ELSEVIER Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238

Recognition of stratigraphic sequences in carbonate platform and slope

deposits: empirical models based on microfacies analysis of
Palaeogene deposits in southeastern Spain
T. Geel *
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Received 3 September 1998; accepted 14 June 1999

Abstract

The functional morphology and life style of foraminifers can be used to determine their former position on the
platform and to detect upwards shallowing and deepening trends in sedimentary sequences. The sequential analysis of the
Palaeogene platform deposits of Alicante proved to be greatly enhanced by the use of the palaeoecology of foraminifers.
On the basis of this analysis, three different empirical models for platform accommodation cycles could be designed: a
ramp model, distinctive for the Lower Eocene, a combined ramp-rimmed model, characteristic for the Middle and Upper
Eocene, and a rimmed model representative for Oligocene cycles. The change in platform type through time is thought to
be a response to climate-related changes in growth-potential of hermatypic corals. Possible criteria to distinguish systems
tracts in slope deposits on their foraminiferal and clast content are put to the test in a slope section, with positive results.
From the correlation of the southern Spanish Palaeogene cycles with Eurasian–African plate-boundary events along the
Pyrenees, and with Antarctic glaciations, it can be concluded that the majority of the cycles are tectonically controlled with
glacio-eustatic contributions since the Middle=Late Eocene boundary.  2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: larger foraminifers; sequence stratigraphy; carbonate-platform types; slope–fan cycles; tectonic vs. glacio-
eustatic control

1. Introduction cific facies types (e.g. Chaproniere, 1975; Hottinger,

Larger foraminifers occur abundantly in many
platform deposits and they can easily be identified at
the generic level in random thin sections or, already
in the field, with the aid of a hand lens. Though
they cover a wide range of platform environments,
their distribution is controlled by, e.g., light condi-
tions and substrate and there is a narrow relationship
between particular associations of genera and spe-
Ł Fax: C31 20 646 2457; E-mail: geet@geo.vu.nl
1983, 1997; Reiss and Hottinger, 1984; Hallock and
Glenn, 1986). Hence, larger foraminifers are ex-
cellent palaeoenvironmental indicators which may
be used as valuable tools to discern environmental
changes, such as shallowing and deepening trends, in
otherwise often lithologically monotonous platform
successions.
The main purpose of this paper is to present
empirical models of stratigraphic sequences and sys-
tems tracts, based on the distribution of Palaeogene
foraminifers. Understanding the life style and func-

0031-0182/00/$ – see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 3 1 - 0 1 8 2 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 1 7 - 0
212 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
tional morphology of the foraminiferal tests is more
significant for facies analysis than comparison with
extant relatives in the taxonomic system, because
many genera and most species of the oligotrophic
shallow-water foraminiferal assemblages became ex-
tinct at the last major biological revolution in the
Middle Miocene (Hottinger, 1997). The first part of
the paper, therefore, gives a synopsis of the biol-
ogy and life style of foraminifers, followed by an
overview of the distribution of Palaeogene forami-
niferal genera on carbonate platforms. Next, several
columnar sections of Eocene and Oligocene platform
deposits are analysed using the palaeoecological cri-
teria drafted in the first part. From the analysis of
stacked cycles on various parts of the platform, a
certain regular pattern can be deduced on which em-
pirical models of sequences in a ramp setting, on a
rimmed platform and on a combined open=rimmed
shelf are based. Insight in the microfacies develop-
ment of platform sequences and their systems tracts
induced me to speculate, in the next section, about
criteria to distinguish systems tracts in slope de-
posits. These criteria are put to the test on a slope
section showing a succession of submarine fan cy-
cles. Finally, in the last section, the controlling fac-
tors of the Spanish Palaeogene cycles are examined
and evaluated.
Though conventionally the Oligocene is subdi-
vided into the Lower Oligocene or Rupelian, and the
Upper Oligocene or Chattian, for matters of conve-
nience a threefold division will be used here: Lower
Oligocene (P18, P19, P20 D lower Rupelian), Mid-
dle Oligocene (P21 D upper Rupelian to lower Chat-
tian), and Upper Oligocene (P22 D upper Chattian).
This avoids the repetitive use of such awkward terms
as ‘lower Lower’, ‘upper Lower’, ‘upper Lower to
lower Upper’. Similarly, the correct term ‘symbiont-
bearing imperforate larger foraminifers’ is shortened
to ‘imperforate foraminifers’ to be distinguished
from imperforate, but symbiont-lacking, miliolids,
indicated simply as ‘miliolids’. Also ‘lamellar-perfo-
rate larger foraminifers’ is abbreviated to ‘perforate
foraminifers’.
Officially, the genus Assilina now also comprises
several species that formerly were considered to
belong to the genus Operculina. For instance, the
Eocene Operculina alpina and the Recent Operculina
ammonoides are now Assilina alpina and A. ammo-
noides. The genus Operculina is restricted to such
Oligocene and Recent forms as Operculina compla-
nata and O. heterosteginoides (Loeblich and Tappan,
1988). Consequently, the time-honoured distinction
between Assilina (narrow-spired, early Palaeogene
species) and Operculina (wide-spired forms with a
much longer range) no longer exists. To avoid confu-
sion among those readers who are not familiar with
the recent developments in the taxonomic literature,
in this paper ‘Assilina’ will be used to indicate nar-
row-spired Paleocene to Middle Eocene foraminifers
and ‘Operculina’ for all wide-spired Paleocene to
Recent forms. Similarly, Baculogypsinoides now be-
longs to the genus Silvestriella. However, to allow
comparison with the palaeoecological charts in liter-
ature, the old name has been maintained as ‘Baculo-
gypsinoides’
2. Building pattern and life style of foraminifers
Foraminifers are marine unicellular or, rather,
acellular protistans with either calcareous skeletons
or with tests consisting of foreign particles agglu-
tinated by cement formed by the organisms them-
selves. In contrast to the so-called smaller foramin-
ifers (simple-type foraminifers), larger foraminifers
exhibit more connections between the interior and
the outside world and they have a more complex
skeletal structure (Drooger, 1993). Their lifespan
is several months to 2–3 years (Zohary et al., 1980;
Röttger, 1984). In perforate foraminifers, the calcare-
ous test contains numerous small openings or pores
as opposed to imperforate or porcellaneous foramin-
ifers without such pores. Calcification in imperforate
and perforate calcareous tests is fundamentally dif-
ferent. In the perforates, calcite is secreted on both
sides of an organic nucleating surface, whereby nec-
essary ions are derived from external and internal
sources. These forms are most abundant where Ca-
carbonate concentration is close to normal oceanic
salinities. In imperforates, the calcite needles used
for test building are produced in the interior of the
animals. The rate of carbonate production seems
to be limited by the ion concentrations in the sur-
rounding sea water and is favoured by conditions
found in warm, normal to hypersaline water. These
forms tolerate and even proliferate in environments
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
with relatively high calcite saturation states, for in-
stance in the shallow backreef. Agglutinated forms
contain but little calcite, a feature which enables
them to live in very low Ca-carbonate concentrations
(Chaproniere, 1975; Drooger, 1993, and references
therein).
Most living, and probably also extinct, larger
foraminifers maintain(ed) a symbiotic relationship
with algae, profiting from the metabolic products of
their symbionts, which gives them a greater indepen-
dence of external food resources (Lee and Ander-
son, 1991). Selected algae, either chlorophyceans,
rhodophyceans, dinophyceans or diatoms, are found
in combination with specific hosts. Because of the
different light preferences of their algae, the fora-
minifers occupy different depth ranges in the photic
zone (Hottinger, 1983; Leutenegger, 1984). The de-
pendence on symbiotic algae explains some general
trends. First, the development of lateral chambers
with thin walls during evolution enhancing pene-
tration of light for the photosynthesis of the algae.
This enabled the foraminifers to expand their habitat
to greater depths. Secondly, the shapes of lenticular
tests become intraspecifically more compressed, flat-
ter, and side walls become thinner in deeper parts of
the habitat (Drooger, 1993, and references therein).
The basic life cycle of the foraminifers has been
described as an alternation of generations: asexually
produced megalospheric forms with a large initial
chamber but generally of small size and sexually
produced microspheric forms with a small initial
chamber but generally of large size. It has been
observed that relative and absolute numbers of mi-
crospheric forms increase with depth and are highest
over an optimum, intermediate, interval of the spe-
cific depth range. Whereas the asexually produced
megalospheric young inherit their symbionts from
their parents, the sexually formed microspheric zy-
gotes have to find and incorporate their own algae.
This is a next to impossible enterprise in zones of
high stress characterizing the margins of the depth
range, such as very shallow or deep water environ-
ments where very high or low light levels inhibit the
photosynthesis of free-living algae. Consequently,
the ratio of megalospheric to microspheric speci-
mens may be used to distinguish marginal from
intermediate parts of the depth range (Leutenegger,
1977; Hottinger, 1982, 1997; Drooger, 1993).
213
In many larger foraminiferal species, the size of
megalospherics and that of their embryos increase
with depth, to decrease again in the deepest part
of the habitat range (Hallock, 1985; Drooger, 1993
and references therein). Increase in size of adult
and embryo is also observed to occur stratigraph-
ically upwards, during periods of submersion (Ar-
naud-Vanneau, 1986) and in evolutionary lineages
(Drooger, 1993). This phenomenon is thought to be
an adaptational response to the high mortality rates
(more than 90%) for very small juveniles. Increased
longevity, thus growing to larger sizes before repro-
duction, and thereby producing more young of larger
size would enhance the chances of survival and the
maintenance of population density. However, delay-
ing reproduction while growing to larger sizes dimin-
ishes the potential for rapid population increase, and
is thus not favoured under unstable, highly variable
environmental conditions. Consequently, large-sized
megalospherics and large embryos are indicative for
optimal stable environmental conditions at the most
favourable parts of the depth range. Rapid matu-
ration and large numbers of offspring with smaller
embryos, and successive asexual generations is ad-
vantageous under stress conditions, that is, under
conditions of environmental instability, for instance
in very shallow water or during colonization of new
ecospaces (Hallock, 1985; Drooger, 1993; Harney et
al., 1998).
It is common usage to classify organisms accord-
ing to their life-history strategies. At one extreme
are the r-mode opportunists which rapidly increase
their population densities usually by early matu-
ration and reproduction, and which proliferate in
nutrient-rich ephemeral or stressed habitats. At the
other extreme are the K-mode biotically competent
species, characterized by long individual life and
low reproduction potential. This life style is most
advantageous in highly stable, oligotrophic environ-
ments where organisms compete by specialization
and habitat partitioning (Vermey, 1980). Larger for-
aminifers are at advantage in oligotrophic environ-
ments by their symbiotic mode of life. They tend
towards the K-mode of strategy. In nutrient-rich (eu-
trophic) waters this advantage disappears. Here, the
smaller r-mode foraminifers proliferate, outcompet-
ing the K-mode specialists (Hottinger, 1982; Hallock
et al., 1991).
214 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
From the above discussion some rules-of-thumb
may be deduced that are pertinent to facies analy-
sis: (1) preponderance of agglutinated forms indi-
cates hyposaline environments; (2) a large number
of porcellaneous imperforates points to somewhat
hypersaline waters; (3) proliferation of perforates
is indicative of normal marine conditions; (4) thin-
walled and flat tests are predominantly found in the
deeper parts of the habitat range of a species; (5)
microspheric individuals are most frequent in inter-
mediate parts of the habitat range; (6) large size
of megalospheric adults and embryos suggest op-
timal oligotrophic stable conditions at the most
favourable parts of the depth range (K-mode strat-
egy); (7) rapid maturation (small size), large numbers
of offspring with smaller megalospheric embryos
and few or no microspheric embryos indicate more
unstable or more nutrient-rich environments (r-mode
strategy).
3. Distribution of Palaeogene foraminifers on
carbonate platforms
In the following, a brief review of the ecology,
and the range, of some important representatives of
Palaeogene genera is given (see Figs. 1 and 2). Their
spatial distribution is largely controlled by their skele-
tal build and life style outlined above. The review
is summarized from Arni (1965), Brasier (1975a,b),
Chaproniere (1975), Röttger (1976), Ghose (1977),
Hottinger (1977, 1983), Frost et al. (1983), Luter-
bacher (1984), Hallock (1985), and from unpublished
field experience from the author.
The order of description is according to range:
group 1–6 is found throughout the Palaeogene; group
7–11 is predominantly Eocene; group 12–13 is re-
stricted to the Late Eocene, and group 14–19 is
predominantly found in the Oligocene. The numbers
correspond to those in Fig. 2. Illustrations and tax-
onomic descriptions can be found in Loeblich and
Tappan (1964, 1988), and Wagner (1964).
(1) Miliolids (Mesozoic–Recent; imperforate,
without symbionts). Representatives of this large
group can be found in a variety of very shallow-
water environments, from subsaline to hypersaline,
but also on the forereef slope. They live preferably in
low-turbulence water where abundant sediment fines
occur. Some are typically r-mode specialists, and the
abundance of miliolids is generally taken as evidence
for restricted lagoonal and=or relatively nutrient-rich
backreef environments.
(2) Rotaliids (Late Cretaceous–Recent; perforate,
symbiont-bearing). Robust, highly ornamented forms
live in very shallow, turbulent water (0–40 m water-
depth) in the shore zone, on lime sands, on reefs and
in interreef regions.
(3) Alveolinids (Middle Cretaceous–Recent; im-
perforate, symbiont-bearing) may live on all kinds of
substrate in relatively shallow water (0–75 m water-
depth). Prolific growth occurs in clear protected areas
in the backreef and in interreefal sands near and below
wave base.
(4) ‘Operculina’ (wide-spired Assilina; C Oper-
culina s. str.; Paleocene–Recent; perforate, symbiont-
bearing) is predominantly a soft-bottom dweller, in
depths of 15–150 m. It lives on the bare bottom, usu-
ally flat on one of its sides.
(5) Nodosaria (Jurassic–Recent; perforate, non-
symbiont-bearing) lives on the open shelf on hard
bottoms with a thin veneer of skeletal sand in water-
depths of 20–150 m. Abundant Nodosaria associated
with planktonic foraminifers indicate a deeper shelf
environment.
(6) Planktonic foraminifers (Cretaceous–Recent)
are indicative of open marine water. Their relative
abundance increases seaward. In absence of coeval
larger foraminifers, waterdepth is assumed to have
been more than 200 m (slope and basin facies).
(7) Orbitolites (latest Paleocene–Late Eocene;
imperforate, probably symbiont-bearing). The closely
related Recent Marginopora proliferates in somewhat
sheltered waters of algal and coral pools on reef flats
and in backreef regions in 0–40 m waterdepth. The
fossil Orbitolites is found mostly in carbonate facies
free of terrigenous mud in well-flushed backreef en-
vironments.
(8) Nummulites s.l. (Paleocene–Recent; perforate,
symbiont-bearing). Size and form are clearly related
to environment, but it is hardly possible to compile
a uniform model for the distribution of Nummulites
from the literature because on the one hand the au-
thors use different terminologies for the facies or put
emphasis on different aspects of the foraminifers (for
instance megalospheric versus microspheric, large
versus small, thick versus thin) and on the other hand
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 215

