research in Marine Geology. Their current project is 'Submarine fluid venting on the continental margins of the Canary Islands and the Gulf of Cadiz: Morphology and Nature of the submarine Fluid Venting. SUBVENT Project'.
Publications
Publications (94)
Multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom parametric profiler, multichannel seismic reflection data and sediment cores were used to detail the nature, morpho-sedimentary and internal structure of five newly discovered submarine mud volcanoes (MVs) in the Moroccan margin of the Gulf of Cadiz. The Henriet and Subvent MVs are located at 300–400 m water depth,...
The Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea are characterized by tectonic activity due to oblique convergence at the boundary between the Eurasian and Nubian plates. This activity has favored a variety of tsunamigenic sources: basically, seismogenic faults and submarine landslides. The main tsunamigenic faults in the Gulf of Cadiz would comprise the thru...
Extensive beds of the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus mauritanicus (currently also known as Gigantidas mauritanicus ) linked to active cold seeps related to fissure-like activity on Al Gacel mud volcano, Gulf of Cádiz, were filmed and sampled for the first time during the oceanographic expedition SUBVENT-2 aboard R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa. Al Gacel mud...
The shallowest sediment of three mud volcanoes (MVs) located in the middle slope of the Gulf of Cádiz, Anastasya, Pipoca and St. Petersburg, have been seasonally studied during June and December 2016. These structures are locally important contributors of many biogeochemical active substances to the water column, with a special attention in the emi...
Offshore geological hazards can occur in any marine domain or environment and represent a serious threat to society, the economy, and the environment. Seismicity, slope sedimentary instabilities, submarine volcanism, fluid flow processes, and bottom currents are considered here because they are the most common hazardous processes; tsunamis are also...
In this work, we integrate five case studies harboring vulnerable deep-sea benthic habitats in different geological settings from mid latitude NE Atlantic Ocean (24–42° N). Data and images of specific deep-sea habitats were acquired with Remoted Operated Vehicle (ROV) sensors (temperature, salinity, potential density, O2, CO2, and CH4). Besides doc...
The concentration of CH4 in water was measured along five transects in the Gulf of Cadiz (Trafalgar, Sancti Petri, Guadalquivir, Tinto - Odiel and Guadiana) during four cruises throughout the months of March, June, September and December 2016. For two of the cruises water overlying three mud volcanoes situated in the Gulf of Cadiz were also sampled...
This study shows a morphosedimentary characterization of the continental shelf between “Punta de Baños” and “Punta de Torrenueva”, on the northwestern margin of the Alboran Sea. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, very high resolution seismic profiles and surficial sediment samples were used for this purpose. Two groups of morphological feat...
High-resolution multibeam bathymetry, seismic reflection data, sediment core and water samples were used to first detail the morpho-sedimentary structure and seepage environment of a recently discovered mud volcano (MV) in the Atlantic Moroccan margin during the SUBVENT-2 cruise. Henriet MV is the most eastern edifice of the Gulf of Cadiz, located...
The seabed geomorphology of the Passage of Lanzarote (PoL), between the Lanzarote and Fuerteventura islands and the West Africa Continental Margin (WACM), has been considered with the aim to improve the knowledge of the main active processes working on the seafloor. We have analyzed the acoustic data obtained in the oceanographic cruise SUBVENT2 ca...
Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences of the University of Cádiz implemented the Bologna Process in the academic year 2009/2010. Since its implementation the subject Geophysics and Tectonics started to be taught together; otherwise theory and practical lessons are explained independently. Besides, it is imparted at different levels of educat...
Mercator mud volcano has been explored by direct visual observations using a ROV at 350 to 370 m depth. Underwater images, taken mainly at the summit, have allowed characterizing the fluid venting environment, where different microforms, habitats and associated biota, with typical seepage components have been identified. Chemosynthetic bacterial co...
Seafloor morphotectonic features on the NE Alboran Sea have been analyzed using a mosaic of multibeam bathymetry and a mesh of reflection seismic profiles. A geomorphologic analysis and their relationship with active and Quaternary tectonic structures has been realized. Morphotectonic features are: i) fault scarps; ii) elongated ridges correspondin...
The identification and characterization of a series of complex landslides have been carried out using Topographic Parametric Sounder (TOPAS) very high resolution profiles, obtained during the INDEMARES/CHICA1011 and ARSA0313 cruises, along the upper and middle slope of the eastern Gulf of Cádiz continental margin. These landslides constitute a larg...
Mud volcanism represents an important migration pathway for methane and other gases from deeper reservoirs to the surface; however most submarine sources remain poor quantified. During SUBVENT2 cruise, water column over several mud volcanoes were surveyed for gas seepage characterization. Water samples of ROV Niskin and Rosette-CTD Niskin bottles w...
The northeastern sector of the Gulf of Cadiz continental margin has been deeply studied the last two decades. The seafloor is characterized by the Gulf of Cadiz Contourite Depositional System, strong diapirism and seepage related to the mobility of the frontal units of the Gibraltar Arc. Since 2010 high resolution bathymetric data and high and very...
