The effects of astronomically forced climate change on hemipelagic carbonate sedimentation in a tectonically active setting: the Albian Mioño Formation in Castro Urdiales (Cantabria, N Spain)

Our understanding of the stratigraphic expression of astronomically driven climate-change cycles in the Milankovitch frequency band has improved significantly in recent decades. However, several aspects have been little studied to date, such as the nature of the climatically regulated environmental...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Payros Agirre, Aitor, Martínez Braceras, Naroa, Agirrezabala Mundiñano, Luis Miguel, Dinares Turell, Jaume, Rosales, Idoia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/59832
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/59832
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Albian
Basque-Cantabrian Basin
climate
cyclostratigraphy
hemipelagic
Milankovitch cycles
Descripción
Sumario:Our understanding of the stratigraphic expression of astronomically driven climate-change cycles in the Milankovitch frequency band has improved significantly in recent decades. However, several aspects have been little studied to date, such as the nature of the climatically regulated environmental processes that ultimately control cyclic sedimentation. Similarly, relatively little is known about the expression of Milankovitch cycles in successions accumulated in tectonically active basins. In order to fill this knowledge gap, the Albian hemipelagic deposits of the Miono Formation exposed in Castro Urdiales (Basque-Cantabrian Basin) are studied herein. These deposits were accumulated during a rifting phase with strong tectonic activity. The sedimentological, petrographic and cyclostratigraphic analysis demonstrates that, despite the synsedimentary tectonic instabilities and some diagenetic overprinting, the hemipelagic carbonate alternation was astronomically forced 110.68-110.47 Ma. Seasonality fluctuations driven by precession cycles caused periodic (20 ky) variations in the rate of carbonate productivity (abundance of pelagic calcareous plankton and micrite exported from adjacent shallow-water areas) and/or siliceous dilution (terrestrially derived siliciclastic sediment supply and siliceous particle production by sponges). These variations resulted in the formation of marly limestone beds when annual seasonality was low (i.e., boreal summer at aphelion, winter at perihelion) and the accumulation of marlstones when seasonality increased (i.e., boreal summer at perihelion, winter at aphelion). The incidence of these processes increased and decreased in line with seasonality modulation by short-eccentricity cycles of 100 ky. In conclusion, this study shows that Milankovitch cycles can be reliably recorded in hemipelagic successions accumulated in tectonically active settings if sediment gravity flows or other disturbances do not affect autochthonous sedimentation.