Pistas fósiles asociadas a la discontinuidad fini-Messiniense en el margen norte de la Cuenca del Bajo Segura (SE España)

A detailed analysis of the Upper Messinian-Lower Pliocene at the northern border of the Bajo Segura Basin (BSB) has been carried out. Trace fossils of firm- and rockground were collected, aiding in the recognition of three ichnofacies: Glossifungites (types A and B), Entobia and Gnathichnus. The ichnological data provide evidence that the Pliocene flooding of the BSB, after the Messinian Salinity Crisis, was developed in two pulses. In the first one, the ingression penetrated only along the paleovalleys and produced a coastal trasgressive lag (P0). In the second one, the ingression overflowed the margins of the paleovalleys and extended throughout the entire northern margin, also producing a coastal transgressive lag in the base of the P2 system. The record of the Entobia and Gnathichnus ichnofacies in the clasts of both lags evidences a relatively fast deepening-upward trend in both the transgressions.

The influence of rock fabric in the durability of two sandstones used in the Andalusian Architectural Heritage (Montoro and Ronda, Spain)

Natural stone has been a popular and reliable building material throughout history appearing in many historic monuments and in more recent buildings. Research into the intrinsic properties of specific stones is important because it gives us a greater understanding of the factors that limit and act on them. This can help prevent serious problems from occurring in our buildings bringing both esthetic benefits and financial savings. To this end, the main objective of this research has been to study the influence of the fabric and the mineral composition of two types of sandstone on their durability. The first is a red continental sandstone from the Buntsandstein Age called “Molinaza Roja”, which is quarried in Montoro (Cordoba). The second is quarried in Ronda (Malaga) and is sold under the trade name of “Arenisca Ronda”. It is a light pink-whitish calcarenite deposited during the Late Tortonian to Late Messinian. We characterized their petrological and petrophysical properties by studying their rock fabrics, porous systems and mechanical properties. In order to obtain a complete vision of the behavior of their rock fabrics, we also carried out two decay tests, the salt crystallization and the freeze–thaw tests. We then measured the effects on the textures of the altered samples during and after the decay tests and we evaluated the changes in the porous system. By comparing the results between intact and altered samples, we found that Arenisca Ronda is less durable because it has a high quantity of expandable clays (smectites) and a high percentage of pores in the 0.1–1 μm range, in which the pressure produced by salt crystallization is strongest. In Molinaza Roja the decay agents caused significant sanding due to loss of cohesion between the clasts, especially during the salt crystallization test. In both stones, the anisotropies (oriented textures) have an important role in their hydric and dynamic behavior and also affect their mechanical properties (especially in the compression resistance). No changes in color were detected.