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Environmental significance of gypsum-bearing layers at the “Lo Hueco” paleontological site (Upper Cretaceous, Cuenca, Spain): petrography, fluid inclusions, and isotopic relations

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Abstract

“Lo Hueco” (Cuenca, Spain) is an upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian Fossil-Lagerstätte that has provided more than 8,500 well-preserved macrofossils, including titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs. Although the facies and fossil record point to both fresh and brackish or marine water influences, a detailed study of the sulphate-bearing layers of the site through petrography, fluid inclusions, and isotopes has been undertaken to evaluate the possible marine influence. The two main sulphate units of the “Lo Hueco” site consist chiefly of bimodal micro- to meso- lenticular gypsum crystals that grew displacively in a clayey-carbonate sediment. The well-preserved lenticular gypsum crystals are primary, as demonstrated by the presence of the original twinning and the absence of hydration textures or anhydrite relicts. Primary fluid inclusions of the lenticular gypsum crystals indicate a vadose environment of formation, with salinities between 1,800 and 14,000 ppm, pointing to a brackish but non-marine environment. Furthermore, gypsum exhibits 87Sr/86Sr values between 0.708034 and 0.708120, which are higher than those from marine evaporites of Campanian–Maastrichtian age, indicating a clear influence of fresh water. Gypsum δ 34S VCDT values (18.1 to 19.0 ± 0.5 ‰) and δ 18OVSMOW values (11.0 to 15.2 ± 0.5 ‰), on the other hand, are typical isotopic values recorded in marine evaporites of this age. This apparent contradiction between fluid inclusion and Sr isotopic data is probably the result of some recycling from Upper Cretaceous evaporites. Based on all these observations, the sulphate-bearing layers are interpreted as probably formed in a near-coastal saline mudflat of a playa lake. As a whole, this study highlights the importance of combining different proxies when dealing with evaporites formed in brackish-water environments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the useful comments and revisions on the manuscript of F. Ortí, M. Moragas, E. Playà, L. Domingo, and M.E. Tucker. Barajas is also thanked for her technical support. Part of this research has been financed and carried out within projects PEII11-0237-7926 of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, and CGL2011-25894, CGL2011-227/BTE and CGL2012-35199 of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Estratigrafía, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Laura González-Acebrón

  2. Grupo de Investigación IberCreta, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

    Fernando Barroso-Barcenilla & Manuel Segura

  3. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Fernando Barroso-Barcenilla

  4. Laboratorio de Poblaciones del Pasado (LAPP), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Oscar Cambra-Moo

  5. Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Beatriz Carenas

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  1. Laura González-Acebrón
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Correspondence to Laura González-Acebrón.

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González-Acebrón, L., Barroso-Barcenilla, F., Cambra-Moo, O. et al. Environmental significance of gypsum-bearing layers at the “Lo Hueco” paleontological site (Upper Cretaceous, Cuenca, Spain): petrography, fluid inclusions, and isotopic relations. Facies 60, 755–771 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-014-0402-8

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