Women and Geology in Spain

Muchos de los estudios realizados en los últimos años indican que la sensación de invisibilidad y discriminación que sentimos las mujeres dedicadas a la ciencia, y específicamente a la Geología, no es una mera percepción subjetiva, sino que las cifras están ahí corroborando estas sensaciones. Los datos de distintos organismos y elaborados por distintas fuentes siempre indican una menor participación de las mujeres en los órganos de gestión, y una mayor dificultad para alcanzar los puestos de trabajo de niveles más altos. Esto es así a pesar de que el nº de licenciadas de ciencias supera al de los licenciados, pero a lo largo de la carrera profesional se produce una inversión que hace que las geólogas “se pierdan” por el camino. En este trabajo se presentan algunas de estas cifras con objeto de llamar la atención sobre la situación y discutir en la Mesa Redonda sobre las posibles soluciones.Recent studies on women and science show that the perception that women are less visible and discriminated during their professional careers is real and can be demonstrated with data. This situation affects in particular to women geologists. Data from different sources and organisms indicate that women geologist participate less in decision-making committees and have more difficulties to reach the highest positions that their male colleagues. This occurs even considering that the number of women that finish their degrees in Geology is higher than the number of men. Along their professional career there is an inversion, in which women geologist are lost in the way to top positions. In this paper, we present some data in order to call the attention on this situation and to bring to the table a discussion on the possible measures to correct this situation.Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

La estructura sísmica de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena y su interpretación geológica

El experimento de sísmica de reflexión profunda IBERSEIS ha proporcionado una imagen de la corteza del Orógeno Varisco en el sudoeste de Iberia. Este artículo se centra en la descripción de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena (OMZ), que está claramente dividida en una corteza superior, con reflectividad de buzamiento al NE, y una corteza inferior de pobre reflectividad. Las estructuras geológicas cartografiadas en superficie se correlacionan bien con la reflectividad de la corteza superior, y en la imagen sísmica se ven enraizar en la corteza media. Ésta está constituida por un cuerpo muy reflectivo, interpretado como una gran intrusión de rocas básicas. La imagen de las suturas que limitan la OMZ muestra el carácter fuertemente transpresivo de la colisión orogénica varisca registrada en el sudoeste de Iberia. La Moho actual es plana y, en consecuencia, no se observa la raíz del orógeno

Resultados del estudio geológico a escala 1/25.000 del término municipal de Madrid.

Se exponen de forma abreviada los rasgos en cuanto a metodología y conclusiones del estudio geológico a escala 1/25000 realizado en el Municipio de Madrid en los años 1982/83. Las diferentes unidades expresadas en la cartografiase describen en función de las pautas mayores observables en los materiales que forman cada una de ellas, analizándose sus relaciones estratigráficas. El Proyecto «Estudio Geológico a escala 1/25000 del Término Municipal de Madrid ha sido llevado a cabo a lo largo de los años 1982-83 como resultado de la colaboración científica entre diversos organismos de la Administración (Facultad de CC. Geológicas-Universidad Complutense, Instituto Geológico y Minero. Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Instituto de Geología de Madrid-CSIC, y otros). Constituye una de las áreas de actuación definidas dentro del Convenio de Colaboración Técnica y Cultural para el conocimiento de las Características del Suelo y Subsuelo de Madrid», propiciado y patrocinado por el Excmo. Ayuntamiento. La financiación del proyecto especifico de Geología ha sido realizada íntegramente por el IGME, organismo encargado además de su supervisión. El desarrollo del Proyecto tiene un marcado carácter interdisciplinar, fruto del trasvase de información entre los distintos grupos que abarca el Convenio general (aparte de los ya referidos, el SGOP, COPLACO, Laboratorio «José Luis Escario» siendo precisamente uno de los objetivos del trabajo el servir de apoyo a las restantes áreas de investigación. Los estudios geológicos realizados se plasman en un total de siete mapas a escala 1/25000 elaborados según la normativa Magna de cartografía geológica mapas que toman como referencia, aunque en algunos casos no las completan y en otros adosan porciones de hojas adyacentes, las hojas 1/25000 de Madrid, Alcorcón, El Pardo, San Femando de Henares, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Alcobendas y Castillo de Viñuelas

Cenozoic deformation of Iberia: a model for intraplate mountain building and basin development based on analogue modelling

