No description available.

Mudanças na taxa de acumulação e na natureza da matéria orgânica sedimentar, e suas relações com as variações climáticas e flutuações do nível relativo do mar durante os últimos 8.500 anos cal. A.P. foram investigadas em dois testemunhos provenientes do Saco de Ribeira, Enseada do Flamengo, e junto à praia do Lázaro, Enseada da Fortaleza, na região de Ubatuba, litoral norte do Estado de São Paulo. Para o estudo as amostras coletadas foram submetidas a diversas análises - granulometria, teor de CaCO3, teores de Carbono orgânico, Nitrogênio e Enxofre totais, e razões isotópicas de carbono. Datações 14C, calibradas para a idade calendário, permitiram estabelecer um modelo de idades para as variações sedimentares detectadas. Intervalos de clima mais quente, 8.000-6.000 anos cal. A.P., foram acompanhados de um aumento na taxa de acumulação de carbono T.A.C. (10-13 g m-2 ano-1), seguida de diminuição após 5.000 anos cal. A.P., para valores inferiores a 2 g m-2 ano-1. Variações climáticas regionais, possivelmente relacionadas a chuvas torrenciais, próximos ao máximo transgressivo, de 5.100 anos 14C A.P., foram detectadas pelo aumento nos valores de T.A.C. (10-12 g. m- 2 ano-1), aumento nas taxas de acumulação de massa (T.A.M.) e deposição de sedimentos mais grossos, acompanhados de aumento na tendência continental da natureza da matéria orgânica. As maiores tendências continentais da matéria orgânica sedimentar, registradas aproximadamente entre 1.500-1.200 anos cal. A.P., podem ser decorrentes de uma oscilação negativa do nível do mar. No geral, todos os resultados estão de acordo com as curvas de variação do nível relativo do mar, já descritas na literatura. As análises sedimentares da região estudada revelaram um evento regressivo-trangressivo, que ainda não havia sido referido para o Estado de São Paulo. A partir de ~2.000 anos cal. A.P., o mar teria atingido um nível mais baixo que o atual, com o mínimo provavelmente entre 1.500-1.200 anos cal. A.P., e encontra-se em ascensão até os dias atuais. As características anóxicas e a matéria orgânica sedimentar de origem planctônica registradas junto à praia do Lázaro, em meio a condições de energia relativamente mais alta, em ~900 anos cal. A.P., foram consideradas como resultado de condições óxicas das águas, acompanhadas de altas taxas de produtividade, e subseqüente degradação da matéria orgânica, existentes no período anterior. / Changes in the organic carbon accumulation rates (Corg A.R.) and organic matter source characteristics and their relation to climate and relative sea level changes during the last 8.500 cal. yr. B.P. were investigated in two sediment cores from 2 embayments - Flamengo and Fortaleza inlets - northern coast of São Paulo State. Sediment samples were analysed for grain size, organic Carbon, total Nitrogen and Sulphur contents, and ?13C ratio. Radiocarbon datings provided a model age to the sedimentary deposits. The warm climate interval 8.000-6.000 cal. yr. B.P. was accompanied by an increase in the Corg A.R. (10-13 g.m.-2 yr -1) and a decrease (~2 g.m.-2 yr -1) in the last ~5.000 cal. yr. B.P. Regional climate changes, as stormy weather, that may have ocurred near the maximum transgressive period called Santos Transgression at 5.100 yr. B.P., were recorded in the sedimentary profiles by relatively hight T.A.C. and T.A.M. values, coaser grain size sediment delivery, and enhanced terrestrial organic matter source characteristics. Improvement of terrestrial origin of the sedimentary organic matter recorded between 1.500-1.200 cal. yr. B.P in the studied area was mainly related to a negative sea-level oscillation. All the results are in general agreement with the existing sea level change curves. The sedimentary profiles suggest a negative sea-level fall event, that had\'nt been described yet for São Paulo State. It\'s proposed that the negative oscillation would have begun at ~2.000 cal. yr. B.P.and reached a minimum probably between 1.500-1200 cal. yr. B.P. The relative sea level has been rising since then. Anoxic conditions accompanied by algal origins of sedimentary organic matter, observed in the sedimentary profile from Fortaleza inlet at 900 cal. yr. B.P, during a more oxidizing environment are considered as a result of a previous well oxygencontaining water column and high productivity rates.

