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Late-Holocene evolution of the Northern Bay of Cádiz from geomorphological, stratigraphic and archaeological data
- Source :
- Quaternary International. 602:92-109
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2021.
-
Abstract
- The present paper deals with the historical evolution of the northern Bay of Cadiz (SW Spain) between the last eustatic maximum (6.5 ka BP) and the present day, by means of a series of independent proxies. The zone is constituted by the tidal estuary of the Guadalete River, filled with saltmarsh sediments during the late Holocene, due to the sheltering of the zone by a confining outer sandy barrier. The northern border of the Bay records an urban settlement of Phoenician Age (first millennium BC), Dona Blanca. A detailed survey was made in the contact between the Phoenician city and the saltmarshes in order to detect other possible urban structures related to the morphological and sedimentary evolution of this environment during historical times. Two campaigns with GPR Stream-X array were carried out as well as aerial imaging and topographic survey with UAV. In parallel, a total of 8 boreholes were made in different parts of the saltmarshes, including radiocarbon dating of selected samples for estimating sedimentation rates in the saltmarshes. Results obtained by georadar prospection and UAV survey revealed the presence of a second urban settlement on the marginal sedimentary plain, very probably installed upon a sandy fluvial island of the Guadelete River. The urban remains, of Punic Age, are partly covered by clay sediments due to the subsequent evolution of these saltmarshes, where sedimentation rates of up to nearly 2.4 mm/yr have been estimated for environments close to fluvial and/or tidal channels and hence more affected by sediment aggradation during flooding episodes. In recent times, river regulation by dams and the artificial desiccation and cropping of the saltmarshes have interrupted the natural trend of the area towards sedimentary silting up.
- Subjects :
- 010506 paleontology
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Fluvial
Estuary
010502 geochemistry & geophysics
01 natural sciences
law.invention
Aggradation
law
Salt marsh
Sedimentary rock
Physical geography
Radiocarbon dating
Bay
Holocene
Geology
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10406182
- Volume :
- 602
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Quaternary International
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....3b968450055164f1c3bc18fabc7db2a8