Inferences from analogue models support lithospheric folding as the primary response to large-scale shortening manifested in the present day topography of Iberia. This process was active from the late Oligocene-early Miocene during the Alpine orogeny and was probably enhanced by reactivation of inherited Variscan faults. The modeling results confirm the dependence of fold wavelength on convergence rate and hence the strength of the layers of the lithosphere such that fold wavelength is longest for fast convergence rates favoring whole lithosphere folding. Folding is associated with the formation of dominantly pop-up type mountain ranges in the brittle crust and thickening of the ductile layers in the synforms of the buckle folds by flow. The mountain ranges are represented by upper crustal pop-ups forming the main topographic relief. The wavelengths of the topographic uplifts, both, in model and nature suggest mechanical decoupling between crust and mantle. Moreover, our modeling results suggest that buckling in Iberia took place under rheological conditions where the lithospheric mantle is stronger than the lower crust. The presence of an indenter, inducing oblique shortening in response to the opening of the King's Trough in the north western corner of the Atlantic Iberian margin controls the spacing and obliquity of structures. This leads to the transfer of the deformation from the moving walls towards the inner part of the model, creating oblique structures in both brittle and ductile layers. The effect of the indenter, together with an increase on the convergence rate produced more complex brittle structures. These results show close similarities to observations on the general shape and distribution of mountain ranges and basins in Iberia, including the Spanish Central System and Toledo Mountains.Peer reviewe

Crustal types and Tertiary tectonic evolution of the Alborán sea, western Mediterranean

Multichannel seismic reflection images across the transition between the east Alborán and the Algero-Balearic basins show how crustal thickness decreases from about 5 s two-way traveltime (TWTT, ∼15 km thick) in the west (east Alborán basin) to ∼2 s TWTT typical of oceanic crust (∼6 km thick) in the east (Algero-Balearic basin). We have differentiated three different crustal domains in this transition, mainly on the basis of crustal thickness and seismic signature. Boundaries between the three crustal domains are transitional and lack evidence for major faults. Tilted blocks related to extension are very scarce and all sampled basement outcrops are volcanic, suggesting a strong relationship between magmatism and crustal structure. Stratigraphic correlation of lithoseismic units with sedimentary units of southeastern Betic basins indicates that sediments onlap igneous basement approximately at 12 Ma in the eastern area and at 8 Ma in the western area. Linking seismic crustal structure with magmatic geochemical evidence suggests that the three differentiated crustal domains may represent, from west to east, thin continental crust modified by arc magmatism, magmatic-arc crust, and oceanic crust. Middle to late Miocene arc and oceanic crust formation in the east Alborán and Algero-Balearic basins, respectively, occurred during westward migration of the Gibraltar accretionary wedge and shortening in the Betic-Rif foreland basins. Arc magmatism and associated backarc oceanic crust formation were related to early to middle Miocene subduction and rollback of the Flysch Trough oceanic basement. Subduction of this narrow slab beneath the Alborán basin was coeval with collision of the Alborán domain with the Iberian and African passive margins and subsequent subcontinental-lithosphere edge delamination along the Betic-Rif margins

A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona and surrounding area

The overdevelopment of cities since the industrial revolution has shown the need to incorporate a sound geological knowledge in the management of required subsurface infrastructures and in the assessment of increasingly needed groundwater resources. Additionally, the scarcity of outcrops and the technical difficulty to conduct underground exploration in urban areas highlights the importance of implementing efficient management plans that deal with the legacy of heterogeneous subsurface information. To deal with these difficulties, a methodology has been proposed to integrate all the available spatio-temporal data into a comprehensive spatial database and a set of tools that facilitates the analysis and processing of the existing and newly added data for the city of Barcelona (NE Spain). Here we present the resulting actual subsurface 3-D geological model that incorporates and articulates all the information stored in the database. The methodology applied to Barcelona benefited from a good collaboration between administrative bodies and researchers that enabled the realization of a comprehensive geological database despite logistic difficulties. Currently, the public administration and also private sectors both benefit from the geological understanding acquired in the city of Barcelona, for example, when preparing the hydrogeological models used in groundwater assessment plans. The methodology further facilitates the continuous incorporation of new data in the implementation and sustainable management of urban groundwater, and also contributes to significantly reducing the costs of new infrastructures