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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1984; v. 15; p. 275-292;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1984.015.01.18
© 1984 Geological Society of London

Contourites

Contourite facies of the Faro Drift, Gulf of Cadiz

E. G. Gonthier & J.-C. Faugères

Département Géologie et Océanographie, Université Bordeaux I, Avenues des Facultés 33405 Talence Cedex, France

D. A. V. Stow

Grant Institute of Geology, Edinburgh University, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland

The Faro Drift is an elongate sediment body (50 km long, 300 m thick) that parallels the northern margin of the Gulf of Cadiz south of Portugal. On the basis of location, morphology and seismic character of the drift together with bottom photographs, sediment distribution and the known regional oceanography, we can be certain that the Faro Drift was constructed by bottom currents related to the deep outflow of Mediterranean water. Detailed study of a closely-spaced suite of cores has therefore allowed characterization of the sediments into three contourite facies: sands and silts, mottled silts and muds, and homogeneous muds. The first is equivalent to the sandy contourites and the two others to the muddy contourites of earlier studies. These three facies are arranged in irregular vertical ‘sequences’ that reflect long-term variations in bottom current velocity. They are distinctly different from typical fine-grained turbidite and hemipelagite facies.





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