Tide-dominated deltas responding to high-frequency sea-level changes, pre-messinian Rifian Corridor, Morocco: Discussion

Beelen et. al. (2020) reinterpreted the late Miocene contourite depositional system of the Saiss Basin in the Rifian Corridor, Morocco (Capella et al. 2017; de Weger et al. 2020), as a tide-dominated delta environment that responded to high-frequency sea-level changes. Despite the authors stimulating a valuable discussion on the interpretation of the studied deposits, their proposed depositional system seems largely based on erroneous interpretations of the data that are misleading for the reader who is unfamiliar with the geological framework of the study area. Based on i) issues with spatial location of the outcrops they interpreted relative to known tectonic structures, ii) poor or contradictory age control that suggests that the studied outcrops are the same age, iii) evidence from faunal and sedimentary structures that better supports a deep-water setting, and iv) a lack of evidence to support the necessarily high-amplitude relative or eustatic sea-level changes, we consider that the balance of evidence recognized in these outcrops better supports a deep-water setting. With this comment, we would like to address these inconsistencies and express our concerns about the train of thought used by Beelen et al. for their interpretation of shallow-marine rather than deep-marine depositional settings for the studied intervals.