View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by EPrints Complutense Sequence stratigraphy ofHolocene incised-valley fills and coastal evolution in the Gulf of Cadiz (southern Spain) Cristino J. Dabriol, Cari Zazo2, Javier Lario2, Jose Luis Goy3, Francisco J. Sierro3, Francisco Borja4, Jose Angel Gonzalez3 & Jose Abel Flores3 1 Departamento de Estratigrafia and Instituto de Geologia Econ6mica-CSIC, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, EspafJa (e-mail: [email protected]); 2Departamento de Geologia, Museo Nacional de Cien­ cias Naturales-CSIC, 28006 Madrid, EspafJa ([email protected]); 3Departamento de Geologia, Fac­ ultad de Ciencias, Universidad, 37008 Salamanca, EspafJa ([email protected], [email protected], an­ [email protected], [email protected]); 4Area de Geografia Fisica, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad, 21007 Huelva, EspafJa (fbO/[email protected]) Key words: estuarine deposits, Flandrian transgression, Late Pleistocene, radiocarbon data, spit barriers Abstract This first sedimentary interpretation of two incised-valley fills in the Gulf of Cadiz (southern Spain), which accumulated during the last fourth-order eustatic cycle in response to fluvial incision, changes of sea level, and correlative deposition, relates the filling of the estuarine basins and their barriers with four regional progradation phases, HI to H4. The cases studied are the wave-dominated Guadalete, and the mixed, tide and wave-dominated Odiel-Tinto estuaries. The sequence boundary is a type-l surface produced during the low stand of the Last Glacial period ca. 18 000 14C yr BP No fluvial lowstand deposits were found in the area. Due to rapid transgression the valley fills consist of transgressive and highstand sediments. The maximum landward advance of the estuarine barriers occurred ca. 6500-6000 14C yr BP during the maximum of the Flandrian transgression, but there is no evidence of sea level rising appreciably above the present. A large part of the estuaries was filled during HI (ca. 6500-4400 14C yr BP) but ravinement by shifting tidal inlets destroyed most of the coeval barriers. During the H2 phase (ca. 4200-2550 14C yr BP) sedimentation was favoured by arid conditions and concentratedin the axial estuarine zones and the barriers. Between H2 and H3 prevailing winds changed from W to WSW, increasing spit growth to the east and south-east. Progradation of bay-head deltas and flood-plains during H3 (ca. 2300-800 14C yr BP) and H4 (500 yr ago to the present) further reduced the accommodation space in the largely-filled valleys, and sediment by-passed the estuaries and accumulated in the estuarine barriers as fast-growing spits. Arid conditions and increasing human activity have caused rapid coastal modifications. Introduction In contrast, the filling of the estuaries has remained poorly understood despite a few publications (e.g. Borrego 1992, Borrego et a!. 1993, Morales 1993). Several estuaries along the coast of the Gulf of Cadiz The first attempts to reconstruct the Holocene sedi­ are partly enclosed by spits (Figure 1). The Holocene mentary evolution of an estuary from drill cores were evolution of the coast has been the focus of many those of Dabrio et a!. (1995) and Goy et a!. (1996) papers (e.g. Gavala y Laborde 1959, Dabrio & Polo who concluded that the Guadalete estuary underwent 1987, Zazo et a!. 1992). Radiocarbon dating of shells flooding in the Early Holocene followed by a phase of fr om the spits suggested a chronology of events of open estuary and a later, relatively rapid filling related progradation and erosion (Zazo et a!. 1994, Lario et to sea-level changes and progradation of the Guadalete a!. 1995, Goy et a!. 1996, Lario 1996). lagoon G�/ 1'0 Fe_ i'/(1''<t Guadalete estuary _,_-.r->'" CADIZ fault, barbs on downthrown side 010 20 30km I I I I Figure 1. Map showing study areas and main faults controlling localities for fluvial valleys and estuary settings along the coast of the Gulf of Cadiz. river delta after 6450 14C yr BP. To obtain a more de­ Europe and norfu-westernAf rica, greatly reduces the tailed view of the importance of valley fills as records effective fetch of Atlantic gales, and only wave fronts of coastal evolution and of climate changes, the area and surges moving towards the norfu-east are able has been re-studied in the framework of a project in­ to reach the shore of the gulf. Daily winds blowing cluding the analysis of aeolian deposits nearby (Zazo mainly from the sea also generate wave fronts which et al. this issue). progress roughly in the same direction. Most of the The aim of this paper is to present the results of the wave fronts approach the coast obliquely and induce study of drill cores from two incised-valley fills in the strong longshore transport. This