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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Palaeodrainage on Marajo Island, northern Brazil, in relation to Holocene relative sea-level dynamics

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Author(s):
Rossetti, Dilce F. [1] ; Valeriano, Marcio M. [1] ; Goes, Ana M. [2] ; Thales, Marcelo [3]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Inst Nacl Pesquisas Espaciais, OBT DST, BR-12245970 Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geociencias, Programa Geol Sedimentar & Ambiental, BR-05508080 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[3] Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, BR-66040170 Belem, Para - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: HOLOCENE; v. 18, n. 6, p. 923-934, SEP 2008.
Web of Science Citations: 26
Abstract

A large area in northeastern Marajo Island, northern Brazil, has been characterized geomorphologically, applying information acquired from Landsat imagery. This study was combined with detailed sedimentologic analysis of continuous cores, which provided a record of depositional settings developed in this area through the Holocene. The results revealed well-preserved, meandering to anastomosed drainage networks of wide palaeochannels that were superimposed by a narrower palaeochannel system. In both cases, the sedimentary record consists of sands, heterolithic deposits and muds, locally rich in plant debris. The strata are organized into fining upward successions that reach approximately 18 m thick in the wide channels and 4 m thick in the narrow channels. Sedimentary features suggestive of a coastal location for the wider palaeochannels and reworking of sediments by tidal currents include the prevalence of well to moderately sorted, rounded to sub-rounded, fine- to medium-grained sands displaying foreset packages separated by mud couplets, suggestive of tidal cycles. The data presented herein point to a rise in relative sea level reaching the Lake Arari area during the early to late/mid Holocene. This event was followed by a relative sea level drop. Tectonics seem to have contributed to an overall lowering in relative sea level in the study area since the mid-Holocene, which does not follow the same pattern recorded in other areas along the northern Brazilian coast. (AU)