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El presente trabajo analiza el uso de funciones matemáticas geocronológicas para el establecimiento de marcos cronológicos teóricos en el análisis de diferentes procesos acaecidos durante el periodo Cuaternario. El progresivo aumento de dataciones absolutas obtenidas mediante diferentes métodos (C14, TL, OSL, ESR, TH/U, Cosmogénicos, etc.) de yacimientos arqueológicos, sedimentos y formas del relieve (p.ej.: terrazas fluviales) hace posible el desarrollo de funciones geocronológicas cada vez más precisas. Entre las más utilizadas se encuentran las funciones de distribución de probabilidades de fechas C14 (SPD y SPDR), funciones de frecuencias acumuladas y funciones de regresión (lineales, potenciales, logarítmicas y polinómicas). En este trabajo nos centramos en las dos últimas indicando su creciente utilidad para la determinación de periodos de sedimentación, erosión, formación de suelos y su comparación con curvas paleoclimáticas derivadas de análisis isotópicos (p.ej. O18), así como la utilización de regresiones logarítmicas y polinómicas de diferente orden para el establecimiento de marcos cronológicos en la evolución de valles fluviales en función de la altura relativa de sus sistemas de terrazas.

The Sencelles Fault constitutes the main extensional structure of Mallorca Island (Spain), holds a NE-SE orientation, and has been identified as the possible seismic source of the 1851 CE Palma earthquake (VII EMS.) The SE termination of the fault (Sta. Eugenia Segment) features a linear bedrock fault scarp of a maximum of 3.15 m height. The last 840 m of this rocky scarp display a significant horizontal banding, with up to five differentially weathered ribbons colonized by lichens. The lichenometric analysis is based on the measurement of 155 specimens of Aspicilia calcarea (Ac) and Aspicilia radiosa (Ar) in tombstones and funerary monuments (with inscribed dates) from the nearby cemeteries of Sta. María del Camí, Sta. Eugenia and Sencelles, to obtain the local lichen growth rates (LGR), with the two last graveyards being directly located in the fault zone. Lichens were measured on variously oriented (N, S, NE, SW, etc…) horizontal and vertical surfaces, generating differentially oriented lichen populations (DOLPs) to be compared with the Ac and Ar specimens colonizing the studied fault scarp (38 measured individual specimens). After successive trial and error regression tests, vertical DOLPs resulted in the best appropriate groups for the analysis, with LGR of 0.23–0.31 mm/yr. Horizontal ones reached widths of up to 20 cm, with LGR up to 0.84 mm/yr, which were clearly oversized. The application of the selected LGR points to a human-induced origin for the thin basal lichen ribbon of the scarp (10–13 cm), which should have developed during the middle 20th century (c. 1950–1966) because of documented ground leveling works. However, the second ribbon of the scarp (23–47 cm) shows exposure dates of 1852 ± 40 (Ar) and 1841 ± 59 (Ac), overlapping the date of the 1851 CE earthquake. The study is complemented with data from a fault trench excavated in the year 2002 at the toe of the scarp. The combined data of lichenometry, fault trenching, and the length of the analyzed fault scarp (c. 840 m) indicate that the studied segment of the fault cannot be considered a co-seismic surface faulting related to the 1851 CE event as a whole, but a relevant secondary earthquake effect on a pre-existing fault scarp (e.g., sympathetic ground ruptures).

Background COVID-19 related in-hospital venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence is high but data reported vary significantly. Some studies show that up to half of the events are diagnosed early after admission. Objectives To study symptomatic VTE incidence in acute COVID-19 hospitalized patients and to describe timing of VTE diagnosis. Methods Multicenter cohort of 5966 patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19. Multicenter Registry of 844 hospitalized patients with acute COVID-19 and associated acute VTE. Results By the time of cohort data collection, 68 patients (1.14%) were still hospitalized, 19.8% had died, and 5.4% required ICU. During a median follow-up of 6 days (IQR, 4–12), 183 patients (3.07%; 95% CI, 2.64–3.55) presented a symptomatic VTE event. The cumulative incidences of VTE at 7, 14 and 21 days in wards [2.3% (95% CI, 1.9–2.7), 3.6% (95% CI, 3.0–4.3), and 4.3% (95% CI, 3.5–5.1)] were similar to the ones reported in ICU [2.2% (95% CI, 1.0–4.4), 2.9% (95% CI, 1.5–5.3), and 4.1% (95% CI, 2.2–6.8)], but at 30 and 60 days were higher in ICU [6.9% (95% CI, 4.2–10.5), and 12.8% (95% CI, 8.1–18.5)] than in wards. Eighty-eight VTE events (48%) were diagnosed early, within 48 h of admission. VTE was not associated with death (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.55–1.12). Conclusions Incidence of symptomatic VTE in our COVID-19 cohort is consistent with that of other real-life studies recently published. Early VTE events are, along with COVID-19, the reason for admission rather than an in-hospital complication.

Over the past decades, substantial progress has been made in tsunami research. Be that as it may, little is still known about tsunami deposits and their related depositional mechanisms in coastal areas in historical and archaeological contexts. In particular, the Phoenician, Greek and Roman trade and military networks along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, with their cities, harbours and additional facilities, are susceptible to serving as archives for extreme wave events. The ruins of the Roman city of Baelo Claudia, located on the Bay of Bolonia Bay (southern Spain), offer a unique environment for studying historical tsunamis in the Gulf of Cadiz. Baelo Claudia suffered at least two earthquakes in Roman times, namely, in the first and fourth centuries CE. The latter, associated with a tsunami, led to the city’s destruction and subsequent decline. Accordingly, three tsunami deposits in Baelo Claudia, dated to ca. 4000 cal BP (2000 BCE), ca. 400 CE and 1755 CE, the last corresponding to the Lisbon tsunami, are described here. The multi-disciplinary research conducted on the sedimentary, archaeological and palaeontological records has revealed event deposits, together with major landscape changes in the environs of the bay after tsunami landfall. Furthermore, the significant archaeoseismic damage detected in recently excavated buildings has been dated to the end of the fourth-century CE. The results presented here serve to supplement the earthquake and tsunami record of coastal Iberia., The authors are grateful to German Science Foundation (DFG grant, RE 1361/28-1) and the MINECO-FEDER Spanish Research Project CGL2015-67169-P (QTECSPAIN-USAL) for their support.

This work presents a macroseismic analysis of the AD 1755 Lisbon Earthquake-Tsunami event by means of the combination of intensity data derived from the EMS-98 scale and the ESI-07 scale (Environmental damage). About 600 records of secondary earthquake environmental effects (EEEs) for the whole Spain have been used to define intensities, focused on the SW portion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish data have been complemented with 308 EEEs records from Portugal. The analyses indicate maximum intensities of X EMS-ESI along the Atlantic margin of the Iberian Peninsula with 76 records of Tsunami environmental effects (TEEs). An important amplification (VIII – VII) occurred all along the Guadalquivir basin and the adjacent Betic front at epicentral distances of 300–700 km. In these zones 55 records of ground effects (ground cracks, Liquefactions and slope movements) are catalogued. In the rest of the territory of the Peninsula the most widespread effects were hydrogeological changes with 505 records in Spain and 196 in Portugal (total 701 records) covering all the intensity levels. Increase of flow discharges in springs and elevation of water level in wells was the common groundwater response to seismic shacking, especially in SW Iberia. In this zone water elevation in wells was between 5 and 3 m and persistent increases of discharges long-lasting (several days to two months). Persistent discharges on springs were linked in 143 cases to important SW-NE crustal faults (e.g., Alentejo-Plasencia Fault). From the Intensity distribution the historic seismic scenarios are explored by means of the development of empirical ShakeMaps. These consider the three classical seismic sources proposed for this earthquake: Gorringe Bank (G); Marques de Pombal Fault (M) and Atlantic delamination beneath the Gulf of Cadiz (C). However, individually these seismic sources are too small and unable to generate the resulting seismic scenario depicted by the intensity map developed in this work, with onshore seismic accelerations (PGA) up to 0.82 g. These acceleration values and the great amplification experienced throughout the Guadalquivir basin (0.34–0.52 g) are only possible considering a combination of the three seismic sources (GMC Source) probably related to shallow subduction or lithospheric delamination beneath SW Iberia and the Gulf of Cadiz. This will suggest an NNE-SSW offshore rupture length of 350–360 km with an overall rupture area of c. 84,500 km2 resulting in an event magnitude 8.6 Mw calculated from empirical relationships. The results demonstrate the efficacy of these kind of approaches for better identifying and modelling seismic sources for historical events, This work was supported by the Spanish Research Project MINECOFEDER CGL2015-67169-P (QTECSPAIN - USAL). It is a contribution of the Earthquake Geology Group (TPPT) of the INQUA TERPRO Commission. Authors are grateful to the constructive comments of Joao Fonseca and an anonymous reviewer who significantly improved the content of this paper

