Sedimentary

Geology
ELSEVIER Sedimentary Geology 105 ( 1996) 191-202

A coarsening-upward megasequence generated by a Gilbert-type

fan-delta in a tectonically controlled context (Upper Miocene,
Guadix-Baza Basin, Betic Cordillera, southern Spain)
J. Ferniindez a,*, A. Guerra-Merchin b
”Departamento de Estratigrafia y Paleontologia, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
”Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Mdlaga, 29071 Milaga, Spain
Received 22 March 1995; accepted 25 October 1995

Abstract

The 100 m thick succession at Bodunia of a Gilbert-type fan-delta constitutes an Upper Tortonian, coarsening- and
thickening-upward megasequence. It lies unconformably on Triassic materials of the Alpujarride basement or on older
Neogene materials of the basin infill, and is unconformably covered by the continental Pliocene.
The succession was deposited on one margin of an extensional basin, with active synsedimentary tectonics and rising
sea-level. In these circumstances the accommodation space and the sediment supply increased throughout time. This
determined the development of the coarsening and thickening upward megasequence, resulting from the vertical stacking
of four smaller sequences which, in turn, were built up by stacking of Gilbert-type fan-delta units and were bounded by
calcarenite facies deposited on a shallow shelf.
This sequential organisation and internal structure were controlled by the tectonic behaviour of the faults on the basin
margin, in particular large-scale movements with intervals of stability, which respectively created accommodation space for
the deltaic sequences and conditions for development of calcarenite shelf facies.

1. Introduction In the case of the Betic Neogene basins (Fernan-

There has been a growing interest in the study
of fan-deltas in recent years, and much of what has
been learnt about them is to be found in monographic
issues (Nemec and Steel, 1988; Colella and Prior,
1990; Dabrio et al., 1991).
The location of fan-deltas on basin margins means
that as depositional systems they are particularly sen-
sitive to tectonic movements and changes in climate
or in base level. For this reason they are an espe-
cially interesting object of investigation with regard
to understanding basin evolution.
* Corresponding author.
dez et al., 1996a), this type of deposit is frequently
found in association with mainly extensional-type
margins, and several papers have been published on
them in recent years. Some of these studies con-
centrate on the facies and sedimentary processes
(Postma, 1984; Postma and Roep, 1985; Dabrio and
Polo, 1988; Dabrio, 1990; Femandez et al., 1991),
while others centre on the influence of base level
variations on the internal structure of the resulting
sedimentary body (Bardaji et al., 1990; Femandez et
al., 1993).
The role played by tectonics in the definition
of the general characteristics and emplacement of
the fan-delta deposits has been examined from dif-

0037-0738/96/$15.00 Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

SSDI 0037-0738(95)00137-9
 192 .I. Femdndez, A. Guerra-Much& /Sedimentary Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

