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Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic evolution during the quaternary in the

northern half of the coast of the state of Bahia, Brazil

Article · January 1979

Source: OAI

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 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
"1978 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE QUATERNARY"
S80 PAULO, BRASIL (1979): 254-263

PALEOGEOGRAPHIC AND PALEOCLIMATIC EVOLUTION DURING THE QUATERNARY

IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COAST OF THE STATE OF BAHIA, BRAZIL

G'ERALDO DA SILVA VILAS BOAS

Instituto de Geoci&cias -
UFBa ' I .
+ d l b.

-
LOUIS MARTIN
Mission O.R.S.T.O.M. (France) - UFBa

ABILI0 CARLOS DA SILVA FINTO BITTENCOURT

Instituto de Geociências UFBa -
JEAN MARIE FLEXOR
Labo. de Física Nuclear Aplicada - UFBa

ABSTRACT

After the deposition of the sediments of the Barrw 'as

Formation under a semi-arid climate, in an epoch during which
the sea level was lower than today's, the climate changed to
humid. It is probable that this change marked the end, in a
strict sense, of the deposition of those m t s . A transgression
occurred which eroded a part of the Barreiras Formation. The
limit reached by the sea is marked in some places by a line of
old coastal cliffs. After this transgressive event the climate
became drier while sandy braided river deposits formed at the
base of these cliffs. The climate became humid again duxing the
penultimate transgression (120,000 years B.P.), while the sea
eroded part or locally all of these continental deposits, In
the last phase of this transgression, terraces 6 to 8 m higher
than today's mean sea level were formed. From this time on,the
region south of Salvador no longer suffered climatic variations
of the types mentioned above, as is demonstrated by the

I 254
p r e s e r v a t i o n o f t h e crests of beach r i d g e s b u i l t up d u r i n g the
t e r m i n a l phase of t h e p e n u l t i m a t e t r a n s g r e s s i o n . On t h e other
h a m , n o r t h o f S a l v a d o r t h e c l i m a t e would have been d r y e r ( l i k e
i t i s t o d a y ) s i n c e t h e sand d e p o s i t s , b o t h c o n t i n e n t a l and
m a r i n e , have been s l i g h t l y reworked by t h e wind.

Between 120,000 and 7 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B.P., t h e sea level

remained below t o d a y ' s mean l e v e l . L a t e r it o s c i l l a t e d above
and below it. I f , i n f a c t , the climate d i d n o t v a r y appreciably
a f t e r 120,000 y e a r s B . P . , it i s p r o b a b l e t h a t s m a l l oscillations
occurred. For i n s t a n c e , t h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e dunes n o r t h of
S a l v a d o r and t h e d e p o s i t i o n of sandy s e d i m e n t s ( w i t h the age of
13,000 y e a r s B.P.) i n t h e s m a l l v a l l e y s imply a c l i m a t e slightly
d r i e r than today's.

INTRODUCTION

The a r e a covered by t h i s p a p e r e x t e n d s from the

l o c a l i t y c a l l e d Conde s o u t h t o I l h e u s , i n c l u d i n g approximately
t h e r e g i o n between t h e 1 2 O and 15O p a r a l l e l s of s o u t h latitude
a l o n g t h e coast of Bahia (Fig. 1).

