Person:
Morellón Marteles, Mario

First Name

Mario

Last Name

Morellón Marteles

Affiliation

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Faculty / Institute

Ciencias Geológicas

Department

Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología

Area

Estratigrafía

Identifiers

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 35

Recent evolution of Lake Arreo, northern Spain: influences of land use change and climate
(Springer, 2010-12-30) Corella, Juan Pablo; El Amrani, Adel; Sigró, Javier; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Rico, Eugenio; Valero-Garcés, Blas
We present a high-resolution, multiproxy reconstruction of the depositional history of Lake Arreo, northern Spain, for the last 60 years. We conducted sedimentological, geochemical and diatom analyses in short cores and made a detailed comparison with regional instrumental climate data (1952–2007), limnological monitoring of the lake (1992–2008) and recent land use changes that affect the lake catchment. Chronology is based on ‘‘floating’’ discontinuous varve counts and 137Cs and 14Cdates. Four periods were identified in the Lake Arreo recent history: (1) prior to 1963, varved facies intercalated with fine turbidite deposits, and diatom assemblages dominated by Cyclotella taxa indicate predominantly meromictic conditions, (2) from 1964to 1978, permanent anoxia persisted in bottom waters, as shown by similar facies and diatom assemblages as before, though detrital layers were coarser, (3) from 1979 to 1994, sediment delivery to the lake increased and laminated, clastic facies were deposited, and (4) from 1995 to 2008, dominance of massive facies and an increase in Fragilaria tenera and Achnanthes minutissima reflect relatively lower lake levels, less frequent bottom anoxia with more frequent water column mixing, similar to modern conditions. The period 1952–1979 was a time of meromixis and varved facies deposition, and was characterized by higher rainfall and less intense agricultural pressure in the watershed. There were two short humid periods (1992–1993 and 1996–1998) when monitoring data show more anoxic weeks per year and relatively higher lake levels. Increased cultivation of small landholdings in 1963, and particularly after 1979, caused a large increase in sediment delivery to the lake. The inferred lake evolution is in agreement with monitoring data that suggest a transition from dominantly meromictic conditions prior to 1993–1994 to a predominantly monomictic pattern of circulation since then, particularly after 2000. The synergistic effects of intensive water extraction for irrigation and lower rainfall since1979, and particularly since 1994, brought the long period of meromictic conditions in Lake Arreo to anend. Water balance and sediment delivery to the lake are dominant factors that control the limnological and mixing conditions in Lake Arreo and they must be considered in management and restoration plans.
Palaeolimnological evidence for an east–west climate see-saw in the Mediterranean since AD 900
(Elsevier, 2011) Roberts, Neil; Moreno Caballud, Ana; Valero-Garcés, Blas; Corella, Juan Pablo; Jones, Matthew; Allcock, Samantha; Woodbridge, Jessie; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Luterbacher, Juerg; Xoplaki, Elena; Türkes, Murat
During the period of instrumental records, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has strongly influenced inter-annual precipitation variations in the western Mediterranean, while some eastern parts of the basin have shown an anti-phase relationship in precipitation and atmospheric pressure. Here we explore how the NAO and other atmospheric circulation modes operated over the longer timescales of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Little Ice Age (LIA). High-resolution palaeolimnological evidence from opposite ends of the Mediterranean basin, supplemented by other palaeoclimate data, is used to track shifts in regional hydro-climatic conditions. Multiple geochemical, sedimentological, isotopic and palaeoecological proxies from Estanya and Montcortés lakes in northeast Spain and Nar lake in central Turkey have been cross-correlated at decadal time intervals since AD 900. These dryland lakes capture sensitively changes in precipitation/evaporation (P/E) balance by adjustments in water level and salinity, and are especially valuable for reconstructing variability over decadal–centennial timescales. Iberian lakes show lower water levels and higher salinities during the 11th to 13th centuries synchronous with the MCA and generally more humid conditions during the ‘LIA’ (15th–19th centuries). This pattern is also clearly evident in tree-ring records from Morocco and from marine cores in the western Mediterranean Sea. In the eastern Mediterranean, palaeoclimatic records from Turkey, Greece and the Levant show generally drier hydro-climatic conditions during the LIA and a wetter phase during the MCA. This implies that a bipolar climate see-saw has operated in the Mediterranean for the last 1100 years. However, while western Mediterranean aridity appears consistent with persistent positive NAO state during the MCA, the pattern is less clear in the eastern Mediterranean. Here the strongest evidence for higher winter season precipitation during the MCA comes from central Turkey in the northeastern sector of the Mediterranean basin. This in turn implies that the LIA/MCA hydro-climatic pattern in the Mediterranean was determined by a combination of different climate modes along with major physical geographical controls, and not by NAO forcing alone, or that the character of the NAO and its teleconnections have been non-stationary.
