JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE (2006) 21(8) 859–877

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Published online 31 August 2006 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jqs.1009

Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental

changes in the coastal zone of northwestern
Portugal
G. SOARES DE CARVALHO,1* H. M. GRANJA,2 E. LOUREIRO2 and R. HENRIQUES2
1
Rua Elı́sio de Moura, 62, r/c, 4710-422 Braga, Portugal
2
University of Minho, Earth Sciences Department, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

Carvalho, de G. S., Granja, H. M., Loureiro, E., Henriques, R. 2006. Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental changes in the coastal zone of northwestern Portugal.
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21 pp. 859–877. ISSN 0267–8179.
Received 17 December 2004; Revised 31 October 2005; Accepted 6 January 2006

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the Quaternary changes in the coastal zone of northwestern
Portugal through the relationship between sediments and landforms. By interpolating the available
data from geomorphology, lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and geochronology, it was possible to
reconstruct existing palaeoenvironments, the oldest of which date back to the last interglacial. The
main landforms are a high and a low platform bounded by scarps. River sands and silty sediments
formed in a lacustrine environment (Antas Formation, MIS 5) are associated with the high platform.
Two deposits are associated with the low platform: the Cepães Formation (MIS 3) consisting of a
lower set of river sand beds and an upper gravel beach bed, and the Aguçadoura Formation (MIS
1) consisting of Holocene lagoonal beds. Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEYWORDS: coastal zone change; Pleistocene; Holocene; Marine Isotope Stages

Introduction sediments have accumulated, and the changes they represent

The aim of this paper is to present our methodology that links
the main geomorphological features, i.e. the landscape of a
coastal segment, to the clastic deposits that are preserved in
the area. The purpose of this methodology is to help understand
changes of the coastal landscape as well as the sea-level
changes over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.
The coastal segment studied is situated in the coastal zone of
Minho and Douro Litoral, between the Neiva River (Esposende)
and Póvoa de Varzim (Fig. 1). The main geomorphological fea-
tures of the landscape can be recognised on topographic maps;
for instance. Figure 2 shows a high relief zone on the eastern
side reaching an altitude of 225 m at Sanfins. Scarps separate
this zone from a lower surface at altitudes from 10 to 60 m. This
surface has a slightly westward incline, where an area between
approximately 60 and 40 m, and another, flatter, one between
40 and 10 m can be distinguished.
Deposits can be observed in various restricted outcrops, but
they do not contain organic remains, fossils, or sedimentary
structures that could help in understanding their origin and
age. Only the most recent Holocene sedimentary units contain
remains of wood, peat, diatoms and pollen. This means that in
order to understand the different environments in which the
* Correspondence to: G. Soares de Carvalho, Rua Elı́sio de Moura, 62, r/c,
4710-422 Braga, Portugal.
E-mail: soarescarvalho@oninet.pt
during the Pleistocene and Holocene, a combination of
methods is required.
Pioneering work on the Quaternary of Portugal by Zbyszewski
(1940) and Ribeiro et al. (1943) was done in this area. These
studies were the starting point of later investigations that devel-
oped environmental change models for the coastal zone of
northwestern Portugal during the Quaternary (Zbyszewski and
Teixeira, 1949; Meireles and Texier, 1994, 2000; Texier and
Meireles, 1991).
These models postulated the existence of either seven mar-
ine terraces (Zbyszewski and Teixeira, 1949; Teixeira, 1949,
1979; Teixeira and Assunção, 1961, 1963; Teixeira and
Medeiros, 1965; Teixeira and Zbyszewski, 1976; Teixeira
et al., 1962, 1972), or 10 stepped marine levels (Batista,
1991; Meireles and Texiet, 1991; Meireles, 1994; Meireles
and Texier, 1994, 2000). They assumed that the upper surface
altitude of the deposits could be used for stratigraphic correla-
tion and that all deposits had a marine origin (altitudinal cri-
teria).
In the field, most of the marine terraces or marine levels of
the models are relict deposits, sometimes only consisting of
thin concentrations of pebbles with a limited lateral extension.
They cannot provide data for understanding coastal environ-
mental changes, because they are inappropriate for providing
undisturbed sedimentological or stratigraphic samples.
Our own field and laboratory work since 1990 has led us to
develop a new Quaternary coastal environmental changes
model (Carvalho and Granja, 1997a, b; Carvalho et al.,
2002; Granja, 1990, 1999; Granja and Carvalho, 1994,
860 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

Figure 1 Location of northwestern Portuguese coastal zone, the coastal segments between Esposende and Póvoa de Varzim, and sites of lithostrati-
graphic interest mentioned in this paper (Antas, Cepães and Aguçadoura)

1998, 2003; Granja et al., 1992, 1999; Granja and de Groot,
1996; de Groot and Granja, 1998).
This model postulates that the main geomorphological fea-
tures of the coastal landscape are fault scarps that delimit an
apparently flat surface with a slight westward incline on which
it is possible to distinguish two platforms separated by a step: a
high platform between 60 and 40 m, and a low platform
between 30 and 10 m. A foredune forms the western limit of
the low platform, in which the estuaries of the coastal segment
are found.
The model includes those deposits that are interpreted as
being marine, fluvial, lagoonal, estuarine or aeolian in origin,
and possibly deformed by tectonic movements. Current under-
standing of sea-level changes is based on a generalised sea-
level curve over the last 20 000 years for the shelf of northwes-
tern Portugal, which is not constrained by geochronological
data (Dias et al., 1997). Because of the spatial variability of
sea level in the area, eustatic sea-level curves are not applic-
able either (Tooley, 1994; Pirazzoli and Pluet, 1991; Pirazzoli,
1996).
To determine the age of the coastal deposits referred to in this
paper, it may be possible to correlate them with the supposedly
Quaternary deposits found in the fluvial valleys of northwes-
tern Portugal (Minho, Lima, Cávado, Ave and Douro rivers),
but deposits consisting of lithostratigraphic sequences of gravel
and lutite beds have not yet yielded geochronological data to

