Salt tectonics and controls on halokinetic-sequence development of an exposed deepwater diapir: The Bakio Diapir, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Pyrenees

This work evaluates growth strata adjacent to the Bakio Diapir in the Basque Pyrenees, aiming to discuss the application of halokinetic-sequence concepts, mainly developed in shallow-water to subaerial environments, to deepwater depositional settings. This is one of the few exposed passive diapirs developed in deepwater environments, with both synkinematic carbonate and siliciclastic strata. Thus, considering that large hydrocarbon producing areas are located in salt provinces developed in deepwater environments, this study is of interest not only to researchers in salt tectonics, but also to industry geoscientists focusing on hydrocarbon exploration and production. We present a 3D analysis of this outstanding salt structure by integrating detailed geological cartography, high-resolution bathymetry, seismic, and well data. The resulting reconstruction enables us to trace the extent of the diapir offshore and decipher its evolution from its formation as a salt wall developed above the overlap of two basement-involved faults until its squeezing during the Pyrenean compression. But more significantly, it allows us to discern the roles played by bathymetry, subsidence, and sedimentation type in the configuration of halokinetic sequences developed in deepwater environments. Thus, our study shows that: 1) the geometry of halokinetic sequences is defined by the thickness of the roof edges, the dip of the salt-sediment interface in the limbs of the active drape fold, and the onlap angle of the synkinematic sediments over the salt; 2) the roof thickness is controlled not only by the ratio between salt-rise and regional sediment-accumulation rate, but also by the water depth of the diapir roof and the depositional environment that can promote vertical aggradation of a supra-diapir carbonate buildup; and 3) high surface slopes and consequent debrites are not exclusive to, and characteristic of, hook halokinetic sequences and tabular composite halokinetic sequences

Melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) genotypes do not correlate with size in two cohorts of medium-to-giant congenital melanocytic nevi

Congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) are cutaneous malformations whose prevalence is inversely correlated with projected adult size. CMN are caused by somatic mutations, but epidemiological studies suggest that germline genetic factors may influence CMN development. In CMN patients from the U.K., genetic variants in MC1R, such as p.V92M and loss-of-function variants, have been previously associated with larger CMN. We analyzed the association of MC1R variants with CMN characteristics in two distinct cohorts of medium-to-giant CMN patients from Spain (N = 113) and from France, Norway, Canada, and the United States (N = 53), similar at the clinical and phenotypical level except for the number of nevi per patient. We found that the p.V92M or loss-of-function MC1R variants either alone or in combination did not correlate with CMN size, in contrast to the U.K. CMN patients. An additional case-control analysis with 259 unaffected Spanish individuals showed a higher frequency of MC1R compound heterozygous or homozygous variant genotypes in Spanish CMN patients compared to the control population (15.9% vs. 9.3%; p = .075). Altogether, this study suggests that MC1R variants are not associated with CMN size in these non-UK cohorts. Additional studies are required to define the potential role of MC1R as a risk factor in CMN development.© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Geometría 3d, Estructura y formación de la cuenca del Duero en el contexto geodinámico del orógeno pirenaico

The Duero foreland basin is characterized by a large synformal geometry formed by the lithospheric flexure and northward subduction of the Iberian crust underneath the Cantabrian-European crust. Basin structure is represented by high-angle faults that involve both basement and cover units, and that did not generate large amounts of horizontal displacement. The northern deformation front is represented by a series of S-directed faults that probably sole into middle-lower crustal levels. Growth strata within the basin interior indicate that basement faulting occurred during the uppermost Cretaceous to Paleocene, previous to the onset of the foreland stage, while the Orogen uplift and the northern deformation front activity took place mainly between the Eocene-Oligocene, locally protracting until Miocene times. The Duero Basin behaved as an orogenic scale buttress due to the lack of an inherited Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous extensional architecture associated with the opening of the Bay of Biscay. Hence, most of the Alpine contraction had a major impact where Mesozoic extension was more important, like the North Iberian Margin and the system of Mesozoic extensional basins of the Pyrenean rif

Geometría 3d, Estructura y formación de la cuenca del Duero en el contexto geodinámico del orógeno pirenaico

The Duero foreland basin is characterized by a large synformal geometry formed by the lithospheric flexure and northward subduction of the Iberian crust underneath the Cantabrian-European crust. Basin structure is represented by high-angle faults that involve both basement and cover units, and that did not generate large amounts of horizontal displacement. The northern deformation front is represented by a series of S-directed faults that probably sole into middle-lower crustal levels. Growth strata within the basin interior indicate that basement faulting occurred during the uppermost Cretaceous to Paleocene, previous to the onset of the foreland stage, while the Orogen uplift and the northern deformation front activity took place mainly between the Eocene-Oligocene, locally protracting until Miocene times. The Duero Basin behaved as an orogenic scale buttress due to the lack of an inherited Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous extensional architecture associated with the opening of the Bay of Biscay. Hence, most of the Alpine contraction had a major impact where Mesozoic extension was more important, like the North Iberian Margin and the system of Mesozoic extensional basins of the Pyrenean rif