Mudanças na taxa de acumulação e na natureza da matéria orgânica sedimentar, e suas relações com as variações climáticas e flutuações do nível relativo do mar durante os últimos 8.500 anos cal. A.P. foram investigadas em dois testemunhos provenientes do Saco de Ribeira, Enseada do Flamengo, e junto à praia do Lázaro, Enseada da Fortaleza, na região de Ubatuba, litoral norte do Estado de São Paulo. Para o estudo as amostras coletadas foram submetidas a diversas análises - granulometria, teor de CaCO3, teores de Carbono orgânico, Nitrogênio e Enxofre totais, e razões isotópicas de carbono. Datações 14C, calibradas para a idade calendário, permitiram estabelecer um modelo de idades para as variações sedimentares detectadas. Intervalos de clima mais quente, 8.000-6.000 anos cal. A.P., foram acompanhados de um aumento na taxa de acumulação de carbono T.A.C. (10-13 g m-2 ano-1), seguida de diminuição após 5.000 anos cal. A.P., para valores inferiores a 2 g m-2 ano-1. Variações climáticas regionais, possivelmente relacionadas a chuvas torrenciais, próximos ao máximo transgressivo, de 5.100 anos 14C A.P., foram detectadas pelo aumento nos valores de T.A.C. (10-12 g. m- 2 ano-1), aumento nas taxas de acumulação de massa (T.A.M.) e deposição de sedimentos mais grossos, acompanhados de aumento na tendência continental da natureza da matéria orgânica. As maiores tendências continentais da matéria orgânica sedimentar, registradas aproximadamente entre 1.500-1.200 anos cal. A.P., podem ser decorrentes de uma oscilação negativa do nível do mar. No geral, todos os resultados estão de acordo com as curvas de variação do nível relativo do mar, já descritas na literatura. As análises sedimentares da região estudada revelaram um evento regressivo-trangressivo, que ainda não havia sido referido para o Estado de São Paulo. A partir de ~2.000 anos cal. A.P., o mar teria atingido um nível mais baixo que o atual, com o mínimo provavelmente entre 1.500-1.200 anos cal. A.P., e encontra-se em ascensão até os dias atuais. As características anóxicas e a matéria orgânica sedimentar de origem planctônica registradas junto à praia do Lázaro, em meio a condições de energia relativamente mais alta, em ~900 anos cal. A.P., foram consideradas como resultado de condições óxicas das águas, acompanhadas de altas taxas de produtividade, e subseqüente degradação da matéria orgânica, existentes no período anterior. / Changes in the organic carbon accumulation rates (Corg A.R.) and organic matter source characteristics and their relation to climate and relative sea level changes during the last 8.500 cal. yr. B.P. were investigated in two sediment cores from 2 embayments - Flamengo and Fortaleza inlets - northern coast of São Paulo State. Sediment samples were analysed for grain size, organic Carbon, total Nitrogen and Sulphur contents, and ?13C ratio. Radiocarbon datings provided a model age to the sedimentary deposits. The warm climate interval 8.000-6.000 cal. yr. B.P. was accompanied by an increase in the Corg A.R. (10-13 g.m.-2 yr -1) and a decrease (~2 g.m.-2 yr -1) in the last ~5.000 cal. yr. B.P. Regional climate changes, as stormy weather, that may have ocurred near the maximum transgressive period called Santos Transgression at 5.100 yr. B.P., were recorded in the sedimentary profiles by relatively hight T.A.C. and T.A.M. values, coaser grain size sediment delivery, and enhanced terrestrial organic matter source characteristics. Improvement of terrestrial origin of the sedimentary organic matter recorded between 1.500-1.200 cal. yr. B.P in the studied area was mainly related to a negative sea-level oscillation. All the results are in general agreement with the existing sea level change curves. The sedimentary profiles suggest a negative sea-level fall event, that had\'nt been described yet for São Paulo State. It\'s proposed that the negative oscillation would have begun at ~2.000 cal. yr. B.P.and reached a minimum probably between 1.500-1200 cal. yr. B.P. The relative sea level has been rising since then. Anoxic conditions accompanied by algal origins of sedimentary organic matter, observed in the sedimentary profile from Fortaleza inlet at 900 cal. yr. B.P, during a more oxidizing environment are considered as a result of a previous well oxygencontaining water column and high productivity rates.

