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Inferring centennial terrigenous input for Patos Lagoon, Brazil: the world's largest choked coastal lagoon

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Abstract

This study introduces and discusses inorganic geochemical data from Patos Lagoon, the world’s largest choked coastal lagoon located in southern Brazil. Here, we characterise the sedimentary geochemical environment using different elemental ratios to assess the influence of both anthropogenic activities and the natural hydrological regime on the contemporary geochemical record. Three sediment cores collected in the freshwater domain of Patos Lagoon were analysed. Elements Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, K, Sr, Ti and V were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Strong correlations between Sr and Ca, together with the lack of correlation with detrital elements suggested that carbonate precipitation is particularly important in this system. Lithogenic elements Al, K, Fe and Ti reflected the influence of the Guaíba River on the sedimentary sequences of Patos Lagoon. The K/Al ratio was used to investigate changes in weathering patterns and Ti/Al to evaluate grain size changes. Ti/Ca provided an excellent proxy for inferring historical changes in wetter and drier conditions, and also appears to be sensitive to the influence of ENSO events. Finally, the V/Cr ratio reflected the prevailing reducing conditions of the bottom sediments. Overall, our findings show that processes of sediment weathering, transport and deposition are mostly related to natural process, and given the large size of the system, the dilution processes could play an important role in attenuating geochemical changes related to human impacts.

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Acknowledgements

Post-graduation Programme PEDECIBA-Geociencias, Uruguay. Agencia Nacional de Investigación (ANII): POS_NAC_2017_1_141233. Also, thanks to LaQIMar members for the kind support during the stay at Universidade de São Paulo (IO-USP). We thank Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) for the logistic support during the sampling survey. Thanks to CNPq for the research grant 304007/2019-6 to FGR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias, Oceanografía Y Ecología Marina, Instituto de Ecología Y Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de La República, Iguá 4225, Montevideo, Uruguay

    C. Bueno

  2. Laboratório de Química Inorgânica Marinha, Instituto OceanográficoUniversidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    R. C. L. Figueira & P. A. L. Ferreira

  3. Centro de Estudos de Geologia Costeira E Oceânica, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    M. D. Ivanoff & E. E. Toldo

  4. Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de La República, Rocha, Uruguay

    L. Fornaro & F. García-Rodríguez

  5. Instituto de Oceanografia, Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Oceanología, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil

    F. García-Rodríguez

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  1. C. Bueno
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Bueno, C., Figueira, R.C.L., Ivanoff, M.D. et al. Inferring centennial terrigenous input for Patos Lagoon, Brazil: the world's largest choked coastal lagoon. J Paleolimnol 66, 157–169 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-021-00197-7

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