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| Lagoa de Santo André Formation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lagoa de Santo André Formation |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Period | Pleistocene |
| Region | Alentejo |
| Country | Portugal |
Lagoa de Santo André Formation.
The Lagoa de Santo André Formation is a Pleistocene coastal succession exposed near Santo André, Portugal, adjacent to the Sado Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, within the Setúbal District and the broader Alentejo region. Research on the succession has involved teams from institutions such as the Universidade de Lisboa, the Universidade de Évora, the Instituto Português de Arqueologia, and the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência and has been contextualized by comparisons with the Rhone River delta studies, the Tagus River terraces, and the Douro River coastal records. This formation has been referenced in basin analyses alongside the Portuguese Coastal Plain, the Iberian Peninsula Quaternary framework, and regional mapping by the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia.
Stratigraphically, the unit overlies older Tertiary deposits mapped by the IGP (Instituto Geológico Português) and is bounded by unconformities recognized in the field campaigns of the Centro de Estudos Geográficos and the Instituto Superior Técnico research teams. Correlations have been proposed with the Last Glacial Maximum sequences, the Marine Isotope Stage stratigraphy used by the International Quaternary Association, and with terrace systems described along the Lisbon Basin, the Gulf of Cadiz margin, and the Estremadura Promontory. Stratigraphic nomenclature in the area follows guidelines from the International Commission on Stratigraphy and national compilations such as the Carta Geológica de Portugal. Structural control from faults linked to the Março Fracture Zone and reactivation related to the 1755 Lisbon earthquake has influenced preservation and exposure.
The formation comprises interbedded sands, silts, clays, and shell-rich horizons studied using techniques developed at the British Geological Survey and the École Normale Supérieure. Grain-size analyses reference standards from the American Geophysical Union, while mineralogical work employs methods from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Universidade do Porto laboratories. Facies interpretations borrow models applied to deltaic systems at the Ganges Delta, estuarine successions in the Seine Basin, and barrier-lagoon sequences described from the Chesapeake Bay. Authigenic minerals and diagenetic features are compared with records from the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea coasts, and sedimentary structures have been interpreted in light of work by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.
Fossil assemblages include mollusks, marine vertebrates, and terrestrial macro- and microfossils cataloged in collections at the Museu Geológico do Instituto Portuense de Arqueologia and the Natural History Museum, London; taxa comparisons reference faunas described from the Iberian Peninsula Pleistocene, the Azores records, and Cantabrian coastal deposits. Studies have documented bivalves similar to species reported by the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa and gastropods compared with collections at the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência. Vertebrate remains have been contextualized against Pleistocene mammal lists from the Côa Valley, the Gruta do Escoural, and cave assemblages curated by the Museu do Algarve. Microfossil work, including foraminifera and ostracods, uses taxonomic frameworks from the International Union for Quaternary Research and methods from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Age constraints derive from radiometric and biostratigraphic data consistent with Marine Isotope Stage 5 to Marine Isotope Stage 2 intervals, integrating chronologies established by the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the University of Glasgow, Optically Stimulated Luminescence protocols from the University of Sheffield, and amino acid racemization approaches used in the University of Bradford studies. Correlation efforts relate the formation to the Portuguese Late Pleistocene coastal record, the North Atlantic paleoceanographic events documented by the International Ocean Discovery Program, and to sea-level curves compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and paleosea-level syntheses by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Interpretations indicate lagoonal to estuarine deposition with episodic marine incursions, coastal barrier dynamics, and fluvial influence interpreted using models from the Danish Coastal Authority, the Wadden Sea literature, and estuarine sedimentation studies at the Wright State University. Paleoclimatic reconstructions draw on stable isotope records comparable to sequences from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project cores, pollen analyses paralleling work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and paleovegetation studies from the IPMA and the University of Barcelona. Coastal evolution has been evaluated against Holocene relative sea-level reconstructions from the British Isles, the Mediterranean Sea, and the North African Atlantic margin.
The formation provides insights relevant to coastal hazard assessment conducted by the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente and informs land-use planning in municipalities such as Sines, Vila Nova de Milfontes, and Odemira. It contributes to paleoclimate datasets used by the European Geosciences Union and underpins conservation strategies coordinated with the Reserva Natural do Estuário do Sado and regional heritage initiatives involving the Direção-Geral do Património Cultural. Ongoing multidisciplinary research collaborates with centers including the Universidade do Minho, the University of Bergen, the University of Barcelona, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to integrate geological, paleontological, and archaeological perspectives.
Category:Geologic formations of Portugal