In northern Canada, the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) response of the Earth to the former Pleistocene Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets contributes significantly to the Earth's past and ongoing sea-level change and land deformation. In this dissertation, measurements of Holocene sea-level change and observations of GPS-measured vertical crustal uplift rates are employed as constraints in numerical GIA models that examine the thickness and volume history of the former ice sheets in northern North America. The study is divided into two main sections; the first provides new measurements of Holocene sea-level change collected west of Hudson Bay, while the second presents a GIA modelling analysis for the entire study area of northern Canada. Radiocarbon dating of post-glacial deposits collected in an area just west of central Hudson Bay provides several new constraints on regional Holocene sea-level change. The field collection area is near a former load centre of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), and the sea-level measurements suggest that following deglaciation, regional sea level fell rapidly from a high-stand of nearly 170 m elevation just after 8000 cal yr BP to 60 m elevation by 5200 cal yr BP. Sea level subsequently fell at a decreased rate (approximately 30 m since 3000 cal yr BP). The fit of GIA model predictions to relative sea-level (RSL) data and present-day GPS-measured vertical land motion rates from throughout the study area constrains the peak thickness of the LIS to be 3.4-3.6 km west of Hudson Bay, and up to 4 km east of Hudson Bay. The ice model thicknesses inferred for these two regions represent, respectively, a 30% decrease and an average 20-25% increase to the load thickness relative to the ICE-5G reconstruction (Peltier 2004), generally consistent with other studies focussing on space geodetic measurements of vertical crustal motion. Around Baffin Island, the fit of GIA model predictions to RSL data indicate peak regional ice thicknesses of 1.2-1.3 km, a modest reduction compared to ICE-5G. A new reconstruction of the Innuitian Ice Sheet (IIS), which covered the Queen Elizabeth Islands at LGM, incorporates the current glacial-geological constraints on its spatial extent and timing history. The new IIS reconstruction provides RSL predictions that are more consistent with regional observations of post-glacial sea-level change than ICE-5G. The results suggest that the peak thickness of the IIS was 1600 m, approximately 400 m thicker than the minimum peak thickness indicated by glacial geology studies, but between 1000-1500 m thinner than the peak thicknesses used in previous regional ice sheet reconstructions. On Baffin Island and in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, however, the modelled elastic crustal response of the Earth to present-day ice mass changes is large. Accounting for this effect improves the agreement between GPS measurements of vertical crustal motion and the GIA model predictions. However, improvements such as the inclusion of spatially non-uniform mass loss and a sensitivity analysis that examines uncertainties of this effect should be incorporated into the modelling of present-day changes to glaciers and ice caps. / Graduate

Orientador: Milene Fornari / Resumo: Os cordões litorâneos da planície costeira da Jureia incluem-se entre os mais bem preservados alinhamentos de cordões do litoral sul do estado de São Paulo, porém, são pouco estudados sob os aspectos sedimentológico e estratigráfico. A meta deste estudo é reconstruir no tempo e espaço os eventos de formação dos alinhamentos de cordões litorâneos e feições associadas, inferindo possíveis controles exercidos pelo nível relativo do mar (NRM), clima e dinâmica sedimentar costeira. Através da análise de fotografias aéreas e imagens de satélite, foram reconhecidos quatro feixes de cordões litorâneos e quatro pontais recurvados. O feixe 1 é formado por cordões curvilíneos, enquanto que os feixes 2, 3 e 4 são constituídos por alinhamentos mais retilíneos e desenvolvem-se sincronicamente à formação de pontais recurvados. Estes, em planta, diferem-se por geometria côncava na forma de cordões recurvados, que mostram inversões cíclicas no padrão de transporte sedimentar por deriva litorânea, ora para NE e ora para SO. Em seção GPR observa-se que internamente, os feixes de cordões são formados por refletores com configuração sigmoide de amplitude alta a moderada, que estendem-se lateralmente por centenas de metros com mergulho suave para o mar. Esses refletores incluem fácies de areia média com estratificação cruzada acanalada sobreposta por fácies de areia média a fina com estratificação plano-paralela. Galerias de Ophiomorpha nodosa atribuídas ao crustáceo Callichirus major ocorrem ao l... