Karst fills from the onshore Penedès Basin and offshore València Trough display red, pink, orange and ochre colours. Their Mössbauer spectra indicate that Fe3+ contained in goethite is the dominant species in reddish-pink fills, whereas Fe2+ contained in dolomite and clays is more dominant in the orange and ochre ones. The lower δ13C values and higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the karst fills with respect to their host carbonates can reflect the input of soil-derived CO2 and an external radiogenic source into the karst system. This geochemical composition, together with the non-carbonate fraction of the fills, consists of authigenic and transported illite, illite-smectite interlayers, as well as kaolinite, chlorite, pyrite, quartz, ilmenite, magnetite, apatite and feldspar, account for a mixed residual-detrital origin of fills. This polygenic origin agrees with that of the terra rossa sediments described worldwide. The different colours of karst fills are attributed to fluctuations in the water table, which control the Eh/pH conditions in the karst system. Thus, reddish colours reflect low water table levels and oxidising episodes, and orange and ochre ones reflect high water table levels and more reducing episodes. The greenish colours of fills could be related to fluctuations in the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio, This research was performed within the framework of DGICYT Spanish Projects PGC2018-093903-B-C22 and PID2020-118999GB-I00 funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional. EGR acknowledges the funding provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (“Ramón y Cajal” fellowship RYC2018-026335-I). The isotopic, electron microprobe and XRD analyses and the SEM and TEM observations were carried out at “Centres Científics i Tecnològics” of the Universitat de Barcelona. Mössbauer spectroscopy analyses were carried out at Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona. Strontium isotope analyses were carried out at “CAI de Geocronología y Geoquímica Isotópica” of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid., Peer reviewed

DATA & FILE OVERVIEW

1. File List:

00_IESDB_Readme
IESDB_Dataset1_Generic-Data
IESDB_Dataset2_Mining-Data
IESDB_Dataset3_Well-and-Seismic-Data
IESDB_Dataset4_Geographic-Data
IESDB_Dataset5_Quantitative-Data
IESDB_Dataset6_Reference-Data
IESDB_Dataset7_Image-Data
IESDB_Summarized-Index-Cards, The Iberian Evaporite Structure Database (IESDB) is the first overall assessment of evaporite structures developed in any region of the world. The IESDB is sourced from six different databases and more than 1,500 published and unpublished references, and includes information and figures for each of the 150 inventoried evaporite structures and their surrounding rocks. The database targets outcropping and buried diapirs, undeformed to slightly deformed evaporite successions, evaporite-cored anticlines, evaporite-detached thrusts, and allochthonous evaporite bodies. Compiled data include information about the stratigraphy, structure, event chronology, subsurface data availability, mining activity, and key bibliographic references of each indexed structure. The IESDB follows the FAIR principles of database management (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and is presented as an open access webpage (https://iesdb.eu/)., This research initiative is funded by the Ramón y Cajal Fellowship RyC-2018-026335-I and Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación Fellowship IJC2018-036074-I (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) / State Research Agency of Spain (AEI) / 10.13039/501100011033) / European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), the Knowledge Generation Research Project PID2020-118999GB-I00 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) / State Research Agency of Spain
(AEI) / 10.13039/501100011033) and the Consolidated Research Group “Geologia Sedimentària” (2017SGR-824)., 00_IESDB_Readme IESDB_Dataset1_Generic-Data IESDB_Dataset2_Mining-Data IESDB_Dataset3_Well-and-Seismic-Data IESDB_Dataset4_Geographic-Data IESDB_Dataset5_Quantitative-Data IESDB_Dataset6_Reference-Data IESDB_Dataset7_Image-Data IESDB_Summarized-Index-Cards, Peer reviewed

As one of the predominant diagenetic products in clastic rocks, calcite cements are typical fingerprints of cement-forming fluids and are key controls on reservoir quality. The Puig-reig anticline, in the south-eastern Pyrenees (Spain), exposes excellent outcrops of conglomerates, sandstones and claystones, which were deposited from a proximal to medial fluvial system and underwent folding, fracturing and cementation. This anticline constitutes an appropriate case study to investigate the origin and distribution of calcite cements during folding evolution and how they affect reservoir quality. Based on structural, petrographic and geochemical analyses (carbon, oxygen, strontium and clumped isotopes and elemental composition), five generations of calcite cements (Cc0 to Cc4) have been identified, filling intergranular porosity of host rocks, faults and four fracture sets (F1 to F4). Calcite cement Cc0 precipitated in intergranular porosity from meteoric fluids in the phreatic zone during the early diagenetic stage. During the most intense phase of thrusting and folding, Cc1 precipitated in intergranular porosity, faults and F1 to F4 fracture sets from hydrothermal fluids that migrated from deeper areas of the Pyrenean chain. During the late stage of fold growth, Cc2 precipitated in faults and their associated fractures in the anticline crest from hydrothermal fluids but at shallower burial depths than that of Cc1. Calcite cement Cc3 mainly precipitated in fractures with the same strike as F1 and F4 fracture sets in the north-western part of the anticline, from formation fluids that probably migrated through the frontal thrust of the south-eastern Pyrenees. During the continuous fold denudation, Cc4 precipitated from meteoric fluids in F1 to F4 fracture sets across the anticline. Results indicate that at foreland basin margins, external fluids coeval with compressional deformation and/or alteration of detrital carbonates contribute to intensive calcite cementation. This can result in an overall occlusion of porosity and significantly damaged reservoir quality., was provided by the Catalan Council to the Grup Consolidat de Recerca “Geologia Sedimentària”
(2017SGR-824) and research projects PGC2018-093903-B-C22 and PID2020-118999GB-I00, funded by
the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) / State Research Agency of Spain (AEI)
/10.13039/501100011033. XS acknowledges funding by the China Scholarship Council for a PhD
scholarship (201806450043). EGR acknowledges the Ramón y Cajal fellowship RYC2018-026335-I and
JA the Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación fellowship IJC2018-036074-I, both funded by the Spanish Ministry
of Science and Innovation (MCIN) / State Research Agency of Spain (AEI) / European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) /10.13039/501100011033., Peer reviewed

There is ongoing debate on whether stylolites act as barriers, conduits, or play no role in fluid transport. This problem can be tackled by examining the spatial and temporal relationships between stylolites and other diagenetic products at multiple scales. Using the well-known Lower Cretaceous Benicàssim case study area (Maestrat Basin, E. Spain), we provide new field and petrographic observations of how bedding-parallel stylolites can influence different diagenetic processes during basin evolution. The results reveal that stylolites can serve as baffles or inhibitors for different carbonate diagenetic reactions, and act as fronts for dolomitization, dolomite recrystallization and dolomite calcitization processes. Anastomosing stylolites that pre-date burial dolomitization probably acted as a collective baffle for dolomitization fluids in the study area, resulting in stratabound replacement geometries at the metre-to-kilometre scale. The dolomitization front coincides with stylolites, and can be traced along consecutive anastomosing ones. Such anastomosing stylolites are typical of mud-dominated facies that characterize limestone-dolostone transition zones. Conversely, dolostone bodies tend to correspond to more grain-dominated facies characterized by parallel (non-anastomosing) stylolites. Stylolites subsequently acted as fluid flow conduits and barriers when the burial and stress conditions changed. Stylolitic porosity enhanced by dissolution within dolostones close to faults appears filled with saddle dolomite riming the stylolite pore, and high-temperature blocky calcite cements filling the remaining porosity. The fluids responsible for these reactions were likely released from below at high pressure, causing hydraulic brecciation, and were channelised through stylolites, which acted as fluid conduits. Stylolites are also found acting as baffles for subsequent dolomite calcitization reactions during meteoric diagenesis and occasionally appear filled with iron oxides likely released by calcitization. This example demonstrates how the same type of stylolites (bedding-parallel) can act as barriers/inhibitors and/or conduits for different types of diagenetic reactions through time, and how important it is to consider their collective role when they form networks., This research was carried out within the framework of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Projects PGC2018-093903-B-C22 and PID2020-118999GB-I00, the Grup Consolidat de Recerca “Geologia Sedimentària” (2017-SGR- 824, funded by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants, Catalan government, Spain) and the DGMK (German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology) project 718, funded by the companies ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, GDF SUEZ E&P Deutschland GmbH, RWE Dea AG, and Wintershall Holding GmbH. EGR acknowledges funding by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (“Ramón y Cajal” fellowship RYC2018-026335-I), and the Geological Society of London Elspeth Matthews Fund 2015 grant. MGL acknowledges funding by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (“Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” fellowship IJC2018-036826-I)., Peer reviewed

