Geomorphology of the Eastern Algarve proximal continental margin (South Portugal, SW Iberia Peninsula): sedimentary dynamics and its relationship with the last asymmetrical eustatic cycle

Abstract

Key-words: geomorphology, proximal continental margin, Late Pleistocene-Holocene, sea-level changes, Eastern Algarve. Four morphological categories were recognised using high resolution seismic data on the Eastern Algarve proximal continental margin (South Portugal): depositional (littoral prism, prodelta, shelf sedimentary cover and slope accumulation), erosive (palaeo-channels, submarine terraces, transgressive surface and erosive surface over the slope), gravity (slides and slumps), and neotectonic (submarine scarp). These morphologies were generated during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, as a result of the interplay between several factors, namely, the rate of sedimentary supply, the oceanographic conditions, the neotectonic activity and the sea-level changes from the last lowstand to the present highstand related with the last eustatic cycle. The Late Quaternary sea-level changes have been the main control and modelling factor for the development of most depositional and erosional morphologies.