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The strandplain in Jureia comprises the best preserved ridges in the southern São Paulo state. However, they have been poorly studied from the sedimentologic and stratigraphic aspect. This study aims to reconstruct the events of ridge alignments development of, in time and space, inferring possible controls related to relative sea level (RSL), climate and coastal sedimentary dynamics. The analysis of aerial photographs and satellite images enabled the identification of four ridge sets and four recurved spits. Ridge set 1 is composed by curved ridges in the inner portion of the coastal plain, while ridge sets 2, 3 and 4 comprise plan-parallel ridges which were developed synchronically to recurved spits. The spits are distinctive for the concave geometry, which shows cyclic inversions in the pattern of sedimentary transport through longitudinal drift currents, alternating the main direction between NE and SO. In GPR sections it can be observed that the ridges are internally formed by sigmoidal reflectors, with high to moderate amplitude, which extend for hundreds of meters with smooth seaward dip. These reflectors comprise sedimentary facies of cross stratified medium sand overlaid by plan-parallel medium and fine sand. Ophiomorpha nodosa burrows, attributed to the arthropod Callichirus major, are present throughout the layers but become rare towards the top. These deposits have been interpreted as shoreface facies association in gradual contact with the foreshore facies associ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Galveston Bay is the second largest estuary in the Gulf of Mexico. The bay’s watershed and shoreline contains one of the largest concentrations of petroleum and chemical industries in the world, with the greatest concentration within the lower 15 km of the San Jacinto River/Houston Ship Channel (SJR/HSC). Extensive groundwater has been withdrawn to support these industries and an expanding population has resulted elevated land subsidence, with the highest land subsidence in the lower SJR/HSC, of over 3 m (3 cm yr^-1) and has decreased seaward throughout the bay to 0.6 cm yr^-1 near Galveston Island. Mercury (Hg) contamination is well documented throughout the bay’s sediments. Sediment vibra-cores were collected throughout the bay systems. 210Pb and 137Cs geochronologies from these cores was used to determine sedimentation rates and correlated to Hg profiles to estimate input histories. Relative Sea Level Rise (RSLR) is the sum of eustatic sea level rise and land subsidence. The results show sedimentation rates are high in areas with high rates of RSLR and the rates are of the same order of magnitude, however, in general, sedimentation rates are as much as 50% of RSLR, indicating that sedimentation has not kept pace with land subsidence, although they have the same relative order. Hg core profiles were correlated with radioisotope geochronologies and show significant input of Hg beginning around 1940, with a peak around 1971, and a dramatic drop off in concentration afterwards, demonstrating it to be a valuable geochronology tool. Hg concentrations were found to be dramatically higher proximal to the SJR/HSC and progressively decreasing seaward and to distal parts of the bay.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Os depÃsitos holocÃnicos do litoral oeste do Cearà encontram-se em intrÃnseca relaÃÃo com a flutuaÃÃo do nÃvel relativo do mar no Holoceno Tardio, possivelmente controlada por atividade neotectÃnica. A partir do estuÃrio do rio Aracatimirim (provÃvel projeÃÃo do Lineamento Transbrasiliano), a Ãrea de estudo foi subdividida em setor Icaraà de Amontada (leste) e setor Itarema (oeste). O setor leste compreende planÃcies costeiras com grande presenÃa de eolianitos e beachrocks associados. A partir da anÃlise faciolÃgica dos depÃsitos de eolianitos, foi possÃvel identificar cinco fÃcies eÃlicas interpretadas como paleocampos de dunas frontais e cadeias de dunas barcanÃides associadas a extensÃes lineares. Esses depÃsitos foram originados em campos de dunas transgressivas em nÃvel eustÃtico alto sucedido por um recuo generalizado do nÃvel marinho local, este Ãltimo responsÃvel pela incisÃo fluvial e cimentaÃÃo de beachrocks e eolianitos. Em contrapartida, o setor oeste tambÃm registra dois momentos distintos do nÃvel relativo do mar, responsÃvel pela formaÃÃo de uma paleofalÃsia em nÃvel de mar alto e um