Geomorphological evolution of the calcareous coastal cliffs in North Iberia (Asturias and Cantabria regions)

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the main morphologies observed in the coastal cliffs of northern Spain (Asturias and Cantabria regions). The objective of this contribution is to establish a hypothesis on the origin and evolution of this rocky coast, as well as to present a detailed inventory, to characterise quantitatively and qualitatively singular morphologies and to highlight the geological heritage of this protected coast. The evolution process starts with the formation of an ancient coastal planation surface characterised by a flat morphology caused by regional mainly uplift and to relative sea level falls. Afterwards, wave erosion processes would have started eroding the cliff foot and simultaneously, karst activity produced some exokarst morphologies (sinkholes, karren, etc.) through stratification and fracturing network, while the underground drainage systems produced some caves and chasms. In the following step, corresponding to the last glaciation from the paleoclimatic point of view, sea level fall together with a deepening of the fluvial network caused the preservation of the existing caves and chasms and the generation of new ones at a lower level. On the other hand, dissolution processes on limestones created sinkholes in those areas characterised by alternating layers of limestones and marls, generating collapses. When the sea level reached the maximum height during the Holocene a new erosion cycle of the coastal cliffs began. As a consequence, new landforms and processes were produced, like bays, caves fillings, and intrusion of new sediments in small confined estuaries. In these areas, other types of morphologies associated with the last sea level rise can be observed, such as closed beaches, uncommon closed estuaries developed inside a sinkhole, blowholes produced by mixed wave action and widening of prevailing vertical pipes inside the limestones (including the second largest in the world), total or partial sedimentary filling of small confined estuaries, as well as a tombolo deposit. It is important to point out, that some sites described are included in the Spanish Inventory of Sites of Geological Interest (IELIG). Due to the evolution model here proposed, a portion of the coastal sector described are included in the Global Geosites Project.