ferent points of view by several authors (Leeder normal faults, whose movements created the prin-
and Gawthorpe, 1987; Colella, 1988; Gawthorpe and cipal topographic and bathymetric differences, and
Colella, 1990; Boorsma, 1992). The present paper also determined the main entry points for sediment
aims to concentrate on tectonic control of the origin supply to the basin.
and internal geometry of a coarsening and thicken- The fan-delta deposits studied here are included in
ing upward megasequence (100 m thick), resulting what is informally known as the ‘Bodurria Miocene’
from the successive stacking of Gilbert-type fan- (Vera, 1970; Guerra-Merchan and Fernatrdez, 1989)
delta units during the Late Tortonian in the Guadix- which, together with the Valcabra outcrop (Guerra-
Baza basin (Betic Cordillera). Merchan et al., 1988; Guerra-Merchan, 1993) make
up a marine depositional sequence of Late Tortonian
2. Geological setting age in the southeastern sector of the basin. Neverthe-
less, Goy et al. (1989) proposed an Early Pliocene
The Guadix-Baza basin (Fig. 1) is located in the age, for marine sediments underlying the fan-delta
central sector of the Betic Cordillera, on the contact succession. This question and its paleogeographical
between the South Iberian palaeomargin (External implications have been widely analyzed in Guerra-
Zones) and the Alboran block (Internal Zones) (Sanz Merchan (1993). The Bodurria Miocene materials fill
de Galdeano, 1990). It became defined at the begin- a small depression which developed on the Alpujar-
ning of the Late Miocene, and its fill presents a Tor- ride basement of limestones and Triassic dolomites,
tonian marine unit and a Plio-Pleistocene continental and which is located on the southern border of the
unit separated by an angular-erosional unconformity basin (Figs. 1 and 2). Three units can be distinguished
(Fernandez et al., 1996a). according to the facies: (a) conglomerates and red
The marine unit includes the Morollon and breccias, (b) conglomerates with oysters and reefs,
Molicias Formations (Rodriguez-Fernandez, 1982) and (c) conglomerates and sands with mega-cross-
which correspond respectively to the Early and Late stratification, calcarenites and basin marls (Fig. 2).
Tortonian. Both of these formations were deposited The conglomerates and red breccias form a dis-
on a shallow shelf, with fans of layers towards continuous unit with a maximum thickness of around
the centre of the basin, and their sequential orga- 15 m, and are thought to have been deposited in
nization shows the respective retrogradational and small alluvial cones. The conglomerates with oysters
progradational character of the formations as a result and reefs lie unconformably on this unit. They vary
of sea-level behaviour during their deposition. The in thickness from 10 to 20 m and were deposited
transgression during the earliest Tortonian (Fernan- in a shallow marine environment probably including
dez and Rodriguez-Fernandez, 1991) and the regres- beaches. Both units were locally preserved following
sion of the latest Tortonian, involving a fall in sea- irregularities of the basement.
level of approximately 100 m (Vera and Rodriguez- The conglomerates and sands with mega-cross-
Fernandez, 1988) are particularly well documented. stratification (6-30 m in scale), calcarenites and
In the northern area (Forruchu Formation, Soria, marls are the best represented unit in the area of
1993) the aforementioned marine unit ends with study. The minimum thickness of the unit is 100
restricted-shelf calcarenite facies of latest Tortonian m and it lies unconformably on the Alpujarride
in age. The latest Tortonian-earliest Messinian trans- basement or on the more ancient materials of the
gressive event, clearly known from other basins to Neogene basin fill mentioned above.
the east (Guerra-Merchan, 1993; Ott d’Estevou et al., A group of continental materials made up of
1990), did not reach the Guadix-Baza basin. conglomerates and red sands (alluvial fan deposits)
The Plio-Pleistocene unit is made up of alluvial lies on the materials of the Bodurria Miocene and is
and lacustrine materials belonging to the Guadix, separated from them by an unconformity extending
Gorafe-HuClago and Baza formations (Vera, 1970; throughout the entire basin (Fernandez et al., 1996a).
Viseras, 1991; Fernandez et al., 1996b). This group belonging to the Guadix Formation has
The southern border of the basin in the sector a subhorizontal position and Plio-Pleistocene age
studied here is extensional and is characterised by (Viseras, 1991; Fernandez et al., 1996b).
 J. Ferndndez, A. Guerra-Merchdn/Sedimentary Geology 105 (1996) 191-202 193

Internal zone PLIO - PLEISTOCENE

External zone

Gorafe-Huelago Fm

n ;zice-Quaternary m Bozo Fm.

/ Main faults

Fig. I. Geographical and geological location. The Guadix-Baza Basin is located on the contact between the Internal and External Zones
of the Betic Cordilleras. The basin basement consists of the former in the southeastern part and the latter in the northwestern part.
The tilling includes Neogene-Quaternary sediments. The area studied is situated at the extreme southeast of the basin, on the margin
associated with the Internal Zones.

3. Stratigraphic framework
The fan-delta deposits constitute a coarsening and
thickening upward megasequence approximately 100
m thick, made up of four smaller sequences of in-
creasing thickness, bounded by shelf calcarenites
(Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). Each of these sequences con-
tains several fan-delta units separated by surfaces
which are erosional towards the basin edge and con-
formable towards the centre.
Sequence I (Fig. 5). This is made up of three
intervals: a, b and c. Interval ‘a’ is characterised by
steeply inclined (30”) foresets beds approximately
25-30 cm thick, whose corresponding top- and bot-
tomsets cannot be observed. It ends with an intensely
deformed bed of medium sands a few centimetres
194 J. Fermdndez, A. Guerra-Merchdn /Sedimentary Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

SECTION

ALLUVIAL
FAN
DEPOSITS

sequence
nr

f
5 2 Modern fluviol deposits
z sequence
III
:

E h Alluvial fan deposits. Recent Quoternory

t-
aL L

5
sequence w
A C 0
Alluvial fan deposits. Plio- Pleistocene

-_
T----r
7 Fan delta deposits : sequences I to W
and bosin facies. Uppe; Tortonion

