Holocene depositional history of the Fluviá—Muga prodelta, northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Seismic analysis of the Fluviá-Muga prodelta, located on the Gulf of Rosas continental shelf, northwestern Mediterranean Sea, is a prograding oblique-sigmoidal depositional wedge. The internal seismic pattern of this wedge records its sedimentary history developed during the Holocene sea-level highstand. Three major types of seismic facies have been identified within the prodeltaic wedge: (1) continuous stratified facies, that characterizes the proximal prodelta environment; (2) discontinuous stratified facies, that describes the middle prodelta environment; and (3) a transparent facies representing the distal prodelta environment. The growth pattern of the prodelta is chiefly controlled by the seasonal character and low water discharge of the Muga and Fluviá rivers, the multiple changes in their mouth locations, the local shelf-current regime developed in the Gulf of Rosas embayment and the predominance of gravity-induced sedimentary processes.