IESDB – A comprehensive database of evaporite structures in Iberia

Evaporite rocks are one of the most mined mineral commodities and act as a seals or shaping traps in some of the major hydrocarbon provinces worldwide. In addition, they are also considered as suitable sites for the storage of energy and nuclear waste, being a key asset for the energy transition. Due their historic, present and future value, vast amounts of surface and subsurface information about evaporite structures have been generated by earth scientists, mining and exploration companies or geological surveys in the last century. However, this information is often scarcely useful due to access issues, segregation and scarce dissemination. Here we present the Iberian Evaporite Structure DataBase (IESDB), the first overall assessment focused on evaporite structures developed in any region of the world. The IESDB includes information and figures of 150 outcropping and buried evaporite structures and their surrounding rocks inventoried in Iberia. The Iberian Evaporite Structure Database (IESDB) includes information about the stratigraphy, structure, evolution, geophysical and petrophysical data availability, and mining activity, including a complete set of geological maps, sketches and geological cross-sections. The database targets different evaporite structures, such as undeformed successions, diapirs, evaporite-cored anticlines, evaporite-detached thrusts or allochtonous evaporite bodies. The IESDB is sourced from six different databases and more than 1,500 published and unpublished references, and includes information and figures for each of the 150 evaporite structures inventoried. The IESDB follows the FAIR principles of data management (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and aims to be a resource for earth science teaching, academic research and resource exploration and appraisal. The IESDB is freely available at https://iesdb.eu

This research was performed within the framework of DGICYT Spanish Project PID2020-118999GB-I00 funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional. Grants RYC2021-033872-I (Juan Alcalde) and RyC-2018-026335-I (Enrique Gomez-Rivas) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF “Investing in your future”.