This study presents a multidisciplinary approach to the tectonic geomorphology and history of the Palomares strike-slip fault in the Eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain). Analysis combines geomorphological mapping of fan-surfaces, pedological studies of faulted sedimentary successions, geoelectrical prospection and typical paleoseismological routines of structural analyses. Combined application of these methods together with the existing geochronological databases offer probable paleoclimatic and paleoseismic scenarios for the zone from Middle Pleistocene to Holocene. This study segments the Palomares Fault (PLF) in three overlapping “en echelon” N–S trends (PLF1, PLF2, PLF3). The older PLF1 controls the main faulted Almenara-Almagro range fronts. The younger PLF2 cuts and beheads crusted fan surfaces in the Aljibejo zone (ABJ). The intermediate PLF3 controls the development of intervening tectonic reliefs and offset paleosol sequences in alluvial-colluvial deposits. Our analysis focuses on the PLF3 at the La Escarihuela site (ESCH), where outcrops display eight faulted paleosols developed on overlapped Middle Pleistocene colluvial-alluvial deposits, with variable vertical slip of between 21 and 12 cm (bulk accumulated offset: 33 cm), evidence of two surface faulting events. After the structural analysis of the fault planes (striae plunges) net left-lateral displacements of 120.9 ± 3.3 cm (Event 1) to 69.1 ± 5.2 cm (Event 2), associated with maximum magnitudes of c. 6.7–6.5 Mw. However, the faulted sequence is sealed by a thick mature calcrete horizon of similar characteristics to that faulted at the ABJ1 site. Regional chronological data on calcic soils and calcretes in SE Spain assign this mature calcrete to Oxygen isotopic stages (OIS) 9 (c. 300 ka). With this age fixed at the uppermost of the faulted paleosol sequence at the ESCH site (PLF3), soil development features (clay and carbonate contents, thickness, reddishness, etc.) were used as paleoclimatic proxies to correlate soil horizons with conventional OIS. Correlation indicates that clayey Bt soil horizons primarily occurred during warm isotopic stages followed by recalcification and carbonate accumulation (Btk; Bk; Ck horizons) during latter warmer stages. A proposed theoretical geochronological framework suggests that the sedimentary sequence at the ESCH site (PLF3) was deposited between OIS 18 and 9. Major environmental change towards the present semi-arid climate occurred during OIS 13 (c. 500 ka). During this same stage, paleoseismic event 1 also occurred, but paleoseismic event 2 took probably place during OIS 10 (c. 350 ka), before development of the uppermost calcrete sealing the deformation in this fault segment. However, this OIS 9 calcrete is faulted in the ABJ1 and a younger less developed calcrete is faulted in ABJ2 on the PLF2 segment. Chronology proposed in this paper suggests theoretical ages for these events of between OIS 8-OIS 5 for ABJ1 (c. 200 ka) and between OIS 4 -OIS 2 for ABJ2 (c. 40 ka). This last paleoseismic event triggered major landscape changes with still-visible fault scarps, linear tectonic reliefs, alluvial fan beheading and active drainage shuttering. This present work illustrates the use of soil/paleosol analyses in paleoseismology as a useful tool to build paleoclimatic analogues and develop relative chronological frameworks from existing regional age data.

The great degree of human development in recent centuries has generated an environmental problem: the spread of human activities through the landscape without sustainable planning. Currently, most natural areas of the planet that are protected for their natural resources have not been impacted by linear infrastructure. The landscape is one of the natural resources that is adversely affected by linear infrastructure. In this short essay, a methodological procedure is described that is easy to use and cost effective and allows for early stage environmental planning. The method uses environmental assessment maps in which weighted pixel values for landscape quality and visual fragility are predetermined. GIS techniques, such as accumulated costs and driving direction scripts, are used to calculate linear infrastructure routes that have the lowest environmental impact. The optimal path is generated by quantitatively calculating the impact of each map pixel along the route such that alternative routes can be selected prior to construction. This method is a powerful tool for environmental modelling focused on the avoidance of environmental impacts during the assessment phase of a project.

The present study deals with the morphometric quantification of erosion and illustrates the uplift component triggered by denudation (isostasy) in the growth and evolution of a rising orogeny by the application of Airy isostasy concepts. The Gibraltar Arc, located in the Western&ndash, Central sector of the Betic Cordillera, developed an exceptional geological scenario during the Messinian Salinity Crisis since the thin emerged fringe of the uprising Cordillera disconnected the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins, generating a relevant misbalance and asymmetry in the fluvial erosion between the two slopes of the emergent orogeny. Our analysis was applied to 50 individual drainage basins (spatial isostatic units) in the Western&ndash, Central Betic Cordillera, allowing us to obtain individual and bulk estimates for these isostatic parameters. GIS-based numerical estimations were obtained using LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) provided by the Spanish Geographical Institute and reconstructed pre-incision surface models obtained from proxy paleo-elevation data, estimated from stratigraphic and geomorphological littoral to shallow marine markers. The obtained values for geophysical relief, denudation plates, erosion/uplift rates and computed accumulated uplift (245&ndash, 407 &plusmn, 20 m) are higher for the ancient Mediterranean slope of the orogen. On the contrary, the Atlantic slope presents an accumulated uplift of only 138&ndash, 236 &plusmn, 20 m, indicating the strong control of the ancient Messinian Atlantic&ndash, Mediterranean water divide. The temporal study of erosion indicates that most of the difference in uplift in the Mediterranean slope was achieved during or soon after the Messinian Salinity Crisis, resulting in mean uplift rates of 0.21 mm/y, but practically null (0.01 mm/y) for the Atlantic slope. The comparison of the geophysical relief models with proxy paleo-elevation data allowed us to assess the current state of the denudation process in the range. The results indicate that, towards the west of the range denudation compensated elevation, and is actively back-feeding isostatic rebound. Therefore, the contribution of external processes to mountain range elevation through isostasy is quantitatively estimated using elevation data. In this case, a relevant part of the surface uplift (50-55%) is undertaken by the orogen. Ultimately, the Messinian Salinity Crisis-related isostatic response to differential denudation may be behind the quaternary westward tilting of Iberia, causing more than 70% of the Peninsula to drain towards the Atlantic.