sistema de barreiras regressivas em eventos de recuo do nÃvel do relativo do mar. Admitindo-se nenhum contraste na eustasia e suprimento sedimentar em ambos os setores, tal diferenÃa pode estar relacionada a movimentos diferenciais de blocos adjacentes à terminaÃÃo offshore do Lineamento Transbrasiliano, afetando a acomodaÃÃo sedimentar. Para os registos do nÃvel relativo do mar no Holoceno, supÃe-se que nÃvel acima do atual nÃo foi alcanÃado para a costa equatorial do Brasil, exceto na Ãrea em estudo, onde foram registrados paleonÃveis marinhos a 1,7 m e 1,0 acima do nÃvel mÃximo atual de preamares para SantarÃm e Volta do Rio, respectivamente. Essa relaÃÃo atende a hipÃtese de atividade neotectÃnica em blocos adjacentes ao Lineamento Transbrasiliano como o principal mecanismo na modificaÃÃo do espaÃo de acomodaÃÃo da bacia e recuo do nÃvel marinho. A partir dos dados morfoestruturais em tabuleiros prÃ-litorÃneos, identificou-se um leve arqueamento positivo da superfÃcie de topo dos tabuleiros no setor oeste, em contraste a uma pequena anomalia de relevo positivo (soerguimento relativo de aproximadamente 10 m) na extremidade do setor leste. Concomitante a essa movimentaÃÃo genÃrica, encontramse sÃries de movimentos transcorrentes dextrais em fraturas NE-SW com componentes transpressionais e transtracionais, promovendo movimentos verticais diferenciados de pequena amplitude. Dessa forma, postula-se que a maior componente de soerguimento, caracterÃstico do setor Icaraà de Amontada, tenha impulsionado uma maior destruiÃÃo de espaÃo para acomodaÃÃo de sedimentos no lado leste. Dessa forma, que o recuo do nÃvel marinho relativo atingiu magnitude maior nesse setor do que no setor Itarema, o que possibilitou a incisÃo fluvial no setor leste e instalaÃÃo de um sistema de barreiras regressivas no setor oeste. Esse modelo explica o contraste entre geometria e ambientes deposicionais em um compartimento relativamente pequeno do litoral noroeste do CearÃ. Entretanto, essa hipÃtese precisa ser melhor investigada e testada a fim de se obter um modelo mais robusto para a evoluÃÃo da Ãrea em questÃo, sobretudo em relaÃÃo a correlaÃÃes laterais entre os depÃsitos sedimentares, cinemÃtica e dinÃmica no contexto neotectÃnico. / The Holocene deposits of the western coast of Cearà are in close relationship with the fluctuation of the relative sea level in the Late Holocene, possibly controlled by neotectonic activity. Using the mouth of the Aracatimirim River (likely projection of Transbrasiliano Lineament) as reference, the study area was divided into Icaraà de Amontada sector (east) and Itarema (west) sector. The eastern sector comprises coastal plains with great presence of associated eolianite and beachrocks. From the facies analysis of eolianite deposits were identified five aeolian facies interpreted as frontal dunes and barcanoid dune chains associated with linear extensions. These deposits were originated in transgressive dune fields, during rising eustatic level, succeeded by a general fall of the local sea level, the latter responsible for river incision and cementation of beachrocks and eolianites. In contrast, the western sector also records two different times of relative sea level, responsible for the formation of a paleocliff in rising sea level and a system of regressive barriers in falling sea level event. Assuming no contrast in eustasy and sediment supply in both sectors, this difference may be related to differential movement of adjacent blocks offshore termination of Transbrasiliano Lineament, affecting sedimentary accommodation. For the record of relative sea level during the Holocene, it is assumed that the current level was not reached for the equatorial coast of Brazil, except in the study area, where were registered marine paleolevels from 1.7 m to 1.0 m above the current level of maximum high tides to Santarem and Rio Volta, respectively. This relationship strengths the hypothesis of neotectonic activity in locks adjacent to Transbrasiliano Lineament as the main mechanism on modification the accommodation space of the basin and retreat of sea level. From the morphostructural data in pre-coastal trays, were identified a positive smooth arching of the pre-coastal plateaus top surface in the western sector, in contrast to a small positive anomaly of relief (uplift of approximately 10 m) at the east end sector. Concomitant with this generic deformation, there was some dextral transcurrent movements in NE-SW fractures with transpressional and transtensional components,providing different vertical movements of small amplitude. Thus, it is postulated that the higher uplifting component, characteristic of Icarai de Amontada sector, has caused more destruction of accommodation space for sediment on the east side than in the west side,causing river incision in the eastern sector and installation of a regressive barriers system of in the western sector. This model explains the contrast between geometry and depositional environments in a relatively small compartment in northwestern coast of CearÃ. However, this hypothesis needs to be investigated and tested in order to obtain a more robust model for the evolution of the area, especially in relation to lateral correlations between sedimentary deposits, kinematics and dynamics in the neotectonic context.