Renewable energy sources are key to achieve the transition toward clean energy system. Among them, the geothermal energy has a production whose effectiveness requires sufficient understanding of the temperature distribution and fluid circulation at depth, as well as of the lithological and petrophysical properties of the crust. The focus of this paper is twofold: first, we summarize the main advances in the development of new methodologies and numerical codes to characterize the properties of the thermal lithosphere in terms of its, temperature, density and composition; second, based on the compilation of available thermal modelling results, we present the depth of the thermal Lithosphere–Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB) of the Iberian Peninsula and the temperature distribution at crustal depths of 5, 10, and 20 km, in addition to at Moho level. At 5 km depth, the temperature is above 110 °C with local anomalies (> 130 °C) located in the Iberian Massif and Cenozoic volcanic provinces. A similar pattern is observed at 10 and 20 km depth, where temperatures are above 190 °C and 350 °C, respectively. At 20 km depth, anomalies above > 500 °C, delineate the SE and NE Cenozoic volcanic provinces. At Moho depths, temperature ranges from 450 to 800 °C with hot regions mainly located along the Iberian Massif and the SE and NE volcanic provinces. The compiled results do not show any lithospheric anomaly that could give rise to high temperatures at shallow depths, but they do show an acceptable exploitation potential at intermediate depths. With regard to the direct use of district and greenhouse heating and for industrial processes, the potential is great throughout the Peninsula, the main challenges being the availability of groundwater and drilling costs., This work has been supported by EVAMED (PID2020-118999GB-I00) and GEOCAM (PGC2018-095154-B-100) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Research Agency of Spain (AEI)/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033.e). JA is funded by Grant IJC2018-036074-I and EGR by the Ramón y Cajal Fellowship RYC2018-026335-I, both funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN)/State Research Agency of Spain (AEI). Additional funding comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033.e., Peer reviewed

Fluvial system deposits often form suitable reservoirs for CO geological storage (CGS). These potential storage sites usually present heterogeneous fluvial architectures at multiple scales. This heterogeneity can exert varied effects on different aspects of CGS, resulting in significant storage efficiency variability. Here, we investigate the effects of variable fluvial lithofacies associations on CO storage, using the Puig-reig anticline in the SE Pyrenees (Spain) as a reservoir analog. To test this, we employ a multidisciplinary approach that integrates field sedimentology, reservoir modeling, and numerical simulation of CO injection to produce models akin to different fluvial lithofacies associations. The storage volume and injectivity of CO are found to decrease in reservoirs with decreasing fractions and sizes of high-permeable facies from the proximal to the medial-distal lithofacies associations. The flow barriers created by low-permeable facies can hinder the vertical migration of the CO plume and prevent it from reaching the reservoir top, hence reducing the direct contact between the CO plume and the overlying caprock. Furthermore, an optimal amount of low-permeable layers (around 30% in this study) can increase the swept area of CO and reduce the proportions of free CO phase. These aspects can collectively increase the amount of permanently trapped CO and reduce the leakage risks of the injected CO. Based on the characteristics of the resulting models (i.e., storage volume, injectivity, distribution and phases of CO), a multi-criteria decision-making method has been used to quantitatively rank the different lithofacies associations according to their suitability for CO storage. In this analysis, the proximal-medial fluvial lithofacies associations are assessed to be the most suitable ones because they feature low proportions of the injected CO reaching the reservoir top and in free phase while maintaining the high storage volume and injectivity. This study reveals that heterogeneous reservoir architectures have mixed effects on CO storage, and that reservoirs featuring moderately heterogeneous architectures (i.e., fractions of low-permeable facies ranging from 30% to 40%) are beneficial to keeping the balance among different aspects of CO storage. This provides new insights for the screening and selection of potential geological sites for CO storage., Funding was provided by the China University of Petroleum (East China) to the Independent Innovation Research Project 22CX06004A and by the Catalan Council to the Grup Consolidat de Recerca “Geologia Sedimentària” (2017SGR-824) and the DGICYT Spanish Projects PGC2018-093903-B-C22, PID2020-118999GB-I00 and PID2021-122467NB-C22 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, Unión Europea). JA acknowledges funding from MICINN (Juan de la Cierva fellowship - IJC2018-036074-I)., Peer reviewed

Evaporite rocks are one of the most mined mineral commodities and act as a seals or shaping traps in some of the major hydrocarbon provinces worldwide. In addition, they are also considered as suitable sites for the storage of energy and nuclear waste, being a key asset for the energy transition. Due their historic, present and future value, vast amounts of surface and subsurface information about evaporite structures have been generated by earth scientists, mining and exploration companies or geological surveys in the last century. However, this information is often scarcely useful due to access issues, segregation and scarce dissemination. Here we present the Iberian Evaporite Structure DataBase (IESDB), the first overall assessment focused on evaporite structures developed in any region of the world. The IESDB includes information and figures of 150 outcropping and buried evaporite structures and their surrounding rocks inventoried in Iberia. The Iberian Evaporite Structure Database (IESDB) includes information about the stratigraphy, structure, evolution, geophysical and petrophysical data availability, and mining activity, including a complete set of geological maps, sketches and geological cross-sections. The database targets different evaporite structures, such as undeformed successions, diapirs, evaporite-cored anticlines, evaporite-detached thrusts or allochtonous evaporite bodies. The IESDB is sourced from six different databases and more than 1,500 published and unpublished references, and includes information and figures for each of the 150 evaporite structures inventoried. The IESDB follows the FAIR principles of data management (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and aims to be a resource for earth science teaching, academic research and resource exploration and appraisal. The IESDB is freely available at https://iesdb.eu, This research was performed within the framework of DGICYT Spanish Project PID2020-118999GB-I00 funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional. Grants RYC2021-033872-I (Juan Alcalde) and RyC-2018-026335-I (Enrique Gomez-Rivas) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF ¿Investing in your future¿.

Full-field numerical modeling is a useful method to gain understanding of rock salt deformation at multiple scales, but it is quite challenging due to the anisotropic and complex plastic behavior of halite, together with dynamic recrystallization processes. This contribution presents novel results of full-field numerical simulations of coupled dislocation glide and dynamic recrystallization of halite polycrystalline aggregates during simple shear deformation, including both subgrain rotation and grain boundary migration (GBM) recrystallization. The results demonstrate that the numerical approach successfully replicates the evolution of pure halite microstructures from laboratory torsion deformation experiments at 100–300°C. Temperature determines the competition between (a) grain size reduction controlled by dislocation glide and subgrain rotation recrystallization (at low temperature) and (b) grain growth associated with GBM (at higher temperature), while the resulting crystallographic preferred orientations are similar for all cases. The relationship between subgrain misorientation and strain follows a power law relationship with a universal exponent of 2/3 at low strain. However, dynamic recrystallization causes a progressive deviation from this relationship when strain increases, as revealed by the skewness of the subgrain misorientation distribution. A systematic investigation of the subgrain misorientation evolution shows that strain or temperature prediction from microstructures requires careful calibration., This study has been funded by DGICYT Spanish Projects PID-2020-118999GB-I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033) and PID-2021-122467NB-C21 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER), and 2021 SGR 00349 “Geologia Sedimentària” and 2021 SGR 00410 “Modelització Geodinàmica de la Litosfera” (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca). MG-L acknowledges the “Consolidación Investigadora” Grant CNS2022-135819 funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033 and EU NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Baoqin Hao acknowledges funding by the China Scholarship Council for a PhD scholarship (CSC-202006930010). EG-R acknowledges the “Ramón y Cajal” Fellowship RyC-2018-026335-I, funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033. We are grateful to Marina Armann for communication regarding her PhD thesis, and to Till Sachau for helping to create ELLE software containers., Peer reviewed

In this study a modus operandi to investigate site-specific nanostructures in thin films (lamellae) excavated “in-plane” across (sub)grain boundaries is presented. This is done by discussing the case of a magnetite grain hosted in a thin section of banded iron formation (Norway) that is prepared parallel to the kinematic reference frame (XZ section of the strain ellipsoid). SEM-EBSD analysis reveal that the magnetite grains do not develop a strong crystallographic preferred orientation, although individual grains are strained and show evidence of intracrystalline deformation in form of low angle grain boundaries (LAGB's). Two “in-plane” lamellae using focused ion beam (FIB) technique are excavated from a magnetite grain in the kinematic reference frame, and nanostructures are studied along three LAGB's using high resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging followed by Fourier transformation (FT), inverse FT and estimation of dislocation densities. Our data establish an empirical relationship for the studied LAGBs, namely, the smaller the angle between LAGB and X-direction, the larger are the shear strain and dislocation density. This relationship is validated from numerical simulations of viscoplastic deformation and dynamic recrystallisation of polycrystalline aggregates of halite, which is also a cubic mineral analogous to magnetite. In addition to the site-specific “in-plane” FIB lamella information, this study also shows that in a deformed mineral the different orientations of the LAGB compared to the principal strain axes show a different dislocation density. This approach of full tracking of the extension direction (X) from the macroscopic to the nano-scale could play an important role in forward modelling of microstructure evolution in future studies., This study is an outcome of a collaborative research project funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) under its Research Group Linkage Program awarded to MAM, AK and CH. Amarnath Dandapat (Department of Geology and Geophysics, IIT Kharagpur, India) is thanked for preparing well-polished samples for EBSD analysis. Thanks to B. Priesemann (Helgeland Museum, Norway) for kindly providing the magnetite ore sample. Thanks are due to Niloy Bhowmik for helping with SEM-EBSD analysis at the Central Research Facility (IIT Kharagpur, India). We are grateful to Heike Störmer for helping with TEM analysis at the Laboratory for Electron Microscopy, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruhe, Germany). EGR acknowledges the Ramón y Cajal fellowship ( RYC 2018-026335-I ), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN)/State Research Agency of Spain (AEI)/European Social Fund ( 10.13039/501100011033 ), and the research project PID 2020-118999 GB-I00, also funded by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033., Peer reviewed

