Uncertainties in the stratigraphic analysis of fluvial deposits from the Loranca Basin, central Spain

Abstract

A detailed stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis is given of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene continental sediments in a small area (1 km 2) of the Loranca Basin (Province of Cuenca). The studied exposure is a part of the Tórtola fluvial fan and mainly consists of superimposed meander belt sediments. The ages of base and top of the sedimentary succession were obtained by a combination of biostratigraphic and palaeomagnetic data, thus allowing us to estimate the mean sedimentation rates of the section (10 cm/ka). Our estimation of the sediment accumulation rate based on the analysis of palaeosols (18 cm/ka) appears to be reasonably reliable for short-term accumulation rates. The small size of palaeochannels and the relatively wide basin section may have allowed the development of a distributary fluvial system and may have caused the low vertical recurrence of relatively episodic sedimentation. The time interval covered by the sediments studied shows a progressive trend toward drier conditions and higher temperatures, inferred from qualitative and quantitative changes in fossil rodent faunas. These trends coincide with a gradual decrease of maximum values of estimated discharge of our fluvial systems. In these sediments it is dangerous to establish a correlation between the detected possible climatic changes and Milankovitch cycles. This is due to the low sedimentation rate and the frequent discontinuities in our stratigraphic record.