Im”l-i? Reef deposits

coxvl _.
Coast?1 cong;omerotes.
relaTea ro reers
Loterolly

Alpujarride substratum
SUBSTRATUM

Fig. 2. Geological map and stratigraphic section of the Bodurria Miocene.

thick, which wedges out towards the upper part of
the foresets in the same way as the basin facies de-
posited on it. Interval ‘b’ is not as thick as ‘a’ and
the beds of the low-angle foresets are joined to their
respective topsets and bottomsets. The contact with
the lower interval is erosional in proximal areas and
conformable in distal areas. Interval ‘c’ presents sim-
ilar characteristics to ‘b’ and ends with a calcarenite
level. The three intervals are organised in a thinning
and fining upward sequence.
 J. Ferndndez, A. Guerra-Merchdn/Sedimentaly Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

PLIO - PLEISTOCENE

Fig. 3. Internal geometry and sequential organisation of fan-delta deposits. The Gilbert-type fan-delta succession at Bodurria constitutes a
coarsening and thickening upward megasequence consisting of four smaller, fining upward sequences. Sequences I and II are the result of
the stacking of three delta lobes, sequence III consists of a single lobe and sequence IV consists of a single lobe prograding three times
at different directions. In all cases the internal geometry is indicative of the relation between supply and subsidence at each moment of
the stratigraphic succession.

Sequence II (Fig. 5). This sequence is also made
up of three intervals. Intervals ‘a’ and ‘b’ show
characteristics similar to the corresponding intervals
in sequence I. Interval ‘c’ is made up of high-angle
foresets wedging out rapidly towards the centre of
the basin, where they come into contact with a gravel
bed (80 cm thick) with coarsely imbricated boulders
(55 cm). This bed wedges out and its grain size
decreases towards land, as a consequence of the
reworking by coastal processes of a debris flow bed.
The sequence ends with a bed of calcarenites
(50 cm) wedging out towards land, and eventually
disappears where the layers rise in the foresets.
Sequence III (Fig. 5). This is a thicker sequence
than I and II, made up of a single interval of sig-
moidal beds which permit a gradual change from the
topset, through the foreset, to the bottomset. It ends
towards the top with a layer of calcarenites approx-
imately 15 m thick which wedges out towards land
in an onlap structure. Cross-bedding caused by sand-
waves migrating towards land (N180E) is present
locally.
Sequence IV (Fig. 3). This is the thickest se-
quence of all (30 m) and also has the largest grain
size (80 cm max.) It is made up of a single in-
terval, which in turn is made up of three units
separated by reactivation surfaces (Fig. 3). These
three units show a proximal to distal increase in the
angle of inclination of the beds, and represent three
phases of progradation at different directions of a
deltaic lobe.
The area1 distribution and thickness of the four
sequences described above differed during their de-
velopment (Fig. 6). Outcrop conditions do not permit
a detailed reconstruction of the spatial distribution of
each sequence; however, the data on palaeocurrents
obtained from the foresets allow reconstruction of
the main entry points of materials to the basin and
 196 J. Femdtzdrz, A. Guerra-Merchdn /Sedimental Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

Fig. 4. Panoramic view of the type section of the Bodurria Miocene, used as a basis for the diagram in Fig. 3. The Gilbert-type fan-delta
deposits can be recognised in between the coastal reef deposits at the base and the alluvial fan deposits of the Guadix formation at the
top of the succession. The excellent outcrop conditions allow recognition of the different facies and sequences, as well as the internal
geometry of the different units in the succession.

the progradation directions of deltaic lobes. It can
be said that during the development of the first
sequence at least three entry points existed, in rela-
tion to which small lobes formed, which prograded
only slightly towards the centre of the basin, so
that they probably did not come to coalesce. The
same situation continued during deposition of the
second sequence, although here the lobes which
developed were more extensive, at least during in-
tervals ‘a’ and ‘b’, eventually coalesced. During the
development of the third sequence, sediment supply
to the basin was predominantly channelled through
two points, whereas during deposition of the fourth
sequence supply to the system took place in a single
point.
The foregoing remarks allow us to visualize the
basin filling in this area as follows:
After the intra-Tortonian tectonic event, the newly
created relief began to be drained towards the basin.
The drainage network was at first not highly evolved,
so that numerous small streams connected with de-
pressed zones of the basin margin, whose detailed
palaeogeography is complex. Thus small outlet lobes
developed that did not undergo significant prograda-
tion. The evolution of the drainage network gradually
caused the number of sediment entry points to de-
crease, although the amount of materials supplied
by each of these points increased, thus resulting in
the creation of a smaller number of lobes, which
were, however, more extensive. The homogeniza-
 3. Fema’rzdez, A. Guerra-Merch&/Sediwentary Geology 105 (1996) 191-202 197