The Coastal Plain in the southern Chesapeake Bay area is becoming increasingly susceptible to nuisance flooding as a result of the combination of sea-level rise and land subsidence associated with aquifer compaction from excessive groundwater pumping. Detailed time-series of cumulative compaction data (land subsidence) from the three U.S. Geological Survey deployed extensometers in the regions, along with cyclical piezometer data, reflect the nature of the complex multi-aquifer/aquitard system in the Coastal Plain. Franklin, Virginia and Suffolk, Virginia extensometers were deactivated in 1995 and were reactivated in 2016 along with the addition of a high-sensitivity borehole extensometer in Nansemond, Virginia in collaboration with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District as a part of the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT). Yearly compaction rates estimated from the reactivated extensometers are -3.3 mm/year, 15.6 mm/year, and -20.7 mm/year in Franklin, Suffolk, and Nansemond, Virginia respectively. One-dimensional vertical compaction modeling is utilized to estimate the total compaction and differentiate which fine-grained confining units or aquifer interbeds are contributing most to total compaction historically and presently. Additionally, properties of the system can be estimated including the elastic specific storage of the aquitards and aquifers and the inelastic storage of the aquitards. The total cumulative change in aquifer system thickness estimated by the MODFLOW subsidence package can be compared to the observed total cumulative change in aquifer system thickness at each site for validation of hypothesis about the dynamics of the aquifer system to known changes in stress. Subsidence rates and aquifer/aquitard properties can be useful for managing and modeling the groundwater in the Coastal Plain of Virginia. / Master of Science / The Coastal Plain in the southern Chesapeake Bay area is becoming increasingly susceptible to flooding at high tides in low lying areas as a result of the combination of sea-level rise and sinking of the land surface (land subsidence) associated with aquifer compaction from excessive groundwater pumping from buried aquifers. Detailed time-series of land subsidence data from the three U.S. Geological Survey deployed extensometers in the region, along with water level data from nearby wells, reflect the nature of the complex multi-aquifer/aquitard system in the Coastal Plain. Franklin, Virginia and Suffolk, Virginia extensometers were deactivated in 1995 and were reactivated in 2016 along with the addition of a high-sensitivity borehole extensometer in Nansemond, Virginia in collaboration with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District as a part of the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT). Yearly land subsidence rates estimated from the reactivated extensometers are -3.3 mm/year, 15.6 mm/year, and -20.7 mm/year in Franklin, Suffolk, and Nansemond, Virginia respectively. One-dimensional vertical compaction modeling is utilized to estimate the total sinking of the land surface as well as to differentiate which fine-grained confining units or aquifer interbeds are contributing most to total subsidence historically and presently. Additionally, properties of the system can be estimated including the elastic specific storage of the aquitards and aquifers and the inelastic storage of the aquitards. The total cumulative change in aquifer system thickness estimated by the MODFLOW subsidence package can be compared to the observed total cumulative change in aquifer system thickness at each site for validation of hypothesis about the dynamic changes of the aquifer system with known changes in stress. Subsidence rates, understanding the dynamics of the aquifer system, and aquifer/aquitard properties can be useful for managing groundwater and modeling the aquifer system in the Coastal Plain of Virginia.

