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Microtextural signatures in quartz grains and foraminifera from tsunami deposits of the Portuguese shelf

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Abstract

This study presents results from two sediment cores collected on the southern Portuguese shelf attempting to, partially, fill the knowledge gap of the offshore record of high-energy events. The results were obtained based on description of cores, microtextural analysis of quartz grains, and foraminiferal taphonomy. The lithostratigraphy corresponds to Late Holocene sedimentation, with interesting intercalations of medium sand rich with bioclastic fragments and erosive basal contact. In terms of microtextures, a high degree of mechanical marks on the grains associated with tsunami deposition was observed and reflects the high-energy hydrodynamic processes. In compositional terms, the higher presence of quartz grains in these units favors the increase of mechanical marks because grain-to-grain contact is more intense. Additionally, the geomorphological setting of the coring sites controlled the degree and type of mechanical microtextures observed. Furthermore, post-depositional changes and characteristics of the original sediment source contribute to explain the occurrence of dissolution in units of GeoB23513-02. The foraminiferal taphonomy displayed a predominance of dissolution alteration in the test surfaces that was more evident in the silty layers. On the other hand, similar to quartz grain microtextural signature, the sandy high-energy units exhibit a slight predominance of physical processes despite the still strong presence of dissolution. The sole presence of foraminifera species from the middle to the outer shelf in some units is an indication that there was little reworking of specimens. This work aims to increase the understanding of dynamics during Holocene high-energy events and to characterize their backwash phases through the different imprints left in the sedimentary offshore record of the Portuguese Algarve shelf.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the financial support for the scholarship granted. We also express our thanks to Professor Luiz C. Bertolino for the technical support during the SEM microscopy at the facilities of CETEM. Likewise, we want to acknowledge the SEM utilization (DEPA, UERJ), under the responsibility of Sérgio Bergamaschi. The authors are deeply grateful to the research and technical crew under the command of Captain R. Hammacher from RV METEOR – M152. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) is acknowledged for its funding of project OnOff PTDC/CTAGEO/28941/2017.

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) to project OnOff PTDC/CTAGEO/28941/2017 and by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) by grants to Missilene Yhasnara bt 88887.595599/2020–00.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geologia Aplicada, Faculdade de Geologia, Universidade Do Estado Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Missilene Yhasnara, Francisco Dourado & Maria Virginia Alves Martins

  2. Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências E Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Univ. Coimbra - Pólo II, 3030-790, Coimbra, Portugal

    Pedro J. M. Costa

  3. Faculdade de Ciências, Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C6, Campo Grande, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro J. M. Costa

  4. Institute for Neotectonics and Natural Hazards, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Lisa Feist, Piero Bellanova & Klaus Reicherter

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  1. Missilene Yhasnara
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Contributions

This paper was developed from the thesis of master of Missilene Yhasnara. Klaus Reicherter—project leader; Pedro JM Costa and Francisco Dourado—conceptualization, methodology; Lisa Feist—preparation the sediment samples; Piero Bellanova—scanning electron microscopy of the foraminifera; Maria Virginia Alves Martins—identification of species foraminifera; Missilene Yhasnara was responsible for analysis and interpretation, and drafted the figures of the manuscript. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Missilene Yhasnara and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and made substantial contributions to the conception of the work.

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Yhasnara, M., Costa, P.J.M., Dourado, F. et al. Microtextural signatures in quartz grains and foraminifera from tsunami deposits of the Portuguese shelf. Geo-Mar Lett 43, 5 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-023-00747-0

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