Mean sea level and coastline: Late Quaternary

• Author(s): Moura, Delminda ; Gomes, A. ; Gabriel, Selma ; Horta, João
• Date: 2012
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/2518
• Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
• Subject(s): Quaternary; Continental shelf; Mean sea level; Coastline
• Document Type: Part of book or chapter of book
• Language: English

Description

Coastal zones modified along the geological time forced by tectonic activity, climatic and mean sea level changes and thereby can preserve relevant information concerning past climatic and oceanographic conditions. During lowstands derived by glacial conditions, the coastline migrated seaward and, wide portions of the continental shelves where exposed to sub aerial evolution, the drainage net extended far away in the shelf and dune fields overspread favoured by dry cold conditions and vegetation scarcity. In contrast, during deglatiations, the mean sea level rose forcing the landward migration of the coastline leading to the landscapes submersion. The preservation of morphological features such as beaches, dunes and spit bars depended on several environmental variables and processes, such as, erosion, remobilization by currents, waves and mass movements and sedimentary burial. The relationship between the coastline and the mean sea level evolution along the Quaternary, as well as the environmental variables on the landscape preservation and remobilization are under discussion in this work.