Evolução paleoambiental da margem continental NW Ibérica desde o último máximo glacial

Abstract

This work aims to contribute to the knowledge of the paleoenvironmental evolution of NW Iberian Continental Margin since the Last Glaciation. It is based on study results of stable isotopes acquired three witnesses (PC7-1, KSGX 40 and KSGX 24), collected off the Galician coast (N Spain). These results were compared with microfaunal (foraminifera) and sedimentological data previously acquired. According to the obtained results, it was found that significant changes of hydrographic conditions occurred at the NW Iberian Continental Margin off the coast of Galicia, since the last glaciation. These changes may have been influenced both by climate change, changes in eustatic sea level and other regional phenomena. During the last glaciation the studied area received the contribution of water from the melting of icebergs and ice shelves, from zones situated to the north, which caused significant changes in the physicochemical parameters of surface oceanic water and particularly, the temperature. There were significant changes of biological paleoproductivity and organic matter flow to the sedimentary environment during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene both in the distal region of the Iberian Continental Margin as in regions localized near the continent