RT journal article
T1 26,000 years of environmental evolution of an incised valley in a rocky coast (La Janda wetland, SW Iberia).
A1 Mediavilla, Rosa
A1 Santisteban, Juan I.
A1 Val Peón, Cristina
A1 Galán de Frutos, Luis
A1 Mathes Schmidt, Margret
A1 López Sáez, José A.
A1 Gracia Prieto, Francisco Javier
A1 Reicherter, Klaus
A1 gracia
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
K1 Gulf of Cádiz
K1 MIS 1/3
K1 Open and restricted estuaries
K1 Sea level
K1 Stratigraphic architecture
K1 Tectonics
AB The La Janda wetland record allows to expand the knowledge of the evolution of a restricted estuary since the Last Glacial Maximum. Multiproxy analysis of the sediments (facies, geochemistry, pollen, fossils) reveals that this system exhibits a classic incised valley sequence but differences with the adjacent estuaries can be established. The La Janda sedimentary infill can be split in four main sequences: (1) the Falling Stage Systems Tract (>20.6 ka BP) and (2) the Lowstand Systems Tract (16.7–20.6 ka BP) deposits record fluvial sedimentation in a narrow and incised valley, here seminally identified in the Gulf of Cádiz estuarine system; and (3) the Transgressive Systems Tract (7–16.7 ka BP), ending with the Holocene marine flooding surface at 7 ka BP, is composed of estuarine and marine basin deposits infilling a still steep and narrow topography coupled with the fast retreat of the river mouths. The (4) Highstand Systems Tract (0–7 ka BP) is composed of estuarine basin deposits with fluvial and tidal currents deposits in a wide a gentle sloped estuarine valley and it records the transformation of the basin into a terrestrial one. Comparison to other areas in the Gulf of Cádiz allows to correlate the different estuaries and to distinguish between open and restricted ones by the development of spit systems during the Highstand Systems Tract. But further work is needed to clarify the stratigraphy of the present eustatic cycle in the Gulf of Cádiz as the scarcity of data does not allow to determine the evolution of its estuaries during the last fall and rise of sea level. Such knowledge is crucial to disentangle the role of climate and tectonics in the future evolution of our coasts and design measures to adapt to sea level rise.
PB Elsevier
SN 0278-4343
YR 2023
FD 2023-05-16
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/29428
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/29428
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-may-2026