Exposures of lamproitic volcanic rocks have been used to constrain the age of the evaporitic basin-fill in the Fortuna Basin of southern Spain. K/Ar dates initially suggested a Messinian age assignment for these deposits; however, subsequent 40Ar/39Ar dates indicated a Tortonian age, implying the early onset of evaporite formation in the eastern Betic Cordillera, in an event termed the ¿Tortonian Salinity Crisis¿. In this paper, we critically review the published chronology of the key igneous outcrops and provide new 40Ar/39Ar ages, which show that the Cabezos Negros lamproites lie close to the Tortonian-Messinian boundary (c. 7.25 ¿Ma). We also provide new paleomagnetic measurements from each of the three lamproitic outcrops (Cabezos Negros, Derramadores, and El Tale), which demonstrate normal magnetic polarity coincident with episodes of volcanic and subvolcanic activity. The presence of peperites and pillow structures indicate that volcanism at Cabezos Negros was coeval with deposition of the lower part of Rambla Salada Gypsum Member. Therefore, the normal polarity identified in this unit should be equivalent to the normal polarity on the Cabezos Negros lamproites. These results indicate that the initial marine restriction and evaporitic deposition of Fortuna Basin occurred more than a million years before the Messinian Salinity Crisis., Funding was provided by grants CGL-2016-79458, PID2020-118999 GB-I00 [Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN)-State Research agency of Spain (AEI)/10.13039/501100011033 and Juan de la Cierva fellowship FJC2020-043488-I from the European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR ], and the Catalonian Government Action 2021-SGR-349., Peer reviewed

Evaporites flow in the solid state under relatively low differential stress and have unique mechanical properties compared to other sedimentary rocks. Worldwide, they control the structural and stratigraphical architecture of many basins and orogens in ancient and active tectonic settings. Moreover, they host mineral deposits and play a key role in petroleum systems because they typically act as seals due to their low permeability, and their ability to flow results in the formation of structural hydrocarbon traps such as folds and faults in their encasing rocks. Additionally, evaporite structures can be used as subsurface storage sites for geo-energy applications and nuclear waste. The systematic characterisation of subsurface evaporite structures is thus key for the development of geoscience-based technologies to address societal challenges. Owing to their value, massive amounts of surface and subsurface information about (among others) the stratigraphy, structure, geochemistry, and petrophysical properties of evaporite structures and their surrounding rocks have been acquired by Earth scientists, petroleum and mining exploration companies, and geological surveys. However, the data often appear segregated (i.e. in the form of database fragments, scientific articles, and unpublished reports), are not systematically organised, and are sometimes not fully accessible. This contribution presents the Iberian Evaporite Structure Database (IESDB), the first comprehensive assessment that focuses on evaporite structures carried out in any region of the world. The IESDB includes information and figures for 150 evaporite structures and their surrounding rocks inventoried in Spain and Portugal and is sourced from other six thematic databases and more than 1500 published and unpublished scientific documents. The database targets undeformed to slightly deformed evaporite successions, outcropping and buried diapirs, evaporite-cored anticlines, evaporite-detached thrusts, and allochthonous evaporite bodies. Collated data include information about the structure, stratigraphy, event chronology, surface and subsurface data availability, mining activity, and key bibliographic references. The IESDB follows the FAIR principles of database management (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and is presented as an interactive web page and an open-access database, where indexed structures can easily be selected from a map or browser and filtered by a search engine. The IESDB intends to be a useful resource for teaching (i.e. pointing out examples of exceptional evaporite outcrops), academic and industry research (i.e. identifying knowledge deficits on specific structures or tectonic settings), and for the sustainable exploration and appraisal of mineral resources and geo-energy applications (i.e. representing a terminus a quo for site selection and suitability assessment). The framework provided by the IESDB is an opportunity to enhance the scientific research on Iberian evaporite structures in Spain and Portugal and to take advantage of their scientific and economic potential to tackle important societal challenges faced by these countries. The IESDB is freely available at https://iesdb.eu (last access: 15 June 2023) and the datasets can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/14586 (González-Esvertit et al., 2022)., This research has been funded by the Ramón y Cajal fellowship RyC-2018-026335-I to Enrique Gomez-Rivas (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Social Fund – Investing in Your Future) and the DGICYT Spanish Project PID2020-118999GB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).
This work is a contribution to the 2021 SGR 00349 Geologia Sedimentària consolidated research group (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca). Juan Alcalde has been funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR for the Ramón y Cajal fellowship (grant
no. RYC2021-033872-I), Peer reviewed

This study combines published isotope data (223 samples) with new data (153 samples) on the δS and δO composition of Ca-sulfate rocks (anhydrite and secondary gypsum) accumulated in eastern Iberia during the Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic. The δS mean values of the evaporite units reveal the following trends: a decrease from the lower Anisian (~18‰) to the Carnian-Norian interval (~15‰); an increase at the Rhaetian (~16‰); a decrease in the Hettangian-Sinemurian interval (~14‰); and finally an increasing trend from the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian (~16‰) to the Pliensbachian-Toarcian (~19‰). This δS isotope assemblage together with the generalized low standard deviations observed for the different evaporite units is consistent, and suggests that the isotope composition of these Ca-sulfates are primary signatures related to feeding marine water sulfate. Depending on the evaporite units, these δS mean values are, nevertheless, ~1‰ to ~3‰ lower than those reported for coeval Triassic evaporites of the Germanic basin and the Alp-Apennine domains. In eastern Iberia, the δO values are more variable and also display wider scatters than the corresponding δS values. Of particular interest in our study are: (i) the low δS values for the Anisian in comparison with those in the Germanic basin; (ii) the shift to heavier values in the Rhaetian, recorded for first time in the evaporites of eastern Iberia; (iii) the low values observed for the Hettangian, which suggest that the change to the heavier values of the Jurassic (~19‰) occurred after the end-Hettangian in eastern Iberia; and (iv) the affinity of the δS values recorded for the Hettangian-Sinemurian interval to those known for the Canadian domain., This study was supported by the following research projects: 2017SGR-824 (SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY), Departament d'Innovació, Universitats i Empreses of the Catalan Government; CGL2016-79458-P (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), PGC2018-098272-B-I00, PID2019-104625RB-I00 and PID2020-118999GB-I00 (Secretaría Estado I+D+I; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación) of the Spanish Government; and B-RNM-072-UGR18 (FEDER Andalucía), P18-RT-4074, and RNM-208 (Junta de Andalucía).

The major elemental composition of chlorite is widely used for petrogenetic investigations on low-temperature geological processes. However, compositional variations of chlorite within a given tectonic environment are common and, when overlooked, can lead to erroneous petrological interpretations. We thoroughly investigate chlorites occurring within giant quartz veins (GQVs) in the basement rocks of the Pyrenees. These structures have widths of up to tens of meters and lengths of kilometers and form in both mid-crustal ductile and upper-crustal seismogenic domains. Texturally constrained chlorite analyses and spatially resolved whole-rock elemental analyses reveal a progressive chemical evolution of chlorite coupled to GQV formation. Six chlorite generations that were distinguished according to their texture show consistent chemical variations at the microscale. Host rock– and quartz vein–related chlorites are the textural and compositional endmembers. Between them, a progressive chemical refinement occurred in transitional chlorite compositions linked to host rock, vein quartz, and pressure-solution microstructures, in accordance with significant fluid-rock interactions leading to GQV formation. This rock alteration process is further confirmed at the macroscale by the progressive depletion of all major and trace elements but silica, with decreasing distance toward GQVs. We demonstrate that (1) inferring the temperature conditions of chlorite crystallization is not as straightforward as generally assumed and that (2) GQVs can be formed under rock-buffered conditions, at lower temperatures than previously thought. These results have implications for the practice commonly used in chlorite-based geothermometry, as well as for the modes of fluid, heat, and mass transport within Earth’s crust., This work was funded by Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica projects PID2021-122467NB-C22 and PID2021-125585NB-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER-UE/10.13039/501100011033) and PID2020-118999GBI00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), and by the Sedimentary Geology Research Group (2021 SGR 00349). E. González-Esvertit was funded by the Geological Society of London, Ph.D. grant 2022 FI_B1 00043 (Generalitat de Catalunya; European Social Fund), and the \u201CConsolidaci\u00F3n Investigadora\u201D grant CNS2022-135819 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103. E. Gomez-Rivas was funded by the MCIU/AEI/ESF/10.13039/501100011033 \u201CRamón y Cajal\u201D fellowship (RYC2018-026335-I).

