El Cretácico del Sistema Central (España)registro estratigráfico, contexto deposicional y esquema evolutivo

Abstract

Cretaceous rocks at the Sistema Central (central Spain) represent the coastal margin sediments of the carbonate platforms developed in the Iberian basin during the large Upper Cretaceous eustatic sea-level rise. They consist of a lower succession of mainly terrigenous sediments (sands, sandstones, clays, marls and minor dolostones), an intermediate carbonate succession (dolostones, limestones and marls) and an upper terrigenous and evaporitic succession (sands, clays and gypsums), which have been traditionally considered uppermost Cretaceous - Paleocene in age but, as suggested by recent data, they should be considered older (Campanian-Maastrichtian). Most of Cretaceous sediments at the western coastal margin of the Iberian basin were eroded after the tectonic inversion of the Iberian massif (Iberian microplate) along the Alpine orogeny, or are presently covered by cainozoic deposits of the cainozoic Duero and Tajo basins. Exceptionally, these sediments crop out on the southwest edge of the cordillera Cantábrica, on northern margin of Montes de Toledo and more widely, on both sides of the Sistema Central. Then, the Cretaceous outcrops of the Sistema Central are one of the scarce areas we have to know in detail these sediments, reconstructing both their depositional stacking pattern, composed of different-order superimposed depositional sequences (Figure 5) and their wedge-shaped stratigraphic architecture as well; which, in general, shows that the subsequent sequences were progressively more extensive, onlapping onto the coastal margin, until the Santonian-Campanian, and from then they were continuously recessive prograding towards the Cantabrian margin (NW) until the end of the Cretaceous. More specifically, the stacking pattern and the stratigraphic architecture allow to: (i) recognize the lateral relationships between platform carbonate facies deposited in central areas of the basin and siliciclastic facies at the coastal margin within the conceptual framework of sequence stratigraphy; (ii) demonstrate the diachronism of formal lithostratigraphic units, whose boundaries exceed sequence boundaries in many cases; (iii) correlate with these sequences, units from other margins of the Duero basin; (iv) identify major regional discontinuities from recognition of coastal erosive unconformities, which can be traced to their correlative sediments in more internal areas of the basin, recognizing thus paraconformable strata in the record of these areas; and (v) identify four mesosequences, tecto-eustatic origin, which subsequently allow to reconstruct the evolutionary framework of this coastal margin along the Upper Cretaceous. Mesosequence I (Cenomanian Middle Turonian) is bounded by two major eustatic discontinuities, being represented on both sides of the Sistema Central by siliciclastic facies to the SW, mixed facies in the central part and carbonate facies at the NE. It is composed of three 3rd-order sequences with an overall transgressive-regressive trend (Figure 6), which is clearly recognizable by geometrical relationships of the internal sequences and by facies belt displacements. Mesosequences II and III (Upper Turonian � Lower Santonian and Middle Santonian � Lower Campanian, respectively), consist of two and three 3rd-order sequences respectively. Both constitute the vast carbonate masses of the entire Cretaceous (intermediate carbonate succession) in this area. Southwestwards the thinning of this huge carbonate succession and the lateral transition to terrigenous facies of the coastal margin can be observed; some of these terrigenous deposits could be recognized on the west margin of the Duero basin (provinces of Zamora and Salamanca). The boundary between both mesosequences is a major tectonic discontinuity at microplate scale, and it might represent the onset of the first tectonic events of the alpine cycle in the studied area.Mesosequences II and III (Upper Turonian � Lower Santonian and Middle Santonian � Lower Campanian, respectively), consist of two and three 3rd-order sequences respectively. Both constitute the vast carbonate masses of the entire Cretaceous (intermediate carbonate succession) in this area. Southwestwards the thinning of this huge carbonate succession and the lateral transition to terrigenous facies of the coastal margin can be observed; some of these terrigenous deposits could be recognized on the west margin of the Duero basin (provinces of Zamora and Salamanca). The boundary between both mesosequences is a major tectonic discontinuity at microplate scale, and it might represent the onset of the first tectonic events of the alpine cycle in the studied area. Mesosequence IV (Middle Campanian-Maastrichtian) is represented by the upper terrigenous-evaporitic succession. Its lower boundary is a major, eustatic discontinuity; although, it has been locally mapped as a cartographic unconformity (Valdeprados, Segovia), representing a major break in the general sedimentary trend, with the end of open marine sedimentation characteristic of the underlying mesosequences. In fact, until the recent finds of cretaceous vertebrate faunas at the north of the Sistema Central, the sediments of this mesosequence had been assigned mostly to the Paleocene, being correlated with other tertiary deposits of the Duero and Tajo basins. The depositional stacking pattern of their internal 3rd-order sequences has not been determined yet.