Las Tablas de Daimiel, Spain, is one of the scarce, freshwater wetlands areas still preserved in southern Europe. The wetland is fed by surface and groundwater. We studied the Quaternary sedimentary record of Las Tablas in a drill hole that penetrated 38.5 m of shallow-lake and fluvial deposits. Differences in the dominantly micritic muds indicate three main stages of development. In the lowest stage, unit A, (Lower? to Middle Pleistocene) the slightly saline wetland developed under a relatively arid climate that favored slow flow movement of the fluvial system and the disconnection of the ponded areas. In the intermediate stage, unit B, (Middle to Upper Pleistocene) extensive peat developed during wetter conditions. Biosiliceous sediments (diatoms and sponge spicules) also accumulated in this swampy setting. In the latter stage, unit C, (Upper Pleistocene to Holocene) palustrine carbonates formed in a freshwater environment with desiccation events, followed by fluvial reworking of the lake margins. Lithification of these deposits was relatively fast (<10,000 yr). The studies of the core, including mineralogy, petrography, stables isotopes, and pollen analyses, indicate that these sediments are similar to those of ancient palustrine sequences. Therefore, Las Tablas can be considered as a recent analogue for freshwater palustrine systems that have no marine influence. These systems are very sensitive to changes in climate or base level, and their study is needed to better understand the terrestrial sedimentary record. Study is needed also to determine how to preserve these wetlands. Las Tablas de Daimiel constituyen uno de los escasos humedales de agua dulce que aún se conservan en el sur de Europa, concretamente en España. El humedal está abastecido por aguas superficiales y subterráneas. El registro sedimentario Cuaternario de Las Tablas, se ha estudiado mediante un sondeo en el que se cortaron 38.5 m de depósitos lacustres someros y fluviales, esencialmente carbonatos micríticos. Las características de los sedimentos permiten diferenciar tres principales etapas de sedimentación. En la primera etapa, unidad A, (Pleistoceno Inferior? a Medio) el humedal era ligeramente salino y se desarrolló bajo un clima relativamente árido que favoreció el flujo más lento del sistema fluvial, permitiendo la desconexión de las zonas encharcadas. En la etapa intermedia, unidad B, (Pleistoceno Medio a Superior) el amplio desarrollo de turberas indica condiciones más húmedas, en las que dentro de las áreas pantanosas también se depositaron sedimentos biosilíceos (diatomeas y espículas de esponjas). En la última etapa, unidad C, (Pleistoceno Superior a Holoceno) los sedimentos característicos son carbonatos palustres formados en un ambiente de agua dulce con eventos de desecación seguidos de posterior retrabajamiento de los márgenes lacustres por canales fluviales. La litificación de estos depósitos fue relativamente rápida (<10000 años). El estudio llevado a cabo en el sondeo (mineralogía, petrografía, isótopos estables, análisis polínicos) indica que estos sedimentos son similares a las secuencias palustres del registro geológico. Por tanto, Las Tablas de Daimiel pueden considerarse como un análogo reciente para sistemas palustres de agua dulce que no tengan influencia marina. Estos sistemas son muy sensibles a cambios climáticos y/o del nivel de base, por lo que su estudio es necesario para conocer mejor el registro sedimentario continental, pero también para preservar estos humedales.

Abstract Tertiary (Palaeogene and Neogene) deposits crop out widely across both the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Fig. 13.1 ), and record a dramatic sequence of events during plate convergence. The anticlockwise rotation of an initially isolated Mesozoic Iberian plate was followed by late Cretaceous– Cenozoic interaction with both the European and African plates. This ultimately created two great Alpine mountain belts (Pyrenean-Basque-Cantabrian and Betic-Balearic) (Fig. 13.1 ), each of which generated major Cenozoic foreland basins (Ebro and Guadalquivir). Away from these mountain belts, two large Cenozoic intraplate depressions (Duero and Tajo basins) flank a central horst (Central Range). Another important group of depocentres occurs within a string of Neogene grabens situated along the eastern side of mainland Spain (Fig. 13.1 ), forming part of a long-lived and still-active extensional system linking the Valencia trough with the Rhine and Rhone grabens in Germany and France. Further SE, Neogene extension propagated from the Valencian trough into the southern Betic orogen and created a series of basins from Alicante to Granada and beyond. Tertiary sedimentary rocks in Spain were thus deposited during and after Alpine compression in the Iberian area. This chapter summarizes the main characteristics of these sediments, moving broadly from north to south, a direction reflecting the diachronous shift in Cenozoic Alpine deformation from the Pyrenees to the Betic-Balearic region.

Abstract The Teruel graben, also named Teruel fosse (Mein etal., 1990) and Teruel basin, is located on the northeastern side of the Iberian Peninsula (Figure 1). The basin isoriented north-northeast-south-southwest and occupiesan area of approximately 100 km in length and 15 km in width. It is filled by a rather complete Neogene successionreaching 500 m in thickness (Moissenet, 1983,1989). The Teruel basin is regarded as a half-grabenbounded by several en echelon north-northeastsouth-southwest normal faults that are mainly locatedin the eastern part of the basin (Anadon and Moissenet,1996). Hanging-wall subsidence is westward of the faults, whereas footwall uplift is eastward of the faults.This structure resulted in tilting of the Neogene deposits that, in general, dip toward the east-southeast.The main tectonic lineation that controlled the formation of the basin is in contrast with the typical northwest southeast Paleogene compressional structures of the Iberian Chain (Figure 1), thus providing evidence of a gradual change in stress regime throughout the upperOligocene in this area of the northeast Iberian Peninsula(Simon, 1984). Formation of the basin is envisagedas related to the extensional movements linked to the rifting of the western Mediterranean during the Miocene (Anadon et al., 1989; Roca, 1996). In the northern part of the Teruel graben (TeruelAlfambraregion) (Figure 1), the Neogene successionis bounded by siliciclastic and evaporate formations of Triassic age, as well as by Jurassic carbonate deposits. The oldest Neogene deposits, which un conformablyoverlie Upper Jurassic formations in the491eastern margin of the basin, have been dated as lowe rAragonian (Montalvos mammal locality) (MNT, Figure2); however,