Silt-sized sediments and gypsum on surface formations in the Ebro valley. A disambiguation of the term gypsiferous silts

Abstract

Since the 60’s, many authors have reported the presence of common silt-sized materials in the Ebro valley, on surface formations and positions that have given rise to several interpretations, sometimes contradictory. According to the references, three main terms are used (gypsiferous silts, loess and flour-like gypsum) applied to silts and fine sands with gypsum accumulations. The two first terms are applied to materials with carbonate contents up to 40-50%, coarse silty to fine sandy textures, and located in different positions. Loess normally appears as thick outcrops on slopes leeward from the main wind direction, with a limited pedogenesis consisting of a partial carbonate mobilisation and gypsum contents between 0 and 30%. The third (gypsum-rich) type has a variable spatial distribution, appearing between limestone layers, along footslopes, outcropping as metric surface formations, or as generalized karstified subsurface accumulations. Their composition is almost 100% silt- to fine sand size lenticular gypsum. While some authors claim for an aeolian origin to all these materials, only part of them (loess) has a clear aeolian origin, while flour-like gypsum derives from on-site weathering of gyprock or by precipitation of calcium- and sulfate saturated watertables as it is reported to occur in many other arid regions; and the rest (gypsiferous silts sensu stricto) are mainly colluvial-alluvial. This distinction is necessary since they differ in their geotechnical behaviour and properties relevant for agricultural land uses, therefore they should be taken into account when carrying out geological mappings or soil surveys in this and similar arid regions.