Fig. 1. Ranges of larger foraminifers for the Palaeogene to Early Miocene (compiled after Beckmann et al., 1981; Cavelier et al., 1981;
Hottinger, 1983, 1997; Cahuzac, 1984; Poignant and Lorenz, 1985; Drooger and Laagland, 1986; Serra-Kiel et al., 1998; time scale after
Berggren et al., 1995). Note the abrupt faunal turnovers near the Middle=Late Eocene and Eocene=Oligocene boundaries.

the conclusions are contradictory (compare Arni,
1965; Aigner, 1983; Luterbacher, 1984). The general
conclusion is, that Nummulites could live in various
environments on the platform, except the very re-
stricted and that they could form banks on swells.
My own impression is that large, flat Nummulites
usually are associated with large, flat ‘Assilina’ and
Discocyclina and proliferated on the seaward side
of the shallow shelf and upper part of the deeper
shelf (50–80 m in waterdepth) and that small and
medium-sized, lens-shape Nummulites lived together
with Alveolina on the platform interior.
(9) Solenomeris (Paleocene–Eocene; perforate,
without symbionts) was an encrusting foraminifer
that could form reefs of more than 10 m in thick-
ness over several kilometers in width (Perrin, 1987).
Solenomeris reefs extended into deeper and more tur-
bid environments than associated coral reefs (Plaziat
and Perrin, 1992). The presence of club-like frag-
ments of Solenomeris in sheltered platform-interior
deposits, very common in the Paleocene–Eocene of
southern Spain, and their fragmented state in tur-
bidites, suggest that main reef growth occurred on
platform-interior shoals and in the backreef.
(10) ‘Assilina’ (narrow-spired Assilina; Late
Paleocene–Middle Eocene; perforate, probably sym-
biont-bearing) is very common in silty to sandy
carbonates and is indicative of normal marine water.
‘Assilina’ could live in various environments on the
platform (in up to 80 m of waterdepth) except the
restricted backreef.
(11) Discocyclina (Late Paleocene–Late Eocene;
perforate, probably symbiont-bearing) is an indicator
of normal marine water. Discocyclina could live in
somewhat deeper water than ‘Assilina’(though less
deep than ‘Operculina’), that is, in up to 100 m
of waterdepth. Discocyclinids can also be found in
near-reef backreef environments, accompanied by
Alveolina and miliolids, though in this case speci-
mens are of small size and rare.
216 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238

Fig. 2. Distribution of foraminifers on an open (A) and on a rimmed (B) shelf. On an open shelf, the separation between inner, middle
and outer shelf associations is diffuse. On a rimmed shelf, imperforate foraminiferal assemblages are more effectively separated from
normal marine, perforate foraminifers (the numbers correspond to those used in the text): 1–6 D foraminifers found throughout the
Palaeogene; 7–11 D foraminifers common in Eocene deposits (‘Assilina’ disappeared at the end of the Middle Eocene); 12–13 D
foraminifers restricted to the Upper Eocene; 14–19 D foraminifers typical in Oligocene assemblages (Heterostegina-18 appeared in the
Late Eocene and is therefore also found in association with 12 and 13; Miogypsina-17 appeared not before the late late Chattian).

(12) ‘Baculogypsinoides’ (Silvestriella) (Late
Eocene; perforate, probably symbiont-bearing) lived
in very shallow, turbulent normal marine water.
(13) Pellatispira (Late Eocene; perforate, prob-
ably symbiont-bearing) was a hard-bottom dweller
and could live to depths of about 130 m.
(14) Praerhapydionina (Oligocene–Aquitanian;
imperforate) was a soft-bottom foraminifer and lived
in very shallow water. It is found in large numbers
in lime-mudstones of the platform interior, asso-
ciated with abundant miliolids, which indicates a
low-energy, sheltered backreef environment
(15) Austrotrillina (Oligocene–Aquitanian; imper-
forate) may be associated with alveolinids, but is most
commonly accompanied by miliolids. They lived un-
der somewhat higher environmental energy compared
with Praerhapydionina, in very shallow water (less
than 30 m in depth) on the platform interior.
(16) Lepidocyclinids (in western Europe late
Early Oligocene–early Burdigalian; perforate, proba-
bly symbiont-bearing) required normal oceanic sali-
nities. They lived behind the reef crest in the rhodo-
lithic pavement, in the near-reef backreef on shoals
with coral thickets and on the reef front between reef
rubble and rhodoliths. Large forms (Eulepidina) pro-
liferated in the deeper part of the shelf, living freely
on the bottom or attached to some object within the
euphotic zone.
(17) Miogypsinids (Late Oligocene–Burdigalian;
perforate, probably symbiont-bearing) lived in shal-
low water (less than 50 m deep) of normal salinity.
Frost et al. (1983) reported the occurrence of Mi-
ogypsina from backreef shoals with coral thickets
or seagrass banks and Miogypsinoides from sandy
skeletal sands co-occurring with miliolids and lepi-
docyclinids. According to Drooger (e.g. 1993) thick-
walled early Miogypsinoides lived in very shallow
water. The onset of lateral chamber growth enabled
Miogypsina to expand the habitat range to deeper
water (up to 50–80 in depth) though they were also
capable to live in very shallow water alongside Mio-
gypsinoides.
(18) Heterostegina (Late Eocene–Recent; perfo-
rate, symbiont-bearing) requires calm water and lives
in sheltered, shaded parts of reef-flat pools at very
shallow depth and in deeper, low-energy environ-
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
ments, attached to a hard substrate or epiphytic, in
depths up to 85 m.
(19) Spiroclypeus (Late Eocene–Aquitanian; per-
forate, probably symbiont-bearing) lived on hard
bottoms to depths of about 130 m.
From the above overview and Fig. 2, it can
be concluded that larger foraminifers are excellent
indicators for subenvironments on carbonate plat-
forms. On an open shelf, where effective barriers
are missing (Fig. 2A), the normal marine shallow
shelf facies is widespread and dominated by perfo-
rate foraminifers (‘Assilina’–Nummulites–Discocy-
clina or Nummulites–Discocyclina–Heterostegina–
Pellatispira–‘Baculogypsinoides’ or Heterostegina–
Lepidocyclina, depending on the age). Though the
transition between inner and outer shallow shelf is dif-
fuse, the end members can easily be recognized. The
inner shelf will be characterized by a substantial ad-
mixture of imperforates (miliolids–alveolinids–Orbi-
tolites or miliolids–alveolinids–Praerhapydionina–
Austrotrillina, depending on the age). The deeper
parts of the outer platform will be indicated by an
increase in flatness and size of the perforate fora-
minifers and a relatively large amount of planktonic
foraminifers, accompanied by Nodosaria. In case of
a rimmed shelf with an effective barrier (Fig. 2B),
the restricted shallow shelf facies, dominated by im-
perforates, is widespread, whereas the normal marine
shallow shelf with perforates now is found in a nar-
row belt. In contrast to the distribution on the open
shelf, the restricted shelf organisms are effectively
separated from the normal marine by the barriers.
Thus, in a given platform section, carbonates can
not only be dated with the aid of larger foraminifers
(Fig. 1), their former position on the platform can
be determined as well (Fig. 2). In other words, if
we observe up-section a gradual shift, for instance
from inner shelf, dominated by imperforates, to outer
shelf, dominated by perforate foraminifers, we see
the reflection of an increase in water depth. The
interpretation of this shift in biofacies in terms of
change in water depth is commonly corroborated
by the upwards increase in size of the foraminifers.
Comparison of the two models of Fig. 2 (A and B)
also illustrates a common pitfall in facies analysis.
Often the superposition of restricted facies on top of
normal marine facies is taken as evidence for a sud-
den drop in sea level. However, the mere installation
217
of an effective barrier near the margin of a platform,
in other words the transition from an open towards a
rimmed platform, will cause this effect and has noth-
ing to do with a lowering of sea level. It may, and
commonly does, happen during sea-level highstand
(see for instance Fig. 8B).
4. Platform deposits
4.1. Facies analysis of Palaeogene carbonate
platform sections of the Alicante region
4.1.1. Setting of the sections, principles and methods
The Alicante region forms the northeasternmost
part of the Betic Cordilleras of southern Spain,
an Early Miocene collisional orogen. Before col-
lision, during the Mesozoic to Palaeogene, the re-
gion was part of the South Iberian passive margin.
Though shallow water carbonates were restricted to
the northern part of the Alicante region during the
Palaeogene (Fig. 3), they did not form one large,
coherent platform all the time, because mild folding
and blockfaulting repeatedly caused the platforms
to change in extent and form (Geel, 1995; Geel
et al., 1998). The erosional and excess products of
the platforms are found in slope sediments (mass
flows, turbidites) in the southern part of the region
(Fig. 3). The platform carbonates of Alicante may
show a clear cyclicity on megascopic scale, such
as alternation of hard and soft lithologies and up-
wards thickening or thinning trends, but often they
are rather monotonously bedded. In both instances,
microfacies analysis based on the rules and mod-
els described in the preceding section revealed a
more detailed picture of shallowing and deepening
trends and, perhaps even more important, of sud-
den changes in environment, which otherwise would
remain obscure.
In Standard Sequence Stratigraphy, relative sea-
level change is the change in vertical distance be-
tween sea level and a reference surface within the
sediment pile of a basin, hence the sum of eustatic
changes, tectonic subsidence or uplift, and com-
paction. Accommodation, created by relative sea-
level rise, is the space available for sediment to
accumulate. Water depth is measured between the
sea surface and sea bed and changes in water depth
218 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238