From t h e climatic p o i n t of view, it i s p o s s i b l e to

c h a r a c t e r i z e t h i s p a r t of t h e c o a s t i n t e r m s of t h e v a l u e s of
t e m p e r a t u r e and humidity n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e e x i s t e n c e of the
cocoa c u l t u r e e x i s t i n g t h e r e . So, a c c o r d i n g t o the d a t a of
t h e S e c r e t a r y of P l a n n i n g , S c i e n c e and Technology of t h e S t a t e
of Bahia (BAHIA. SEPLANTEC, 1 9 7 7 b t h e r e i s a climatic f r o n t i e r
s i t u a t e d s o u t h of Todos os S a n t o s Bay, s e p a r a t i n g a t t h e c o a s t
two r e g i o n s : t h e s o u t h e r n r e g i o n w i t h a w a t e r d e f i c i t below
50 nun, f a v o u r a b l e t o t h e cocoa c u l t u r e , and t h e n o r t h e r n region
tYith a w a t e r d e f i c i t above t o 50 mm unfavourable t o t h e cocoa
c u l t u r e (Fig. 2 ) . A t t h e present t i m e , with the e x c e p t i o n of
some small l i t t o r a l dunes a c t i v e t o d a y , a l l t h i s n o r t h e r n coast
i s covered by a v e g e t a t i o n s u f f i c i e n t l y w e l l developed t o avoid
a t r a n s p o r t a t i o n by t h e wind of t h e numerous sand depos i t s
existing there. The p r e s e n t r e - t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of t h e sands of
some d e p o s i t s i s n o t t h e consequence of a c l i m a t i c variation,
b u t it i s a r e s u l t o f t h e a n t h r o p i c a c t i o n r e s u l t i n g from
destruction of vegetation. As w i l l be shown l a t e r i n this
work, climatic d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e s e two zones have also

255
 1 UNDIFFERENTIATED QUATERNARY

- FAULT

@ ITAPARICA ISLAND

@ SALIN& DA MARGARIDA

F i g u r e 1 - G e o l o g i c a l map of t h e coast of the S t a t e of Bahia

between Conde and Ilhéus

256
 ,-wo: CURVES OF E O U U WATER D E F I C I T

@ CONCIE

@ ILHÉUS
@ ITACIYIRIY

@ ITAPARICA ISLAND

@ SALVADOR

@ TODOL oa "nos BAY

Figure 2 - Characterization of the climatic regions as a function

of favourability to cocoa culture

257
o c c u r r e d i n o t h e r p e r i o d s of t h e Quaternary h i s t o r y .
The Quaternary w a s a g e o l o g i c a l p e r i o d marked by
g r e a t v a r i a t i o n s of c l i m a t e and ocean l e v e l . These phenomena
fcund e x p r e s s i o n i n t h e formation of sedimentary depositswhich
occur along t h e c o a s t of t h e S t a t e of Bahia (TRICART & CARDOSO
DA S I L V A , 1968; MARTIN e t a l . , 1978a; BITTENCOURT e t aZ.,1978)
The o b j e c t i v e of t h i s paper i s t o endeavour t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e
h i s t o r y of t h e Quaternary e v e n t s i n t h e n o r t h e r n h a l f of the
Bahian c o a s t from t h e p o i n t of view of i t s paleogeographic and
p a l e o c l i m a t i c e v o l u t i o n , s t a r t i n g from t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of
t h e aforementioned d e p o s i t s .

EVIDENCE L E F T BY THE GREAT TRANSGRESSIVE EVENTS

Along t h e c o a s t of t h e S t a t e of Bahia, t h e most

a n c i e n t t r a n s g r e s s i v e e p i s o d e , a t t h e maximum of which the
r e l a t i v e l e v e l of t h e s e a was supe'rior t o t h e p r e s e n t mean
l e v e l , eroded d u r i n g i t s c o u r s e t h e e x t e r n a l f r o n t a l p a r t of
t h e T e r t i a r y sediments of t h e B a r r e i r a s Formation. The l i m i t ,
achieved by t h e s e a a t i t s maximum h e i g h t is r e p r e s e n t e d by
c o a s t a l c l i f f s carved i n t h e B a r r e i r a s d e t r i t i c sediments.
A f t e r t h i s e v e n t , a second t r a n s g r e s s i o n with maximum level
s u p e r i o r t o t h e p r e s e n t mean s e a l e v e l , h e r e denominated as
t h e p e n u l t i m a t e t r a n s g r e s s i o n , l e f t sand t e r r a c e s , t h e tops
of which are s i t u a t e d from 6 t o 8 m above t h e p r e s e n t mean s e a
l e v e l CMARTIN e t a l . , 1978al. 1 4 C d a t i n g s of wooden remnants
found i n c l a y i n t e r c a l a t i o n s i n t h e s e d e p o s i t s show t h a t the
t r a n s g r e s s i v e episode i s o l d e r t h a n 3 5 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B.P. It is
probable t h a t i t might have o c c u r r e d around 120,000 y e a r s B.P.
From I t a p a r i c a I s l a n d s o u t h , t h e s u r f a c e of t h e sand
t e r r a c e s l e f t by t h e p e n u l t i m a t e t r a n s g r e s s i o n i s marked by
t h e presence of w e l l d e f i n e d beach qidges. This f a c t i n d i c a t e s
t h a t t h e r e g i o n t o t h e s o u t h of I t a p a r i c a I s l a n d (Fig. 1) d i d
n o t s u f f e r r a d i c a l c l i m a t i c v a r i a t i o n s t h a t might have caused
t h e disappearance or a t l e a s t an important d e c r e a s e i n the
v e g e t a t i o n . I n e f f e c t , such a v a r i a t i o n would have stimulated
a reworking o f t h e upper p a r t of t h e sand t e r r a c e s by t h e wind
w i t h t h e consequent disappearance of t h e beach r i d g e s . On t h e
c o n t r a r y , i n t h e r e g i o n t o t h e n o r t h of Salvador such ridges