Millennial land use explains modern high-elevation vegetation in the submediterranean mountains of Southern Europe
(Wiley, 2022-08-30) Morales Molino, César; Leunda, M.; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Gardoki, Jon; Ezquerra, F. Javier; Muñoz Sobrino, Castor; Rubiales Jiménez, Juan Manuel; Tinner, Willy
Aim Pinewood decline and scrubland expansion are major features of Late Holocene vegetation history in the Cantabrian Range. However, the drivers of this remarkable vegetation shift remain to be investigated. Here, we aim at disentangling the role of past land use and climate in shaping the high-elevation Cantabrian landscape during the past two millennia. Location Cantabrian Range (northern Iberia). Taxa Pinus sylvestris, Betula, Ericaceae, Juniperus, Poaceae. Methods We conducted high-resolution multiproxy palaeoecological analyses (pollen, plant macrofossils, microscopic charcoal and dung fungi) on lake sediments from Lago del Ausente to reconstruct vegetation, fire occurrence and grazing through time. The chronology is based on 14C (terrestrial plant macrofossils) and 210Pb dating, and Bayesian age-depth modelling (‘rbacon’). We carried out cross-correlation analysis to quantify vegetation responses to fire. Results Between 250 and 900 CE, the vegetation above 1700 m a.s.l. consisted of subalpine scrubland and scattered P. sylvestris trees/stands. Pinewoods with Betula were widespread at slightly lower elevation. This vegetation was resilient to moderate fire disturbance associated with limited pastoral activities. In contrast, enhanced fire occurrence alongside heavier pastoralism led to the demise of pinewoods and their replacement with Betula stands, subalpine scrublands, and meadows between 900 and 1100 CE. Later, the subalpine scrubland-birch tree line did not respond to Little Ice Age cooling. However, further intensification of transhumant herding between 1300 and 1860 CE (‘La Mesta’) triggered birch decline and the establishment of the modern treeless landscape. Main conclusions The extant high-elevation vegetation of the Cantabrian Range is largely the legacy of intensive land use starting more than one millennium ago. Recurrent and severe fires to promote pasturelands led to the regional extirpation of the previously widespread Pinus sylvestris. Future management should aim at preserving the valuable cultural open landscape of mountain scrubland and meadows and also at restoring patches of ancient pine-birch woodlands.
Uso de RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) para la docencia y divulgación de las Ciencias de la Tierra
(Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2020-06-30) Sánchez Moya, Yolanda; Jiménez Molina, David; Álvarez Gómez, José Antonio; Martínez Díaz, José Jesús; Insúa Arévalo, Juan Miguel; Fregenal Martínez, María Antonia; Herrero Fernández, María Josefa; Varas Muriel, María Josefa; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Horra Del Barco, Raul De La; Sanz Pérez, Eugenio; Escavy Fernández, José Ignacio; Sopeña Ortega, Alfonso; Menéndez-Pidal De Navascues, Ignacio; Trigos Luque, Laura; Rey Samper, Jesús Javier; López Acevedo, Francisco Javier; Sanz De Ojeda, Pablo; Sanz De Ojeda, Joaquín
Proyecto de Innovación docente enfocado a la elaboración de material audiovisual digital modular basado en las imágenes obtenidas con dron y enfocado a la enseñanza a nivel de grado y master, así como a la divulgación científica.
Patterns of human occupation during the early Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain) in response to the 8.2 ka climatic event
(Cambridge University Press, 2009) González Sampériz, Penélope; Utrilla, P.; Mazo, C.; Valero Garcés, Blas; Sopena, MC; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Sebastián, M.; Moreno, A.; Martínez Bea, M.
The Central Ebro River Basin (NE Spain) is the most northern area of truly semi-arid Mediterranean climate in Europe and prehistoric human occupation there has been strongly influenced by this extreme environmental condition. Modern climate conditions single out this region due to the harsh environment, characterised by the highest absolute summer temperatures of the Ebro River Basin. The Bajo Aragón region (SE Ebro River Basin) was intensively populated during the Early Holocene (9400-8200 cal yr BP) but the settlements were abandoned abruptly at around 8200 cal yr BP. We propose that this "archaeological silence" was caused by the regional impact of the global abrupt 8.2 ka cold event. Available regional paleoclimate archives demonstrate the existence of an aridity crisis then that interrupted the humid Early Holocene. That environmental crisis would have forced hunter-gatherer groups from the Bajo Aragón to migrate to regions with more favourable conditions (i.e. more humid mountainous areas) and only return in the Neolithic. Coherently, archaeological sites persist during this crisis in the nearby Iberian Range (Maestrazgo) and the North Ebro River area (Pre-Pyrenean mountains and along the northwestern Ebro Basin).