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL 861

Figure 2 Detail of the topographic map of the coastal zone between the Neiva River and the Cávado estuary showing the main landscape features.
Areas with crowded contour lines indicate the positions of fault scarps

allow any correlation with the coastal deposits (Alves, 1995a, b,
2004; Alves and Pereira, 1999; Braga, 1989). Some of the beds
from the Minho and Cávado river deposits contain plant
fossils which are considered to be Late Pliocene to Early Pleisto-
cene (Teixeira et al., 1969; Teixeira, 1979; Alves, 1995a, 2004).
On the basis of the estimated ages of the sands (radiocarbon
and OSL, i.e. optical stimulated luminescence datings), we have
correlated our Quaternary stratigraphic units with the global cli-
mate change data from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) chronostra-
tigraphy (van Andel and Tzedakis, 1996; van Andel, 2003).
Geological background of the area
The bedrock of the area consists of two Palaeozoic formations
and granites, crossed by quartz veins (Teixeira, 1956; Teixeira
and Assunção, 1963; Teixeira and Medeiros, 1965; Teixeira
et al., 1969; Pereira, 1992). The Palaeozoic formations are:
the ‘Formação de Esposende’ (Esposende Formation), consist-
ing of quartzites with small conglomerate lenses, phyllites and
shales; and the ‘Formação da Barca do Lago’ (Barca do Lago

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
862 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Formation), consisting of pelitic psammites, quartzites, and
graphitic schists. From a chronostratigraphic point of view
the first formation is attributed to the Ordovician and the sec-
ond to the Silurian (Sousa, 1988, 1989). Structurally, the two
formations constitute a syncline with a NW–SE axis. Its east-
ern flank is in contact with the granites through faults and
shear zones that are also orientated NW–SE. The synclinel’s
western flank is located offshore for the main part, and is sub-
merged. Some NW–SE orientation outcrops of Ordovician
quartzite, such as the so-called ‘Cavalos de Fão’ (Fão Horses)
emerge, however, especially during low tide. The Ordovician
rocks of the western flank constitute the bedrock of the
beaches.
The Pleistocene–Holocene sediments accumulated on top
of the rocks forming the syncline. The orientation of the
shoreline in the area is controlled by the fault strikes that
cross the synclinal structure (NW–SE, NE–SW and E–W).
Some of these faults were reactivated during Pleistocene–
Holocene times (Cabral, 1993). Before turning NW–SE at
their estuaries, the NE–SW oriented channels of the Cávado
and Neiva, the main rivers of the area, are examples of this
structural dependency.
In the western part of the area and north of the Cávado
River estuary, shingle beaches with beach-cusps consisting
of Ordovician quartzite and shale pebbles are found. South
of the Cávado River estuary the beaches are sandy. They
are fringed by erosion cliffs in parabolic dunes which cover
a medieval necropolis in the village of Fão. These sand dunes
date back to the Little Ice Age (Almeida, 1988; Almeida et al.,
1990–92). The rapid erosion dynamics contribute to beach
losses, not only through retreat, but also by marine overwash-
ing. The sea thus invades the agricultural fields and built-up
housing areas to the east of the dunes.
Figure 3 Schematic geological cross-section of the coastal zone of northwestern Portugal between the Neiva and the Cávado rivers. The vertical
scale of the profiles has been exaggerated; Antas and Aguçadoura formations with approximate position and thickness
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Definitions, concepts
The coastal zone definition given by the Land–Ocean Interac-
tion in the Coastal Zone Project (LOICZ; Holligan and de
Boois, 1993) is perfectly adapted to the coastal segments
described in this paper. The genetic interpretation of the pre-
served Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits corresponds
to flooding and exposure events, related to Quaternary trans-
gressions and regressions in the area. In our model the term
‘platform’ describes apparently flat landforms: (1) with residual
deposits of limited extent and width; or (2) associated with sedi-
mentary deposits of different origin and age, which can consti-
tute a stratigraphic sequence. Later, we apply this term to the
flat landforms of the coastal zone that are associated with poly-
genic sediments (marine, lagoonal, estuarine, aeolian, etc.).
Deposits of very limited extension and residual features such
as scattered pebbles are not considered here, because they
do not contain enough information for any reliable environ-
mental or age interpretation.
Methodology
In the coastal zones studied here, most of the sediments are
the remains of more extensive clastic accumulations, and
are only preserved today in small areas of some tens to a
few hundreds of square metres. An idea of their width and
thickness is given by the schematic geological cross-section
of Fig. 3. Some artificial cross-sections (house foundations,
road cuttings, sand mining quarries, etc.) and cores were
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL 863

helpful in defining sedimentary sequences, units of which
were sampled in order to understand their origin and chronol-
ogy.
The model must be considered a regional one because the
deposits are found very locally, and they cannot yet be corre-
lated with deposits in neighbouring areas—either because
there is no satisfactory sedimentary and chronological informa-
tion available for the Quaternary in those areas or there are no
comparable deposits and geoforms, such as those in the coastal
segments south of Espinho and Aveiro (Granja and Carvalho,
1994, 2003; Granja and de Groot, 1996; de Groot and Granja,
1998; Carvalho et al., 2002) or in the coastal zone of Galicia,
Spain (Mosquera-Santé, 2002; Vidal-Romani, 2002; López-
Cancelo, 2004).
Geomorphology
The main landforms and their extension were identified
through aerial photography. We used the 1995 photographic
cover at a scale of 1:15 000 from the Instituto Português de