Upper mantle deformation is mainly controlled by the mechanical behavior of olivine. Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) develop in olivine due to crystal-plastic deformation during mantle flow, where the a-axes of olivine polycrystalline aggregates are aligned with the flow direction. Therefore, the observed CPO in olivine-rich rocks is used as an indicator of the mantle flow direction. Experimental data show that olivine rheology is strongly controlled by the microstructure. While the influence of plastic deformation is in general well characterized, the role of dynamic recrystallization during deformation is not totally understood, limiting our ability to interpret the deformation history of naturally deformed rocks. This contribution presents microdynamic numerical simulations of olivine polycrystalline aggregates with different iron content (i.e., fayalite content) with the aim of exploring the CPO and grain size response to dynamic recrystallization. We use a full-field approach with an explicit simulation of viscoplastic deformation and dynamic recrystallization processes under simple shear boundary conditions up to high strain. The simulations show that the CPOs are similar and practically reach the same maximum regardless of the iron content. CPOs are characterized by a single cluster of a-axis and two-clusters of b-axis, reveling a joint activity of the easy glide [100](010) and the moderate strength [100](010) slip systems. High-strain domains of our models are consistent with experimental results, showing an A-type fabric with double maxima, and where the CPO is aligned with the shear direction. The model provides a deeper understanding of the dynamic recrystallization influence on olivine CPOs resulting from plastic deformation., Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Grant Numbers: PID-2021-122467NB-C21, PID2022-139943NB-I00, PID2020-118999GB-I00, CNS2022-135819, CNS2023-145382; China Scholarship Council. Grant Number: CSC-202008130104

Book Subtitle: Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-3)., Networks of halite veins have been analysed along galleries of the potash Cabanasses mine (Súria anticline, SE Pyrenees). The presence of a shape preferred orientation cross-cut by halite veins suggests that the rocks hosting the veins underwent ductile deformation before fracture formation and healing. The petrographical characteristics of veins and host rocks, as well as the analysis of their bromine content, reveal that the vein-forming fluids likely resulted from pressure-solution and dynamic recrystallisation of the Lower Halite Unit rocks. Fluids at high pressure migrated upwards and were arrested at the Halite-Sylvinite Unit causing fracture formation below the Potash Unit, which acted as a seal and did not experience brittle deformation., This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (“Ramón y Cajal” fellowship RYC2018-026335-I, Projects PID2020-118999GB-I00 and PGC2018-093903-B-C22) and the Consolidated Research Group 2021 SGR 00349 and 2017SGR-824., Peer reviewed

Salt precipitation due to formation drying is a critical secondary alteration process that significantly impairs reservoir injectivity in the context of CO2 geological storage. In this work, salt precipitation during CO2 injection is reviewed primarily through various experimental studies. First, the experimental systems for salt precipitation studies, namely core-flooding, microfluidic-chip, static batch, and surface drying experimental systems, have been described to present their respective experimental procedures and merits, as well as corresponding applications. Subsequently, following the general description of the formation mechanisms of salt precipitation, the macro and micro salt distribution patterns at the reservoir and pore scales have been summarized. Finally, and most importantly, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the controlling factors for salt precipitation, categorized into four different groups, according to the brine, rock, gas, and injection scenario aspects. Among all these factors, brine salinity, CO2 injection rate and initial reservoir properties are considered the most critical in determining the amount and distribution of precipitated salts and the degree of injectivity impairment. The effects of multi-scale reservoir heterogeneity and rock wettability on salt precipitation are attracting growing consideration, while the brine and gas composition studies are receiving less attention due to their relatively minor influences on reservoir alteration. Due to the limited specimen sizes, the ex-situ brine replenishment may be underestimated in core-flooding and microfluidic-chip experiments. This may result in a potentially significant underestimation of the volume of local salts and the potentially inaccurate prediction of the drying process during CO2 injection in many such experiments., Funding was provided by China University of Petroleum (East China) to the Independent Innovation Research Project 22CX06004A, by the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology to the Natural Science Project 23-2-1-55-zyyd-jch, by the Department of Science & Technology of Shandong Province to the Natural Science Project ZR2023QD093, and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China to the Natural Science Project 42402140. SA acknowledges the Open Research Project SKLDOG2024-KFYB-02 funded by the State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas and the Research Team Cultivation Program 2023QNT004 funded by Shenzhen University. HH acknowledges funding from Norway Grants (UMO2019/34/H/ST10/00564) and EEA and Norway Grants (NOR/POLNORCCS/AGaStor/0008/2019-00). JA acknowledges funding from MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF/EU” (PID2022-140850OB-C22). AT acknowledges Grant PID2021-12246NB-C22 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, FEDER, EU, and the Catalan Council to the Grup Consolidat de Recerca Reconegut Geologia Sedimentària (2021 SGR-Cat 00349). EGR acknowledges funding from the DGICYT Spanish Project PID-2020-118999GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the “Consolidación Investigadora” Grant CNS2023-145382 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103 and European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR., Peer reviewed

In response to the growing interest in decarbonizing Europe's industrial hubs, this study examines the potential of the Miocene Castellón Sandstones Formation in the Valencia Trough for geological carbon storage. The proposed storage unit is represented by a siliciclastic succession formed mainly by sandstones and sandy heterolithics, in the Ebro Delta offshore area of the Valencia Trough. The sedimentological characterization of this succession, based on the study of a cored section from Amposta Marino C-2 well, has allowed to identify up to eleven lithofacies, comprising sandstones, heterolithics, calcarenites and carbonate breccias. These lithofacies can be grouped in six facies associations, including: 1) fluvial channel, 2) delta front proximal mouth bar, 3) delta front distal mouth bar, 4) proximal prodelta, 5) distal prodelta and 6) shelfal lag. The seismic stratigraphic analysis carried out throughout the study area points out to the additional presence of delta plain deposits in the northeastern sector of the study area, approximately at 30 km from the present-day Ebro delta shoreline. Based on the interpretation of these facies and seismic facies associations, the proposed depositional model consists of a river dominated, wave-influenced delta for the proto-Ebro deltaic system during the Late Miocene in the Valencia Trough. This study proposes that this sand-prone succession is presented as a good candidate for geological carbon storage in the study area, considering its proximity to the onshore Tarragona's industrial complex and its optimal reservoir characteristics. Additionally, the thick succession of the Ebro Shales also shows great potential as a vertical and lateral seal of the underlying Castellón Sandstones Formation., We acknowledge support from grant PID2020-118999 GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, grants PID2022-140850OB-C21 and PID2022-140850OB-C22 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF/EU”, the “Consolidación Investigadora” grants CNS2023-145382 (to Enrique Gomez-Rivas) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103 and European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR, and projects 2021 SGR 00349 “Geologia Sedimentària” and 2021 SGR 00076 “Geodinàmica i Anàlisi de Conques” funded by AGAUR are gratefully acknowledged., Peer reviewed

Metasomatism is a ubiquitous process in the Earth’s crust, exerting major controls on fluid, heat and mass transfer and rock deformation, and is commonly constituted by mineral replacement reactions. Different types of metasomatism may coexist and/or successively conceal each other in a given area. Deciphering the geochemical behaviour, regional extent and mineralogical changes of multi-stage metasomatism can be difficult because of the overprinting of successive events and their frequent relationship with deformation. Here, we investigate granitoid metasomatism, namely silicification, feldspathisation and sericitisation, in the Variscan basement rocks of the Canigó Massif (Eastern Pyrenees, SW Europe), which is spatially related to Giant Quartz Veins (GQVs) tens of metres wide and several kilometres long. Unaltered and altered granitic orthogneisses derived from Ordovician intrusives and late-Variscan granitoids, as well as GQV occurrences, are studied across scales through structural and textural characterisation, whole-rock geochemistry and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Geochemical analyses are further compared with a new database including more than 600 unaltered granite and orthogneiss samples from the Pyrenees and the Catalan Coastal Ranges (SW European Variscan Belt). Results show that silicification, the dominant metasomatic process, was related to regional-scale shear zones and contributed to form GQVs through mineral replacement. This is confirmed at the macro- (km), meso- (m–cm) and micro-scale (μm) by relict fabrics, mineral phases and structural features of the precursor rocks within veins, by a progressive depletion of all major and trace elements, except silica, in rocks sampled along decreasing distances from GQV outcrops, and by the localisation of mylonitic deformation along GQVs. Feldspathisation and sericitisation are, in contrast, restricted to specific sectors and exposed as albitite, trondhjemite and pale green mica-rich outcrops. It is suggested that most of the exposed areas of the studied GQVs are, accordingly, not veins sensu stricto but metasomatic products where the original fabrics and features of precursor rocks were overprinted during coupled deformation and Si-metasomatism. Results presented here have major implications for the scale and geochemical behaviour of multi-metasomatic events, as well as on the kinetics of mineral replacement processes leading to changes in the physicochemical properties of crustal rocks., This research was funded by the DGICYT Projects PID2021-122467NB-C22, PID2021-125585NB-I00 and PID2022-139943NB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/FEDER-UE/10.13039/501100011033), PID2020-118999GB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), the ‘Modelització Geodinàmica de la Litosfera’ (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00410), ‘Sedimentary Geology’ (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00349) and ‘GEOXiS’ (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00262) Consolidated Research Groups and the VolcPeG Research Group. EGE acknowledges the funding provided by the Geological Society of London (GSL) Student Research Grants, the PhD grants funded by Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (2021 FI_B 00165 and 2022 FI_B1 00043). CPT acknowledges the PhD grant 2021 FISDU 00347 funded by Generalitat de Catalunya. EGR acknowledges funding provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (‘Ramón y Cajal’ fellowship RYC2018-026335-I). CA is grateful to the GEOXis Reseach Group (2021 SGR 00262) and the projects PID2020-117332GB-C21 (USAL) and PID2020-117332GB-C22 (UCM) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033., Peer reviewed

Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestones and dolostones serve as hydrocarbon reservoirs in the offshore area of NE Spain. Since similar dolomitized rocks crop out in the adjacent onshore Maestrat Basin in the SE Iberian Range, understanding the dolomitization and other diagenetic processes is key to assessing reservoir properties. The Maestrat Basin dolostones crop out as elongated, asymmetric bodies, ranging from tens of centimetres to kilometres in length and up to 150 m thick, with a wedge-shaped geometry closely associated with fractures. These dolostones are calcium-rich with low concentrations of Mn, Sr, and Na, but variable Fe, indicating that the replacement of the host limestone was followed by dolomite cement precipitation. Fluid inclusion data suggest that dolomitization took place at temperatures ranging between 70 and 120 °C. Such temperatures, together with the high 87Sr/86Sr ratio and fluid salinity (16 to 23% wt. NaCl equivalent), reveal that the dolomitization process took place in burial conditions, from fluids that were infiltrated and likely interacted with Triassic, Liassic, and basement rocks. Although the exact age of dolomitization is not fully constrained, it is thought to coincide with fault-related dolomitization events of the same type previously described in the Maestrat Basin, likely during the latest Early Cretaceous and/or during the Late Cretaceous, in relation to the post-rift basin stage. Geochemical differences between the depocenters and structural highs may reflect the controls of the Maestrat Basin basin architecture on the composition and distribution of fluids., This work was supported by the framework of Spanish Projects DGICYT PID2021-122467NB-C22 (funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Unión Europea/10.13039/501100011033) and PID-2020-118999GB-I00 (funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades/ Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033), and the Grup de Recerca reconegut per la Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR-Cat 00349 “Geologia Sedimentària”., Peer reviewed

The rheological properties of mantle rocks are strongly dependent on their crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO). Olivine CPO, defined by the orientation of seismically fast [100] axes parallel to flow direction, is also thought to be a dominant contributor to seismic anisotropy in the Earth's upper mantle. However, the amount of deformation needed to overprint a new CPO on a pre-existing fabric and the impact of the inherited CPOs on the transient microstructure evolution, remain unknown. This study employs a full-field numerical approach (VPFFT-ELLE) to explore the dynamic recrystallization and microstructural evolution of olivine polycrystalline aggregates under complex deformation conditions. We test four combinations of successive pure shear and simple shear boundary conditions. Findings indicate that inherited CPOs influence subsequent deformation in a manner dependent on the kinematic relationship between successive stages. In all cases, a minor strain increment (ε ∼0.3–0.6) is sufficient to erase the previous microstructure and CPO. However, when deformation conditions change dramatically (e.g., stretching direction changes orthogonally), the intensity of the new CPO developed is significantly lower and strain distribution are specially altered. During a transient strain stage, pre-existing microstructures undergo extensive reworking, especially when deformation conditions are changed dramatically, such as switching from simple shear to a pure shear condition with a parallel shortening direction relative to the stretching direction. We estimate the significance of these results in interpreting observations of seismic velocity anisotropy, concluding that P-wave seismic anisotropy is significantly and positively correlated with the evolution of olivine CPO with deformation history. This research underscores the transient nature of microstructural rearrangement in olivine aggregates and the necessity for caution in interpreting seismic anisotropy in regions with complex deformation histories, as inherited CPOs can influence current fabric development and induce deviation to the present deformation conditions., Yuanchao Yu acknowledges funding by the China Scholarship Council for a PhD scholarship (CSC-202008130104). This study was supported by DGICYT Spanish Projects PID-2021-122467NB-C21 and PID2022-139943NB-I00 (funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033 and EU-FEDER), project PID2020-118999 GB-I00 (funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033), and projects 2021 SGR 00349 “Geologia Sedimentària and 2021 SGR 00410 “GDL—Grup de Modelització Geodinàmica de la Litosfera” (funded by AGAUR). We acknowledge the “Consolidación Investigadora” Grants CNS2022-135819 (to MGL) and CNS2023-145382 (to EGR) (funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103 and European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR)., Peer reviewed

Rock salt, composed mainly of halite, flows viscoplastically over a wide range of geological conditions, strongly impacting the dynamic evolution of sedimentary basins and orogens. Understanding how dislocation creep, which involves dislocation glide, intracrystalline recovery and dynamic recrystallization, influences the microstructure and rheology of halite under various deformation kinematics and temperatures is crucial for enhancing knowledge of salt flow dynamics. This study employs a full-field numerical simulation method to compare the viscoplastic deformation of polycrystalline halite under simple shear and pure shear conditions up to a natural strain of ε = 1.5 at temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 300 °C. The results are presented in terms of crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO), grain shape preferred orientation (SPO), subgrain boundary direction, grain size and strain rate distribution. The results indicate that the crystallographic anisotropy of individual halite crystals is transferred to the polycrystalline scale, resulting in strain localization, particularly in simple shear simulations. The kinematics of deformation affect the evolution and distribution of high strain-rate bands, determining the direction of intragranular substructures and the morphology of strain-induced grain boundaries, with minimal impact on grain size. The intensity of grain boundary migration increases with temperature, significantly influencing grain morphology and size, thereby obscuring strain localization, while having little effect on CPOs. At low strain (ε < 1.0), CPOs relative to both the maximum shortening direction and the grain SPO are similar regardless of the deformation kinematics. At high strain (ε > 1.0), simple shear CPOs exhibit three stronger {100} maxima with a monoclinic symmetry relative to the grain SPO compared to the six {100} maxima with an orthotropic symmetry relative to the grain SPO generated under pure shear. Therefore, microstructures and CPOs can serve as indicators of the strain path in polycrystalline halite under various conditions, aiding in determining the shear sense and elucidating the deformation kinematics of salt structures., This study has been funded by DGICYT Spanish Projects PID-2020-118999GB-I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033), PID-2021-122467NB-C21 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER), the “Consolidación Investigadora” grants CNS2022-135819 (to MGL) and CNS2023-145382 (to EGR) (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033 and EU NextGenerationEU/PRTR), and the 2021 SGR 00349 “Geologia Sedimentària” and 2021 SGR 00410 “Modelització Geodinàmica de la Litosfera” consolidated research groups (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca). Baoqin Hao acknowledges funding by the China Scholarship Council for a PhD scholarship (CSC-202006930010). EGR acknowledges the “Ramón y Cajal” Fellowship RyC-2018-026335-I, funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033., Peer reviewed

