Highlights—Complex Mound Complexes

Carbonate mounds occur in many parts of the stratigraphic record, yet details of their growth dynamics and resultant depositional geometries commonly are poorly constrained. In this study, Samankassou et al. focus on the composition and growth dynamics of two large mound complexes well exposed in the Cantabrian Mountains, Northern Spain, with the goal of evaluating the impact of sea level, accommodation, and siliciclastic input on mound growth. The results of this study reveal how paleohighs, recurrent sea-level fluctuations (presumably linked to glacio-eustacy) and episodic siliciclastic input controlled the shape, size, and growth evolution of these mounds. The internal architecture, a mosaic of juxtaposed small bodies, provides an analog model for understanding mound growth and for constraining reservoir heterogeneity, particularly for upper Paleozoic deposits.

Growth dynamics of Pennsylvanian carbonate moundsfrom a mixed terrigenous–carbonate ramp in the Puebla de Lillo area, CantabrianMountains, northern Spain by E. Samankassou, K. Von Allmen, and J.R. Bahamonde