Figure 4 Schematic map of the main geomorphological units of the coastal segments between the Neiva and the Cávado rivers

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
864 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

Table 1 Luminescence dating results from samples of the Cepães and the Antas formations

Cepães Formation

Sample ED(GY) K% Th ppm U ppm Water content Dose rate Gy/Ka OSL age

Cepães 2 145.2
16.3 1.99
0.4 10.7
0.50 2.46
0.08 20
5 2.76
0.13 52 500
6400
Cepães 1 135.5
11.9 1.81
0.04 6.15
0.28 1.53
0.05 15
5 2.33
0.11 58 100
5800
F. Preusser, Geographisches Institut, Köln University, 2001

Cepães Formation
Dose rate (GY/a) Water content

Sample ED(GY) Gamma Beta Annual dose Historic Saturated OSL age

Guilheta 2 130.27
13.3 1.09
0.01 3.0
0.1 3.57
0.08 2.76
0.12 5.2 36 470
3815
Guilheta 1 71.64
8.29 1.04
0.01 2.16
0.14 2.73
0.11 7.33
0.25 10.1 26 283
3212
Antas Formation

1995 351.49
76.22 1.19
0.01 2.28
0.23 2.99
0.17 5.87
0.09 10.3 117 513
26 367
R. Parish, The Geography Laboratory, University of Sussex, 1995

Cartografia e Cadastro (Portuguese Institute of Cartography and Grain-size data

Cadastre) and the 1996 colour photographs on a scale of
1:8000 from the Instituto Nacional da Água (National Water
Institute). Interpretation was controlled by detailed fieldwork
using the 1:25 000 scale 1997 maps of Esposende (number
68) and Marinhas (54), of the Instituto Geográfico do Exército
(Geographic Institute of the Army). During fieldwork the link
between the geoforms and the sedimentary units discussed in
this paper was established (see Fig. 4).
Lithostratigraphy
The framework of the Quaternary stratigraphic scheme that we
have defined for the coastal zone of northwestern Portugal,
which includes the districts of Esposende and Póvoa de
Varzim, is based on the stratigraphic criteria Hedberg (1994).
Where possible, the lithostratigraphic units were dated by
14
C or optically stimulated luminescence (OSL).
Sedimentology and palaeoenvironments
The determination of the palaeoenvironments is based on the
genetic interpretation of the sediments that constitute the
landforms or that are associated with them. Data used are:
sedimentary structures, grain-size analysis (statistical para-
meters and correlation diagrams), pebble morphometry and
imbrication, organic remains, and micro-organisms (diatoms
and pollen). Sedimentary structures, however, were often very
diffuse or even non-existent, especially in the older deposits,
either because of primary deposition characteristics or
Sediment classification is based on the mean and standard
deviation of dimensional distribution according to Folk and
Ward (1957) and Lewis and McConchie (1994b).
Grain-size analysis was done by a combination of sieve and
pipette analyses following the methodology of Krumbein
(1934), Krumbein and Pettijohn (1965), Tucker (1988, 2001),
and Lewis and McConchie (1994b) and a laboratory routine
adopted by the Sedimentology Laboratory of the Earth Sciences
Department (University of Minho).
The processing of the grain-size data was based on the
moment’s method and some Friedman statistics (Friedman,
1967, 1979a, b). The statistics were calculated with a software
program developed by Henriques (2003), which also generates
the Friedman plots.
The statistical measures used are: standard deviation, skew-
ness (third moment), mean-cubed deviation, simple sorting
measure, and simple skewness measure (Friedman, 1979a).
Plots of standard deviation and skewness, mean-cubed
deviation and skewness, simple skewness measure and simple
sorting measure of the size distributions were used to distin-
guish beach sands from river sands (Friedman, 1967), and near-
shore dunes from river sands (Friedman, 1979b). All beds of the
cross-sections were sampled.
Table 2 Size statistics of the Antas Formation samples
Mean
Samples x  xmm Standard Skewness Kurtosis
deviation 3 Kg


}
because of later diagenetic and biogenic processes. Trenches 9 6.63 0.010 2.21 1.39 4.22
through each bed, more or less perpendicular to the bedding, 8 1.38 0.384 4.49 0.10 1.52
Silt and
clay

were made for sampling (Lewis and McConchie, 1994b); all 7 5.12 0.029 3.57 0.81 2.25
the beds observed in each section were sampled. The samples 6 4.80 0.036 3.12 0.29 1.65
for OSL dating are spot samples from the bed when it was pos- 5 4.33 0.050 4.38 0.57 1.89

}
4 3.31 0.100 3.56 0.53 1.40
sible to bury a 12 cm long PCB pipe, and quickly wrap it in
sand

3 1.62 0.325 2.72 1.83 4.72

black plastic. The pebble samples are composites of spot
2 1.24 0.423 2.02 2.83 9.87
samples.