O sistema eólico quaternário do litoral sul de Santa Catarina foi dividido em inativo e ativo. O sistema inativo é composto por depósitos eólicos indiferenciados (DEI), lençol de areia e campo de dunas. O sistema ativo possui três associações de feições morfológicas: praia-duna, planície deflacionária e campo de dunas livres. Os DEI ocorrem preferencialmente associados a interflúvios alongados segundo a direção SW-NE. Formam o substrato dos demais depósitos eólicos e apresentam idades mínimas de luminescência opticamente estimulada (LOE) entre 625 ka e 134 ka. O lençol de areia corresponde a terraço, com ondulações de cerca de 10 m de comprimento de onda e até 3 m de altura. Iniciou-se em 22 ka, durante o Último Máximo Glacial (UMG), quando o rebaixamento do nível de base de erosão provavelmente favoreceu a disponibilidade de areia incoesa, em paralelo com a escavação dos vales incisos que mais tarde dariam origem ao sistema estuarino-lagunar Uruçanga - Araranguá. O término dos lençóis de areia deu-se por volta de 5 ka atrás, ao final da transgressão marinha holocênica, época em que o estabelecimento do contexto costeiro na região, com linha de costa aproximadamente estável, já permitia também o início da formação dos campos de dunas. O campo de dunas inativo apresenta lobos deposicionais, cadeias barcanoides e cordões de precipitação, datados entre 6,1 ka e 2,3 ka. Ele foi responsável pelo represamento dos principais lagos da área de estudo e progradou em pulsos, em resposta à regressão holocênica. Desse modo, sua taxa de progradação diminuiu após 4 ka, que é quando termina o período de aumento de precipitação e de regressão costeira registrado no Holoceno médio na região. No sistema eólico ativo, a associação praia-duna caracteriza-se por praia dissipativa e dunas frontais incipientes com morfologia dominante de cordão, enquanto a associação planície deflacionária é composta por retrocordões associados ao avanço do campo de dunas livres, rastros lineares, blowouts e dunas parabólicas. A associação campo de dunas livres apresenta-se como corpos arenosos formados por cordão de precipitação, cadeias barcanoides e lobos deposicionais e separados da área fonte (associação praia-duna) pela planície deflacionária. O sistema ativo apresenta modificação de estágio morfodinâmico entre 1938 e hoje. De 1938 a 1957, caracterizava-se por saturação em areia de quase 90% e pela conexão direta entre as associações campo de dunas livres e praia-duna; atualmente, praia e campo de dunas separam-se entre si por planície deflacionária e a saturação em areia é de apenas 30%. Nesta escala de tempo, dos últimos 60 anos, o processo em andamento de estabilização do sistema eólico é condicionado por aumento da pluviosidade e diminuição da deriva eólica. / South Santa Catarina coastal eolian system was subdivided into inactive and active. The inactive system is composed by undifferentiated eolian deposits (UED), sandsheets and dunefields. The active system has three associations of morphological elements: beach-dune, deflation plain and dunefield. The UED occur preferentially associated with elongated interfluves in the SW-NE direction. They constitute the substratum for other eolian deposits and present minimum optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages between 625 ky and 134 ky. The sandsheets correspond to terraces, with gentle undulations about 10 m long and up to 3 m high. Their deposition started at 22 ka, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when the lowering of the erosion base level probably favored non-cohesive sand availability as well the excavation of incised valleys which later would be drowned forming the Uruçanga-Araranguá estuarine-lagoon system. The last sandsheets were deposited around 5 ky, during the end of the Holocene marine transgression, when the establishment of a coastal context in the region, with approximately stable coastline, allowed the initiation of dunefields. The inactive dunefield presents depositional lobes, barchanoid chains and precipitation ridges, dated between 6.1 ky and 2.3 ky. It was responsible for the damming of the main lakes in the study area and its progradation occurred in pulses, as a