Fig. 3. Palaeogeography of the Alicante region during the Palaeogene. During this time, the region formed part of the South Iberian
passive margin and carbonate platforms are found in the northern, slope deposits in the southern part of the region. Shown are the
locations of the sections (Onil, Ibi, Penaguila and Relleu) discussed in the text. Note the irregular distribution of the Palaeogene mass
flows and turbidites in the slope area. Based on data from Geel (1995), Geel et al. (1998). Not palinspastic; original distance Ibi–Busot
ca. 30 km.

are a function of relative sea-level change (changes
in accommodation) and change in sediment supply
(Myers and Milton, 1996). Litho- and biofacies anal-
ysis are acknowledged tools in sequence stratigraphy
(e.g. Sarg, 1988; Brett, 1995; Sturrock, 1996); they
record, however, the change in conditions at the sea
bed, hence the changes in water depth. Therefore,
deepening and shallowing at a given point, and by
inference (Walther’s law) retrogradation and progra-
dation of facies belts, reflect the balance between
accommodation and sediment supply, not the ef-
fect of relative sea-level change alone (Tucker and
Wright, 1990; Schlager, 1993). Unless the reference
surface is at zero water depth, that is, unless there is
evidence of subaerial exposure of marine sediments,
relative sea-level changes remain just as elusive as
eustatic sea-level changes.
As will be shown below, many sequence bound-
aries in the south-Spanish Palaeogene platform de-
posits show signs of subaerial exposure, hence they
may be viewed confidently as accommodation cy-
cles. In the description of the sections, therefore,
deepening trends are considered Transgressive Sys-
tems Tracts (TST), shallowing trends are held to be
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 219

Highstand Systems Tracts (HST); the change from
deepening towards shallowing is interpreted as max-
imum flooding surfaces (mfs). The sudden superpo-
sition of transgressive beds upon prograding ones is
thought to represent a Sequence Boundary (SB). The
Lowstand Systems Tract is absent in the platform
sections, subaerial exposure during lowstand is sug-
gested by karstic surfaces, evidence of palaeosoils
and=or erosional truncations.
In the following paragraphs, the platform sections
of Onil, Ibi and Penaguila will be discussed (for
location, see Fig. 3). The Onil section is measured in
a small, isolated fault block; its cycles can only be
followed laterally over a short distance. The cycles
of the Ibi section, in contrast, form distinctive bands
on aerial photographs (Fig. 4) which can be traced
over at least 5 km. In the Penaguila area (Fig. 5),
the systems tracts could even be used as mappable
units to discern tectonic deformation. Consequently,
there is rather good control on lateral continuity
(parallel to palaeoshore) in Ibi, and some insight in
part of the shore-to-basin configuration in Penaguila.
Due to alpine folding and faulting, however, a com-
plete, undisturbed shore-to-basin cross-section of the
platforms is no longer in existence. Lateral facies
changes, from shore to slope, were reconstructed by
correlation of many sections of which Onil, Ibi and
Penaguila were chosen to demonstrate the applica-
bility of microfacies analysis (for a full account of
the tectono-sedimentary setting of the sections and
the Palaeogene history of the Alicante region, with
age data, faunal lists, correlation of sections etc., see
Geel, 1995; Geel et al., 1998).
During the Eocene, Onil and Ibi were located on
the middle to inner shelf, whereas Penaguila shifted
from deep shelf towards reefal environments. During
the Oligocene, Ibi shows backreef characteristics.
The order of the following description is not topo-

Fig. 4. Sketch map after aerial photograph of the area directly north of Ibi. Shown is the traverse of the Ibi section discussed in the text.
Eocene and Oligocene cycles form distinct bands that can be followed over several km. Note the lateral pinch-out of the ‘LPW’ at the
base of E4, the fan structures within O3 and O4, and the truncation=onlap at the base of E4, E6 and O4. Cycle O5 can not be studied in
the section.
220 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238

Fig. 5. Sketch map after aerial photograph of the core of the anticlinal structure SW of Penaguila. The stack of upper Middle
Eocene (TST1=HST1), lower Upper Eocene (TST2=HST2), and upper Upper Eocene (TST3) sequences is folded, faulted and tilted
during Oligocene tectonic events and onlapped by Upper Oligocene and Lower Mocene sediments. The present anticlinal structure and
southeastern boundary faults are the result of younger Miocene deformation. Note the southwestward downlap in HST2 (after data from
Geel, 1995).

graphically nor chronologically arranged, but is from
overall more landward to overall more seaward.
4.1.2. Eocene part of the Ibi section; Onil section
(Fig. 6)
Near Ibi, Eocene and Oligocene platform car-
bonates are exposed in a gully north of the village
(Fig. 4). The Oligocene deposits will be described
below. Though the Eocene part of the section shows
an overall shallowing upwards trend, from middle to
inner shallow shelf, eight cycles could be recognized
(E1–E8), separated by sequence boundaries. Some
10 km to the west, a succession of Lower to Middle
Eocene carbonates can be studied directly northeast
of Onil, similarly showing an overall shallowing up-
ward trend, from outer to middle shelf marls towards
inner shallow platform carbonates. Near Onil, eight
cycles (1–8) could be distinguished (Fig. 6).
Cycles Onil 1–5 and Ibi E1 show the same de-
velopment. They start with yellow marls and=or
brown skeletal packstones, sometimes with hum-
mocky cross-stratification, containing a rich assem-
blage of normal marine shallow shelf perforate
foraminifers (medium-sized Nummulites–‘Assilina’–
Discocyclina) and, near the base of E1, also Alve-
olina. The latter disappears up-section. The upper
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 221

Fig. 6. Sequence-stratigraphical interpretation of the Eocene platform-interior sections of Ibi and Onil (for location, see Fig. 3). Sequence
boundaries (SB) are marked by erosional unconformities, karstic surfaces, or dolomitization, or by abrupt lithological and faunal changes.
In Onil and Ibi E1, Transgressive Systems Tracts (TST) show dominance of normal marine perforate foraminifers, Highstand Systems
Tracts (HST) an up-section increase of imperforates; the faunal change across the maximum flooding surface (mfs) is gradual. In Ibi
E2–E8, the change across the mfs is abrupt. Graduality or abruptness is due to, respectively, absence or presence of effective barriers (the
legend shows also lithologies of Fig. 7).

part of the cycles is composed of light-coloured
massive packstones in which, from bottom to top,
the amount of Discocyclina and ‘Assilina’ decreases,
whereas that of the imperforate alveolinids increases
and near the top some miliolids appear. The top
of the cycles is either dolomitized or karstic. Thus,
within each cycle we observe in the basal part a pre-
dominance of an outer to middle shallow shelf com-
munity of perforates, and in the upper part a gradual
shift from a perforate-dominated fauna towards an
imperforate (Alveolina)-dominated one of the middle
to inner shallow shelf. The lower part is interpreted
as a TST, the upper part as a HST. The graduality of
the change in fauna and the co-occurrence of normal
marine perforates and platform-interior imperforates
suggests that there was no effective barrier present,
during transgression nor highstand, to separate the
platform interior from the outer shallow shelf.
222 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
The lower parts of cycles Ibi E2–E3 and Onil
6 show the same picture as those of the above-
described cycles. However, the boundary between
the lower and upper part is now marked by a
sharp, sudden change in foraminiferal assemblage
and lithology: the brown skeletal lime sands with a
predominance of perforates is substituted by massive
grey packstones to grainstones containing abundant
alveolinids and miliolids. The tops are either formed
by karstic breccias or quartz-rich beds. Again, the
lower parts are interpreted as TST, the upper parts
as HST. There is a marked difference between the
faunal patterns of Onil 1–5, Ibi E1 and Onil 6, Ibi
E2–E3: whereas during the former the faunal as-
semblages suggest that there was no effective barrier
present, the sharp boundary and change in fauna at
the TST=HST transition (mfs) of the latter indicate
that the highstand tract involved the development of
a barrier separating a restricted from a normal ma-
rine shallow platform. Thus, whereas Onil 1–5, Ibi
E1 are of the type TST-open=HST-open, Onil 6, Ibi
E2–E3 are of the type TST-open=HST-rimmed. It is
to be noted that the HST of several cycles show a
secondary cyclicity (parasequences). For instance, in
Onil 4 and 5, the overall shallowing upward trend is
interrupted by the recurrence of ‘Assilina’-rich marly
beds; in Ibi E2, dolomites alternate with limestones
(for discussion, see Section 4.2.1).
Cycles Ibi E4 and E5 were deposited under very
extreme conditions. The genesis of the large body
of stacked channels at the base of E4 is connected
with an important block-faulting phase in the mid-
dle Middle Eocene (Geel et al., 1998); it does not
represent a true Lowstand Prograding Wedge in a
sequence stratigraphical sense. The TST in both E4
and E5 is formed by miliolid grainstones, the HST by
dolomites and pebbly calcarenites containing plant
remains, brackish-water bivalves and Chara. The
very nature of these cycles suggests that they formed
on a rimmed shelf.
Though cycles Ibi E6 and E7 show less restriction,
their interpretation is less clear, due to the fact that
Alveolina and ‘Assilina’ both became extinct near the
Middle=Late Eocene boundary. The cycles are prob-
ably of the type TST-open=HST rimmed. The very
thin topmost ‘cycle’ of Ibi, E8, is an abortive one
of fossiliferous limestones on top of a hardground.
The interpretation of the two topmost cycles of Onil
(7 and 8) is rendered difficult due to an up-section
increase in recrystallization and dolomitization, but
still a shift from normal marine to more restricted as-
sociations can be detected stratigraphically upwards.
4.1.3. Oligocene part of the Ibi section (Fig. 7)
During the Oligocene, the location of the Ibi
section was situated in the backreef, predominantly
directly behind barrier-forming coral reefs. The Up-
per Oligocene is missing due to uplift and erosion
(Geel, 1995). Four cycles (O1 to O4) could be distin-
guished. Cycle O1 starts with barren marls overlain
by well-bedded light-coloured wacke- to packstones
containing marly intercalations near the base. The
limestones contain a rich miliolid fauna associated
with the imperforate Praerhapydionina in the first
few metres. The cycle is considered to represent only
HST, the maximum flooding surface coinciding with
the transgressive surface, deposited on a middle to
inner restricted shallow shelf (Fig. 7).
The lower part of cycle O2 consists of a
thinning-upwards series of well- bedded miliolid–
Praerhapydionina packstones to grainstones. In the
upper part, the first (sparse) coral debris is noticed.
The upper part of O2 is composed of a thicken-
ing-up series of miliolid packstones to grainstones
with intercalations of coral rubble beds. The top
bed contains small patches of corals in position of
growth and is covered by a crust of Microcodium
(a palaeosoil of radiating ‘dirty’ calcite prisms pro-
duced by mycorrhizal associations). The lower part
is considered a TST on the middle restricted shal-
low shelf, the upper part is interpreted as a HST
deposited in a backreef environment.
The basal 20 m of cycle O3 consist of massive
light-coloured grainstones with, in the lower half,
dominance of small-sized lepidocyclinids and mili-
olids, accompanied by some coral debris. This asso-
ciation of r-mode opportunists is typical for coloniza-
tion of a new, more mesotrophic ecospace. The upper
half shows dominance of coral debris stabilized by
encrusting coralline algae. The lower 20 m of cycle
O3 are interpreted as a TST. The presence of sparse
coral debris in the otherwise more mesotrophic basal
beds indicate that incipient reef growth started soon
after flooding of the platform, immediately followed
by buildup of effective barriers in view of the next
beds showing a near-reef backreef facies. The upper
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 223

Fig. 7. Sequence-stratigraphical interpretation of the Oligocene backreef section of Ibi and the Eocene deep shelf to reefal section of
Penaguila (for location, see Fig. 3; for legend, Fig. 6). In Ibi, sequence boundaries are marked by erosional unconformities or palaeosoil
(Microcodium). During O1 and O2, the site of Ibi was at some distance from the barrier reef, though the Highstand Systems Tract (HST)
of O2 bears witness of important nearby reef growth. O3 and O4 are in the near-reef backreef; the basal beds of the Transgressive
Systems Tract (TST) contain an r-selected association of small lepidocyclinids and miliolids. The Highstand Systems Tracts (HST) show
several pseudo-sequence boundaries: ephemeral islands of washover fans covered by palaeosoil (Microcodium). The sequence boundaries
(SB) in Penaguila are marked by out-of-sequence facies changes caused by blockfaulting-induced platform reorganizations. The first
cycle shows a TST composed of a series of upwards-deepening, deep-shelf parasequences and a HST with an upwards-shallowing facies
(to outer shelf) containing a high amount of platform-interior components (Solenomeris). In the second cycle, ‘Assilina’ is substituted by
Heterostegina (last, respectively first appearance datum of these foraminifers is near the Middle=Late Eocene boundary). TST is formed
by upwards-deepening outer shelf beds (up-section increase of planktonics), HST by prograding coralgal reefs.

