Zonación ambiental de «mounds» algales del Carbonífero de la Zona Cantábrica (NO de España)

Abstract

Limestones are conspicuous within the shallow water rocks of the Carboniferous (Namurian-Westphalian) foreland basin sequences of the Cantabrian Zone. These limestone bands, containing oustanding algal bioherms, show a well defined facies spectrum with three main boundstone facies (Donezelia boundstone, Tu- biphytes-briozoa boundstone and phylloid algae boundstone). Both the entire facies association and' more specifically, the algal boun dstone facies showa pattern of distribution which seems to reflect the interplay amongst several environmental factors. Water depth and delta-derived efluents and its fine terrigenous (clay) suspension load are thought to have been the main controlling features through their influence in other parameters such as bottom energy, salinity and depth/llgth distribution and bottom illuminatio