Clima y actividades humanas en la dinámica de la vegetación durante los últimos 2000 años en el Pirineo central: el registro palinológico de la Basa de la Mora (Macizo de Cotiella)
(Instituto de Estudios Riojanos (Logroño), 2011) Pérez Sanz, Ana; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Valero-Garcés, Blas; Moreno Caballud, Ana; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Sancho Marcén, Carlos; Belmonte, Ânchel; Gil-Romera, Graciela; Sevilla-Callejo, Miguel; Navas, A.
La secuencia polínica de la Basa de la Mora, localizada en el Pirineo Central a 1914 m s.n.m., indica que la evolución de la vegetación durante los últimos 2000 años ha estado condicionada en gran parte por las diferentes etapas climáticas que se han sucedido en el NE de la Península Ibérica durante este periodo. Los taxones relacionados con las actividades antropogénicas (cultivos y pastos) se recogen desde el comienzo de la secuencia en proporciones bajas, lo que indica un impacto humano leve sobre el paisaje. El comienzo de la secuencia registra una vegetación acorde con las características más húmedas y cálidas del “Periodo Húmedo Íbero-Romano” (50 a.C.-500 d.C). Tras una etapa de transición, se observa una clara respuesta de la vegetación a las condiciones más áridas del “Periodo Cálido Medieval” (900-1300 d.C). Coincidiendo con el comienzo de la “Pequeña Edad de Hielo” (1300-1850 d.C.) aumentan los taxones propios de cultivos, especialmente Olea, apuntando a una intensificación de las actividades humanas en las zonas bajas. La variabilidad en los porcentajes de taxones de bosque a partir de este momento sugiere eventos puntuales de deforestación, si bien ésta no se recoge de manera sistemática y permanente en el piso subalpino. Los cambios en el uso del suelo acontecidos con el comienzo de la Era Industrial son los responsables últimos de la gran expansión de los taxones arbóreos registrada desde 1850, y acentuada desde 1950 hasta la actualidad, como consecuencia del éxodo rural masivo. En general, los datos obtenidos en la secuencia de la Basa de la Mora apuntan a que los cambios climáticos no sólo han influido en la evolución de la vegetación hasta épocas muy recientes, sino que han podido condicionar a su vez el grado de presión humana en el paisaje.
Vegetation changes in the southern Pyrenean flank during the last millennium in relation to climate and human activities: the Montcortès lacustrine record
(Springer, 2010-06-11) Rull, Valentí; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Corella, Juan Pablo; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Giralt, Santiago
We report vegetation changes of the last millennium inferred from palynological analysis of a sediment core from Lake Montcortès, situated at ∼1,000 m elevation in the southern pre-Pyrenean flank. The record begins in the Middle Ages (∼AD 800) and ends around AD1920, with an average resolution of ∼30 years. The reconstructed vegetation sequence is complex and shows the influence of both climate and humans in shaping the landscape. Pre-feudal times were characterized by the presence of well developed conifer forests, which were intensely burned at the beginning of feudal times (AD 1000) and were replaced by cereal (rye) and hemp cultivation, as well as meadows and pastures. In the thirteenth century, a relatively short period of warming, likely corresponding to the Medieval Warm Period, was inferred from the presence of a low Mediterranean scrub community that is today restricted to <800 m elevation. This community disappeared during Little Ice Age cooling in the fifteenth century, coinciding with a decline in human activities around the lake. Forest recovery began around AD 1500, at the beginning of the Modern period, coinciding with wetter climate. Forests, however, declined again during the seventeenth century, coinciding with maximum olive and hemp cultivation. This situation was reversed in post-Modern times (nineteenth century), characterized by an intense agricultural crisis and a significant decline in population that favored forest re-expansion. Correlations with nearby Estanya Lake, situated about 350 m below, provide a regional picture of environmental change. Besides some climate forcing evident in both sequences, human activities seem to have been the main drivers of landscape and vegetation change in the southern Pyrenean flank, in agreement with conclusions from other studies in high-mountain environments.
Was there a common hydrological pattern in the Iberian Peninsula region during the Medieval Climate Anomaly?
(PAGES International Project Office, 2011-03) Moreno Caballud, Ana; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Martín-Puertas, C.; Frigola, Jaime; Canals, Miquel; Cacho, Isabel; Corella, Juan Pablo; Pérez Sanz, Ana; Belmonte, Ânchel; Vegas-Vilarrubia, Teresa; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Valero-Garcés, Blas
Lacustrine carbonates of Iberian Karst Lakes: Sources, processes and depositional environments
(Elsevier, 2014-01-15) Valero Garcés, Blas; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Corella, Juan Pablo; Moreno, Ana; Martín Puertas, Celia; Barreiro, Fernando; Pérez, Ana; Giralt, Santiago; Mata Campo, María Pilar