El análisis de los daños producidos por eventos sísmicos en yacimientos arqueológicos proporciona mucha información sobre terremotos antiguos e históricos que pueden mejorar los análisis de peligrosidad sísmica. En este trabajo se propone una metodología de análisis que permite cuantificar la deformación a partir de los daños observados en un yacimiento de forma que se pueda establecer su posible origen sísmico. Esta metodología consta de tres fases: (a) Identificación e inventario de daños, (b) cuantificación de la deformación y (c) incorporación de los resultados a los catálogos sísmicos. La primera fase consiste en inventariar y cartografiar los daños siguiendo la clasificación de efectos arqueológicos de terremotos (EAE). La segunda fase consiste en cuantificar la deformación de esos daños, estableciendo diferentes parámetros como la dirección de máxima deformación horizontal (ey). Este análisis se realiza a diferentes escalas: individualmente para cada EAE inventariado, para el conjunto de daños del mismo tipo de efecto, y finalmente para todo el yacimiento considerado. El grado de homogeneidad en los resultados nos permite establecer el origen sísmico de las deformaciones. Esta metodología se ha desarrollado en al yacimiento romano de Baelo Claudia (Cádiz, España) y se ha aplicado a diferentes terremotos históricos de la Península Ibérica. Para calibrar este análisis, la metodología se ha aplicado a dos terremotos instrumentales: el terremoto de Lorca de 2011 (5,1 Mw; Murcia, España) y al terremoto de Emilia Romagna de 2012 (5,9 Mw; Italia)., Departamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Departamento de Geología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad Salamanca

Este trabajo propone un modelo cinemático 3D de la confluencia de las placas tectónicas Norteamericana y Pacífica con las placas de Rivera y Cocos, centrado en la zona de convergencia de la Fosa Mesoamericana en el área de México. A partir del análisis de más de 1300 mecanismos focales de terremotos (M ≥ 5.5) obtenidos de la base de datos en abierto del programa Global Centroid-Moment-Tensor (CMT), se han aplicado diversas técnicas de geología estructural para obtener la distribución espacial de los tensores de deformación (ey, ex, ez) y del factor de forma (k’) de dichos tensores. Estas técnicas consisten en el estudio de los Diedros Rectos de los mecanismos focales y de la aplicación del Modelo de Deslizamiento, basados en la cinemática del deslizamiento sobre el plano de falla teórico asociado a cada sismo. Este análisis permite realizar un estudio tridimensional de la deformación mediante el agrupamiento espacial 3D de los diferentes tensores (análisis cluster), agrupando zonas homogéneas en estilos de deformación, junto con los diagramas triangulares de clasificación de mecanismos focales (Kaverina) en relación con la geometría de la subducción y de la presencia de flujos mantélicos. También se han calculado perfiles profundos de la deformación y del factor de forma (k’) en relación a la geometría de la subducción y las principales estructuras tectónicas. Los resultados muestran una zonación 3D influenciada por el ángulo de subducción y el aumento de la velocidad de convergencia hacia el SE, en relación al acoplamiento mecánico de la subducción, apareciendo menos terremotos inversos en la convergencia de la Placa de Rivera con la Placa Norteamericana, frente a la Placa de Cocos con la Placa Norteamericana. La geometría 3D propuesta es congruente con la distribución espacial de grandes terremotos, el ángulo de subducción, la presencia de corrientes mantélicas a 100 km de profundidad y la presencia de terremotos en fallamiento normal. Este modelo también podría explicar la presencia de terremotos anómalos como terremotos lentos y silenciosos en el Gap de Guerrero.

This paper presents a geomorphological analysis of the littoral zone of the Arosa-Pontevedra estuary mouth and identifies geomorphological units and categorizes them into morphogenetic systems. The different morphogenetic systems are used to establish a comprehensive evolutionary analysis, contrasting the depositional systems found in the continental littoral zone with the marine erosional systems (‘rasas’). The compiled cartography groups the geomorphological units into the following: the lithoestructural morphogenetic system with large-scale forms (domes, inselbergs, residual relief, etc.) and small-scale forms (gnammas, tafoni, channels, etc.); the littoral morphogenetic system comprised of marine (marine terraces, beaches, tidal bars, tombolos and coastal arrows), transition (marshes, lagoons and fan deltas) and eolian (dune systems) settings; the fluvial morphogenetic system with channelled (alluvial, flood plain and river terraces), transition (alluvial fans and alluvial cones) and sheet flood (pediments and glacis) systems; the gravitational morphogenetic system (colluvium); and the alteration morphogenetic system (sand-alteration)., This work has been supported by the research projects CGL2015-67169-P (MINECO-FEDER) and CGL2015-69919-R

This work analyses the chronology of fluvial terrace sequences of the two most important fluvial basins from central Spain draining to the Atlantic Ocean (Upper Tagus and Duero drainage basins). Both basins evolved under similar Mediterranean climatic conditions throughout the Pleistocene and present comparable number of fluvial terraces (16–17) after excluding the higher terrace levels of the Tagus (T1–T5) entrenched in the Rana surface. These higher “ranizo terraces” was formed in response to fan-head trenching in this high alluvial piedmont (+220 m) and therefore not properly controlled by Quaternary fluvial downcutting. The study accomplishes the implementation of multiple regression analyses for terrace height-age relationships. To transform relative terrace heights above the present river thalwegs (i.e. +100 m) in numerical ages a “height-age transference function” has been developed on the basis of preliminary statistical geochronological approaches proposed for Central Spain. The resultant height-age transference function gather 73 published geochronological data for terrace sequences, featuring a 3rd Order Polynomial Function (R2 0.90). This function describes the overall trend of valley downcutting for the last c. 2.3 Ma in Central Spain and is used to assign numerical ages to terrace levels at different relative elevation.

Geomorphology is fundamental to landscape analysis, as it represents the main parameter that determines the land spatial configuration and facilitates reliefs classification. The goal of this article is the elaboration of thematic maps that enable the determination of different landscape units and elaboration of quality and vulnerability synthetic maps for landscape fragility assessment prior to planning human activities. For two natural spaces, the final synthetic maps were created with direct (visual-perceptual features) and indirect (cartographic models and 3D simulations) methods from thematic maps with GIS technique. This enabled the creation of intrinsic and extrinsic landscape quality maps showing sectors needing most preservation, as well as intrinsic and extrinsic landscape fragility maps (environment response capacity or vulnerability towards human actions). The resulting map shows absorption capacity for areas of maximum and/or minimum human intervention. Sectors of high absorption capacity (minimum need for preservation) are found where the incidence of human intervention is minimum: escarpment bottoms, fitted rivers, sinuous high lands with thick vegetation coverage and valley interiors, or those areas with high landscape quality, low fragility and high absorption capacity, whose average values are found across lower hillsides of some valleys, and sectors with low absorption capacity (areas needing most preservation) found mainly in the inner parts of natural spaces: peaks and upper hillsides, synclines flanks and scattered areas. For the integral analysis of landscape, a mapping methodology has been set. It comprises a valid criterion for rational and sustainable planning, management and protection of natural spaces., This work has been supported by the research projects CGL2015-67169-P (MINECO-FEDER) and CGL2015-69919-R.

The recent geodynamic evolution of Iberia is recorded in its topography. Geomorphic markers and their dating; morphometric indices estimated through cutting-edge DEM analysis techniques; and the link of all this data with results of geophysical studies allow discussing why Iberia displays the highest average elevation in Europe and shows a particular topography with such diversity of landscapes. For example, the region of the Iberian (or Hesperian) Massif, the western sector of Iberia, shows an anomalous average elevation without a satisfactory explanation. On the other hand, different explanations about the recent evolution of the Alpine mountain ranges of the eastern sector of Iberia have come to light after macroscale landscape analyses. This is strengthening the debate on the driving force behind the actual topography of the Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains, Iberian Chain and Betics.

