High‐frequency cycles of brachiopod shell beds on subaqueous delta‐scale clinoforms (early Pliocene, south‐east Spain)

Abstract

During the early Pliocene, subaqueous delta-scale clinoforms developed in the Aguilas Basin, in a mixed temperate carbonate-siliciclastic system. The facies distribution is consistent with the infralittoral prograding wedge model. Stacking patterns and bounding surfaces indicate that the clinoforms formed during the highstand and falling sea-level stages of a high rank cycle. Twenty-two prograding clinothems were recognized over a distance of ≥1 km. Biostratigraphic data indicate a time span shorter than 700 kyr for the whole unit (MPl3 biozone of the Mediterranean Pliocene). Cyclic skeletal concentrations and occasional biostromes of suspension feeders (terebratulid brachiopods, modiolid bivalves and adeoniform bryozoan colonies), slightly evolved glauconite and occasional Glossifungites ichnofacies formed on the clinoforms during high-frequency pulses of relative sea-level rise. During such stages, increased accommodation space in the topsets of the clinoforms caused a strong reduction of terrigenous input into the foresets and bottomsets. This provided favourable conditions for the development of these suspension feeder palaeocommunities. During stillstand stages, however, reduced accommodation space in the topsets eventually resumed progradation in the foresets. There, the abundance of Ditrupa tubes indicates frequent siltation events that extirpated the terebratulid populations and other epifaunal suspension feeders in the foreset and bottomset subenvironments. The occurrence of shell beds on the clinoforms suggests that this case study represents lower progradation rates than standard examples where shell beds bound the clinobedded units at their base and top only. Importantly, the distributions of biofacies and ichnoassemblage associations contribute significantly to the understanding of the effects of relative sea-level fluctuations on the evolution of subaqueous delta-scale clinoform systems.

The environmental factors limiting the distribution of shallow-water terebratulid brachiopods

“…The Águilas Basin was a small embayment (about 14 km wide) during the early Pliocene (Fig. 1C) (García-Ramos and Zuschin 2019).

Figure 1.A, Location of the Águilas Arc in southeast Spain (adapted from Bardají et al 2001).

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“…B, Location of the Cabezo Alto–Cañada Brusca area in the Águilas Basin. C, Paleogeographic map of the Águilas Basin during the Zanclean (adapted from García-Ramos and Zuschin 2019). …”

“…The studied strata define originally inclined units that were deposited on a slope (termed “clinobeds”), which were interpreted to reflect high-frequency and low-amplitude relative sea-level changes (García-Ramos and Zuschin 2019). Sedimentologically, these clinobedded units are consistent with sand-prone subaqueous delta-scale clinoforms (sensu Patruno et al 2015), which developed entirely below sea level.…”

“…2A). Following a biological benthic zonation (i.e., Gili et al 2014), these environments were interpreted as mediolittoral to infralittoral (foreshore to upper shoreface) and lower infralittoral to upper circalittoral (lower shoreface) (García-Ramos and Zuschin 2019). The rhodolith debris disappears gradually toward the basin, giving way to fine-grained sands rich in the polychaete Ditrupa arietina along with benthic and planktic foraminifera.…”

“…More specifically, we estimate environmental tolerances of this brachiopod with respect to water depth, bottom oxygenation, bottom temperature, productivity, and organic enrichment. This study area is among the most suitable for this purpose, because abundant and almost monospecific shell beds of Terebratula occur here cyclically in a mixed temperate carbonate–siliciclastic system (García-Ramos and Zuschin 2019).…”