The Passage of Lanzarote is an example of a wide oceanic corridor. It extends between the eastern Canary Islands and the Western Africa continental margin. Seafloor morphology of this passage has been analyzed with the aim to know the morphogenetic processes related to both the oceanography and the geology. Multibeam bathymetric data and high and v...
Five different groups of gullies have been distinguished along the northeastern slope of the
Gulf of Cádiz using geostatistical analysis. A Grouping Analyst has been carried out to six
morphological variables of the gullies: area, straight line length, width/depth ratio, width, depth and
stream order. The spatial distribution of the identified five...
New high-quality high-resolution bathymetric data along the northeastern slope of the
Gulf of Cadiz continental margin reveals three gullies fields. The morphological and morphometric
features of these gullies have been studied. The following morphometric variables have been
measured in every gully in order to make a quantitative morphological anal...
The mud volcanism in the Iberian and Moroccan margins of the Gulf of Cadiz is well known over more than a decade. Nevertheless, new structures and morphologies related to fluid venting are still discovered in the recent oceanographic cruise SUBVENT2 in 2014 along the Moroccan margin. Four new mud volcanoes have been identified along two sector of M...
Seamounts are first-order morphological elements on continental margins and in oceanic domains, which have been extensively researched over recent decades in all branches of oceanography. These features favour the development of several geological processes, and their study gives us a better understanding of their geological and morphological domai...
The analysis of multibeam bathymetric data and high resolution seismic profiles has allowed us to define the tectonic geomorphology of the Adra margin, northern Alboran Sea. Four geomorphic tectonic-related structures have been analyzed: (i) Longitudinal ridges (N50-70); (ii) Linear scarps (N30, N55, N130, N165, N-S); (iii) Tectonic depressions (N1...
La zona central de la Cuenca de Alborán se caracteriza por presentar los elementos fisiográficos más importantes de Alborán, como son las dorsales de Alborán y Adra que limitan la depresión del Canal de Alborán. Estos elementos morfoestructurales son el resultado de la convergencia de las placas Africana y Euroasiática. El análisis de datos batimét...
Se presentan nuevas evidencias de actividad tectónica reciente en la plataforma continental del margen Bético del Golfo de Cádiz. La identificación y caracterización de fallas normales activas cuaternarias, principalmente en la plataforma media y externa existente entre la desembocadura del río Guadalquivir hasta la Bahía de Cádiz, está basada en l...
Very high resolution parametric echosounder (TOPAS) data interpretation obtained during CADHYS0713, INDEMARES/CHICA1011 and ARSA0313 cruises along the middle, external shelf and upper slope of the eastern Gulf of Cadiz between 50 and 400 m depth has allowed us the identification of several active tectonic structures acting since the Holocene. To da...
The seafloor morphology of the Passage of Lanzarote has been analysed with the aim to know the active processes on the bottom surface related to the oceanographic context. Multibeam bathymetric data and high and very high resolution seismic profiles obtained in the SUBVENT2 cruise have been used. Five main morphological groups have been analysed: (...
The Gulf of Cadiz records the interplay of a variety of sedimentary processes related to the circulation of water masses. The most important one is the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) that exits the Mediterranean Sea, but other water masses also affect the seafloor, with complex variations along time and space. This work studies the interplay bet...
The main aim of this work is the knowledge of the detailed morphology of the Portimao Bank which is an E-W structural seamount located in the distal sector of the South Portuguese margin, northeastern area of the Gulf of Cadiz, and it is bordered to the north by the Don Carlos Valley and to the south by the Cádiz Valley. This seamount has been desc...
Morphostructural interpretation based on high and very high resolution reflection seismic profiles and a bathymetric mosaic acquired along several oceanographic cruises have allowed the neotectonic char-acterization of a sector of the Gulf of Cádiz continental shelf, which is extended from the Guadalquivir river mouth to the Bay of Cádiz. High reso...
The Gulf of Cadiz records the interplay of a variety of sedimentary processes related to the flow of the Mediter-ranean Outflow Water (MOW) exiting the Mediterranean Sea, with downslope sedimentary processes and the topography of the region. This work presents detailed morphological features of the Guadalquivir Ridge area, based on high resolution...
We discuss in this presentation the preliminary results on the structural characterization of the continental shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (SW Iberian Peninsula) from the Guadalquivir river mouth to the Bay of Cádiz. It is based on interpretation of very high (Geopulse) and high resolution reflection seismic sections (Topas) acquired by several ocean...
We discuss in this presentation the preliminary results on the structural characterization of the continental shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (SW Iberian Peninsula) from the Guadalquivir river mouth to the Bay of Cádiz. It is based on interpretation of very high (Geopulse) and high resolution reflection seismic sections (Topas) acquired by several ocean...
Structure of mud volcano systems and pockmarks in the region of the Ceuta Contourite Depositional System (Western Alborán Sea), Marine Geology (2012), doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.06.002 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscr...
A morpho-structural analysis of several mud volcanoes on the Moroccan Atlantic margin (Gulf of Cádiz) is presented. Multibeam data (bathymetry and backscatter), very high resolution seismic profiles from ultra-high resolution topographic parametric sounder (TOPAS) and gravity core data have been used. Analysis reveals an episodic mud extrusion dyna...