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL 865

Imbrication Geochronology

Imbrication of non-spheroidal pebbles shows the direction of
the current flow. On beaches, the imbrication dips seaward,
while in rivers the pebbles dip up-current (Lewis and
McConchie, 1994a). The morphodynamics of the present shin-
gle beach were interpreted from field data. The pebble imbrica-
tion was measured during low tide and fair weather conditions
on the ridge crests, and on the horns and bays of the beach
cusps (Belinho Beach, Esposende).
Radiocarbon dates are calibrated with the CALIB program
(Stuiver and Reiver, 1993). Luminescence dates were acquired
by OSL and are from two different laboratories (see Table 1).
The OSL methodology used in the laboratory of the Geography
Institute of the University of Cologne is described in Murray and
Wintle (2000) and Preusser and Karper (2001). The OSL dates of
Parish (unpublished report, 1995) were obtained with a Riso
automated reader and OSL green light stimulation; gamma dose
rates were taken in the field with a small gamma spectrometer;
the standard cosmic dose applied was based on Aitken (1985).

Pebble morphometry

Pebble shape was defined using the morphometric roundness
and flatness indices of Cailleux (Cailleux, 1947; Cailleux and
Tricart, 1959). Since rock petrography controls these morpho-
metric indices we have applied morphometry only to quartzite
pebbles, which are the most common type in the sedimentary
units of the area.
Results and palaeoenvironmental
interpretation
First, the stratigraphic (lithostratigraphy and geochronology)
and sedimentological results are presented, then the genetic

Table 3 Sedimentological data of the Cepães Formation corresponding to Fig. 10

Units Grain size Pebble morphometry Environments (interpretation)

Roundness Flatness
x  x mm  3 KG Mean Maximum Mean Maximum

Padre Gil settlement

7 (soil) — — — — — —
6 2.31 0.201 1.17 0.25 3.11 458 865 2.15 4.17 Beach
matrix
5
4a 1.51 0.351 0.65 0.21 3.05
4b 1.46 0.364 0.85 0.22 3.59 Fluvial
4c 1.61 0.327 0.58 0.10 4.58
4d 1.43 0.371 0.65 0.17 3.13
3a 3.36 0.097 3.15 0.33 1.85 Fluvial
3b 3.21 0.108 3.12 0.36 1.91
2a 1.84 0.279 0.56 0.06 5.26
2b 0.99 0.251 0.98 0.41 4.60 479 757 2.20 4.57 Fluvial (pebbles displaced
from beach deposits)
2c 1.53 0.346 0.64 0.24 4.50
2d 0.72 0.607 1.10 0.62 3.98
matrix 1.62 0.053 2.66 0.53 1.43
1 (schists) a, b, c, and d are several samples from the same units
Azul settlement (Fig. 10)

}
9 — — — — — 518 833 2.16 4.16 Beach
8 — — — — —
7 1.25 0.420 0.86 0.66 5.72
6 2.51 0.175 0.75 0.75 2.69
5 3.00 1.257 0.28 0.28 2.54 Fluvial (pebbles displaced
4 1.48 0.359 0.03 0.03 5.18 from beach deposits)
3 1.18 0.215 0.27 0.27 1.21 487 842 1.90 2.75
2 — — — — —
1 (schists)

Table 4 Morphometry and imbrication of pebbles

Morphometry Imbrication

Roundness (mean) Flatness (mean) Orientation Dip

Belinho Beach (no. of pebbles ¼ 204) 510 1.48 N 41.28
4.38 E 40.58
1.588 SW
Cepães Formation (no. of pebbles ¼ 514) 478 1.50 N 56.78
9.98 E 24.48
1.898 SW

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
866 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

14
Table 5 C dating of the samples of the lagoonal units of the Aguçadoura Formation (yr BP)

Sample location Sample Type and depth Conventional Calibrated Laboratory

14 14
material from surface C dates C dates references

Póvoa de Varzim—Aver-o-Mar peat Outcrop 2549
90 cal. BC 771 I-15808

Póvoa de Varzim—Aver-o-Mar wood Outcrop 2340
90 cal. BC 395 I-15809
Aguçadoura peat Outcrop 920
60 cal. AD 1064 I-16891
Aguçadoura wood Outcrop 1900
40 cal. AD 720 ICEN-775
Esposende charcoal Outcrop 420
110 cal. AD 1284 I-15916
Esposende charcoal Well for water—2.00 m 3250
100 cal. BC 1516 I-15811
Foz do Neiva peat Outcrop 2320
90 cal. BC 391 I-15810
Vila do Conde (Ave) peat (roots) Outcrop 450
60 cal. AD 1444 ICEN-768
Esposende charcoal Outcrop 740
80 cal. AD 1454 I-17171
Esposende charcoal Outcrop 4270
50 (AMS) cal. BC 2888 GX-22208
Belinho Beach peat Vibrocore—5.00 m 4470
50 cal. BC 3253 ICEN-774
Apúlia Lagoon peat Vibrocore—5.12 m 600
50 cal. AD 1328 ICEN-767
Apúlia Lagoon peat Vibrocore—3.02 m 580
60 cal. AD 1400 ICEN-771
Apúlia Lagoon peat Vibrocore—2.55 m 360
40 cal. AD 1511 ICEN-772
Apúlia Lagoon peat Mechanical core—3.45 m 2520
70 cal. BC 209 GX-29667
Apúlia Lagoon peat Mechanical core—2.49 m 930
80 cal. AD 1426 GX-29668
Marachão (Cávado) peat Vibrocore—4.44 m 1780
50 cal. AD 249 ICEN-770
Marachão (Cávado) peat Vibrocore—4.34 m 1280
45 cal. AD 719 ICEN-769
Ribeira da Ramalha (Apúlia) wood Outcrop 2570
41 cal. BC 333 GX-28113
Ribeira da Ramalha (Apúlia) wood Outcrop 2830
40 cal. BC 693 GX-28114

I ¼ Telédyne Isotopes (Westwood, USA).