The Malaga basin contains an important geological record documenting the complex paleogeographic evolution of the Gibraltar Arc before, during and after the closure and desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea triggered by the “Messinian Salinity crisis” (MSC). Proxy paleo-elevation data, estimated from the stratigraphic and geomorphological records, allow the building of quantitative paleogeoid, paleotopographic and paleogeographic models for the three main paleogeographic stages: pre-MSC (Tortonian-early Messinian), syn-MSC (late Messinian) and post-MSC (early Pliocene). The methodological workflow combines classical contouring procedures used in geology and isobase map models from geomorphometric analyses and proxy data overprinted on present Digital Terrain Models. The resulting terrain quantitative models have been arranged, managed and computed in a GIS environment., Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, España, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España, Departamento de Edafología, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, España, Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, España, Departamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España

[EN]Classical studies of tufas lack quantitative outcrop descriptions and facies models, and normally do not integrate data from subsurface in the stratigraphic and evolutive analysis. This paper describes themethodology followed to construct one of the first digital outcrop models of fossil tufas. This model incorporates 3-D lines and surfaces obtained from a terrestrial laser scanner, electric resistivity tomography (ERT) profiles, and stratigraphic and sedimentologic data from 18 measured sections. This study has identified seven sedimentary units (from SU-1 to SU-7) which are composed of tufa carbonates (SU-1; 3; 5; 6) and clastics (SU-2; 4; 7). Facies identified occur in different proportions: phytoherm limestones of bryophytes represent 43% of tufa volume, bioclastic limestones 20%, phytoherm limestones of stems 12%, oncolitic limestones 8%, and clastics 15%. Three main architectural elements have been identified: 1) Steeply dipping strata dominated by phytoherm limestones of bryophytes; 2) gently dipping strata dominated by phytoherm limestones of stems; and 3) horizontal strata dominated by bioclastic and oncoid limestones. The alternation of tufa growth and clastic input stages is interpreted as the result of climatic changes during Mid–Late Pleistocene., 18.KA4A-463 A.C.01, Universidad de Salamanca CGL2014-54818-P of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO).

El relleno sedimentario que alberga el registro arqueológico y antropológico de la Galería del Osario (cueva de El Sidrón) presenta una alta complejidad, tanto en los tipos de sedimentos como en su distribución espacial en la cavidad. Los principales factores que rigen esta complejidad son la naturaleza episódica y altamente energética de gran parte de las unidades litoestratigráficas reconocidas y la irregular geometría del propio conducto, que compartimenta significativamente las áreas de deposición. A modo de resumen puede indicarse que en la Galería del Osario quedan representados todos los tipos de materiales detríticos típicos de depósitos alóctonos en ambiente kárstico; desde materiales bien seleccionados de granulometría fina representativos de facies de encharcamiento (arcillas de la unidad O) o de desbordamiento (Unidad IV), a depósitos groseros mal seleccionados correspondientes a coladas de barro y detritos en masa (Unidad II y base de unidad III), pasando por típicas facies fluvio-kársticas o de canal compuestas por materiales arenosos con laminaciones y estructuras de flujo (unidades I y II). Los restos óseos se concentran en la unidad III. El área fuente se sitúa en cotas superiores a la Galería del Osario, es decir, en los niveles intermedio o superior del sistema kárstico, y el depósito o entrada de material óseo a la Galería del Osario se activaría en episodios de alta energía relacionado con eventos de inundación y/o tormenta. The sedimentary infill bearing the archaeological and anthropological record of the Ossuary Gallery (the Sidrón cave) shows high complexity in both sediment types and their spatial distribution in the cavity. The main factors that govern this complexity are the episodic and highly energetic nature of the recorded sedimentary infill units and the irregular geometry of the gallery itself, which significantly compartmentalized areas of deposition. Briefly, all types of typical allochthonous detrital material deposits in karst environments are represented in the Ossuary Gallery; from well-sorted fine-grained sediment facies representative of backswamp (clays of the unit O) or slackwater (Unit IV), to poorly-sorted coarse-grained deposits corresponding to mudflows and debris flows (Unit II and Unit III base), and typical channel facies composed of laminated sands and silts (units I and II). The bone and lithic remains are concentrated in unit III. The source area is above the Ossuary Gallery, at the intermediate or higher karst levels. The input of archeological material to the Ossuary Gallery was triggered in high energy episodes in association to flood events and / or storms. Este trabajo se ha financiado desde 1999 mediante diferentes contratos de investigación realizados entre el Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, la Universidad de Oviedo, la Universidad de Alicante, el Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC, Madrid) y la Universidad de Salamanca.

An archaeoseismological study of Tira del Lienzo (Totana, Spain) was undertaken. The site belongs to the Argar archaeological group (2200–1550 cal. B.C.; Bronze Age). It is located on the trace of the reverse left-lateral Alhama de Murcia fault (AMF) that was responsible for the 5.1 Mw 2011 Lorca earthquake. The constructive typology of the site consists of mortar-free irregular natural boulders (dry-set masonry) and differs from earlier archaeoseismological sites built on regular masonry constructions in the Betic Cordillera. Four Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) were identified as follows: (1) an apparent surface rupture (c. 18 cm left-lateral offset), (2) the differential coseismic uplift of several centimeters affecting the main building of the settlement, (3) the widespread development of fractures on the ground surface (ground cracks) in a NE-SW direction consistent with the kinematics of the AMF, and (4) fractures in boulders that constitute the remains of the dry stone walls at the site. Structural analysis of the two fracture types reveals two nearly orthogonal sets (NE-SW and NW-SE), matching the strike-slip kinematics of the AMF in the zone. Archaeoseismic evidence and related radiocarbon dates of the different building phases of the Bronze Age site indicate the probable occurrence of at least one strong seismic event (6.3–6.5 Mw; IX ESI-07) around 1550 cal. B.C., or soon after, triggering the destruction and probably the eventual abandonment of the site. We have identified an ancient lost earthquake from the Bronze Age and report the first archaeoseismological evidence of surface rupture in the Iberian Peninsula. This study also provides the first numerical data in the Totana-Alhama segment of the AMF based on the recorded archaeoseismic displacements. These data allowed us to characterize the related slip rates (0.05 mm/yr) to define the seismic potential of the analyzed fault segment of the AMF, which was poorly defined by previous seismic and geological data.

One of the most important geological effects generated by the seismic events of Emilia Romagna (Italy, 2012) was the liquefaction. The first earthquake took place on 20th May (5.9 Mw) and generated liquefaction in the locality of San Carlo, mainly recorded as large fissure sand volcanoes. Detailed stratigraphic and sedimentology analyses of these sand bodies indicated the assemblage of rhythmic normal graded beds of sand for many individual sand volcanoes. This is interpreted as repeated individual sand extrusions generating polygenetic sand blows for a single earthquake. This original analysis, made for first time in a case of extensive seismic liquefaction, indicates that the different pulses sand extrusion occurred after seismic shaking, and therefore no related to the cyclic seismic shearing stimulated by surface seismic waves. Underground liquefaction of shallow sandy layers and ground cracking, assisted by relevant lateral spreading, promoted water and sand ejections (E–W direction). Localised and repeated ground subsidence and bulging supported by the ejection of the underlying fluidized sediments feedback transient ground undulations and repeated sand ejections. The unstable undulating behaviour of the ground reinforced and sustained the liquefaction process through time after the seismic shaking, leading the occurrence of polygenetic sand volcanoes. In summary, the seismic liquefaction is the starting point of the process, although only if these sand ejections could promote the instability of the ground since underground sand depletions feedback the liquefaction process through time. The process stops when the hydrostatic balance is recovered in the affected zone.