Analysis of a new dataset of high-resolution seismic and swath bathymetry data acquired during the CONTOURIBER-1 cruise in the Ceuta Contourite Depositional System (Western Alborán Sea), reveals the detailed architecture of several mud volcanoes systems that comprises both surface and buried constructional edifices as well as their subsurface feede...
During the MVSEIS-08 cruise of 2008, ten new mud volcanoes (MVs) were discovered on the offshore Moroccan continental margin (Gulf of Cádiz) at water depths between 750 and 1,600 m, using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter imagery, high-resolution seismic and gravity core data. Mud breccias were recovered in all cases, attesting to the nature of ext...
Studies on seamounts from the Djibouti Banks (Alboran Sea) are very scarce. The special interest of these seamounts is their location between At-lantic and Mediterranean water masses and the peculiar hydrodynamic, physicochemical and sedimentological characteristics. The granulometric and geochemical analyses as well as the benthic foraminiferal as...
Son muchos los trabajos relacionados con las estructuras y morfologías a gran escala espacio-temporal relacionados con los procesos tectónicos en el talud continental del Golfo de Cádiz, sin embargo, son escasos los trabajos dedicados al estudio detallado de los procesos neotectónicos que pongan de manifiesto la actividad tectónica actual de este s...
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...
Two oceanographic surveys have been carried out using very high-resolution acoustic techniques in 2010. These surveys have allowed us to improve the knowledge of two sectors of the Spanish continental shelf in the Gulf of Cadiz: the first one, from the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to the Bay of Cadiz, and the second one, between Cadiz and Chicla...
A shallow gas area has been mapped in the continental shelf of the Gulf of Cadiz, between 10 and 50 m depth. This area is located in the south of the Guadalquivir river mouth. High resolution seismic reflection profiles, have been interpreted to characterize the seismic facies and geological structures that could be related to the gas origin and di...
Many structures associated with fluid escape, including mud volcanoes, mud-carbonate mounds, pockmarks and slides, have been identified and characterized in the Gulf of Cádiz. Most of the mud volcanoes following NE–SW and NW–SE main trends are found at 350–2000 m depth in the eastern domain of the Gulf of Cádiz, which corresponds to the Betic–Rifea...
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...
Since 1994 the development of several research projects in the Gulf of Cadiz region has
allowed to realize a catalogue of neotectonic structures in this region. Two main groups of structures
have been differentiated, regional scale ones that control margin physiography (main compressive
structures and strike slip faults) and local scale ones that d...
Numerous structures associated with fluid escape have been identified in the Gulf of Cadiz:
mud volcanoes, carbonate-mud mounds bearing carbonate chimneys and pockmarks. Most of the mud
volcanoes are found in the eastern domain of the Gulf of Cadiz, which corresponds to the Betic-Rifean
Margin, at 400-1400 m depth, following NE-SW and NW-SE trends....
An analysis of Cenozoic tectonics was carried out on the Galicia Bank Region by means of 750 km of single-channel and 155 km of multi-channel vertical seismic profiles and multibeam bathymetry. This work forms part of a general study aimed at determining the geological risk in the wreck area of the Prestige oil tanker. Several structures affecting...
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...
The Gulf of Cádiz area has been extensively surveyed in recent years and several gas-related fluid escape seafloor structures
have been identified. In this study, gravity cores, collected during the ANASTASYA/00 and ANASTASYA/01 cruises, on mud volcanoes,
hemipelagic sediments and dredged material from diapiric structures, have been studied. A comp...
Recently developed high-resolution profiling (multibeam, sonar) and surface sampling were used to map seafloor morphology
of the Gulf of Cádiz middle continental slope. Multichannel seismic profiling has made it possible to elucidate the geologic
origin of these features as well as the main triggering mechanisms of gas-related morphologies, princip...
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...
Underwater images taken from deepwater carbonate-mud mounds located along the continental margin of the Gulf of Cádiz (eastern
Central Atlantic) have identified a great variety of hydrocarbon seep-related geomorphic features that exist on the sea floor.
An extensive photographic survey was made along the Guadalquivir Diapiric Ridge, after detailed...
Based on recently gathered swath-bathymetry, high- to ultra-high-resolution seismic, and underwater camera data, along with dredging and coring samples, this paper examines the relationship between sea-floor features and the nature of hydrocarbon-enriched fluid and gas leaks from degassing of deeply buried sediments along the continental margin of...
Resumen: En este estudio se presentan datos procedentes de sondeos de gravedad tomados de volcanes de fango situados en el talud medio del Golfo de Cádiz. Los sondeos estudiados fueron obtenidos durante la campaña oceanográfica Anastasya 01/09 realizada en el año 2001 a bordo del buque oceanográfico Cornide de Saavedra. Se han estudiado 5 sondeos d...
Reflection profiles characterize the structure and the upper Mesozoic to Cenozoic deposits of the Gulf of Cadiz region. Two long ENE–WSW multichannel seismic lines (ca. 400–500 km long) are analyzed to study the evolution of the area from the continental shelf to the Horseshoe and Seine abyssal plains. The huge allochthonous deposits emplaced in th...