Sedimentary and Stratigraphic Description of the Castellón B Borehole Cores

(Offshore Western Mediterranean)

authored by: Telm Bover-Arnal, Carles Ferràndez-Cañadell, Julio Aguirre, Ulrich Heimhofer, Mateu Esteban
Abstract: The Castellón B-1, 2, 3, 4, 11, and 12 cores were studied to establish the precise age and the stratigraphic framework of the Cenozoic offshore sedimentary succession from eastern Iberia. Six stratigraphic units were recognized: (i) a Black Sandstone Unit, (ii) a Red Beds Unit, (iii) the Alcanar Conglomerates, (iv) the Tarraco “Shale,” (v) the Amposta Limestone, also known as “Amposta Chalk,” and (vi) the San Carlos Group. The Black Sandstone Unit corresponds to non-fossiliferous slightly foliated fault breccias that resemble the Carboniferous Scala Dei Formation cropping out in the Priorat area (onshore Catalonia, NE Spain). The Red Beds Unit consists of fine-grained sandstones and red clays containing Classopollis sp. pollen grains, which range from the Late Triassic to the Paleocene. According to the known stratigraphy of onshore deposits from eastern Iberia, they are comparable with the red beds of the uppermost Cretaceous-Paleocene Mediona Formation. The Alcanar Conglomerates are mainly made up of Paleozoic clasts indicating the existence of nearby subaerially exposed Paleozoic rocks. The Tarraco “Shale” is made up of siliciclastic-influenced wackestone-packstone textures with planktonic foraminifera. Above, the Amposta Limestone comprises platform carbonates rich in coralline red algae, as well as larger benthic foraminifera including Borelis sp., Heterostegina sp., Amphistegina mammilla, and Amphistegina bohdanowiczi. The foraminiferal association suggests an early-mid Langhian age. The drowning of the Amposta Limestone is marked by the deposition of the planktonic foraminifera-rich deposits of the lower part of the San Carlos Group.
Organisation(s): Institute of Geology
External Organisation(s): Universitat de Barcelona
University of Granada
Type: Conference contribution
Pages: 47-50
No. of pages: 4
Publication date: 20.03.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Architecture, Environmental Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48758-3_11 (Access: Closed)