by Witold Zuchiewicz and Jerzy Zasadni (2012) intended for this volume YOUNG TECTONICS OF THE OUTER WESTERN CARPATHIANS IN THE LIGHT OF SOME MORPHOMETRIC INDICES In this paper, we test the applicability of some morphometric indices commonly used in tectonic-geomorphological studies to the area of the Outer Western Carpathians representing an Alpine fold-and-thrust belt. This belt was shaped largely in Miocene times and shows traces of Pliocene-Quaternary tectonic activity consisting mainly in some remnant folding and faulting. This is indicated by scarce examples of faulting within Quaternary strata, numerous cases of clast fracturing owing to palaeoearthquakes of relatively large magnitudes, as well as warping and tilting of Pleistocene and Holocene strath terraces. Analysis of selected morphometric indices (valley floor width-valley height ratio, riverbed gradients, stream length-gradient index, basin elongation ratios and others), conducted for the entire region and some chosen test areas in the westernmost part of the Outer Western AC C EP TE D M AN U SC R IP T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 24 Carpathians, proved their usefulness in detecting zones showing tendencies to young surface uplift. However, in the case of the stream length-gradient index (SL, Hack’s index) a word of caution should be added, since the index is extremely sensitive to lithologic contrasts in the bedrock and its applicability to young tectonic analysis of fold-and-thrust belts appears to be strongly limited. Dr Andrzej Piotrowski, apiot@pgi.gov.pl, Szczecinie Panstwowy Instytut Geologiczny, Szczecin, Poland and Dr Klaus Reicherter, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Normally in paleoseismology, the study of the tectonic slip-rate is performed in trenches on the fault scarp, or by the estimation of fault movements from the geomorphic features. In this work, we have carried out a paleoseismic analysis of the Benis Fault, located in southeast Spain, combined with a geothermal analysis inside a deep cave related to the fault (−350 m). Thus, we have estimated the last earthquake magnitude and time of occurrence from evidence of ceiling collapse and displaced carbonate blocks inside a cave, which is developed across the fault. The magnitude was obtained from the application of the empirical relationship of the fault parameters and coseismic vertical displacement, yielding a value ranging between M 5.9 and M 6.5. Moreover, we dated this paleoearthquake by the paleontological record of a “Lynx pardinus spelaea”, with an age of 65 ± 18 ka BP. Additionally, we have measured the thermal profile of the Benis Cave (−350 m of depth), from single rock point temperature measurements during 2 years. The temperature profile shows three different parts inside the cave, the shallow heterogeneous thermal zone till 50 m depth; the homogeneous thermal zone 150 m till with constant temperature and the hetero-thermal deep zone, deeper than 150 m and till the deepest zone (350 m). Furthermore, we have estimated the Vertical Geothermal Gradient, 1.85 °C/100 m for the deepest zone (−150; −290 m). The temperature increases with depth, showing a reverse thermal profile in comparison with normal gradients in deep caves. Finally, we have calculated the heat flux of 0.46 mWm., This work is a contribution of the Spanish projects SISMOSIMA CGL2013-47412-C2-2-P and CGL2015-67169-P (QTETCSPAIN-USAL), granted by the MINECO-FEDER Spanish Ministry.

This work performs a geomorphological mapping procedure applied to the evolutionary analysis of the landscape, such that it groups different geomorphological units photointerpreted in large geomorphological domains. This allows greater utility and ease of identification and application in the different multidisciplinary studies of environmental geology and the evolution of the landscape. Geomorphological analysis allows the investigation of the reconstruction of the relief from the processes that have shaped the landscape over time. This work is a tool for the analysis of palaeolandscapes and palaeoreliefs applied to correct environmental and sustainable planning of the territory. The process starts from a morphostructural zoning in which they are grouped according to their erosive and depositional forms and the morphogenetic system to which they belong: structural, fluvial, gravitational, and polygenic. The procedure is applied to two natural parks: Batuecas and Quilamas, differentiating 18 geomorphological domains. The 2D and 3D cartographies have been implemented in virtual 3D balloons allowing a greater ease of landscape analysis in the spatial distribution of the different units over orthophotographs. The morphological and chronological evolution of the evolution of the landscape is established from the relative age of the lithological units and the geomorphological domains, as well as by their geospatial position. Georeferenced digital mapping complies with the Inspire directive for these natural spaces., This research was funded by projects from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness CGL2015-67169-P and CGL2015-69919-R., We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).

This paper summarizes the content and scope of the “Catalogue of Earthquake Geological Effects in Spain”. The catalogue has been published by the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) and constitutes the first official publication (in Spain) on seismic hazard containing geological information. The catalogue gathers the 51 stronger earthquakes that have occurred in Spain since the Neolithic period to the present and classifies earthquakes with geological or archaeological seismic records in paleoseismic, ancient, historical and instrumental earthquakes. The catalogue offers a variety of parametric information, quality indexes (Qe, Qi, Qg), and Environmental Seismic Intensity Scale (ESI-07) based description of environmental damage structured in individual “event files”. Sixteen of the 51 catalogued events present full information files (full event files), with individualized analyses of the geological and geoarchaeological data as well as graphic information with hybrid ESI-EMS intensity maps, ShakeMaps (seismic scenarios) and complementary kmz files (Google Earth) for each of the sixteen selected earthquakes; among which is the well-known AD 1755 Lisbon earthquake-tsunami. These selected earthquakes present individual environmental earthquake effects (EEE) or earthquake archaeoseismological effects (EAE) files for each catalogued effect containing specific site geo-information and graphic data (photos, graphs, maps, etc.). The second edition of the catalogue record 1027 EEEs and 187 EAEs, of which 322 effects have individual files.

We are very grateful to all the referees for their indispensable and unselfish work that greatly contributed to the improvement of the quality of the papers. The Department of the Environment and the Department of Science, Technology and University of the Aragón Government, as well as the Innovation Ministry of the Spanish Government (CGL2011-12465), provided financial support to organise the scientific meeting “Geomorphological Research in Spain” (Zaragoza, September, 2011). We thank the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), the Spanish Society of Geomorphology (SEG), and the Spanish Society of Quaternary Studies (AEQUA) for supporting the initiative. We are also very grateful to Dr. Cinta Marín for helping with the preparation of the bibliometric data and supplementary material presented in this guest editorial.

The Arriaga Palaeolithic sites, located within the Middle–Late Pleistocene thickened terrace (TCMZ: + 18–22 m) of the Manzanares River valley (Madrid, Central Spain), were subject to intensive archaeological and palaeontological prospecting during the 1980s. Compilation of documents from these old excavations, together with new geoarchaeological, sedimentological, pedological and geophysical data, allow us to locate the morpho-stratigraphic position of the analysed sites within the overall stratigraphy of the TCMZ. This thickened terrace comprises two main fluvial sequences (Lower and Upper) topped by a thick (2.5–5 m) alluvial–colluvial formation. The fluvial sequences are stacked in the study site located in the lowermost reach of the valley, but display complex inset relationships upstream, where they are individualized in two different terrace levels at + 18–22 and + 12–15 m. Terrace thickening was primarily controlled by synsedimentary subsidence caused by dissolution of the evaporitic substratum and locally influenced and backfed by tectonic activity. The regional analysis of the dated (TL and OSL) fluvial sequences containing Palaeolithic sites within the TCMZ, together with new TL dates provided in this study, indicate that the three sedimentary sequences in the TCMZ are time-transgressive valley-fill bodies. Terrace thickening started before the Last Interglacial Period (MIS 6 or older) and continued during whole MIS 5 (lower fluvial sequence) and MIS 4 (upper fluvial sequence) reaching the MIS 3 (top alluvial formation), the latter characterized by the accumulation of alluvial–colluvial sequences derived from the main tributaries and valley slopes. The TCMZ records the Middle–Late Pleistocene boundary, but also the transition between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods during the Late MIS 5 (ca. 96 to 74 ka). The studied Arriaga sites contain evolved Lower Palaeolithic industry (evolved Acheulean techno-complexes) and warm faunal assemblages located within the Lower fluvial sequence, but apparently well constrained Middle Palaeolithic sites are placed within the Upper fluvial sequence at other upstream locations. Deposition of the thickened alluvium was mainly controlled by the upstream advance of dissolution-induced subsidence phenomena, blurring the impact of Late Pleistocene climatic cycles and producing time-transgressive longitudinal valley-fill bodies (i.e. sedimentary sequences). Late Quaternary climatic changes only seem to control the incision/aggradation cycles after the termination of the TCMZ from the Late MIS 3. Dates related to the development of younger inset terraces indicate that they are apparently linked with cold Heinrich events H4 to H1. These younger inset terraces yield cold faunal assemblages and abundant Middle Palaeolithic “Mousterian” assemblages, Departamento de Geología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad de Salamanca, España, Departamento de Arqueología, Paleontología y Recursos Culturales, Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A., España, Departamento de Edafología, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, España, Dirección General de Patrimonio Histórico, Comunidad de Madrid, España, Técnicas Geofísicas S.L., España, Departamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España, Área de Investigación en Peligrosidad y Riesgos Geológicos, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España

