Stratigraphic evolution of a salt-walled basin: the influence of diapirism and compressional tectonics on the sedimentary record of the Estopanyà syncline (South-Central Pyrenees)

This contribution describes the influence of diapirism and compressional tectonics in the sedimentary record of the Estopanyà and Boix synclines (salt-walled basins) in the South-Central Pyrenees (NE Spain). Based on mapping and logging of five stratigraphic sections, two lithostratigraphic units (LU-1 and 2) along the eastern diapir margin of these synclines and five more (LU-3 to 7) in their inner parts are defined. LU-1 and 2 consist of monomictic breccias deposited probably during the Upper Triassic-Oligocene and the Upper Cretaceous, respectively. LU-3 to 7 constitute a marine to fluvial succession of the Tremp Group deposited during the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene. The stratigraphic and sedimentological record indicates that the topography, position, and accommodation space of the Estopanyà and Boix synclines was actively controlled by the evolution of salt structures from the Late Cretaceous to the Oligocene in response to the advance of the Alpine compression in the South-Central Pyrenees. The growth of salt-inflated ridges with a near parallel orientation to the axis of the studied synclines since the Upper Cretaceous, progressively compartmentalized the Boix syncline until inhibiting sedimentation during the lower Paleocene. In the upper Paleocene, the Alpine compression approached the study area increasing salt evacuation and the subsidence of the Estopanyà and Boix synclines. During the early to middle Ypresian, onset of compression led to salt expulsion by piercing the sedimentary roof of the inherited salt-inflated ridges and forming two salt walls at the eastern margin of the Estopanyà and Boix synclines that were squeezed and welded (possibly through secondary welds) due to tectonic compression during the Oligocene. This contribution provides a new interpretation of the structural and stratigraphic evolution of the Estopanyà and Boix synclines, proposing an evolutionary model that includes the rejuvenation, growth, and extrusion of salt walls as deciphered from the stratigraphy, sedimentology, and petrology of the diapir margin breccias and the sedimentary succession of the adjoining salt-embedded basins. Hence, it provides a new analogue study for understanding the interplay between compressional tectonics, diapirism, and sedimentation to other inverted salt basins with precursor salt walls worldwide.