258
are n o t found, dunes e x i s t i n g i n s t e a d o f them.This demonstrates
t h a t n o r t h o f Salvador, a f t e r t h e pehultimate transgression,
t h e climate w a s d r i e r t h a n t o t h e s o u t h . A t the p r e s e n t time
t h e dunes are f i x e d by t h e v e g e t a t i o n , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t a t the
moment o f t h e i r f o r m a t i o n t h e climate w a s d r i e r t h a n i t i s at
present. This climatic v a r i a t i o n north of Salvador occasioned
a considerably important decrease i n t h e vegetation to the
p o i n t which p e r m i t t e d sand m o b i l i z a t i o n by t h e wind, resulting
i n t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e beach r i d g e s .

F i n a l l y , t h e most r e c e n t e v i d e n c e i s r e l a t e d t o the
l a s t g r e a t t r a n s g r e s s i v e e p i s o d e , i n t h e Holocene, represented
by marine s a n d t e r r a c e s and lagoon d e p o s i t s , coral r e e f s , a l g a l
and V e ~ m c P < d a ci n c r u s t a t i o n . The l a t t e r p a r t of this t r a n s ~ s j o n
i s w e l l known from numerous 1 4 C d a t i n g s (MARTIN e t nZ., 197823).
The p r e s e n t z e r o l e v e l was c u t f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e around 7,000
y e a r s B.P. A f t e r w a r d s , t h e r e l a t i v e sea l e v e l p a s s e d through
maxima n o t e x c e e d i n g 5.0 m above t h e p r e s e n t mean sea level
around 5,200, 3,500 and 2 , 4 0 0 y e a r s B.P. and through minima
around 3,800 and 2,700 y e a r s B.P.

CONTINENTAL DEPOS ITS

N o r t h e a s t from S a l v a d o r , i n t h e I t a c i m i r i m r e g i o n [Fig.
l), a t t h e f o o t o f t h e coastal c l i f f s c a r v e d f n t h e Barreiras
s e d i m e n t s , s a n d d e p o s i t s c o n t a i n i n g g r a v e l a r e found, t h e tops
of which a r e s i t u a t e d betwen 1 5 and 20 m above sea l e v e l . The
c o n t i n e n t a l sands w e r e i n p a r t eroded during t h e penultimate
t r a n s g r e s s i o n , t h e marine terraces formed a t t h a t t i m e being
supported d i r e c t l y a g a i n s t t h e i r e x t e r n a l f r o n t a l p a r t . These
c o n t i n e n t a l d e p o s i t s appeared between t h e p e n u l t i m a t e and
antepenultimate transgressions. On t h e b o r d e r s of t h e Todos os
S a n t o s Bay, i n t h e r e g i o n o f S a l i n a s da Margarida and Saubara
( F i g . l), t h e r e are i m p o r t a n t s a n d d e p o s i t s c o n t a i n i n g g r a v e l s
and having c o n t i n e n t a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e s e d e p o s i t s being
s i t u a t e d a t t h e base of t h e eroded Cretaceous sediments.
Information i s n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e d a t i n g of t h e s e deposits:
however, it i s p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e y are contemporary w i t h those
n o r t h e a s t o f S a l v a d o r . Taking i n t o a c c o u n t t h e i r extent,
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and p o s i t i o n a t t h e base of sedinentaxy foxn?ations