response to the Holocene regression. Its progradation rate decreased after 4 ky, when a millenial phase of increase in precipitation and in coastal regression ended in the region. As for the active eolian system, the beach-dune association is characterized by dissipative beaches and foredune ridges, whereas the deflation plain is composed by gegenwalles associated with the advance of the dunefield, residual trailing ridges, blowouts and parabolic dunes. The dunefield appears as sand bodies formed by precipitation ridges, barchanoid chains and depositional lobes, detached from its source area (beach-dune association) by the deflation plain. The active system changed its morphodynamic state from 1938 to today. Between 1938 and 1957, it was characterized by sand saturation of almost 90% and direct connection between beach-dune and dunefield associations; currently beach and dunefield are separated by the deflation plain and the sand saturation is only 30%. In this time scale, of the last 60 years, the ongoing process of stabilization of the eolian system is conditioned by increase in pluviosity and decrease in eolian drift.

New relative sea-level (RSL) observations dating from the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, during and after the collapse of the Cordilleran ice-sheet (CIS), are provided for two regions in southern coastal British Columbia. They record the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) response of the Earth to the changing surface load of the waning CIS. The data provide a new RSL curve for Sechelt, on the mainland coast north of Vancouver, and extend and revise a previously constructed curve for Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The observations create a new profile of RSL curves oriented southwest-northeast across Vancouver Island and the Strait of Georgia. A previously-defined profile of RSL curves is oriented northwest-southeast profile along the east coast of Vancouver Island. The two profiles intersect in the central Strait of Georgia. The new RSL curves sample different parts of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) and provide constraints on the history of the CIS. The Juan de Fuca plate subducts beneath the North American plate in roughly the same southwest to northeast direction as the RSL profile. GIA modelling of the RSL observations along this profile may indicate spatial variations related to the structure of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ). The CIS flowed roughly from northeast to southwest over the regions of interest. RSL observations along this path indicate how sea-level change differed with distance from the edge of the ice-sheet towards its centre. The CIS model of James et al. (2009b) is refined to fit observed sea levels while applying glacial geological constraints to regional ice sheet advance and retreat. Sea level in Barkley Sound dropped from greater than 27 m elevation before 15 cal kyr BP to -46 m below present around 12 cal kyr BP. At Sechelt, sea level closely follows the same trend as in the central Strait of Georgia, dropping from over 150 m before 14 cal kyr BP and falling past present levels after 12.4 cal kyr BP to a poorly constrained lowstand between 12 and 9 cal kyr BP. The initial crustal uplift rate near Sechelt was at least 85 mm/yr, comparable to that of the central Strait of Georgia. The sea-level observations are best fit with predictions employing an Earth model with a 60-km effective lithosphere thickness and asthenospheric viscosity and thickness of 4 × 1019 Pa s and 380 km, respectively. The transition zone and lower mantle viscosities are based on the VM2 Earth model (Peltier 2002). Sea level in Barkley Sound fell quickly (15-30 mm/yr), and observed sea level is best fit with the same asthenospheric viscosity, but with a thinner 30-km thick lithosphere, consistent with the regional tectonic structure. Revisions to the ice model are consistent with radiocarbon constraints on ice sheet history and provide good agreement with the observed sea-level history for the study regions as well as RSL histories previously described for the Strait of Georgia and southern Vancouver Island. / Graduate / 0372