Abstracts, 28 th IAS Meeting of Sedimentology 2011, Zaragoza, Spain T2a. Coastal environments !

Evaporite sedimentation
in the Southeastern Pyrenean foreland basin (Lutetian)

E. Carrillo, L. Rosell & F. Ortí

Departament de Geoquímica, Petrologia i Prospecció Geològica, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franqués s/n, 08028 Barcelona,
Spain (ecarrillo@ub.edu, lrosell@ub.edu, f.orti@ub.edu)

The South Pyrenean Basin (NE Spain) was generated by the collision between the Iberian and the European
tectonic plates (Upper Cretaceous - Lower Miocene). In the eastern sector of this foreland basin (Southeastern
Pyrenean Basin), the following evaporitic units were deposited, in ascending stratigraphic order, during the
Lutetian time: (a) Borró Evaporitic Unit (up to 700 m thick), (b) Beuda Gypsum Unit (up to 180 m thick), and (c)
Besalú Gypsum Unit (up to 30 m thick). The Borró Evaporitic Unit extends through both the autochthonous and
the allochthonous structural zones of the basin, whereas the other units are limited to the allochthonous zone.
The isotope composition (#34S, #18O; 87Sr/86Sr) of gysum and anhydrite samples indicates a marine origin for
these units.
The Borró Evaporitic unit consists of secondary gypsum in outcrop, and anhydrite and halite in subsurface,
although minor amounts of lutites, marls and carbonates also occur. In the autochthonous zone (and locally in
the eastern part of the allochthonous zone), this unit displays in subsurface sulphate facies (anhydrite
pseudomorphs after selenitic gypsum) that are interpreted as the record of an evaporitic platform. In the
allochthonous zone, however, it displays facies of a slope-to-basin environment (clastic gypsum including
breccias and megabreccias; laminated gypsum) as well as facies that can be attributed to a basinal setting
(halite layers only known in deep boreholes).
The Beuda Gypsum Unit is made up of secondary gypsum (anhydrite in subsurface) characterized by a
number of facies. Although a clear distinction between platform and basin can not be made in this unit, the
predominance in some areas of laminated and banded facies suggests relatively deeper settings, whereas the
predominance of massive, pseudomorphic, and nodular facies suggests relatively shallower settings. Moreover,
the facies distribution in the stratigraphic sections commonly shows shoaling upwards trends.
The Besalú Gypsum Unit, the youngest and thinner of the three units, displays more homogeneous facies.
Moreover, its distribution across the basin is discontinuous and the associated non-evaporitic sediments
correspond to a deltaic system.
The successive evaporitic episodes reflect the basin evolution during the Lutetian. A progressive transition
from deeper to shallower marine environments and from thicker to thinner stratigraphic units is recorded in the
evaporitic sediments, with a final change to continental deposits overlying the evaporite units.

Acknowledgements: This research was funded by project CGL2009-11096.

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