Soils are non-renewable resources and therefore must be conserved, particularly in protected natural areas. Correct and rational planning of human activities in fragile conservation landscapes should be based on detailed studies of soil-forming factors, such as climate, geology (lithology and surficial deposits), geomorphology (topography, morphology, slope and hydrology), biology (vegetation and human activity) and time and their relationships with the landscape and landforms. This study analyses the geospatial distribution of different soil units in the natural areas of “Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia” and “Quilamas” and is based on a soil sampling field programme and textural analyses that resulted in soil association maps, dominant soil maps and toposequences that could be extrapolated to natural resource and environmental problems (natural and/or human). In this study, a set of GIS-based digital maps was developed to illustrate the physical attributes of these natural areas. In particular, georeferencing of the various soil-forming factors was used to generate a specific soil map for each natural area and to create a geospatial database, including fact sheets and photographs, of characteristic soil profiles. This soil information was converted into the “kmz” format to geospatially visualise the various soil units in 3D virtual tours using viewers, such as Google Earth, to obtain information regarding the spatial referencing and elevation of the area, interact with the 3D modelling of the tour in Google Earth, overlay the soil map on the orthophoto, activate or deactivate the visible layers, modify the spatial resolution of every point by zooming in or out and obtain the numeric and graphical information for every stop. This soil map can be used in multidisciplinary approaches by adding other thematic layers: lithology, geomorphology, topography, morphology, slope, hydrology, vegetation, et cetera, which would facilitate decision-making by managers and directors of nature areas/parks., Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: Projects CGL2012-33430/BTE and CGL2012-37581/BTE.

The ancient Roman city of Complutum(Alcalá deHenares,Madrid), founded in the 1st century AD,was one of the most important cities ofHispania. The old Roman citywas destroyed, abruptly abandoned, relocated close by and rebuilt during the late 4th century AD. Destruction of the city and its relocation has not yet been explained by archaeologists. In this paper,with ourmultidisciplinary approach, we identify and characterize earthquake archaeological effects (EAEs) affecting the archaeological site, the La Magdalena, an agricultural holding 4 km from the core of Complutum. The most important EAEs in the site are liquefactions (sand dikes and explosive sand-gravel craters) affecting Roman structures, such as water tanks (cisterns), houses and graves. Ground liquefaction generated significant ground cracks, explosive craters and folds in foundations of buildings. Several other Roman sites throughout the valleywere also abandoned abruptly during the 4th century AD, in some caseswith EAEs of similar origin. This suggests the occurrence of a 5.0–6.6 Mw seismic event in the zone, in accordance with the minimum empirical limit of seismically-induced liquefaction and the maximum surface rupture length of the Henares fault., Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España, Departamento de Geología, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad Salamanca, España, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España, Trébede, Patrimonio Cultural, S.L., España, Departamento de Ingeniería del Terreno, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad Salamanca, España, Departamento de Edafología, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, España, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, España, Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, España

The Strait of Gibraltar area is part of the western Eurasian-African convergence zone characterized by a complex pattern of deformation, including thrusting and folding and active normal faulting. Generally, the area is of low-seismicity; only some minor earthquakes have been recorded in the last hundred years. Archaeoseismological data evidences earthquake destruction occurring twice during Roman times. A better neotectonic framework and knowledge on the paleostress evolution of the Strait of Gibraltar area is necessary to find the local sources for those events and to establish an understanding of the recent deformation. Paleoseismic evidence for one moderate earthquake event around 6000-5000 BP along the normal Carrizales Fault is described in this paper. Off-shore high-resolution seismic investigations, structural and paleostress data, high-resolution GPR and geoelectrical resistivity measurements, outcrop investigations and trenching studies are discussed. The data reveal that active faulting takes place along N–S trending normal faults. Hence, N–S directed normal faults in the area are claimed as local candidates for moderate earthquake activity. Return periods of moderate earthquakes in the order of at least 2000–2500 years in the study area may have to be taken into account. Structural data, such a paleostress data and joints are presented and a deformation history for the Strait of Gibraltar area in southern Spain is developed in this study.

Las intervenciones arqueológicas llevadas a cabo durante los años 1996 en Tafesa, 2005 en el yacimiento Hospital 12 de Octubre y 2006 en la desembocadura del arroyo Butarque (Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque) situados al sur de la ciudad de Madrid (España), han aportado nuevos conjuntos líticos contextualizados estratigráficamente en los depósitos fluviales pleistocenos correspondientes al tramo inferior del valle del río Manzanares. Los yacimientos arqueológicos analizados se sitúan geomorfológicamente en la denominada “Terraza Compleja del Manzanares” (TCMZ), la cual constituye un nivel fluvial engrosado (20-15 m de potencia) situado entre +22-16 m sobre el cauce actual del río, a lo largo de su margen derecha. Este nivel fluvial ha sido tradicionalmente considerado de edad Pleistoceno medio en base a la industria achelense y complejos faunísticos encontrados en sus niveles inferiores. Ciertamente, Tafesa es un yacimiento situado en la parte inferior-media de la terraza de +22 m con industria achelense y fauna de Pleistoceno medio. Por el contrario, los niveles superiores de esta misma terraza en los sectores del 12 de Octubre y Villaverde-Butarque se encuentran asociados a industrias del Paleolítico inferior y medio ya pertenecientes al Pleistoceno superior, como sugieren el conjunto de dataciones OSL y TL existentes para la zona. Los datos analizados en este trabajo indican que el desarrollo de este nivel de terraza engrosado comienza durante la parte final de Pleistoceno medio y abarca todo el Estadio Isotópico OIS 5, ya dentro del Pleistoceno superior, The archaeological works developed during the years 1996 in the site of Tafesa, 2005 in the 12 de Octubre Metro Station site and 2006 in the confluence of the Butarque Stream (Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque site) located south of the Madrid City (Spain), have provided new lithic assemblages. These assemblages have been stratigraphically contextualized in the Pleistocene deposits of the Lower Manzanares river valley within the so-called “Manzanares Complex Terrace” (TCMZ). This fluvial terrace constitutes an anomalous thickened (20-15m) deposit at +22-16m above the present river thalweg mainly developed along the right (southern) valley margin. This fluvial level has been traditionally considered of middle Pleistocene age on the basis of the acheulian lithics and faunal assemblages typically located within its lower stratigraphic layers. Certainly, the Tafesa is a fluvial terrace site at +22 m with acheulian industry and middle Pleistocene faunal remains at its lower sedimentary sequence. However, the upper sedimentary levels of this same terrace in the 12 de Octubre y Villaverde-Butarque sites throw lithic assemblages of the lower and upper Paleolithic belonging to upper Pleistocene, as suggested by the available set of TL and OSL dates for the zone. The analyses developed in this study indicate that the development of this thickened fluvial terrace started during the end of the middle Pleistocene, but also comprise the whole Oxygen Isotopic Stage OIS 5 during the upper Pleistocene.

