Present-day sedimentation patterns of the Gulf of Cadiz northern shelf from heavy mineral analysis

The sedimentary processes on the northern shelf of the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain) are basically controlled by two factors: the different rates of fluvial supply between the northern and southern sectors and the dominant water flows toward the SE. The distribution of heavy minerals shows differences between the two sectors with predominance of ultrastable minerals in the southern sector, in relation to the different supply rates. This distribution is related to the sea-level change during the Holocene, fluvial supplies, and oceanographic factors. The application of statistical multivariate methods to heavy mineral data shows the principal heavy mineral association (epidote—garnet—rutile), which is very similar to that in neighboring terrestrial areas and offers the possibility of referring factors to source areas.