The Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits recovered at Site 976 from the northwestern Alboran Sea at the Málaga base-of-slope include five main sedimentary facies: hemipelagic, turbidite, homogeneous gravity-flow, contourite, and debris-flow facies. The thickness and vertical distribution of these facies into lithostratigraphic Units I, II, and III show that the turbidites and hemipelagic facies are the dominant associations. The Pliocene and Pleistocene depositional history has been divided into three sedimentary stages: Stage I of early Pliocene age, in which hemipelagic and low-energy turbidites were the dominant processes; Stage II of early Pleistocene/late Pliocene age, in which the dominant processes were the turbidity currents interrupted by short episodes of other gravity flows (debris-flows and homogeneous gravity-flow facies) and bottom currents; and Stage III of Pleistocene age, in which both hemipelagic and low-energy gravity-flow processes occurred. The sedimentation during these three stages was controlled mainly by sea-level changes and also by the sediment supply that caused rapid terrigenous sedimentation variations from a proximal source represented by the Fuengirola Canyon.

Sediment depth is given in mbsf. The content of feldspar is not shown in this table because the values are <5%. The lithostratigraphic units and ages are from Shipboard Scientific Party (Shipboard Scientific Party, 1996, doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.161.1996).

Supplement to: Alonso, Belen; Ercilla, Gemma; Martinez-Ruiz, Francisca C; Baraza, Jesus; Galimont, A (1999): Pliocene-Pleistocene sedimentary facies at Site 976: depositional history in the northwestern Alboran Sea. Zahn, R; Comas, MC; Klaus, A (eds.) Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 161, 1-12