Abstract
This study presents field and chronological investigations along the coast of northeastern Brazil from ~4°S to 9°S latitude, which corresponds to ~700 km of coastline under a semi-diurnal mesotidal regime. We investigated wave-built terrace deposits and dated sediments using the optically stimulated luminescence and thermoluminescence methods on quartz grains. The wave-built terraces yielded two main age groups: 200-230 ka and 100-130 ka, which we interpreted as depositional ages. We correlated these age groups with oxygen-isotope stages 7c and 5e, respectively. These events correspond to the antepenultimate and penultimate transgressions along the Brazilian coast. The deposits occur mainly in patches on low-lying flat plateaus along the littoral zone and incision valleys that cut across coastal tablelands. The altitude of the base of the 200-230 ka terraces ranges from 10 m above mean sea level (asl) to -2m asl, whereas the base of the 100-130 ka varies from 12 m asl to -2 m asl. Both terraces were deposited in the foreshore and upper shoreface zones. We noted a coincidence between sea-level highstand chronologies in northeastern Brazil and those in the Bahamas and Bermuda.
Highlights
The recognition of Late Pleistocene wave-built terrace deposits along the eastern coast of South America is becoming increasingly common
Barreto et al (2002) presented thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates at 220-206 ka and 117-110 ka of two wave-built terrace deposits along 340 km of coast in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil. They correspond to the highstands of marine oxygen-isotope sub
The obtained data are frequently imprecise in both space and time, and the assumed chronology is mostly based on geomorphological attributes such as asl altitudes, the terrace reshaping degree, or tentative correlation with deep-sea, oxygen isotope stages (e.g., Suguio et al 2001)
Summary
The recognition of Late Pleistocene wave-built terrace deposits along the eastern coast of South America is becoming increasingly common These deposits represent sea levels higher than the present one. Barreto et al (2002) presented thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates at 220-206 ka and 117-110 ka of two wave-built terrace deposits along 340 km of coast in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil. They correspond to the highstands of marine oxygen-isotope sub-. The obtained data are frequently imprecise in both space and time, and the assumed chronology is mostly based on geomorphological attributes such as asl altitudes, the terrace reshaping degree, or tentative correlation with deep-sea, oxygen isotope stages (e.g., Suguio et al 2001)
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