A mineralogical and geochemical approach to establishing a sedimentary model in a passive continental margin (Subbetic Zone, Betic Cordilleras, SE Spain)

Abstract

Abstract The spatial and vertical distributions of six clay mineral assemblages were identified in the pelagic marls and marly limestones and in the Ammonitico Rosso of the Lower Jurassic in the Betic Cordilleras (SE Spain). The six assemblages contain varying proportions of illite, kaolinite, chlorite, smectite and mixed-layer illite-smectite. The clay mineralogy and the geochemical data, particularly for the rare earth elements, indicate that the sediments were deposited in a pelagic environment influenced by a nearby continent. The source areas were many and lithologically varied. Clay mineralogy and geochemistry are shown to be most useful in the reconstruction of the palaeogeography of a basin in a passive continental margin.