The age of the mylonite belts in the basement rocks of the Pyrenees is a subject of debate in the structural geology and petrology communities because of its potential implication on the regional tectonothermal history and on the tectonic evolution of SW Europe. Here we address when and how mylonitisation took place in two key areas of the Eastern Pyrenees, where shear zones are associated with Giant Quartz Veins (GQVs). We conducted zircon U-Pb and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating coupled with structural, textural, and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) analyses of mylonites from the Cap de Creus and Canigó Massifs. U-Pb zircon dating of a dacite porphyry dyke crosscut by GQVs and mylonitic bands yields a maximum shear zone and GQV formation age of ca. 292 ± 3 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar analyses of muscovite within mylonitised GQVs yield initial crystallisation ages between ca. 164 and 188 Ma, as well as younger recrystallisation ages of ca. 110–118 Ma. A qualitative assessment of the GQV history is inferred from step-heating spectra of muscovite and quartz CPOs. The results indicate that GQV formation and mylonitisation were coupled, coeval, and long-lasting processes that took place from early Jurassic to early Cretaceous times. A comparative evaluation of quartz CPOs reveals inconsistencies regarding the strain distribution, quartz slip systems activity, and deformation temperatures depending on the deformed rock type. Quartz mylonites have stronger CPOs dominated by basal <a>, prism <a>, or prism <c> slip systems, whilst phyllonites and granite mylonites show weaker fabrics mostly dominated by mixed <a> slip. This apparently suggests higher deformation temperatures in quartz mylonites than those inferred from more reliable proxies, such as mineral assemblages, brittle behaviour of K-feldspar, and fluid inclusion data. We suggest that the water-weakening effect caused by coeval formation and deformation of GQVs enabled easier dislocation glide and creep, allowing strain localisation and transitions between slip systems at lower temperatures than commonly inferred due to enhanced ductility. U-Pb zircon dating further suggests the existence of an early Carboniferous (ca. 332 ± 4 Ma; Visean) magmatic episode in the Pyrenees, in agreement with a cyclic, rather than a progressive, geodynamic history of the region during Variscan times. The present work challenges classical interpretations stating that Pyrenean mylonite belts developed during the retrograde stages of the Variscan Orogeny, highlighting that the structural evolution of this region during Mesozoic times deserves further investigation. Results have implications for interpreting deformation localisation mechanisms and conditions in crustal rocks, for the formation mechanisms of GQVs in worldwide orogenic belts, and for the tectonothermal history of the Pyrenees since late-Variscan times., This research was funded by the DGICYT Projects PID2020-118999GBI00, PID2021-122467NB-C22, PID2021-125585NB-I00, and PID2022-139943NB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/FEDER-UE/10.13039/501100011033), CNS2023-145382 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/EUNextGenerationEU/PRT), the “Modelitzacio Geodinamica de la Litosfera” (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00410), “Sedimentary Geology” (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00349) and “GEOXiS” (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021 SGR 00262) Consolidated Research Groups, and the VolcPeG Research Group. EGE acknowledges the funding provided by the Geological Society of London (GSL) Student Research Grants and the PhD grants funded by Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (2021 FI_B 00165 and 2022 FI_B1 00043). CPT acknowledges the PhD grant 2021 FISDU 00347 funded by Generalitat de Catalunya. FIERCE is financially supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG: INST 161/921-1 FUGG, INST 161/923-1 FUGG and INST 161/1073-1 FUGG), and received financial support from the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, which is gratefully acknowledged. This is FIERCE contribution No. 220., Peer reviewed

Thick gypsum-carbonate sequences were deposited in different periods and basins of Europe during the westward opening of the Tethys Ocean. Although they seem to represent widespread perimarine sulphate-dominated lagoons in shallow epeiric platforms, the sedimentary characteristics and interpretation of these deposits are still poorly constrained. To advance in the knowledge of these deposits, a detailed study is presented of two distinctive sulphate dominated sequences of Late Triassic age located in NE Iberia (Western Europe), which correspond to the Canelles and Espinagosa units, found in the southern Pyrenees and the Catalan Coastal Ranges respectively. These sequences present a diverse suite of carbonate and sulphate lithofacies, which are stacked in several recurring sedimentary cycles. These cycles consistently present a carbonate base that transitions to a sulphate top, and can be correlated along several tens of kilometres. Each of the observed cycles depicts an initial sudden flooding of a tidal-lagoon system by marine water, which led to carbonate-dominated sedimentation. Progressive evaporation under dominant arid climate conditions triggered the shallowing of the lagoon and salinisation of its water. Then, a transition from carbonate to gypsum/anhydrite precipitation and the early dolomitisation of the underlying carbonate sediments by brine reflux occurred. Gypsum precipitated in the water column as cumulate crystals and deposited at the bottom of the lagoon, forming laminations or being incorporated into microbial mats. Anhydrite precipitated as early diagenetic crystals in the different subaqueous and subaerial environments of the tidal-lagoon system, leading to a variated set of lithofacies until now largely undocumented. It mainly formed as displacive lath-shaped crystals randomly oriented within carbonate muds at the bottom of the lagoon, which were mostly reworked at the lagoon margins by wave and tidal currents resulting in aligned fabrics in cross-lamination structures. Anhydrite also formed as pure massive beds by anhydritisation of subaerially exposed gypsum sediments during the main retraction stages of the lagoon, as well as typical nodular (sabkha) lithofacies. Such sulphate lithofacies are not easy recognisable due to the lack of modern analogues to compare and to their current transformation into secondary gypsum in the outcrops. These are aspects to be taken into account in future sedimentological studies on similar evaporitic materials., Peer Reviewed

Thick gypsum-carbonate sequences were deposited in different periods and basins of Europe during the westward opening of the Tethys Ocean. Although they seem to represent widespread perimarine sulphate-dominated lagoons in shallow epeiric platforms, the sedimentary characteristics and interpretation of these deposits are still poorly constrained. To advance in the knowledge of these deposits, a detailed study is presented of two distinctive sulphate dominated sequences of Late Triassic age located in NE Iberia (Western Europe), which correspond to the Canelles and Espinagosa units, found in the southern Pyrenees and the Catalan Coastal Ranges respectively. These sequences present a diverse suite of carbonate and sulphate lithofacies, which are stacked in several recurring sedimentary cycles. These cycles consistently present a carbonate base that transitions to a sulphate top, and can be correlated along several tens of kilometres. Each of the observed cycles depicts an initial sudden flooding of a tidal-lagoon system by marine water, which led to carbonate-dominated sedimentation. Progressive evaporation under dominant arid climate conditions triggered the shallowing of the lagoon and salinisation of its water. Then, a transition from carbonate to gypsum/anhydrite precipitation and the early dolomitisation of the underlying carbonate sediments by brine reflux occurred. Gypsum precipitated in the water column as cumulate crystals and deposited at the bottom of the lagoon, forming laminations or being incorporated into microbial mats. Anhydrite precipitated as early diagenetic crystals in the different subaqueous and subaerial environments of the tidal-lagoon system, leading to a variated set of lithofacies until now largely undocumented. It mainly formed as displacive lath-shaped crystals randomly oriented within carbonate muds at the bottom of the lagoon, which were mostly reworked at the lagoon margins by wave and tidal currents resulting in aligned fabrics in cross-lamination structures. Anhydrite also formed as pure massive beds by anhydritisation of subaerially exposed gypsum sediments during the main retraction stages of the lagoon, as well as typical nodular (sabkha) lithofacies. Such sulphate lithofacies are not easy recognisable due to the lack of modern analogues to compare and to their current transformation into secondary gypsum in the outcrops. These are aspects to be taken into account in future sedimentological studies on similar evaporitic materials., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

The assessment of the deep geothermal potential is an essential task during the early phases of any geothermal project. The well-known "Heat-In-Place" volumetric method is the most widely used technique to estimate the available stored heat and the recoverable heat fraction of deep geothermal reservoirs at the regional scale. Different commercial and open-source software packages have been used to date to estimate these parameters. However, these tools are either not freely available, can only consider the entire reservoir volume or a specific part as a single-voxel model, or are restricted to certain geographical areas. The 3DHIP-Calculator tool presented in this contribution is an open-source software designed for the assessment of the deep geothermal potential at the regional scale using the volumetric method based on a stochastic approach. The tool estimates the Heat-In-Place and recoverable thermal energy using 3D geological and 3D thermal voxel models as input data. The 3DHIP-Calculator includes an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for visualizing and exporting the results to files for further postprocessing, including GIS-based map generation. The use and functionalities of the 3DHIP-Calculator are demonstrated through a case study of the Reus-Valls sedimentary basin (NE, Spain).

Karst fills from the onshore Penedès Basin and offshore València Trough display red, pink, orange and ochre colours. Their Mössbauer spectra indicate that Fe contained in goethite is the dominant species in reddish-pink fills, whereas Fe contained in dolomite and clays is more dominant in the orange and ochre ones. The lower δ C values and higher Sr/ Sr ratios of the karst fills with respect to their host carbonates can reflect the input of soil-derived CO and an external radiogenic source into the karst system. This geochemical composition, together with the non-carbonate fraction of the fills, consists of authigenic and transported illite, illite-smectite interlayers, as well as kaolinite, chlorite, pyrite, quartz, ilmenite, magnetite, apatite and feldspar, account for a mixed residual-detrital origin of fills. This polygenic origin agrees with that of the terra rossa sediments described worldwide. The different colours of karst fills are attributed to fluctuations in the water table, which control the Eh/pH conditions in the karst system. Thus, reddish colours reflect low water table levels and oxidising episodes, and orange and ochre ones reflect high water table levels and more reducing episodes. The greenish colours of fills could be related to fluctuations in the Fe /Fe ratio.

Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestones and dolostones serve as hydrocarbon reservoirs in the offshore area of NE Spain. Since similar dolomitized rocks crop out in the adjacent onshore Maestrat Basin in the SE Iberian Range, understanding the dolomitization and other diagenetic processes is key to assessing reservoir properties. The Maestrat Basin dolostones crop out as elongated, asymmetric bodies, ranging from tens of centimetres to kilometres in length and up to 150m thick, with a wedge-shaped geometry closely associated with fractures. These dolostones are calcium-rich with low concentrations of Mn, Sr, and Na, but variable Fe, indicating that the replacement of the host limestone was followed by dolomite cement precipitation. Fluid inclusion data suggest that dolomitization took place at temperatures ranging between 70 and 120ºC. Such temperatures, together with the high 87Sr/86Sr ratio and fluid salinity (16 to 23% wt. NaCl equivalent), reveal that the dolomitization process took place in burial conditions, from fluids that were infiltrated and likely interacted with Triassic, Liassic, and basement rocks. Although the exact age of dolomitization is not fully constrained, it is thought to coincide with fault-related dolomitization events of the same type previously described in the Maestrat Basin, likely during the latest Early Cretaceous and/or during the Late Cretaceous, in relation to the post-rift basin stage. Geochemical differences between the depocenters and structural highs may reflect the controls of the Maestrat Basin basin architecture on the composition and distribution of fluids., Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestones and dolostones serve as hydrocarbon reservoirs in the offshore area of NE Spain. Since similar dolomitized rocks crop out in the adjacent onshore Maestrat Basin in the SE Iberian Range, understanding the dolomitization and other diagenetic processes is key to assessing reservoir properties. The Maestrat Basin dolostones crop out as elongated, asymmetric bodies, ranging from tens of centimetres to kilometres in length and up to 150m thick, with a wedge-shaped geometry closely associated with fractures. These dolostones are calcium-rich with low concentrations of Mn, Sr, and Na, but variable Fe, indicating that the replacement of the host limestone was followed by dolomite cement precipitation. Fluid inclusion data suggestthat dolomitization took place at temperatures ranging between 70 and 120ºC. Such temperatures, together with the high 87Sr/86Sr ratio and fluid salinity (16 to 23% wt. NaCl equivalent), reveal that the dolomitization process took place in burial conditions, from fluids that were infiltrated and likely interacted with Triassic, Liassic, and basement rocks. Although the exact age of dolomitization is not fully constrained, it is thought to coincide with fault-related dolomitization events of the same type previously described in the Maestrat Basin, likely during the latest Early Cretaceous and/or during the Late Cretaceous, in relation to the post-rift basin stage. Geochemical differences between the depocenters and structural highs may reflect the controls of the Maestrat Basin basinarchitecture on the composition and distribution of fluids.

Veins provide insights into the strain conditions under which they formed, the timing and sequence of fracturing, and the nature of the fluids from which their cement precipitated. Intense fracturing within fault zones promotes vein formation, but there are still open questions about the extent of fault control on vein formation, the type of veins and their development. This study analyses the influence of an active strike-slip fault —the Galera Fault, Southern Spain— on the formation, distribution, and evolution of gypsum vein networks hosted in Pliocene and Pleistocene rocks. Field mapping and structural analysis reveal veins are concentrated within the fault damage zone, with their spatial distribution being controlled by fault geometry, kinematics, and the lateral continuity of host lithologies. Structural analysis at 18 sites indicates that vein orientation correlates with tectonic structures. Veins near faults exhibit organized, consistent strikes, while those farther away show more variable orientations. Vein strike is highly sensitive to the local strain defined by the geometry, kinematics, and interactions of faults and subsidiary structures. Additionally, vein length tends to increase near faults. Vein intensity and density are controlled by vein length and orientation, and the thickness of vein-hosting beds. Moreover, veins formed shortly after sediment deposition under minimal lithostatic load, likely driven by fault-related strain. This early formation is supported by microstructures such as cone-in-cone and the rotation of early veins due to tectonic tilting. In conclusion, this research highlights the strong tectonic influence on vein formation, evolution, distribution, and attributes.

The Tabernas Basin (SE-Spain), renowned for its Tortonian turbidites, also records thick Messinian successions (>200 m) that offer valuable insights into the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Yet, the stratigraphic correlation of the Tabernas sediments with the classic successions of the nearby Sorbas Basin remains unclear. This study presents a composite stratigraphic section (named Yesón Alto) that covers the pre-evaporitic, syn-evaporitic, and supra-evaporitic stages of the MSC recorded in Tabernas Basin, offering detailed paleoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic characterization. We provide new constraints on the connections between two marginal basins of the Betic Cordillera and on the paleoenvironmental changes that took place in the Western Mediterranean during the MSC. During the Late Messinian pre-evaporitic phase, siltstones and shales alternating with distal turbidites recorded shifts between warm-oligotrophic and cold-eutrophic planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, indicating the influence of precession-driven climatic fluctuations on the water column. Progressive basin restriction led to the development of an incipient hybrid carbonate shelf, subjected to significant siliciclastic influx. 16 key planktonic foraminifera bioevents and a magnetic reversal (C3An.1n to C3r at 6.035 Ma) have been identified and correlated with the astronomically calibrated cycles of the Sorbas Basin, suggesting the possible synchronous onset of the MSC in both basins. The evaporitic stage in Tabernas is represented by four selenitic gypsum beds intercalated with siliciclastic and carbonate deposits. Facies analysis and gypsum isotopic compositions (δ34Ssulfate and δ18Osulfate) suggest that evaporites represent the initial cycles of the Primary Lower Gypsum (PLG) of the MSC Stage 1 in the Mediterranean. Below gypsum bed PLG 4, an inter-evaporitic level rich in marine fauna indicates the episodic re-establishment of near-normal marine conditions after periods of evaporite precipitation. The Supra-evaporitic unit, comprising deltaic-fluvial conglomerates and sandstones, reflects a regional regressive trend and marks the continentalization of the basin's margins. The progradation of these continental deposits over the evaporitic basin was favored by an eastward uplift trend in the Betic Cordillera, ultimately leading to exposure of the Tabernas Basin before or during Stages 2 and 3 of the MSC. The paleoenvironmental evolution of the Tabernas Basin indicates that marine connections with the Sorbas Basin persisted before and during the early MSC and that tectonics associated with climatic factors played a key role in the evolution of its sedimentary systems.

Before and during Stage 1 of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), carbonate platforms developed in marginal basins of the Western Mediterranean, recording some of the last manifestation of fully tropical climatic conditions in the region. In the Tabernas Basin (SE Spain), a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic succession was deposited between 6.080 and 5.971 Ma, recording a detailed archive of the environmental, ecological, and sedimentological changes that occurred during an advanced phase of Mediterranean restriction preceding the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Systematic semiquantitative micropaleontological analysis reveals five different benthic foraminiferal assemblages, which respond to a progressive shallowing-upward trend and shifting environmental conditions at the seafloor. In the upper epibathyal environment, the coexistence of planktonic foraminifera with dysoxia-tolerant benthic taxa suggests pronounced stratification within the water column. Enhanced primary productivity in the upper waters fuelled organic matter flux to the bottom waters, driving pyrite precipitation and conditioning benthic ecosystems. The transition to a shelf setting was recorded by an increased diversity of shallower-water benthic fauna and the deposition of bioclastic limestones. Further environmental stress produced by progressive restriction drove a general decline in the marine fauna, culminating in the deposition of barren limestones. The flourishing of microbial mats in the inner-shelf marked the climax phase of restriction preceding evaporite deposition at the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

This study analyses a 175 m-deep continuous drill core from the Sorbas basin (SE Spain), and correlates it with additional unpublished cores that together recover the complete Messinian stratigraphic succession. The sequence records a shallowing-upward trend, from pre-evaporitic to-post-evaporitic units. Multiple sedimentological, palaeontological and geochemical proxies indicate episodes of oxygen-depleted conditions in marginal-marine environments prior to gypsum precipitation. A progressive undersaturation and a relative sea-level fall is evidenced by the transition from selenitic to brecciated gypsum and carbonate-rich coastal facies, together with the presence of bio-induced dolomite, framboidal pyrite, and immobile-element ratios. The appearance of diverse benthic foraminifera exclusively in the third inter-evaporitic marl level reveals near-normal marine conditions within an overall trend toward basin restriction and regression. This low-salinity event is correlated regionally between Sorbas, Tabernas and Bajo Segura basins, revealing diluted marine waters during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). The presence of well-preserved foraminifera can be correlated with a resedimented foraminifera association in Zorreras Hill, suggesting an erosional event at its base. 87Sr/86Sr ratios from two samples collected in the Sorbas Member fall within the range of Primary Lower Gypsum (PLG), suggesting a PLG age of the Sorbas Member, but diverge from values from Zorreras Member, supporting a sedimentary hiatus between these two units. This study provides new constraints on the timing, lateral facies relationships and paleoenvironmental evolution of the marginal Sorbas basin during the MSC.

