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This paper focuses on high-resolution coastal stratigraphy data, which were revealed by the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system. Surveys performed with GPR on the surface of prograded barriers reveal patterns of reflections that allow the interpretation of the geometry and stratigraphy of coastal deposits in a continuous mode. At the Curumim prograded barrier in southern Brazil (29°30′ S–49°53′ W), a two-dimensional transverse GPR survey revealed, with high precision, a serial of contacts between aeolian deposits of relict foredunes and relict beach deposits that have a strong correlation with sea level. In a 4 km GPR profile, a total of 24 of these contacts were identified. The high accurate spatial positioning of the contacts combined with Optical Stimulated Luminescence dating resulted in the first confident sea-level curve that tells the history of sea-level changes during the last 7 ka on the southernmost sector of the Brazilian coast. The curve shows that sea-level was still rising before 6 ka BP, with a maximum level of 1.9 m reached close to 5 ka BP, after that, sea-level started to falling slowly until around 4 ka BP when fall accelerated.

The origin and geological evolution of a complex of a beach ridgeplain in the Feitoria lagoon-barrier, located on the western margin of the southern cell Patos lagoon, Brazil was influenced by the interactions between the alocyclic (climate change and relative sea level) and autocyclic (sediment supply, waves, longshore drift and storm surges) forcing. The study of this regressive beach ridgeplain included the analysis of orthophotos; topographic detail (PRO-XRS Trimble®-post-processed); and shallow geophysical data with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), 150, 200 and 400 MHz antennae, combined with facies analysis and radiocarbon dating (AMS) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) from shallow borehole samples. The analysis of orthophotos allowed for the definition of at least nine morphologically distinct series of progradation, marked by truncations of progressive orientation changes. The integration of topographically corrected GPR data, sedimentary records, and geochronological data determined the beginning of the progradation occurred at 7.2 kaBP. At the beginning of progradation, the low tide terrace was at the height of 1.9m (EGM96) Above the Sea Current Level (ASCL). The swash zone was in the 2.5m, and the crest reached 4.3m ASCL. Currently, the low tide terrace quota is -0.4m, the swash zone to 0.3m and the crest reaches 2.1m ASCL. Among other factors, the fall of the lagoon base levels was associated with sea level fall during the Holocene regression. However, crest construction control is dependent on the lagoon base level oscillation, which in turn is controlled by the precipitation regime and storms surges. Moreover, these results suggest that the orientation of the ridges was controlled by changes in the internal lagoon hydrodynamics, due to the progressive narrowing of the lagoon connection with the open ocean.

Leal, R.A.; Barboza, E.G., Bitencourt, V. Jr. Biancini da Silva, A. and Manzolli, R.P., 2016. Geological and Stratigraphic Characteristics of a Holocene Regressive Barrier in Southern Brazil: GIS and GPR Applied for Evolution Analysis. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 750–754. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The observation of geological and geomorphological factors in coastal barriers to allows interpret the processes involved and the temporal trends over time. During the Holocene, the Balneario Torneiro barrier, located in the southern coast of Santa Catarina, prograded approximately 1.3 km, preserving the records of Urussanga river's system dynamics in surface and subsurface paleochannels. The presence of such features close to the boundary with the Pleistocene deposits up to the present coastline indicates that...

Barboza, E.G., Rosa, M.L.C.C., Dillenburg, S.R., Biancini da Silva, A., Tomazelli, L.J., 2014. Stratigraphic analysis applied on the recognition of the interface between marine and fluvial depositional systems. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 687–692, ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal areas contain interfaces between complex depositional systems as a consequence of the convergence of marine and continental environments. The knowledge of such complex depositional systems is important in understanding of coastal evolution and for coastal management. The present study deals with the subsurface identification of interfaces between fluvial and beach/shallow marine systems, using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). GPR profiles were measured along dip direction, at two sites on the coastal plain of Santa Catarina state (Pinheira and Passo de Torres), where deposits of fluvial and...

Biancini da Silva, A., Barboza, E.G., Rosa, M.L.C.C., Dillenburg, S.R., 2014. Meandering Fluvial System Influencing the Evolution of a Holocene Regressive Barrier in Southern Brazil. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 205–210, ISSN 0749-0208. A meandering fluvial system changes its course according to geological time, eroding rocks and pre-existing deposits and transporting large volumes of sediment to the coastal plains. Understanding the evolution of channels and paleochannels in regions showing coastal barriers and relating them to changes in sea level becomes extremely important to comprehend the factors that contribute to the behavior of coastal barriers. During the Holocene the barrier at Passo de Torres located northeast of the Mampituba River, along the southern coast of Santa Catarina state, prograded approximately 5.5 km. The barrier comprises both fore...