75 m of cycle O3 consists of a series of overlapping
washover fans in which grainstones rich in imper-
forates (miliolids–Praerhapydionina–Austrotrillina)
alternate with coral rubble beds. The occurrence of
Microcodium on top of the fans suggests that they
formed islands in the backreef. If one walks along
the section in the gully, these Microcodium layers
may easily be mistaken for sequence boundaries, but
in plan view (on aerial photographs), the supposed
sequences appear to be fan shaped (Fig. 4).
224 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
The uppermost cycle (O4) is lithologically diffi-
cult to distinguish from the top of cycle O3. The plan
view, however, shows that the O3=4 boundary is a
truncation surface that can be followed along strike
over a considerable distance (Fig. 4). The microfa-
cies of O4 follows largely the same pattern as that
of O3, with the exception that the top beds contain a
large amount of robust rotaliids. All cycles (O1–O4)
are of the TST-rimmed=HST-rimmed type.
The Oligocene part of the Ibi section shows that
recognition of sequence boundaries in a near-reef
backreef environment may be very difficult, because
washover fan boundaries can easily be mistaken for
sequence boundaries.
4.1.4. Penaguila section (Fig. 7)
A thick succession of upper Middle to Upper
Eocene limestones near the village of Penaguila (for
location, see Fig. 3; for detailed map, see Fig. 5) is
chosen to serve as example for sequence develop-
ment on the deep shelf and outer shallow platform.
Three cycles (1 to 3) could be determined. The lower
part of cycle 1 consists of a series of thinning-up
packages (parasequences) of light-coloured pellet
packstones containing planktonic foraminifers, No-
dosaria, and, in the thicker beds at the base of each
thinning-up package, also Discocyclina. This part of
cycle 1 is interpreted as a TST deposited on the
deep shelf. The upper part of cycle 1, interpreted
as a HST, is composed of medium- to thick-bed-
ded brown bioclastic packstones with a sudden high
percentage of Solenomeris fragments, an upwards in-
creasing amount of large Discocyclina and ‘Assilina’
and decreasing percentage of planktonic foramini-
fers. Thus, due to progradation and downward shift
of facies, the environment at the site of the Penaguila
section adopted that of the deeper part of the shallow
shelf. The high amount of Solenomeris suggests high
production in more shallow parts of the platform and
shedding of excess material.
The basal 30 m of cycle 2 are formed by yellow-
ish-brown, very thick-bedded to massive packstones
with abundant perforate foraminifers: large Discocy-
clina and Nummulites accompanied by Heterostegina
and (near the top) ‘Baculogypsinoides’. The appear-
ance of the latter two foraminifers and disappearance
of ‘Assilina’ at the boundary of cycles 1 and 2 is
not caused by an environmental factor but conforms
to a biostratigraphic datum plane (FA of Heteroste-
gina and ‘Baculogypsinoides’, LA of ‘Assilina’ near
the Middle=Late Eocene boundary). Considering the
fact that the foraminifers are fragmented near the
base and planktonic foraminifers show up in the top,
this unit is interpreted as a TST on a normal marine
shallow shelf. It may seem peculiar that the TST of
cycle 2 is deposited in a shallower environment than
the HST of the foregoing cycle 1. However, this shift
in facies is due to a reorganization of the platforms
near the end of the Middle Eocene induced by block
faulting (Geel et al., 1998; see also Section 6). The
upper part of cycle 2 starts with laterally (palaeo-
geographically seaward) thinning and disappearing
(Fig. 5) massive Discocyclina packstones containing
Cretaceous limestone clasts, a large amount of juve-
nile Nummulites with a large embryo, and in the top,
coral fragments and some miliolids. The very top is
formed by coralline algal boundstones. This package
is thought to represent a progradational unit of an
HST. The large amount of juvenile Nummulites sug-
gests that they were swept outside their habitat into
water too deep for their survival. The remainder of
cycle 2 consists of well-bedded pebbly (Cretaceous
limeclasts) packstones with a high amount of rotali-
ids and an upwards diminishing number of Num-
mulites and Discocylina. Halfway appear coralgal
buildups interfingering with miliolid–rotaliid lime-
stones. The top shows a thickening-up bedding pat-
tern and consists of packstones and grainstones with
exclusively rotaliids and some coral debris. The unit
of pebbly rotaliid limestones with coralgal reefs
is considered to represent a highstand prograding
barrier with fore-reef, reef and interreef subenvi-
ronments. The sudden deepening (to deep shelf)
observed at the base of cycle 3 is due to tectonic
platform collapse in the Late Eocene (Geel, 1995;
Geel et al., 1998; see also Section 6).
4.2. Empirical platform models; inferences
On the basis of the analysis of the Palaeogene
platform successions of Alicante, empirical models
for platform accommodation cycles were designed
(Fig. 8). Mainly the geometry, facies and faunal con-
tent of the cycles recognized in the sections of Onil,
Ibi and Penaguila were used for the reconstruction
(columns in Fig. 8; see foregoing paragraphs and
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 225

Fig. 8. Empirical models of platform cycles and their subdivisions, the systems tracts, based on the analysis of Palaeogene deposits in
the Alicante region (foreshortened and not to scale). (A) Ramp model, typical for Lower Eocene cycles. Effective barriers absent. On the
inner and middle shelf gradual but asymmetric along the maximum flooding surface (mfs), abrupt and asymmetric around the sequence
boundary (SB). On the outer shelf abrupt and asymmetric along mfs, gradual and symmetric around SB. (B) Ramp-rimmed model,
characteristic for Middle–Upper Eocene cycles. On the entire platform abrupt and asymmetric around mfs and SB. (C) Rimmed model,
representative for Oligocene cycles. On the inner and middle platform gradual but asymmetric along mfs, abrupt and asymmetric around
SB. On the outer shelf abrupt and asymmetric along both mfs and SB. Note the indications for cooler conditions during the Oligocene:
absence of dolomitization, presence or r-opportunists at the base of TST.