SEQUENCE 111

SEQUENCE LI

t
-
dal;risflow

Fig. 5. Detail of the internal geometry of fan-delta sequences I, II, and III. In sequences I and II can be observed the nature of
the contact between superposed lobes (erosional-conformable in proximal-distal direction), the retrogradational trend in lobe stacking
and the evolution of thickness and inner structure. In sequence III the sigmoidal nature of the beds and their perfect preservation are
noteworthy. The shelf calcarenites show uneven development in the different sequences,but in all cases they increase towards the top.
A11these characteristics are indicative of the relation between supply and subsidence and the tectonic behaviour of the basin margin at all
times, a, h, c = intervals of each sequence; Ch = channel; T = topset; F = foreset; B = bottomset.

tion accompanying the filling of the basin favoured
the establishment of a calcarenite shelf. The entire
process was modified by numerous tectonic pulses.
4. Fades analysis
The fan-delta deposits are made up of clast-
supported conglomerates and sands. The foresets
are made up of beds varying in thickness from 3
m in the upper part, where they dip approximately
30”, to 0.5 m in the transition zone to the bottom-
set. A decrease in maximum grain size towards the
bottomset from cobble to pebble and a larger propor-
tion of sand can also be detected. The conglomerates
are clast-supported in this direction, whereas towards
distal parts they change to sands with pebbles,
Regarding the internal organisation, the foresets
consisting of massive conglomerates show rapid
wedging as a result of the deposit of lobes by gravi-
tational flows. Towards more distal parts these flows
became more fluid and deposition took the form
of successive avalanches causing low-angle cross-
bedding, in which elementary coarsening-upward or
coarsening-fining-upward sequences can be recog-
nised. These were a consequence first of the shearing
effect on the base and then of the deposit of the fine
fraction during the phase of the waning flow.
The distal parts of the foresets and bottomsets
rarely contain lenticular bodies of conglomerates
related to slipping mechanisms from higher, very
steeply sloping parts of the foresets (comparable to
those described by Postma and Roep, 1985).
 198 _I. Ferndndez, A. Guerra-Merchdn /Sedimentary Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

8 ’
BODURRIA ,I’

0 250 500 m

Fig. 6. Interpretative diagram of the fan-delta deposits and associated facies. The main sediment supply points, developed delta lobes
and the superposition trends of these lobes are shown for the length of development of each sequence. Distribution of basin and shelf
facies is also shown. I = Alpujarride substratum; 2 = Plio-Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits; 3 = sediment supply points to the basin; 4 =
fan-delta lobes (a, b and c indicate the lobes represented in the corresponding sequence): 5 = bioclastic calcarenites, shelf deposits: 6 =
sandy marls and fine sands, basin deposits.