ICEN ¼ Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear (Lisbon).
GX ¼ Geochron Laboratories, Krueger Enterprises, Inc. (Massachusetts, USA).

Figure 5 Units of the Antas Formation and variations of the mean and standard deviation of the samples

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL
interpretation is reported formation by formation. Finally, we
propose a sequence of palaeoenvironments that we consider
to have prevailed in the coastal segment during the Pleistocene
and the Holocene. Table 6 and the geomorphological sche-
matic map of Fig. 4 synthesise the interpretations.
The high platform
The units that constitute the Antas and the Cepães formations
are devoid of fossils. Sedimentological interpretations of the
clastic deposits are therefore needed to establish the environ-
mental conditions in which they were generated. In the
absence of clearly recognisable sedimentary structures in the
field, the interpretations presented here are based on grain-size
analysis of the sands and silts (Friedman plots), on pebble mor-
phometry (Cailleux, 1947; Cailleux and Tricart, 1959) and on
pebble imbrication.
The Antas Formation
The high platform is limited on the Eastern side by scarps that
correspond to faults oriented NW–SE and NE–SW, intersected
by a minor fault with variable trends (Granja et al., 1992). The
Figure 6 Samples from the Antas Formation units in a modified Friedman plot (skewness versus standard deviation; Friedman, 1967). All samples are
scattered in the river sand field
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
867
faults are recognised in the field by their fault breccias in the
granites.
At Antas, near the St. Cristóvão Chapel, a sand-mining expo-
sure shows beds which are characteristic of the formation
(Fig. 5 and Table 2): a lower set of sand beds overlain by
silty-clay beds (Granja, 1990). The beds are in lateral contact
with the granitic outcrops through fault breccias with granitic
and silty-clay bed remains, and small silty-clay injections
through the crushed granite. The topographic altitude of the
top of the sequence is about 90 m.
Sedimentology
No sedimentary structures can be recognised in the field. The
standard deviation of the lower sands (between 2.02 and
4.38) classifies them as poorly to very poorly sorted sand (Folk
and Ward, 1957; Folk, 1966; Lewis and McConchie, 1994a,b;
Tucker, 2001) (Fig. 5).
The grain-size characteristics of the upper beds have a mean
between 1.38 and 6.63 (between 0.010 and 0.050 mm, silt
and clay), and a standard deviation between 2.21 and 4.38,
(very poorly sorted).
Chronology
The sand beds at the base of the sequence have been dated
117 513
26 367 yr (OSL), which places them in the Eemian,
the last interglacial of the Late Pleistocene (117–130 ka or
118–128 ka; Mangerud et al., 1979; Mangerud, 1994; Gamble,
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868 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

1996). It was not possible to obtain any datings from the upper of the upper beds suggests an environment of quiet water, as
silty-clay beds. occurs in a lacustrine environment.

Environmental interpretation
Standard deviation versus skewness of all the poorly and very
poorly sorted sands of the lower beds (Fig. 6) fall within the
river sands domain according to Friedman (1967, 1979a, b).
The grain size of the very poorly sorted silty and clayey sand
Other clastic deposits linked to the high platform
The eastern side of the high platform is limited by conspicuous
scarps in the landscape. These scarps correspond to faults, as is

Figure 7 Cross-section of the Cepães Formation (Azul settlement, Cepães). The river sands of the two beds are dated 58 100
5800 and
52 500
6400 yr, OSL. Sedimentological data in Table 3

Figure 8 Cross-section of the Cepães Formation (Padre Gil settlement, Cepães). Sedimentological data in Table 3