Figs. 6 and 7), with additional data for the outer
shallow platform of Fig. 8B from the Penaguila plat-
form outside the section proper. The model for the
platform edge of Fig. 8C is based on observations
in the Carrasqueta range southeast of Ibi (see map,
Fig. 3). The reef tract itself can no longer be studied
because the reefs are buried below a mid-Miocene
strike-slip graben fill (Geel, 1995).
Fig. 8A shows the expected lithologic develop-
ment and distribution of foraminifers in systems tracts
on an open shelf from more landward (left) to more
seaward (right). This kind of cycle (TST-open=HST-
open or ramp model) is predominantly found in the
Lower Eocene. Fig. 8B shows the predicted lithol-
ogy and fauna of the TST-open=HST-rimmed cy-
cle (ramp-rimmed model), a type characteristically
encountered in the Middle and Upper Eocene. The
third category, TST-rimmed=HST-rimmed (rimmed
model), is depicted in Fig. 8C. This variety is rep-
resentative for Oligocene developments.
4.2.1. Explanation of the models; discussion
Ramp model. In the ramp model (Fig. 8A), trans-
gression was rapid, due to low carbonate produc-
226 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
tivity, and a rather uniform facies, dominated by
perforates, spread over the entire platform (over-
shooting). Only in the most landward side, the basal
beds contain some imperforates. The presence of
hummocky cross-stratification far landward indicates
that the ramp was over a wide area under the influ-
ence of storm-wave action. The TST is progressively
base-cut-off landward when the mfs is used as time
marker. During early highstand, when accommoda-
tion space was still increasing, albeit more slowly,
the facies belts on the platform interior shifted sea-
ward, but during late highstand, progradation slowed
down to nil. Hence, the miliolid-dominated facies
is absent on top of the imperforate-rich beds of the
middle shelf and the imperforate-dominated belt did
not reach the outer shelf. During highstand, parase-
quences could develop (Fig. 6, Onil 4 and 5; not
indicated on Fig. 8A). These secondary shallowing
upward cycles may be either tectonically induced, for
instance by sudden increase in rate of subsidence, or
of autocyclical origin, caused by temporarily dimin-
ished production on shoals in the outer shelf area or
by their erosive lowering.
The TST of the ramp model of Fig. 8A shows all
the characteristics of the transgressive leg described
in the literature: retrogradational parasequences, an
overall deepening upward bathymetric signature in
the fossil assemblages, the rapid superposition of
distal biofaces upon proximal ones induced by re-
duced carbonate productivity (Sarg, 1988; Brett,
1995; Emery, 1996; Sturrock, 1996). There are no di-
rect analogues in the literature for the facies patterns
in the regressive leg of Fig. 8A. Described ramp
systems concern mainly Palaeozoic and Mesozoic
deposits with an oolitic shallow ramp facies (review
in Tucker and Wright, 1990). The general conclusion
is that during early highstand slightly prograding
supratidal and lagoonal deposits may accumulate as
topsets, but that little or no topset deposition will oc-
cur during late highstand. At this stage, a strandplain
facies of oolitic sands will be found on the margin of
the shallow ramp with up-ramp subaerial exposure
(Emery, 1996). Our Eocene model presents a further
example of this trend, with skeletal (foraminiferal)
sands instead of oolitic ones.
Ramp to rimmed model. In this model (Fig. 8B),
the transgressive part of the cycle is identical to that
of model A. During early highstand, when increase
in accommodation space lessened, small laterally
coalescing coralgal knoll reefs, with otherwise low
growth potential, were able to keep up with relative
sea-level rise. This likely occurred on the productive
outer shelf, where skeletal sands were stabilized by
encrusting algae. Landward of the barrier, a slightly
restricted lagoon became established over the entire
width of the shelf, characterized by proliferation of
imperforate foraminifers and miliolids. Seaward, a
narrow margin was dominated by perforates. During
later phases of highstand, the knoll reefs prograded
seaward and the lagoonal waters became inimical
to K-mode foraminifers as is suggested by their ab-
sence and the abundance of r-strategic miliolids. This
was either due to nutrificaton or to hypersaline con-
ditions. Given the dolomitization and the occurrence
of minor quantities of gypsum at the top of Ibi E4,
the latter possibility is the more likely one. During
late highstand, further reef growth became smoth-
ered by rotaliid blanket sands. On the inner shelf,
limestones with imperforates and miliolids may al-
ternate with thick, massive beds of dolomite. These
couplets may be interpreted as parasequences, the
more so as some of the stacked knoll reefs show
signs of subaerial exposure. This may be explained
by an interplay of productivity and available accom-
modation space (autocyclical) or by change in rate of
subsidence.
Ramps are often seen to develop into rimmed
shelfs as the differential build-up potentials of the
more productive margin outpaces that of adjacent fa-
cies (Emery, 1996); the development of reefs seems
particularly characteristic of the transition from the
TST to early HST (Buchbinder et al., 1993; Brett,
1995). During late highstand, the rimmed shelf
(Fig. 8B) conforms the offlap type of rimmed shelf,
where the whole shelf was close to sea level with
poor to non-existent connection with the open ocean,
leading to a hypersaline lagoon with evaporitic con-
ditions and exposures (cf. Tucker and Wright, 1990).
Rimmed model. There is no evidence for the
presence of r-opportunists, indicative of more nu-
trient-rich or more restricted waters, at the start of
the transgressions in Eocene sequences (models A
and B). In contrast, the Oligocene platform cycles
(model Fig. 8C) commence on the platform interior
with beds rich in miliolids and small-sized lepido-
cyclinids, implying rapid maturation, and corallines.
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
Though coral reefs became established early during
transgression, the high rate of increase in accommo-
dation space forced the reefs to backstep, because,
being still in the start-up phase, they could not
keep up with relative sea-level rise. During the early
phases of highstand, the reef tracts were more or
less stationary and the shelf margin only slightly
prograded, as can be deduced from sections in the
back and forereef. Restricted lagoonal facies was
widespread and dominated by miliolids. Steepening
of the fore-reef area, when the platform margin was
predominantly aggrading, caused overloading and
slumping of the flank debris at a later phase of high-
stand. At late highstand, when carbonate productiv-
ity exceeded the rate of creation of accommodation
space, at first a rubble-flat facies (rhodolithic and en-
crusting coralline algae and coral debris) spread over
the platform top, followed by deposition of rotaliid
blanket sands and downstepping of patch reefs onto
the reef-flank deposits.
In the rimmed model, the shelf margin can be
described as an onlap margin during TST, as a sta-
tionary margin during HST, respectively in catch-up
and keep-up modes, reflecting the balance between
rate of relative sea-level rise and carbonate produc-
tivity (cf. Sarg, 1988; Tucker and Wright, 1990).
As pointed out by Pomar and Ward (1995), there is
a close relationship between sea-level change, car-
bonate productivity and accommodation in absence
of tectonic subsidence. The architecture of Miocene
reefs in Mallorca shows that the reef margin ag-
graded during sea-level rise and prograded during
sea-level stillstand and fall. A backstepping TST
is absent, because of high carbonate productivity
during sea-level rise. This suggests that tectonic sub-
sidence was an important factor in producing the
south-Spanish Oligocene cycles, where backstepping
is characteristic for the TST and aggrading for the
HST. They are comparable to the Oligocene reef cy-
cles of Puerto Rico, where changes in rate of subsi-
dence or uplift affected the constructional capability
of the biota (Frost et al., 1983).
4.2.2. Symmetry=graduality of sequences
According to the classical systems tract mod-
els (e.g. Posamentier et al., 1992), shifts in facies
patterns in 3rd-order cycles are pronouncedly asym-
metric around the sequence boundaries and bounded
227
by unconformities, whereas a high degree of symme-
try and graduality is found along the mfs. However,
a number of studies show gradational changes and
symmetrical facies shifts around the SB (discussion
in Schlager, 1993). The empirical platform model of
Fig. 8A (ramp model) shows on the inner and middle
shelf a marked asymmetry, lithological and faunal,
along the maximum flooding surface (mfs) and se-
quence boundary (SB). A high degree of graduality
is found along the mfs. On the outer shelf, the cycles
are asymmetric and abrupt along the mfs, and, but
for indications of exposure, gradual and symmetric
around the SB. In the ramp-rimmed model (Fig. 8B),
cycles show abrupt changes and asymmetric patterns
along both mfs and SB over the entire platform. In
model Fig. 8C (rimmed model), the facies patterns
along the mfs are asymmetric but gradual on the
inner shelf, more or less gradual and asymmetric on
the middle shelf, and abrupt and asymmetric on the
outer shelf. Around the SB, patterns are abrupt and
asymmetric over the entire shelf.
In summary: in all instances, cycles on the plat-
form interior tend to be asymmetric around both the
mfs and SB. Cycle stacking here consists of suc-
cessive HST’s separated by unconformities and but
thin TST’s. A high degree of graduality is found
on the platform interior along the mfs in both the
ramp and rimmed models (A and C). Graduality and
symmetry of shifting facies belts around the SB is
to be expected on the seaward side of ramps (model
A), especially during low-amplitude oscillations of
relative sea level.
4.2.3. Evolution of the platforms in time
The Palaeogene deposits of the Alicante region
show an evolution in time in platform develop-
ment connected with the reef-building potential of
hermatypic corals. There is no evidence for bar-
rier-building hermatypic coral growth in the Lower
Eocene. The first, small, knoll reefs appear in the
Middle Eocene whereas real barrier reefs came into
being in the Oligocene. This evolution is not a pe-
culiarity of the Alicante platforms, it is a worldwide
phenomenon. Primarily due to the evolutionary ra-
diation in the latest Eocene–earliest Oligocene of
cosmopolitan reef-building coral assemblages, with
high diversity, abundance and growth luxuriance,
the Oligocene marked the zenith of worldwide Ter-
228 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238

tiary reef-building (Cavelier et al., 1981; Frost et

al., 1983). From the Palaeogene deposits of Alicante
it can also be concluded that climate in southern
Spain was cooler during the Oligocene than dur-
ing the Eocene: (a) dolomitization of inner shelf
deposits is common in Eocene cycles, absent in
Oligocene ones; (b) Microcodium is much more
common in Oligocene deposits; and (c) mesotrophic
conditions at the start of transgressions, suggested by
the presence of r-opportunists, are only observed in
Oligocene deposits. Again, this is not a local but a
global phenomenon, as will be discussed below (see
Section 6).

5. Slope and submarine fan deposits

Unlike platform deposits where a long-standing

record of stacked cycles often can be studied in one
section, slope and submarine fan deposits are more
irregularly dispersed because by-passing and lateral
migration or abandonment of channels is common.
Even lowstand and highstand turbidites of the same
cycle will seldom be superposed in one locality (cf.
Mutti, 1985). Fig. 3, showing the irregular distri-
bution of Palaeogene mass flows and turbidites in
the Alicante region, illustrates this general statement.
However, an exception presents itself in the rather
unique section northwest of Relleu (Fig. 9), where
several Upper Eocene to Upper Oligocene slope fans
are found superposed. The Relleu section may serve
as a test case to verify possible criteria to distinguish
subsequent fan phases.

5.1. Criteria

Though in carbonate systems exposure of the
shelf during lowstand will result more typically in
karstification or dolomitization, collapse of the ex-
posed platform margin may give rise to deposition of
mass flows and turbidites in slope fans (LSF; Hunt
and Tucker, 1992). These debris will be character-
ized by lithoclasts and reworked foraminifers from
preceding platform phases.
During late lowstand and subsequent slow rise
in sea-level, accommodation may be generated on
the upper slope–outermost platform, especially on
low-angle slopes. A volumetrically significant shal-
Fig. 9. Sequence-stratigraphical interpretation of the Palaeogene
slope section of Relleu (for location, see Fig. 3). Lowstand fans
(LSF) are characterized by reworked platform clasts and fora-
minifers, highstand deposits (HST) by coeval platform-interior
and platform-rim components. Turbidites on top of LSF in cycle
6 represent either the tail of a late lowstand prograding wedge
(PW) or result from high carbonate production during transgres-
sion (TST). Each sequence boundary (SB) represents a period of
platform build-up and erosion.
low water carbonate platform may develop in this
stage (lowstand prograding or autochthonous wedge,
LPW; Sarg, 1988; Hunt and Tucker, 1992). Progra-
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
dational turbidites will be characterized by loose
perforate (outer platform) foraminifers.
During the ensuing more rapid rise of sea-level,
the LPW will be drowned with subsequent platform
build-up and establishment of the TST. High car-
bonate productivity on the shelf margin during TST
may generate turbidity currents (Driscoll et al., 1991;
Purdy in Emery, 1996). The resultant turbidites will,
again, be characterized by coeval loose perforates.
Consequently, in a given section it may not be pos-
sible to distinguish LPW- from TST-turbidites on
composition alone.
During highstand progradation, oversteepening of
steep shelf margins will result in slumping and depo-
sition of slumped masses, mass flows and turbidites
typified by a mixture of coeval outer platform per-
forates, platform margin components and platform-
interior biotas. Progradational highstand turbidites
on more low-angle slopes carry the late highstand
excess of platform-interior production mixed with
outer platform biotas (Haak and Schlager, 1989; Ev-
erts, 1991; Reijmer, 1991 and references therein;
Purdy in Emery, 1996).
5.2. The Relleu section as test case
Everts (1991) was the first to interpret the com-
positional variation in the turbidites of the basal
(Eocene) part of the Relleu section in relation to plat-
form stratigraphy. Unfortunately, he seems to have
overlooked the presence of reworked components in
some levels and concluded that all Eocene calcitur-
bidites were the result of highstand shedding, though
his point-count plot shows a clear tripartite division.
By his observation, however true for the Relleu sec-
tion, that the volume of tubidite-input decreased dur-
ing relative sea-level fall at the Eocene=Oligocene
boundary, thus emphasizing the importance of high-
stand shedding in carbonate systems, he regrettably
ignored the existence of important volumes of Lower
Oligocene mass flows and turbidites more downslope
(east of Busot, Fig. 3).
In the Upper Eocene of the Relleu section, three
cycles (1–3) occur (Fig. 9; see also Everts, 1991,
figs. 5 and 8). Cycle 1 and the upper parts of 2 and
3 consist of even-bedded, platy turbidites containing
Upper Eocene outer shallow shelf perforate fora-
minifers (Spiroclypeus, Heterostegina, Discocyclina,
229
‘Baculogypsinoides’) associated with platform-inte-
rior miliolids and fragments of Solenomeris, plus
small Cretaceous limeclasts. The basal part of cy-
cle 2 is massive-bedded, shows giant flute casts at
its base and carries a mixture of reworked perforate
and imperforate larger foraminifers (‘Assilina’, Alve-
olina) and fragments of palaeosoil (Microcodium).
The basal part of cycle 3 is erosive and contains
reworked platform clasts and platform-interior im-
perforates (Alveolina). Cycle 1 and the upper parts
of 2 and 3 are held to be highstand turbidites (HST),
the basal parts of 2 and 3 are considered lowstand
wedges (LSF). The lowstand wedge of cycle 1 obvi-
ously bypassed the site of the Relleu section.
The Lower Oligocene is represented by one cy-
cle (4 in Fig. 9). Its erosive basal part is formed
by a mass flow with clasts of Eocene inner and
outer shallow shelf, capped by a turbidite carrying
an Upper Eocene outer shelf foraminiferal assem-
blage (‘Baculogypsinoides’, Nummulites, Heteroste-
gina, Pellatispira) and miliolids. The turbidite inter-
calated in the marls up-section yielded the same fo-
raminiferal association. The marls contain a mixture
of reworked Eocene and coeval (P19=P20) Lower
Oligocene planktonic foraminifers. The entire cycle
4 is considered a lowstand wedge (LSF). Equiva-
lent highstand deposits are apparently absent in this
section.
In the Middle Oligocene part of the section, three
cycles can be distinguished (5, 6 and 7 in Fig. 9). Cy-
cle 5 consists of irregular bedded, channeling mass
flows capped by turbidites, and marly interbeds. The
mass flows contain loose Eocene outer platform per-
forates, miliolids, clasts of Upper Eocene and Lower
Oligocene lagoonal facies with coral debris (seaward
side of the platform interior), and clasts of Eocene
outer platform facies. Cycle 5 is viewed as a low-
stand wedge (LSF). Again, the equivalent highstand
phase is missing.
The basal part of cycle 6 is reminiscent of cy-
cle 5, but in addition to Eocene and Lower Oligocene
clasts, the mass flows now also contain clasts of
a mid-Oligocene outer platform (Eulepidina associ-
ated with planktonic foraminifers), the associated tur-
bidites a mixture of Eocene and mid-Oligocene outer
platform perforates (Nummulites, Discocyclina, Eule-
pidina and microspheric lepidocyclinids). The mass
flows–turbidites (a lowstand wedge, LSF) are suc-
230 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 231