Carbonates are the main components of Iberian Quaternary lake sediments. In this review we summarize the main processes controlling carbonate deposition in extant Iberian lakes located in Mesozoic and Tertiary carbonate-dominated regions and formed through karstic activity during the Late Quaternary. The lakes, relatively small (1 ha to 118 ha) and relatively shallow (Zmax = 11 to 40 m) provide examples of the large variability of sedimentary facies, depositional environments, and carbonate sources. Hydrology is dominated by groundwater inflow except those directly connected to the fluvial drainage. Nine lakes have been selected for this review and the main facies in palustrine, littoral and profundal environments described and interpreted. Clastic carbonates occur in all Iberian lakes due to the carbonate composition of the bedrocks, surface formations and soils of the watersheds. Low temperatures and dilute meteoric waters seem responsible for the low carbonate content of sediments in high elevation lakes in the glaciated terrains in the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains. Clastic carbonates are dominant in small karst lakes with functional inlets where sediment infill is dominated by fining upward sequences deposited during flood events. Re-working of littoral carbonates is common in shallow environments and during low lake level stages. In most lakes, endogenic carbonate production occurs in two settings: i) littoral platforms dominated by Chara and charophyte meadows and ii) epilimnetic zone as biologically-mediated calcite precipitates. Continuous preservation of varves since the Mid-Holocene only occurs in one of the deeper lakes(Montcortès Lake, up to 30 m) where calcite laminae textures (massive, fining upward and coarsening upward) reflect seasonal changes in limnological conditions. However, varves have been formed and preserved in most of the lakes during short periods associated with increased water depth and more frequent meromictic conditions. Most Iberian lakes are in a mature stage and karstic processes are not very active. An outstanding example of a lake with intense karstic activity is Banyoles Lake where increased spring discharge after long rainy periods causes large remobilization and re-suspension of the sediments accumulated in the deepest areas, leading to the deposition of thick homogeneous layers (homogeinites). The Iberian karst lake sequences underline the large variability of facies, carbonate sources, and depositional environments in small lake systems. They illustrate how lake types evolve through the existence of a lake basin at centennial or even smaller time scales. Hydrology is the paramount control on facies and depositional environment patterns distribution and lake evolution and, consequently, a lake classification is proposed based on hydrology and sediment input. A correct interpretation of carbonate sources and depositional history is a key for using lake sequences as archives of past global change
Vegetation changes and hydrological fluctuations in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain) since the Late Glacial period: Saline lake records
(Elsevier, 2008-03-24) González Sampériz, Penélope; Valero Garcés, Blas L.; Moreno, Ana; Morellón Marteles, Mario; Navas, Ana; Machín, Javier; Delgado Huertas, Antonio
Although the Central Ebro Basin (northeastern Iberian Peninsula) is both the northernmost semi-arid area in Europe and one of the regions with the largest biodiversity, it has been insufficiently studied in terms of past climate variability due to the scarcity of suitable sites for palaeoenvironmental analyses. Previous studies from ephemeral saline lakes in the area, mainly based on palynological data, show abrupt and rapid arid/humid transitions throughout the last glacial cycle highlighting a complex palaeohydrological evolution. New cores from two saline lakes (La Playa and La Salineta) in the Los Monegros area provide multi-proxy records, including sedimentology, geochemistry, and pollen indicators. This study, together with a detailed review of the main saline records from the Central Ebro Basin, enables us to reconstruct the main features of the palaeoclimate evolution during the last glacial cycle. One of the main results of this study is the alternation of humid and dry phases as a characteristic of the climate evolution during the Late Glacial. Additionally, the study suggests an important role of the increased flow from the Pyrenean rivers during deglaciation in the hydrological balance of the Central Ebro Basin. The early Holocene is the wettest period of the studied sequences contrasting with the aridity of the middle Holocene interval, which is frequently absent as a result of intense aeolian erosive processes. The lack of archaeological remains associated with the middle Holocene (Neolithic) also supports increased aridity that would have impeded human settlements. Although anthropogenic activity partially masks the climate signal from the palynological data in the uppermost part of the studied sequences, there is some sedimentological evidence for a climate change during the last 2000 yr resulting in a recovery of average saline lake levels in the Central Ebro Basin