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 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL
shown by the presence of granitic breccias, and injections of
the silty and clayey upper beds of the Antas Formation in the
breccias. The clastic deposits (Pinhote Conglomerate, Outeiro
Conglomerate and Gatinheira-Góis Sands) observed west of
the scarps and linked to the high platform are very thin (less
than 1 m) and separate from each other. The Pinhote Conglom-
erate consists of granitic pebbles embedded in a sandy matrix,
and is observed at the base of the scarps. The Outeiro Con-
glomerate consists of a sandy matrix with quartzite and quartz
pebbles, and is found in the western part of the high platform.
The Gatinheira-Góis Sands are coarse sands, accumulated near
the dead cliff and between the granitic outcrops of the high
platform. The high platform is interpreted as having been
reworked by marine processes because the Outeiro Conglom-
erate has a marine morphometry (mean pebble flatness of 1.99
and mean roundness of 459). This morphometry data can be
interpreted as having been produced by beach processes, when
the fault scarps acted as a cliff.
With the exception of the Antas Formation, which is located
against the cliff, we do not have any further information about
the age of the deposits associated with the high platform.
The low platform
A slope break in the landscape marks the boundary between
the high and the low platforms. It is interpreted as a younger
abandoned cliff, representing the western limit of the high
platform.
Figure 9 Beach/river sand Friedman plots (skewness versus standard deviation) from the Cepães Formation units. Samples are scattered in the river
sand field (modified from Friedman, 1967)
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
869
In the low platform, two sets of clastic deposits of different
origin and chronology were identified: the Cepães Formation
and the Aguçadoura Formation.
Cepães Formation
The Cepães Formation corresponds to a 4–6 m thick sedimen-
tary sequence, observed near Cepães in the foundations of the
settlements of Padre Gil, Azul and Carda (Figs. 7 and 8).
Sedimentology
The sedimentary sequence, with no recognisable structures,
can be subdivided into a lower set of sand beds, mostly poorly
or very poorly sorted, and a gravel bed at the top consisting of
quartzite pebbles with a roundness of 518–459 and flatness
around 2.00. Its base consists of some channels and a band
of sharp schist cobbles. The sedimentology of the beds
observed in the settlements of Padre Gil and Azul is sum-
marised in Table 3 and Fig. 7 and 8.
Geochronology
The dated samples from the Cepães Formation were taken in
the yellowish sands of bed 7, and bed 4 of the Azul settlement
(Fig. 7). The estimated ages are 58 100
5800 yr (OSL) and
52 500
6400 yr (OSL). The other dated samples were taken
in a cross-section at Guilheta (Esposende), in a sand bed with
a thickness of about 1 m, below a gravel bed similar to bed 9
of the Azul settlement and bed 6 of the Padre Gil settlement.
Since the gravel occurs at the top of the Azul and Padre
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
870 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Gil settlements, we may assume that the estimated ages of
Guilheta correspond to the ending of the sequence. The beds
of the Cepães Formation accumulated during the Middle
Weichselian.
Palaeoenvironmental interpretation
Neither fossils nor sedimentary structures are present, so grain-
size data and pebble morphometry were used for the interpre-
tation. They are summarised in Table 3. The interpretation of
the grain-size data can be made by using Friedman plots (skew-
ness versus standard deviation, mean-cubed deviation versus
standard deviation, and simple skewness measure versus sim-
ple sorting measure). Most of the samples fall within the river
sands domain (Figs. 9–12).
By contrast, the units at the top of the sequence (unit 9 in
the Azul settlement, Fig. 7, and unit 6 in the Padre Gil settle-
ment, Fig. 8) are composed of quartzite with a high roundness
index (mean between 427 and 518) and flatness index (mean
between 1.90 and 2.20), which suggest a beach environment
(Table 3). This is in accordance with the morphometric data
of the pebbles of shingle beaches on the coastal segment
north of the Azul settlement near Cepães and Esposende
(Loureiro and Granja, 2001) and south of the Neiva River
estuary (Fig. 13). Most beaches of the recent coastal segments
are almost exclusively formed of quartzite pebbles with a
roundness index between 586
110 and 435
101 and a
flatness index between 2.07
0.13 and 1.90
0.08 (Lour-
eiro, 1999).
Figure 10 Nearshore dunes/river sand Friedman plot (skewness versus standard deviation) from the Cepães Formation units. Samples are scattered in
the river sand field (modified from Friedman, 1979a)
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In the cross-section of the Cepães Formation (Figs. 7 and 8)
sharp schist cobbles are observed at the base of bed 9 (Azul set-
tlement, Fig. 7) and at the base of bed 6 (Padre Gil settlement,
Fig. 8); they are interpreted as beach cobbles. The same type of
cobbles is found on the higher levels of recent shingle beaches
(e.g. the beaches between Belinho Beach and Regos de Baixo,
Esposende), originating from the Ordovician schists that out-
crop in the foreshore and nearshore. The top unit of the
cross-section can be interpreted as part of a beach ridge formed
at the beginning of the gravel accumulation.
In some sandy units of the fluvial sequence there are also
quartzite and quartz pebbles with a high roundness index,
but their sand samples in the Friedman plots point to a fluvial
origin instead. Examples are unit 2 of the Padre Gil settlement
(mean roundness 479 and mean flatness 2.16, Table 3) and unit
3 of the Azul settlement (mean roundness 487 and mean flat-
ness 1.90; Fig. 11). Our interpretation is that the rounded clas-
tic pebbles could have come from high platform deposits and
been included in the fluvial deposits.
Pebble imbrication of the Cepães Formation
In the study of the imbrication of the Cepães Formation, 514
discoid and elongated quartzite pebbles between 40 and
150 mm in length were used. The imbrication shows that most
of the pebbles have a dip of 24.48
1.898 SW and an orienta-
tion of N 56.78
9.98 E.
On Belinho Beach, North of Cepães (Esposende), the present
shingle beaches are formed almost exclusively of quartzite
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL
Figure 11 Beach/river sand Friedman plot (simple skewness measure versus simple sorting measure) from the Cepães Formation units. Samples are
scattered in the river sand field (modified from Friedman, 1967)
pebbles (Fig. 13). Pebble morphometry and imbrication from
Belinho Beach were compared with the pebbles from the
Cepães Formation (Table 4).
On Belinho Beach, imbrication was measured on the ridge
crest during a southwest wave climate, and on the horns and
bays of the beach cusps during low tide. Thus, pebble morpho-
metry of the Cepães Formation indicates a beach environment,
and the imbrication of the pebbles suggests a wave climate
from the southwest, as sometimes happens today.
Aguçadoura Formation
The Aguçadoura Formation (Granja, 1990) is a sedimentary
sequence that includes a unit with fine plastic and dark (wet)
or light grey (dry) deposits, containing peat and wood remains
of trunks, branches and roots (Figs. 14–16). The units of the for-
mation were recognised in vibrocores, piston cores, some out-
crops in the foreshore of eroding beaches, and in excavations
(construction sites, sand mining, etc.). The dark, silty, and
humic units are called tijuca by the local population. This word
is of Brazilian Indian Tupi origin and described by the Portu-
guese writer Castro in his book ‘A Selva’ (1949) as ‘a mud
where cattle deeply impressed their four hooves and men broke
their toes’. The term was introduced in the area by immigrants
from Brazil (Granja, 1990).
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
871
Sedimentology
Most samples consist of silty sands or sandy silts, containing
peat, pollen, and diatoms which are sometimes concentrated
in small diatomite lenses (Granja, 1990, 1999; Granja and Car-
valho, 1994). In some cross-sections it is possible to identify a
set of two sand beds over the unit, with fine sediments. The
lower one is a sand bed with graded bedding and bioturbation
marks of the Scolithus type. The upper bed consists of cross-
stratified parabolic dune sands (Fig. 14).
Geochronology
The geochronology of the Aguçadoura Formation was estab-
lished by conventional and calibrated radiocarbon dating of
the peats (Table 5) showing that the unit was formed during
the Holocene.
The dune sands were dated by OSL: 150
10 (Bonança,
Esposende) and 320
20 yr (Belinho Beach). A medieval
necropolis in Fão (Esposende) under the sand dunes (Almeida,
1988; Almeida et al., 1990–92) confirms these dates.
Palaeoenvironmental interpretation
We can assume that during a period of regression coastal
lagoons or palaeoestuaries were formed, in which the fine sedi-
ments unit accumulated. The unit overlies beach or dune sands
that were dated 2477
531 (OSL) and underlies beach sands
with graded bedding and bioturbation. These sands possibly
correspond to a beach that existed in the area before being
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
872 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE

Figure 12 Beach/river sand Friedman plot (mean-cubed deviation versus standard deviation) from the Cepães Formation units. Samples are scattered
in the river sand field (modified from Friedman, 1967)

Figure 13 Belinho Beach, North Cepães (Esposende). Shingle beach almost exclusively composed of quartzite pebbles. This figure is available in
colour online at www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/jqs

buried by Little Ice Age aeolian activity during the 16th–19th
centuries (Granja, 1990).
Near Póvoa de Varzim (Aguçadoura) a 30 cm thick bed of
Holocene fine sediments contained pollen showing a predomi-
nance of non-arboreal pollen, corresponding to a strongly
deforested landscape (Gómez-Orellana et al., 2001). The fine
sediments unit in cores and outcrops of the Aguçadoura and
Apúlia area has diatom assemblages from a freshwater to a
slightly brackish environment, interpreted as confined lagoons
near the ocean (Granja, 1999).
The same unit was also cored to a depth of 11 m below the
surface in an former palaeochannel of the Cávado River at

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 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL 873

Figure 14 Cross-section, sedimentological and geochronological data of the Aguçadoura Formation, near the ‘O Caçador’ snack-bar, Aguçadoura
village. Holocene beach sand injection structures into the lagoonal beds, related to fault activity (towards the right of the photograph). The fault is the
same as in the cross-section of Fig. 15

Figure 15 Cross-section through the Aguçadoura Formation, in the ‘masseira’ of Benjamim Lima Alves, near the Aguçadoura village. The lagoonal
bed with peat is visible in black, to the right of the photograph, dated 1900
40 to 1220
40 14C yr BP. The tilting of the beds towards the west is
considered of neotectonic origin, from a fault located to the left of the bed. This figure is available in colour online at www.interscience.wiley.com/
journal/jqs

Ponte do Estreito (Barqueiros-Necessidades, Barcelos), not far
from Aguçadoura. Samples taken between the surface and
7.9 m depth are rich in organic matter and well-preserved dia-
toms. Diatom analysis identified five palaeoenvironmental
zones, indicating fluctuations of marine influence through time
and silting-up, becoming a supratidal marsh. A sudden flooding
prior to 1780
50 14C yr BP, inferred to have occurred follow-
ing a period of increased storminess that destroyed the pro-
tected environment, is indicated by the appearance of
brackish water species, the establishment of a lagoon in the
estuary, and finally silting-up again to became a supratidal
marsh (Granja, 1999).

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874 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
Figure 16 Outcrop of the lagoonal bed of the Aguçadoura Formation,
with peat dated 2570
41 to 2830
40 14C yr BP. The bed was
observed in a marine overwash in the ‘ribeira da Ramalha’, a small
stream south of Apúlia (Esposende). This figure is available in colour
online at www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/jqs
Figure 17 The estimated river sand dates from the Cepães, Antas and Aguçadoura formations compared to the climate change curve between the end
of the Eemian interglacial (MIS 5d) and the onset of the Holocene (MIS 1), van Andel (2003: 16). All dates fall within stage MIS 3
Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
At present, remains of this Holocene lagoonal-estuarine
system can be found in the smaller estuaries of the Neiva, the
Cávado and the Ave rivers, and in the residual lagoon of Apúlia
(Agra da Apúlia). Vibrocores and mechanical cores taken in the
area of the lagoon found peat between 5.12 m and 2.49 m,
which was dated between 2520
70 and 360
50 14C yr BP.
This shows a slow silting-up of the area during the Holocene,
which explains the very small area occupied by the lagoon at
present.
Another feature shown by the cross-sections at Aguçadoura
is the presence of indicators of tectonic deformation in the units
with silty sediments (injection-type structures in the upper bed,
Fig. 14) and a fault (Fig. 15). This deformation would have
occurred during the Holocene, because it affects a bed with
silty sediments and peat dated from 1900
40 to 920
60
14
C yr BP (Fig. 15).
The proposed model and its correlation
with Quaternary chronostratigraphy
The described formations have not yet provided enough data to
fully correlate them with a wider the Quaternary chronostrati-
graphy. As mentioned, only one of the units of the Aguçadoura
Formation contains diatom and pollen assemblages character-
istic of a lagoonal environment (Granja and de Groot, 1996)
surrounded by a strongly deforested landscape in a cold, dry
climate (Gómez-Orellana et al., 2001). Nevertheless, we have
compared our radiocarbon and luminescence dates with the
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) chronostratigraphy (van Andel
and Tzedakis, 1996; van Andel, 2003). From this comparison
we can infer that the Antas Formation (117 513
26 367 yr)
J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
 LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE CHANGES IN NORTHWESTERN PORTUGAL 875

