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Multidisciplinary insights into the Camp dels Ninots maar-diatreme: New geochronology identify the onset of the terrestrial Early Pliocene Warmth

Xavier Bolós ^1^, Oriol Oms2, Pablo Rodríguez-Salgado3, Iván Sunyé-Puchol4, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno5, Joan Madurell-Malapeira6, Leonardo Sorbelli7, Faysal Bibi8, Hugues-Alexandre Blain9,10, Tomáš Přikryl11, Juan José Villalain12, Ángel Carrancho13,12, Daniel Paul Miggins14, Isabel Expósito9,10, Francesc Burjachs9, Federica Grandi9,10, Adriana Linares-Martín9,10, Elena Moreno-Ribas9,10, Jordi Agustí9,10,15, Gerard Campeny9,10, Bruno Gómez de Soler9,10

  • Affiliations: 1 Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN), CSIC, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 2 Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Sciences Faculty, Geology Department. Campus Bellaterra, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; 3 Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), Fault Analysis Group, School of Earth Sciences University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland; 4 Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; 5 Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18002, Granada, Spain; 6 Earth Sciences Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy; 7 Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP-CERCA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; 8 Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany; 9 Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain; 10 Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). Facultat de Lletres. Av. Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain; 11 Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 269, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic; 12 Departamento de Física, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, Av. Cantabria, s/n, 09006 Burgos, Spain; 13 Área de Prehistoria. Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain; 14 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology Laboratory, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, USA; 15 Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA). Pg. Lluís Companys, 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain. 

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Thursday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 12

  • Programme No: 3.7.19

  • Theme 3 > Session 7

Abstract

The Camp dels Ninots maar-diatreme in NE Spain represents a partially eroded tuff-ring volcano with lacustrine sediments in its crater that host an exceptionally preserved vertebrate fossil record. This maar-crater has been investigated through a multidisciplinary approach combining geophysical data, surface geology, and 11 boreholes reaching depths of up to 145 m. These efforts enabled the development of a 3D geological model of the internal structure, providing new insights into the morphology of the diatreme and its facies distribution. The model reveals that the phreatomagmatic eruption occurred at a depth of ~210 m, coinciding with the intersection of a regional fault with the Paleozoic groundwater level. The resulting structure is a broad, funnel-shaped diatreme with shallow walls (30°--50°) and a smaller volume (0.004 km³) compared to its tuff ring and lacustrine fill. These findings challenge existing deep, steep-walled diatreme models based on kimberlite pipes and clarify the relationship between phreatomagmatic deposits and subsequent lacustrine sedimentation. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of juvenile pyroclastic rocks from a borehole has established the age of the volcano at 4.7 Ma. This precise volcanic age anchors the chronology of the Camp dels Ninots fossil site at 4.41 Ma, marking it as a unique reference locality for the Early Pliocene. The site provides critical insights into terrestrial ecosystems during this period, including the onset of the Early Pliocene Warmth, now dated in terrestrial Europe to 4.45 Ma. This exceptional record complements dominant oceanic data, addressing significant gaps in our understanding of Pliocene environmental and climatic transitions.