Source areas of the Eastern Ebro Valley loess (NE Iberian Peninsula): heavy mineral composition as a provenance indicator

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2022Author
Plata, José M.
Rodríguez, Rafael
Castelltort Aiguabella, F. Xavier
Antúnez Pujol, Montserrat
Suggested citation
Plata, José M.;
Balasch Solanes, J. Carles (Josep Carles);
Rodríguez, Rafael;
Boixadera Llobet, Jaume;
Castelltort Aiguabella, F. Xavier;
Olarieta, José Ramón;
...
Bosch Serra, Àngela D..
(2022)
.
Source areas of the Eastern Ebro Valley loess (NE Iberian Peninsula): heavy mineral composition as a provenance indicator.
Earth surface processes and landforms, 2022, p.1-18.
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5476.
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Loess deposits of the Eastern Ebro Valley (NE Iberian Peninsula) occupy an area of
2000 km2 mostly on the east of the Ebro depression and locally in the Mora Basin.
We studied 38 samples of loess and 47 samples of their possible source areas, in
order to determine the location of the origin of the loess materials, based on their
particle size distribution and composition of heavy minerals. Our results clearly
differentiate two depositional loess basins disconnected by the reliefs of the
Pre-Coastal Range with different mineralogical signatures: the Ebro Basin and the
Mora Basin. The most relevant variables to discern source areas were the percentage
of heavy minerals, the concentrations of zircon, staurolite, rutile and inosilicates, and
the presence of gypsum. In the Ebro Basin, the largest set of loess deposits is located
around a depocenter in the Batea region and along several lateral areas, with
materials that come from the central alluvial plain of the Middle Ebro River (25 to
>100 km travel distance), in addition to deflated materials from Miocene interfluvial
substrates. On the other hand, loess deposits of the Mora Basin come from more
proximal source areas (<15 km), originating from the alluvial materials of the Lower
Ebro River that contain the contributions of its tributaries, the Cinca and Segre rivers.
Taking into account the homogeneity in the mineralogical composition of complex
loess sequences, we deduced a general WNW–ESE wind direction, which would
have remained constant over the last two cold periods (MIS-2 and MIS-6). Along this
axis, the Pàndols–Cavalls Range, with a height difference of 200–350 m, acted as a
wind barrier separating the loess of Ebro Basin from the loess of Mora Basin.
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Earth surface processes and landforms, 2022, p.1-18European research projects
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