Major controls on sedimentation during the evolution of a continental basin: Pliocene–Pleistocene of the Guadix Basin (Betic Cordillera, southern Spain)

Sequence stratigraphy, based on climatic, tectonic, and base level parameters, can be used to understand carbonate sedimentation in continental basins. The uppermost continental fill of the Guadix Basin (Betic Cordillera), containing both siliciclastics and carbonates, is investigated here. In its central sector a thick succession of fluvio-lacustrine sediments appear, hosting several important Pliocene and Pleistocene macrovertebrate sites (Fonelas Project). The need to characterize the stratigraphic and sedimentologic context of these important paleontologic sites has lead to litho-, magneto- and biostratigraphic studies. These data, together with the sedimentologic analysis of the Pliocene and Pleistocene siliciclastic and carbonate successions, establish a sedimentary model for the fluvio-lacustrine sedimentation of the two last stages of sedimentation in the Guadix Basin (Units V and VI). Unit V comprises mostly fluvial siliciclastic sediments with less abundant carbonate beds interpreted as floodplain lakes or ponds. The latter, Unit VI, is dominated by vertically-stacked, carbonate palustrine successions. Using two pre-existent continental stratigraphic models, the influence of climate, tectonism, and stratigraphic base level during the last 3.5 Ma on the sedimentary evolution of the fluvio-lacustrine system in the Guadix Basin, especially the carbonate sedimentation patterns, is outlined.