259
r i c h i n s a n d , MARTIN e t aZ., 1978a, c o n s i d e r t h a t thesematerials
probably w e r e d e p o s i t e d i n t h e form o f b r a i d e d r i v e r deposits,
whjch i m p l i e s f o r t h e i r f o r m a t i o n c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s totally
d i f f e r e n t from t h e p r e s e n t ones: climate of t h e s e m i - a r i d t y p e
w i t h r a r e and v i o l e n t r a i n f a l l s .
I n t h e c o a s t a l r e g i o n of S a l v a d o r t h e r e a r e other
t y p e s of c o n t i n e n t a l sediments which, u n l i k e t h e p r e v i o u s ones,
were d e p o s i t e d a f t e r t h e p e n u l t i m a t e t r a n s g r e s s i o n . There are
f l u v i a l d e p o s i t s of s m a l l e x t e n t which a r e found i n the small
v a l l e y s c a r v e d i n t h e Precambrian basement r o c k s . There are
s a n d s of v a r i e d g r a i n s i z e , t h e g r a i n s b e i n g very angular,
i n d i c a t i n g d e p o s i t i o n a l C o n d i t i o n s d i f f e r e n t from t h e present
ones. I n e f f e c t , t h e present s m a l l w a t e r courses transport
o n l y f i n e p a r t i c l e s , and do n o t have s u f f i c i e n t competency to
t r a n s p o r t sand. T h i s v a r i a t i o n i n energy s h o u l d correspond t o
a p e r i o d o f lower b a s e l e v e l and t o a climate s l i g h t l y drier
t h a n t h e p r e s e n t one. Meanwhile, t h i s p e r i o d of d r i e r climate
d i d n o t a c h i e v e t h e i n t e n s i t y of t h e p r e v i o u s , above-mentioned
one, s i n c e t h e major p a r t of t h e a l t e r a t i o n mantle t h a t e x i s t e d
above t h e c r y s t a l l i n e r o c k s remained i n s i t u . I n a s m a l l valley
n e x t t o I t a p o a n ( F i g . l), s i t u a t e d slightly above the
c r y s t a l l i n e basement and covered by 2 t o 3 m of s a n d , s t e m s of
trees w e r e found which d a t e d from 1 3 , 4 0 0 f 1 2 5 y e a r s B.P. (Bah.
5 3 5 ) . I n t h a t epoch t h e s e a l e v e l was e f f e c t i v e l y below the
present l e v e l , t h e climate being d r i e r .

GENERAL ASPECTS OF PALEOGEOGRAPHIC AND PALEOCLIMATIC EVOLUTION

AFTER THE TERTIARY

Before t h e d e p o s i t i o n of t h e B a r r e i r a s Formation, t h e
c l i m a t e must have been h o t and humid d u r i n g a long period,
permitting the formation of a very thick a l t e r a t i o n mantle.
Subsequently, t h e climate became d r i e r ( s e m i - a r i d t y p e with
rare and v i o l e n t r a i n f a l l s ) , r e d u c i n g t h e v e g e t a l c o v e r and
g i v i n g p l a c e t o t h e e r o s i o n of t h e a l t e r a t i o n mantle. The
p r o d u c t s of t h i s e r o s i o n w e r e d e p o s i t e d a t t h e f o o t of the
s l o p e s i n t h e form o f b r a i d e d r i v e r d e p o s i t s of g r e a t e x t e n s i o n
( K I N G , 1 9 5 6 ; BIGARELLA & NB'SABER, 1 9 6 4 ; MABESOONE e t aZ.,1972).
During t h i s p e r i o d t h e sea l e v e l must have been lower t h a n t h e

260
p r e s e n t one, t h e sediments of t h e B a r r e i r a s Formation having
covered a p a r t of t h e c o n t i n e n t a l s h e l f (BIGARELLA & ANDRADE,
1964).

