Benthic foraminifera as proxies for assessing the effects of a pier marina construction: A case study in the naturally stressed environment of the Saco da Ribeira (Flamengo Bay, SE Brazil).

Brazilian coastal areas have been exposed to various anthropic influences including physical alteration such as marina construction. To assess the impact of the pier marina construction in the Saco da Ribeira cove (Flamengo Bay, SE Brazil), sedimentological (grain size), geochemical (organic and trace elements) parameters and benthic foraminifera were analyzed on a 50-cm-long dated sediment core covering the last century. The multiproxy approach applied to a numerical hydrodynamic model shows that the circulation in the study area underwent an overall reduction (ca.

Response of benthic foraminifera to organic matter quantity and quality and bioavailable concentrations of metals in Aveiro Lagoon (Portugal).

This work analyses the distribution of living benthic foraminiferal assemblages of surface sediments in different intertidal areas of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), a polihaline and anthropized coastal lagoon. The relationships among foraminiferal assemblages in association with environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, Eh and pH), grain size, the quantity and quality of organic matter (enrichment in carbohydrates, proteins and lipids), pollution caused by metals, and mineralogical data are studied in an attempt to identify indicators of adaptability to environmental stress. In particular, concentrations of selected metals in the surficial sediment are investigated to assess environmental pollution levels that are further synthetically parameterised by the Pollution Load Index (PLI).

Assessment of the health quality of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal): heavy metals and benthic foraminifera.

This work analyses the distribution of heavy metals in the sediments of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) assessed by total digestion and sequential chemical extraction of the sediments. The influence of environmental parameters on the living benthic foraminiferal assemblages was studied. The most polluted parts in the Ria de Aveiro are areas where the residence time is high and cohesive sediments are deposited.

Radiocarbon geochronology of the sediments of the São Paulo Bight (southern Brazilian upper margin).

The aim of this work was to generate an inventory of the data on radiocarbon datings obtained from sediments of the São Paulo Bight (southern Brazilian upper margin) and to analyze the data in terms of Late Quaternary sedimentary processes and sedimentation rates. A total of 238 radiocarbon datings from materials collected using differents ampling procedures was considered for this work. The sedimentation rates varied from less than 2 to 68 cm.