ceeded by a package of alternating marls and platy
turbidites with a mid-Oligocene outer shallow plat-
form fauna (Eulepidina), either LPW or TST. Af-
ter an interval of slumped marls and lime-mudstones
(with a P21 microfauna), the top of the cycle is con-
stituted by mass flows consisting solely of rhodolithic
balls, and slumped turbidites. The turbidites contain,
besides mid-Oligocene outer shelf perforates, also a
considerable amount of miliolids and robust rotali-
ids. The latter sediments may be viewed as highstand
deposits.
Except for a TST=LPW tract, the pattern of cycle
7 repeats that of cycle 6: the lower part is formed by
a lowstand wedge (LSF) with reworking of Eocene
to mid-Oligocene platform clasts and a mixture of
Eocene and mid-Oligocene perforate foraminifers,
the uppermost part by turbidites with mid-Oligocene
outer shelf foraminifers with an admixture of mili-
olids and coral fragments (HST).
Of the Upper Oligocene (P22) cycle 8, only the
lower part can be studied. The base (LSF) is formed
by a prominent coarse turbidite containing reworked
platform clasts of uncertain age, reworked Upper
Eocene perforates and age-consistent outer shelf for-
aminifers (Eulepidina, Miogypsinoides). The basal
turbidite is followed by very fine-grained limestones
(platform-derived fines) with gravity-induced pull-
aparts. The interpretation of the remainder of the
section is hampered by lack of continuous outcrops
and the presence of faults.
The up-section changing composition of the mass
flows and turbidites of the lowstand wedges bear wit-
ness to repeated platform build-up and subsequent
erosion. Given the composition of the clasts and the
direction of supply, the Oligocene mass flows were
derived from the platform due north of the Relleu
section, i.e. the Penaguila–Aitana platform (Fig. 3).
They generally comprise, besides lithified fragments
of the next-older platform, also clasts of preceding
platforms. For instance, a middle Oligocene mass
flow may contain fragments of a Lower Oligocene
platform associated with those of an Upper Eocene
one. In fact, in several mass flows it is possible
to recognize various parts of the Upper Eocene–
Oligocene stratigraphic column of the Penaguila–
Aitana area. During the Oligocene, little erosional
material was supplied by the western (Onil–Ibi–
Carrasqueta) platform (Fig. 3), whereas this formed a
major source of detritus during Middle–Late Eocene
times (Geel et al., 1998). These observations com-
bined suggest that tectonic events played a major
role in the change of source area and that they were
the main cause of deep erosion on the platforms.
The block diagrams of Fig. 10 illustrate the sup-
posed sequence of events. During relative sea-level
rise (mainly caused by tectonic subsidence, see Sec-
tion 4) and subsequent stillstand, a platform cycle
became established in which a TST and an HST can
be distinguished. During the transgressive leg on the
platform, slope failure along (palaeo)faults may have
triggered turbidity currents containing coeval plat-
form-margin components. During highstand, slope
failure and excess production on the platform pro-
duced slumps and turbidites with coeval bank-margin
and platform-interior elements. Reactivation of faults
and reversal of movement along active faults caused
uplift and erosion of parts of the newly formed plat-
form and its subjacent sediments, resulting in mass
flows and turbidites carrying loose outer shelf biota
and reworked lithified clasts. This model (based
on the tectono-sedimentary analysis of Geel, 1995),
explains the side-by-side existence of the western,
Onil–Ibi–Carrasqueta platform, where Oligocene cy-
cles are preserved and evidence for deep erosion is
absent, and the eastern, Penaguila–Aitana platform,
where the Oligocene stratigraphic record is incom-
plete. In the latter platform, intermittent build-up,
uplift-tilting, and erosion is witnessed by evidence
of subaerial exposure, by erosional remnants below
transgressive surfaces, and by truncations and onlap
patterns (Geel, 1995). From the above analysis and
discussion it may be concluded that the slope cycles

Fig. 10. Tectono-sequential models for the relationship between platform systems tracts and compositional variation in turbidites and
mass flows on the slope. (A) TST on the platform during strong differential subsidence. Turbidites with coeval outer shelf components on
the slope. Black marls in the basin. (B) HST on the platform during decreasing subsidence. Slumps, turbidites and mass flows with coeval
outer platform and platform-interior biota on the slope. (C) Reactivation and reversal of movement along faults. Part of the platform is
uplifted and eroded with resultant mass flows and turbidites carrying loose foraminifers and reworked platform clasts. Another part of
the platform is inactive and covered partly by vegetation, partly by karstic surfaces.
232 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
of the Relleu section, though not at all complete,
reflect successive phases on the Penaguila–Aitana
platform, each phase resulting in turbidites and mass
flows, but each with a different composition.
6. Origin of the southern Spanish
accommodation cycles
The Palaeogene cycles of the Alicante region are
on the order of 0.5 to 3 m.y. duration and thus fall
into the category of 3rd-order sequences of classic
sequence stratigraphy. According to the latter general
models, such short-term cycles in relative sea-level
change are the result of eustatic sea-level rise and
fall superimposed on rather steady subsidence. Tec-
tonic events (variations in rate of subsidence, uplift),
or changes in climate and sediment supply would
only enhance or suppress the development of se-
quences (e.g. Vail et al., 1977; Haq et al., 1988). It
has been shown, however, that short-term changes
in relative sea-level can equally well be caused by
rapid, stress-induced vertical movements of the litho-
sphere associated with plate tectonics (Cloetingh et
al., 1985; Fortuin and De Smet, 1991; Kooi, 1991).
Schlager (1993) pointed out that the succession of
stratigraphic sequences is a composite record of sea-
level fluctuations, expressed as changes in accom-
modation, and environmental changes (e.g. tectonic
or climatic) that exert control via sediment supply.
6.1. Tectonic context
In foregoing paragraphs dealing with the descrip-
tion of Palaeogene platform and slope deposits, in
several instances the influence of tectonics has al-
ready been mentioned. More to the point, of the
fourteen 3rd-order cycles recognized in the Eocene
deposits of Alicante, at least three sequence bound-
aries are coincident with tectonic (block-faulting)
events (Geel et al., 1998; Fig. 11): (a) in the Mid-
dle Eocene (P12), corresponding to cycle boundary
Ibi E3=E4; (b) near the Middle=Late Eocene bound-
ary (P14=P15), corresponding to cycle boundaries
Ibi E5=E6 and Penaguila 1=2, and (c) in the Late
Eocene (P15=P16), the cycle boundaries Ibi E6=E7,
Penaguila 2=3 and Relleu 1=2. Due to tectonics, most
sections in the Alicante region contain only part of
the total of sequences and thicknesses of sequences
are highly variable between sections reflecting differ-
ential subsidence between discrete tectonic events.
The block-faulting events are thought to be
induced by far-field transmission of compressive
stresses, interrupted by stress relaxation, during
Pyrenean collision. Up to the end of the Lutetian,
Iberia formed part of Africa and the Eurasian–
African plate boundary was situated in the Pyrenees.
Iberia moved from around 42 Ma till the end of the
Oligocene as an independent plate, caught between
two massive plates, Eurasia in the north, Africa in
the south, after reactivation of the Azores–Gibraltar
Fracture Zone. Even, the more active, collisional
plate boundary remained still along the Pyrenees
(Srivastava et al., 1990). The positive correlation
of the Eocene cycle boundaries of Alicante with
plate-tectonic events and Pyrenean tectono-sedimen-
tary cycles (Fig. 11) suggests tectonic control of the
majority of the South Spanish cycles (Geel et al.,
1998).
The Oligocene deposits of Alicante are similarly
punctuated by plate-tectonically induced folding and
faulting events (Fig. 11): (a) in the Early Oligocene
(P18=P19 boundary) reflected in the Ibi O1=O2 and
Relleu 3=4 boundaries; (b) in the lower Middle
Oligocene (lower P21) seen as the Ibi O3=O4 and
Relleu 5=6 boundaries; and (c) at the middle=Late
Oligocene (P21=P22) boundary, expressed in the
Relleu 7=8 limit. Like the Eocene deposits, those of
the Oligocene are also clearly influenced by tectonics
between discrete tectonic phases, given the incom-
pleteness of sections and evidence for differential
subsidence (Geel, 1995).
6.2. Climate and glacio-eustasy
A possible glacio-eustatic control of changes in
accommodation space in the Palaeogene could only
have been exerted by waxing and waning Antarc-
tic ice sheets. As mentioned above, the Palaeogene
platform deposits of Alicante reflect global changes
in climate and growth potential of hermatypic corals
(see Section 4.2).
After the Cretaceous=Tertiary boundary crisis,
the Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene period was
the next critical one in earth history in that ma-
jor changes in ocean circulation and global climate
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238 233

Fig. 11. Correlation of the Alicante cycles and their sequence boundaries with plate-tectonic events and Antarctic climate. South Spanish
cycles are largely induced by compressional tectonics along the Eurasian–African plate boundary situated in the Pyrenees at the time.
Note the positive correlation between the Alicante and Pyrenean tectonic events. During the Late Eocene–Oligocene, eustatic sea-level
changes caused by Antarctic waxing and waning ice sheets contributed to the development of South Spanish cycles. Alicante tectonic
events after Geel (1995), Geel et al. (1998). Pyrenean cycles after Puigdefábregas and Souquet (1986), Millán et al. (1994). Atlantic
events after Srivastava et al. (1990). Antarctic glaciations after Barron et al. (1991), Zachos et al. (1993, 1994, 1996), Wilson et al.
(1998). Temperature curve modified after Zachos et al. (1993). Time scale after Berggren et al. (1995).

