The Quaternary geological history of the Santa Catarina southeastern region (Brazil)

This paper supply subsidies for Quaternary geological reconstruction of the southeastern State of Santa Catarina coast in Brazil, being based on detailed geological mapping supported by a series of drilling data, which allowed to establish a stratigraphical hierarchy of the sedimentary deposits. Among the mapped geological units stand out the extensive Pleistocene shallow marine sandy sediments, which are commonly referred as a barrier island - lagoonal depositional system. A drilling campaign done in the domain permitted the sampling of material for C-14 datings, and the obtained data confirmed some previously assumed ages. The sequence of events, that originated the Holocene deposits, has been also reconstructed through drilling and C-14 dating of the collected peat and shell samples. Finally, the main characteristics of the most promising mineral prospect of the area, represented by voluminous calcareous shell deposits associated with Holocene sediments, are also presented.