Another characteristic feature of some coarse
beds of the foreset is the presence of water es-
cape structures similar to those described by Postma
(1984) in the Abrioja fan-delta.
The bottomsets are represented by subhorizontal
beds normally less than 1 m thick, made up of sands
with pebbles and microconglomerates. They repre-
sent the distal parts of the foresets, where the fossil
contents (red algae, corals, bryozoa, lamellibranchia)
and their degree of preservation is higher. The topsets
are formed by layers of clast-supported conglomer-
ates approximately 3 m thick. They normally present
erosional bases and channel fill fining-upward se-
quences.
Other facies associated with the fan-delta deposits
are: “Fine sands and silts with oyster banks and in-
tercalated channelled conglomerates”; locally these
show horizontal lamination and are yellowish and
 J. Fermindet, A. Guerra-Merchdn/Sedimentary
reddish in colour. They are found associated with
topsets and the upper parts of foresets and are in-
terpreted as interdistributary bay deposits. ‘Sandy
marls’ are found in thin beds (20-30 cm) interca-
lating the bottomset layers and the distal parts of
foresets and represent the autochthonous deposit in
the basin. ‘Bioclastic calcarenites’ are better devel-
oped in relation to sequences II and III, forming
an onlap structure with the latter. These are bio-
elastic sandstones containing remains of red algae,
bryozoa, corals, benthic foraminifera and bivalve
fragments. They are almost always horizontally lam-
inated, rarely cross-bedded due to sandwave migra-
tion in a shelf environment.
5. Discussion
The stratigraphic succession studied here is lo-
cated to the extreme southeast of the Guadix-Baza
basin, and fills a small, markedly asymmetrical de-
pression. In a global context of eustatic sea-level fall
(Late Tortonian), the tectonic movements of the bor-
der faults created the main topographic and bathy-
metric differences and thereby also the source ar-
eas and depocentres for sedimentation. The episodic
character of these movements affected the stacking
pattern of the different units and therefore also the
resulting stratigraphic architecture.
Deltaic sedimentation began in a shallow marine
environment. Large-scale movements of the border
faults increased the depth of the environment and
created ideal conditions for the deposit of Gilbert-
type deltaic lobes.
The coarsening and thickening upward megase-
quence studied here is made up of four smaller
sequences of increasing thickness towards the top.
Sequence I (Fig. 5) is made up of three intervals
whose thickness decrease towards the top, while the
inclination of the foreset beds decreases in the same
direction, and a certain retrogradational trend is also
observed. This evolution in the thickness of each
interval and the dipping of the foreset beds indi-
cate decrease in depth. The thickest interval ‘a’ (1
in Fig. 7) is the result of the stacking of several
lobes characterised by sequences thinning upwards
because of lateral migration. The sandy bed at the
top of each of these elementary sequences represents
the phase of abandonment of the corresponding lobe.
Geology 105 (1996) 191-202 199
The steeply inclined foresets were built by turbulent
gravitational flows, mainly supplied with sediment
accumulated on the topset. The less thick intervals
‘b’ and ‘c’ (2 and 3a in Figs. 7), which are char-
acterised by sigmoidal beds, were formed by the
simultaneous progradation and aggradation of a lobe
in a shallower environment and with a lower degree
of slope than interval ‘a’, whose supply was provided
by stream flows.
The nature of the contact between the successive
intervals (erosional in the proximal parts) reveals
phases of slowing in the tectonic subsidence and
probable stability of the base level of the streams,
which prevented vertical aggradation in the high
parts of the foreset and in the topset, and favoured
the development of oblique contacts bounded by by-
pass surface, that transferred the sediment towards
deeper areas (Colella, 1988; Gawthorpe and Colella,
1990). The change from one interval to the next
is preceded by a tectonic reactivation as revealed
by the abundant deformation structures in the last
layers of the previous interval, and the activity of
synsedimentary faults towards the basin edge and
behind the first foresets (2 in Fig. 7).
Sequence I is therefore the result of the stack-
ing of several deltaic units in a tectonic regime
characterised by an initial large-scale slip event, fol-
lowed by smaller slip events separated by periods of
calm. The sediment supply/tectonic subsidence ratio
evolved in such a way that depth and accommoda-
tion space decreased with time, and so too did the
thickness of the corresponding intervals and the style
of sedimentation.
Another large-scale movement of the border faults
created enough space for the stacking of another
shallowing sequence (sequence II). Intervals ‘a’ and
‘b’ of this sequence are not substantially different
to those of sequence I, and an identical mechanism
can be assumed for their generation. Interval ‘c’ (3b
in Fig. 7) represented by a not very extensive lobe
with steeply sloping foresets, can be interpreted in
connection with a period of instability, which caused
an increase in depth on the margin and stimulated the
gravitational avalanche mechanisms, some of which
penetrated to the bottomset.
The phase of stability and decrease in supply at
the end of this sequence brought about the reworking
of the gravels at the top of interval ‘c’, with the
200 .I. Ferndndr~, A. Gurrru-Mrrchdn /Sedirnenrury Geology 105 (1996) 191-202

B stacking of
o new lobe
in shallower

condihons

/
abandonment focies

slowing in the

subsidence. stillstand
_--_---
and transference of

fine sediments towards

deeper areas

Fig. 7. Dynamic behaviour of the fan-delta lobes and possible resulting sedimentary sequence. Lateral migration of the lobe produces
an elementary fining and thinning upward sequence (TI2U-FI/) that ends with fine facies of deltaic abandonment (1). Deceleration of
subsidence and sea-level stability allow the development of by-pass surfaces, erosional contacts in proximal areas and deposition on
deeper ones (1). In conditions of shallow depth, a minor tectonic pulse lead to stacking of a thin, but rather extensive lobe (2). A new
tectonic pulse lead to stacking of a new lobe (3a) similar to the previous ones, or rather thicker and less extensive ones when depth was
greater (3b).