caused significant turnovers in marine and terres-
trial biotas. The onset and increasing influence of
waxing and waning Antarctic ice-sheets resulted in
a gradual step-wise cooling. During the ubiquitous
warm Early Eocene, Antarctica was ice-free, minor
and local glacial events occurred during the Middle
Eocene. More extensive ice-sheet growth would have
occurred during the Late Eocene. The first unequiv-
ocal expansion of Antarctic glaciation is recorded
from the earliest Oligocene (P18), and the first ma-
jor glaciations from the Middle Oligocene (Kennett
and Barker, 1990; Diester-Haas, 1991; Barron et al.,
1991; Zachos et al., 1993, 1994, 1996; Wilson et al.,
1998; Fig. 11).
234 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
The response of the marine fauna and flora to cli-
matic deterioration was similar in all groups and it
is generally accepted that progressive intensification
of cooling was the forcing agent of evolution with
as additional factor the step-wise increase of nutri-
ent flux to the ocean surface waters as a result of
increased mixing following ice build-up (Hallock et
al., 1991; Aubry, 1992). A major turnover took place
near the Middle=Late Eocene transition, when ani-
mals and plants which favoured warm climates were
severely decimated and new, more adapted forms ap-
peared. Lesser extinctions occurred at the end of the
Eocene, but during the earliest Oligocene again ma-
jor changes took place (Beckmann et al., 1981; Cave-
lier et al., 1981; Hallock et al., 1991; Berggren and
Prothero, 1992). Both larger foraminifers and her-
matypic corals are highly adapted to and can only
thrive in warm euphotic oligotrophic environments in
view of their algal symbiosis (K-strategists). They are
not competitive in more nutrient-rich, meso- to eu-
trophic waters (Hallock and Schlager, 1986; Hallock
et al., 1991). Following the for K-strategists devas-
tating Cretaceous=Tertiary boundary event, forami-
niferal faunas were at first characterized by r-strate-
gic survivors in Paleocene waters, hermatypic coral
build-ups were absent. During the Paleocene, there
was a slow recovery in K-strategic larger foramin-
ifers; they reached an optimum in the oligotrophic
Early Eocene. Hermatypic coral assemblages but
slowly recovered and lagged behind: they began to
form low-diversity knoll reefs during the Early to
Middle Eocene. This may explain the success of
the symbiont-lacking, acervulinid encrusting fora-
minifer Solenomeris in building extensive biostromal
constructions during the Eocene. During the step-
wise cooling and increased rates of oceanic mixing
across the Eocene=Oligocene boundary and conse-
quent faunal turnovers, many K-strategic larger for-
aminifers and hermatypic corals disappeared again
(Cavelier et al., 1981; Beckmann et al., 1981; Frost
et al., 1983; Hallock et al., 1991; Plaziat and Per-
rin, 1992; Hottinger, 1997; review in Hallock, 1997;
see also the range chart, Fig. 1). Thus far, the evo-
lution of larger foraminifers and hermatypic corals
occurred in step, though not mutually in phase, with
the changing environment. However, in the cooler
Middle Oligocene, both larger foraminiferal K-strate-
gists (though less diverse than in the Eocene) and
hermatypic corals (highly diverse) were cosmopoli-
tan and thriving (Beckmann et al., 1981; Frost et al.,
1983), probably because communities consisted of al-
ready cold adapted survivors (Berggren and Prothero,
1992). Across the Oligo–Miocene boundary (a next
cooling step), the changes are minor and gradual.
The next revolution in earth history is observed
across the Early=Middle Miocene boundary, when
Antarctica permanently became covered with ice
and the present oceanic circulation came into ex-
istence (Keller, 1983; Kennett and Barker, 1990;
Baldauf, 1992; Hottinger, 1997). This revolution is
expressed in the near-demise of the symbiont-bear-
ing larger foraminifers. Though hermatypic corals
became more endemic because the Tethyan equato-
rial seaways were closed by Alpine orogenesis, they
continued to flourish. One can only guess at what
made the difference in evolutionary response to this
major environmental change (amplitude and=or fre-
quency of sea-level changes, more vigorous water
circulation, husbandry of different kinds of algae, or,
as suggested by Hallock, 1997, relatively low atmo-
spheric CO2 concentrations that promote aragonite
calcification by corals but are less favourable for
calcite-secreting larger foraminifers)
Besides the climate-induced change in platform
type, some sequence boundaries of the Alicante
region show signs that they may have been in-
fluenced by glacio-eustasy. The sequence bound-
ary near the Middle=Late Eocene boundary (Ibi
E5=E6, Penaguila 1=2; Fig. 11), of striking expres-
sion over the entire region, especially its ensuing
transgression, is thought to be glacio-eustatically en-
hanced (Geel et al., 1998). The boundary within
P16 (Ibi E7=E8, Relleu 2=3; Fig. 11) may be en-
tirely glacio-eustatically controlled. Due to Early
Oligocene (end P18) folding and subsequent erosion,
the Eocene=Oligocene boundary is preserved in only
a few localities (for instance base Ibi O1, Fig. 11),
but whenever present, marked by an unconformity.
It can not be excluded that glacio-eustatic fall, co-
eval with major expansion of Antarctic ice sheets in
P18 (Fig. 11) contributed to the generation of hia-
tuses. The sequence boundary in the upper Rupelian
(P20=P21), expressed as Ibi O2=O3 and Relleu 4=5,
may be interpreted as a eustatic signal given the
widespread ensuing transgression, comparable to the
Middle=Late Eocene boundary event. This conclu-
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
sion is corroborated by the observation that several
sections do not show any sign of change in rate of
subsidence during that time (Geel, 1995). The same
holds for the boundary at the Rupelian=Chattian (mid
P21) transition (between Relleu 6 and 7, Fig. 11).
Both events are coincident with the period of in-
creasing importance of Antarctic ice sheets (Fig. 11).
6.3. Conclusion
From the above overview it may be concluded
that many cycles in the Palaeogene of Alicante are
entirely tectonically controlled, some are possibly
solely eustatically induced, whereas in one case both
glacio-eustasy and tectonics may have contributed in
producing a sequence boundary. In all instances the
expression is rather similar: both processes, alone or
in concert, produced in the Palaeogene accommoda-
tion cycles bounded by unconformities.
7. Applicability of the models
It is clear from the foregoing discussion that the
empirical models presented in this paper can be used
to distinguish and recognize accommodation cycles
whatever their origin. There are, however, limitations
with respect to the age of the deposits. The models
as they stand can be applied to Upper Paleocene up
to and including Lower Miocene deposits, a period
of time in which mature, stable communities encom-
passed the presence of K-strategists. According to
Hottinger (1997), foraminiferal succession observed
in extant neritic depth gradients cannot be safely
used for palaeobathymetry prior to the last major
biological revolution at the Early=Middle Miocene
boundary — an argument that also can be reversed.
After the Cretaceous=Tertiary boundary event, larger
foraminifers were eliminated over the entire photic
zone, and the Early and Middle Paleocene are char-
acterized by experimental genera of which the depth
range is difficult to estimate (Hottinger, 1997). Go-
ing further back in time, the models may be used
again for Senonian deposits with some substitutions.
Imperforate foraminiferal faunas in this case will be
represented by e.g. Murciella and Rhapydionina (late
Senonian) or Lacazina and Dicyclina (early Senon-
ian), perforate faunas by Siderolites, Orbitoides, Om-
235
phalocyclus, Lepitorbitoides (late Senonian) and Or-
bitoides (early Senonian). The reefs will mainly be
build by rudists. For time-slices prior to the Senon-
ian, when communities were characterized by im-
perforate and agglutinated foraminifers, the models
require complete revision.
8. Conclusions
(1) Shifting of facies belts, characterized by dif-
ferent larger foraminiferal associations, offer reliable
criteria for recognizing sequences and their subdi-
visions, the systems tracts, in Upper Paleocene to
Lower Miocene platform deposits.
(2) Lower Eocene cycles can be described in
terms of a ramp model, Middle to Upper Eocene
sequences conform to a combined ramp-rimmed
model, Oligocene cycles to a rimmed model. The
evolution of platform types in time is a response
to climate-related changes in the growth-potential of
hermatypic corals.
(3) In all three models, cycles on the platform
interior tend to be asymmetric around both the maxi-
mum flooding surface and the sequence boundary. A
high degree of graduality along the mfs is found on
the platform interior in the ramp and rimmed models.
Graduality and symmetry of shifting facies belts are
observed along the sequence boundary on the sea-
ward side of ramps during low-amplitude oscillation
of sea level.
(4) Systems tracts in slope deposits can be distin-
guished with the aid of microfacies criteria, though
in general this is more a tool to reconstruct the
regional history (correlation of platform and slope
deposits) than a method to establish a record of
relative sea-level changes in a single slope section.
(5) The Palaeogene cycles of Alicante are in ma-
jority tectonically controlled, induced by far-field
transmission of compressional stresses during Pyre-
nean collision. From about the Middle=Late Eocene
boundary upwards, glacio-eustasy contributed in
producing sequence boundaries.
(6) The empirical models described in the paper
can be applied to both tectonically and eustatically
controlled accommodation cycles of Late Paleocene
to Early Miocene age. They can be used in Senonian
deposits with some modifications.
236 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to Professor W. Schlager
and Dr. A. Fortuin for their constructive critical
comments. I also wish to thank Prof. L. Hottinger
and an anonymous referee for their critical review of
an earlier version of the paper. This is contribution
no. 990803 of the Netherlands Research School of
Sedimentary Geology (NSG).
References
Aigner, Th., 1983. Facies and origin of nummulitic buildups:
an example from the Giza Pyramids Plateau (Middle Eocene,
Egypt). Neues Jahrb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh. 166, 347–368.
Arnaud-Vanneau, A., 1986. Episodes transgressifs et renouvelle-
ment des Foraminifères benthiques sur les plates-formes du
Crétacé inférieur du Sud de la France. Bull. Centr. Rech.
Explor. Prod. Elf Aquitaine 10, 405–420.
Arni, P., 1965. L’évolution des Nummulitinae en tant que facteur
de modifications des dépots littoraux. B.R.G.M. Mem. 32, 7–
20.
Aubry, M-P., 1992. Late Paleogene calcareous nannoplankton
evolution: a tale of climatic deterioration. In: Prothero, D.R.,
Berggren, W.A. (Eds.), Eocene–Oligocene Climatic and Biotic
Evolution. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 272–309.
Baldauf, J.G., 1992. Middle Eocene through Early Miocene
diatom floral turnover. In: Prothero, D.R., Berggren, W.A.
(Eds.), Eocene–Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution.
Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 310–326.
Barron, J., Larsen, B., Baldauf, J.G., 1991. Evidence for Late
Eocene to Early Oligocene Antarctic glaciation and observa-
tions on Late Neogene glacial history of Antarctica: results
from Leg 119. Proc. ODP Sci. Results 119, 869–891.
Beckmann, J.-P., Bolli, H.M., Perch-Nielsen, K., Proto Dec-
ima, F., Saunders, J.B., Toumarkine, M., 1981. Major calcare-
ous nannofossil and foraminiferal events between the Mid-
dle Eocene and Early Miocene. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol.,
Palaeoecol. 36, 155–190.
Berggren, W.A., Prothero, D.R., 1992. Eocene–Oligocene cli-
matic and biotic evolutions: an overview. In: Prothero, D.R.,
Berggren, W.A. (Eds.), Eocene–Oligocene Climatic and Biotic
Evolution. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 1–28.
Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., Swisher III, C.C., Aubry, M.-P.,
1995. A revised Cenozoic geochronology and chronostrati-
graphy. SEPM Spec. Pub. 54, 129–212.
Brasier, M.D., 1975a. Ecology of Recent sediment-dwelling and
phytal Foraminifera from the lagoons of Barbuda, West Indies.