produces littoral drift Gulf of Oidiz: the wave-dominated Guadalete estuary directed towards the east and south-east on the Spanish and the mixed, tide- and wave-dominated Odiel-Tinto side of the gulf. The drift is demonstrated by direct estuary, with its associated Las Madres coastal lagoon observation, measurements of sand transport, and the and peat bog. The results make it possible to interpret occurrence of spit barriers (Zazo et al. 1992). the sedimentary evolution of the incised-valley fills The coast of the Gulf of Cadiz can be described as a function of first the glacio-eustasy factor (global as semidiurnal mesotidal with mean tidal ranges of sea-level rise) and then the minor relative changes of 2.1 m and a variation up to 0.45 m between successive sea level after the maximum of the Flandrian trans­ flood or ebb tides (Borrego et al. 1993). Wave energy gression. This interpretation also relates, fo r the first is medium, because 75% of the waves do not exceed time in the area, the filling of the estuarine basins and 0.5 m in height. These conditions favour the develop­ the development of spits at the mouths of the estuar­ ment of broad littoral lowlands, usually sheltered by ies. It proposes a more detailed version of the coastal spits, where tidal flats and fresh-water marshes extend evolution of the Gulf of Oidiz during the Holocene. several kilometres inland. Tw o major Holocene phases of coastal prograda­ tion have been widely recognised in southern Spain after the transgressive maximum (ca. 6500 14C yr BP) Geological setting in the area (Zazo et al. 1994, 1996a, Lario et al. 1995). The Gulf of Oidiz (southernIb erian Peninsula) opens In the most complete case (Almeria, SE Spain), they towards the south-west and the Atlantic Ocean (Fig­ include four spit systems currently referred to as HI , ure 1). The morphology of the coasts of south-western H2, H3 , and H4 (Zazo et al. 1994). The first major progradation phase comprises the spit units HI and H2. Techniques The second major phase includes the spit units H3 and H4. The complete set of spit systems crops out only The first step was to identify and map marine and in the Mediterranean coasts of Almeria (Z azo et a1. coastal deposits and to integrate them into a series I 996b, Goy et al. 1996) and the Balearic Islands (Goy of morpho-sedimentary units, taking into account the et a1. 1997). The complete suite has not been observed available sedimentological, faunal and tectonic data, so far on the Atlantic coast, where no physical record radiometric dating, and archaeological information. of HI has been located in outcrops. However, as dis­ Outcrops and drill cores were used to study the li­ cussed below, there is circumstantial evidence of its thology and facies, including some sedimentary struc­ deposition. tures, and to collect samples for laboratory analyses Each unit is separated from the adjacent ones, such as detailed sedimentology, env ironmental mag­ either by an erosional surface intersecting beach netism, 14C dating, stable carbon and oxygen iso­ ridges, or by a gap in sedimentation recorded as a topes, and palaeontology (pollen, microfauna, and prominent swale (Zazo et a1. 1994). It is interesting macrafauna). to note that the form ation of the gap separating the Samples fr om spit deposits were collected by ex­ two major phases of progradation coincides with no­ cavating 1 to 1.4 m down into the swales separating table modifications in some parameters of the coastal beach ridges in order to reach the upper foreshore or dynam ics, such as a reversal of the coastal drift on berm facies (close to mean sea level: MSL). Shells of Spanish Mediterranean beaches (Goy et a1. 1986), the mollusc Glycymeris g/ycymeris tend to accumu­ changes in direction of prevailing winds both on Medi­ late here and are relatively common. Ages and rates terranean and Atlantic coasts (Zazo et a1. 1996a, Goy of progradation were calculated from radiometric dat­ et a1. 1996), and increased rates of filling in estuaries ing of mollusc samples collected across the spits. We (Lario et a1. 1995, Lario 1996). designed the sampling patterns according to detailed Our database of radiometric data with normalised mapping of the units, in order to identify and eliminate ages has been enlarged noticeably (Table I). This the reworked shells. allows us to refine the previously proposed ages of Samples fram both estuaries and the peat bog coastal progradation phases and intervening gaps. The were obtained fram cores of drill holes bored to 8 m new limits for progradation of the spit units are: HI: depth with manual and percussion mechanical drills ca. 6500 to 4400, H2: ca. 4200 to 2550, H3 : ca. 2300 and to 40 rn with conventional mechanical rotation 4 to 800 1 C yr BP, andH4: 500 years ago to the present.