Many on-shore studies focused on high energy marine events occurred in the Gulf of Cadiz have been published since the 1990s. Most of the findings came from sedimentary, palaeontological and geomorphological records on estuaries, marshes, beach-barriers (spit-bars), and some coastal lowlands. Recent off-shore investigations in SW Iberia considered turbidite deposits as a proxy to recognise palaeoearthquakes in this zone. The comparison of datasets from both on-shore and off-shore records indicate that at least five tsunami events generated by strong earthquakes affected this area during the last 7000 years, previous to the more recent and well-documented 1755 AD Lisbon earthquake tsunami event. The catalogue of Holocene palaeotsunami presented here is supported by geological and geomorphological evidences, but also for archaeoseismic and palaeoseismic evidence and written reports for the more recent events occurred during historical times. The recurrence interval for these catastrophic events can be bracketed between 1200 and 1500 years., The research was funded by Projects EU NEAREST, CGL-2008-4000/BTE, CGL-2008-3998/BTE, GRACCIE (CSD-2007-00067) and ACI2008-0726. It is a contribution to IGCP Projects 588 and 567 and of the INQUA Focus Area on Palaeoseismicity and Active Tectonics.

Sedimentary successions of non-marine basins can be considered in terms of accommodation space and sedimentary supply changes. Changes in accommodation space controlling the large-scale architecture of non-marine basins are different in areas with high and low sedimentary supplies. Uplift of intrabasinal monoclines and anticlines reduced the available accommodation space, resulting in changes in both the geometry of the depositional sequences and the large-scale architecture of fluvial, mudflat and shallow carbonate lacustrine deposits. Main drainage fluvial systems record areas with a high sedimentary supply, while mudflats and shallow fluctuating lakes represent areas that received less sediment. Two end members in the large-scale architecture of main drainage fluvial system in the Almazan Basin (Spain) are: (i) ribbon-shaped channel fills with low interconnectivity which pass laterally into mudflats dominated by mudstones and evaporites and into palustrine and shallow carbonate lacustrine deposits (mainly in the A2 depositional sequence); and (ii) sheet-like channel fills with high interconnectivity laterally correlated with stacked calcretes in the marginal mudflats (in the upper part of A3). Ribbon-shaped channel fills formed in areas of high accommodation space and sheet-like channel fills formed in areas of reduced accommodation space.

Palaeontological, geomorphological and sedimentological data supported by isotopic dating on Oxygen Isotopic Stage (OIS) 5e deposits from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, are interpreted with the aim of reconstructing climatic instability in the Northern Hemisphere. Data point to marked climatic instability during the Last Interglacial (OIS 5e), with a change in meteorological conditions and, consequently, in the sedimentary environment. The oolitic facies generated during the first part of OIS 5e (ca. 135 kyr) shift into reddish conglomeratic facies during the second part (ca. 117 kyr). Sea surface Temperature (SST) and salinity are interpreted mainly on the basis of warm Senegalese fauna, which show chronological and spatial differential distribution throughout the Western Mediterranean. Present hydrological and meteorological conditions are used also as modern analogues to reconstruct climatic variability throughout the Last Interglacial, and this variability is interpreted within the wider framework of the North Atlantic record. All the available data indicate an increase in storminess induced by an increase in the influence of north-westerlies, a slight drop of SST in the northern Western Mediterranean, and an important change in meteorological conditions at the end of OIS 5e (117 kyr). These changes correlate well with the decrease in summer insolation and with the climatic instability recorded in North Atlantic high latitudes., Research financed by Spanish Projects CGL-2005-04655/BTE, and CGL-2005-01336/BTE; Consolider—Ingenio 2010 GRACCIE. This paper is a contribution to IGCP Project 495 (Quaternary Land-Ocean Interactions: Driving mechanisms and Coastal Responses) and INQUA Coastal and Marine Processes Commission. Our acknowledgments also to Dr. Delminda Moura and anonymous referee who greatly helped in the improvement of this work.

The Roman archaeological site of Baelo Claudia (Cadiz, south Spain) is located within the Gibraltar Arch, a region with no significant recent or historical seismicity. However, previous studies have emphasized the occurrence of repeated strong archaeoseismic damage (intensity IX MSK) at Baelo Claudia tentatively bracketed in this study around AD 40–60 and AD 260–290. A multidisciplinary study has been carried out including the detailed mapping of surface deformation and building damage, surface geology and geomorphology, collection of structural data, and an extensive ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey. The obtained data are not conclusive when considered separately, but evident links between archaeoseismic damage, structural and GPR data indicate that the destruction of the city was linked to seismic shaking. The analysis of the pattern and orientation of deformation clearly indicates SW–NE directed compression due to ground shaking. This analysis also focuses on localized landslides and liquefaction processes, which appear to be coeval with the earthquakes, but the poor geotechnical parameters of the clayey substratum were determinant to amplify the observed level of destruction. The application of the present Spanish seismic code (NCSE-02) indicates that intensity VIII MSK (0.24–0.26 g) can be reached in this zone for 500 year return periods. Previous studies reported on the occurrence of repeated strong archaeoseismic damage (intensity IX MSK) in the ancient Roman city of Baelo Claudia (first to fourth centuries AD), located at the axial zone of the Gibraltar Strait in southern Spain (Menanteau et al. 1983; Goy et al. 1994; Silleres 1997; Silva et al. 2005, 2006). The archaeological stratigraphy of the city evidences two major episodes of abrupt city destruction tentatively bracketed during AD 40–60 and AD 350–395, separated by an intervening horizon of demolition for city rebuilding (Silleres 1997; Silva et al. 2005), elsewhere interpreted as characteristic of many earthquake-damaged archaeological sites in the Mediterranean (i.e. Stiros 1996; Marco et al. 1997; Hancock & Altunel 1997; Stiros & Papageourgiu 2001; Altunel et al. 2003). The urban geology and general geomorphological features of the study area are described in the previous works of Borja et al. (1993), AlonsoVillalobos et al. (2003) and Silva et al. (2005), evidencing that the Roman city was differentially founded on plastic clayey substratum, Late Quaternary sandy and clayey materials thickening to the coast (up to 5 m thick), and a variable amount of poorly compacted Roman artificial fillings. In addition, all these materials are characterized by poor geotechnical parameters, including high swelling rates for the underlying clayey substratum (Borja et al. 1993). In detail, Silva et al. (2005) From: REICHERTER, K., MICHETTI, A. M. & SILVA, P. G. (eds) Palaeoseismology: Historical and Prehistorical Records of Earthquake Ground Effects for Seismic Hazard Assessment. The Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 316, 93–121. DOI: 10.1144/SP316.6 0305-8719/09/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2009. applied the existing seismic code of Spain (NCSE-94 1997) concluding that it will be necessary to invoke site effect amplification to link the observed damage (over VIII–IX MSK) with local seismic sources. On the other hand, these authors dismiss linking the observed ground deformations with the wellknown AD 365 Crete tsunami event as earlier proposed by other authors (Menanteau et al. 1983), because no evidence of tsunami-related damage is recorded in the ruins. However, recent findings in small fluvial outlets east of Baelo Claudia indicate probable tsunami occurrences in cal. 2150–1825 BP (Alonso-Villalobos et al. 2003) and again in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Becker-Heidmann et al. 2007) in Bolonia Bay. The tsunami event during Roman times is geologically well documented along the Spanish Atlantic coast of the Gibraltar Strait from the Donana marshlands to Cadiz (Lario et al. 2001; Luque et al. 2002; Ruiz et al. 2004) and might correspond with one of the three historically documented tsunamis that occurred between 219 BC and 60 BC in this zone (Campos 1991; Luque et al. 2001). Nevertheless, strong seismic events occurred during the Roman period, presumably affecting southern Spain: the AD 33, AD 346 and AD 382 earthquakes are listed in the Spanish seismic catalogues (i.e. Galbis 1932; Martinez Solares & Mezcua 2002). All these events are poorly documented and supposedly related to the far-field Cape of San Vicente seismic source, responsible for the AD 1775 Lisbon event (Campos 1991; Luque et al. 2001). Dates of some of these historic events match with the assumed ages of AD 40–60 and AD 365–395 proposed for the two events of destruction recorded at Baelo Claudia (Menanteau et al. 1983; Silva et al. 2005). However, even these relatively strong earthquakes produced only ground motions of moderate intensities in the Gibraltar Strait region between VI–VII MSK (Martinez Solares et al. 1979) and V–VI EMS (Martinez Solares 2001) as recorded during the AD 1775 Lisbon event. Ground motions leading to these intensities are insufficient to explain the extensive destruction of the city, making it necessary to consider and check the specific site effect amplification at Baelo Claudia. In any case, an important limitation of archaeoseismological data is that they generally do not allow identification of the causative seismic source (i.e. capable fault) producing the observed architectural disruptions (Hancock & Altunel 1997; Altunel et al. 2003; Similox-Tohon et al. 2006). Additionally, in the particular case of Baelo Claudia, most of the observed archaeoseismological disruptions can be classified as secondary effects of ground shaking (Silva et al. 2005), but might have also been produced by other natural hazards (landslides, ground subsidence, soil creep, etc.) under specific climate and weather conditions. Therefore, thoughtful research is necessary to identify the true nature of the observed deformations by means of analysis of their surface and subsurface records. We tend to divide the observed archaeoseismological damage into two groups: (1) release of impulse-like high energy during seismic events and rupture-like processes; and (2) low energy events, mainly due to gravitational forces, producing ‘slow’ processes, like creep and landslides. This work focused on the detailed mapping of surface deformations and architectural disruptions within the ancient urban zone of Baelo Claudia, in order to determine the extension, nature and structural pattern of the recorded deformations as earlier performed for other archaeological sites in the Mediterranean zone and central Europe (Korjenkov & Marzor 1999; Hinzen & Schutte 2003; Monaco & Tortorici 2004; Similox-Tohon et al. 2006). Measurement of structural data on fractures, cracks, shocks, and pop-up structures affecting the ancient Roman pavements and walls, directions of collapse of columns, houses and city walls, offer enough data to discuss the directivity and pattern of the ground movement triggering the observed architectural destruction. Therefore, we use these kinematic indicators preserved in the ruins in order to probe the directional nature of the deformations to separate effects caused by the eventual progressive ruin and burying of the city from those pointing to seismic shaking. Geophysical analysis of subsurface archaeological remains by means of an extensive ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey has been carried out in order to determine the depth extension of the observed surface deformations. Additionally GPR data have been probed to offer quality information about the subsurface location of probable event horizons. Geodynamic setting of the Gibraltar