The end of t h e B a r r e i r a s d e p o s i t i o n was marked by t h e

r e t u r n t o a h o t and humid climate when a t r a n s g r e s s i v e episode
was i n i t i a t e d which eroded t h e e x t e r n a l f r o n t a l p a r t of that
formation. The maximum l i m i t reached by t h e s e a during this
episode i s r e g i s t e r e d i n some l o c a l i t i e s by a l i n e of coastal
c l i f f s . After t h i s transgression the climate again became
semi-arid which gave rise t o t h e formation of new continehtal
b r a i d e d r i v e r d e p o s i t s a t t h e base of t h e s l o p e s i n c o n d i t i o n s
q u i t e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e e x i s t i n g during t h e d e p o s i t i o n of the
B a r r e i r a s Formation. However, a s t h e s e d e p o s i t s a r e much less
developed t h a n t h o s e of B a r r e i r a s , it i s p o s s i b l e t h a t the
dry p e r i o d during which they w e r e d e p o s i t e d might have been
much s h o r t e r . During t h e i r d e p o s i t i o n t h e s e a l e v e l must have
been lower than t h e p r e s e n t one, which appears t o be confirmed
by t h e e x i s t e n c e of a f a c i e s of relict sediments with wntinental
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a t t h e bottom of t h e Todos os Santos Bay between
I t a p a r i c a I s l a n d and t h e c o n t i n e n t (BITTENCOURT e t aZ.,1976).
During t h e epoch of t h e maximum of t h e penultimate
t r a n s g r e s s i o n t h e c l i m a t e must have been q u i t e s i m i l a r t o the
p r e s e n t c l i m a t e . A f t e r , t h a t , t h e r e w e r e no more extreme
c l i m a t i c v a r i a t i o n s such a s t h o s e mentioned e a r l i e r . In e f f e c t ,
south from Salvador, t h e beach r i d g e s l e f t by t h e penultimate
t - r a n s g r e s s i o n were preserved by v e g e t a l cover. However, i f t h e
c l i m a t e a f t e r 1 2 0 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B.P. d i d n o t s u f f e r g r e a t variaticms,
i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t n o r t h from Salvador t h e r e might have
occurred s m a l l o s c i l l a t i o n s a s i n d i c a t e d by t h e e x i s t e n c e of
dunes and c o a r s e sediments i n t h e v a l l e y s where today t h e r e a r e
water c o u r s e s which t r a n s p o r t onlv f i n e p a r t i c l e s . From 120,000
t o 7 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B . P . , t h e r e l a t i v e mean s e a l e v e l remained lower
than t h e p r e s e n t mean l e v e l . Around 1 5 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B . P . , i t must
have been approximately 1 1 0 m below t h e p r e s e n t mean level
(MILLIMAN & EMERY, 1968; MARTIN, 1 9 7 2 ) . From 7 , 0 0 0 y e a r s B.P.
on, t h e r e l a t i v e mean s e a l e v e l o s c i l l a t e d around t h e present
one.
261
 CONCLUSION

After the deposition of the Barreiras Formation

sediments under a semi-arid climate in an epoch of low sea
level, the climate became humid. This return to a humid
climate marked the end of the deposition of the Barreiras
sediments. Following this epoch, evidence was left of three
transgressive episodes, the last two of which are well defined
Between the two oldest transgressions the climate changed to
semi-arid, resulting in the formation of braided river deposits
During the maximum of the penultimate transgression the climate
became humid. Between the two last transgressions the climate
did not suffer radical variations in this part of the Brazilian
Coast, but only small oscillations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to take this opportunity to express

their gratitude to FINEP, BNDE and CNPq who gave them financial
support. Thanks are also extended CO the CPRM (Company for
Research in Mineral Resources) - Salvador Region Office - for
having put at their disposal a small boat for transportation.

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