incipient development of a conglomeratic beach and The deposition of sequence IV on this shelf was
deposit of calcarenites towards the centre in shallow preceded by important tectonic activity, as revealed
conditions. by both the large-scale movements of the border
Sequence III, made up of a single interval, was de- faults, and the fracturing of the calcarenite shelf
posited in a regime of rather active subsidence, with itself (Fig. 3). Accommodation space was created
increasing depth and supply, which favoured the de- in these circumstances, the reliefs were rejuvenated
velopment of large-scale sigmoidal units related to and the drainage systems reactivated, thus causing
the simultaneous progradation and aggradation of a an important inflow of sediments and allowing the
Gilbert-type deltaic lobe. During the build-up of this formation of lobes which prograded and migrated
lobe, shallowing took place and the coast line mi- rather quickly.
grated landwards, as also did the shelf calcarenite The megasequence described above is the result
facies. As the terrigenous supply to the basin de- of the stacking of four smaller sequences, built up
creased, the calcarenite facies moved towards land, by the stacking of Gilbert-type fan-delta units and
eventually creating an authentic shelf with devel- bounded by calcarenites deposited in a shallow shelf.
opment of sandwaves migrating towards land. The This megasequence reveals a situation of rising sea-
physiography of the basin would at this time have level, with the creation of accommodation space and
been that of a shallow shelf connected to land by a increasing sediment supply towards the top. The
conglomeratic coast. tectonic regime on the basin margin was the most
 _I. Ferndndez. A. Guerra-Mercha’n/Sedimentary
significant control factor on the stacking pattern of
the sequences and the different types of sedimentary
units, and therefore also on the internal organisation
of the resulting stratigraphic succession. Large-scale
slips separated by periods of calm created the ac-
commodation space for the deltaic sequences and the
conditions for development of the calcarenite shelf
facies which separates them. Smaller tectonic pulses
favoured the stacking of deltaic lobes with differing
internal geometry depending on depth and/or subsi-
dence, separated by oblique contacts (Colella, 1988)
in the proximal areas.
The synsedimentary activity of the border faults
can clearly be demonstrated by: (a) abundant defor-
mation structures located at the top of the sequences
and/or intervals; (b) tilting of beds in the border
zone, behind the foresets created at the beginning of
each sequence; (c) the retrogradational character of
the sequences reproduces a retreat of the coastline
related to the activity of border faults in the same di-
rection. All these observations show that the changes
in sea-level during deltaic sedimentation were con-
trolled tectonically.
6. Conclusions
The Late Tortonian coincides with an important
period of relief uplift, reactivation of drainage sys-
tems and development of fan-deltas in numerous
Neogene basins in the Betic Cordillera. A good ex-
ample of this is the Gilbert-type fan-delta sequence
which developed in the extreme southeast of the
Guadix-Baza basin, in the vicinity of Bodurria.
The Bodurria fan-delta succession constitutes a
coarsening and thickening upward megasequence de-
posited on an extensional-type basin margin with ac-
tive synsedimentary tectonics and rising sea-level re-
sulting from important tectonic subsidence. In these
circumstances the available accommodation space
and the sediment supply to the basin increased with
time.
The keys to the interpretation of the sequential
organization and the internal geometry of the succes-
sion studied here lie in the tectonic behaviour of the
border faults: large-scale tectonic movements of the
faults prior to the deposit of each sequence created
the required topographic and bathymetric conditions
for development of Gilbert-type fan-delta lobes.
Geology 105 (1996) 191-202 201
The evolution of the drainage network also had
an effect by modifying the position and number of
sediment entry points to the basin, the quantity of
materials supplied at each point, and consequently
the size of the resulting sedimentary body and its
internal structure.
The sediment supply/subsidence ratio determined
the pattern of lobe stacking and their internal geom-
etry. Thus, at the beginning of each sequence, with
a high ratio, the lobes prograded and migrated lat-
erally, whereas towards the top, where the ratio was
low, the lobes prograded and aggraded vertically.
Moreover, the phase of stability produced erosional
contacts, whereas the longer periods of calm, with
scarce sediment supply, allowed the establishment
of a better developed calcarenite shelf towards the
upper part of the succession.
Acknowledgements
This paper has considerably benefited by the
suggestions of Drs. C.J. Dabrio, A.D. Miall and
T.B. Roep. Financial aid was provided by Research
Projects PB91-OOSO-C02-01 and PB93-1000 granted
by the Spanish DGICYT and, Research Groups 4085
and 1350 granted by the Junta de Andalucia.
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