Geological and environmental implications of the evaporite karst in Spain

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962 Environ Geol (2008) 53:951–965 paleodolines with calcareous and carbonaceous facies (Gutiérrez and Arauzo 1997). In addition to the abrupt changes in thickness, Quaternary deposits underlain by the Zaragoza Formation commonly show a wide variety of gravitational deformations and paleosinkholes (Gutiérrez et al. 2008). Initially, some of these structures were interpreted as relict cryotubations developed under pre-existing periglacial conditions (Johnson 1960; Brosche 1978). Subsequently, these deformations were related to gypsum karstification. Recent studies, based in borehole data, paleokarst exposures, and hydrochemical evidence, attribute a significant contribution to the interstratal karstification of halite and glauberite to explain the deformational structures that affect both the alluvial mantle and the bedrock strata (Guerrero et al. 2004a, 2006; Gutiérrez et al. 2007). The outskirts of Zaragoza city are very probably the area in Europe where the sinkhole hazard due to evaporite dissolution has a higher economic impact. The sudden occurrence of collapse sinkholes in buildings, railways and motorways have made clear the serious threat that this process poses to human safety (Fig. 3h). In the Gállego River valley, the village of Puilatos was abandoned in 1980 and demolished 5 years later due to structural failures caused by karstic subsidence on the buildings. In the Ebro valley, the sinkhole types and activity show marked differences. Upstream of Zaragoza city, the lower terraces are primarily affected by sagging and collapse sinkholes typically several tens of meters in diameter (Soriano and Simón 1995). The interstratal karstification of halite and glauberite beds seems to play a significant role in the generation of these dolines. Here, subsidence damage is caused mainly by the activity and reactivation of artificially filled dolines, rather than to the generation of new sinkholes. Van Zuidam (1976), using aerial photographs from different dates estimated a minimum probability of occurrence of 0.1 sinkholes/km 2 year in a sector covering 21 km 2 . Downstream of Zaragoza city, Gutiérrez et al. (2007) have estimated a probability of occurrence of 45 sinkhole/ km 2 year in a portion of the lower terrace of the Ebro River. Here the sinkholes, largely induced by irrigation, are commonly 1.5–2 m in diameter and result from the downward migration of cohesive alluvial mantle into dissolutional conduits (cover collapse sinkholes). Probably, one of the main challenges from the risk management perspective is to produce reliable sinkhole susceptibility maps showing the relative probability (relative or quantitative) of sinkhole occurrence. Preliminary susceptibility maps have been produced for a stretch of the Ebro valley downstream of Zaragoza analyzing the statistical relationships between the known sinkholes and a set of conditioning factors. Checking of the models through the 123 application of quantitative validation techniques indicates that they provide reasonably good predictions (Galve et al. 2007). The Madrid Tertiary Basin The oldest evidence of evaporite karst in Madrid Basin corresponds to extensive paleokarst surfaces associated with major sedimentary breaks in the Miocene basin fill (Rodríguez-Aranda et al. 2002; Cañaveras et al. 1996). These stratigraphic discontinuities show cavities, paleosinkholes, collapse breccias, karren features, and karstic residues. Their genesis has been related to the karstification of gypsum deposits in saline lakes during desiccation episodes. Locally, Miocene sediments of the basin fill underlain by evaporitic units also show numerous postsedimentary deformations caused by interstratal karstification processes, like the examples exposed in the cuts of the M-45 highway. Dissolution subsidence phenomena have controlled the Quaternary evolution of the Tajo River and its tributaries, the Jarama, Tajuña, Manzanares, and Henares Rivers. In the Tajo River valley, the deposit of the terrace level situated 60–65 m above the channel changes abruptly from 3 m to more than 60 m in thickness in the sector where detrital bedrock gives way to an evaporitic substratum (Pinilla et al. 1995). In the Jarama River, Pérez- González (1971) recognized a deformed and thickened terrace deposit superimposed by a younger terrace unit. In the lower reach of the Manzanares River, alluvium of the oldest terrace, 16–22 m above the river channel, shows conspicuous deformations and an anomalously high thickness (>20 m) (Silva 2003). Even though the thickenings and most of the deformations that display the terrace deposits in the evaporitic areas of the Madrid Basin have been attributed to gypsum karstification (Fig. 3b), it would be interesting to explore the role played by the dissolution of halite and glauberite beds at depth. Development of sinkholes has caused numerous geotechnical problems in some urban areas, like Rivas- Vaciamadrid and in the M-45 highway. These problems may increase substantially in the next few years as the metropolitan area of Madrid expands towards the evaporitic outcrops to the southeast (Fig. 1) The Pedro Fernández or Estremera endokarstic system is a maze cave controlled by two orthogonal joint sets that reach 4 km in length and 64,000 m 3 in volume (Almendros and Antón 1983). This outstanding cave, with clear similarities to the gypsum caves of western Ukraine (Klimchouk 2000), was declared an Artistic and Historical Monument to protect its Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites (Eraso 1995).
Environ Geol (2008) 53:951–965 963 Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Prof. J.P. Calvo (Spanish Geological Survey) and Dr. Pablo Silva (Salamanca University) for information provided on the evaporite karst in Madrid Basin. We are also thank Dr. Kenneth S. Johnson (Oklahoma Geological Survey) and Mr. Pedro Lucha (EUPLA) for the thorough review of the manuscript. This work has been co-financed by the Spanish Education and Science Ministry and the FEDER (project CGL2004–02892/BTE). References Almendros MA, Antón FJ (1983) El complejo kárstico-yesífero subterráneo ‘‘Pedro Fernández’’ (Estremera, Provincia de Madrid). Cuadernos do Laboratorio Xeolóxico de Laxe 5:333– 341 Anadón P (1990) Los Yesos de Cerezo (Mioceno Superior continental, Provincia de Burgos). 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Geological and environmental implications of the evaporite karst in Spain

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