Table 6 Synthesis of the lithostratigraphy, interpretation and geochronology

Landforms Lithostratigraphy Palaeoenvironments Geochronology Chronostratigraphy

Conventional Calibrated Luminescence

dates (yr BP) dates (OSL 1995 and 2001)

Parabolic dunes over  Aeolian HOLOCENE

a medieval necropolis Little Ice Age
Low platform Altitude Aguçadoura Formation  Beach sands 360
40 to cal. AD 1511 to Medieval
8 – 45 m altitude of top  Lagoonal 4270
50 BP cal. BC 2888 — Climatic Optimum
8 –10 m  Beach sands (lagoonal units)
Cepães Formation  Shingle beach 26 823
3212 (1995) -----------------
altitude of top 34 470
5217 (1995) WEICHSELIAN
6 –15 m — 35 470
3815 (1995) Pleistocene
 Fluvial sands 52 100
5800 (2001)
58 100
5800 (2001)
High platform Altitude Pinhote conglomerate Marine (?) ? —
50–60 m Outeiro conglomerate
Gatinheira-Góis sands
Outcrop Altitude
100 m Antas Formation  Quiet water — 112 573
20 367 (1995) ------------------
 silty-clayey unit Environment EEMIAN
 sand  River sands

was formed during the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e); the Cepães
Formation (58 100
5300 and 26 283
3212 yr) during the
Middle Weichselian/Devensian MIS 3 stage, and the Aguça-
doura Formation (1900
40 and 360
50 14C yr BP) during
the Holocene MIS1 stage (Fig. 17).
Conclusions
An interpolation of available geomorphological, lithostratigra-
phical, sedimentological and geochronological data was used
to reconstruct the most probable environments for the Quatern-
ary formations found in the coastal segments of Esposende and
Póvoa de Varzim. Their reconstruction forms the basis for
understanding the present-day landscape, which is mostly
composed of relict landforms (see Fig. 4, and Table 6 summar-
ising our coastal change model). From this reconstruction the
main conclusions are:
* The platforms are limited by fault scarps on their eastern bor-
ders, which are interpreted as dead cliffs.
* A high and a low platform can be identified to the west of the
fault scarps.
* The high platform (altitude 40–60 m) can be interpreted as
an abrasion platform.
* On the high platform, the Antas Formation (altitude
90 m)
in direct contact with the granite by a fault, was formed dur-
ing stage MIS 5e (Eemian Interglacial).
* On the high platform, thin relic deposits are found (Pinhote
conglomerate, Outeiro conglomerate and Gatinheira-Góis
sands). They are of uncertain origin and age, and only the
Outeiro conglomerate can be interpreted as a beach deposit
(pebble morphometry).
* The low platform (altitude 6–30 m) is separated from the
high platform by a sharp step in the granite and the Palaeo-
zoic rocks. It underlies the Cepães Formation
(26 823
3212 to 58 100
5800 yr OSL) corresponding to
stage MIS 3 and the Aguçadoura Formation (4470
50 to
360
40 14C yr BP or 3253 cal. yr BC to 1511 cal. yr AD)
corresponding to stage MIS1 (Holocene).
* The Cepães Formation contains a lower set of fluvial beds
and a upper bed of beach gravel.
* The Aguçadoura Formation contains two units: beach sands
overlain by lagoonal deposits.
* The low platform is limited to the West by Holocene para-
bolic dunes that have been destroyed by the migration of
beaches and overwashes.
* Indicators of Late Pleistocene and Holocene tectonic defor-
mation (faults and injection structures) can be observed.
The Antas, Cepães and Aguçadoura formations (including
the aeolian sands from the Little Ice Age) reflect the complex-
ity of changes in the coastal zone over a geologically short
period of time (Late Pleistocene and Holocene), but one
which has witnessed large climatic and related environmental
changes. As can be inferred from the sedimentary sequences
described in this paper, the areas of the coastal zone occupied
by the high and low platforms show indications of sea-level
fluctuations induced by a combination of glacio-eustatic
sea-level oscillations and tectonic deformation of the coastal
margin. However, this problem needs further study, as the
available data are scarce and possibly ambiguous without
additional evidence.
Acknowledgements We thank Dr Th. de Groot and the referees of the
paper, Dr T. van der Schriek from the University of Newcastle upon
Tyne and Dr S. Kortekaas from Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale,
Dunquerque, for their many critical comments and helpful suggestions.
We also thank Ana Luı́sa Costa for the grain-size data handling and fig-
ure drawing. We thank Dr R. Parish, from the University of Sussex, who
provided the OSL dates in 1995, and Dr F. Preusser, from the University
of Cologne, for the OSL dates in 2001.
The authors would like to acknowledge comments by Professor
G. M. Friedman from the Northeastern Science Foundation, City
University of New York, and Professor Tj. van Andel from Cambridge
University.
We are grateful to the institutions that have supported our research
on the coastal zone of northwest Portugal, the Fundação para a Ciência
e Tecnologia (FCT), the Área de Paisagem Protegida do Litoral de Espo-
sende (APPLE), the City Hall of Esposende and the Centro Interdisci-
plinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), University of
Porto. Dr Gordon Grams edited the final English text.

Copyright ß 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Quaternary Sci., Vol. 21(8) 859–877 (2006)
876 JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
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