Coastal response to tectonic activity and eustatic-climate interactions during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene has been analyzed along the Barbate-Trafalgar shoreline. The study area consists of an uplifted platform (La Breña, ∼ 140 m) bounded by two major NW-SE faults that have created two subsiding areas: Meca in the west and Barbate in the east. The areas of subsidence have favoured the accumulation of a thick morphosedimentary sequence consisting of (in ascending stratigraphic order) beach, alluvial, and aeolian deposits, which repeatedly underwent soil-forming processes. This study outlines the palaeogeographical evolution of the area over the last ∼ 140 ka, as deduced from geomorphological mapping associated with a range of laboratory analyses (mineralogical, geochemical, magnetic susceptibility, and soil micromorphology analyses), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL dating), and existing U-Th dating. Special attention has been paid to the alluvial unit, made up of vertically stacked sandy sheet-flood deposits with interbedded red paleosols. OSL ages suggest that sediment supply to the alluvial/coastal environments took place mainly at the end of the two most recent glacial periods (Oxygen Isotopic Stage [OIS] 6 and OIS 3/OIS 2) and during the last interglacial period (end of OIS 5). This means that although alluvial sedimentation took place at times of relatively high sea level, these were not times of highstand because very high sea levels (like the present) allow marine erosion of the distal part of the fans (fan toes), cutting cliffed coasts. The repeated occurrence of paleosols in the alluvial sequence seems to indicate a recurrence of environmental changes that modified the feedback relationships between the catchment and the coastal areas. These changes are recorded in repeated oscillations of soil parameters, and are revealed from the results of geochemical and environmental magnetism analyses. We associate repeated pedogenesis and alluvial sedimentation with the glacial/interglacial global climatic changes due to an oscillating humidity/aridity ratio rather than with cyclicity in thermal regime., This research has been funded by Projects BTE 2002-1065 and BTE 2002-1691; CGL 2005-01336/BTE and CGL 2005-04655/BTE; Consolider - Ingenio 2010 - GRACCIE. It is also a contribution to Projects INQUA “Marine and Terrestrial Processes”, IGCP 495, and UCM Workgroup 910198.

At 2 locations of the southern Spanish coast, we found indications for tsunamis induced by submarine earthquakes. Charcoal, which we sampled in 2 stratified, assumed tsunamigenic sediment (tsunamites) layers at the shore outside the ruins of the Roman city of Baelo Claudia, close to the Strait of Gibraltar (province of Cádiz), and radiocarbon dated, surprisingly turned out to be of identical age, about 465 BP. In the laguna of the Cabo de Gata (province of Almería), we found possible remnants of tsunamites in drilling cores deposited above organic sediments, 14C dated as 680 ± 30 BP.

Soil development in central Spain was studied through analysis of soil chronosequences from Tagus and Duero river valley terrace systems, evolved under similar Mediterranean climatic conditions throughout the Pleistocene. The most complete soil–terrace sequence, representative for our study, developed in the Tagus valley (Aranjuez–Toledo–Talavera sector). We present soil textural data for argillic horizons developed in Late to Early Pleistocene soils from five valleys. We derive soil development indices from clay and silt content and thickness of argillic horizons. Global clay content (GCC), clay content (CC) and clay/silt ratio (C/Si ratio), numerical indices related to clay illuviation, reflect soil evolution, explored by multiple regression of soil–terrace height and soil–age. Relative terrace heights above present river thalwegs (i.e. +100 m) were transformed to ages with a “height–age transfer function” on the basis of preliminary statistical geochronological analyses for central Spain. The height–age transfer function, a 3rd order polynomial (R2 = 0.90), based on 60 published numerical ages and paleomagnetic data for terrace sequences:describes the overall trend of valley downcutting for the last c. 2 Ma in central Spain. It assigns numerical ages to terrace levels at different relative elevations; and gives an estimate of standardized ages for the related soils. The explored age–soil relationships, logarithmic functions (R2 > 0.80), are sensitive to parent material clay content (corresponding to geology of river catchments) for most soil indices. Only the clay/silt ratio minimizes this sensitivity, and can thus be used for regional approaches (Tagus and Duero basins; central Spain) whereas the CC index is applicable only to individual river valleys or different river valleys with similar catchment geology (i.e. Tagus Basin). The C/Si ratio illustrates the logarithmic trend of weathering of soil particles into clay over time, the generation of soil textural balances sustaining illuviation processes, and therefore provides an estimate of “soil ageing”, for the implementation of soil chronofunctions for regional analysis of river valleys evolving in similar climatic conditions and with similar base-level history., This work was supported by MINECO research projects CGL2012-37281-C02.01 (USAL) and CGL2012-33430 (CSIC). This is a contribution of the INQUA Focus Group PASTSOILS and the associated INQUA RAISIN Project.