Abstract
Undulation fields found on Mediterranean prodeltaic slopes usually display sub-surface precursory features recognized through seismic profiling and sediment core data. In this contribution we examine the stratigraphic patterns of sub-surface undulations occurring in wedge-shaped Holocene deposits that are in agreement with the episodic activity of hyperpycnal flows. Shallow sub-surface undulation facies show two fundamental features: lateral continuity of reflections and upward migration trends. Upward evolutionary trends may also be observed at the scale of the entire prodeltaic wedges. The most simple cases document repeated wavy stratified patterns or upward transition from sub-parallel to undulate. In some cases, however, the upward evolution can be very complex, with several stages ranging from non-development of undulations to pronounced wave migration, in addition to intermediate aggradational stages. Sedimentologically, sets of undulations exhibit variations between coarse and fine fractions. The sub-surface stratigraphic patterns of prodeltaic undulations are suggestive of enhanced development during evolving environmental conditions, mediated by the alternation of wet and dry climates characteristic of Mediterranean regions. Those conditions would have eventually favoured the activity of episodic hyperpycnal flows. Lateral changes of the internal undulation patterns also reveal the modification of fluvial flows and their imprint in the submarine environment.
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Acknowledgments
This chapter is a contribution to the projects MOSAICO (P06-RNM-01594) and TESELA (P11-787 RNM7069) funded by the “Junta de Andalucía”, and it is also related to project CGL2011-30302-C02-02 funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness. Isabel Mendes thanks the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) for grant SFRH/BPD/72869/2010. The manuscript was improved thanks to useful comments and suggestions made by Roger Urgeles (CSIC-Institut de Ciències del Mar, Barcelona, Spain) and by an anonymous reviewer.
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Lobo, F.J., Bárcenas, P., Mendes, I., Ortega-Sánchez, M., Macías, J., Fernández-Salas, L.M. (2017). Prodeltaic Undulations and Hyperpycnal Flows (II): Evolutionary Trends. In: Guillén, J., Acosta, J., Chiocci, F., Palanques, A. (eds) Atlas of Bedforms in the Western Mediterranean. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33940-5_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33940-5_19
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