The Campo Coy Basin (SE Spain) exposes >1 km of sedimentary succession with a variety of rocks including a thick evaporitic succession previously associated with the Messinian time. These evaporites were supposedly deposited in a restricted Mediterranean-Atlantic seaway connecting the Lorca and Guadix-Baza basins, although no chronological or geochemical data existed. Here we use palaeomagnetism together with vertebrate and foraminifera biostratigraphy to constrain the age of the Campo Coy succession between <9 Ma and 4.7 Ma. We use geochemistry (δ34S, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr values) of the gypsum deposits to evaluate their marine or continental origin. In addition, we describe the underlying and overlying lithostratigraphic units to reconstruct the palaeogeographic evolution of this region. Our results show that the sediments were deposited in a continental environment, indicating that the Betic Seaway was already closed in this region during the late Tortonian and that the neighbouring marine basins of Guadix-Baza and Lorca were disconnected during that time. The δ34S, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr values of the gypsum indicate recycling from the Triassic sulphates. Sedimentary facies of the evaporites point to an environment dominated by a saline lake with continental sabkha episodes developed during the driest periods. Well-defined and laterally continuous evaporitic cyclicity suggests an orbital forcing and high sedimentation rates preceding the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Alluvial deposits are contemporaneous with the MSC indicating a dry continental environment in this region during the Mediterranean restriction. Overlaying lacustrine carbonates are rich in small vertebrate fauna including African species that migrated to Europe during the MSC. These carbonates have low δ18O and δ13C values characteristic for freshwater input in an open lake just after the Zanclean flood, suggesting that a wet climate followed the MSC.

Triassic clayey-evaporitic materials played an important role in the detachment of tectonic units when structuring the Betic Cordillera. In the Cambil sector (Jaén, southern Spain), Triassic outcrops of detrital-evaporitic materials and carbonates have been interpreted as a nappe ("Cambil nappe"). The great development of breccias with clayey-gypsiferous matrix within these materials may be related to an olistostromic unit of the Oligocene-Aquitanian. However, such a redeposit of Triassic materials in the Subbetic Zone during the Miocene is controversial. The geological mapping carried out in this study reveals the tectonic complexity of the area. Large blocks of different nature and age crop out throughout the sector. The identification of Muschelkalk carbonate units of diverse paleogeographic origin, based on the Triassic stratigraphy, implies structures undergoing displacements of almost one hundred kilometers. Largely brecciated bands would be related, in this context, to tectonic structures of brittle-plastic range developed on clayey-gypsiferous materials. Salt tectonics alone cannot explain these regional displacements; hence most of the described tectonic fabrics must be associated with the thrusting and strike-slip faulting of the Betic fold and thrust belt.

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) was preceded by profound climatic and oceanographic changes in the Mediterranean starting at ∼7.1 Myr. They influenced deep-water sedimentation during increasing basin restriction. The well-preserved sedimentary record of the Mesaoria Basin (NE Cyprus, eastern Mediterranean) is an excellent archive to study pre-evaporitic conditions at a basin-wide scale. This study analyses a ∼125 m-thick sedimentary succession that allows understanding the complex biotic-abiotic processes controlling the formation of deep-water carbonates before the MSC. The present study integrates stratigraphy, facies analysis, qualitative and quantitative micropalaeontology, petrography, and stable isotope geochemistry to reconstruct depositional and early diagenetic processes in a carbonate-dominated, deep-water setting. During the initial phase of restriction (∼7.1–6.7 Ma), the surface waters were characterized by open-marine calcareous nannoplankton and warm-oligotrophic planktonic foraminifera assemblages, while the seafloor was populated by a benthic fauna indicative of ventilated bottom-waters. As restriction intensified, the seafloor became periodically anoxic. Anoxia enhanced bacterial sulphate reduction, which induced the cyclical precipitation of pyrite and authigenic gypsum within calcareous tests. At around ∼6.7 Ma, a further step of basin restriction induced a shift in pelagic sedimentation from massive to laminated marls, followed by the cyclic deposition of wackestone-marl couplets. Carbon and oxygen stable-isotope variations and rapid shifts in nannoplankton assemblages point to salinity and primary productivity fluctuations driven by precession-controlled oscillations between water-column mixing and stratified conditions. Massive wackestones formed during arid periods, when the formation of dense saline upper waters enhanced vertical mixing and seafloor ventilation. Enhanced freshwater input during humid periods resulted in surface water eutrophication and water-column stratification favouring opportunistic nannoplankton, and coincided with the appearance of biosiliceous remains in the sedimentary record. Algal blooms boosted the export of organic matter to a dysoxic seafloor in the form of marine snow floccules, whose preservation in the laminated marls was favoured by decreased benthic scavenging. The occurrence of putative trace fossil Trichichnus, which has been attributed to giant sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, reflects short-term redox fluctuations at the seafloor, pointing to an active sulphur biogeochemical cycle in a deep environment. These results reveal how restriction, freshwater input, water-column stratification, planktonic primary productivity, and chemotrophic microbial processes shaped deep water biogenic carbonates in the eastern Mediterranean prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

The Messinian Salinity Crisis is considered as one of the most influential Cenozoic events that impacted negatively on the benthic fauna of the Mediterranean area. Changing environmental conditions, including a sharp reduction of water exchange between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, altered the geographical ranges of many organisms, including sponges (Porifera). Here, we report a unique assemblage of isolated sponge spicules from the upper Miocene of southwestern Spain. The newly recognized sponge fauna was inhabiting the Guadalquivir Basin—the corridor between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean at that time. It represents a taxonomically rich sponge community that consisted of members of “soft” and “lithistid” demosponges and hexactinellids. Demosponges are represented by at least thirty-four taxa, while hexactinellids are significantly rarer; only six taxa have been identified. From among eighteen taxa recognized to the species level, at least eight seem to be inhabiting this area to these days; six are recorded from adjacent areas, such as the Western Mediterranean, South European Atlantic Shelf, and the Azores, and three are present in the Red Sea and/or the Northern Atlantic. Intriguingly, some taxa seem to have their closest relatives in distant areas, such as the Indo-Pacific and Japanese waters which suggests that the range of some once widely-distributed populations shrunk after the isolation of the Mediterranean and the Messinian Salinity Crisis, surviving to the present day only in refugia.

Introduction: This study investigates how different teaching strategies influence students’ learning outcomes and engagement. Objective: The primary aim is to evaluate the knowledge and motivation of students in the first year of high school (17 years old), before and after participating in an escape room activity on the History of the Earth and Life. Methodology: The research involved 50 students, divided into a control group that received traditional lectures and an experimental group that participated in a gamified experience. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted to measure knowledge acquisition, and motivation was assessed through a survey. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, were performed to compare the effectiveness of both teaching methods. Results: The study shows significant statistical differences between the two strategies, demonstrating a notable increase in learning through gamification (F(1, 48) = 21; p < 0.001). Additionally, students in the experimental group perceived the methodology as more engaging, highlighting its dynamic, interactive, and motivating nature. Conclusions: The findings suggest that incorporating interactive and dynamic learning experiences can foster deeper engagement with the content.

This study combines published isotope data (223 samples) with new data (153 samples) on the δ34S and δ18O composition of Ca-sulfate rocks (anhydrite and secondary gypsum) accumulated in eastern Iberia during the Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic. The δ34S mean values of the evaporite units reveal the following trends: a decrease from the lower Anisian (~18‰) to the Carnian-Norian interval (~15‰); an increase at the Rhaetian (~16‰); a decrease in the Hettangian-Sinemurian interval (~14‰); and finally an increasing trend from the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian (~16‰) to the Pliensbachian-Toarcian (~19‰). This δ34S isotope assemblage together with the generalized low standard deviations observed for the different evaporite units is consistent, and suggests that the isotope composition of these Ca-sulfates are primary signatures related to feeding marine water sulfate. Depending on the evaporite units, these δ34S mean values are, nevertheless, ~1‰ to ~3‰ lower than those reported for coeval Triassic evaporites of the Germanic basin and the Alp-Apennine domains. In eastern Iberia, the δ18O values are more variable and also display wider scatters than the corresponding δ34S values. Of particular interest in our study are: (i) the low δ34S values for the Anisian in comparison with those in the Germanic basin; (ii) the shift to heavier values in the Rhaetian, recorded for first time in the evaporites of eastern Iberia; (iii) the low values observed for the Hettangian, which suggest that the change to the heavier values of the Jurassic (~19‰) occurred after the end-Hettangian in eastern Iberia; and (iv) the affinity of the δ34S values recorded for the Hettangian-Sinemurian interval to those known for the Canadian domain.

This study aims to assess the knowledge of geology and sustainability among 14- and 15-year-old secondary school students in Spain and to evaluate the effectiveness of active experiential methodologies in improving academic performance in these subjects. Involving 132 students, we used pre-test and post-test questionnaires for data collection, with both control and experimental groups. Our findings showed that integrating Earth history, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and public speaking enhances scientific literacy by fostering problem-solving and interdisciplinary understanding. The study highlights the importance of integrating scientific methods, revealing a preference for experimental approaches over traditional methods among students; however, when the results are analyzed independently by topic, similar results are obtained with active and traditional teaching methodologies. Therefore, a holistic and flexible approach not only meets the requirements of modern curricula but also helps students address complex global challenges.