J. Foraminiferal Res. 5, 42–62.
Brasier, M.D., 1975b. The ecology and distribution of Recent
Foraminifera from the Reefs and Shoals around Barbuda, West
Indies. J. Foraminiferal Res. 5, 193–210.
Brett, C.E., 1995. Sequence stratigraphy, Biostratigraphy, and
Taphonomy in Shallow marine environments. Palaios 10, 597–
616.
Buchbinder, B., Martinotti, G.M., Siman-Tov, R., Zilberman,
E., 1993. Temporal and spatial relationships in Miocene reef
carbonates in Israel. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol.
101, 97–116.
Cahuzac, B., 1984. Les faunes de Miogypsinidae d’Aquitaine
méridionale. Benthos ’83, 2nd Int. Symp. Benthic Foraminif-
era (Pau, April 1983), pp. 117–129.
Cavelier, Cl., Chateuneuf, J.-J., Pomerol, Ch., Rabussier, D., Re-
nard, M., Vergnaud-Grazzini, C., 1981. The geological events
at the Eocene=Oligocene boundary. Palaeogeogr., Palaeocli-
matol., Palaeoecol. 36, 223–248.
Chaproniere, G.C.H., 1975. Palaeoecology of Oligo–Miocene
larger Foraminiferida, Australia. Alcheringa 1, 37–58.
Cloetingh, S., McQueen, H., Lambeck, K., 1985. On a tectonic
mechanism for regional sea level variations. Earth Planet. Sci.
Lett. 75, 157–166.
Diester-Haas, L., 1991. Eocene=Oligocene palaeooceanography
in the Antarctic Ocean, Atlantic sector (Maud Rise, O.D.P.
Leg 113, Site 689B and 690B). Mar. Geol. 100, 249–276.
Driscoll, N.W., Weissel, J.K., Karner, G.D., Mountain, G.S.,
1991. Stratigraphic response of a carbonate platform to relative
sea level change: Broken Ridge, Southeast Indian Ocean. Am.
Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull. 75, 808–831.
Drooger, C.W., 1993. Radial Foraminifera; morphometrics and
evolution. Verh. K. Ned. Akad. Wet. Afd. Natuurkd., 1e Reeks
41, 242 pp.
Drooger, C.W., Laagland, H., 1986. Larger foraminiferal zona-
tion of the European–Mediterranean Oligocene. Proc. K. Ned.
Akad. Wet. B 89, 135–148.
Emery, D., 1996. Carbonate systems. In: Emery, D., Myers, K.
(Eds.), Sequence Stratigraphy. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 211–
237.
Everts, A.J.W., 1991. Interpreting compositional variations of
calciturbidites in relation to platform-stratigraphy: an example
from the Paleogene of SE Spain. Sediment. Geol. 71, 231–
242.
Fortuin, A.R., De Smet, M.A.M., 1991. Rates and magnitudes
of late Cenozoic vertical movements in the Indonesian Banda
Arc and the distinction of eustatic effects. Spec. Publ. Int.
Assoc. Sedimentol. 12, 79–89.
Frost, S.H., Harbour, J.L., Beach, D.K., Realini, M.J., Harris,
P.M., 1983. Oligocene reef tract development, southwestern
Puerto Rico. Sedimenta 9, 132 pp.
Geel, T., 1995. Oligocene to early Miocene tectono-sedimentary
history of the Alicante region (SE Spain): implications for
Western Mediterranean evolution. Basin Res. 7, 313–336.
Geel, T., Roep, Th.B., Vail, P.R., Van Hinte, J., 1998. Eocene
tectono-sedimentary patterns in the Alicante region (southeast-
ern Spain). In: Hardenbol, J., De Graciansky, P.-Ch., Jacquin,
Th., Farley, M., Vail, P. (Eds.), Mesozoic–Cenozoic Sequence
Stratigraphy of Western European Basins. Soc. Econ. Paleon-
tol. Mineral., Spec. Publ. 60, 289–302.
Ghose, B.K., 1977. Paleoecology of the Cenozoic reefal fora-
minifers and algae — a brief review. Palaeogeogr., Palaeocli-
matol., Palaeoecol. 22, 231–256.
 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
Haak, A.B., Schlager, W., 1989. Compositional variations in
calciturbidites due to sea-level variations, late Quaternary,
Bahamas. Geol. Rundsch. 78, 477–486.
Hallock, P., 1985. Why are larger Foraminifera large? Paleobiol-
ogy 11, 195–208.
Hallock, P., 1997. Reefs and Reef Limestones in Earth His-
tory. In: Birkeland, C. (Ed.), Life and Death of Coral Reefs.
Chapman and Hall, New York, pp. 13–42.
Hallock, P., Glenn, E.C., 1986. Larger Foraminifera: a tool for
paleoenvironmental analysis of Cenozoic carbonate deposi-
tional facies. Palaios 1, 55–64.
Hallock, P., Schlager, W., 1986. Nutrient excess and the demise
of coral reefs and carbonate platforms. Palaios 1, 389–398.
Hallock, P., Premoli-Silva, I., Boersma, A., 1991. Similarities be-
tween planktonic and larger foraminiferal evolutionary trends
trough Paleogene paleooceanographic changes. Palaeogeogr.,
Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 83, 49–64.
Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J., Vail, P.R., 1988. Mesozoic and Ceno-
zoic chronostratigraphy and cycles of sea-level changes. In:
Wilgus, C.K., Hastings, B.S., Kendall, C.G.St.C., Posamen-
tier, H.W., Ross, C.A., Van Wagoner, J.C. (Eds.), Sea-Level
Changes — An Integrated Approach. Soc. Econ. Paleontol.
Mineral. Spec.Publ. 42, pp. 71–108.
Harney, J.N., Hallock, P., Talge, H.K., 1998. Observations of
a trimorphic life cycle in Amphistegina gibbosa populations
from the Florida Keys. J. Foraminiferal Res. 28, 141–147.
Hottinger, L., 1977. Distribution of larger Peneroplidae, Borelis
and Nummulitidae in the Gulf of Elat, Red Sea. Utrecht
Micropaleontol. Bull. 5, 35–109.
Hottinger, L., 1982. Larger Foraminifera, giant cells with a
historical background. Naturwissenschaften 69, 361–372.
Hottinger, L., 1983. Processes determining the distribution of
larger Foraminifera in space and time. Utrecht Micropaleontol.
Bull. 30, 239–253.
Hottinger, L., 1997. Shallow benthic foraminiferal assemblages
as signals for depth of their deposition and their limitations.
Soc. Géol. Fr. Bull. 168, 491–505.
Hunt, D., Tucker, M.E., 1992. Stranded parasequences and the
Forced Regressive Wedge Systems Tract: deposition during
base-level fall. Sediment. Geol. 81, 1–9.
Keller, G., 1983. Eocene–Oligocene: A Time of Transition. Am.
Ass. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 67, 494.
Kennett, J.P., Barker, P.F., 1990. Latest Cretaceous to Cenozoic
climate and oceanographic developments in the Weddell Sea,
Antarctica: an ocean-drilling perspective. Proc. Ocean Drill
Program, Sci. Results 113, 937–960.
Kooi, H., 1991. Tectonic Modelling of Extensional Basins. The
Role of Lithosphere, Flexure, Intraplate Stress and Relative
Sea-Level Change. Thesis Vrije Univ., Amsterdam, 183 pp.
Lee, J.J., Anderson, O.R., 1991. Symbiosis in Foraminifera. In:
Lee, J.J., Anderson, O.R. (Eds.), Biology of Foraminifera.
Academic Press, New York, pp. 157–220.
Leutenegger, S., 1977. Reproduction cycles of larger Foraminif-
era and depth distribution of generations. Utrecht Micropale-
ontol. Bull. 15, 27–34.
Leutenegger, S., 1984. Symbiosis in benthic foraminifera: speci-
ficity and host adaptations. J. Foraminiferal Res. 14, 16–35.
237
Loeblich, A.R., Jr., Tappan, H., 1964. Sarcodina, chiefly ‘The-
camoebians’ and Foraminiferida. In: Moore, R.C. (Ed.), Trea-
tise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Geol. Soc. Am., Univ.
Kansas, 900 pp.
Loeblich, A.R., Jr., Tappan, H., 1988. Foraminiferal Genera and
their Classification. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 970
pp.
Luterbacher, H., 1984. Paleoecology of Foraminifera in the Pale-
ogene of the Southern Pyrenees. Benthos ’83, 2nd Int. Symp.
Benthic Foraminifera (Pau, April 1983), pp. 389–392.
Millán, H., Martinez Peña, M.B., Aurell, M., Pocovı́, A., Arenas,
C., Pardo, G. Meléndez, A., 1994. Sierras Exteriores y sector
del Cinca en el Pirineo aragoneses: estructura y depositos
sintectonicos. Guia de excursiones, 2º Congreso del grupo
español del terciario, Jaca 1994, Excursion postcongreso.
Mutti, E., 1985. Turbidite systems and their relations to de-
positional sequences. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Provenance of
Arenites. NATO ASI Series, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 65–93.
Myers, K., Milton, N.Y., 1996. Concepts and principles of se-
quences stratigraphy. In: Emery, D., Myers, K. (Eds.), Se-
quence Stratigraphy. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 11–41.
Perrin, C., 1987. Solenomeris, un foraminifère acervulinidae
constructeur de récifs. Rev. Micropaleontol. 30, 197–206.
Plaziat, J.-Cl., Perrin, C., 1992. Multikilometer-sized reefs
built by foraminifera (Solenomeris) from the early Eocene
of the Pyrenean domain (S. France, N. Spain). Palaeoeco-
logic relations with coral reefs. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol.,
Palaeoecol. 96, 195–231.
Poignant, A., Lorenz, C., 1985. Répartition biogéographique
de Foraminifères benthiques à l’Oligocène et au Miocène
inférieur dans la Tethys. Soc. Géol. Fr. Bull. (8) 5, 771–779.
Pomar, L., Ward, W.C., 1995. Sea-level changes, carbonate pro-
duction and platform architecture: the Llucmajor Platform,
Mallorca, Spain. In: Haq, B.U. (Ed.), Sequence Stratigraphy
and Depositional Response to Eustatic, Tectonic and Climatic
Forcing. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 87–112.
Posamentier, H.W., Allen, G.P., James, D.P., Tesson, M., 1992.
Forced regressions in a sequence stratigraphic framework:
concepts, examples, and exploration significance. Am. Assoc.
Pet. Geol. Bull. 76, 1687–1709.
Puigdefábregas, C., Souquet, P., 1986. Tecto-sedimentary cycles
and depositional sequences of the Mesozoic and Tertiary from
the Pyrenees. Tectonophysics 129, 173–203.
Reiss, Z., Hottinger, L., 1984. The Gulf of Aqaba; Ecological
Micropaleontology. Ecol. Stud. 50, Springer, Berlin, 354 pp.
Reijmer, J.J.G., 1991. Sea Level and Sedimentation on the Flanks
of Carbonate Platforms. Thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amster-
dam, 162 pp.
Röttger, R., 1976. Ecological observations of Heterostegina de-
pressa (Foraminifera, Nummulitidae) in the laboratory and in
its natural habitat. Marit. Sediment. Spec. Publ. 1, 75–79.
Röttger, R., 1984. Ökologie der Groszforaminiferen. Publ. Wiss.
Filmen, Sect. Biol. 16 (20), 3–20.
Sarg, J.F., 1988. Carbonate sequence stratigraphy. In: Wilgus,
C.K., Hastings, B.S., Kendall, C.G.St.C., Posamentier, H.W.,
Ross, C.A., Van Wagoner, J.C. (Eds.), Sea-Level Changes:
An Integrated Approach. Soc. Econ. Paleontol. Mineral., Spec.
238 T. Geel / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155 (2000) 211–238
Publ. 42, Sea-Level Changes — An Integrated Approach. Soc.
Econ. Paleontol. Mineral., Spec. Publ. 42, 155–181.
Schlager, W., 1993. Accommodation and supply — a dual con-
trol on stratigraphic sequences. Sediment. Geol. 86, 111–136.
Serra-Kiel, J., Hottinger, L., Caus, E., Drobne, K., Ferrandez, C.,
Jauhri, A.K., Less, G., Pavlovec, R., Pignatti, J., Samso, J.M.,
Schaub, H., Sirel, E., Strougo, A., Tambareau, Y., Tosquella,
J., Zakrevskaya, E., 1998. Larger foraminiferal biostratigraphy
of the Tethyan Paleocene and Eocene. Bull. Soc. Géol. Fr.
169, 281–299.
Srivastava, S.P., Roest, W.R., Kovacs, L.C., Oakey, G., Lévesque,
S., Verhoef, J., MacNab, R., 1990. Motion of Iberia since
the Late Jurassic: results from detailed aeromagnetic measure-
ments in the Newfoundland Basin. Tectonophysics 184, 229–
260.
Sturrock, S.J., 1996, Biostratigraphy. In: Emery, D., Myers, K.
(Eds.), Sequence Stratigraphy. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 89–110.
Tucker, M.E., Wright, V.P., 1990. Carbonate Sedimentology.
Blackwell, Oxford, 482 pp.
Vail, P.R., Mitchum, R.M., Thompson, S., 1977. Global cycles of
relative changes of sea level. Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Mem. 26,
83–97.
Vermeij, G.J., 1980. Biogeography and Adaptation. Patterns of
Marine Life. Harvard Univ. Press, Harvard, 332 pp.
Wagner, C.W., 1964. Manual of Larger Foraminifera. Bataafse
Int. Pet. Mij., The Hague, 307 pp.
Wilson, G.L., Roberts, A.P., Verosub, K.L., Florindo, F., Sag-
notti, L., 1998. Mangnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the
Eocene–Oligocene transition in the CIROS-1 core, Victoria
Land margin, Antarctica: implications for Antarctic glacial
history. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 110, 35–47.
Wilson, J.L., 1975. Carbonate Facies in Geologic History.
Springer, New York, 471 pp.
Zachos, J.C., Lohmann, K.C., Walker, J.C.G., Wise, S.W., 1993.
Abrupt climate change and transient climates during the Pale-
ogene: a marine perspective. J. Geol. 101, 191–223.
Zachos, J.C., Stott, L.D., Lohmann, K.C., 1994. Evolution of
early Cenozoic marine temperatures. Paleooceanography 9,
353–387.
Zachos, J.C., Quinn, T.M., Salamy, K.A., 1996. High resolution
(104 years) deep-sea foraminiferal stable isotope records of
the Eocene–Oligocene climate transition. Paleooceanography
11, 251–266.
Zohary, T., Reiss, Z., Hottinger, L., 1980. Population dynamics
of Amphisorus hemprichii (Foraminifera) in the Gulf of Elat
(Aqaba), Red Sea. Eclogae Geol. Helv. 73, 1071–1094.